Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
India Ideas summit is a two-day virtual summit organised by the US-India Business Council. It aims to connect officials from the two nations, to discuss post-coronavirus recovery plans.
In his keynote address, the Prime Minister of India welcomed the US investors to India and added that India has attracted over USD 20 billion foreign investment even during the Covid-19 lockdown. He also highlighted the rise in India’s rank to 63 in Ease of Doing Business ranking of World Bank.

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:
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:
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:
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 Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine candidate is to be called as ‘Covishield’ in India, as per the statement of the Serum Institute of India (SII).
SII is the largest vaccine maker in the world and it has partnered with AstraZeneca for manufacturing the Oxford vaccine candidate. Recently, it has sought permission from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to conduct phase 2 and 3 human clinical trials of the potential vaccine.

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:
Australia’s consumer regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has accused Google of privacy breaches.
It has alleged that Google has misled millions of Australians in collecting their personal information. To target advertising, Google is alleged to have obtained consent and expanded the scope of personal information collected on internet activity of the users.

Notes:
E-commerce major Flipkart has launched a hyper-local delivery service called Flipkart Quick that aims to deliver products in 90 minutes.
The company also expands its services to sell perishable goods, including fruits, vegetables, and milk among others. Flipkart is to begin the services in Bengaluru initially and will expand them throughout the country. Earlier, it had launched Flipkart Wholesale ecosystem.

Notes:
One of the oldest flying clubs in India, the Bombay Flying Club has become the first drone training school approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
DGCA has approved the application of the club for conducting remote pilot training for remotely piloted aircraft systems. All drones should be registered with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and should receive Drone acknowledgement numbers (DANs).