Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
The state government of Himachal Pradesh announced that it will launch an initiative called ‘Nigah’, that aims to impart awareness among the family members of people coming to the state from other parts of the country.
The health care workers, ASHA and Anganwadi workers would be deployed in this scheme, to create awareness in maintain social distancing and hygiene during the home quarantine period. The houses of the persons returned would be labelled and members of Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies are asked to ensure proper implementation of the scheme.

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:
The state government of Tamil Nadu has recently raised the retirement age of State Government employees to 59 from 58.
The Government order comes to force with immediate effect, as per the notification released. This order will also apply to all teachers in government and government-aided schools and colleges, and employees working in State public sector undertakings.

Notes:
NITI Aayog and the Department of Biotechnology have launched the Consortium for Affordable & Rapid Diagnostics (CARD) project.
The project aims to scale up India’s capacity to make coronavirus testing kits. The primary goal is to manufacture at least 10 million rapid antibody tests for Covid-19 by July. It also aims to expand RT-PCR test kits in India. The announcement has come after quality issues faced with Chinese-made antibody testing kits.

Notes:
‘Mukhyamantri Yuba Yogayog Yojana’ is a welfare scheme of the state of Tripura. It was seen in news as the state’s Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb launched an online portal scholarships.gov.in as a part of the scheme.
Under the scheme, the students who are in final year in colleges or Universities can apply through the portal and the state government will provide Rs. 5,000 as a grant for smart phone. More than 14000 students will be benefitted by this scheme.

Notes:
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has recently extended the term of Bollywood star and environmentalist Dia Mirza, as its National Goodwill Ambassador for another two years.
Dia Mirza is also an advocate of United Nations Sustainability Development Goals. She was famous for her #BeatPlasticPollution campaign when she was the UNEP Goodwill ambassador for the first time.

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:
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:
India International Exchange Limited (India INX) is India’s first international stock exchange located in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) city and is a subsidiary of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
Recently the Union Finance Minister launched INR-USD futures and options contracts on the two international exchanges — BSE’s India INX and NSE’s NSE-IFSC, at GIFT city, Gandhinagar. This decision of allowing rupee derivatives will bring the rupee trading to our country, which are presently dominated by exchanges in Dubai and Singapore.

Notes:
The Union Defence Ministry has signed a contract with Mumbai based power company Tata Power for infrastructure modernisation of 37 airfields.
The airfields of the Indian Air Force, Coast Guard and the Navy are to be modernised at a cost of around Rs 1,200 crore. This is the second phase of the Modernisation of Airfield Infrastructure (MAFI) programme while during the first phase the airfields of the Indian Air Force were upgraded. This project would facilitate the operations of aircrafts in poor weather conditions.