Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
1987 batch Bihar cadre IAS officer Rajesh Bhushan has been appointed as the new Health secretary, after July 31 this year.
As per the recent Personnel Ministry order, Rajesh Bhushan, the Officer on Special Duty in the Department of Health and Family Welfare will succeed the present Secretary Preeti Sudan. Sushil Kumar has been appointed secretary of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. Ram Kumar Mishra has been named Women and Child Development secretary.

Notes:
Aaykar Diwas or Income Tax Day is celebrated on July 24 by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and all field offices.
On the same day in the year 1860, Income tax was originally introduced in India by Sir James Wilson, to compensate for the losses incurred during the first war of independence. This is the 160th anniversary of Income Tax Day.

Notes:
Union Shipping Ministry has announced that it has waived off waterway usage charges for a period of three years.
This decision has been taken to promote inland waterways as a cheaper mode of transport. Water usage charge was previously applicable on use of all national waterways by vessels. This waiver is estimated to increase the inland waterway traffic movement to 110 million metric tonne (MMT) in 2022-23.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India has signed necessary documents for extending USD 400 million currency swap facility to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka had earlier requested for a currency swap facility under the SAARC Currency Swap Framework. This swap arrangement will remain available till November 2022 and is expected to assist Sri Lank to address the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Notes:
The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) has entered into a partnership with IIT Delhi under the ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’ (UBA) programme.
The scheme aims to connect higher education institutions with villages for economic and social betterment of rural areas. A MoU was signed between TRIFED, IIT Delhi and Vijnana Bharati for the implementation. Under ‘Van Dhan’ programme, tribal entrepreneurs will be provided guidance from academic and research institutions.

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:
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:
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 Sree Sree JoyKali Matar temple, one of the oldest temples in Bangladesh, has been reconstructed with the Indian assistance of Taka 97 lakh.
The High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das has inaugurated the reconstructed temple at Natore. The MoU for the process was signed in the year 2016. The Indian assistance was given under its High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP). Several other community projects are also being carried out under this fund.

Notes:
IRCTC and SBI Cards & Payment Services have jointly launched their Co-branded Contactless Credit Card on RuPay Platform.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal introduced this new card. The card has several advanced features like Near Field Communication and payback for AC tickets among others. The cards can also be used for retail, dining and entertainment payments.