Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
Global Information Technology giant Google has recently announced the launch of its mobile application ‘Read Along’ in over 180 countries and in 9 languages.
The application was initially launched in India in the name of ‘Bolo’ along with an in-app reading buddy named Diya. The Read Along app uses Google’s speech recognition technology to develop reading skills of young children along the globe.

Notes:
The first Nobel Peace Prize Henri Dunant of Switzerland for founding the International Red Cross Movement and initiating the Geneva Convention.
World Red Cross Day or World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day is celebrated on May 8 every year, which marks the birth anniversary of Henry Dunant. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) established by him, works for the welfare of the people across the world.

Notes:
Several states in India including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Goa have relaxed the provision of the Factories Act, 1948 and increased the working hours of labourers, after facing a shortage of workers following the lock-down.
Recently, Odisha and Maharashtra labour departments exempted their industries from four sections of the Factories Act, 1948, related to working hours of the staff, till June 30. Uttar Pradesh suspended key labour laws for three years through an ordinance. With the approved exemption, employers can allow labourers to work in two shifts of 12 hours each.

Notes:
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory based at Hyderabad, Research Centre Imarat (RCI), has developed an automated sanitisation cabinet, called Defence Research Ultraviolet Sanitiser (DRUVS).
The sanitiser uses the UV-C type of light to sanitise currency notes, electronic gadgets and paper. The significant feature of the sanitiser is its contactless operation, which will help in containing the spread of infection.

Notes:
The Government of India has recently issued a set of guidelines to be followed for data processing of Aarogya Setu app users.
As per the new rules, the storage of data beyond 180 days is prohibited and users can seek deletion of their data from the government’s records within 30 days of request. The new norms allow collection of only demographic, contact, self-assessment and location data of infected persons and their contacts. Any violation of these directions may lead to penalties under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Notes:
The Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar recently launched integration of 117 additional wholesale mandis with the electronic National Agriculture Market (eNAM) platform.
After the integration, the total number of online mandis became 962, across the country against the target of 1000 mandis before May 15. In the e-NAM platform, distant bidding facility for wholesale produce in APMC mandis without physical presence of buyer or trader and e-payment facility are provided.

Notes:
Betty Wright, the Grammy winner recently passed away in her hometown Miami, Florida, as per her family sources.
The singer’s real name was Bessie Regina Norris and she was born in 1953. She started her singing career in a musical group called the ‘Echoes of Joy’. The biggest hit of her career was the album named “Clean Up Woman”, which was released when she was eighteen. She won her first Grammy Award for her song, “Where is the Love?”, at the age of 23. She continued her song writing and music production for several years.

Notes:
Legendary racer from Germany, Sebastian Vettel is set to leave Ferrari at the end of 2020 F1 season, as per the recent statement from Ferrari.
The 32-year-old racer and four times world champion is yet to break the record by another legend Michael Schumacher in winning multiple Formula One titles with Ferrari. Vettel is one of the highest-paid drivers and has so far won 14 races for Ferrari.

Notes:
According to the latest Transparency Report released by Facebook, government requests for user data increased by 9.5% during the second half of 2019. United States topped the list with 51,121 requests for user data. It is followed by India and UK.
The report also revealed that India topped the list for internet disruption affecting Facebook services during both the first and second half of 2019, accounting for 40 disruptions. Also, the number of user data requests from the Indian government to Facebook increased 28% during the second half of 2019.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray and eight other candidates were recently declared to be elected unopposed to the State Legislative Council.
Uddhav Thackeray, who was sworn in as the Chief Minister on November 28 last year, required to become a member of either Houses of the state legislature before May 27, 2020. The eight other candidates also include Council Deputy Chairperson Dr Neelam Gorhe among others. They would be officially sworn-in after the official notification is released.