Daily Current Affairs Quiz – 16-17th August 2020

Vikram Limaye is the present MD&CEO of the National Stock Exchange of India.

Bimal Jalan Committee had recommended that interim dividend must be paid to the government only in exceptional circumstances, RBI did not pay any interim dividend to the government for the year ended June 2020.

The headquarters of the European Union is located in Brussels, Belgium.

In a development that came as a surprise for many local history aficionados and philatelists, the historic Sarkhej Roza monument (Ahmedabad, Gujarat) found a place in the five-stamp set released by India Post on the occasion of 74th Independence Day. The set themed ‘Unesco World Heritage Sites in India-III,’ also has the Church of Bom Jesus in Goa, monuments at Pattadakal, Javeri temple at Khajuraho, and Qutb Minar.

Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel on August 17, 2020, rescued a man, who was stranded at Khutaghat Dam due to heavy flow of water, near Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur district.

On the final day of Atma Nirbhar Week celebration between August 7-14, 2020 of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and to boost Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (self-reliant India movement), Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually launched Department of Defence Production (DDP) portal SRIJAN as a part of “opportunities for Make in India in Defence”. This portal provides information about defence equipment and items which are being imported currently or are going to be imported by the Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs)/Ordnance Factory Board (OFB)/ Service Headquarters (SHQs) so that they can be taken up for indigenisation by Indian companies that can design, develop and manufacture as per their capability or through a joint venture with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

The National Film Development Corporation organized the first of its kind online patriotic film festival which began on 7th August 2020 and runs till 21st August 2020. The film festival showcases the high-quality independence day themed patriotic films on the website: http://www.cinemasofindia.com. The movie Gandhi by Sir Richard Attenborough is made accessible for people with vision and hearing impairment.

Indians all around the world celebrate the 74th Independence Day on 15th August 2020, to mark the independence of India from the rule of British Raj on 15th August 1947. This day is celebrated to remember the sacrifice of the freedom fighters and to pay tribute to the personnel of the Armed forces, paramilitary, and police forces for ensuring national safety. Narendra Modi, The Prime Minister of India, addresses the nations following the flag hoisting ceremony at the ramparts of Red Fort in Delhi.

On the occasion of 74th Independence Day, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) launched the digital campaign “Ek India Team India” as a part of the adaptation of the new identity and logo of IOA, marking its 100 years of participation in Olympic games.

A book titled “A Bend in Time: Writings by Children on the COVID 19 Pandemic” was released in July 2020, the introduction of which is written by award-winning children’s author Bijal Vachharajani. The book is published by Talking Cub (children’s imprint of Speaking Tiger). Bijal Vachharajani is the winner of the AutHer Children’s Book Award 2020 and also named in the Parag Honour List 2020 of TATA Groups.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that Chandrayaan-2 has captured images of the Moon by Terrain Mapping Camera – 2 (TMC-2) and named one of the craters as ‘Sarabhai Crater’ after Indian Astrophysicist Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai who is regarded as the Father of Indian Space program so as to celebrate his birth centenary. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai’s 100th birth century was observed on the 12th of August, 2020.

National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) Investor Protection Fund Trust (NSE IPFT) and Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) have jointly developed and launched Platform for Investor Education (PIE), an online investor education resource centre. The PIE was launched in a virtual meet attended by Mr. Nagendraa Parakh, Executive Director of SEBI, Mr. Vikram Limaye MD & CEO of NSE and Professor Rishikesha T Krishnan, Director of IIM Bangalore.

Team of researchers of Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru, Karnataka and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) developed a sustainable process for making brick-like structures named “Space Bricks” on the surface of the moon. The process uses the lunar soil, bacteria and guar beans to make the space brick. The process uses the Urea – sourced from human urine and lunar soil as the raw materials for the construction on the lunar surface which reduces the overall expenditure.

Indian Idol Season11 Finalist and Oscar Nominated Playback Singer Shahzan Mujeeb became First-Ever National Brand Ambassador of Aligarh Municipal Corporation for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Campaign at National and International level. He is also a Music Composer and Music Director. His film Gera won the National Award for Best Gujarati Film.

The 584th meeting of the Central Board of Reserve of Board(RBI) under the Chairmanship of Governor Shaktikanta Das approved the transfer of Rs 57,128 crore in surplus as dividend to the Central government for the accounting year 2019-20. The board decided to maintain the Contingency Risk Buffer at 5.5%.

A campaign against child trafficking was launched in Bihar by the foundation of child rights activist and Nobel laureate, Kailash Satyarthi. The foundation claimed that the state was among the worst affected by the migrant crisis when the lockdown was first announced. ‘Mukti Caravan’, a campaign. which has been running in various parts of the country for many years, was launched digitally in Bihar over a webinar hosted by Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF).

Lok Sabha has started a beginner-level course in French for the officials and staff of the Lok Sabha Secretariat at the Parliament House. As many as 57 officials registered for the course.

NITI Aayog has engaged Oracle to help it modernize vital IT infrastructure underpinning the Aspirational Districts Programme. A key project of the Indian Government, its purpose is to help improve the quality of life of citizens in 112 of India’s most backward districts, constituting 28 percent of India’s population of nearly 1.4 billion.

European Union has launched project ’Nirmanshree’ for enhancing the women skill towards housing construction sector. This is the first-of-its-kind sustainable housing on a large scale in India with 1-million-euro. The project will be implemented in Beed and Osmanabad districts of Maharashtra and the Dhenkanal and Jajpur districts of Odisha. A non-profit organization, Habitat for Humanity India has also joined hands with the EU for funding this project.

National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission(AIM) in collaboration with National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) has launched Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Step-up module (ATL AI Step Up Module) through ‘ATL AI Modules’ for school students to empower youngest minds and drive innovations in the country to the next level.