Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
The Governor of Reserve Bank of India delivered his third such address since the nation-wide lockdown.
He announced a cut in the repo rate by 40 basis points to 4% and the reverse repo is also simultaneously reduced by 40 bps to 3.35%. Earlier in the month of April, the repo and reverse repo rates were fixed at 4.4% and 3.75% respectively. The Governor also extended moratorium on all term loans by another 3 months till August 31, 2020.

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:
The Ministry of Electronics and IT has recently integrated seven services of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) services on the “UMANG App”.
The services are Current Weather, Nowcast, City Forecast, Rainfall Information, Tourism Forecast, Warnings & Cyclone. UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) is a mobile application lunched by the Government of India in 2017 for delivering services online on a single unified platform.

Notes:
Khudol initiative has been listed one among the top 10 global initiative for an inclusive fight against the prevailing COVID-19, by the United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth.
Khudol meaning Gift is a crowdfunded initiative of Ya_All, which is an Imphal-based NGO founded in 2017. The NGO was known for having created the country’s first transgender football team. The project involves providing food and health care to the LGBTQI+ community, people living with HIV and other vulnerable people. With 100 volunteers, they have covered around 2,000 families and individuals now.

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:
An Indian Army officer, Major Suman Gawani, has been selected for the prestigious United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award (2019). This is the first time in history, that an Indian is awarded the mentioned award, that was created in 2016.
The officer has served with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). She has been selected for her outstanding contribution towards peacekeeping efforts in the UNMISS. Indian major will receive the award during an online ceremony, along with Brazilian Naval Officer Commander Carla Monteiro de Castro Araujo.

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:
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:
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:
Manushi Chillar, who won the title of Miss World in 2017 has joined hands with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to spread awareness about menstrual hygiene.
Manushi runs an initiative on menstrual hygiene named Project Shakti. With this partnership, she will promote the efforts to educate girls about menstrual hygiene and to construct sanitation facilities. On May 28, World Menstrual Hygiene Day, she participated in UNICEF global initiative called the Red Dot Challenge.