Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

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:
E-Commerce Giant Flipkart has announced that it will acquire parent Walmart’s wholesale business, ‘Best Price’.
The loss-ridden cash-and-carry business of Walmart in India is the last part of Walmart to be acquired by Flipkart marking a complete consolidation. This acquisition is expected to help Flipkart to expand its business-to-business vertical.

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:
India and the European Union are set to renew the Agreement on Scientific cooperation for the next five years, 2020-2025.
This was announced at the virtual 15th India-EU Summit, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen led the EU. The mentioned Agreement was initially signed in 2001 and has been renewed two times in 2007 and 2015.

Notes:
The Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar announced that the Union Government is to collaborate with the World Bank, to convert the Gwalior-Chambal belt of Madhya Pradesh into arable land.
This has been decided in the virtual meeting with the World Bank representative. As per the statement, more than 3 lakh hectares of rugged land that remains not cultivable can be improved. As a result, the region’s agricultural development, environmental protection and employment opportunities can be improved.

Notes:
A digital platform created for information exchange between the government and citizens India called ‘MyGov’ completed six years from its inception.
The first-of-its-kind participatory governance platform was on July 26, 2014 by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The portal engaged the citizens on important policy issues and governance. There are over 1.22 crore registered members of MyGov platform.

Notes:
Pune based Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) has developed a Medical Bed Isolation System named Aashray, to fight COVID-19.
The system has individual envelopes made up of specialized material that stops the virus spread from patient to others. It consists of negative pressure suction near exhale and tools to filter and disinfect aerosol. The portable and reusable system can be used in quarantine facilities.

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:
Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has recently announced the National Awards for excellence in Earth System Science.
The Life Time Excellence Award is being awarded to Professor Ashok Sahni for his contribution in the field of Geology and Biostratigraphy. The National Award for Ocean Science and technology is being awarded to Dr. V. V. S. S. Sarma and Dr. M. Ravichandran.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has approved the change in the name of Union Ministry of Human Resource Development.
The HRD Ministry that is currently headed by Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, has been renamed as Ministry of Education. The name change was a key recommendation of the National Education Policy. In 1985, Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi changed the name of the Education Ministry to HRD Ministry.