Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
French cybersecurity researcher and ethical hacker Robert Baptiste who writes in the pseudonym Elliot Alderson on Twitter, warned about the security issues in the Aarogya Setu application. He also explained how the application could be manipulated to retrieve data of people infected in a given area.
As per the recent announcement of the Indian government, more than 90 million people have downloaded the application. However, the team of Aarogya Setu assured that no data or security breach has been identified.

Notes:
Union Health Minister along with the Union AYUSH Minister launched the clinical research studies on Ayurveda interventions as an add-on to the standard care in tackling COVID 19. This will be a joint initiative of Ministry of AYUSH, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Science & Technology through CSIR.
They also launched the Ayush Sanjivani application developed by the AYUSH Ministry, with an aim of generating data on acceptance and usage of AYUSH recommendations among the public and record their impact in prevention of COVID 19.

Notes:
Recently, the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) designed and produced by the Indian Navy has been certified for mass production and clinical usage.
The PPE has been developed by the team of Innovation Cell, Institute of Naval Medicine, Mumbai and the Naval Dockyard Mumbai. INMAS (Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences) Delhi, an authorised DRDO organization has tested and certified the PPE. The benchmarks of testing are set by the ICMR and the Health Ministry.

Notes:
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently inaugurated the strategically important Ghatiabagar-Lipulekh motor road.
The road connects the last Indian post on the Indo-China border in Uttarakhand’s Vyas valley. The construction of the road commenced in 2008 and was scheduled to be completed in 2013, but it was delayed due to the tough terrain. The Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra from Lipulekh pass is more convenient for pilgrims, after the road has been commissioned.

Notes:
As a part of the humanitarian aid and disaster relief (HADR) outreach of the Indian Navy, the armed force has deployed five of its biggest amphibious warfare vessels on a mission to provide essential supplies to friendly Indian Ocean Region (IOR) countries.
Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kesari, INS Jalashwa, INS Magar, INS Airawat and INS Shardul are deployed in the operations. On their return journey some of them will bring back the stranded Indian nationals in those countries.

Notes:
The Sunderbans delta, which is spread over India and Bangladesh, is the only mangrove forest in the world inhabited by tigers.
According to the latest estimation conducted by the West Bengal Forest Department, the count of tigers has increased by 8 in 2019-20 to 96, from 88 in the previous year. The increase was significant as this is the biggest annual jump ever reported from the Sundarbans, which is a world heritage site and a Ramsar site.

Notes:
Moody’s Investors Service has recently projected India’s growth at zero per cent for the current fiscal 2020-21.
It had estimated a growth of 4.8 per cent for the last fiscal year. Last month the ratings agency estimated that the Indian economy would grow at 0.2 per cent. It had also provided a ‘Baa2’ rating for India, which represents moderate credit risk. It also said that India would regain its growth rate at 6.6 per cent in the 2021-22 fiscal.

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:
The World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated on May 9 every year, across the world. The theme of the World Migratory Bird Day 2020 is ‘Birds Connect Our World’.
The day is celebrated to raise awareness about conservation and ecological importance of migratory birds in the global ecosystem. The day was first introduced in the year 2006 and since then several awareness events and bird watching events for bird enthusiasts will be conducted on the day.

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.