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 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:
Union Defence Ministry has launched a new portal to issue No Objection Certificate (NOC) for power projects and Research Survey Exploration Exploitation (RSEE) activities in the Indian Territorial Waters and Exclusive Economic Zone.
The Ministry of Defence gives security clearances to various Private and Public Sector Undertakings for power, wind and solar projects in areas near defence installation. The new portal will allow applicants to submit their proposals online for seeking security clearance from the Ministry.

Notes:
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has recently released the ‘State of World Population 2020’ report.
UNFPA is the sexual and reproductive health agency of the United Nations (UN) located in New York. As per the report, the number of missing women has more than doubled over the past 50 years, from 61 million in 1970 to 142.6 million in 2020. Out of that, India accounts for 45.8 million of missing females of the world.

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:
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 state Government of Madhya Pradesh is set to launch a new scheme called ‘Hamara Ghar-Hamara Vidyalaya’.
It means My Home-My school and the scheme aims to teach the school-going children, in a school-like environment. Under the scheme, the children of the state will learn to read and write and perform yoga, as per the State Education Centre.

Notes:
The United Kingdom has recently recognised Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s constitutional interim President.
A case has been held over whether Guaido or Nicolas Maduro have control on the country’s USD 1 billion worth gold reserves held in the Bank of England. In the ruling of the English High Court, it has declared Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. Though Maduro won the second term, the opposition has majority.

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:
Germany has recently become the first major economy to shut down coal and nuclear power. Both the houses of German Parliament have approved the phase-out decision.
It has decided to shut down coal-fired power plants by 2038 and nuclear power by the end of 2022. The country has also proposed to spend about 40 billion euros to help the affected regions in their transition.