Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

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:
The Harry Potter fame author J K Rowling recently unveiled her story online for the kids across the world, during the lock-down.
The title of the story is ‘The Ickabog’ and it is her first children’s story not linked to Harry Potter. The chapters of the story will be published daily until July 10, in an exclusive website recently created for the story. The author also announced that she had written this story a decade ago.

Notes:
The historic first manned space flight of SpaceX for NASA is scheduled to take off for the International Space Station on May 27.
The mission is called Demo-2 and it will launch the two NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley into orbit. The Crew Dragon spacecraft of SpaceX onboard a Falcon 9 rocket is used in this historic launch. Since 2011, NASA has sent all its astronauts through Russia’s Soyuz capsule.

Notes:
The Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Giriraj Singh addressed a conference on the “PMMSY – A scheme to bring about Blue Revolution through sustainable and responsible development of fisheries sector in India”.
The scheme was approved by the Union Cabinet on May 20. It aims to increase fish production to 220 lakh metric tons by 2024-25 from 137.58 lakh metric tons in 2018-19 at an average annual growth rate of 9%. There will be an estimated investment of Rs. 20,050 crores divided by the centre, states and beneficiaries.

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:
Former Deputy Economy Minister of Brazil, Marcos Prado Troyjo has been selected as the new President of the Shanghai-based New Development Bank’s (NDB).
He is to replace the veteran Indian banker KV Kamath as the President of the multilateral financial institution set up by the BRICS countries. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman attended the special board of Governors of NDB meeting through video-conference. Another Indian Anil Kishora was selected as the Vice President of NDB during the conference.

Notes:
Social Media Giant Twitter recently labelled tweets from the United States President Donald Trump as misleading, by linking the tweets with a fact checking page.
Under the tweets by the President, there was a message displayed by Twitter which read, “Get the facts about mail-in ballots”. Though Twitter clarified that the move was to provide context to the tweets, the President alleged that Twitter is interfering in the 2020 presidential election.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently signed a USD 177 million loan agreement with the Government of India to upgrade 450 kilometers (km) of state highways and major district roads in the state of Maharashtra.
The project is expected to improve road connectivity between rural areas and urban centres in the state and enable rural communities to access markets and employment opportunities. The project will also develop a road safety audit framework and strengthen road safety measures.

Notes:
As per the recent data of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Singapore was the largest source of FDI in India during 2019-20 with USD 14.67 billion worth investments. It was followed by Mauritius and the Netherlands.
The data also showed that FDI in India grew by 13 per cent to a record high USD 49.97 billion in 2019-20. Maximum foreign inflows were in service sector (USD 7.85 billion), followed by computer software and hardware.

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.