Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

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:
The International Cricket Council (ICC) cricket committee headed by Anil Kumble has recommended the ban of saliva to shine the ball, amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
Anil Kumble is the present Chairman of the ICC Cricket committee. After discussion through video-conferencing and consulting with the ICC Medical Advisory Committee, the committee has recommended this ban. It also announced that usage of sweat to polish the ball was not prohibited and the hygiene measures in the field need to be improved.

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.

Notes:
The World Bank has recently named economic expert Carmen Reinhart as its new vice president and chief economist.
Carmen, who works as a professor at Harvard University, is also an adviser and contributor to the World Bank debt transparency discussions. She is a member of the IMF external advisory group working on policy challenges, including the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impact. She has published a book titled “This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly” together with economist Kenneth Rogoff.

Notes:
YouTube has recently has introduced a feature called ‘bedtime reminder’, which will enable the user to cut down his screen time without compromising their sleep.
This new feature has been rolled out as a part of YouTube’s wellness and screen time tools. It was released during Google’s Digital Wellbeing initiative. The feature enables the user to set a reminder at a specific time to stop watching videos and go to bed. The ‘Take a Break’ feature that lets users to set reminders to take a break from watching videos.

Notes:
The United States recently announced that the country will withdraw from the major global treaty named Open Skies treaty. The 35-nation treaty allows unarmed surveillance flights over the territories of member countries.
US administration also highlighted that Russia has repeatedly violated the terms of the pact. It is expected that the US will pull out formally in six months, based on the withdrawal terms of the treaty. NATO allies and other countries have asked the US to remain in the treaty.

Notes:
According to the recent data of the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s foreign exchange reserves increased by USD 1.73 billion to USD 487.04 billion in the week to May 15. The increase in reserves was due to a rise in foreign currency assets (FCA).
Also, the Special drawing rights (SDR) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by USD 2 million to USD 1.42 billion. SDRs are held by IMF member countries and they represent a claim to currency for which SDRs may be exchanged.

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:
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.