Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
According to the Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-In), the national technology arm to prevent cyber-attacks, android users who use mobile banking in mobile phones might be vulnerable to a new malware called ‘EventBot’.
The authorities also announced that the new malware steals personal and sensitive information of the users. It also warned that the Trojan virus may project itself as a genuine application such as MS Word and enter into the victim’s device. To combat the malware, CERT-in has advised users not to download applications from untrusted sources.

Notes:
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) signed a USD 145 million agreement with the Government of India and West Bengal Government for a project.
The project aims to improve the irrigation services and flood management in the Damodar Valley Command Area in West Bengal. The total value of the project is over 413 million dollars and will benefit about 27 lakh farmers from five districts of the state.

Notes:
The state of Gujarat is set to implement sensor-based service delivery monitoring system for rural drinking water under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
It has already implemented a pilot project in two districts of the state to monitor whether potable water in prescribed quantity and quality is provided to every rural household regularly. The state has planned to provide 11.15 lakh household tap connections in the rural areas during 2020-21.

Notes:
Veteran Bengali author Debesh Roy passed away recently at the age of 84, after he suffered from a massive cardiac arrest.
The author was actively writing articles in several Bengali dailies and had participated in protests against the attack on liberals. He had won several awards during his five-decade long writing career. He was conferred the Sahitya Akademi award for his novel ‘Teesta Parer Brittanto’. His other famous works are ‘Borisaler Jogen Mondal’, ‘Manush Khun Kore Keno’ and ‘Samay Asamayer Brittanto’.

Notes:
Operation Greens was introduced in 2018, under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, with a main aim to enhance value realisation of TOP (Tomatoes, Onion and Potatoes) farmers by strengthening production clusters and FPOs and to connect them with market.
In the recent stimulus package, it was announced that Operation Greens will be extended from Tomatoes, Onion and Potatoes (TOP) to ALL fruits and vegetables (TOTAL), as a pilot project for 6 months. 50% subsidy on transportation from surplus to deficient markets and 50% subsidy on storage, including cold storages will be provided.

Notes:
Every year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) celebrates the International Day of Light (IDL) on 16 May, to raise awareness on the role of light-based technologies.
The day marks the anniversary of the first successful operation of the laser in 1960 by physicist and engineer, Theodore Maiman. The UN observed International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies in 2015. After the success, it was proposed to celebrate a specific day and the first IDL was held on May 16, 2018.

Notes:
The Social-media giant Facebook has recently acquired the popular GIF-making and sharing website GIPHY. Facebook is also planning to integrate its GIF library Instagram, its photo-sharing app.
GIPHY, one of the most popular GIF-making and sharing sites on the internet, allows users to create, share and remix GIFs. Several platforms including Apple, Twitter, Pinterest and Reddit use Giphy’s API for providing GIFs.

Notes:
As a part of the economic stimulus package, the Centre has increased the borrowing limit of states to 5% of Gross state domestic product (GSDP) in 2020-21.
The present limit of the state’s borrowing is 3% of their corresponding GSDP. This move is expected to make an additional Rs 4.28 lakh crore available to the states. But, the additional borrowing beyond the 3.5% of GDSP limit shall be linked to specific reforms carried out by the states, including ‘One Nation, One Ration card,’ ease of doing business and power distribution etc.

Notes:
The super-cyclone that has recently developed in the Bay of Bengal named ‘Amphan’, is claimed to be only the second super-cyclone faced by India in several decades.
According to the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), as the cyclone developed into a severe cyclonic storm, massive evacuation of 1.1 million people, who are likely to be hit by the cyclone, would be carried out. Heavy rain and high-velocity winds are expected across coastal Odisha, West Bengal and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Notes:
As a part of the stimulus package, the Union Minister announced the auction of Coal Bed Methane (CBM) blocks from Coal India and auction of 50 coal blocks immediately for commercial mining.
Coal Bed Methane (CBM) is a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds. Recently, Coal India has appointed its exploration arm, Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDIL) as its principal implementing agency to auction CBM extraction rights for all new mines. The auction will be based on a revenue sharing basis.