Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
Veteran Opposition leader of Ireland Micheál Martin has been named as the next Prime Minister of the country, by the Parliament.
The 59-year-old leader took charge as the Prime Minister, to head the first coalition uniting the two prime parties. Micheál Martin had earlier held several important ministries including health, trade, foreign affairs and education.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana would be extended till the end of November.
The scheme aims to provide free grains to more than 80 crore poor people of the country. The Prime Minister announced that more than Rs 90,000 crore will be spent in this expansion of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.

Notes:
Lepidopterists, those who specialises in studying moths and butterflies, have recently discovered two new species of butterflies namely Striped Hairstreak and Elusive Prince in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Striped Hairstreak was first recorded in Japan and the Elusive Prince was discovered in Vietnam. As per the Society for Education and Environmental Development (SEED), the discovery of two new species have increased the number of butterfly species of the country to 1327.

Notes:
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is set to replace the 25-year-old NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement).
The renegotiated deal comes into effect from July 1. USMCA is a trilateral agreement between three countries namely the United States, Mexico and Canada. The deal was originally signed in 2018 and since then the countries have been working to implement the new deal. It seeks to support the technology sector and include USD 600 million to address environmental problems.

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:
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:
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has deployed 120 Mobile Medical Vans named ‘Dhanvantri Rath’ across the city.
It is a mobile van that provides non-COVID essential healthcare services to every household of the corporation. Every van has an AYUSH Doctor, a paramedic and nursing staff and a local Medical Officer from the Corporation’s Urban Health Centre. It conducts regular out-patient consultations.

Notes:
The Sustainable Development Report 2020 has been released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Bertelsmann Stiftung.
In this year’s edition of the report, Sweden has topped the SDG rankings with a score of 84.7. It is followed by Denmark and Finland. India is placed at 117th rank with a score of 61.9. The countries are ranked based on their implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in terms of six broad transformations.

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:
Veteran bureaucrat Injeti Srinivas has been appointed as the first chairman of the International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA).
The IFSCA was recently established by the Finance ministry to regulate all financial services in International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) in the country. It is headquartered at Gujarat International Finance Tech (GIFT) City, Ahmedabad. The former Corporate affairs Secretary will head the IFSCA for three years.