Daily Current Affairs Quiz – 18th August 2020

The constituency of union Railway minister, Piyush Goyal is Maharashtra (Rajya Sabha).

The Indravati National Park is located in Chhattisgarh.

A Japanese bulk-carrier ship MV Wakashio which was carrying fuel oil has split into two parts near Blue Bay Marine Park in south-east Mauritius. The ship was already leaking and has caused an oil spill of over 1000 tonnes in the Indian Ocean. The vessel has broken near Pointe d’esny in Mauritius and the area has many environmentally sensitive zones.

Endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles have finished their eight-day-long ‘arribada’ or nesting on Nasi-1 and Nasi- 2 islands at the Gahiramatha marine sanctuary in Odisha. Around 4,07,194 turtles laid eggs from 14-21 March, 2020, in the sanctuary that is known as the world’s largest rookery of sea turtles and is located within the Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapara district.

A biodiversity park will be developed on about 100 acres in the Aravalli mountain range at Gurgaon’s Kasan village, Haryana Forest and Tourism Minister Kanwar Pal announced recently.

Chief Minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio launched ‘Yellow Chain’ an e-commerce platform during the State level celebration of India’s Independence Day at Secretariat Plaza, Kohima. The centralized e-commerce platform is expected to promote local business & entrepreneurship in the state. It is seen as a “new era in Naga marketing culture”.‘Yellow chain’ is developed by the Investment & Development Authority of Nagaland (IDAN) to promote local business & entrepreneurship. It has also released an app for mobile services in the same name.

On 15th August 2020, on the occasion of 74th Independence Day, The All India Football Federation(AIFF) and the Sports Authority of India(SAI), jointly launched the E-Pathshala, a web platform to recognize the creativity of the children and to develop their interest in football.

Former Indian cricketer and Uttar Pradesh (UP) Cabinet Minister of Sainik Welfare, Home Guards, PrantiyaRakshak Dal, and Civil Security Chetan Chauhan(Full Name- Chetan Pratap Singh Chauhan) passed away at 73 in Medanta hospital, Gurugram, Haryana due to COVID-19. He belongs to Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP). He was honoured with the Arjuna award in 1981. He was born on July 21, 1947, in Bareilly, UP.

Author and MP Shashi Tharoor is known for his excellent language and diction. He has often gone viral for using an obsure or large word and causing all his followers to look it up. Now, he is coming out with a new book just dedicated to such words. Titled Tharoorosaurus, the book name is a wordplay of his name mixed with the word thesaurus, which is a book or software that helps find synonyms for words. The book is published by Penguin Random House India and will have 53 words, one for each letter of the alphabet.

Retired Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam has authored a new book titled, “Full Spectrum: India’s Wars, 1972-2020″. The book portrays the comprehensive account of war and conflict in contemporary India over the past five decades next month. It will be published by HarperCollins Publishers India Pvt. Ltd. It is the sequel to his 1st book, ‘India’s Wars: A Military History, 1947-1971’.

Hollywood Actor Sharon Stone announced the release of her Memoir “The Beauty of Living Twice” in March 2021. She unveiled the cover of the book on Twitter. The book is set to be published by Alfred A Knopf and is set to release both in hardcover and ebook.

Former India Skipper and Wicket-Keeper Mahendra Singh PansinghDhoni& Veteran middle-order Batsman Suresh Kumar Raina announced retirement from International Cricket on August 15, 2020. Dhoni is the only captain in the history of the game to win three ICC trophies – 2007 World T20, 2011 World Cup and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton claimed his 156th Podium with a victory in Spanish Grand Prix. It is the fourth race of the season at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain. Lewis Hamilton now holds the record for most podium finishes in F1 history surpassing Former F1-Great Michael Schumacher’s record.

Former India Skipper and Wicket-Keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni& Veteran middle-order Batsman Suresh Kumar Raina announced retirement from International Cricket on August 15, 2020. Suresh Kumar Raina was born on 27 November 1986 in Muradnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India. He is the first Indian batsman to hit a century in all three formats of international cricket and is considered as one of the best fielders.

The Astronomers at the Max Planck Institute of Astrophysics found a baby galaxy called “SPT0418-47” a look-alike of the Milky galaxy at 12 billion light-years away using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array(ALMA) Telescope.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau(AAIB) formed a 5-member panel headed Captain S SChahar to investigate the circumstances of the Air India Express Dubai-Calicut flight IX 1344Crash at the Kozhikode airport, Kerala on 7th August 2020. The 5-member team will probe and determine the cause and contributory factors that led to the accident. The team will also make recommendations to avoid similar accidents in the future. Captain S SChahar, the in charge of the investigation will submit his reports within the next 5 months.

Piyush Goyal, Union Commerce and Industry & Railways Minister virtually inaugurated the 4th edition of 2 days ‘National Public Procurement Conclave (NPPC) 2020: Digital Exhibitions and Conferences’, on August 9, 2020(the anniversary of GeM Establishment Day) under the theme “Technology-enabled Govt Procurement -Towards efficiency, transparency, and Inclusiveness”. It is organized by Government e-Marketplace (GeM), in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) through CII Hives Digital Platform.

Google in association with the Central Water Commission(CWC) of India launched the flood forecasting initiatives across India for the past several months. Central Water Commission is the first governmental partner of Google to measure water levels on an hourly basis using around 1000 stream gauges across India.

