Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2020

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:
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:
The United Nations General Assembly has recently elected Turkish diplomat Volkan Bozkir to be its president. He is the first Turkish national to head the General Assembly.
This decision has been taken ahead of the 75th General Assembly in September. Volkan Bozkir is serving as the head of the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. He had also served as Turkey’s Minister of European Affairs and Chief Negotiator. He would assume office in September 2020 and hold the post for one year.

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:
Union Minister for Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi has recently launched SATYABHAMA (Science and Technology Yojana for Aatmanirbhar Bharat in Mining Advancement) Portal.
The portal has been launched for Science and Technology Programme Scheme of Ministry of Mines. It has been designed and implemented by National Informatics Centre (NIC), Mines Informatics Division. The portal aims to promote Research and Development in Mining and Mineral sector.

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:
Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani launched a special campaign titled ‘Empowering the Greater 50%’.
This campaign is an initiative of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and its division FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO). It seeks to create an ecosystem to support women entrepreneurship and empower as many as 1 lakh women in India over the next three years.

Notes:
According to the data from the US Treasury Department, India has become the 12th largest holder of US government securities at the end of April.
Japan stood at the first position by holding securities worth 157.4 billion dollars. It is followed by China at 1.1 trillion dollars and the UK at 368.5 billion dollars. At the end of April, India had an exposure of 157.4 billion dollars.

Notes:
Under the recently signed agreement, France committed to provide 200 million euros to India, to support the country’s response to tackle COVID-19.
The programme design has been developed by the World Bank in collaboration with the Indian authorities. It seeks to fast track the existing social protection measures of the Indian Government including the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana. The programme will provide assistance to low-income families and protect essential frontline workers.

Notes:
The Department of Economic Affairs, Finance Ministry has recently announced that there is no objection to the proposal of contributions from individuals or institutions towards the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
The proposal has been accepted based on the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The NDRF was constituted under the same act and it supplements SDRF of a state, when adequate funds are not available in SDRF in case of a severe disaster. The central government may constitute a fund to be called the NDRF for meeting any severe disaster.