Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

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:
‘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:
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has been reappointed for another year as the chairperson of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee along with the existing 30 members.
The committee was first formulated as a result of Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms in the year 1921. After 1950, the committee became a parliamentary committee which functioned under the control of the Lok Sabha Speaker along with a non-official chairperson. Since 1967, the chairperson of the committee is selected from the opposition party.

Notes:
The new Prime Minister of Iraq, Mustafa al-Kadhimi assumed office after the country’s parliament approved a new government. The parliament also approved 15 ministers in a vote of confidence and seven ministries including Foreign affairs and Oil were left empty.
There has been political crisis for more than six months in the country. The two previous nominees for the role of prime minister, Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi and Adnan al-Zurfi failed to secure the required support from cabinet ministers.

Notes:
The National Anti-Doping Agency, a national organisation under the Ministry of Sports announced that it would conduct its disciplinary hearings online. It is responsible for promoting and monitoring the doping control programs in all forms of sports in India.
Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) and Anti-Doping Appeals Panel (ADAP) will start hearing cases online, due to the lockdown imposed. NADA will also launch an application to create awareness about anti-doping.

Notes:
United States Special envoy and Special Representative for Afghanistan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad recently visited India as a part of his three-nation tour including Qatar and Pakistan.
This is the first high-level foreign dignitary to travel to New Delhi since Covid-19-related travel restrictions came into effect. He met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. While providing details of peace & reconciliation efforts of the U.S. in Afghanistan, he also said that US recognises India’s contribution to Afghanistan.

Notes:
Amidst the Covid-19 outbreak, ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (ICAR-CIFT), Kochi prepared advisories for the benefit of the fishing fraternity in 10 different regional languages. ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CIFRI), Barrackpore prepared advisories for the stakeholders involved in freshwater fishing.
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), Rome has recommended these advisories by including them as ‘Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries’ under the Asia-Regional initiatives.

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 government has recently raised its gross market borrowing target for the current financial year to Rs 12 lakh crore.
As per the latest budget estimate, the target was Rs 7.8 lakh crore for the current fiscal year. The increase in the target accounts for more than 50% increase from the estimate. The decision has been taken at the backdrop of the Covid-19 outbreak that has crippled the economy. Lower tax collections and the fiscal stimulus required are the reasons for the increased borrowing.

Notes:
West Bengal supplies about 95 per cent of the jute bags used across the country, mainly in packaging of food-grains. As the lock-down has stopped the production of jute bags in the state, the Food Corporation of India faces a shortage of bags.
Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan announced that the government has allowed packaging of food-grains in used gunny sacks and plastic bags during the ongoing procurement season. A task force has been constituted by the Ministry to assess the shortage of jute bags for packaging amid the lock-down.