Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
Bombay High court recently quashed a clause in the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations, 2010, which converted permanent posts to term posts of five years. Hereafter, the Principals can serve beyond 5 years and continue to hold their posts till retirement.
Recently, the UGC also released guidelines for examinations and academic calendar for universities, as the regular sessions may be affected amidst the Covid-19 outbreak. As per the guidelines, the academic session for freshers may begin in September and session for enrolled students in August.

Notes:
The Task Force on National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) submitted its Final Report for FY 2019-25 to the Union Finance Minister. The summary report was released in December last year.
The National Infrastructure Pipeline was announced during the 2019-20 budget. The exercise aims to invest Rs. 100 lakh crore on infrastructure of the country over the next five years. The Final Report of NIP Task Force projects total infrastructure investment of Rs 111 lakh crore during the period FY 2020-25.

Notes:
The United States has placed 10 countries including India on the ‘Priority Watch List’ for lack of sufficient improvements to its intellectual property framework.
The US placed 10 countries, including India and China, and alleged that enforcement of the intellectual properties have weakened or remained inadequate in those countries. The US also highlighted that because of the weak IP enforcement, Americans find it difficult to have an equitable market access.

Notes:
The International Labour Organization has recently released a report titled ‘ILO Monitor third edition: COVID-19 and the world of work’.
In the report, it is said that almost 1.6 billion workers in the informal economy, which is about half of the global workforce, face an immediate danger of losing their livelihoods due to the continued lock-down imposed. Out of 3.3 billion workers, 2 billion have vulnerable jobs under informal economy.

Notes:
International Astronomy Day is celebrated twice a year, during autumn and spring. The Astronomy Day 2020 is celebrated on May 2 and the next edition of this year on September 26, 2020.
The President of the Astronomical Association of Northern California had organised the celebration of first Astronomy Day in 1973. The objective of celebrating this day is to inculcate the awareness about the universe and the field of astronomy.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation along with Directorate General of Civil Aviation has launched a portal named GARUD (Government Authorisation for Relief Using Drones).
The portal has been launched with an aim of providing fast-track exemptions to government agencies for drone operations associated with Covid-19 response. However, the Ministry also warned about penal action and cancellation of exemption if the provisions are violated.

Notes:
Mumbai based think tank, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) has recently released its report on unemployment rates of the country in various parts.
As per the report, unemployment rate of India has risen to 27.11% for the week ended May 3, against 7% in the month of March. The monthly unemployment rate is 23.52% in April. It also highlighted that the unemployment rate was the highest in urban areas and the lowest in hilly areas.

Notes:
The state government of Uttar Pradesh has recently launched a mobile application called ‘Ayush Kavach-Covid’, which has been developed the Ministry of AYUSH.
The application was launched with an aim of providing health remedies and measures to boost immunity in the process of fighting Covid-19. The app provides a lot of information authorised by the AYUSH Ministry about the medicinal properties of certain ingredients. It also enables the users to seek advice from experts in the AYUSH field.

Notes:
Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJK) which functions under the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers have started accepting the orders for medicines on WhatsApp and e-mail. The prescriptions uploaded online are delivered at the doorsteps of the users.
Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) was launched with an aim of providing quality generic medicines to the people at affordable rates. At present there are over 6300 PMBJKs operating in 726 districts across the country.

Notes:
‘Long March 5B’ is the flagship launch vehicle of China and it is a variant of the standard Long March 5 rocket, which had its inaugural flight in 2016.
It was seen in news recently, as the rocket launched a prototype crewed spacecraft from the Hainan island. This new-generation spacecraft entered its predetermined orbit 488 seconds after the launch. This success is expected to let China proceed with a mission to send an orbiter and rover to Mars.