Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
The Union Minister announced ₹90,000 crore one-time liquidity injection for fund-starved DISCOMs. This will be used to pay the central public sector power generation companies, transmission companies, independent power producers and renewable energy generators.
PSUs Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) will infuse the liquidity by raising an amount of about ₹90,000 crore from the market against the receivables of DISCOMs. The state governments are expected to provide a guarantee for the fund.

Notes:
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently proposed Rs 50,000 crore of liquidity by reducing the TDS and TCS rates for certain payments including interest, dividend, rent payments and other payments by non-individuals.
The rates of Tax Deduction at Source (TDS) for non-salaried payments made to residents and rates of Tax Collection at Source (TCS) for receipts will be reduced by 25 per cent of the existing rates. This reduction in rates will be effective from 14.05.2020 to 31.03.2021.

Notes:
According to the latest Transparency Report released by Facebook, government requests for user data increased by 9.5% during the second half of 2019. United States topped the list with 51,121 requests for user data. It is followed by India and UK.
The report also revealed that India topped the list for internet disruption affecting Facebook services during both the first and second half of 2019, accounting for 40 disruptions. Also, the number of user data requests from the Indian government to Facebook increased 28% during the second half of 2019.

Notes:
Ministry of Human and Resource Development has developed an e-Governance platform, SAMARTH- Enterprises Resource Planning (ERP).
The platform has been developed under National Mission of Education in Information and Communication Technology Scheme (NMEICT). SAMARTH is an open source automation engine for Universities and Higher Educational Institutions. It has been launched at National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, to automate the processes of the Institute.

Notes:
The Bahraich forest division of Uttar Pradesh released about forty gharials in the Ghaghara river, a major left bank tributary of the Ganges.
The scientific name of Gharials is Gavialis gangeticus and are commonly called as fish-eating crocodiles. The Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) India supports the exercise of collecting the eggs, hatching at the Kukrail centre and releasing them in the river. Gharials are critically endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Species.

Notes:
The National Real Estate Development Council was established in 1998 under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. It is a major association of real estate developers.
Recently, National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) has appointed Rajesh Goel as Director General (DG) of the association. Prior to this appointment, Rajesh Goel superannuated as the CMD of Hindustan Prefab Ltd.

Notes:
International Day of Families celebrated by the United Nations on May 15, every year across the world. This year, it is celebrated with a theme of ‘Families in Development: Copenhagen & Beijing + 25’.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Copenhagen Declaration and Beijing Platform for Action. The day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in the year 1993, to highlight the importance attached with families by the international community.

Notes:
The Prime Minister of Sikkim appealed to the Indian Parliament for making Sikkim a state of India, in the year 1975. A referendum was held in Sikkim and 97.5 per cent of the people voted to abolish the monarchy. Sikkim became the 22nd state of the Indian Union, on 16 May 1975.
The 36th amendment of the Indian constitution made Sikkim as a full state of India and added its name in the to the First Schedule of the Constitution. Every year, the state celebrates May 16 as Sikkim statehood day.

Notes:
The UN General Assembly declared 16 May the International Day of Living Together in Peace, with an objective of sensitising the international community to promote peace, tolerance and solidarity.
Every year, May 16 has been celebrated as the International Day of Living Together in Peace. The year 2000 was declared as the “International Year for a Culture of Peace” and the decade 2001-2010 as the “International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for Children of the World”.

Notes:
The state government of Chhattisgarh is set to launch its ambitious Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana on May 21, which marks the death anniversary of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
The scheme has an aim of boosting the rural economy in the state and to recover them from the slowdown caused due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Under the scheme, the state will infuse Rs 5100 crore through Direct Benefit Transfer into the accounts of farmers. The farmers would be paid Rs 10,000 per acre for paddy, corn and sugarcane crops.