Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
Every year, the World Turtle Day is observed on May 23, across the world. The day is celebrated to sensitise people about turtle and tortoise and their vulnerable habitats.
A non-profit organization called American Tortoise Rescue (ATR), that was established in 1990 leads the World Turtle Day celebration since 2000. The Al Ain Zoo of Abu Dhabi, which has ten types of turtles celebrated ‘World Turtle Day’ and called for global action to conserve turtles.

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.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh recently approved the proposal of the state forest department to declare ‘Lac farming’ as an agricultural activity. It is to be approved in the cabinet soon.
Lac is the sticky secretion of several species of lac insects. Thousands of lac insects colonise the branches of the host trees and secrete the Lac pigment. Chhattisgarh is one of the leading producers of lac in the country. This step will increase the productivity and credit availability of farmers cultivating lac.

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:
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:
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 22nd Meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) and reviewed the current global and domestic macro-economic situation and financial stability in the nation.
Union Finance Minister is the chairperson of FSDC, an autonomous regulatory body set up in the year 2010. Besides the ten members which includes the RBI Governor, Finance Secretary, Chief Economic Adviser, Chairpersons of SEBI, IRDAI, PFRDA, IBBI among others, the Finance Minister may invite any other required person.

Notes:
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has officially launched the instant Permanent Account Number (PAN) facility which uses Aadhaar number-based e-KYC.
This was announced during the 2020 budget along with an interchangeable Aadhar and PAN feature. The Income tax department launched the beta facility on their e-filing website in February 2020. As this a paperless and real-time facility, the turn-around time taken for allotting the PAN through this facility is only about 10 minutes.

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.