Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, Harsimrat Kaur Badal has launched the Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM FME) scheme.
The scheme has been launched as a part of “Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan”. It is claimed to generate a total investment of Rs 35,000 crore and generate 9 lakh skilled and semi-skilled employment. The scheme would benefit 8 lakh units through access to information, training and better exposure.

Notes:
The state government of Maharashtra has launched the world’s largest convalescent plasma therapy project named PLATINA, for treating COVID-19.
The trial-cum-project is expected to save at least 500 lives of critically-ill Covid-19 patients in the state. The trial will be carried out in government medical colleges and BMC medical colleges. All critical patients will receive two doses of 200 ml of convalescent plasma under the project, free of cost.

Notes:
National Statistics Day is observed on June 29 every year in India. This year it was celebrated through virtual conference with the theme of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 (Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages) and SDG 5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls).
The Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation instituted a new award ‘Prof. P. C. Mahalanobis National Award in Official Statistics’, which was conferred upon Former RBI Governor C Rangarajan. ‘Prof. P.V. Sukhatme National Award in Statistics 2020’ was given to Dr Arvind Pandey and Dr. Akhilesh Chandra Kulshreshtha.

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has launched the world’s first online Diploma and Bachelor of Science Degree in Data Science and programming.
The course has no age limit and students who have passed class 12 can enrol. The course will be conducted online and its exams will be conducted in an offline mode. The course has three levels including the foundation, diploma and degree and it is divided into six semesters.

Notes:
Leading Global Technology company, Microsoft has recently announced a new global skills initiative, which aims to train as many as 25 million people worldwide, in digital skills, by the end of the year.
Under this initiative, Microsoft uses the data to identify the jobs in demand and provides free content to develop the skills of people. It also provides certifications and free job-seeking tools. This programme has been launched amidst Covid-19 crisis, where several people are hit by job losses.

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:
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:
Edelweiss Asset Management Company manages the Bharat Bond Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). It has formally launched the second series of the ETF.
During December 2019, it had launched the first series. With this tranche, the fund house seeks to raise up to Rs 14,000 crore from retail and institutional investors. Bharat Bond ETFs invest in AAA-rated papers of public sector companies (CPSEs and PSEs).

Notes:
The Cabinet Secretary of India Rajiv Gauba has ordered to revamp the e-SamikSha platform of the Indian Government.
It is a real time, online system for monitoring projects and decisions taken by the Union government and the follow-up actions by ministries. In the revamped platform, additional information related to milestones with target dates, beneficiary states and districts will also be captured.

Notes:
International Day of Cooperatives is celebrated on the first Saturday of July every year. This year, it is observed on July 4, 2020.
The theme of the International Day of Cooperatives 2020 is Cooperatives for Climate Action. The objective of the day is to create awareness about cooperatives and highlight the contributions of the cooperative movement to the development of the world.