Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
India’s third-largest public sector bank, Bank of Baroda (BoB) has recently launched ‘Insta Click Savings Account’.
This is a completely paperless, digital and self-assisted online savings account. The process uses a new form of digital KYC and Aadhaar-based OTP authentication of the customer. A customer can access the bank’s website to open the account, which gets activated in real-time. Baroda M Connect Plus is to be used for further transactions.

Notes:
The United States has recently ordered China to close its consulate in Houston. This is a sequel of punitive measures against China including the travel bans, strict registration requirements among others.
The State Department said it ordered the consulate to shut down within 72 hours to protect American intellectual property and the private information of Americans. China has its embassy in Washington, its mission to the United Nations in New York, and consulates in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Notes:
India is set to procure HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) standoff missiles from France.
The Indian Air Force is expected to receive first five Rafale combat aircrafts from France by July 29. HAMMER is a medium-range air-to-ground weapon. It was originally designed and manufactured for the French Air Force and Navy.

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:
The Union Government has issued a certificate of Geographical Indication (GI) registration for Saffron grown in the Union Territory of Jammu &Kashmir.
The GI tag would ensure better remunerative price to the farmers growing Saffron in Kashmir Valley. This would also increase export of the unique Kashmir saffron and curb the fake products being sold. The UT is also inaugurating a Spice Park next month.

Notes:
India and the United Kingdom has organised the 14th Joint Economic and Trade Committee meeting virtually.
The meeting was co-chaired by Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and UK Secretary of State for International Trade, Elizabeth Truss. Both the countries confirmed their shared commitment to a Free Trade Agreement.

Notes:
The Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc has recently signed an order that bans all imports of wildlife either dead or alive including eggs and larvae.
The order also includes tougher penalties for crimes involving the trade in wildlife. Amidst the coronavirus spread, this ban has been imposed in Vietnam, which is a popular destination for endangered wildlife products used in medicine or cuisine.

Notes:
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations releases the Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA)’ report.
FAO has been publishing this assessment once in every 5 years since 1990. It evaluates the state of forests and their management in all member countries. As per the recent report, India has ranked third among the countries that gained in forest areas in the last decade (2010-2020). China and Australia held the first two ranks.

Notes:
During the Saint Petersburg declaration on tiger conservation that was signed by Tiger range countries in 2010, it was decided to celebrate 29th July as Global Tiger Day across the world.
The countries had pledged to double the tiger population by the year 2022. Global Tiger Day aims to create awareness on tiger conservation. Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has released the All India Tiger Estimation Report-2018 and said that India has nearly 70 per cent of the global tiger population.

Notes:
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has recently attended the 5th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
A roundtable discussion was conducted on the theme ‘AIIB 2030-Supporting Asia’s Development over the Next Decade’. The bank had earlier provided a financial assistance of about USD 10 billion to combat Covid-19.