Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2020

Notes:
As per the data from the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), India’s fiscal deficit was 4.59% of gross domestic product (GDP) for the year 2019-20. Fiscal Deficit is the gap between the government’s revenue and expenditure
The government’s revised target for its fiscal deficit was 3.8%, and the real deficit has exceeded it. However, the budget estimate was 3.5% of GDP. The Union Finance Minister invoked the escape clause in the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act to peg the deficit 0.5% higher than the Budget estimate.

Notes:
The United Nations General Assembly has recently adopted a new voting procedure for the upcoming election of new members of the Security Council.
This change is due to the restrictions for large gathering and to ensure social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Usually, the assembly meet in a horseshoe-shaped assembly chamber at UN headquarters. But now, the ambassadors from 193 UN member nations will cast secret ballots at predetermined places and time slots.

Notes:
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has nominated Indian cricket star Rohit Sharma for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
Other stars including Ishant Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Deepti Yadav have been shortlisted by the BCCI for the Arjuna Award. The period of consideration for the awards is between January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019. Rohit Sharma has been named the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year for 2019.

Notes:
The Union Government has launched a national programme for the youth, called “Responsible AI for Youth”. It has been developed by the Ministry of Electronics and IT in collaboration with Intel India, with support from Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSE&L). It aims to equip young students with new generation technology.
A dedicated portal for Artificial Intelligence, which will be a platform for all AI related developments in India, was also launched to mark the first anniversary of the second tenure of the government. It has been jointly developed by the Ministry of Electronics and IT and NASSCOM.

Notes:
Veteran diplomat Gaitri I. Kumar has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom.
She is a 1986 batch Indian Foreign Service officer and is presently serving as the Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union. Gaitri I. Kumar is to replace Ruchi Ghanshyam who just retired. In her 3-decade long career, the diplomat has served in many Indian missions including in Paris, Kathmandu, Lisbon and Geneva.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has recently given its approval to re-establish Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) as Subordinate Office under Ministry of AYUSH.
PCIM&H is to be merged with the two central laboratories: Pharmacopoeia Laboratory for Indian Medicine (PLIM) and Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia Laboratory (HPL). The two laboratories were established in Ghaziabad in 1975. At present, PCIM&H is an autonomous body under AYUSH ministry.

Notes:
Indian writer Kritika Pandey has won the regional award for Asia of the prestigious Commonwealth Short Story Prize for this year.
The writer was selected for her work titled ‘The Great Indian Tee and Snakes’. The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded for the best unpublished short fiction, every year. She had also been earlier nominated for the Pushcart Prize. To be eligible for the award, one must be a commonwealth citizen aged above 18 years.

Notes:
Veteran filmmaker and screen-writer Basu Chatterjee, passed away recently due to age related illness, at 93 years.
The film maker was known for his critically acclaimed films such as ‘Chhoti Si Baat’, ‘Baaton Baaton Mein’, ‘Ek Ruka Hua Faisla’ and ‘Rajnigandha’ among others. He was famous among the middle-class audience in the 70s for his unique film -making.

Notes:
The International Day for the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is observed every year on June 5. The purpose of this day is to sensitise about the threats posed by unregulated fishing activities to the fisheries resources.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared June 5 as the International Day for the fight against IUU fishing in November 2017. The first such day was celebrated in the year 2018. The Agreement on Port State Measures was brought into force on the same day.

Notes:
UN celebrates six separate language days to raise awareness of the history, culture and development of each of its six official languages – English, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and French.
June 6 is celebrated as the UN Russian Language Day, which is also the birthday of the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. The poet is considered as the father of modern Russian literature. Some of his popular literary works include novel titled “Eugene Onegin” and his poem titled “The Bronze Horseman”.