Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
Department of Science and Technology has launched a 15-crore fund to support India-Russia Joint Technology Assessment and Accelerated Commercialization Programme.
The fund has been launched in partnership with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises (FASIE) of Russia. Start-ups from India and Russia will work together for technology development and cross-country technology adaptation. FICCI will implement the program in India.

Notes:
Reserve Bank of India releases a bi annual report called the financial stability report (FSR). The latest edition was released recently.
RBI has estimated that the gross non performing asset (GNPA) ratio of all banks may increase from 8.5% in March 2020 to 12.5% by March 2021. GNPA ratio of public sector banks will increase to 15.2% in March 2021. The main reason for this dip is the slowdown in the economy due to the Covid-19 induced lock-down.

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:
Australia has recently filed a formal declaration statement to the United Nations to reject the claims of China in the South China Sea.
Australia has claimed that there were no legal issues to the disputed claims of China in the sea, including those related to construction of artificial islands on shoals and reefs. Earlier, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared China’s claims of territory and resources in the South China Sea as illegal.

Notes:
The Central Reserve Police Force has recently celebrated its 82nd Raising Day on July 27. The Prime Minister and Home Minister greeted its personnel.
The CRPF came into existence as Crown Representative’s Police on July 27, 1939. After the enactment of the CRPF Act on December 28, 1949, it became the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). It aims to secure the internal security of the country.

Notes:
India Meteorological Department, Union Ministry of Earth Sciences launched a weather forecast application for general public.
Named as Mausam, the application offers information on five details including current temperature, humidity, wind speed and wind direction for 200 cities. The information is updated eight times a day. While this app is meant for everyone, IMD already has another app meant only for farmers and agriculturists called Meghdoot.

Notes:
Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan has launched the Bureau of Indian Standard’s Mobile App ‘BIS-Care’.
He also launched Standardization, Conformity Assessment and Training portals of e-BIS for consumers. Using the bi-lingual app, consumers can check the authenticity of the ISI-marked and hallmarked products. Consumers can also lodge complaints using this app. Earlier, BIS was directed to frame quality norms for 371 items by March 2021 to curb non-essential imports.

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.

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.