Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
An affordable helicopter service on the Dehradun-New Tehri-Srinagar-Gauchar route in Uttarakhand under Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik- Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN-RCS) has been inaugurated.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri along with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat virtually inaugurated the service, which is to be operated by Pawan Hans Limited. These helicopter services will be available for three days a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Notes:
India’s leading NBFC and a Public sector Unit (PSU) under Ministry of Power, Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has partnered with Indian Institute of Technology- Kanpur (IIT-K) for Training and Research in Smart Grid Technology
Under the agreement, PFC will provide financial assistance of over Rs 2 Crore to the institution under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. This is expected to promote research and Entrepreneurship Development in the field.

Notes:
For the first time in the world, US Technology Giants Facebook and Google will pay the media outlets of Australia for news content.
Australia is set to pass a dedicated law which mandates a royalty-style system. This is a historic move by the country to protest independent journalism. Last year, the Australian government asked the tech firms to negotiate with media companies to use their content.

Notes:
Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the upstream lane of Mahatma Gandhi bridge, through video conference.
The 5.5 km four lane bridge is built over river Ganga connecting Patna and Hajipur of Bihar. The reconstruction work of this bridge started in the year 2017 and the cost outlay is Rs 1742 crore. The downstream lane of the bridge is to be completed by 2021. The concrete structure of the old bridge will be replaced by new steel deck.

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:
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Harsh Vardhan launched a national- level programme named ‘Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan’ 2020-21.
This initiative aims to promote scientific temper among school students of Class 6 to 11. It is jointly organised by Vijnana Bharati, in collaboration with Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous organisation under Science and Technology Ministry and NCERT of Education Ministry. It identifies and trains bright students with interest in Science.

Notes:
Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh has recently passed away at the age of 64. He was undergoing treatment in hospital for the past few months.
Several political leaders condoled the death of Amar Singh. He was a businessman turned Politician who had acquaintances in all major parties. He was active in his social media account even during last week.

Notes:
The United States astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, who flew to the International Space Station in SpaceX’s new Crew Dragon, landed back on the Earth.
The astronauts splashed down aboard Crew Dragon ‘Endeavor’ in the Gulf of Mexico after a 64-day voyage in space. This is NASA’s first crewed mission from American soil in nine years. This splash down is the first of its kind by NASA in 45 years.

Notes:
Veteran politician and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, John Hume passed away recently at the age of 83 due to age related illness.
He was a Catholic leader of the moderate Social Democratic and Labour Party. John Hume was known for initiating the agreement that ended violence in his native Northern Ireland. He was also called as the ‘Champion of Peace’.

Notes:
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has unveiled the draft ‘Defence Production & Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP) 2020’ for public feedback.
As per the policy, the aim is to achieve Defence and Aerospace exports of USD 5 billion by the year 2025. It also seeks to increase the manufacturing turnover in Defence sector to $25 bn or ₹1,75,000 crore.