Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
China has recently claimed that the Diaoyu islands are Chinese territory and it has the right to conduct law enforcement activities in the area.
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin denied the criticism of the U.S. of incursions of China. The islands located in the East China sea has also been claimed by Japan for several year. Japan calls the territory as Senkaku and China calls as Diaoyu.

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:
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:
The former Defence Minister of the African country Ivory Coast Hamed Bakayoko, has been recently named as the Prime Minister of the country.
Earlier, the previous Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly passed away suddenly on July 8 and Hamed Bakayoko has been serving as the acting Prime Minister. The 55-year old leader has been serving as the Defence Minister since 2017 after serving as the Interior Minister since 2011.

Notes:
The United Arab Emirates has successfully commenced operation of the Arab world’s first commercial nuclear power plant.
The Barakah reactor is located in the oil-rich city of the UAE, Abu Dhabi. With the commission, the UAE joins the group of 30 countries that can generate nuclear energy. It is built and run by a joint venture with Korea Electric Power Corporation.

Notes:
The United Kingdom is set to imprint the image of Mahatma Gandhi in a new set of coins, as a part of efforts to celebrate the contributions of non-white individuals.
Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has sent the recommendation to the Royal Mint Advisory Committee (RMAC). It is conducting a campaign called “We Too Built Britain”. If the coins are minted with Gandhi’s image, he would be the first non-White person to feature on a British coin.

Notes:
The Union Government has expanded the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by doubling the upper ceiling of loans to Rs 50 crore.
The scheme also includes individual loans given for business purposes to professionals like doctors, lawyers and chartered accountants under its scope. The maximum amount of guaranteed emergency credit line funding under the ECLGS scheme is also increased from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore.

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:
As per the National Hurricane Center of the United States, North Carolina has recently witnessed a Hurricane Isaias.
The hurricane has made a landfall near Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina. More than a dozen tornadoes have been reported in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. At least 2 people is said to have been killed in the hurricane.

Notes:
State-owned oil and gas company and the largest commercial oil company in the country, Indian Oil has partnered with France’s Total.
The Joint Venture has been formed to make Superior Quality Bitumen derivatives and specialty products for India’s road construction industry. The JB would initially take over the existing plant of Total at Jodhpur, Rajasthan and then invest Rs 226 crore to set up six new plants across India.