Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
Recently, a new silver fish species has been discovered by the Head of the Zoology Department from a Kollam-based College, Kerala at Velankanni, Tamil Nadu.
The small freshwater fish belongs to the family Cyprinidae and it has been named as ‘Puntius sanctus’. His research was funded by the Department of Science and Technology. The new fish is deposited in Zoological Survey of India. It has also been registered with ZooBank of the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature.

Notes:
Bev Q, a virtual queue management application developed by a Kochi-based start-up Faircode Technologies, has recently been approved by Google after two-level testing. This is to be implemented to manage queues of liquor shops.
The state government of Kerala announced that liquor shops would not be opened until a queue management system is implemented. The staff working at the shops are being trained through online and video tutorials in coordination with the Kerala State Beverages Corporation.

Notes:
Social media and technology giant Facebook has recently launched CatchUp application, that lets the users make free phone calls.
The application developed by internal R&D group of Facebook -NPE Team, allows the users to make phone calls up to 8 people simultaneously. It uses the Facebook account in the phone to coordinate the service. It is launched at the United States as a pilot service and expected to be launched across the world soon.

Notes:
World’s leading toy brand the LEGO Group has recently collaborated with NITI Aayog and Save the Children, to support children impacted by Covid-19 in India.
Under the partnership, LEGO will promote ‘Learning Through Play’ and support home-based learning for children aged 3-8 years during the lock-down times. The initiative will improve access to quality pre-school education through the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and pre-school centres.

Notes:
India’s Covid-19 contact tracing app ‘Aarogya Setu’ was made an open source application by its think tank NITI Aayog.
After several privacy concerns were raised over the app, it has been open sourced so that researchers can identify any vulnerability in the app to make it more secure. National Informatics Centre (NIC), which had developed the app has announced a bug bounty programme to incentivise those who find flaws in the app.

Notes:
According to the government-backed news agency of Russia, the country has started developing its first stealth bomber named ‘PAK DA’.
It is estimated the aircraft would be completed next year and it would be able to carry an array of advanced missiles and bombs, including hypersonic weapons. This will compete with the B-2 strategic stealth bomber of the United States. China is also in the process of developing its own stealth bomber, Xian H-20.

Notes:
National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), that operates retail payments and settlement systems in India has recently launched an artificial intelligence (AI) based chatbot named ‘PAi’.
The virtual assistant has been launched with an aim to create awareness about its flagship products like FASTag, RuPay, UPI, AePS on a real time basis. Users can send queries about the products and they get verified automated responses. Global RuPay Cardholders can access the chatbot.

Notes:
Every year, May 28 has been celebrated as the World Menstrual Hygiene Day across the world. It is a global platform initiated by the German non-profit organisation WASH United.
This year, the theme of Menstrual Hygiene Day is ‘Periods in Pandemic’. Several government agencies, individuals, non-profits and media join hands to create awareness about the safe menstruation practices and hygiene management.

Notes:
India’s leading private air carrier SpiceJet announced that it has received formal approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to conduct drone trials. The dedicated cargo arm of SpiceJet, SpiceXpress was granted permission for conducting experimental Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations.
SpiceXpress is planning to use drones to deliver medical, essential supplies and e-commerce products to the remote places of the country.

Notes:
Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi has recently passed away at Raipur after suffering from a heart attack, at the age of 74.
When the state was carved out from Madhya Pradesh to be held as a separate state in the year 2000, he was selected to head the state. The veteran leader was an Indian Administrative Officer turned politician. He had also served as the Collector of Raipur during the early years of his career.