Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
The Union Health Ministry had constituted a committee headed by NITI Aayog member V K Paul. As per the recommendations of the committee, the Delhi health department has prepared a new Covid-19 response plan.
As a part of the plan, a serological survey to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the spread of Covid-19 in Delhi began in some parts of the city. The exercise, that will test 20,000 people to find anti-bodies, will be carried out jointly by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Delhi government.

Notes:
The state government of Maharashtra has launched the world’s largest convalescent plasma therapy project named PLATINA, for treating COVID-19.
The trial-cum-project is expected to save at least 500 lives of critically-ill Covid-19 patients in the state. The trial will be carried out in government medical colleges and BMC medical colleges. All critical patients will receive two doses of 200 ml of convalescent plasma under the project, free of cost.

Notes:
Wisden has named Ravindra Jadeja as ‘India’s Most Valuable Test Player of the 21st Century’. He is also named as the second most Valuable Test player in the world.
The list is topped by Sri Lanka’s legendary cricketer Muthiah Muralithatan. Wisden used CricViz, a detailed analysis tool in cricket to analyse performance of the players and award an ‘MVP rating’ to each player in world cricket. The 31-year old India’s spin-bowling all-rounder has scored an MVP rating of 97.3.

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has launched the world’s first online Diploma and Bachelor of Science Degree in Data Science and programming.
The course has no age limit and students who have passed class 12 can enrol. The course will be conducted online and its exams will be conducted in an offline mode. The course has three levels including the foundation, diploma and degree and it is divided into six semesters.

Notes:
Lepidopterists, those who specialises in studying moths and butterflies, have recently discovered two new species of butterflies namely Striped Hairstreak and Elusive Prince in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Striped Hairstreak was first recorded in Japan and the Elusive Prince was discovered in Vietnam. As per the Society for Education and Environmental Development (SEED), the discovery of two new species have increased the number of butterfly species of the country to 1327.

Notes:
The Union Government has recently launched the Special Liquidity Scheme improve the liquidity of Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) and Housing Finance Companies (HFCs).
The corpus of the scheme is Rs 30000 crore rupees and it was launched through a Special Purpose Vehicle in the form of a trust set up by SBI Capital Markets. The Union Government will provide unconditional and irrevocable guarantee to the special securities issued by the Trust.

Notes:
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has deployed 120 Mobile Medical Vans named ‘Dhanvantri Rath’ across the city.
It is a mobile van that provides non-COVID essential healthcare services to every household of the corporation. Every van has an AYUSH Doctor, a paramedic and nursing staff and a local Medical Officer from the Corporation’s Urban Health Centre. It conducts regular out-patient consultations.

Notes:
New York headquartered United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has recently released a report titled “Community based programme for children below 5 years of age with severe acute malnutrition in India—Progress so far and lessons learned 2020”.
The report considered the malnutrition programmes being implemented in 12 states. As per UNICEF, the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted care for malnourished children. This may increase the burden and availability of food and livelihood in the country.

Notes:
The Indian Navy has successfully completed its mission named ‘Operation Samudra Setu’, to bring back Indian citizens from overseas during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was launched in May 2020 and since then, the Indian Naval Ships Jalashwa, Airavat, Shardul and Magar were deployed in the 55-day operation to bring back 3,992 Indian citizens via sea. Indian navy had arranged proper sanitation measures and medical facilities in the ships to avoid contraction of the virus by passengers.

Notes:
In March 2020, the Union Government has announced ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY).
Under the scheme, additional 5 kg rice/wheat per person per month, are being provided to beneficiaries covered under National Food Security Act, 2013, free of cost from April to June. Recently, the Union Cabinet has approved to further extend the scheme till November 2020.