Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
Leading Public Sector Enterprises Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and NTPC Ltd signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU), to set up a joint venture company for the renewable energy business.
As per the MoU, NTPC and ONGC will explore and set up renewable power projects including offshore wind in India and in other countries. The enterprises will also roll-out their expertise in the fields of sustainability, storage, e-mobility and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) compliant projects.

Notes:
The United Nations celebrates the International Day for Biological Diversity annually on May 22, across the world, to highlight the importance of biodiversity issues.
This year the theme of the day is “Our solutions are in nature”. The theme covers 3 topics during the week, which includes 18 May to cover the importance of knowledge and science; 19-21 May to raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity; and May 22, the day of the observance, to issue a call to action.

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:
Samsung India has collaborated with social media major Facebook to train its offline retailers for adapting digital technologies and using platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp.
The two firms have already trained more than 800 offline retailers and more training sessions are going to be carried out in future. This will help the Samsung retail partners leverage technology and make them more accessible to their customers for inquiry about smartphones.

Notes:
Former Supreme Court Judge and the International Judge at Singapore International Commercial Court Justice A K Sikri has recently e- inaugurated the Indian Dispute Resolution Centre (IDRC).
IDRC provides a paperless dispute resolution environment through certain software portals. Its arbitration panel has former judges of the Supreme Court, High Courts, district courts and senior advocates, former bureaucrats, chartered accountants among others. The IDRCs are located at strategically commercial places in the country and its head office is in New Delhi.

Notes:
The United Nations observes the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula on May 23, since 2013. The day is observed to raise awareness of the issue and mobilize support from across the world.
Obstetric fistula is one of the most serious injuries that can occur during childbirth. This condition makes the affected women easily prone to infections or other health conditions. The women also face social-stigma in the society. The theme of this year is ‘End gender inequality! End health inequities! End Fistula now!’.

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 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:
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:
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.