July Current Affairs 2020 Weekly Test -1

Answer – 4) 45.8 million
Explanation:
According to the report, “State of World Population 2020: Against my will – Defying the practices that harm women and girls and undermine equality”, which focuses on gender biased sex selection (GBSS) and female genital mutilation (FGM), released by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), India accounts for 45.8 million of the world’s 142.6 million “missing females” over the past 50 years & it has the highest number of missing women after China (72.3 million).

Answer – 2) Tamil Nadu
Explanation:
The World Bank and the government of India signed an agreement along with the Government of Tamil Nadu to help the low-income groups in the state of Tamil Nadu to get access to affordable housing. Agreements signed: – Legal agreements of two projects were signed to strengthen the state’s housing sector policies, institutions, and regulations. First Tamil Nadu Housing Sector Strengthening Programme worth $200 million (Rs 1,510 crore), Tamil Nadu Housing and Habitat Development Project worth $50 million (Rs 377 crore).

Answer – 5) K.K. Venugopal
Explanation:
The Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet has approved the re-appointment of senior advocate K.K. Venugopal as Attorney General of India for a year, whose 3 year tenure ends on June 30, 2020 and senior advocate Tushar Mehta as Solicitor General for a period of three years. K.K. Venugopal succeeded Mukul Rohatgi on June 30, 2017. He is the 15th Attorney General of India.

Answer – 3) Chakravarthi Rangarajan
Explanation:
On 29th June 2020, on account of National Statistics Day the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) presented the first Prof. P. C. Mahalanobis National Award in Official Statistics’2020 to Dr. Chakravarthi Rangarajan, Former Governor, Reserve Bank of India for his contribution to the National Statistical System (NSS).

Answer – 4) Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
Explanation:
Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary of Housing & Urban Affairs has rolled out the Beta version webportal for street vendors loan scheme Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors’ AtmaNirbhar Nidhi –PMSVANidhi (http://pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/) developed by SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India) to provide end-to-end solutions for scheme management.

Answer – 4) Giriraj Singh
Explanation:
Giriraj Singh, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, launched the 1st edition of “Matsya Sampada” – newsletter fisheries and aquaculture published by the Department of Fisheries and the operational guidelines of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).

Answer – 3) National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog
Explanation:
The new report on clean energy transition in India titled “Towards a Clean Energy Economy: Post-Covid-19 Opportunities for India’s Energy and Mobility Sectors” brought out jointly by the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog and the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) to support India’s clean energy future.

Answer – 1) 2.1 billion
Explanation:
India became a founding member of the United Nation (UN)’s ‘Alliance for Poverty eradication’ launched by Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, President of the 74th United Nation’s General Assembly (UNGA). Approximately 2.1 billion people are classified as poor across the globe, among which 767 million are living in extreme poverty. Over 271 million people of India have moved out of poverty between 2006 to 2016, according to the United Nations Development programme.

Answer – 1) USD 750 million
Explanation:
The World Bank approved a USD 750 million Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Emergency Response Program to support severely impacted MSMEs in India due to COVID-19 crisis. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will provide the loan.

Answer – 1) HDFC Bank
Explanation:
HDFC Bank has launched ‘e-Kisaan Dhan’ App for Farmers in India. This app provides information and knowledge to farmers which will help them to meet the needs of the rural ecosystem.

Answer – 5) Union Bank of India
Explanation:
Government extends the term of Rajkiran Rai G as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Union Bank of India (UBI) by 2 years till May 31, 2022.

Answer – 1) MyGov Corona Helpdesk
Explanation:
India’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled “MyGov Corona Helpdesk” won two awards under the categories “Best Innovation for Covid-19 – Society” and “People Choice Covid-19 Overall Winner” in 4th CogX, the annual Global Leadership Summit and Festival of AI and Emerging Technology held in London from June 8th to 10th. The AI enabled Helpdesk was designed, developed and deployed by JioHaptik Technologies Limited in collaboration with the WhatsApp team in 5 days. The theme of CogX 2020 is “How do we get the next 10 years right?”.

