Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2020

Notes:
Major technology company IBM has dropped facial recognition software amid racial profiling concerns.
The Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna has notified the US Congress that IBM is not offering its the general-purpose facial recognition or analysis software any more. It also firmly opposes the technology that is used for mass surveillance, racial profiling and violations of basic human rights.

Notes:
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is the most massive project of Ethiopia at a cost of USD 4.6 billion.
The dam is located on the Blue Nile and its construction began in the year 2011. Recently the Nile basin countries Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan resumed negotiations. Egypt fears that the project will constrict its water supply while Ethiopia desires to become a major power exporter. Sudan has urged the two countries for negotiations.

Notes:
Veteran economist and former member of the Planning Commission, A.Vaidyanathan recently passed away.
He served as a Chairperson of the Government of India Task Force on Revival of Cooperative Credit Institutions in 2004. He joined the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in 1956. He also served in the Food and Agricultural Organisation, Rome. He played a crucial role in developing India’s statistical system and the National Sample Survey.

Notes:
The Union Government has recently constituted an Empowered Group of Secretaries to facilitate investment in the country.
The committee, which is to be headed by the Cabinet Secretary, will identify potential investors and help in accelerating investment in key sectors of the economy. The committee will also recommend specific incentive packages for both domestic and foreign investors. The 7-member empowered group has CEO of NITI Aayog along with secretaries of DPIIT, Commerce, Revenue and Economic Affairs as its members.

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:
The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Anil Baijal has constituted an Expert Advisory Committee to advise Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) related to COVID-19 management in Delhi.
The committee would advise on the challenges being faced in Delhi, suggest measures to develop medical infrastructure and to integrate measures of multiple agencies for effective curbing of Covid-19. The committee has Director General of ICMR and Director of AIIMS are among the members of the committee.

Notes:
The Union Government has launched a new healthcare supply chain portal called ‘Aarogyapath’. The portal has been launched by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
The objective of the portal is to provide real-time availability of critical healthcare supplies for manufacturers, suppliers and customers. As per the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, the public platform can help customers in knowing about critical healthcare supplies.

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:
‘International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR)’ is celebrated on June 16, every year across the world.
The United Nations General Assembly declared IDFR to be celebrated on June 16. The day also recognizes the contribution of over 200 million migrants to improve the lives of their 800 million family members. The impact of the remittances on households, communities and countries is also focussed.

Notes:
Facebook owned social media major WhatsApp has launched its ‘WhatsApp Pay’ for the first time in Brazil.
Two years ago, WhatsApp began testing the payments service in India, which enables users to send and receive money. However, the plan could not be materialised due to regulatory issues. WhatsApp has designed the payment system with a special six-digit PIN or fingerprint authorisation to prevent unauthorised transactions.