Daily Current Affairs Quiz – 2nd & 3rd August 2020

As a part of the renovation of the Mahatma Gandhi Bridge/Setu over river Ganga in Bihar, Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) Nitin Jairam Gadkari virtually inaugurated its upstream carriageway. This means the two lanes are completed of the 4-lane bridge which is being renovated at a cost of Rs 1,742 crore. The online ceremony was presided over by the Chief Minister (CM) of Bihar Nitish Kumar. This is the first-ever bridge in India using modern technology for improving the existing structure. The designing of the bridge has been done by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee in discussion with international consultants.

Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, released a booklet on ‘Best Practices in Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP)’ prepared by Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Ministry of Rural Development based on the presentations made by states during regional and national workshops since the inception of the programme.

Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (M/o MSME) approved a programme under “Gramodyog Vikas Yojana” for the benefit of artisans involved in the manufacturing of Agarbatti and to develop village industry. As a part of the programme, a total of 200 Automatic Agarbatti making machines and 40 Mixing machines will be provided to the artisans.

Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ Union Minister for Human Resource Development(HRD) launched the compilation India Report – Digital Education June 2020 prepared by the Department of School Education & Literacy under the Ministry of Human Resource Development on the innovative initiatives on remote learning through digital education. The report highlights the methods adopted by the MHRD and the Education Department of States and Union Territories(UT) to ensure the accessibility to education for the children at home.

Governor of Andhra Pradesh (AP) Biswa Bhusan Harichandan gave his assent to the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions and Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) Repeal Bills – 2020.

The Maharashtra government approved the Maharashtra Agribusiness Network (MagNet) project worth about Rs 1,000 crore (USD 142.9 million). The project aims to help farmers across all districts in the state for the next 6 years. This will boost the fruit and vegetable production and will improve processing and minimise the losses in the sector of perishables. 70% of the project will be funded by Asian Development Bank(ADB) while the rest of 30% by the state government.

Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, The Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth announced funding and tie-up between The United Kingdom(UK) and India for five new medicinal research projects worth 8 million pounds (around Rs78 crore) to tackle the anti-microbial resistance to support the combat against antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes during his ‘virtual visit’ to India.

Madhya Pradesh Urban Development and Housing Minister Shri Bhupendra Singh launched a public awareness campaign “Ek Mask-Anek Zindagi” from August 1-15. “Ek Mask-Anek Zindagi” – means one mask, many lives.

Pawan Hans Limited (PHL) has launched helicopter service on the Dehradun-New Tehri-Srinagar-Gauchar route in Uttarakhand under the Central government’s regional connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik).

Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State-MoS (Independent Charge), Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space laid foundation stones virtually and e-inaugurated various construction works undertaken under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)-II in Jammu and Kashmir(J&K). Jitendra Singh informed that J&K has ranked 2nd in terms of performance under PMGSY II after Himachal Pradesh.

The SKOCH Awards were presented over a virtual platform at the 66th SKOCH Summit at New Delhi. The 66th SKCOH 2020 Competition on the title “India Responds to COVID Through Digital Governance” and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs(MoTA) participated in the “Digital India & E-Governance” 2020 competition. SKOCH Gold Award was presented to MoTA for its project of Scholarship Division – “Empowerment of Tribals through IT-enabled Scholarship Schemes”.

The Government of Telangana won the SKOCH Gold Award for its Blockchain-based property registration project, the solution was piloted in partnership with CDAC Hyderabad to ensure tamper-proof land records. Also, Sand Sale Management & Monitoring System, the robust and transparent ICT solution of the Mineral Development Corporation Ltd of Telangana received the SKOCH Gold Award under the Digital India Category.

The eSamadhan -chief minister’s office(CMO) public grievance system of the Government of West Bengal received the SKOCH Platinum award – top award from the SKOCH foundation for the performance of grievance redressal cell of the Chief minister’s office(CMO).

Experts from India and Israel have collaborated to develop rapid testing for COVID-19 in under 30 seconds by merging the technological expertise of Israel with Indian development and production capabilities. They have started to conduct trials at a special testing site at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital on a large sample of patients for 4 different kinds of technologies namely, Voice test, Breath analyzer test, Isothermal testing and Polyamine acid testing. The rapid testing has been developed jointly in cooperation with the Directorate of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D) of the Israeli Ministry of Defence and Development Organisation(DRDO), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Principal Scientific Advisor(PSA), India and coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Israel and India.

