Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
A place called Swabhiman Anchal located in Malkangiri district of Odisha was seen in news recently, as the first bus service was inaugurated there, after independence.
The place also known as the cut-off area, was originally covered by water from three sides. The Gurupriya Bridge connects this remote region with the rest of the State. Until this passenger bus service, motor launches and boats were the only modes of communication.

Notes:
‘India Cycles4Change Challenge’ is a new initiative of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, under its Smart Cities Mission.
The Ministry has recently opened the registration for the Challenge, which was originally launched on June 25, 2020. All cities under the Smart Cities Mission, capital cities of States/UTs and all cities with above 5 lakh population can apply through the newly launched portal and provide quick solutions for promoting cycling.

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:
Global leader in payments technology Visa has partnered with Federal Bank to deploy Visa Secure to the bank’s cardholders.
Visa Secure is an authentication program that uses the latest standards of the EMV protocol. This upgraded technology will provide security to curb online frauds and quick check-out experience to the card-holders.

Notes:
Chhattisgarh government’s Mukhyamantri Darpan website and mobile application has been awarded “Elites Excellence Awards-2020”.
The website and app contains all the flagship schemes of the Chhattisgarh government, including the ‘Suraji Gaon Yojna’. The award was announced under the ‘Digital India initiative’ of Elites Technomedia in a virtual conference inaugurated by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi.

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 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:
As per the recent data by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India posted a trade surplus of USD 790 million in June 2020.
This surplus has been recorded for the first time after over 18 years. Due to the Covid-19 induced decrease in domestic demand for crude oil, gold and other industrial products, the country’s import was deeply reduced. This led to a trade surplus with imports of USD 21.11 billion and exports of USD 21.91 billion.

Notes:
The BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) has launched a BRICS CCI Young Leaders Initiative.
The Initiative has been launched with an objective to support and empower young leaders and entrepreneurs. It also aims to provide industry exposure and job opportunities across member nations, to the youngsters.

Notes:
Neela Satyanarayan, the first woman Chief Election Commissioner of Maharashtra has recently passed away, at the age of 72.
She was a 1972 batch IAS officer and a celebrated author, poet and music composer. She was the additional Chief Secretary of Revenue Department and was made the state Chief Election commissioner after retirement.