Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is set to roll out a new National Clinical Registry of COVID-19 patients admitted across the county.
To launch this comprehensive database, the ICMR has collaborated with the Health Ministry and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). This database will help to improve treatment in hospitals and will let officials conduct clinical trials and study the effectiveness of new therapies.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs presents the ‘Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar’ award.
The award recognises individuals as well as institutions for their contributions in the field of disaster management. The Government of India has recently invited the nominations for the award, which is presented on the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, on January 23.

Notes:
The Union Government has extended the deadline for filing income tax returns for 2018-19 fiscal by two months till September 30.
The reason for the extension is constraints due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown. The Central Board of Direct Taxes has extended the deadline for the third time to September 30. Earlier it was postponed from March 31 to June 30 and then to July 31.

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:
The European Union has imposed its first-ever sanctions over cyber attacks, on alleged agents, spies and firms of Russia, China and North Korea.
Six people and three groups which have been hit with sanctions also include the GRU military intelligence agency of Russia. The agency was earlier blamed by the European Union for the 2017 WannaCry ransomware and NotPetya malware attacks and a cyber espionage campaign.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a USD 200 million deal with the Reliance Bangladesh LNG and Power Limited (RBLPL).
Under the deal, Reliance power would build and operate a 718-megawatt combined-cycle power plant in Bangladesh. USD 100 million would be provided by the ADB while the other 100 million would be sourced from the Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP) of Japan International Cooperation Agency.

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:
‘Samarth’ is an initiative of E-Commerce major Flipkart, to help artisans of India that was launched last year.
Under the programme, Walmart-owned Flipkart had partnered with five non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to help local artisans in using the online marketplace to sell their products. Flipkart recently announced that under ‘Samarth’, it has supported 6 lakh artisans to reach around 200 million customers.

Notes:
Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) has recently approved a programme for artisans who make Agarbatti.
The programme aims to develop village industry under ‘Gramodyog Vikas Yojana’. Under the programme, four pilot projects will be started that includes one in the North Eastern part of the country. Each cluster of artisans will be provided with automatic Agarbatti making machines.

Notes:
Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and Union Minister of Textiles and Women & Child Development Smriti Irani officially launched the book with essays on the journey of Swachh Bharat Mission.
Named the ‘Swachh Bharat Kranti’ (Swachh Bharat Revolution), it has been edited by the Secretary of the Department of Water and Sanitation and has been translated to Hindi. The book has as many as 35 essays by several stake holders involved in the mission.