Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
A team of engineers at Indian Institute of Science (IISc) had developed an intensive care unit (ICU) grade ventilator under the name of ‘Project Praana’.
Recently, the team has successfully completed the prototyping of the ventilator, which is now in the process of being commercialised. The affordable ventilator uses only components made in India or components which are easily available in the domestic markets. The team developed the ventilator in a record 35 days.

Notes:
The 36-year-old Indian umpire Nitin Menon recently became the youngest member of the International Cricket Council’s Elite Panel of Umpires.
He replaced England’s Nigel Llong for the upcoming 2020-21 season. Nitin Menon has officiated in three Tests, 24 ODIs and 16 T20Is. He is only the third from India to enter the prestigious group after former captain Srinivas Venkatraghavan and Sundaram Ravi. Michael Gough of England (40), had been the youngest in the current panel.

Notes:
The Government of India has banned 59 Chinese mobile apps, including TikTok, UC Browser among others, by invoking its power under Section 69 A of Information Technology (IT) Act.
As per the statement from the Information Technology Ministry, the applications are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, Defence of India and public order. The Government has arranged talks with some firms including TikTok, after the ban was imposed.

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:
World Trade Organisation (WTO) has set up a dispute panel on India’s tariffs on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) goods such as mobile phones, cameras, headphones.
WTO has agreed to the second request from the European Union for establishing the panel. The requests for dispute panels against India’s tariffs on ICT products were examined by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the WTO.

Notes:
The United Nation’s trade and development body, UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) has recently released a report ‘COVID-19 and Tourism’.
As per the report, the world’s tourism sector could lose at least USD 1.2 trillion or 1.5% of the global gross domestic product (GDP). If the break in international tourism lasts for 8 months, the loss could rise to USD 2.2 trillion or 2.8% of the global GDP.

Notes:
Ace Chinese Badminton player Lin Dan has recently announced his retirement form sports, at the age of 36.
Lin Dan won the gold medal at Beijing (2008) and London (2012) Olympics. He is considered as one of the greatest players of the sport. He was also a five-time World champion and a six-time All England champion.

Notes:
Himachal Pradesh has recently become the first state in the country to provide LPG connections to all its households.
The state has been implementing ‘Himachal Grihini Suvidha Yojana’ scheme for implementing this objective. Under the scheme, around 2.76 lakh families in the state have benefitted by receiving LPG connections. The state also implemented Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana to provide free LPG connection to BPL families.

Notes:
Legendary Italian musician Ennio Morricone has recently passed away, at the age of 91. He had won two Oscar awards, the latest being awarded in 2016 for best original score for ‘The Hateful Eight’.
He was considered as one of the world’s most famous and creative music composers. His musical works including ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ and ‘The Mission’ were appreciated by his fans across the world. He had also won numerous awards including the Golden Globes, Grammys and BAFTAs.

Notes:
Indian Railways has set up a solar power plant, for the first time in the world, which directly provides power to the Railway Overhead Line, in collaboration with Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL).
Such a solar power plant has been established at Bina Traction Sub Station, Madhya Pradesh. The 1.7 Mega-watt solar power plant can produce around 25 lakh units of energy in a year and save about Rs 1.37 crore per year.