Answer – 3) New Zealand
Explanation:
New Zealand cancelled the 2021 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum that was scheduled to be held in Auckland, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is opting to lead a virtual summit.

Answer – 2) Japan
Explanation:
In order to promote mutual understanding, Indian Navy and Japanese Navy (Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force) have conducted a day long Naval Exercise PASSEX (Passing Exercise) for tactical and communications training, towards the Malacca Strait in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). This was the 15th exercise undertaken by the navies of these two nations in the last three years. The overall content of this PASSEX was goodwill training and to promote understanding.

Answer – 1) “Lessen the Mortality of COVID-19”
Explanation:
India Celebrates July 1st as the National Doctors Day to honour the doctors and physicians and to recognise their 24×7 service to the society and to express gratitude towards the professionals of the medical sector for their service. Indian Medical Association (IMA) observed the first National Doctors Day on 1st July 1991. The theme of 2020 Doctors Day is “Lessen the Mortality of COVID-19” which includes awareness about asymptomatic hypoxia and early aggressive therapy.

Answer – 5) SBI Capital Markets Limited
Explanation:
Government of India (GoI) has approved a scheme for improving the short-term liquidity position of non-banking finance companies (NBFCs)/housing finance companies (HFCs) through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in the form of Special Liquidity Scheme (SLS) Trust set up by SBI Capital Markets Limited (SBICAP), a subsidiary of the State Bank of India (SBI). Means, SBICAP will manage this operation. In the Budget Speech of 2020-21, it was announced that a mechanism would be devised to provide additional liquidity facility to NBFCs/HFCs over that provided through the Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme (PCGS). It should be noted that the finances provided to the NFBCs/HFCs under this scheme should be used to repay existing liabilities and not to expand assets.

Answer – 4) Both 1) and 2)
Explanation:
Antonio Guterres, Chief of United Nations, named Prof. Rattan Lal and Dr. Uma Lele (Agricultural experts) from India as members of International Scientific group to offer foremost scientific evidence for sustainable food systems for global food summit 2021. The Scientific Group will be Chaired by Dr. Joachim von Braun of Bonn University Germany.

Answer – 5) Indian Overseas Bank
Explanation:
Karnam Sekar, The Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), retired on 30th June 2020.

Answer – 1) G. Srinivasan
Explanation:
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), an autonomous, statutory body tasked with regulating and promoting the insurance in India, has set up a nine member working Group (WG) under G. Srinivasan, director, National Insurance Academy, to look at the possibility of the Indian insurance industry or any other sector to offer Surety Bonds in India.

Answer – 4) V Pattabhi Ram
Explanation:
Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu virtually released a book, “Future of Higher Education – Nine Mega Trends.“ The book is authored by CA V Pattabhi Ram, a Public Speaker, author and Teacher. The Virtual event was hosted by ICT Academy.

Answer – 4) 2036
Explanation:
The 77.9% Russian electorate have voted in favour of constitutional amendments that will allow 67 years old President Vladimir Putin to stay in power until 2036 i.e. until the age of 83. His current term of 6 years will end in 2024. Means now, he will be re-elected twice under the constitutional amendments. He is already the longest-serving leader in modern Russian history.

Answer – 3) 2.8%
Explanation:
In accordance with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, India’s external debt stood at $558.5 billion in March 2020, an increase of $15.4 billion or 2.8% as compared to the March 2019. The largest component of the external debt is Commercial borrowings with a share of 39.4%, followed by non-resident deposits at 23.4% and short-term trade credit at 18.2%. In terms of currency, United States (US) dollar-denominated debt continued to be the largest component of India’s external debt, with a share of 53.7% at end-March 2020, followed by the Indian rupee (31.9%), yen (5.6%), SDR (4.5%) and the euro (3.5%).

