Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR through its flagship New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) programme has approved a project towards development of human monoclonal antibodies (hmAbs).
The antibodies can neutralize the mutated virus SARS-CoV-2 and could be used for fighting future SARS-CoV infections. The team that is going to develop the therapeutic antibodies comprises of academic institutes and industries.

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:
Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) was established under Ministry of Home Affairs in 1970, as a think-tank with the objective of modernization of police force.
Recently BPRD released a 40-page manual titled ‘Fake News and Disinformation: How to Spot and Investigate’ to help investigators and police officers to identify fake news aimed at spreading communal hatred among the people.

Notes:
May 11 is celebrated as National Technology Day in India every year, to mark the day on which India conducted its nuclear tests at Pokhran, Rajasthan in the year 1998.
India conducted its first nuclear test, codenamed “Smiling Buddha” in 1974. In 1998, under the code name Operation Shakti, the next nuclear mission was carried out. Dr APJ Abdul Kalam led the scientific team which carried out the nuclear weapon tests on May 11. At present, India is among eight countries in the world that own a nuclear weapons program.

Notes:
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city corporation of Bengaluru has launched ‘Pranavayu programme’ to create awareness about self-examination of respiratory health for the city-dwellers.
The programme aims at educating people with low oxygen level in their blood to check themselves at an early stage. Under the programme, several advertisements are published in media about self-examination.

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 Minister for Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank recently launched the Central University of Odisha Helpline ‘Bharosa’, through a virtual platform in New Delhi.
The helpline has been launched with an aim of assisting the student community during the difficult time of COVID-19 pandemic. The Helpline Number 080 46 80 10 10, aims at redressing grievances and providing services to all the students of the University.

Notes:
Union Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Ministry has launched CHAMPIONS portal www.champions.gov.in.
It is a control room-cum-management information system aimed at assisting Indian MSMEs and solving their grievances. The ‘CHAMPIONS’ stands for Creation and Harmonious Application of Modern Processes for Increasing the Output and National Strength. It uses advanced technology like AI, Machine Learning and integrated with the Centre’s CPGRAMS grievance portal.

Notes:
A 1991 batch Karnataka cadre officer Ms. Vidyavathi has been recently appointed as the new Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
According to the order of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, the bureaucrat will be serving in the rank of Additional Secretary to the Government of India. Usha Sharma was the previous DG of ASI, that is headquartered at New Delhi.

Notes:
The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), a statutory organization under the Ministry of MSME is the implementing agency of ‘Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP).
After the Prime Minister announced to support the local products, KVIC announced a set of guidelines to fast-track the implementation of projects under the flagship program PMEGP. The concerned agencies will have to scrutinize the applications and forward it to banks within 26 days. It was also instructed to bring down the time frame to 15 days.