In order to improve green cover in the inaccessible Aravalli area of Haryana’s Faridabad district, the Haryana forest department has used drone technology to shower 50,000 seeds pallets covered with a mixture of clay and compost. This ‘seeding drone’ is designed by an Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur backed startup. Species whose seeds were disseminated included Peepal, Pilkhan, Amaltash, Bael Patra, Pahari Papri, Ronjh and Khairi.

German footballer Benedikt Howedes retired from football. He was part of the 2014 world-cup winning Germany team. He was one of the 3 players who had played every minute for the team in the tournament.

‘Greenlights’ the debut book authored by Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey published by Crown Publishing Group is set to be released on 20th October 2020. The book was described as “not a traditional memoir but a playbook” based on the adventures and life experiences of McConaughey. McConaughey describes ‘Greenlights’ as an album, a record, and the story of his life and he shared his anecdotes, poems, and life lessons in this book.

The famous writer and documentary Filmmaker Sa. Kandasamy passed away at the age of 81, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu due to heart ailments. He was born in 1940, Mayiladuthurai district, Tamil Nadu. He won the Sahitya Akademi award for his Novel ‘Visaranai Commission.’

Bollywood action director Parvez Khan has passed away at the age of 55 years due to a massive heart attack who is known for his work in Andhadhun, Johnny Gaddaar, and Bullett Raja and also worked with Filmmaker Hansal Mehta in the National Award-winning 2013 drama “Shahid”.

World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated annually in the first week of August (from 1st of August to 7th of August) around 120 countries in the World. The day is celebrated to encourage breastfeeding and improve the babies’ health around the world. The theme for the year 2020 is, “Support Breastfeeding for a healthier planet”.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Hardeep Singh Puri released the Affordable Rental Housing Complexes Pack through Video Conferencing on July 31, 2020. The Minister has also launched the Awaas app for Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) & NAREDCO’s “HousingforAll.com” – is an online e-commerce portal to market residential properties.

The Lok Sabha constituency of Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways & Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Nitin Gadkari in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

The UAE debuted the world’s largest single solar plant, Noor Abu Dhabi, boasting a production capacity of nearly 1,177 MW.

Aravalli Range, also spelled Aravali Range, hill system of northern India, running northeasterly for 350 miles (560 km) through Rajasthan state. Isolated rocky offshoots continue to just south of Delhi. The series of peaks and ridges, with breadths varying from 6 to 60 miles (10 to 100 km), are generally between 1,000 and 3,000 feet (300 and 900 metres) in elevation. The system is divided into two sections: The Sambhar-Sirohi ranges, taller and including Guru Peak on Mount Abu, the highest peak in the Aravalli Range (5,650 feet [1,722 metres]); and the Sambhar-Khetri ranges, consisting of three ridges that are discontinuous. The Aravalli Range is rich in natural resources (including minerals) and serves as a check to the growth of the western desert. It gives rise to several rivers, including the Banas, Luni, Sakhi, and Sabarmati. Though heavily forested in the south, it is generally bare and thinly populated, consisting of large areas of sand and stone and of masses of rose-colored quartzite.

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), a statutory organization under the administrative control of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) as the single nodal agency.

Arjun Munda is the present union minister of Tribal Affairs.

China on July 31, 2020, formally launched full global services of its BeiDou-3 Navigation Satellite System (BDS) to rival the widely-used American GPS and provide independent navigation structure for its increasingly modernizing military. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a ceremony to mark the launch of the full global services of the BeiDou-3.

A 12-year-old elephant, Roopa, at Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP), Karnataka gave birth to a male calf on August 1, 2020.

The Minapur block of the Muzaffarpur district in Bihar continued to face flood fury after a rise in the water level of the Burhi Gandak river following the rains.

Two US astronauts, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley returned from the International Space Station (ISS) on 2 August 2020. The Crew Dragon was designed and operated by Space-X. It is being used for this flight test can stay in orbit about 110 days. NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight was the first crewed flight to launch from the US since 2011. The Demo-2 mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Akola is a city in the Vidarbha region in the state of Maharashtra in central India. It is the third-largest city in Vidarbha, situated about 290 miles east of the state capital, Mumbai, and 140 miles west of the second capital, Nagpur.

Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Electronics, Communication, and IT Sanjay Dhotre inaugurated “Bharat Air Fibre Services” at Akola, Maharashtra. The service will give Wireless Internet Connections on demand to the residents of Akola & Washim district.

The SpaceX Dragon 2 is a class of reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX as the successor to Dragon, a reusable cargo spacecraft.

Scientists from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), under Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), have developed a model to scale up the novel tests using an adaptive strategy and the early phase of COVID-19 as an example.