Answer – 3) Kritika Pandey
Explanation:
The commonwealth writers announced Kritika Pandey, the winner of Asian region prize as the overall winner of the 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for her story, “The Great Indian Tee and Snakes”. The award was presented to her by Ghanaian writer and editor, Nii Ayikwei Parkes, the chair of the 2020 Judge panel in the online award ceremony.

Answer – 3) Freya Thakral
Explanation:
Freya Thakral, a 13 year old student of the British School New Delhi received the 2020 Diana Award for her Recycler App, which she developed to connect users with waste-handlers as a measure to help the ragpickers of Delhi. The award is presented annually on the birth anniversary of Princess Diana.

Answer – 4) Bharat Pannu
Explanation:
Lt Col Bharat Pannu, Indian Army officer, secured the 3rd position on the leader board at the first edition of the Virtual Race Across America (VRAAM) 2020 held from 16th June to 28th June 2020 and became the first ever Indian to secure a podium position in the international ultra-cycling race. Lt Col Pannu finished with a total distance of 4086km in 12 days and a total elevation gain of 71,000 meters in a stationary bicycle in Pimple Nilakh, Pune.

Answer – 2) Choreographer
Explanation:
Veteran Bollywood Choreographer, Saroj Khan (71) died of Cardiac arrest at Gurunanak Hospital, Bandra where she was admitted before one week with complaint of breathing issues. She was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Answer – 1) China
Explanation:
In accordance with the 3^rd edition of “The Global E-waste Monitor 2020 report-Quantities, flows, and the circular economy potential” report, the world dumped a record 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste in 2019, an increase of 21% in 5 years. With this e-waste becomes the world’s fastest-growing domestic waste stream. Notably, this waste is enough to form a line 125 kilometres long. China is the biggest contributor to e-waste with 10.1 million tonnes (mt) followed by the United States (US) with 6.9 mt and India with 3.2 mt at 2nd and 3rd rank respectively. Together these three countries accounted for nearly 38% of the world’s e-waste last year.

Answer – 2) Edelweiss Asset Management Company
Explanation:
Edelweiss Asset Management Company (AMC), a subsidiary of Edelweiss Capital Limited (ECL) has decided to bring the second instalment of the Bharat Bond ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) with two new series to raise Rs 14,000 crore in July 2020. Through the launch of these two new ETF series, which have maturities of 5 years and 11 years, Edelweiss aims to raise an initial amount of Rs. 2,000 crores from institutional players with a green shoe option of Rs. 6,000 crores 5-year maturity period (April 2025) and initial amount of Rs. 1,000 crores with a green shoe option of Rs. 5,000 crores in 11 years (April 2031).

Answer – 1) Jean Castex
Explanation:
French President Emmanuel Macron appointed a public Servant, Jean Castex (55) as the new Prime Minister of government reshuffle, replacing Edouard Philippe.

Answer – 4) India
Explanation:
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) released the picture of the closest and biggest moon of Mars named “Phobos” which was captured by Mars Colour Camera (MCC) onboard India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM). The image was taken on July 1, 2020 when MOM was about 7200 km from Mars and at 4200 km from Phobos.

Answer – 5) China
Explanation:
China’s Badminton player and 2 times Olympic Champion, Lin Dan announced his retirement due to his physical capabilities and injuries. He won gold at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics.

Answer – 3) Ram Nath Kovind
Explanation:
On July 4, 2020 President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind has virtually inaugurated the celebrations for the Dharma Chakra Day 2020 Organized by International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), in partnership with Union Ministry of Culture, from the Rashtrapati Bhawan at New Delhi on the occasion of Asadha Poornima (also known as Guru Purnima) , a Full Moon day or Purnima that occurs in the Hindu month of Ashadha (July) as per Indian sun calendar.

