Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
Union Minister of State for Shipping Shri Mansukh Mandaviya has recently approved Rs. 107 Crore for improving fire-fighting facilities at Haldia Dock Complex, Kolkata Port.
The existing fire fighting facility does not support handling of petroleum products as per the guidelines of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. This augmentation is a step towards compliance of global standards for fire safety and secure handling of petroleum products.

Notes:
The Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan announced during the meeting with the 15th Finance Commission, that the Government is to gradually increase the public health expenditure to 2.5 per cent of the country’s GDP by 2025.
This is the government’s target of the National Health Policy 2017. He also confirmed that the primary health expenditure will be made about two-third of the total public health expenditure in the country.

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 Kochi International Container Trans-shipment Terminal is locally known as the Vallarpadam Terminal is located in the Kochin port, Kerala. It is claimed to be the first trans-shipment port of India.
Union Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has recently reviewed the development activities at the Terminal. A terminal at the port, which handles containers, stores them and transfers them to other ships for further movement, is called as Trans-shipment Hub.

Notes:
Election Commissioner of India Ashok Lavasa, has been appointed as the Vice President for Private Sector Operations and Public-Private Partnerships at the Asian Development Bank.
Ashok Lavasa is to replace the incumbent Vice President Diwakar Gupta, whose term is ending on August 31. The retired IAS officer was appointed as the Election commissioner in January 2018 and he was the next senior Election Commissioner, to be appointed as the Chief, after the present CEC Sunil Arora.

Notes:
Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated the virtual Digital Indo- Italian Business Mission on Food Processing’.
The two-day event comprises of digital conferences, trade fair and B2B (Business to Business) meetings, which are being attended by 23 Italian companies. This Digital Sectorial business Mission is expected to promote the bilateral trade between India and Italy.

Notes:
Union Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister Giriraj Singh launched the implementation guidelines for Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund, AHIDF.
The 15000 crore rupees worth fund was approved by the Union Cabinet last month under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan stimulus package. Under the fund, Farmer Producer Organizations, MSMEs, Private Companies and individual entrepreneurs with minimum 10% margin are given 90% loans from scheduled banks, for developing infrastructure for animal husbandry.

Notes:
India’s third largest services company, HCL Technologies announced that its Co-founder Shiv Nadar had stepped down as Chairman of the board of directors.
His daughter Roshni Nadar Malhotra has been named as the next Chairperson of the company. Shiv Nadar will continue in the post of Chief strategy officer. Roshni Nadar became the vice-chairman of the board in 2018. HCL was founded in the year 1976 by Shiv Nadar as one of the 5 founders.

Notes:
P. Praveen Siddharth, a 2001 batch Indian Revenue Service- Income Tax (IRS-IT) officer, P. Praveen Siddharth, has been appointed Private Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind.
He has replaced Vikram Singh, who has recently been appointed as the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Shipping. The new Private Secretary is serving as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the President’s Secretariat.

Notes:
The Chairman of the Railway Board VK Yadav has recently announced that the Government has deferred the timeline for introducing private trains to March 2024.
Earlier, the timeline was fixed at April 2023. It has deferred because the major infrastructure upgradation of the railway network is expected to be completed only in the year 2024. The Board also said that North Eastern state capitals will be connected via rail network by 2023.