Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
A 1991 batch Karnataka cadre officer Ms. Vidyavathi has been recently appointed as the new Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
According to the order of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, the bureaucrat will be serving in the rank of Additional Secretary to the Government of India. Usha Sharma was the previous DG of ASI, that is headquartered at New Delhi.

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:
As a part of the economic stimulus package, the Government has revised the definition of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The revised guidelines introduced a new criterion called ‘Annual turnover’.
For micro enterprises, the classification covers up to Rs 1 crore in investment and Rs 5 crore in turnover. Earlier, it was investment of 25 lakh in manufacturing and 10 lakh in services. 10 Crore investment and 50 Crore turnover is the criteria for Small enterprises and 20 Crore investment and 100 Crore turnover is the criteria for Medium enterprises.

Notes:
A patent was filed by the Defence Ministry in association with the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) for the low cost personal protective equipment (PPE) developed by the Indian Navy.
The Defence Ministry has successfully patented PPEs, which would fast-track mass production of PPEs. The equipment developed by the Navy is made of a special fabric which provides high quality and high breathability, unlike other PPEs available in the market. A pilot batch of PPEs has already been produced at Naval Dockyard in Mumbai.

Notes:
In the second tranche of the economic stimulus package, the Finance Minister proposed that the Government will launch a scheme under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-PMAY.
The scheme aims at providing ease of living at affordable rent for migrant labour/urban poor. It proposes to convert government funded housing in the cities into Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) under PPP mode. The scheme will also incentivize industries and State Government Agencies and Central Government Organizations to develop ARHCs and operate them.

Notes:
“GOAL (Going Online As Leaders)” programme is an initiative of the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA).
Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda launched the scheme was launched in partnership with Facebook. The programme aims to provide mentorship and training to tribal youth through digitally enabled programs. The scheme is expected to promote and empower 5,000 tribal youths in the current phase.

Notes:
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) recently announced that its Director-General of Roberto Azevedo will step down on August 31, 2020 on personal grounds. This is a year before the end of his second term as he has completed 7 years as the WTO chief.
The Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO) was founded in the year 1995 and India is one of the founder members of this body. The main objective of WTO is to frame rules for global exports and imports and regulate international trade by reducing barriers.

Notes:
The Union Finance Minister launched a scheme named ‘PM e Vidya’, as a part of the Stimulus package, in order to promote digital education in the country.
This comprehensive program will include DIKSHA (one nation-one digital platform), through which quality e-content will be provided to all school children; a dedicated educational channel for each class from 1 to 12; Community Radio and CBSE’s Shiksha Vani podcast. It also includes study material for the differently abled developed on Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY).

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:
This year’s World Health Assembly, the key decision-making body of the World Health Organization, the 73rd edition was recently held virtually. The assembly is usually held in Geneva and attended by representatives of the United Nation’s 194 member states.
India along with other 122 countries, supported the key conference paper, which proposes for a review of the world’s response to Covid-19. The draft called for a global approach to identify the zoonotic source of the virus and its path of introduction to the human population. China committed to provide USD 2 billion over two years to fight the coronavirus pandemic.