Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
The Union Government has recently announced that the Work-from-home exemption for IT and IT-enabled services companies is extended till December 31, 2020.
In March, the Department of Telecommunication had relaxed the norms till April to facilitate work from home amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which was then extended till July 31 and now to December 31. At present, more than 90% of the IT workforce are working remotely.

Notes:
The 36-year old Australian writer Tara June Winch has won the prestigious 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Award.
She has been awarded the prize for her book titled THE YIELD. The award has been presented since 1957, to the best novel focussing on Australian life. Tara June Winch is a Wiradjuri author who is famous for her novels including Swallow the Air and short story collection After the Carnage.

Notes:
The Defence Institute of High-Altitude Research (DIHAR) is a life science laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) working on cold arid agro-animal technologies.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has established a COVID-19 testing facility at the DIHAR in Leh. The testing facility is capable of screening 50 samples per day and it enhances the capacity of testing in the Union Territory of Ladakh.

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:
Following a leak at a Lavera petrochemical refinery in southern France, an orange-brown chemical sheet spread over 15 acres in the Mediterranean Sea.
This area includes the nationally recognized marine life area. The plant is said to have spilled 200 gallons or more of iron chloride into the sea. The chemical could harm eyes and mucous membranes and could even cause death.

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 World Health Organization (WHO) has recently launched a new initiative named ‘COVID-19 Law Lab’, to ensure that laws are adhered to protect health and wellbeing of individuals and communities.
It is a joint project of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), WHO, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University.

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 world’s first electrified rail tunnel fit to run double-stack containers is being constructed by the Indian Railways in Haryana.
Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL) has recently conducted a tunnel-breaking ceremony on completion of caving work for the tunnel of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) through Aravalli mountain range. One among the biggest railway tunnels, it connects Rewari and Dadri and itwill be completed within a year.

Notes:
As per the latest United Nations policy brief on’COVID-19 in an Urban World’, the capital city of India New Delhi has witnessed a drop in levels of nitrogen dioxide by more than 70%, during lock-down.
The UN also highlighted that if the cities re-open without policies to prevent air pollution and promote de-carbonisation, this environmental gains could only be temporary. It also said that urban areas are the epicentre of the pandemic, with estimated 90 per cent of all reported cases.