Current Affairs: June 28-29, 2020

Notes:
The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has launched a first of its kind initiative to explore sandalwood and bamboo tree plantation.
The statutory body that functions under the MSME Ministry has begun a drive with plantation of 500 saplings each of sandalwood and bamboo at its Nashik training centre. The plantation process aims at monetization of the property. KVIC has procured sandalwood saplings from Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre (FFDC), Uttar Pradesh and Bamboo saplings from Assam.

Notes:
United States’ Space agency NASA has recently announced that its headquarters located in Washington DC would be renamed after Mary W. Jackson.
She is the agency’s first African American female engineer. As per the website of NASA, Mary W. Jackson (1921-2005) might have been the only black female aeronautical engineer in the agency. She served NASA for more than two decades and authored or co-authored 12 technical papers before she retired in 1985.

Notes:
Indian Railways has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with RailTel for installing video surveillance at over 6000 stations, across the country.
RailTel is a public sector undertaking (PSU) operating under the aegis of the Ministry of Railway. The IP-based video surveillance system will be provided at 6,049 railway stations, under specific categories of the Indian Railways. Existing standalone CCTV network would also be integrated with the video surveillance system.

Notes:
The United Nations has launched the “Alliance for Poverty Eradication”. India has recently become a founding member of the Alliance.
The President of the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly Tijjani Muhammad-Bande announced the alliance in an informal meeting. He will formally launch the ‘Alliance for Poverty Eradication’ on June 30, which aims to provide a platform for member states to boost global economy after the effects of COVID-19 pandemic.

Notes:
Every year, 25 June is celebrated as the “Day of the Seafarer”, to recognise the contribution of seafarers in international trade and the global economy.
The Day of the Seafarer was first celebrated in 2011 after it was designated by a resolution in the Conference of Parties to the International Convention (STCW), held in Philippines, in 2010. The theme of the Day of the Seafarer is ‘Seafarers are Key Workers’.