Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
As per the recent release from the United Nations’ weather agency, the World Meteorological Organization, the average global temperatures would rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius, in the coming 5 years.
This rise is above the pre-industrial average of the global temperature. As per the research of various scientists, due to man-made greenhouse emissions, the average temperatures around the world is already above 1 degree Celsius, than that during 1850-1900.

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 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.

Notes:
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) has constituted a working group to study feasibility of forming a ‘pandemic risk pool’.
A pool is proposed to be formed, which addresses the risks that are arising out of the pandemic. The existing insurance laws do not cover business interruption losses and this pool is aimed to address this issue. The panel is expected to submit its report in eight weeks.

Notes:
Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), an autonomous organization under the Department of Science & Technology has prepared a white paper on “Focused Interventions for ‘Make in India’: Post COVID 19” and “Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients: Status, Issues, Technology Readiness and Challenges”.
Union Minister Harsh Vardhan released the white papers prepared by TIFAC, during a virtual event. The paper highlights high priority sectors, technologies and strategies to accelerate growth in the time of COVID-19.

Notes:
Veteran journalist cum political commentator Nagindas Sanghvi has recently passed away, at the age of 100.
He was a popular personality in Gujarati literature as a critic and political commentator. Nagindas Sanghvi was conferred with Padma Shri by the Indian government in the year 2019. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minster Vijay Rupani condoled the demise of the journalist.

Notes:
The Indian Railways has set the target to achieve net zero carbon emission by the year 2030. In order to achieve the target of becoming a Green Railways, it has accelerated the efforts.
Some of its initiatives include Electrification of lines, improving energy efficiency of trains, green certification for stations, fitting bio toilets in coaches and switching to renewable sources of energy. Recently, a 1.7 mega watt plant at Bina in Madhya Pradesh in collaboration with BHEL has been installed.

Notes:
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has announced Rs 5,000 crore worth grant-based scheme for computerisation of about 35,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) by FY23.
The scheme, apart from providing assistance to state governments for the process also ensures integration of the PACS with the Core Banking System (CBS) of District Central Co-operative Banks.

Notes:
The Chairman of Tata Group N Chandrasekaran is selected for the US-India Business Council, USIBC Global Leadership Award this year.
Along with him, the CEO of Lockheed Martin, Jim Taiclet will also receive the award. The USIBC Global Leadership Awards are conferred on executives to recognise their leadership and their contribution in promoting trade and business between India and the United States.

Notes:
The CMD of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Mukesh Ambani announced at the annual general meeting, that Jio platforms and Google will jointly develop a new Android-based smartphone system.
An entry level affordable smart phone by optimising the Android operating system would be jointly developed by the two giants. Google also announced that it will invest Rs 33,737 crores in Jio for developing 5G technology.