Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
Veteran Opposition leader of Ireland Micheál Martin has been named as the next Prime Minister of the country, by the Parliament.
The 59-year-old leader took charge as the Prime Minister, to head the first coalition uniting the two prime parties. Micheál Martin had earlier held several important ministries including health, trade, foreign affairs and education.

Notes:
International Zinc Association (IZA) has launched Asia’s first-ever Continuous Galvanized Rebar (CGR) manufacturing facility in Punjab.
The project would be supported by Hindustan Zinc Limited. It has been launched in collaboration with a private manufacturing company Madhav KRG Group. The new product called Continuously Galvanized Rebars (CGR) are value added rebars for better life and lower maintenance. Rebar is the short form of Reinforced Bar.

Notes:
Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister has launched toolkit for the sixth edition of the annual cleanliness survey, Swachh Survekshan 2021.
MoHUA organises the annual survey for urban India. As part of Swachh Survekshan-2021, the Minister launched a new category of awards titled ‘Prerak Dauur Samman’. The award has a total of five sub- categories which awards top three cities, on the basis of six indicator-wise performance criteria.

Notes:
Botswana, the landlocked country in South Africa has the largest elephant population in the world, around an estimate of 1,30,000.
The country was recently in news, more than 300 elephants have died mysteriously in the famous Okavango Delta of Botswana. As per the head of the wildlife department, the reason of deaths was not poaching, as their tusks were not damaged.

Notes:
World Chess champion, Norwegian Grand Master Magnus Carlsen has won the Chessable Masters online tournament.
This tournament is the third event of the Magnus Carlsen Tour. Carlsen has won by scoring a straight-set victory in the final. He has faced Dutch chess player Anish Giri in the final. This is also the second time, Carlsen is winning the tournament, out of the three events of the tour.

Notes:
The World Bank and the Government of India has recently signed a loan agreement to provide support for the Namami Gange programme.
The programme aims to rejuvenate the Ganga river. The USD 400 million fund comprises a loan of USD 381 million and a guarantee of up to USD 19 million. The Second National Ganga River Basin Project aims to reduce population and support river basin management.

Notes:
The state government of Odisha has approved to provide around Rs 23,848 crore to its Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), for a period of six years.
This allocation has been done, on the recommendation of the fifth State Finance Commission. The state Secretary has directed to release the funds directly to the bodies through PRIASOFT portal. The second instalment will be provided only after 30% of the work taken is completed.

Notes:
The World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged the evidence that the novel coronavirus spreads through air.
WHO has previously said the virus spreads through small droplets expelled from nose and mouth of an infected person that quickly sinks to the ground. A group of 239 scientists from 32 countries wrote an open letter to the WHO, in which they claimed the airborne spread of the virus and urged WHO t update its guidance.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has granted its approval for developing Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (AHRCs) for urban migrants and poor as a sub-scheme under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U).
Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has initiated an Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs) sub scheme in May 2020. Nearly three lakh beneficiaries will be covered initially under the ARHC scheme.

Notes:
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), for mutual data exchange.
Both the organisations will share the required information available in their respective databases on an automatic and regular basis. Moreover, a Data Exchange Steering Group has been constituted for the initiative, that will review of data exchange status.