Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
New York based Global rating agency Moody’s Investors Service, also known as Moody’s has recently slashed the GDP growth rate of India to 0.2 per cent in 2020-21, which is the lowest estimate made for the country till date after Covid-19 pandemic.
It has previously decreased the growth rate from the estimate of 5.2% to 2.5%, after the first nation-wide lockdown has been imposed by the Government on March 24. However, it predicts that India would grow at 6.2 per cent in 2021-22.

Notes:
India’s leading private sector lender Axis Bank recently announced that it would acquire an additional 29 per cent stake in Max Life Insurance, its joint venture with Max Financial Services (MFS).
This acquisition will raise the total stake of Axis bank to 30 per cent. The remaining 70% will be held by Max Financial Services. Prior to this agreement, about 25.5 per cent in the Max Life Insurance was owned by Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance.

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:
Versatile Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan has recently passed away at a private hospital in Mumbai, at the age of 53.
Irrfan is considered as one of the finest actors in Hindi cinema. He won the National Award in 2013 for his outstanding performance in the sports drama ‘Paan Singh Tomar’. He was also awarded the prestigious Padma Shri award in 2011. He had also acted in famous Hollywood films like ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, ‘Jurassic World’, and ‘Life of Pi’.

Notes:
The present Additional Secretary in Prime Minister’s Office and 1988 batch IAS officer, Tarun Bajaj recently assumed charge as the next Economic Affairs Secretary.
He is replacing Atanu Chakraborty who superannuated on April 30. Before having appointed in the Prime Minister’s Office, he served as the Joint Secretary in Economic Affairs Department, in charge of multilateral funding agencies division. He had also served as the Director in Department of Financial Services.

Notes:
Veteran author and historian Ronald Vivian Smith also known as RV Smith passed away recently in Delhi, at the age of 82.
RV Smith was known for chronicling Delhi, including its streets and monuments and authored books including ‘Delhi That No One Knows’ and ‘Capital Vignettes’. He has also worked for the Press Trust of India and The Statesman, Delhi. He won various awards in the field of journalism.

Notes:
The Election Commission of India (ECI) recently granted permission for holding elections to the Legislative Council (MLCs) in Maharashtra.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is not a member of either house of the State Legislature and he should be elected to the Council before May 27. The ECI granted permission to hold the elections before the deadline of May 27. The election process for these nine seats was withheld in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Notes:
A black rice variety of Manipur called Chak-Hao has recently bagged the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
Chak-Hao is an aromatic glutinous rice variety which has been cultivated in Manipur. It is also used traditional medical practitioners. It also has the longest cooking time due to its fibrous bran layer and higher crude fibre content. The terracotta work of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradsh a centuries-old traditional art form, also bagged the G.I tag.

Notes:
International Astronomy Day is celebrated twice a year, during autumn and spring. The Astronomy Day 2020 is celebrated on May 2 and the next edition of this year on September 26, 2020.
The President of the Astronomical Association of Northern California had organised the celebration of first Astronomy Day in 1973. The objective of celebrating this day is to inculcate the awareness about the universe and the field of astronomy.

Notes:
An Extraordinary Virtual G20 Digital Economy Ministers meeting was convened recently to discuss the challenges posed by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Union Minister Communications and Electronics & IT Ravi Shankar Prasad represented India in the meeting. Digital Ministers of other G20 member also attended the virtual meeting. The G20 Digital Economy Task Force COVID-19 Ministerial Statement was released which ensured global digital measures to tackle the pandemic.