Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2020

Notes:
The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, has released the Provisional Estimates of National Income for the financial year 2019-20.
As per the data, the Indian economy grew by 4.2 percent in the year 2019-20, as compared to the 6.1 percent growth in 2018-19. This GDP growth rate is said to be the lowest in past 11 years. Also, during the January-March (final) quarter of the year 2019-20, the growth rate of GDP fell to 3.1%. The Per Capita Income (real) had a growth of 3.1 percent during 2019-20, as against 4.8 per cent in the previous year.

Notes:
As per the test report of the Animal Husbandry Department of the state of Uttarakhand, the quality of the state’s sheep wool compiled was similar to the Merino sheep wool.
The Merino sheep wool of Australia is famous across the world in the textile industry for its fine texture. India imports nearly 8000 MT of fine wool every year. Uttarakhand received 250 Merino sheep in Tehri Garhwal district under the national livestock scheme last year. With appropriate breeding programmes, Uttarakhand would produce high-quality fine Merino wool.

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:
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 Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu released the standard operating procedure for the salons, beauty parlours and spas, when they resume their service after the lockdown.
As per the rules, the mentioned service providers will have to maintain a record of the name, phone number, address and Aadhaar number of the customers as a preventive measure against Covid-19. It would also facilitate contact tracing. Other sanitation procedures were also provided for resuming.

Notes:
Central American countries El Salvador and Guatemala have recently witnessed a tropical storm Amanda.
The heavy rains from Tropical Storm Amanda caused many people dead and missing. It has caused extreme damages across the two countries. The countries have set up temporary shelters to accommodate thousands of people after their homes were damaged.

Notes:
Social networking giant Twitter has recently appointed Patrick Pichette, a former chief financial officer at Google as the next chairman of its board.
This is the first time in the history of Twitter that an outsider is presiding over the board. Patrick Pichette served as the lead independent director of Twitter since the end of 2018. He is to replace Omid Kordestani in leading the directors as Chairman. Investors have been urging for appointing outsiders to preside over boards.

Notes:
The United Nations General Assembly had declared 3 June as World Bicycle Day. The Assembly acknowledged bicycle for its versatility and longevity and its usage for two centuries.
The UN encourage its stakeholders to encourage the use of bicycles as a means of promoting sustainable development and health. It also welcomes various initiatives to organise bicycle rides at the national and local levels and develop a culture of cycling in society.

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:
IndusInd Bank has recently launched a mobile application-based facility for opening a current account, thereby becoming the first bank in the country to do so.
The new facility can be used to open current accounts for all kinds of businesses in a few hours. The facility is equipped with the bank’s “Indus Corporate” mobile app and the officials can capture and verify information about customers and their businesses on a real-time basis.