Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2020

Notes:
World No Tobacco Day 2020 is celebrated on May 31 every year, across the world. The main objective of celebrating the day is to protect youth from industry manipulation and to prevent them from tobacco and nicotine use.
This year, the World No Tobacco Day 2020 global campaign will expose the manipulation tactics of tobacco and related industries, educate young people about the intentions of the industries and empower the general public in social platforms to protect youth.

Notes:
Swiss Tennis legend Roger Federer has been ranked at the top spot in the annual Forbes ranking of highest-paid athletes.
As per the magazine, the total earning of Federer amounts to USD 106.3 million. He is the winner of record 20 Grand Slam singles titles, the prize money of which gave him USD6.3 million. Federer is followed by the football trio in next three ranks: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar. Two female Tennis stars Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams were found in the top-100 list.

Notes:
International Everest Day is celebrated on May 29, across the world every year. On the same day in the year 1953, Tenzing Norgay of Nepal and Edmund Hillary of New Zealand had successfully scaled the Mt. Everest.
The mountaineer duo were the first human beings to achieve the prestigious feat. Nepal decided to observe the day as International Everest Day since the climber Edmund Hillary passed away in the year 2008.

Notes:
As per the recent order issued by the Department of Telecom (DoT), it has directed all internet service providers (ISPs) to block the computer file-sharing website ‘WeTransfer’, due to security reasons.
All internet service providers (ISPs) are directed to block two download links on the website WeTransfer as well as the entire website. We Transfer is an Internet-based computer file transfer service platform founded at Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Notes:
Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) is the largest electronic system-based power trading exchange of India and it is regulated by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. IEX platform provides physical delivery of electricity and Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).
IEX has recently launched its Real-Time Electricity Market (RTM) platform. The objective of the platform is to help the DISCOMs plan their power requirements. The trade in electricity is carried out through half-hourly auctions i.e. 48 daily sessions.

Notes:
The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) is an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Based on the recommendation of CACP, the Union Cabinet fixes the minimum support price (MSP).
Recently, the government raised the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy marginally by Rs 53 per quintal to Rs 1,868 per quintal for the 2020-21 crop year. It also hiked the rates for oilseeds, pulses cereals and commercial crops. This is expected to give 50-83 per cent higher return over the cost of production to farmers.

Notes:
The Government of India has recently prohibited the export of alcohol-based hand sanitizers in containers with dispenser pump.
As per the notification of the Directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT), the alcohol-based hand sanitizers exported in any other form or packaging, will be allowed for exports. Earlier, On May 6, the government had prohibited the export of all alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

Notes:
The Agriculture Ministry has released its second advance estimates of total horticulture production in 2019-20.
As per the estimate, the total horticulture production would be 320.48 million tonnes in this year, which is 3.13% higher than last year. The production of fruits is estimated to be 99.07 million tonnes as compared to 97.97 million tonnes in 2018-19. The total production of vegetables is estimated to be 191.77 million tonnes as compared to 183.17 million tonnes in 2018-19.

Notes:
Major technology company Microsoft has announced the launch of a programme named “Microsoft for Agritech Startups”.
The programme is to focus on the start-ups that are committed to driving transformation in agriculture. The programme seeks to assist start-ups in building industry-specific solutions, access to deep technology and markets. The selected start-ups can also get access to Azure FarmBeats, an aggregation platform available in Azure Marketplace.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet recently amended the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 in view of helping farmers and transforming the agriculture sector.
With the amendment, commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes will be removed from list of essential commodities, thereby attracting private sector/foreign direct investment into agriculture sector. The cabinet also approved two ordinances to promote barrier-free inter-state and intra-state trade and commerce and give a level playing field with wholesalers and exporters.