Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2020

Notes:
The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has recently approved Cow-Slaughter Prevention (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 by amending Cow slaughter act, 1955.
The amendments seek to protect cows and prevent crimes related to cow slaughter. The ordinance has also inserted an imprisonment provision of up to 7 years for physical damage to cow and fine up to Rs 3 lakh for cases related to cow slaughter.

Notes:
The United States has confirmed General Charles Q. Brown Jr. as the Chief of the Air Force of the country.
Charles Q. Brown is currently serving as the four-star general and is the first African-American to hold the position. The General recently opened up about his experience with racism in the United States. The Senate has unanimously confirmed the General for the post with full vote.

Notes:
As per the recent report from the State Forest department, the population of Asiatic lions in Gujarat’s Gir forest has increased by almost 29 per cent.
The exercise also found that the area inhabited by lions has increased by 36 per cent from 22,000 sq km in 2015 to 30,000 sq km in 2020, which is an increase of 36%. The increase of Asiatic lion population is possible due to the participation of local community. The Environment Ministry said that a land project being undertaken will further help in the conservation of Lions.

Notes:
The European Union has recently directed the social media sites Facebook, Google, and Twitter to provide monthly reports on their efforts to curb misinformation on their platform.
The foreign policy head of EU and the Vice President of European Commission announced this direction while addressing the prevalence of misleading news on Covid-19. They also said that the fake news will influence the economy and weaken their health measures.

Notes:
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement between governments. India is also a signatory to CITES. It seeks to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
The Environment ministry has issued rules for dealing with the import of exotic species and for assessing scale of possession within the country, as per the CITES agreement. Exotic live species are defined as plants and animals that are moved from their original habitat to a new one by human intervention.

Notes:
As per the recent statement from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Custom (CBIC), Customs duty on bamboo imports by agarbatti manufacturers has been hiked from 10 per cent to 25 per cent.
This is expected to encourage use of domestic bamboo by all industries. Earlier, only the large agarbatti manufacturers were able to import bamboo at lower rate. But due to the reduction in import, farmers as well as MSME agarbatti manufacturers would be benefitted. Moreover, uniform rate will help to prevent misuse and rate related disputes.

Notes:
India’s leading SUV and farm vehicle maker, Mahindra and Mahindra announced that it is set to exit from its US-based e- bike company GenZe.
As the firm suffered a substantial loss in the March quarter due to losses at foreign subsidiaries, it is also set to give up control of its Korean subsidiary SsangYong. The company said that it will stop investments in the loss-making SsangYong firm. Mahindra and Mahindra is also relooking all its ventures to reduce expenses.

Notes:
The United States President Donald Trump has issued an executive order authorising sanctions against individuals involved in an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo can block assets in the U.S. of ICC employees involved in the probe and also block their entry into the U.S. The investigation was held to find whether the U.S. forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan. While Afghanistan is a member of ICC, U.S. is not a member.

Notes:
A team of researchers at IIT- Kharagpur has developed a system based on artificial intelligence to track social distancing.
The cyber-physical system monitors social distancing in public places, by detecting the gap between individuals. It plays an alert sound, whenever social distancing norms mandated by the Health Ministry is violated. This is also a low-cost device, which can even be used in remote places.

Notes:
The Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has launched J&K Poultry Policy, 2020, to promote establishment of poultry units.
It has also announced a dedicated allocation of Rs. 50 crore per annum as subsidy, for establishing of broiler/layer farms and other poultry allied activities. The UT is spending about 900 crores spent on importing poultry and its products from outside. Capital investment incentive for access to credit and interest incentive are also provided to commercial poultry farms.