Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
As per the recent reports, the Parliament of Iran has passed a bill to allow the Government to change the national currency from Rial to Toman.
Since 2017, the value of Iranian currency fell after heavy U.S. sanctions, which led to huge inflation and resultant street protests across the country. Now under the bill, the Government will slash four zeroes from the from its currency ‘Rial’. This bill should be approved by the clerical body before coming into effect.

Notes:
‘Internet Saathi’ is an initiative of the Technology giant Google in India, along with the Tata Trusts, launched with an objective to improve digital literacy among rural women of the country.
Recently, Google announced in a statement that the company is assisting the female Internet trainers or Saathis to share official health advice in their villages. Moreover, Google has also enabled the local governments to share the location of food centres, shelters and test centres in Google Maps.

Notes:
Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJK) which functions under the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers have started accepting the orders for medicines on WhatsApp and e-mail. The prescriptions uploaded online are delivered at the doorsteps of the users.
Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) was launched with an aim of providing quality generic medicines to the people at affordable rates. At present there are over 6300 PMBJKs operating in 726 districts across the country.

Notes:
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has been reappointed for another year as the chairperson of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee along with the existing 30 members.
The committee was first formulated as a result of Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms in the year 1921. After 1950, the committee became a parliamentary committee which functioned under the control of the Lok Sabha Speaker along with a non-official chairperson. Since 1967, the chairperson of the committee is selected from the opposition party.

Notes:
The evacuation exercise of India, considered to be one of the largest, has been named the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’, will engage about 64 flights to bring home Indian nationals stranded abroad.
Several countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, UK, Singapore and the US will be covered. In the first week of repatriation, the Gulf countries will be focussed. The highest number of flights to bring back people, were allotted for the states of Kerala (15), Tamil Nadu (11) and Delhi (11).

Notes:
The World Thalassaemia Day is observed every year across the world on May 8. It is observed with an aim of creating awareness about a blood disorder called Thalassaemia.
Thalassaemia is a genetic blood disorder that affects the production of haemoglobin. Lesser red blood cells and low haemoglobin are the effects of this disorder. This year the theme is “The dawning of a new era for thalassaemia: Time for a global effort to make novel therapies accessible and affordable to patients”.

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:
A team of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Stanford alumni have developed a technology named “Airlens Minus Corona”. It has received certification from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).
It is an ‘intelligent robot’ machine that can travel to hospitals and other crowded public places and disinfect surfaces with a water-based technology. Unlike the alcohol-based or UV-based method, the technology works on the basis of ‘Water Electro Activation’ technique. Charged or ionised water droplets will kill the virus by destroying its proteins.

Notes:
India’s first aerospace firm and a laboratory of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) has developed a portable non-invasive ventilator, ‘SwasthVayu’.
SwasthVayu is a microcontroller-based control system, that has a potential use to treat moderate or mid-stage patients. It can be used in wards, Make shift Hospitals, dispensaries and homes. The ventilator has been developed by NAL in record 36 days.

Notes:
New Development Bank (NDB) was established by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries in 2014. Its headquarters is Shangai and is headed by veteran Indian K V Kamath.
BRICS’ New Development Bank was seen in news recently, as it has provided $1 billion loan to India to fight COVID-19. The complete emergency funds have been disbursed by the development institution, to help India in containing the human and economic losses due to Covid-19.