Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
India recently observed the 46th anniversary of its first nuclear test in Rajasthan’s Pokhran, conducted on May 18.
The peaceful first nuclear was codenamed the ‘Smiling Buddha’, which proclaimed India as a nuclear power. As the test was conducted on the Buddha Poornima of that year, the event was codenamed after Buddha. Indira Gandhi was the Prime of Minister of India during the tests and it was the first confirmed nuclear test by a country that was not a permanent member of the UNSC.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has approved an additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore through the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the MSME sector.
The Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that are hit hard by the coronavirus crisis will be granted an emergency credit at the rate of 9.25 per cent. 100 per cent guarantee coverage will be provided by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) for eligible MSMEs and MUDRA borrowers, in the form of a guaranteed emergency credit line (GECL) facility.

Notes:
The Andhra Pradesh Government has rolled out a revival package for the MSMEs of the state called ‘ReSTART’. The outlay of the scheme is ₹1,110-crore.
The main features of the package are the payment of all outstanding incentives to MSME units, waiver of 3 months fixed demand charges and working capital loans to MSMEs and better market access. The MSMEs Preferential Market Access Policy will ensure that 25 % of government purchases will be from Micro and small units. A task force for attracting investments has been formed under the Industries Minister.

Notes:
The flagship initiative of the Minority Affairs Ministry, ‘Hunar Haat’ is expected to be launched once the nation-wide lockdown due to Covid-19 is lifted.
The initiative organises a skill fare and aims to generate employment for crafts-persons, will be launched in September with a theme of ‘Local to Global’. As per the Minority Affairs Ministry, more than five lakh Indian artisans, craftspeople, culinary experts were provided employment opportunities in the last five years by this fare.

Notes:
A team of Australian scientists have recorded the world’s fastest internet data speed of 44.2 Terabits per second (Tbps) from a single light source.
This speed is enough to download 1000 HD movies in a split second. The researchers used their new device with a single piece of equipment known as a micro-comb, that is made up of hundreds of high-quality invisible infrared lasers from a single optical chip. This result can expand the capacity of network connections across the world, especially the developing and under-developed countries.

Notes:
The Bombay High Court recently noted that the right to a decent burial is recognized as a facet of the right to life.
Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic situation, the right to a decent burial cannot be denied to any person, as per the High Court. It dismissed the petitions challenging a circular issued by the Mumbai Corporation that designated 20 cemeteries for disposing of cadavers of persons who died of COVID-19. It also highlighted that there was no scientific study by WHO that Corona virus spreads through cadavers.

Notes:
Veteran Indian economist Abhas Jha has been appointed by the World Bank as its Practice Manager for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management for South Asia.
The appointment has been made at a crucial time when the Amphan cyclone has hit West Bengal, Orissa in India and Bangladesh. Abhas Jha will lead and encourage the Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change team of the South Asia region (SAR). The team will deliver recovery solutions to the affected countries.

Notes:
Indian Hockey legend Balbir Singh Dosanjh also known as Balbir Singh Senior passed away in Punjab at the age of 96. He was the oldest surviving Olympic medallist from India.
Balbir Singh was a part of the 1948 London Olympics gold medal-winning Indian hockey team. He served as the vice-captain of the 1952 gold medal-winning team. During the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, Balbir Singh led the team as the Captain and scored five goals against Afghanistan in India’s opening match. He trained the national team after his retirement.

Notes:
The World Steel Association located also called as worldsteel, is a global trade body for iron and steel industry. It is headquartered at Brussels, Belgium.
As per the recent report of the association, the crude steel output of India declined over 65 per cent to 3.13 million tonnes (MT) during April. During the same month in 2019, the production was 9.02 MT of crude steel. The lockdown has affected the demand and supply of steel in India. As per the report, Global steel output has also declined 13 per cent.

Notes:
Indian Technology major Infosys announced a strategic partnership with Switzerland -based software company Avaloq, to provide wealth management services through digital platforms.
Avaloq is a wealth management software and digital technology provider. As per the agreement, Infosys will be a strategic implementation partner for Avaloq’s wealth management suite of solutions. This partnership will focus on providing industry-based wealth management solutions to their clients.