Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
New York based Global rating agency Moody’s Investors Service, also known as Moody’s has recently slashed the GDP growth rate of India to 0.2 per cent in 2020-21, which is the lowest estimate made for the country till date after Covid-19 pandemic.
It has previously decreased the growth rate from the estimate of 5.2% to 2.5%, after the first nation-wide lockdown has been imposed by the Government on March 24. However, it predicts that India would grow at 6.2 per cent in 2021-22.

Notes:
India’s leading private sector lender Axis Bank recently announced that it would acquire an additional 29 per cent stake in Max Life Insurance, its joint venture with Max Financial Services (MFS).
This acquisition will raise the total stake of Axis bank to 30 per cent. The remaining 70% will be held by Max Financial Services. Prior to this agreement, about 25.5 per cent in the Max Life Insurance was owned by Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance.

Notes:
For the year 2020, Russia is the Chair of the BRICS bloc, which has 5 members namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Recently, Russia chaired the BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting on coronavirus, conducted through video conferencing. Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also participated in the virtual meeting. The representatives discussed on the significance of joint vaccine production and strategic partnerships within the BRICS.

Notes:
Former finance secretary Rajiv Kumar has been recently appointed as the chairperson of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), for a period of three years. He replaces Kapil Dev Tripathi who has recently named the Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind.
PESB is a high-powered body constituted by the Government of India, under Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension, to advise Government on appointments of top management posts in Central Public Sector Enterprises.

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:
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:
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:
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:
‘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.

Notes:
In a recent move, the Centre hiked the duties on petrol and diesel steeply and raised it to Rs 10 and Rs 13 per litre, respectively. It was also announced that there will be no change in the retail prices as the hike will be absorbed by the Oil Marketing companies.
Among the total hike, the Road and infrastructure cess will go the revenue of the Centre only whereas the special additional excise duty will be passed on to all states through devolution at 42%. This decision has been taken at the backdrop of falling crude oil prices in the global market and lower demand during the lock-down.