Forest Investment Programme (FIP) was established by the World Bank in 2009 for supporting sustainable forest management and reforestation activities, in line with REDD+ objectives.

Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) is a World Bank programme and consists of a Readiness Fund and a Carbon Fund. The FCPF was created to assist developing countries to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, enhance and conserve forest carbon stocks, and sustainably manage forests (REDD+).

The largest of China’s administrative regions, Xinjiang borders eight countries – Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India – and until recently its population was mostly Uighur.
Most Uighurs are Muslim and Islam is an important part of their life and identity. Their language is related to Turkish, and they regard themselves as culturally and ethnically close to Central Asian nations

Ashwini Kumar Tewari has been appointed as the new managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of the SBI Cards & Payment Services, the country’s second-largest credit card issuer. He will take over the role with effect from 1 August 2020 for a period of 2 years.

A mission titled as “Hope” has been launched to “Mars” by the United Arab Emirates

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has launched a new employment scheme called ‘Navin Rojgar Chhatri Yojana’ to provide employment to the Scheduled Castes (SC)/Scheduled Tribes (ST) families.

Due to the asymptomatic nature of the majority of COVID-19 infections, a lot of coronavirus patients may suffer from abnormally low-levels of blood saturation without even
realising it (dropping below 92 per cent).
· While usually, such low-levels of blood oxygen may lead to symptoms like breathlessness, coronavirus patients may get used to the gradual decrease of oxygen levels in the
body. Some of the other symptoms a patient battling low-levels of oxygen concentration include bouts of confusion and even euphoria.
· This is where a pulse oximeter comes handy as it helps in detecting low levels of oxygen saturation in an otherwise asymptomatic coronavirus patient.

Perseverance is a Mars rover manufactured by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for use in NASA’s Mars 2020 mission.

The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission is a robotic lander designed to study the deep interior of the planet Mars.

The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Hope mission is a Mars orbiter spacecraft, which will study the thin atmosphere of Mars.

Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister of Food Processing Industries(MoFPI) e-inaugurated the First operationalized mega food park of Mizoram, Zoram Mega Food Park, in Khamrang Village in Kolasib District, Mizoram, promoted by M/s Zoram Mega Food Park Pvt. Ltd, which will provide direct and indirect employment to more than 5000 people.

Oxford Vaccine Partner, Serum institute plans to begin clinical trials of Oxford COVID Vaccine in India. The Oxford COVID vaccine trials have shown the most promising results and are much ahead of other clinical trials happening around the world. The Oxford vaccine trials will begin in India as soon as the required licence is procured.

The 3rd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting was held under the presidency of Saudi Arabia.

Marianna Vardinoyannis of Greece, and Doctor Morissana Kouyaté of Guinea has been recognised by the United Nations for the 2020 Nelson Mandela Prize

Union Shipping Minister has recently flagged off first trial container ship from Kolkata Port to Agartala through the Chattogram port of Bangladesh.
This trial run has been done under the Agreement on using Chattogram and Mongla Ports for movement of India’s transit cargo through Bangladesh. It will provide a shorter route to connect the North East Region of India through Bangladesh

The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations is an international treaty that defines a framework for consular relations between sovereign states. It codifies many consular practices that originated from state custom and various bilateral agreements between states.
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963, provides for information to consulate, consular protection and consultation upon arrest, detention and during trial in a foreign country including entitlement to travel documents

Ministry of AYUSH has announced the names of the winners of My Life – My Yoga’ Video Blogging Contest. This global contest on digital platform was launched on 31st May this year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on occasion of 6th International Day of Yoga. The contest was held in six categories.
The first winners in professional category are Ashwath Hegde and Rajni Gehlot

Mandela Day was first held on 18 July 2009, in New York. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) recognized the day later that year. On 10 November 2009, the UNGA adopted a resolution A/RES/64/13 to recognize 18 July as the “International Day of Nelson Mandela”. UNGA also recognized the period from 2019 to 2028 as the Nelson Mandela Decade of Peace. UNGA honoured humility, forgiveness and compassion, and his contribution to the struggle for democracy and the promotion of a culture of peace throughout the world

In July 2018, U.S. Secretary Pompeo announced the Asia EDGE (Enhancing Development and Growth through Energy) initiative as part of the economic pillar of the U.S. Indo-Pacific vision.
• The Asia EDGE initiative is a U.S. whole-of-government effort to grow sustainable and secure energy markets throughout the Indo-Pacific.
• Asia EDGE seeks to strengthen energy security, increase energy diversification and trade, and expand energy access across the region.
• Asia EDGE draws on the expertise and resources of the U.S. government, private sector, and international financial institutions.
• The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources leads this initiative with the support of eight other U.S. agencies.
— The initiative establishes India as a strong energy partner in the Indo-Pacific region

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy has launched a television-based learning programme for the Tenth standard students. The state run Kalvi television channel will initially air two-and-a-half hours of teaching programmes for the students during the week days. The move is aimed at helping students to continue their studies through the alternative method until the schools reopen

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has approved the proposal to ensure geographical and gender representation on the BWF Council. The newly approved changes to the constitution will ensure at least 30 percent representation of each gender on the Council

Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal virtually addressed the opening session of Digital Indo-Italian Business Mission on Food Processing. The session will hold a two-day event. It will include digital conferences, trade fair, and Business-to-Business service (B2B) meetings

Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Minister of State for HRD Sanjay Dhotre have launched the most affordable COVID-19 test Kit.
COROSURE is one of the companies which has received the non exclusive license from IIT Delhi for the probe free RT-PCR based COVID-19 test kit

Indian Railways has launched a new state-of-the-art, ‘Post COVID Coach’ in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus infection.

On July 03, 2020, Asian Development Bank (ADB), a regional development bank, has joined the Paris (France)-based Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) as an observer

Google CEO Sundar Pichai on July 13, 2020 announced an investment worth Rs. 75,000 crore , which is approximately $10 billion, in India over the next 5-7 years through the ‘Google for India Digitization Fund’

The International Olympic Committee(IOC) has postponed the 2022 Dakar (Senegal) Youth Summer Olympics by four years to 2026 due to COVID- 19 pandemic and would be the first Youth Summer Olympic Games organized in Africa

India’s external debt stood at USD 558.5 billion in March, an increase of USD 15.4 billion compared to the year-ago period, according to RBI data

 About 273 million Indians were lifted out of multidimensional poverty, over a period of 10 years, between 2005-2006 and 2015-2016, according to a study conducted by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme. The report noted that, India has recorded the largest reduction in the number of people living in poverty, among the 75 countries studied in MPI

The ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) yet again scripted its victory in the Singapore Elections 2020. The final results showed that the PAP had retained power but its support was reported to have fallen to a record low. The general elections were held on July 10, 2020

The report of Global Skills Index 2020, an in depth view at the state of the skills across the world prepared by “Coursera”, World’s largest online learning platform shows that India Surges ahead of the peers in the business and technology skill sets because of the growing young population.In the Data Science Domain India secured the global rank 51(lagging) and secured 12th rank in the Asia Pacific region. In the Business Domain India secured the global rank 34 (emerging)and secured 8th rank in the Asia Pacific region. In the Technology Domain India secured the global rank 40 (emerging) and secured 10th rank in the Asia Pacific region