Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
As per the recent announcement from the Union Aviation Ministry, the domestic airfares of India will be fixed by the Ministry for three months, when domestic flights resume after lock-down.
The government will cap minimum and maximum ticket fares based on route and will ensure that ticket prices are affordable for passengers as well as financially viable for airlines. The Ministry has divided the routes into seven bands based on duration of flights. 40 per cent of the seats in any flight will have to be sold at the mid-point of the lower and upper air fare limits prescribed.

Notes:
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has recently issued an order staying the proposed Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme.
The NGT’s zonal bench also constituted a committee to study the environmental impact of the Rayalaseema pumping project and Pothireddypadu head regulator canals enhancement works. Telangana government has recently complained to Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) against these projects, after the petition of a resident of Telangana.

Notes:
Major private equity of the United States, KKR & Co. Inc. has recently acquired a 2.32 per cent stake in the digital unit of Reliance Industries, Jio platform for Rs 11,367 crore.
As per the announcement of the Reliance Industries, this is the fifth deal in the last four weeks for sale of minority stake in Jio platform. Earlier, it had raised Rs 67,194.75 crore from global technology investors including Facebook, Silver Lake Partners, Vista Equity Partners and General Atlantic.

Notes:
Africa Day is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity, which was established 57 years ago, on May 25th, 1963 and its successor organization is the African Union, which was established in 2002.
The day highlights and celebrates the vitality and diversity of Africa and to promote African unity. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the day is celebrated virtually. As of now, Africa has 1.5 percent of the reported cases of COVID-19 in the world and less than 0.1 percent of the world’s deaths.

Notes:
Leading Indian multi-industry company ITC has recently announced that the company is set to make its biggest acquisition. It has entered into an agreement to acquire a 100 per cent stake in the spices manufacturing company Sunrise Foods.
The deal size is estimated to be about Rs 2,000 crore. Kolkata based Sunrise Foods made a turnover of around Rs 600 crore last year and it has an extensive market presence across east India.

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:
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.

Notes:
Ministry of Tribal Affairs has announced Inclusion of 23 additional Minor Forest Produce (MFP) items in the Minimum Support Price List.
Under the “Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce through Minimum Support price and development of Value Chain of MFP” scheme of 2011, the forest dwellers are safeguarded by a minimum price. This is implemented by the TRIFED organisation. This inclusion has increased the coverage from 50 to 73 items in the list.