Current Affairs Quiz-September, 2020

Notes:
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has recently launched an AI-powered voice chatbot named ‘LiGo’, on Google Assistant.
The customers and policy holders can use this service to resolve their queries on products by giving simple voice commands. As per the company, customers can activate ‘Google Assistant’ on their Android smartphones and say their policy number or mobile number for details on their policies.

Notes:
The Supreme Court of India has allowed a period of 10 years to telecom companies like Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Tata Tele-services to pay their remaining Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues to the government.
The top court also held that 10 % of the total dues to be paid before March 31, 2021. The judgment was pronounced by a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra.

Notes:
According to a survey by World Health Organization (WHO), countries have witnessed disruptions in at least half of the 25 kinds of health services, due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Immunisation services were the most affected while diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable diseases (NCD) was the second-most impacted. The report states that 94% of the countries in survey concentrated their efforts only on tackling Covid-19.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a MoU with Finland in the field of geology.
The MoU seeks for cooperation in the field of geology and mineral resources between Geological Survey of India (Ministry of Mines) and Geological Survey of Finland. The countries would work for mutual economic, social and environmental benefits.

Notes:
The Central Government has added 20 more sports disciplines in the list of sports eligible for direct recruitment in Group C level government posts through sports quota.
Earlier there were 43 disciplines which have now been raised to 63 disciplines. Meritorious sports persons who have represented their state or India in national or international competitions are eligible for government jobs, under the special quota.

Notes:
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has extended the tenure of Pramod Chandra Mody for a period of 6 months from 01.09.2020 to 28.02.2021.
This move has been made to ensure continuity in Income Tax related matter till the next Budget. Pramod Chandra Mody is a 1982 batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer and his tenure has been extended for the second time in a row.

Notes:
The Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti has launched the ‘Water Heroes – Share Your Stories’ Contest.
The contest is launched from September 1 and it aims to create awareness about the importance of water conservation. Under the contest, entries will be invited every month which is a video explaining the participant’s success story. Selected entries will be awarded Rs. 10,000 each.

Notes:
The first World Solar Technology Summit (WSTS) is to be organized by the International Solar Alliance (ISA) on September 8, 2020.
More than 25000 participants from 149 countries and several distinguished judges are set to participate in the virtual summit. The President of the assembly and India’s New and Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh will be joined by Principal Scientific Adviser, K. Vijay Raghavan.

Notes:
As per the news from the Prime Minister’s Office, the first-ever cannabis medicine project will be set up at Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) in Jammu.
This project will be the first major foreign investment in Jammu and Kashmir after it became a Union Territory (UT). It will be established in collaboration with Canada. The medicine prepared from Cannabis are used to produce pain-relief medicine.

Notes:
Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has successfully tested Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Launch Complex at Wheeler Island, off the Odisha coast.
The hypersonic cruise vehicle was launched using solid rocket motor, which took it to an altitude of 30 kilometers from where cruise vehicle separated and moved on the desired flight path at a velocity of 6 times the speed of sound i.e., nearly 2 km/second for more than 20 seconds.