Test: May 2020 Weekly Current Affair - 1 - UPSC MCQ

On April 29, 2020, the task force on National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) chaired by economic affairs secretary Atanu Chakraborty submitted its final Report on NIP for FY 2019-25 to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, projecting total infrastructure investment of Rs 111 lakh crore during a 5-year span of FY 2019-20 to FY 2024-25.

• Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank (KVGB), a regional rural bank headquartered in Dharwad, has launched a loan scheme to provide some relief to borrowers whose business activities are disrupted on account of the Covid-19 pandemic.
   
• Launching the loan scheme ‘Vikas Abhaya’ in Dharwad, P Gopi Krishna, Chairman of KVGB, said this loan scheme will be an additional credit facility to the eligible existing micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) borrowers. This scheme will help them tide over the current crisis and ensure continuity of viable business activity.
   
• The loan will be for the existing MSME customers who have been regular as on February 29. A maximum loan of up to ₹1 lakh will be provided and no collateral security will be insisted upon. The loan is repayable within 36 months, he said.

TS Tirumurti, who is a 1985-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, succeeds Syed Akbaruddin as India's Permanent representative to the United Nations
Akbaruddin, one of the most visible faced of Indian diplomacy, played a crucial role in pushing for designation of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a "global terrorist" by the UN as well as in stalling China's efforts to raise the Kashmir issue at the world body.

It was constituted by Japanese Emperor Meiji in 1875. Thangjam Dhabali Singh, an allopathic doctor by profession and founder of the Manipur Tourism Forum (MTF), was conferred the 'Order of Rising Sun - Gold and Silver Rays' by the Japan government. 

The Uttar Pradesh government on 16 june said that it has engaged 57.13 lakh workers under the MGNREGS, thereby emerging as the top state in the country to give employment under the rural employment guarantee scheme.

According to the 7th edition of ‘Open Budget Survey 2019’ conducted by International Budget Partnership (IBP), India has been ranked at 53rd position among 117 nations in terms of budget transparency and accountability with the score of 49 out of 100.

While at the same time New Zealand has been topped the list with a score of 87.

The global average transparency score on this survey was 45.

• The Room Where It Happened : A White House Memoir is an upcoming memoir by John Bolton, who served as national security adviser for U.S. President Donald Trump.
• In late December 2019, one copy of the manuscript was provided to the White House for standard pre-publication review. In late January 2020, during the Senate impeachment trial, news of the book broke. Bolton's team was surprised that multiple copies of the manuscript had apparently been made and circulated. Leaked information about the book's contents increased the pressure for having Bolton testify in the Senate trial of Trump.
• Per Bolton's as yet unpublished draft manuscript, William Barr and Bolton had a conversation about concerns Trump had appeared to have undue influence over two Justice Department investigations of companies in China and Turkey, specifically regarding China’s paramount leader Xi Jinping with regards to ZTE and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with regards to Halkbank.

• Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has received approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to conduct clinical trials on Favipiravir antiviral tablets for COVID-19 patients.
   
• A generic version of Japanese firm Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co Avigan, Favipiravir has demonstrated activity against influenza viruses. It has been approved in Japan for the treatment of novel influenza virus infections. Multiple clinical trials had been initiated on COVID-19 patients, post the outbreak, in China, Japan and in the U.S.

Rishi Raj Kapoor (4 September 1952 – 30 April 2020) was an Indian actor known for his work in Bollywood. Born into the Kapoor family, he made his debut, as an adolescent, in his father Raj Kapoor's film Mera Naam Joker (1970), for which he won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist.

• Last month, the National Board of Wild Life (NBWL) recommended coal mining to be allowed in a portion of the Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve in Assam. 
   
• The National Board of Wild Life allowed Coal India Limited (CIL) to conduct opencast coal mining in 98.59 hectares of the reserve forest. CIL had been carrying out mining in 57 hectares of the reserve forest and the fresh recommendation allowed it to do mining in another 41 hectares, which was unbroken.

• Tennis star Sania Mirza became the first Indian to win the Fed Cup Heart Award for her successful return to the court post-motherhood.
   
• Sania won the award for Asia/Oceania zone after securing more than 10,000 votes out of the total 16,985 online votes cast for this year’s three regional Group I nominees.
   
