Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 came in to force from 20 July. The act aims to establish the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA).
CCPA will protect and enforce the rights of consumers, as it will be empowered to conduct investigations into violations of consumer rights. The authority can also institute complaints, order recall of unsafe goods and services, and impose penalties for misleading advertisements.

Notes:
Major Global companies including Microsoft, Nike, Starbucks, Unilever and Mercedes-Benz among others are collaborating to form a new consortium.
The group named ‘Transform to Net Zero’ pledges to share resources and strategies for curbing carbon emissions. It has planned to work with the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund for implementing this programme.

Notes:
India and Russia are set to sign a Defence logistics sharing pact by the end of this year. Under the pact, both the countries can have seamless access to each other’s military bases and support facilities.
An annual summit is expected to be held for signing this agreement. As Russia continues to be a leading arms supplier to India, this agreement will enhance more interoperability and support to military platforms like warships and aircraft.

Notes:
Union Bank of India that was amalgamated with Corporation Bank and Andhra Bank, has announced a corporate agency agreement with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).
Under the agreement, the bank will market various LIC products including term insurance, pension and endowment schemes among others, to its account-holders.

Notes:
The state government of Andhra Pradesh has signed an MoU with the milk cooperative major AMUL (Anand Milk Union Limited).
The agreement aims to promote empowerment of women self-help groups and encourage milk cooperatives in government sector. It also provides exposure to world class infrastructure, technology and market access to the local groups.

Notes:
The Siachen Glacier, which is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas is the world’s largest non-polar glacier.
The glacier is currently a part of the union territory of Ladakh. Recently, the Indian Army announced that it will issue permits for civilian trips to its Siachen Base Camp and Kumar post in Ladakh. It is also claimed to be the highest battlefield.

Notes:
The government has released guidelines for four schemes to boost domestic manufacturing of bulk drugs and medical devices.
Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers DV Sadananda Gowda launched and issued guidelines for the schemes, which aim to reduce imports in pharmaceutical raw materials like drug intermediates, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and medical devices.

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:
The India-Indonesia Defence Ministers’ Dialogue was held in New Delhi. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh led the Indian delegation while Indonesia’s Defence Minister General Prabowo Subianto led their delegation.
Both the countries affirmed to further expand defence and military ties between the countries in areas including technology sharing. The countries had signed a new defence cooperation agreement in 2018 for a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Notes:
At the 2016 high-level meeting at the UN General Assembly, India pledged to fast track efforts towards ending HIV/AIDS as a public health threat in the next five years, and to end the epidemic by 2030.
Recently, a study published by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) stated that India may miss the national target to end AIDS by 2030. The decline in annual new HIV infections is only 27% from 2020 to 2017 against the national target of 75% by 2020.