Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
World Dance day has been celebrated every year on April 29, to commemorate the birth anniversary of the creator of modern ballet type of dance, Jean-Georges Noverre.
The day was created by the Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute (ITI), which is the main partner for the performing arts of UNESCO. Every year, ITI selects an outstanding dance personality to write a message for the day. This year the Message author is Gregory Vuyani MAQOMA, a dancer from South Africa.

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:
The Reserve Bank of India launched a Rs 50,000-crore scheme which enables banks to extend liquidity support to Mutual Funds, called Special Liquidity Facility for Mutual Funds SLF-MF scheme.
This was introduced at the backdrop of the shutting down of six debt funds of Franklin Templeton Mutual Funds. Recently, the RBI extended the benefits of the scheme to all banks, irrespective of whether they avail funding from the Reserve Bank or deploy their own resources.

Notes:
The monthly Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) is a production volume index. ICI performance of production in selected eight core industries namely Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel, Cement and Electricity.
Recently, ICI was in news as during the April-March 2019-20 period, core industries recorded 0.6 percent growth, whereas it was 4.4 percent during the same period in 2018-19. Also, the output of eight core infrastructure industries contracted by 6.5 percent in March.

Notes:
Partnerships for Affordable Healthcare Access and Longevity (PAHAL) is a collaborative project between the aid agency of US, USAID and New Delhi based company IPE Global.
US announced that it will provide an assistance of $3 million to India, in addition to the earlier assistance of $5.9 million, for tackling the spread of Covid-19. Through the PAHAL project, USAID will support the National Health Authority to assist health facilities enrolled under PMJAY by mobilising resources.

Notes:
Veteran author and historian Ronald Vivian Smith also known as RV Smith passed away recently in Delhi, at the age of 82.
RV Smith was known for chronicling Delhi, including its streets and monuments and authored books including ‘Delhi That No One Knows’ and ‘Capital Vignettes’. He has also worked for the Press Trust of India and The Statesman, Delhi. He won various awards in the field of journalism.

Notes:
The Election Commission of India (ECI) recently granted permission for holding elections to the Legislative Council (MLCs) in Maharashtra.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is not a member of either house of the State Legislature and he should be elected to the Council before May 27. The ECI granted permission to hold the elections before the deadline of May 27. The election process for these nine seats was withheld in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Notes:
As per the recent statement of U.N. World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Ozone depletion has hit the highest level, which is the highest level since 2011.
The WMO also highlighted that the hole has now been closed. As per the spokesperson, the ‘springtime phenomenon’ in the northern hemisphere was caused by ozone depleting substances in atmosphere and cold winter in stratosphere. But this phenomenon is not due to the pandemic.

Notes:
A black rice variety of Manipur called Chak-Hao has recently bagged the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
Chak-Hao is an aromatic glutinous rice variety which has been cultivated in Manipur. It is also used traditional medical practitioners. It also has the longest cooking time due to its fibrous bran layer and higher crude fibre content. The terracotta work of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradsh a centuries-old traditional art form, also bagged the G.I tag.

Notes:
Iran ranks first in the world, in terms of production of saffron and India is a close competitor. Kashmir saffron has received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag recently. It is cultivated and harvested in the Karewa (highlands) of Jammu and Kashmir.
The unique characteristics of Kashmir saffron are its longer and thicker stigmas, natural deep-red colour and high quantity of crocin, safranal and picrocrocin, among others. It is the only saffron variety in the world that is grown at an altitude of 1,600 m to 1,800 m above mean sea level.