Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2020

Notes:
US President Donald Trump signed an act to authorise sanctions against Chinese officials over the mass incarceration of Uighur Muslims and other minorities.
The legislation requires the US administration to determine which Chinese officials are responsible for the arbitrary detention, torture and harassment of the minorities. Then, the U.S would freeze any assets held by the officials in the country and would also ban their entry into the U.S. As per some activists, over one million Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims are being homogenised in China.

Notes:
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has recently recommended former skipper IM Vijayan for the country’s fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri.
The 51-year-old legendary player served as the India striker. Since he made his debut in the early 90s, he had scored 40 goals in 79 matches for India. He was also awarded the prestigious Arjuna award in 2003. Six Indian footballers including Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chhetri have earlier won the Padma Shri award.

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati, in association with Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and a private firm has developed low-cost diagnostic kits for Covid-19.
The Viral Transport Media (VTM) kits have two transport media for collecting swabs. These unique formulation of the transport medium helps in preserving the viability of viruses for up to 72 hours at refrigerated temperatures. The institution has also developed RT-PCR kits, and RNA isolation kits. Large scale production of these kits has commenced for deploying across the state and the country.

Notes:
Recently, a team of astronomers at NASA and European Space Agency ESA have discovered a neutron star called ‘Swift J1818.0-1607’.
The neutron star has been estimated to be about 240 years old. It was first discovered in March 2020, when it released a massive burst of X-rays. Neutron stars are the smallest and densest stars. According to NASA, Swift J1818.0-1607 contains twice the mass of our Sun in a volume of more than one trillion times smaller.

Notes:
The Finance ministry has recently proposed restrictions on pension fund investments from any of India’s bordering countries, including China.
Foreign Direct investment (FDI) in pension funds, that are regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is fixed at 49 per cent under the automatic route. Till now, government permission is mandatory only for investments coming from Bangladesh and Pakistan. The draft guidelines make government permission mandatory for all bordering countries.

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:
The think tank of the Union Government, NITI Aayog has advised Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), to use an indigenously designed, developed and manufactured (IDDM) solution for its 4G network.
Earlier, the Government also urged that both BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) must not use Chinese equipment for the 4G services. BSNL has floated a 4G tender and if NITI Aayog’s recommendation is accepted, it could have an adverse impact on global telecom gear manufacturers, from both China and Europe.

Notes:
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) of Maharashtra launched ‘Mission Zero’ rapid action plan to combat Covid-19.
Under the action plan, as many as fifty dispensary vans will cover various parts of Mumbai for 2-3 weeks to carry out a preliminary examination of patients. As per the data of the Ministry of Health and Family welfare, Maharashtra stands at the top spot with maximum number of people affected by Covid-19 in the country.

Notes:
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar has recently inaugurated the India Pavilion at the Cannes Film Market 2020 virtually.
The Indian pavilion at Cannes Film Market has been jointly set up by Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The Minister also informed that the Marathi movie titled ‘Mai Ghat’ and the Gujarati movie ‘Hellaro’ are the official entrants to be showcased in the Cannes film festival this year.

Notes:
China recently announced that it will join the United Nations (UN) Arms Trade Treaty. China’s top legislative body voted to adopt a decision on joining the treaty.
Under the treaty, the member countries ought to keep records of international transfers of weapons. The members should also prohibit cross-border shipments that could be used in human rights violations. Earlier, the United States had rejected to join in the treaty, which has been designed to control the flow of weapons into conflict zones.