• Sania, who made a comeback to Fed Cup after four years and helped India qualify for the play-offs for the first time in history, has decided to donate the $2000 prize money to the Telangana Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

Scientists and students from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology(WIHG), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science &Technology, in the study, published in the Global and Planetary Changes journal has revealed a 35 thousand-year history of river erosion and identified hotspots of erosion and wide valleys that act a buffer zones in Ladakh Himalayas. WIHG Headquarters– Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

India has lost its top spot & has slipped to the 3rd position (114) for the first time since 2016 in the International Cricket Council (ICC) test rankings, Australia (116) topped the rank, followed by New Zealand (115).

Eminent author and columnist Ronald Vivian Smith passed away at the age of 81 in Delhi, due to age-related ailments. He was born in 1938 in Agra, Uttar Pradesh (UP). RV Smith was the former News Editor for The Statesman and also worked with the Press Trust of India (PTI) and was best-known for his writings in Delhi.

After chak-hao, the black rice of Manipur, Gorakhpur terracotta & Kovilpatti kadalai-mittai, the Kashmir saffron cultivated and harvested in the Karewa (highlands) of Jammu and Kashmir gets Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the Geographical Indications Registry. Iran is the largest producer of saffron in the world.

• The World Bank (WB) has approved multiannual financial support of $400 million for India to improve and safeguard its coastal and marine resources.
• The first process for Enhancing Coastal and Ocean Resource Efficiency (ENCORE) would include eight coastal states and three coastal Union Territories, with USD 180 million in financing.
• The ENCORE program will expand the World Bank's direct support toward achieving the NDC targets of the Government of India by supporting longer-term coastal adaptation, including through ecosystem restoration and the sound management of mangrove forests and seagrass fields,

• World Tuna Day is observed on May 2 every year.
• The United Nations (UN) established the World Tuna Day to raise awareness about the tuna fish and its importance to humans and earth.
• The day is observed to promote more sustainable fishing practices.
• In December 2016, the United Nations General Assembly voted to officially observe the World Tuna Day in its resolution 71/124 and the day was observed for the first time in 2017.

The Health Minister of Maharashtra Rajesh Tope announced that Maharashtra will be the first state to provide free and cashless insurance protection to the people and the covered under the state governments health scheme and for the treatment of COVID-19 patients at the private hospitals in Pune and Mumbai the government has signed a MoU with the General Insurance Public Sector Association(GIPSA).

India's TCS to Power Israel's First Fully Digital Bank. India's Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. will launch Israel's first fully digital bank, in what is seen as a transformative initiative that can impact the business model of other sectors as well.

The U.S. Navy said recently it will host the world’s largest maritime exercises in Hawaii again this year, but the drills will only be held at sea because of the coronavirus. The Navy has held the Rim of the Pacific exercises (RIMPAC) in Hawaii every two years since the early 1970s.

Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Culture Minister (MoS-I/C), released an e-book “Prof. B. B. Lal- India Rediscovered” in New Delhi, on the occasion of centenary year (100th birthday) of the great archaeologist Professor Braj Basi Lal. Shri Anand Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Culture was also present on this occasion.

In a bid to revive the economy of the state affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, the Himachal Pradesh (HP) state government has decided to launch employment guarantee scheme called “’Mukhya Mantri Shahari Rojgar Guarantee Yojna” that will provide 120 days of employment to those living in urban areas. The decision was taken during the cabinet meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister (CM) Jai Ram Thakur. 

• CKP Bank has its head office at Matunga, Mumbai and has eight branches spread across Mumbai and Thane districts.
• The C.K.P. Co-op Bank is presently catering to the needs of society through a close network spread all over the cities of Thane and Mumbai.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad, collaborated with New Frontier Capital Management, a financial firm based in Hong Kong with offices in Tokyo & Singapore, to establish a global network of ventures as well as to create a venture ecosystem.

Russia will launch its 1st Arktika-M satellite by December 9, 2020 to monitor the Arctic climate and environment. It will be launched from Baikonur space center (Kazakhstan) using a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with a Fregat booster. This announcement was made by General Director of Lavochkin aerospace company of Russia,Vladimir Kolmykov on May 04, 2020. The 2nd Arktika-M satellite is still under development and will be launched in 2023.