Answer – 4) New Delhi
Explanation:
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and education minister Manish Sisodia launched an e- portal, ‘Learning through E-Resources Made Accessible for Delhi’(LEAD) for its students to strengthen the children’s online education. The e- portal contains 10,000 instructional materials and course content for Classes I to XII. It is developed by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), the Delhi government.

Answer – 2) Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)
Explanation:
For the 1st time in the world, Indian Railways will directly supply power to Overhead Traction System of train. To achieve this feat, Indian Railways has recently set up 1.7 MWp (megawatt power) at Bina (Madhya Pradesh) which shall be connected directly to Overhead Traction System. This has already been installed and is presently under extensive testing & will become operation in 15 days. Indian Railways has partnered with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scheme for this first of its kind project in the world.

Answer – 4) Facebook
Explanation:
The Union Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD) Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ made an announcement on the partnership of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Facebook to launch a curriculum on Digital Safety and Online well-being and Augmented Reality (AR) for students and educators. As part of the collaboration, Facebook will support CBSE in its first-ever initiative to introduce AR as a curriculum.

Answer – 4) K S Reddy
Explanation:
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has set up an 11-member expert committee headed by Dr K S Reddy, president of Public Health Foundation of India to study impact of COVID-19 on human rights of individuals, particularly marginalized and vulnerable sections of the society, together with migrant laborer’s & will also study the future response of the government.

Answer – 3) 117
Explanation:
In accordance with the “Sustainable Development Report 2020- The Sustainable Development Goals and Covid-19”, comprising of SDG index 2020, there will be severe negative impacts on most of the United Nations (UN)-mandated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) due to COVID-19 pandemic. India, which has ranked at 117th position with a score of 61.92 is also facing major challenges in 10 of the 17 SDGs including zero hunger, good health, gender inequality among others. The index has been topped by Sweden.

Answer – 1) Urjit Patel
Explanation:
Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Urjit Patel has authored a book titled ‘Overdraft: Saving the Indian Saver’, which focuses on the issue of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) that has affected Indian banking in recent years and also its causes. The book will be published by HarperCollins India and will be released by the end of July.

Answer – 3) Elyments
Explanation:
Vice President of India Shri Venkaiah Naidu launched India’s first social media super application ‘Elyments’ virtually on 5th July 2020. The app was developed by Sumeru Software Solutions & provides free audio/video calls, and private/ group chats through vibrant feed.

Answer – 4) Assam
Explanation:
The government of Assam has decided to upgrade the 111.942 sq km Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary into a national park, located within the larger Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve, following the National Board of Wildlife’s (NBWL) conditional clearance to a coal mining project by Coal India Limited (CIL) in the 98.59 hectares of Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve.

Answer – 3) Harkesh Mittal
Explanation:
Sijo Kuruvilla George, the CEO of startup village and founder of Re-think Foundation has been selected as a member of Central Government’s Expert Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2020 (STIP 2020), India’s 5th science and technology policy led by Harkesh Mittal, head of the department of Science and Technology.

Answer – 1) Injeti Srinivas
Explanation:
Government appointed former corporate affairs secretary and IAS officer, Injeti Srinivas as the 1st chairman of the International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA) for a 3 years term. IFSCA regulates all financial services in international financial services centres (IFSCs) in Gandhinagar.

Answer – 3) Bharat Biotech
Explanation:
Bharat Biotech India Ltd (BBIL) in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) – National Institute of Virology (NIV) developed India’s first COVID-19 vaccine – COVAXIN (BBV152 COVID vaccine). The vaccine is developed and manufactured by the BSL-3 (Bio Safety Level- 3) high containment facility of BBIL.

Answer – 1) Boxing
Explanation:
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has released the world rankings 2020 for women’s and men’s boxing, as per which Indian amateur boxer & World championships silver medallist Amit Panghal has been ranked first in the world ranking of main elites of 52 kg weight category with a total of 1300 points. At the same time, Manju Rani has got the second place in women’s rankings in 48 kg with 1175 points.

