Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
The Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the launch of ‘Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS)’.
The outlay of the scheme is Rs.400 crore and the scheme would be implemented for a term of five years. The scheme aims to set up six to eight new test facilities in partnership with private industry and boost the domestic defence and aerospace manufacturing. The projects will be granted 75 percent funding from the government and the remaining will be borne by the SPVs.

Notes:
The Social-media giant Facebook has recently acquired the popular GIF-making and sharing website GIPHY. Facebook is also planning to integrate its GIF library Instagram, its photo-sharing app.
GIPHY, one of the most popular GIF-making and sharing sites on the internet, allows users to create, share and remix GIFs. Several platforms including Apple, Twitter, Pinterest and Reddit use Giphy’s API for providing GIFs.

Notes:
In the recent economic stimulus package, the Finance Minister announced that the government is taking steps to make India a global Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hub of aircraft.
As the aircraft component repairs and airframe maintenance is set to increase from Rs 800 crore to Rs 2,000 crore in three years, India can make use of the opportunity. Major engine manufacturers in the world are expected to set up engine repair facilities in India in future. The Minister also announced auctioning of six more airports on public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

Notes:
In its effort to boost the economy and provide work to migrants returning from other states to home villages, the Central government allocated an additional Rs 40,000 crore to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for 2020-21.
In the Union Budget 2020-21, the total allocation made for MGNREGS was Rs 61500 Crore. Hence with this additional fund, the total allocation of this scheme for the present year becomes Rs 1.015 trillion. Out of the total fund, Rs 11,500 crore has to be spent on clearing pending dues from the previous year.

Notes:
The World Telecommunication and Information Society Day has been celebrated on May 17, every year across the world. This year the theme is “Connect 2030: ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”
The objective of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is to raise awareness of the usage of Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) in bridging the digital divide. May 17 also marks the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Notes:
International Museum Day is celebrated every year across the world on May 18, for the last 40 years. This year the theme of the International Museum Day is ‘Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion’.
The objective of celebration of this day is to raise awareness about the importance of Museums in cultural exchange and mutual cooperation and peace among people. Development of Museums and Cultural Spaces of the Culture Ministry hosted a webinar on ‘Revitalising Museums and Cultural Spaces’ on the International Museum Day.

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:
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan is set to take charge as the chairman of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board.
Harsh Vardhan would succeed the current chairman of WHO Executive Board, Dr Hiroki Nakatani of Japan. The Executive Board of WHO comprises 34 executives related to the field of health, each representing a member country. The Chairman’s post is held by rotation among the regional groups.

Notes:
Apple and Google have made the application programming interface (API), developed for contact tracing available to the general public.
The APIs will be made available through publicly available software updates and only public health authorities could use the APIs to build contact tracing apps. As per their announcement, as many as 22 countries have requested and received access to the API so far. They also promised that the API would be destroyed once the pandemic is over and when contact-tracing apps are no longer required.

Notes:
Safe Harbour refers to the conditions under which income-tax authorities will accept the transfer price declared by the assessee without any scrutiny. This feature benefits the tax payers, especially in the services sector.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex body under the Department of Revenue (Ministry of Finance) has recently notified changes in Safe Harbour Rules (SHR). As per the notification, the rates applicable from AY (Assessment Year) 2017-18 to 2019-20 will continue to apply for AY 2020-21.