Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has signed an MoU with Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad to establish a Research cell at the IIT.
The Defence research cell aims to meet the upcoming defence technological requirements of the country. This DRDO – IITH Research Cell will conduct research programmes in specific technology areas. This will be established as an extension of the DRDO Research and Innovation Centre (RIC), Chennai.

Notes:
New York headquartered United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has recently released a report titled “Community based programme for children below 5 years of age with severe acute malnutrition in India—Progress so far and lessons learned 2020”.
The report considered the malnutrition programmes being implemented in 12 states. As per UNICEF, the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted care for malnourished children. This may increase the burden and availability of food and livelihood in the country.

Notes:
As per the recent communication from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), all custom stations would set up Turant Suvidha Kendras (TSKs) by July 15.
The centres would act as the only interface point with Customs officers for physical submission of documents. The Union Budget 2020 proposed to launch nation-wide faceless assessment and this is considered as the first step in the process. CBIC has also inducted several modern testing equipment into the Central Revenues Control Laboratory.

Notes:
As per the recently published study by the scientists from Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Lithium (Li) is produced in the Universe, by Sun like stars in their later life.
IIA, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, has published the study in Nature Astronomy. Low mass stars like Sun produce Lithium during their Helium core burning phase, as per the scientists. This is the first time that a clear observational evidence has been provided.

Notes:
As per the recent notification of the Corporate Affairs Ministry, the tenure of Justice B L Bhat as the acting Chairperson of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s (NCLAT), for three more months.
His three-month tenure as officiating Chairman was scheduled to end on June 15. This decision would be in effect for three more months or until a regular Chairperson is appointed or until further orders. The last NCLAT Chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya retired on March 15, 2020.

Notes:
The Indian Navy has successfully completed its mission named ‘Operation Samudra Setu’, to bring back Indian citizens from overseas during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was launched in May 2020 and since then, the Indian Naval Ships Jalashwa, Airavat, Shardul and Magar were deployed in the 55-day operation to bring back 3,992 Indian citizens via sea. Indian navy had arranged proper sanitation measures and medical facilities in the ships to avoid contraction of the virus by passengers.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has approved the capital infusion for an overall value of Rs.12,450 crore in the three Public Sector General Insurance Companies (PSGICs) namely Oriental Insurance Company Limited (OlCL), National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) and United India Insurance Company Limited (UIICL).
This includes the Rs 2500 crore infused in the year 2019-20. The Cabinet also approved to increase the authorised share capital of NICL to Rs.7,500 crore and that of UIICL and OICL to Rs 5,000 crore.

Notes:
The IIT Alumni Council is setting up the world’s largest molecular diagnostic lab in Mumbai, Maharashtra named ‘MegaLab Mumbai’.
Recently, the council has partnered with a CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB), to conduct research on spread of COVID-19 and patient data analysis. The IIT Alumni Council is the largest association of alumni, students and teachers from all the 23 IITs and partnering technical institutes.

Notes:
Australia has recently suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and extended visas for Hong Kong residents.
This decision gains importance as it has been declared amidst the imposition of a tough national security law on Hong Kong by China. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a range of visas of two to five years duration. Offers of permanent residency visas were also announced.

Notes:
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has launched ‘Aatamanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping (ASEEM)’ portal.
The Artificial Intelligence (AI)- based portal will provide a digital platform to the employers to evaluate the availability of skilled workforce, in their hiring process. The portal also helps the workforce to attain industry-relevant skills and search for job opportunities.