Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2020

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 Union Government has approved 445 crore rupees for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Chhattisgarh during 2020-21, to provide tap connections to 20 lakh households.
The aim of Jal Jeevan Mission is to provide potable drinking water on a long-term basis to every rural household of the country by 2024. During the Union Budget 2020, 3.6 lakh crores has been allocated for this scheme. The migrant labourers returned to Chhattisgarh will be involved in the jobs related to water supply.

Notes:
The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) has recently recommended the appointment for the top-level position of three public sector banks.
The BBB recommended the appointment of Ashwani Bhatia as the next Managing Director of State Bank of India. Ashwani Bhatia is currently the Deputy Managing Director in SBI. The Board also recommended the appointment of Matam Venkat Rao as the MD & CEO of Central Bank of India and PP Sengupta as the MD & CEO of Indian Overseas Bank.

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:
The Union Government has recently launched a new micro-credit facility scheme named PM SVANIDHI – Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor’s Atmanirbhar Nidhi.
Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry launched the scheme, which aims to provide affordable loans to street vendors. The duration of the scheme is till March 2022 and is expected to benefit over 50 lakh street vendors. The vendors can avail a working capital loan of up to Rs 10000, which is repayable in monthly instalments in one-year tenure.

Notes:
Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal has recently launched ‘Delhi Corona’ app for real-time information on availability of hospital beds.
The dedicated application would display the availability of beds at both private and government hospitals in the city, available at any particular time. Moreover, the app will also provide redressal of complaints related to refusal of hospitals in admitting COVID-19 positive patients.

Notes:
Veteran Bureaucrat and 1999-batch IAS officer, Brajendra Navnit has been appointed as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India (PRI) to the World Trade Organisation for a period of three years.
He had been the Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office prior to this appointment and will be posted at the Permanent Mission of India (PMI) to the WTO in Geneva. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet also gave a nod to the appointment of IRTS officer Anwar Hussain Shaik for the post of Counsellor, at the PMI to WTO, Geneva for three years.

Notes:
The largest state-owned natural gas processing and distribution company, GAIL (India) and Energy Efficiency Services have signed a MoU for cooperation in development of Trigeneration projects in India.
In Trigeneration or Combined Cooling, Heat and Power (CCHP) projects, natural gas-fired generators are used to produce electricity. Under the MoU, the two companies will jointly explore business opportunities in Trigeneration segment, where 50:50 joint venture between GAIL & EESL will be incorporated.

Notes:
World Environment Day is celebrated on June 5 every year by the United Nations, to encourage awareness and environmental protection.
The theme of World Environment 2020 is ‘Celebrating biodiversity’. The day will be hosted in Colombia in partnership with Germany. It is reported that about one million species facing extinction, as of now. In India, Housing & Urban Affairs Ministry releases series of advisories during a programme ‘Saving Biodiversity through Effective Waste Management’.

Notes:
Union External Affairs Minister of India S Jaishankar launched the country’s ‘Panchsheel’ principles for its campaign to secure an elected seat at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
The Panchsheel (Five Principles) includes Samman (respect), Samvad (dialogue), Sahyog (cooperation), Shanti (peace) and Samriddhi (prosperity). The elections are scheduled to be held on June 17, this year. India is the only endorsed candidate of the Asia-Pacific Group. Once selected, this would be the 8th term for India at the UNSC.