Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) was set up under Environment Ministry to promote afforestation activities as a way of compensating for forest land diverted to non-forest uses.
In the economic stimulus package, it was proposed that plans worth Rs 6000 crores of CAMPA funds will be approved shortly. The funds will be used for afforestation and plantation works, forest protection and job opportunities in urban, semi-urban and rural areas and for Tribals /Adivasis.

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:
According to a recent study published in the journal MycoKeys, the researchers found an image of a millipede in Twitter and noticed some tiny dots near the creature’s head.
It has never been seen on the American millipedes and the newly discovered parasitic fungus has now been officially named as Troglomyces twitteri in Latin. The team discovered several specimens of the same fungus on some American millipedes found in the Natural History Museum.

Notes:
Every year, May 18 is celebrated to acknowledge and thank the medical community and scientists who have been working to find a safe AIDS vaccine. It also creates awareness about urgent need for a vaccine, safe practices, discouraging sharing of needles and early testing of people at risk.
AIDS (Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome) is one of the most serious health conditions of the globe, which has affected nearly 2.1 million people in India. The disease is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which affects the T lymphocytes in the body.

Notes:
Three Baltic countries in the northern Europe: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania initiated the re-connection measure named as ‘travel bubble’.
The European Union countries started this to make their economies back to form, after the post-Covid lock downs. They are also less- populated and comparatively less affected by Covid-19. The travel bubble would allow members of the group to renew trade ties with each other and restart travel and tourism sector.

Notes:
The Prime Minister of the South African country Lesotho, Thomas Thabane has formally submitted his resignation. The 80-year-old chief has resigned after his coalition government collapsed.
He is the leader of the All Basotho Convention (ABC) party and has been facing pressure to step down from his role, as he and his present wife are suspected of involvement in a murder case. This step will end a long-running political crisis in the country. Finance Minister Moeketsi Majoro is expected to replace Thabane.