Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2020

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:
Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel has been appointed as Chairman of the economic think tank, the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP).
Urjit Patel will be the Chairperson of NIPFP for a four-year term from June 22, 2020. He will replace Vijay Laxman Kelkar, who had been the Chairman of the think-tank since 2014. Urjit Patel served as the Deputy Governor of RBI in 2013 and Governor of RBI from 2016 to 2018.

Notes:
Ministry of Culture is celebrating International Yoga Day 2020 by organising a campaign titled ‘Namaste Yoga’ from 19th to 21st June, 2020.
Union Minister of State for Culture Prahlad Singh Patel urged everyone to join him for a Surya Namaskar. He also asked them to post their Surya Namaskar videos on social media platforms to create health awareness among all citizens.

Notes:
The Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG) is a regional body comprising nine countries. It is an associate member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The members of EAG include Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus. Recently, Indian officials attended the virtual 32nd special EAG plenary meeting through video-conferencing, under the aegis of the Financial Action Task Force.

Notes:
The students and researchers of IIT-Bombay has recently developed a homegrown receiver chip – Dhruva.
The chip can be used in smartphones and navigation devices to find locations and routes within the country. It will receive signals from NAVIC group of navigation satellites of India, as well as the US Global Positioning System-based satellites to determine a person’s location precisely.

Notes:
China has successfully launched the last satellite of its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), onboard a Long March-3B carrier rocket.
This BDS system is claimed to be a competitor to the popular Global Positioning System (GPS) of the United States. The satellite was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Southwest China. It is the 55th in the family of BeiDou, which means “Big Dipper” in Chinese language.

Notes:
A Japanese broadcaster had reported that the Ishigaki City assembly in Okinawa, in Japan, had passed a bill to change the name of the administrative area covering the islands to Tonoshiro Senkaku from Tonoshiro.
China has recently said that it reserved the right to respond to the city’s decision to rename the area that includes remote islands claimed by both China and Japan. The disputed islands are known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China. It also warned that Japan should not interfere in Beijing’s internal affairs.

Notes:
Veteran Indian economist and Nobel-laureate Amartya Sen has won the prestigious Peace Prize of the German Book Trade.
The 86-year-old economist has been named for the award for his decades-long work on global justice and social inequality. The German Publishers and Booksellers Association, Börsenverein constituted the award. The association also mentioned Amartya Sen’s three significant concepts: ‘Human Development Index’, the ‘capabilities approach’ and the notion of ‘missing women’.

Notes:
The United States President Donald Trump has recently suspended H-1B, H-2B, J, L and other temporary work permits.
The suspension will be effective till December 31, as per the recent announcement from the White House. The President announced that the entry of additional workers through these temporary Visa programs presents a threat to employment opportunities for Americans affected by the economic damages caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

Notes:
The Japanese supercomputer, Fugaku has been recently named the fastest super computer in the Top500 list, which ranks the most powerful benchmarked supercomputers in the world.
It is powered by chipsets from Advanced RISC Machines (ARM). This marks the first time an ARM-based supercomputer to ever top the list. It also marks the first time Japan has taken the top place since 2011. It is followed by IBM’s Summit supercomputer and IBM’s Sierra supercomputer.