Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2020

Notes:
Leading payments bank of India, Airtel Payments Bank has recently launched a salary account for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).
Named as the ‘Suraksha Salary’ account, it will enable MSMEs and other organisations to make cashless payments. It also provides Hospicash Insurance and Personal Accidental insurance cover. As of now, it is only available to new customers and will be extended to existing account holders soon.

Notes:
The co-founder and chief executive of digital music platform Qyuki Digital Media, Samir Bangara, recently passed away following a motorcycle accident.
Samir Bangara had served as Managing Director (Digital) at Disney India, before joining the start-up firm Qyuki. In 2012, Director Shekhar Kapur and Oscar-winning musician AR Rahman launched Qyuki in Mumbai. Samir also played an instrumental role in the sale of Indiagames firm to Disney.

Notes:
As per the recent report of the Sweden-based think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), China is developing a nuclear triad for the first time, made up of new land and sea-based missiles and nuclear-capable aircraft.
The report also highlighted that Indi and China have increased their nuclear capacities over the last year. It said that China and Pakistan have more nuclear warheads as compared to India as China has 320 nuclear warheads and India and Pakistan has 150 and 160 respectively.

Notes:
The investment arm of NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development), NABVENTURES Fund I has made its first investment in rural fintech start-up Jai Kisan.
NABVENTURES was launched in May 2019 with a proposed corpus of over ₹500 crore. The investment was made in the Mumbai-based start-up as part of a ₹30 crore funding round. Jai Kisan plans to invest the capital for hiring personnel and investing in its technology platform.

Notes:
Russia is to conduct a military parade in Moscow on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of their victory in the Second World War.
The Defence Minister of Russia has invited an Indian contingent to take part in the Victory Day Parade scheduled to be held on June 24, 2020 in Moscow. It was originally scheduled on the occasion of the Victory Day – May 9, but later postponed due to Covid-19. India is sending a 75-member Tri-Service contingent to participate in the parade.

Notes:
As per the official confirmation, the US Open tennis championships will be held as scheduled in the month of August.
The championships will be held without spectators, in Queens, New York from August 31 to September 13. The New York Governor Andrew Cuomo formally gave approval to the event. There was uncertainty around the tournament, as the location is the epicentre of Covid-19 crisis in the US. Safety procedures and sanitation protocols would be followed.

Notes:
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi launched the auction process for 41 coal blocks for commercial mining, to open coal sector of India to private players.
The Ministry of Coal in association with FICCI launched the process of auction under the provisions of Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act and Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act. The auction is expected to invite Rs 33,000 crore of capital investment in the country over next five to seven years.

Notes:
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan has recently launched India’s first mobile lab for COVID-19 testing to promote last mile testing access in rural India.
The Infectious Disease Diagnostic Lab (I-LAB) has been launched with the support of the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, under the COVID command strategy. This mobile lab will be deployed in the remote and inaccessible parts of the country. It can perform 25 RT-PCR tests and 300 ELISA tests per day.

Notes:
Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro announced that his book titled ‘Klara and the Sun’ will be released in March 2021. He is a British novelist born in Japan.
The theme of the book is ‘what does it mean to love’. This is the first novel by Kazuo Ishiguro since he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. His previous literary works have earned several prestigious awards including the Booker Prize. He has also won the highest honorary awards from France and Japan.

Notes:
Technology major Facebook has recently acquired Swedish mapping technology company Mapillary, as per official sources.
Mapillary crowd-sources the images, collects pictures contributed from smart phones and other types of cameras. It then uses computer vision technology to stack them together into a real-time 3-D map. This technology is expected to support Facebook products under development like augmented reality glasses and virtual reality headsets.