Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

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:
In a recent move, the Centre hiked the duties on petrol and diesel steeply and raised it to Rs 10 and Rs 13 per litre, respectively. It was also announced that there will be no change in the retail prices as the hike will be absorbed by the Oil Marketing companies.
Among the total hike, the Road and infrastructure cess will go the revenue of the Centre only whereas the special additional excise duty will be passed on to all states through devolution at 42%. This decision has been taken at the backdrop of falling crude oil prices in the global market and lower demand during the lock-down.

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:
The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath has recently launched the ‘Pravasi Rahat Mitra’ application, which aims at incoming aiding migrant citizens.
The application has been developed by the state revenue department in collaboration with United Nation Development Program. The application collects data of the migrant workers, which will be used in formulating programs for employment and livelihood of these citizens. The application will also monitor their health status.

Notes:
Coir Board, a statutory body under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has recently signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, to establish a Centre of Excellence for Coir Applications.
As per the announcement of the MSME Ministry, Coir Board will provide a financial assistance of five crore rupees for two years for the establishment and running of the Centre of Excellence. The Centre will take up and develop the Research and Development work done in the coir sector.

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:
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:
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:
China recently won the inaugural $180,000 FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup, whereas India settled in the fifth place.
On the basis of highest points in the round-robin stage, China was declared the winner as it drew 2-2 against USA, which bagged the second position. China won $48,000, USA $36,000 and others received $24,000 each. Representing India, Humpy won Olga Girya and P. Harikrishna drew with Sergey Karjakin.

Notes:
As per the recent analysis of World Economic Forum, the CO2 emissions of India have dropped for the first time in over 40 years.
WEF highlighted that the fall in emissions is due to the economic slowdown and growth in the renewable energy sector. Emissions dipped by around 1% in the fiscal year 2019-20. In the month of March, the emissions fell by 15% and it is expected to have fallen 30% in April 2020. As the pandemic has cut the electricity demand, coal consumption also flatlined.