Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
National Intelligence Grid “NATGRID” is an attached office under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. It aims to allow investigation and law enforcement agencies to access real-time information.
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is to partner with the NATGRID to share the financial details of any entity with 10 agencies including the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and the NIA. This information-sharing mechanism is done under the NATGRID platform.

Notes:
Researchers at IIT Kharagpur have developed a new low-cost, portable device that can test for Covid-19 and give results in an hour.
The new technology has accuracy similar to the RT-PCR test, which is now considered the standard for testing. The device uses a disposable paper strip for analysing the sample and the results are made available in a mobile application.

Notes:
The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) is to set up its own Cotton warehouse in Vietnam, to boost Exports.
A government-to-government Memorandum of Understanding is also being prepared to export 1.5-2 million bales of cotton to Bangladesh. CCI holds surplus stocks of cotton before the next harvest season and this plan has been made.

Notes:
The United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson has launched a strategy to encourage the citizens to be physically fit.
A new evidence showed that obese people who are being infected by coronavirus are more likely to die or develop severe illness. Under the drive, Doctors prescribe cycling or running to patients. There will be ban on junk food advertisements and calorie warnings will be provided on food items.

Notes:
The Saudi Arabian Oil Company otherwise called as Saudi Aramco is a multinational petroleum and natural gas company. It is the world’s biggest energy firm, with USD 1.75 trillion market capitalization.
Recently, the Reliance Industries surpassed Exxon Mobil Corp. to become the world’s second largest energy company. Reliance has the world’s biggest oil refinery complex. Its market value is USD 189 billion, as on July 27, 2020.

Notes:
Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh has topped the list of aspirational districts ranked by Niti Aayog for the February-June 2020 period.
Ri-Bhoi district in Meghalaya and Bahraich district in Uttar Pradesh have been placed at the second and third positions respectively. This delta ranking considers incremental progress made by over 112 aspirational districts across six developmental areas including Health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion, skill development and basic infrastructure.

Notes:
The Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar released an updated report on India’s Tiger Survey from 2018.
As per the updated report, India’s tiger population stood at 2967, the same number given by the Government last year. India has 70% of the world’s total tiger population. Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of tigers at 526, followed by Karnataka and Uttarakhand.

Notes:
India is collaborating with the United Kingdom for five new projects worth eight million pounds, to tackle anti-microbial resistance (AMR).
All the five projects are planned for September this year, after they receive clearances. The United Kingdom is to contribute four million pounds from the UK Research and Innovation Fund for the partnership. The UK has also partnered with India’s Serum Institute to manufacture the vaccine for COVID-19.

Notes:
England fast-bowler Stuart Broad has recently become the seventh bowler in cricket history to clinch 500 wickets in Test matches.
The 34-year-old player has achieved this feat during the third and final Test against West Indies at the Old Trafford. He is the second English player to achieve this after James Anderson. Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka is the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket with 800 wickets.

Notes:
The Chairman of Tata Sons N Chandra Sekaran announced that Thierry Bollore would be appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tata’s British luxury arm Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).
Thierry Bollore, who was previously working with the Renault, will assume office with effective from September 10. He is to succeed Professor Sir Ralf Speth, who would take up the position of Non-Executive Vice Chairman of Jaguar Land Rover.