S SMallikarjuna Rao, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Punjab National Bank(PNB) launched a campaign, ‘DIGITAL APNAYEN’ to encourage customers to use digital banking channels and participate in the noble cause of donating to PM CARES Fund for COVID-19. The campaign begins on 15th August 2020 and runs till 31st March 2021. The bank under the campaign will contribute Rs 5 towards the PM CARES Fund on behalf of each customer who conducts the 1st financial transaction.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel launched the ‘PadhaiTuhar Para’ scheme to enable school students to learn from their respective localities as the classes are being suspended due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. He informed that a Bluetooth-based programme ‘BultuKe Bol’, ‘Mukhyamantri Slum Swasthya Yojana’, ‘Radhabai Diagnostic Centre Scheme’ will also be introduced and committees will be set up for new appointments and promotions in the state.

The government of the United Kingdom (UK) launched a £3 million “Innovation Challenge Fund 2020” in India to support scientists in academia and industry to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. The Innovation Challenge Fund 2020 of £3 million to India is provided to Maharashtra(£1.5 million) & Karnataka(£1.5 million).

NTPC has developed infrastructure at the Rihand project in Uttar Pradesh to transport fly ash in bulk to cement plants, located at distance, at a cheaper cost. The development is in line with NTPC’s commitment towards 100 percent utilization of fly ash from power plants.

To enhance immunity and prevent any disease, The Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) has launched a three-month campaign on “Ayush for Immunity” through webinar on Ayush Virtual Convention Centre (AVCC), which aims to increase awareness about affordable and easy practices to boost immunity. Shripad Yesso Naik is the MoS Independent charge for AYUSH ministry.

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Kiren Rijiju has launched a country-wide event “Fit India Freedom Run” from August 15(74th Independence Day) to October 2(151st Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi) through an online programme.

On 15th August 2020, on the occasion of the 74th Independence Day, Conrad K Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya launched the restart Meghalaya Mission worth Rs. 14,515 crores to revive the development activities which were stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

India Post has issued 5 Commemorative Postage Stamps namely: Historic City of Ahmedabad- Sarkhej Roza, Churches and Convents of Goa- Church of Bom Jesus, Group of Monuments at Pattadakal, Khajuraho Group of Monuments Javeri Temple and Qutb Minar its Monuments, Delhi. It also issued 1 miniature sheet consisting of all the above stamps on UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India-III. Group of Monuments at Pattadakal- Karnataka, Khajuraho Group of Monuments Javeri Temple- Madhya Pradesh.

Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways, Nitin Jairam Gadkari laid the foundation stone for 13 highway projects and inaugurated a Road Safety Project in Manipur through video conference.

The union minister Thaawarchand Gehlotinaugurated a building of the National Institute of Social Defence (NISD) in Dwarka, New Delhi during the videoconferencing. The building will serve as the nodal training and research centre for its three main divisions, namely the National Centre for Drug Abuse Prevention (NCDAP), Old Age Care Division and Social Defence.

The State Governments and the 272 District Collectors launched a seven-month-long anti-drugs campaign namely “NashaMukt Bharat” or “Drug-Free India” by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (SJE) which will run till March 31, 2021. In order to give impetus to this launch, Union Minister of SJE Thaawarchand Gehlot addressed 272 district collectors, 31 State Secretaries as well as doctors, NGOs (non-government organizations), and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officers through videoconferencing.

As a part of the 111 kilometer-long Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal line project, Indian Railways’ North East Frontier Railway zone is constructing the world’s tallest pier bridge, having a height of 141 meters, across river Ijai in Manipur with an outlay of Rs 280 crore. After completion, it will surpass the existing height record of 139 meters of the Mala – Rijeka Viaduct, Montenegro in Europe. The 703 meters long bridge is located at the hilly terrain of Marangching village in Noney district, about 65 km west of Imphal, Manipur. The project will be completed in March 2022.

Addressing the gathering on the 2nd death anniversary of the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan, announced that the Gwalior Chambal Expressway will be named as Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Chambal Progressway. Chouhan also stated that a grand statue of the Vajpayee will be set up in Bhopal.

The center has set up a committee chaired by Jaya Jaitly to reconsider the minimum age for marriage for women and appropriate action will be taken after a report is submitted. The government is focused on equal opportunities for self-employment and employment to women.

On the lines of “Project Tiger” and “Project Elephant”, PM Modi announced the “Project Dolphin” To give a stronger impetus for the conservation of the Gangetic Dolphins which were declared National Aquatic Species in 2010. It is a 10-year-long project led by Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Keshav Javadekar. The project involves conservation of Dolphins and the aquatic habitat through the use of modern technology especially in enumeration and anti-poaching activities. As per official figures, there are around 3,700 Gangetic River Dolphins in India.

In order to boost mobile and broadband communication between mainland India and the group of islands situated on the Laccadive Sea, off the southwestern coast of India, PM Narendra Modi set a target of 1,000 days to provide submarine optical fiber connectivity to connect Lakshadweep with mainland India. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the Ministry of Communications will oversee the project. Also, in the upcoming 1000 days nearly 6 lakh Indian villages will be connected with optical fiber. The BharatNet which is the world’s largest rural broadband connectivity programme using Optical fiber being implemented by Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL)

In order to boost mobile and broadband communication between mainland India and the group of islands situated on the Laccadive Sea, off the southwestern coast of India, PM Narendra Modi set a target of 1,000 days to provide submarine optical fiber connectivity to connect Lakshadweep with mainland India. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the Ministry of Communications will oversee the project. Also, in the upcoming 1000 days nearly 6 lakh Indian villages will be connected with optical fiber.

PM Narendra Modi announced the launch of the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) under which every Indian will get a health ID that will store the individual’s medical records. It will be implemented through National Health Authority (NHA), which is also responsible for the implementation of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). The finance ministry has approved a budget of Rs 470 crore for the proposal, but the final NHA proposal may not seek more than Rs 400 crore. The mission has been rolled out in 6 Union Territories (UTs) viz. Chandigarh, Ladakh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.