Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
Veteran Bollywood actor Jagdeep has passed away recently, at the age of 81, due to age related illness.
The actor’s real name is Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jafri and he is famous for his role as Soorma Bhopali in the star movie, ‘Sholay’. The comedian actor has appeared in more than 400 films including ‘Purana Mandir’. He has also directed a hindi movie.

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 President of Hockey India Mohammed Mushtaque Ahmad has recently resigned from his post, citing personal commitments.
There had been controversies after the election of Ahmad as the President of HI in the year 2018. The Executive board of Hockey India has named Manipur’s Gyanendro Nigombam as the officiating president, in his place. Prior to this, Nigombam was the Senior Vice-President in the federation.

Notes:
The President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently announced that the iconic architectural place of the country Hagia Sophia would be made a mosque, which gained criticism from across the world.
After the top Turkish court revoked the museum status of the monument, the President made this announcement. The UNESCO World Heritage site in Istanbul was first constructed as a cathedral but was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. It has been a museum since 1935 and open to people of all faiths.

Notes:
The incumbent Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong’s People’s Action Party has retained its power in the recently held general elections.
The ruling party has been in power in Singapore since 1965. This time it has won 83 of 93 parliamentary seats, which implies 61.2 per cent of the vote. In a surprise move, the opposition Workers’ Party made their best performance by securing a record 10 seats, for the first time.

Notes:
TDS is deductible at the rate of 2 % if cash withdrawal of above 1 crore made by a person who is an income-tax payee. While, TDS is deductible at the rate 2 % if cash withdrawal exceeds 20 lakh rupees and at the rate of 5 % if it exceeds one crore rupees, if made by a non-income-tax filer.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has launched a new tool, through which Banks and Post offices can determine the TDS rates on cash withdrawals, by entering their PAN number.

Notes:
The birth anniversary of Nepali poet Bhanu Bhakta Acharya is celebrated as ‘Bhanu Jayanti’, in the state of Sikkim.
The poet is revered in Nepali Literature as ‘Adikavi’ and he is said to have laid the foundation of the Nepali literature. He had also translated several religious scripts from Sanskrit to Nepali. The Governor Ganga Prasad and Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang participated in the commemorative event.

Notes:
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IIT Alumni Council to encourage listing of start-ups.
IIT Alumni Council is the largest body of alumni, students and faculty across all the 23 IITs. The partnership aims at developing confidence among investors in the start-up’s platform. This will also ensure a complete ecosystem for the proposed social stock exchange.

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.