Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

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:
World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN’s postal agency have released a commemorative postage stamp on the 40th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox.
The 33rd World Health Assembly issued its official declaration that the world has successfully eradicate small pox, in May 1980. The smallpox eradication campaign of WHO was launched in 1967, to fast-track the global effort in eradicating the disease. The stamp commemorates the roles of world leaders, organisations, rural doctors and community health workers.

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:
According to the data released by the Registrar General of India in its Sample Registration System (SRS) bulletin based on data collected for 2018, the infant mortality rate was found to be 32 per thousand of the population. The national birth rate and death rate stood at 20 and 6.2 respectively.
Madhya Pradesh has worst infant mortality rate in the country with 48 per thousand while Nagaland has the best IMR (4). Bihar continues to top the birth rate list with Andaman and Nicobar Islands at the bottom. Chhattisgarh has the highest death rate, while Delhi has the lowest.

Notes:
Due to the outbreak of African swine fever (AFS), more than 13,000 pigs have died in the last few days in nine districts of Assam. The officials have dug a two km long canal inside Agoratoli range to prevent wild boars from going to nearby villages and domestic pigs from entering.
According to a 2019 census, the pig population in the state was 21 lakhs which has become 30 lakhs now. This outbreak has affected the livelihood of hundreds of people involved in the animal husbandry.

Notes:
The Suraksha Store initiative has been launched by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
The aim of this scheme to educate Kirana store owners across the country about safety guidelines and sanitation measures to be followed while running their businesses. Recently the Department of Consumer Affairs has partnered with tech start-ups Safejob and Seekify to leverage technology in implementing this scheme.

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:
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:
The Indian Council of Medical Research, ICMR and National Centre for Disease Control proposed to launch a population-based sero-survey at district level.
This operation is to be done in collaboration with key stakeholders and State Health Departments. It involves testing the blood serum predominantly. All population groups including outpatient attendees, pregnant women and health care workers will be tested.