Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2020

Notes:
Global ratings agency Fitch Ratings has estimated that India’s economy would bounce back with a steep growth rate of 9.5 per cent in the next fiscal year.
Earlier, Fitch ratings had forecasted that the GDP growth of India would contract at 5 percent in the ongoing fiscal year starting April 2020. It has also highlighted that 9.5 % growth is possible only if the country avoids further deterioration in financial sector health.

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 Coral Triangle Day is held every June 9 across the world. Coral Triangle is the ocean spread across 6 countries in the Asia-Pacific region: Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste, also called the “CT6” countries.
The day is celebrated by all countries which are benefitted by the rich marine resources of the Coral Triangle. It is also one of the 3 great ecological complexes in our planet, along with the Congo Basin and the Amazon Rainforest.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted an internal working group to review the guidelines on ownership and corporate structure of private sector banks.
The working group will be headed by PK Mohanty, an Executive Director at RBI. The group will examine the licensing guidelines of banking and regulations on ownership of private sector banks. It will also review the regulations on holding of financial subsidiaries through a non-operative financial holding company.

Notes:
Research institute of Brazil, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) has announced that the Amazon rainforest witnessed deforestation of 829 sq km in May 2020.
This is the highest monthly level of deforestation observed in the forest since 2015. The institute also announced that deforestation increased by 91 sq km compared to the same period last year. The Prime Minister of Brazil is advocating for farming and mining in protected areas to improve economy.

Notes:
Young Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput was recently found dead at his residence, at the age of 34. Sushant was known for his acclaimed performances in films such as MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Sonchiriya, Kai Po Che, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! among others.
The policy think-tank of the Indian government, NITI Aayog signed him to promote the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) in the year 2018.

Notes:
A 500-year-old ancient temple of Lord Vishnu that was submerged in Odisha’s Mahanadi river during 19th century has reappeared after 15 years.
The river is said to have been submerged due to change of course of the river. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage’s archaeological survey team visited the village in Nayagarh district and said that the top of the Gopinath Dev temple was visible due to the reduction in the water-level of the river.

Notes:
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has launched ‘e-Office’ application in over 500 GST and customs offices.
The application has been developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). This will enable the automation of internal processes of handling files that have been handled manually and help improve e-governance. Over 50000 officers and staff will use this application.

Notes:
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Embassy, Nepal’s Ministry of Federal Affairs & General Administration and Kathmandu Metropolitan City for the construction of the sanitation facility at the Pashupatinath Temple of Nepal.
The famous temple is also listed under the UNESCO World Heritage site. India has pledged to construct a Rs 2.33 crore sanitation facility at the Temple complex to improve the infrastructure for the pilgrims.

Notes:
Technology Giant Microsoft has recently launched a new feature called ‘Teams for Education’, to support online education.
The new feature seeks to engage and prepare students and teachers for new remote learning ecosystem. It also has an expanded audience view of up to 49 participants, custom backgrounds and virtual breakout rooms among others. Students can digitally raise their hands during class meetings in the feature.