Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2020

Notes:
Lieutenant General R M Vohra, a war hero of the 1971 war, recently passed away at the age of 88, after being contracted by COVID-19.
He was a Lieutenant Colonel in command of 4th Horse, the most feared tank regiments of Indian Army. He destroyed 27 enemy tanks which stopped his tanks from crossing the Basantar river. The Lt General was later awarded a Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) and his regiment was awarded the Basantar battle honour.

Notes:
South Korea recently said that North Korea has blown up the inter-Korean liaison office building, that is located north of the Korean border.
This serious incident followed the recent degradation in the relations between the two countries. North Korea has earlier threatened to engage in military action at the border with South Korea. The two countries jointly set up a liaison office at Kaesong in North Korea in 2003. The Kaesong Industrial Complex is a joint industrial zone operated by both North Koreans and South Koreans.

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:
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:
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:
Leading Indian FinTech company MobiKwik has partnered with e-commerce majors including Flipkart, Snapdeal and Confirmtkt, to promote digital ecosystem in India.
MobiKwik has introduced a new product for its partners called ‘MobiKwik Biller Stack’, using which the users of the e-Commerce platforms can pay utility bills through their application. Payment of all bills including electricity, TV, mobile recharge can be done easily through the feature, from multiple payment options.

Notes:
The World’s first Quantum communications satellite, Micius was launched by China in the year 2016. It has pioneered in the field of quantum encryption.
The satellite was seen in news recently, as it sends particles of light to Earth to establish the world’s most secure communication link. This is considered to be a milestone in the research, as long-range secure communication can be obtained without the help of traditional communication satellites. Secure long-distance links such will be the foundation of the future global network called the quantum internet.

Notes:
The State Department of Archaeology Team of the Kodumanal excavation has identified 250 cairn-circles at the village in Erode district of Tamil Nadu.
The team has recently found around 10 pots and bowls, instead of the usual 3-4 pots, placed outside three-chambered burial cists. It is expected to be of the head of the community. Pots filled with grains were placed outside the chambers as it was believed that the deceased will get a new life after death. This has revealed about the burial rituals and the belief of afterlife in megalithic culture.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs along with FICCI and two private healthcare institutes organised a webinar titled ‘National Sickle Cell Conclave’, to mark World Sickle Cell Day.
Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda addressed the webinar and announced that the government has launched a new portal with registration facility, information about the disease and various government initiatives undertaken. The Ministry has initiated ‘Action Research’ project for helping SCD patients. A report titled ‘Stepping out of the shadows – Combating Sickle Cell Disease in India’ was released.

Notes:
Plantation of Kharif, or summer-sown crops has raised 40% year-on-year, supported by the strong start of the monsoon season.
The increase in planting has been led by oilseeds particularly groundnut, which has been sown in a large area of Gujarat. Total oilseeds area is about eight times more than that of last year. Total area under cultivation has also increased to 13.13 million hectares, from 9.42 million hectares a year ago.