Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
On recommendation of K. Santhanam committee, the Central Vigilance Commission was set up by the Government in 1964, to exercise general superintendence and control over vigilance administration. Recently, Former Andhra Bank MD & CEO Suresh N. Patel was appointed as a Vigilance commissioner in CVC.
As per the Central Vigilance Commission Act 2003, there shall be a Central Vigilance Commissioner as the Chairperson and not more than two Vigilance Commissioners as Members. The term of office of the Central Vigilance Commissioner and the Vigilance Commissioners would be four years from the date of entering office or till they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

Notes:
The Researchers at the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics in Kalyani, West Bengal have recently found that the novel coronavirus (O type) that originated from Wuhan, China has mutated into 10 different types.
Among the 10 mutations, one type named ‘A2a’ has nearly replaced all the others to become a dominant mutation across all geographical regions. This study is to be published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, published by ICMR.

Notes:
Bombay High court recently quashed a clause in the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations, 2010, which converted permanent posts to term posts of five years. Hereafter, the Principals can serve beyond 5 years and continue to hold their posts till retirement.
Recently, the UGC also released guidelines for examinations and academic calendar for universities, as the regular sessions may be affected amidst the Covid-19 outbreak. As per the guidelines, the academic session for freshers may begin in September and session for enrolled students in August.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank has recently approved a USD 346 million loan to Indian government to provide reliable power connection in Maharashtra’s rural areas.
The loan will be under ADB’s results-based lending (RBL) modality and also India is the first country in South Asia to receive the loan under this modality. Here fund disbursements are linked to the achievement of programme results rather than expenditures.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India launched a Rs 50,000-crore scheme which enables banks to extend liquidity support to Mutual Funds, called Special Liquidity Facility for Mutual Funds SLF-MF scheme.
This was introduced at the backdrop of the shutting down of six debt funds of Franklin Templeton Mutual Funds. Recently, the RBI extended the benefits of the scheme to all banks, irrespective of whether they avail funding from the Reserve Bank or deploy their own resources.

Notes:
Thangjam Dhabali Singh, a doctor from Manipur and founder of the Manipur Tourism Forum (MTF), was conferred the ‘Order of Rising Sun – Gold and Silver Rays’ by Japan. He was selected for promoting a better understanding of Japan in India and deepening ties between the two countries.
The award was constituted by Japanese Emperor Meiji in 1875. It is awarded to persons who contribute in promotion of Japanese culture, environmental preservation and international relations.

Notes:
The Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan recently announced that five more states viz. Bihar, UP, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Daman and Diu have been integrated with the ‘One nation, One ration card’ scheme. Under the scheme, eligible cardholders can avail food grains from any fair-price shop under NFSA.
On January 1, 2020, there were 12 states on the integrated Public Distribution system. With the addition of 5 new states, the total count of states integrated in the scheme becomes 17, as of May 2020.

Notes:
‘World Tuna Day’ is observed on May 3, 2020 across the world. Tune belongs to the species of fish, which is rich in Omega-3. As the fish contains high nutritional values including minerals, proteins and vitamin B12, it is threatened by an overwhelming demand.
In December 2016, the United Nations General Assembly voted to officially observe the World Tuna Day on May 3, 2020. This supports the efforts towards attaining SDG 14, to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources from the SDG.

Notes:
The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti along with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) organized an IDEAthon on ‘The future of River Management’.
The international webinar conducted with about 500 participants from different countries and international organizations, discussed about how the COVID-19 crisis can lead to the River Management strategies for the future.

Notes:
‘Internet Saathi’ is an initiative of the Technology giant Google in India, along with the Tata Trusts, launched with an objective to improve digital literacy among rural women of the country.
Recently, Google announced in a statement that the company is assisting the female Internet trainers or Saathis to share official health advice in their villages. Moreover, Google has also enabled the local governments to share the location of food centres, shelters and test centres in Google Maps.