Daily Current Affairs : 24th June 2020 | Daily GK update Quiz

Exp. Haryana government and Reliance Jio TV have entered an agreement that is expected to benefit around 52 lakh school children in rural areas. This new agreement is done under the Chief Minister’s Distance Education Programme in order to expand education in rural areas without jeopardizing social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Benefit: The agreement will help students to watch all four channels of Eduset through television, laptop, desktop, tablet and smartphone.

Exp. The Central minister stated that in 2019-20 Telangana was allocated ₹ 259.14 Crore and only ₹ 105.52 Crore could be released by Government of India as State was unable to avail second instalment due to non-reporting of physical progress and non-submission of proper expenditure plan.

Central Government has increased the fund allocation to Telangana from ₹ 259.14 Crore to ₹ 412.19 Crore for the year 2020-21.

State target will provide 100% tap connections to all rural households in the year 2020-21 itself and become the first State to achieve the feat.

Exp. Civic chief IS Chahal on 23rd June launched ‘Mission Zero’, as part of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) rapid action plan to curb rising Covid-19 cases in the suburbs. He also inaugurated 50 ambulances given to BMC as part of a public-private partnership.

Mission Zero is a 35-day action plan to increase surveillance in six suburban wards corresponding to areas of Mulund, Bhandup, Dahisar, Borivli, Kandivli, Malad and Dindoshi. It aims to reduce the growth rate of Covid-19 cases in these areas to around 1%- 1.7%, from the current 3%-3.7%.

Exp. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on 22nd June announced that his government will soon launch the Indira Rasoi Yojna for the poor to ensure that ‘‘no one sleeps hungry’‘ in the state.

Aims: Under this scheme, pure and nutritious food on concessional rates will be provided to the needy twice a day, State government will spend Rs 100 crore every year on the Indira Rasoi Yojna (Indira Kitchen Scheme).

Exp. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has launched a new programme, called Yukti 2.0, which is an online depository for innovative ideas aimed at fostering and promoting innovation among students and teachers. The portal, called Yukti 2.0, was initially promoted with the name Massive Indian Novelty Depository (MIND).

Benefit: Help systematically assimilate technologies having commercial potential and information related to incubated startups in our higher education institutions.

Exp. A group of Islands without inhabitants located at the South China Sea has been a point of disagreement between Japan and China since 1972. The island is known by the name Senkakus in Japan, while in the People’s Republic of China the Islands are known by the name Diaoyu.

The island group is at present administered by the administrative authority of Ishigaki city of Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture. The islands are located in the southern part of Japan, the entire area under which the Senkaku Islands are located is known by the name Tonoshiro in Japan.

Exp. China has decided to join a global pact on regulations of arms sales showing its willingness to address the poorly regulated international arms trade after the United States pulled out last year. National People’s Congress, China’s top legislative body, voted to join the global treaty to regulate conventional arms sales at a time when the country has been cornered over its handling of pandemic and curbing of Hong Kong’s autonomy.

During a legislative session on June 20, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress agreed to join the treaty. The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) entered into force on December 24, 2014, which regulates the international trade in conventional arms – from small arms to battle tanks, combat aircraft and warships.

Exp. Moody’s Investor Service further downgraded its growth forecast for India to -3.1% this calendar year compared to 0.2% in April.

The June 2020 update of its Global Macro Outlook, released on 22nd June, expected a marginally stronger rebound at 6.9% in 2021, as opposed to 6.2% in the April update.

Exp. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) steeply slashed India’s growth outlook for the current fiscal year (2020-21) to a minus (-) 4.5 per cent from 1.9 expansion estimated in April owing to an extended Covid-19 lockdown and slower economic revival. This will be the lowest in several decades.

Exp. India’s real gross domestic product in Financial Year 2020-21 could contract 5.3 per cent, said India Ratings and Research on 24th June as it flagged the “disorder” caused to the economy by Covid-19 and the nationwide lockdown to contain the disease.

Exp. Karnataka Bank has launched a new product KBL Micro Mitra, wherein financial assistance up to Rs.10 lakhs can be provided to the Micro manufacturing and service enterprises either for working capital or for investment purposes.

The facility comes with a simplified procedure and competitive rate of interest.

Exp. Managing Director: Kristalina Georgieva

Exp. Secretary general: António Guterres