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 Union Government has announced the launch of Taxable Floating Rate Savings Bonds, 2020, that will be available for subscription for retail investors from July 1, 2020.
The bonds are issued by the Reserve Bank of India on behalf of the Government, replacing the recently withdrawn 7.75% bonds. The interest rate on these bonds will be reset every six months while the initial rate of interest is fixed at 7.15 per cent. The bonds shall be repayable on the expiration of seven years from the date of issue.

Notes:
ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) leaders have met during the recent annual summit held via video conference.
ASEAN is a regional association with 10 member countries including Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Brunei, Laos. The Chair of ASEAN in 2020 is Vietnam, which hosted the virtual summit, due to travel restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

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:
An Artificial Intelligence enabled digital platform of the Indian Government named MyGov Corona Helpdesk bagged two awards at the Global Leadership Summit, CogX 2020.
The helpdesk bagged two awards under categories namely “Best Innovation for Covid-19 – Society” and “People’s Choice Covid-19 Overall Winner”. CogX 2020 is a prestigious Global Festival of AI & Emerging Technology held annually in London.

Notes:
The Union Home Ministry has extended the Armed Forces (Special power Act) (AFSPA) in Nagaland, for six more months.
The whole state has been declared as a “Distributed area” for a period of six months with effect from 30th June. This has been exercised under the powers provided by section 3 of the AFSPA Act. Earlier, Nagaland Governor R. N Ravi has written to the Chief Minister that the law and order has collapsed in the state.

Notes:
The World Bank has approved a USD 750 million MSME Emergency Response program, to support micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As per the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors, the programme will help in improving funding capacity of Small finance banks (SFBs) and Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) for the MSME sector. This is expected to provide liquidity to about 1.5 million viable MSMEs. The loans have a maturity period of 19 years.

Notes:
The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) has launched a new scheme called ‘Accelerate Vigyan’.
It aims to provide a single exclusive platform for research internships and science workshops across the country. It also aims to encourage high-end scientific research and research careers. Several programmes to identify research potential, training programmes are to be carried out across the country.

Notes:
Russia has recently held polls for a nationwide referendum on constitutional amendments, which include the reset in the term limits of the incumbent Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The amendments allow him to seek two more 6-year terms when his presidency ends in 2024. As per the preliminary results, more than 76% of Russians voted supporting the amendments. Putin has been the President from 2012 and will remain till 2036, as per the amendment.

Notes:
The Union Territory of Delhi has announced that a plantation drive called ‘Paudhe Lagao, Paryavaran Bachao’ (Plant Saplings, Save Environment).
As per the Environment Ministry, Delhi is to launch a 17-day long plantation drive of 31 lakh saplings, to increase the green cover to 350 sq km by 2021. The aim of the drive is to create awareness about increasing green cover to reduce pollution in the UT. The period of the drive will be observed as “Vrikshaaropan Pakhavaada”.