Current Affairs: July 18, 2020

Notes:
Coir Board is a statutory body established by the Government of India under the Coir Industry Act 1953, functioning under Ministry of MSME.
Recently, the export of coir and coir products from India in the year 2019-20 touched the highest point at Rs. 2757.90 crore. This is also Rs. 30 crore more than that of the last year, which stood at Rs. 2728.04 crore. Around 9 lakh metric tonnes of coir and coir products were exported.

Notes:
The 15th summit between the India and the European Union was held recently through a virtual mode. India was represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The EU was represented by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission and Charles Michel, President of the European Council. The leaders adopted the “India-EU Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025”, a strategic guide for mutual cooperation, over the next five years.

Notes:
Malini Parthasarathy has been named the new Chairperson of The Hindu Group of Publications. She is to replace the current head, N Ram.
The former editor of the Hindu from 2013 to 2016 was also the Co-Chairperson of The Hindu Group of Publications. She also founded a think tank named ‘The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy’.

Notes:
As per the recent data by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India posted a trade surplus of USD 790 million in June 2020.
This surplus has been recorded for the first time after over 18 years. Due to the Covid-19 induced decrease in domestic demand for crude oil, gold and other industrial products, the country’s import was deeply reduced. This led to a trade surplus with imports of USD 21.11 billion and exports of USD 21.91 billion.

Notes:
According to the statement released by the Ministry of Defence, special financial power has been delegated for capital acquisition cases up to Rs 300 crore, to the three armed services.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh has granted this power amid the growing border tensions between India and China, to fast-track urgent capital acquisition of arms and ammunition.