Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
United Kingdom Minister Rishi Sunak has recently unveiled a dedicated 1.57 billion pounds rescue package for arts, culture and heritage industries.
Under the rescue package, affordable loans will be provided to the industries across the country, that employ more than 700,000 people. Thousands of organisations including performing arts and theatres, museums etc will be benefitted.

Notes:
As per the latest issue of a research newsletter on life forms- ‘Bionotes’, a Himalayan butterfly named ‘Golden Birdwing’ is declared the largest butterfly of India.
Until now, another butterfly named the Southern Birdwing holds the record of the country’s largest butterfly for 88 years, after a British military officer and butterfly researcher recorded it in 1932. The female Golden Birdwing has a wingspan of 194 mm, larger than that of the Southern Birdwing.

Notes:
The state government of Odisha has approved to provide around Rs 23,848 crore to its Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), for a period of six years.
This allocation has been done, on the recommendation of the fifth State Finance Commission. The state Secretary has directed to release the funds directly to the bodies through PRIASOFT portal. The second instalment will be provided only after 30% of the work taken is completed.

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 National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) was established by the Union Government in the year 2000. It works under the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha & Homeopathy (AYUSH).
Recently, NMPB has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, NBPGR, to conserve Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Genetic Resources. The resources would be conserved in the National Gene bank and or at Regional Stations.

Notes:
The world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium, ‘Norilsk Nickel’ mining company is located in Russia. It is headed by the famous Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin.
The company was seen in news, as Russia has directed it to pay USD 2 billion, for damages caused over the huge fuel spill in the Arctic Ocean. Earlier, Russia had declared national emergency after 21,000 tonnes of diesel fuel leaked.

Notes:
The fifteenth summit between India and the European Union (EU) is scheduled to be held on July 15, through video conferencing.
Prime Minster Narendra Modi is to represent India. The President of European Council, Charles Michel and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen will represent the EU. The summit was supposed to be held in March and Indian Prime Minister was scheduled to visit Brussels, the capital of EU.

Notes:
The Chinese embassy in the central Asian country Kazakhstan has recently issued a statement, in which it has warned its citizens living in Kazakhstan, about a local ‘unknown pneumonia’.
The embassy also announced that this unknown disease has a higher fatality rate than the Covid-19 disease. As per the statement, the disease has caused 1772 deaths in the first six months of the year, which also included several Chinese citizens.

Notes:
National Fish Farmers Day is celebrated in India on July 10, every year, to commemorate the two scientists: Dr K H Alikunhi and Dr. H.L. Chaudhury, who had invented ‘Induced breeding technology’ on this day in 1957.
A webinar was conducted by the Department of Fisheries in association with National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB). The Union Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries attended the webinar. The Government has launched Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) for fish farmers.

Notes:
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has recently revamped its advisory committee on mutual funds.
As per the recent release of SEBI, the 20-member advisory committee is headed by the former deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Usha Thorat. The panel which was originally created in 2013 had 15 members, headed by Janki Ballabh. The committee advises SEBI on regulation and development of mutual fund industry.