Current Affairs Quiz - July 2022

Notes:
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has Union Finance Minister as chairperson, the Union Minister of State (Finance) from the Centre. Each state can nominate a minister in-charge as a member.
The two-day meeting of the 47th Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council was recently held in Chandigarh. The Council agreed to levy 18 per cent tax on cheques, lose or in book form. Hotel accommodations below Rs 1,000 will be taxed at 12 per cent among other changes.

Notes:
The NITI Aayog released its report titled ‘Harnessing Green Hydrogen — Opportunities for Deep Decarbonisation in India’.
It has recommended tax breaks like reduction or exemption of GST and custom duties on green hydrogen production. It has also proposed setting up green hydrogen corridors and offering grants to start-ups working on green hydrogen solutions.

Notes:
T Raja Kumar of Singapore has been appointed as the president of Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the anti-money laundering watchdog.
He has replaced Marcus Pleyer and will discharge his service for next two years. As per FATF, the President will focus on enhancing the effectiveness of global anti-money laundering  and counter-terrorist financing measures, improving asset recovery and other initiatives.

Notes:
International Day of Cooperatives is celebrated on the first Saturday of July every year. The day was designated by the United Nations.
International Day of Cooperatives was observed around the world on July 2 this year. This year will mark the 100th International Day of Cooperatives, also known as Coops Day. This year’s theme for International Day of Cooperatives is – “Cooperatives Build a Better World.”

Notes:
As per the World Drug Report 2022, India has the most number of opiate users in the world. The trend is expected to rise with an increase in trafficking.
As per the report, the number of drug users increased 26 per cent globally over the last decade to 284 million people. An estimated 11.2 million injected drugs, half of whom lived with hepatitis C, 1.4 million with HIV and 1.2 million with both.

Notes:
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) announced that the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) will be included in the Direct Beneficiary Transfer (DBT) scheme.
The new facility will provide direct government benefits to all apprentices. Earlier, companies would pay apprentices the full amount and then seek reimbursement from the government. In 2016, the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) was launched to promote apprenticeship training in the country and to provide financial support to establishments pursuing apprenticeships.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Digital India Week 2022 in Gandhinagar in Gujarat. The theme for Digital India Week is Catalyzing New India’s Techade.
The Prime Minister also launched ‘Digital India Bhashini’ to enable easy access to the internet and digital services in Indian languages. ‘Digital India GENESIS’ – a National Deep-tech Startup Platform, to support successful start-ups in Tier-II and Tier-III cities with a total outlay of 750 crore rupees was also launched. A global repository of key projects implemented under India Stack ‘Indiastack.global’ was launched.

Notes:
Tamil Nadu and the Singapore-based IGSS Ventures signed a MoU, for establishing a 300-acre semiconductor high-tech park and a semiconductor fab unit in the State.
The company will invest Rs 25,600 crore in the project in the next five years, generating direct employment for 1,500 people. The MoU was signed with ‘Guidance’, the State’s nodal agency for investment promotion and single-window facilitation.

Notes:
Kerala Health Minsitry confirmed the presence of Anthrax, after several wild boars contracted the infectious disease in Athirappilly of Thrissur district.
Anthrax, also known as malignant pustule or woolsorter’s disease, is a disease caused by the rod-shaped bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax is a zoonotic disease, as it is naturally transmissible from animals to humans.

Notes:
Indian Government’s think tank NITI Aayog released compendium of Ayush practices to manage COVID-19.
The compendium provides information focused on practices adopted by various states and UTs of India for strengthening the country’s fight against COVID-19.