Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
India’s oldest apex industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) has projected India’s annual median GDP growth for 2020-21 at -4.5%.
This has been projected in the association’s Economic Outlook Survey in the SBI Banking and Economics Conclave. It had previously predicted India’s growth rate to be 5.5 per cent in the January 2020 survey. In the conclave, RBI Governor said that Indian economy has started showing signs of getting back to normalcy.

Notes:
Coir Board is a statutory body established by the Government of India under the Coir Industry Act 1953, functioning under Ministry of MSME.
Recently, the export of coir and coir products from India in the year 2019-20 touched the highest point at Rs. 2757.90 crore. This is also Rs. 30 crore more than that of the last year, which stood at Rs. 2728.04 crore. Around 9 lakh metric tonnes of coir and coir products were exported.

Notes:
India has signed bilateral agreements named ‘Air Bubbles’ with France and the US to operate international flights.
Under the agreement, the airlines of each country will operate international flights between each other. American air carrier United Airlines will be operating 18 flights between India and the US and Air France will be operating 28 flights between Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Paris.

Notes:
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has postponed the 2022 Dakar Youth Olympics for four years, to 2026.
This decision has been taken due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Youth Summer Games, to be held in Senegal’s capital, will be the first Olympics to be organised in Africa. The Tokyo Olympics is scheduled to be held in July 2021 and Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022.

Notes:
Union Shipping Minister has recently flagged off first trial container ship from Kolkata Port to Agartala through the Chattogram port of Bangladesh.
This trial run has been done under the Agreement on using Chattogram and Mongla Ports for movement of India’s transit cargo through Bangladesh. It will provide a shorter route to connect the North East Region of India through Bangladesh.

Notes:
As per the statement released by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the Government has amended the import policy of Power tillers and its components from ‘free’ to ‘restricted’.
The importer is required to seek a license from the DGFT for importing the product categorised as ’restricted’. This move is expected to curb the inward shipment of the equipment that comes mainly from China.

Notes:
Indian Council of Agricultural Research, an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has recently celebrated its 92nd Foundation Day on July 16.
It was established on the same day in the year 1929 and was formerly known as Imperial Council of Agricultural Research. ICAR also announced the annual awards to various institutions and persons.

Notes:
Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank virtually launched the first online National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) programme for key resources persons of Andhra Pradesh.
After the scheme was launched in 2019, 33 states and UTs launched the programme in collaboration under Samagra Shiksha. The NCERT provides NISHTHA training programme at the state level.

Notes:
The Health Minister of Kerala KK Shailaja has recently announced that the rate of community transmission in Covid-19 clusters in the state is more than 50%.
In the 84 clusters in the state, local transmission is more than 50%. However, the rate of transmission is less than 10% outside the clusters. The Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also confirmed that community transmission was detected in two coastal villages of Thiruvananthapuram.

Notes:
The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) in India has declined to 113, in 2016-18. The ratio was 122 in 2015-17 and 130 in 2014-2016.
The Office of Registrar General’s Sample Registration System (SRS) has recently released a special bulletin on Maternal Mortality in India 2016-18. The target of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is to reduce the global MMR to less than 70 per 1 lakh live births.