Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
The Indian Space Research Organisation recently announced that IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) will be the single nodal agency to regulate space activities and the use of ISRO facilities by private sector.
The Union Cabinet cleared the setting up of IN-SPACe as a separate body. Announcing the detailed structure of IN-SPACe, ISRO said that the body will have its own Chairman, technical experts from academia and industries and members of Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of External Affairs.

Notes:
Apple surpassed multinational petroleum company Saudi Aramco to become the world’s most valuable publicly listed company.
The market capitalisation of the technology company surged to USD 1.82 trillion, as per the regulatory filing of the company. Whereas, the market capitalisation of Aramco stood at USD 1.760 trillion.

Notes:
Veteran bureaucrat Rajesh Bhushan has recently assumed charge as the Union Health Secretary. He will succeed the previous Health Secretary Preeti Sudan.
Preeti Sudan superannuated and she was given a three-month extension in April. Rajesh Bhushan is a 1987 batch Bihar cadre IAS officer. He has been serving as an Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of Health from April.

Notes:
As per a recent statement by the Union Consumer Affairs Ministry, over 44 lakh tonnes food grains were lifted by States and Union Territories till date.
The food grains were taken under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana-2. Under the scheme, around 201 lakh tonnes food grains will be distributed among 81 crore beneficiaries. The scheme has been implemented from July 1 will be implemented till November 2020.

Notes:
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has recently revised the guidelines to be eligible for obtaining the liberalised licence to sell petrol and diesel to retail and bulk consumers.
As per the new guidelines, a net worth of at least Rs 500 crore at the time of application is eligible for selling both bulk and retail. The net worth of Rs 250 crore can get a license for either retail or bulk selling. The simplified guidelines aim to increase private sector participation in the marketing of petrol and diesel.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently announced that it will establish an innovation hub to assist start-ups to tackle the challenges of financial inclusion.
The hub seeks to provide solutions for efficient banking transactions. This has been introduced in the bi-monthly monetary policy statement released by the RBI. The funds allocated for the project and its location will be disclosed by the Central Bank.

Notes:
Indian Government has recently extended a Line of Credit worth 18 million US dollars to the Government of Maldives.
LoC has been extended for expanding fishing facilities at Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO). This is a part of the Line of credit worth USD 800 million Line of credit offered by India to the country.

Notes:
National Handloom Day is being celebrated on August 7 across India, to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement.
The Movement was launched on the same day in the year 1905. National Handloom Day also aims to create awareness about the Indian Handloom Industry among the general public. A virtual event was organised by the Ministry of Textiles to mark the occasion.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has offered a credit facility of Rs 10000 crore to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the National Housing Bank (NHB).
The fund of Rs 5,000 crore each is provided at policy lending rate to the banks, its will be deployed to boost rural lending and affordable housing across the country. Under this facility, small NBFCs and micro-lenders will extend small loans to the poor. Earlier, NABARD got a refinance support of Rs 35,000 crore and NHB got Rs 10,000 crore.

Notes:
India and Maldives recently signed a contract for development of five eco-tourism zones in Addu city of Maldives.
The development of the eco-tourism zones is a part of the projects being implemented under the High-Impact Community Development project (HICDP) scheme. It involves a total assistance of USD 5.5 million to the Maldives for high-impact assets development.