Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2021

Notes:
China has been officially certified as ‘Malaria-free’ by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is only the second country in the Asia Pacific region to get the tag, after Sri Lanka in 2016.
China has maintained zero indigenous malaria cases for four consecutive years. In the 1940s, it had an estimated 30 million cases and 300,000 deaths per year.

Notes:
US-based (Educational Testing Service), the world’s largest private educational assessment organization, conducts several tests including TOEFL and GRE.
It was recently announced that Aadhaar Card will be accepted as an identification for taking the TOEFL and GRE tests. Students have to, however submit the original version of their Aadhaar Card as received in the mail.

Notes:
As per a recent notification by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the basic customs duty on crude palm oil has been cut to 10 per cent and refined palm oil to 37.5 per cent.
This tax cut could make palm oil more attractive than rival soyoil and sunflower oil, which will boost imports and bring down the edible oil prices. This lower tax rate will apply from June 30 to September 30.

Notes:
The Army on July 2, 2021 inducted the first production lot of 12 Short Span Bridging System (SSBS)-10m, designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in association with Larsen & Toubro Limited, the production agency. According to defence ministry, the SSBS-10m plays a crucial role of bridging the gaps up to 9.5m as a single span providing a 4m wide, fully decked roadway, ensuring faster movement of the troops.

Notes:
India and Pakistan on July 1, 2021 exchanged, through diplomatic channels simultaneously at New Delhi and Islamabad, the lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen in their custody. This is in keeping with the provisions of the 2008 Agreement under which such lists are exchanged every year on 1^st January and 1^st July.

Notes:
Andrew R. Jassy (born January 13, 1968) is an American businessman and the CEO of Amazon Web Services. He is also one of the minority owners of the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League. Jassy has led AWS since its inception in 2003. He will replace Jeff Bezos as CEO of Amazon on July 5, 2021; Bezos will become executive chairman.

Notes:
Pushkar Singh Dhami sworn in as the 11th and the youngest Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.
According to the Article 164, Chief Minister of the state shall be appointed by the Governor exercising his own discretion according to established practice. Other ministers shall be appointed on the advice of Chief Minister.

Notes:
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Hayabusa2 spacecraft brought samples of Asteroid Ryugu to earth in Dec 2020.
Recently, Japan has sent these samples to the American Space Agency NASA for research and experimental purposes. This is one of the first samples to move out of Japan for investigation.

Notes:
Assam government has recently launched a scheme to incentivise the production of orthodox and specialty tea in the state.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma launched Assam Tea Industries Special Incentive Scheme (ATISIS). It aims to boost the production of orthodox or specialty tea in the state by extending incentives to the tea gardens. Government will provide interest subvention of 3% on the working capital loan per annum.

Notes:
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched ‘Mukhyamantri COVID-19 Pariwar Aarthik Sahayata Yojana’, a social security scheme to provide financial assistance to families who lost their kins to COVID-19.
Under the scheme, Rs 50,000 ex gratia will be given to every family that lost a member to COVID-19 and an additional Rs 2,500 per month will be given if the deceased was the sole breadwinner. The Chief Minister also launched a portal for the scheme.