Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

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:
Kholongchhu is the first joint venture hydroelectric project between India and Bhutan. A concession agreement for project was recently signed virtually.
This agreement will commence the construction and related works of the project, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025. The 600 MW project is located on the Kholongchhu river in eastern Bhutan. It will be implemented by Kholongchhu Hydro Energy Limited, a JV company formed between DGPC of Bhutan and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL) of India.

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:
A MoU was recently signed between Indian Oil, NTPC Ltd and South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), to develop a demonstration Waste-to-energy Plant at Okhla landfill site in Delhi.
The plant is to be developed using Gasification technology and it shall process 17500 tons per annum of Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) from combustible components of Municipal Waste. Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy, R K Singh were present during the virtual event.

Notes:
Food aggregator platform and unicorn start-up Swiggy has launched its own digital wallet Swiggy Money in partnership with ICICI Bank.
The full-fledged digital wallet enables single-click checkout experience and will let its customers to store money and pay for all food orders on Swiggy. Swiggy has used ICICI Bank’s insta wallet service API, to create its own wallet.

Notes:
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved the proposal for procurement of 21 MiG-29 and upgradation of existing 59 MiG-29 aircraft from Russia at a cost of Rs 7418 crore.
It has also approved the procurement of 12 Su-30 MKI aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautical Ltd, at an estimated cost of Rs 10,730 cr. DAC cleared the acquisition of 248 Astra Beyond Visual Range air-to-air missiles for the Indian Air Force and the Navy. Other important equipment required by the Armed Forces were also approved for Rs 38,900 crore.

Notes:
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has partnered with Technology major Facebook, to launch curriculum on digital safety.
The curriculum also includes practices of online well-being of students and Augmented Reality for students and teachers. This was announced by Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. The curriculum has been prepared comprehensively to equip the children face the future of work.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath has launched a plantation campaign named ‘Mission Vriksharopan’.
He planted a sapling at Kukrel forest Lucknow, on the occasion of the Guru Purnima, which is celebrated across the state. Under the mission, the state government has planned to plant at least 25 crore saplings in a single day, across the state.

Notes:
A 23-year old chess player from Tamil Nadu, G. Akash has recently become the 66th Grandmaster of India.
Akash’s Grand Master title was confirmed at the second council meet of International Chess Federation (FIDE) of the year 2020. The Chennai-based player won the National title in the year 2012. His present FIDE rating is 2495.

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.