Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2020

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has recently launched an endowment fund.
The ‘IIM Ahmedabad Endowment Fund’ has been launched with an initial commitment of Rs 100 crore from 10 founding alumni. It aims to raise Rs 1,000 crore over a period of five years. The fund, which is to be managed by an independent committee including initial alumni contributors, will help in promoting growth of the institute.

Notes:
Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister has approved a scheme for interest subvention of 2% to all Shishu loan accounts under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY).
The subvention is applicable to eligible borrowers, for a period of 12 months. The scheme will incentivize people who will make regular repayments of loans. The estimated cost of the Scheme would be approximately Rs. 1542 crore, which would be provided by the Union Government. Loans for activities up to Rs. 50,000 are termed as Shishu loans.

Notes:
Washington-headquartered International Monetary Fund releases its flagship report titled ‘World Economic Outlook (WEO)’.
In the recent forecast report, the International Monetary Fund has estimated that the economy is expected to contract by -4.5 per cent, in the fiscal year 2020. IMF has also projected that the Indian economy will bounce back in 2021-22 with a growth rate of around 6%, though it is lower than the 7.4% growth predicted in April.

Notes:
Indian Railways has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with RailTel for installing video surveillance at over 6000 stations, across the country.
RailTel is a public sector undertaking (PSU) operating under the aegis of the Ministry of Railway. The IP-based video surveillance system will be provided at 6,049 railway stations, under specific categories of the Indian Railways. Existing standalone CCTV network would also be integrated with the video surveillance system.

Notes:
The United Nations has launched the “Alliance for Poverty Eradication”. India has recently become a founding member of the Alliance.
The President of the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly Tijjani Muhammad-Bande announced the alliance in an informal meeting. He will formally launch the ‘Alliance for Poverty Eradication’ on June 30, which aims to provide a platform for member states to boost global economy after the effects of COVID-19 pandemic.

Notes:
Every year, 25 June is celebrated as the “Day of the Seafarer”, to recognise the contribution of seafarers in international trade and the global economy.
The Day of the Seafarer was first celebrated in 2011 after it was designated by a resolution in the Conference of Parties to the International Convention (STCW), held in Philippines, in 2010. The theme of the Day of the Seafarer is ‘Seafarers are Key Workers’.

Notes:
Monaco-based World Athletics has launched ‘Road to Tokyo’, an online tool to track the qualification process for next year’s Olympic Games.
The Tokyo Olympics were postponed in March and is scheduled to be held from July 23 to August 8, 2021. The qualification system is adapted to fit in the new dates of the games. The online tool will provide a real time view of each event during the Tokyo 2020 qualification period which ends on June 29, 2021.

Notes:
The Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel announced a tree planting campaign called Sankalp Parva.
The Minister said that the campaign follows the Prime Minister’s announcement to plant five trees either in Office campus or any other place, to improve the environment of the country. The Ministry has decided to celebrate Sankalp Parva from 28th June to 12 July 2020. All its offices, attached institutions would also participate in this campaign.

Notes:
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has released its first report on “Money laundering and illegal wildlife trade”.
In the first global report, illegal wildlife trade has been described as a ‘global threat’, which also has links with other organised crimes like slavery, drug trafficking and arms trade. As per the report, the illegal trade is estimated to generate revenues of up to USD 23 billion a year. It also highlighted that legislative changes were necessary to apply the laws to illegal wildlife trade-linked offences.

Notes:
Veteran Opposition leader of Ireland Micheál Martin has been named as the next Prime Minister of the country, by the Parliament.
The 59-year-old leader took charge as the Prime Minister, to head the first coalition uniting the two prime parties. Micheál Martin had earlier held several important ministries including health, trade, foreign affairs and education.