Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
Russia has become the first nation to complete clinical trials of a Covid-19 vaccine on humans, in a major step towards the vaccine.
Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University has successfully completed the clinical trails of the vaccine, produced by the Gamalei Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Russia. As per the WHO, there are as many as 21 vaccines under key trials across the world.

Notes:
Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog presented India’s second Voluntary National Review (VNR) at the United Nations High-level Political Forum (HLPF) 2020.
The HLPF is the international platform for review of progress on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It meets annually in July under the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The India VNR 2020 report was titled “Decade of Action: Taking SDGs from Global to Local”.

Notes:
The Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), an autonomous institute of the Department of Biotechnology, has successfully established stable cultures of coronavirus from patient samples.
The Seventeen in-vitro cultures have been established using Vero cells, from samples of different locations and different virus loads. The cultured SARS-Cov-2 can be used in developing antibodies or antidotes, testing of antibodies and identifying therapeutic agents.

Notes:
India and Iran partnered to construct a rail line from Chabahar port to Zahedan, along the border with Afghanistan, four years ago.
Recently, Iran decided to proceed without India’s assistance and its Transport Minister has inaugurated the track-laying process for the Chabahar-Zahedan line. Recently, China finalised a 25 year-USD 400 billion strategic deal with Iran.

Notes:
Election Commissioner of India Ashok Lavasa, has been appointed as the Vice President for Private Sector Operations and Public-Private Partnerships at the Asian Development Bank.
Ashok Lavasa is to replace the incumbent Vice President Diwakar Gupta, whose term is ending on August 31. The retired IAS officer was appointed as the Election commissioner in January 2018 and he was the next senior Election Commissioner, to be appointed as the Chief, after the present CEC Sunil Arora.

Notes:
India has signed bilateral agreements named ‘Air Bubbles’ with France and the US to operate international flights.
Under the agreement, the airlines of each country will operate international flights between each other. American air carrier United Airlines will be operating 18 flights between India and the US and Air France will be operating 28 flights between Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Paris.

Notes:
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has postponed the 2022 Dakar Youth Olympics for four years, to 2026.
This decision has been taken due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Youth Summer Games, to be held in Senegal’s capital, will be the first Olympics to be organised in Africa. The Tokyo Olympics is scheduled to be held in July 2021 and Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022.

Notes:
One of the country’s digital payment applications, Fampay has recently launched the country’s first numberless card, targeted at teenagers.
Using these numberless debit cards, minors can make online and offline payments without opening a bank account. The card has no numbers on it and all the details are saved on the FamPay application.

Notes:
As per the statement released by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the Government has amended the import policy of Power tillers and its components from ‘free’ to ‘restricted’.
The importer is required to seek a license from the DGFT for importing the product categorised as ’restricted’. This move is expected to curb the inward shipment of the equipment that comes mainly from China.

Notes:
Union Shipping Ministry has named the retired IAS officer Malini Shankar, as the Vice-Chancellor of Indian Maritime University.
Malini Shankar is also the Chairperson of the National Shipping Board (NSB), the ace advisory agency to the Central government on shipping-related matters. Before being appointed as the VC in the Chennai-based University, she was the Director General of Shipping.