Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation along with Directorate General of Civil Aviation has launched a portal named GARUD (Government Authorisation for Relief Using Drones).
The portal has been launched with an aim of providing fast-track exemptions to government agencies for drone operations associated with Covid-19 response. However, the Ministry also warned about penal action and cancellation of exemption if the provisions are violated.

Notes:
The European Union and its partners co-hosted the Coronavirus Global Response International Pledging Conference to raise funds to kick-start the global fight against Covid-19, especially to manufacture a vaccine.
The target set by the European Commission for the initial funding was €7.5 billion (8 billion USD). Several world leaders, individuals and organisations participated in the conference and pledged 8 billion USD together. Canada was the highest contributor with $850 million. U.S. did not attend the conference.

Notes:
The state government of Uttar Pradesh has recently launched a mobile application called ‘Ayush Kavach-Covid’, which has been developed the Ministry of AYUSH.
The application was launched with an aim of providing health remedies and measures to boost immunity in the process of fighting Covid-19. The app provides a lot of information authorised by the AYUSH Ministry about the medicinal properties of certain ingredients. It also enables the users to seek advice from experts in the AYUSH field.

Notes:
According to the ‘Digital in India’ report recently released by the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), there were more Internet users in rural areas when compared to those in urban areas for the first time.
As of last November, out of the total 504 million active internet users, there were 227 million active internet users in rural areas while there were 205 million in urban areas. But the time spent on internet is higher among the urban people. The report also highlighted that there was an increase of 21% in female internet users, higher than that of male users (9%).

Notes:
When a polymer plant in Vishakhapatnam resumed its operations after lock down, there was a leakage of styrene gas, that has killed about 11 people. Thousands of people were evacuated from around the plant and many of them were hospitalised.
The styrene gas is a poisonous, inflammable gas used in plastic engineering industry, which caused nausea and dizziness. As per the experts, the gas could have triggered a series of explosions from the LG Polymers plant, which manufactures polystyrene.

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 richest online chess tournament in history held so far was recently organised by the World Chess champion Magnus Carlsen after live tournaments could not be held amidst the Covid-19 crisis.
Named the Magnus Carlsen Invitational, the 16-day contest comprised of a total prize fund of 250,000. Magnus Carlsen won the final match and bagged the winner prize of 70,000 after defeating his American counterpart Hikaru Nakamura 2.5:1.5. Live feeds were offered during the matches with live commentary from chess grandmasters.

Notes:
The first Nobel Peace Prize Henri Dunant of Switzerland for founding the International Red Cross Movement and initiating the Geneva Convention.
World Red Cross Day or World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day is celebrated on May 8 every year, which marks the birth anniversary of Henry Dunant. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) established by him, works for the welfare of the people across the world.

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 World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Its headquarters is located at Madrid, Spain.