Answer – 4) West Bengal
Explanation:
Mamta Banergee, The Chief Minister of West Bengal launches “SelfScan” app developed by the state’s Information Technology department as an alternative to Camscanner.

Answer – 5) Bathinda
Explanation:
About Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI): Harsimrat Kaur Badal constituency– Bathinda, Punjab.

Answer – 2) Sonipat, Haryana
Explanation:
National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) in Sonipat, Haryana and Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT) in Tamil Nadu, two academic and research institutions under Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) along with State Level Technical Institutions would be supported by ministry for training of units, product development, appropriate packaging and machinery for micro units.

Answer – 4) Commerce and Industry ministry
Explanation:
The 49th Governing Council Meeting of National Productivity Council (NPC), an autonomous body under Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India was held today through video conferencing. It was chaired by Shri Piyush Goyal, Commerce & Industry Minister and President of NPC Governing Council.

Answer – 5) Gaganyaan
Explanation:
Union Minister for Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh has said that the launch of India’s first human space mission “Gaganyaan” will not be affected by COVID pandemic and preparation are carrying on in the right direction. Dr. Singh informed that even though the training of four Indian astronauts in Russia had to be halted due to the pandemic but the department had kept a contingency cushion period both in the training programme and launch deadline. He said, the training of astronauts has now been resumed and the launch is scheduled to take place as planned, before the 75th anniversary of India’s independence in 2022. Speaking about Chandrayaan-3, India’s Lunar mission, Dr. Singh said, it is planned for launch next year.

Answer – 4) Arunachal Pradesh
Explanation:
Recently, the lepidopterists have discovered the two new species of butterfly i.e. Striped Hairstreak and Elusive Prince in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh. Of these two, the Elusive Prince is discovered at Namdapha National Park.

Answer – 1) Uttarakhand
Explanation:
The clash took place in Asharodi forest range of Rajaji Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand where eight Van Gujjar families reside. Reportedly, the forest officials escaped the spot in a rush fearing that one of the Van Gujjar had died. In the process, the officials even left their caps and cans at the spot.

Answer –5) Uttarakhand
Explanation:
Recently, the Uttarakhand State Wildlife Advisory Board has permitted proposals on the transfer of forest land in Gangotri National Park for development of roads. The decision comes amid the row between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.

Answer – 4) Botswana
Explanation:
The southern Africa country of Botswana is struggling to investigate the reasons for the mysterious deaths of over 350 elephants in the popular Okavango Delta nature reserve. Botswana has the world’s largest elephant population, believed to be more than 130,000.

Answer – 1) Rajnath Singh
Explanation:
Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) is chaired by Defence Minister (Currently-Rajnath Singh) which provide approvals to Capital acquisitions in the Long Term Perspective Plan (LTPP).

Answer – 5) Kolkata
Explanation:
Amid frequent disruption of cross-border trade via the Petrapole – Benapole land ports, Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SMP) [erstwhile Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT)] has started a new shipping service between Kolkata Dock System (KDS) and Chattogram (Bangladesh ) through Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route to transport containers with the aim to increase the Indo-Bangla trade. The Container Ship ‘M.V Asiatic Moon (Singapore Flag) is expected to transport 300 containers of Indian exports to Bangladesh.

Answer – 4) Turkey
Explanation:
Recently, the government of Turkey has decided to convert Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia Museum into a mosque.

Answer – 1) 2030
Explanation:
Target – Indian Railways will transform itself as ‘Net Zero’ Carbon Emission Mass Transportation Network by 2030.

Answer – 5) New Delhi
Explanation:
The ICAR- National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources located at New Delhi.

Answer – 2) Govinda Rajulu Chintala
Explanation:
Govinda Rajulu Chintala was appointed as the chairman of NABARD in May 2020.

Answer – 4) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Explanation:
Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Prakash Javadekar has inaugurated Unique “Urban Forest” at the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in New Delhi. The” Miyawaki method” of forest creation is employed which could help to reduce the temperature and increase the moisture.