Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2020

Notes:
Achyut Kashinath Sinai Usgaonkar, former Goa Minister passed away recently, at the age of 92, due to age-related ailments.
Achyut Usgaonkar was a leader of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), the oldest regional party in Goa. He served as a cabinet Minister from 1977 to 1979. Before that, he also served as the deputy speaker of Goa during the government of Dayanand Bandodkar, the first chief minister of Goa.

Notes:
Veteran economist and retired IAS officer BPR Vithal Baru passed away recently, at the age of 93, due to age-related ailments.
Vithal Baru had served in several important assignments including Secretary Finance and Planning in the state of Andhra Pradesh from 1972 to 1982 and Member of 10th Finance Commission. He had also been the Chairman of Expenditure Commission, Kerala. He also established the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Hyderabad.

Notes:
World Refugee Day is observed annually on June 20, to create awareness of the situation of refugees across the world.
The theme of this year’s observance is “Every Action Counts”. On December 4, 2000, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) decided that June 20 would be celebrated as World Refugee Day. The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol protect the refugees, who are present throughout the world.

Notes:
The United States Senate has named that veteran Indian-American scientist Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan as the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF).
NSF is a top American body, that promotes fundamental research in non-medical fields of science and engineering. The 58-year old Scientist is the Chief Research and Innovation Officer at Arizona State University, at present. He is to replace France Cordova as the 15th Director of the NSF. He is also the second Indian-American ever to be nominated for the position.

Notes:
The Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani is the world’s ninth richest billionaire on the Forbes Real-time Billionaires List.
With a net worth of $64.6 billion, he is ahead of Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The market capitalisation of Reliance Industries (RIL) crossed the Rs 11-trillion mark recently. The company also announced itself net debt free while it had net debt of Rs 1.61 trillion in March 2020. In the same month, Ambani was ranked 21st on Forbes’ annual billionaire list.

Notes:
The United Nations General Assembly designated June 21 as the ‘International Day of the Celebration of the Solstice’.
It considered that the celebration of solstice represents the unity of the cultural heritage across the world. Solstice is an event that occurs when the path of the sun stands still at a northern or southern limit before reversing direction. There are two solstices that occur annually namely the Summer Solstice around June 21 and Winter Solstice around December 21.

Notes:
The annual Ambubachi Mela at the Kamakhya temple in the state of Assam has begun, but without devotees.
The traditional rituals would only be performed in the Kamakhya temple, located atop of Nilachal Hills and is regarded as one of 51 Shakti Peeths. This is the most awaited festival among the devotees usually attracts more than 25 lakh visitors has been cancelled this year. The temple was shut for visitors since March 20, due to the Covid-19 induced restriction.

Notes:
Serbia is the first country in Europe to successfully conduct its national election in Europe during the coronavirus epidemic.
The voting, which had been initially planned for April, was postponed because of the pandemic. However, the turnout appeared lower compared to previous elections due to the fear of coronavirus. The ruling governing conservative party led by President Aleksandar Vucic is set to obtain a landslide victory.

Notes:
World Olympic Day or the International Olympic Day is celebrated across the world on June 23. It was introduced in 1948 to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games on 23 June 1894.
The objective of celebrating the Olympic Day was to promote participation in sports and games across the globe, regardless of age, gender, or other abilities. This year, the world’s largest 24 hour digital-first Olympic workout is organised, to celebrate the day virtually. The campaign is named ‘Stay Healthy, Stay Strong, Stay Active with the #Olympicday Workout On 23 June’.

Notes:
The state government of Rajasthan has signed a tripartite agreement with the Power Grid Corporation of India and the Educational Consultants India for establishing of smart classrooms.
The initiative has been taken to promote online education during the COVID-19 lockdown. As many as 100 schools are selected for setting up smart class rooms. The schools situated in remote areas and the recently selected government schools to be converted into English medium schools will be given top priority.