Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
The United Arab Emirates has recently announced its plans to send its first Mars mission and it has become the first Arab country to do so.
Until now, only the United States, India, USSR and the European Space Agency have successfully sent their Mars orbiter missions. China is in the process of launching its first Mars rover. The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) is heading the Mars project of the UAE.

Notes:
India has become the second largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) for the United Kingdom in 2019.
As per the UK government figures recently released, India is up from its third position in 2018 and it is second only to the United States. India has invested in 120 projects and created above 5000 new jobs in the UK. India is followed by Germany, France and China.

Notes:
Central Public Sector Undertaking under Ministry of Power NTPC Ltd has won the prestigious CII-ITC Sustainability Award 2019, under Outstanding Accomplishment in Corporate Excellence Category.
The enterprise also received Commendation for Significant Achievement in category of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The company runs a CSR program called GEM (Girl Empowerment Mission), which is a residential program for school going girls, who are residing near the company’s power stations.

Notes:
The United Nations declared July 12 as ‘Malala Day’ every year, to honour the sixteen-year old Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, who was advocating the promotion of education of girls.
On the same day in 2013, she delivered an inspiring speech at the United Nations (UN) headquarters on the need for gender equality in education. The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate has recently completed her degree at the Oxford University.

Notes:
NITI Aayog has estimated that India needs 6.2% additional spending of GDP to achieve 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
The country’s think tank said this in its second Voluntary National Review (VNR) at the UN high-level political forum (HLPF) on sustainable development, 2020. India needs to upgrade its statistical system, improve its monitoring mechanism and capacity building of all stakeholders. It also advised that the Budget should be aligned with SDGs.

Notes:
The comet C/2020 F3 comet also called as NEOWISE was discovered on March 27, this year. It was seen in news recently, as the comet would be visible in the sky.
In India, the NEOWISE comet will be visible in the northwest sky which is 20 degrees from the horizon. It is expected to be visible after sunset for around 20 minutes for 20 days from July 14, 2020 and it will fade away in the month of August.

Notes:
The CEO of Google Sundar Pichai has recently announced the launch USD 10 billion ‘India Digitization Fund’.
This was announced at the ‘Google for India’ virtual live-stream event, which focused on accelerating India’s digital economy. Through this initiative, Google will invest about Rs 75000 Crores in India over the next 5 to 7 years. The fund will focus on enabling affordable access and information to every Indian.

Notes:
France celebrates its national day Fête nationale also called as Bastille Day every year on July 14. It commemorates the storming of the Bastille fortress on July 14, 1789, which was a turning point in the French Revolution.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, the country celebrated a downsized ceremony, as the historic annual military parade was called off, for the first time since 1945. Only half of the soldiers gathered at the Place de la Concorde.

Notes:
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a report titled the ‘World Wildlife Crime Report 2020’.
As per the report, Pangolin is the world’s most trafficked mammal and the number of times the mammal’s scales were seized increased nearly ten times between 2014 and 2018. The report also highlighted that zoonotic diseases account for 75 per cent of all emerging infectious diseases.

Notes:
Cochin Shipyard Limited has signed a contract for construction and supply of two autonomous electric ferries for ASKO Maritime AS, Norway.
This firm is a subsidiary of NorgesGruppen ASA, one of the major players in the Norwegian retail market. The project is partially funded by the Norwegian government and aimed at emission-free transport of goods. The 67-metre-long vessels will be delivered as a full-electric transport ferry, initially. The Ship yard is also building 23 hybrid electric boats for the Kochi Water Metro.