Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
The first batch of five Rafale fighter jets have landed at the Ambala Air Force Base, located in the state of Haryana.
The Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria received the fighter jets, which will be inducted in the No. 17 Squadron, ‘Golden Arrows’. The jets were flown by Indian Air Force pilots for seven hours with the help of the mid-air refuellers.

Notes:
The Indian Government has imposed safeguard duty on solar cells for one more year till July 2021 to protect domestic manufacturers.
This move will also discourage cheap imports from countries like China. Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), the investigative arm of the Commerce Ministry had recommended to the Department of Revenue for this imposition of duty.

Notes:
The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has launched a knowledge portal named ‘MSME Saksham’, in association with TransUnion CIBIL.
The comprehensive financial education and knowledge platform will provide financial awareness to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and assist them in getting quick access to formal and affordable credit facilities.

Notes:
The Directorate of Cashew Research (DCR) located in the state of Karnataka has developed the ‘Cashew India’ application for farmers of cashew in India.
The app gives information on cashew grafts, cultivation, post-harvest processing, and market information to stakeholders such as farmers, researchers and processors. The app is available in 11 languages and funded by the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture.

Notes:
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has recently launched the official YouTube channel of the National Cooperative Development Corporation.
It is called the ‘Sahakar Cooptube NCDC Channel and is a new initiative by NCDC, a statutory Corporation under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. The Union Minister also launched instruction videos produced by NCDC on ‘Formation and Registration of a Cooperative’.

Notes:
The Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu has launched a new mobile application named ‘E-Gyan Mitra’.
The application launched by the Education Department of the UT aims to teach the students through digital mode. Students from Primary to Higher secondary classes can take online classes and attend tests in the application.

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:
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:
Pulitzer Prize-winning fiction writer, Shirley Ann Grau has recently passed away at the age of 91. She was born in New Orleans and was brought up on Alabama.
All her six novels and four short story collections were all set in the southern states of the United States. She won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for her fourth book titled ‘The Keepers of the House’ in the year 1965. Her first book was ‘The Black Prince and Other Stories’.

Notes:
In the recently held Parliamentary Elections of Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka People’s Freedom Alliance led by the ruling party has secured a landslide victory.
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has secured around 60% of the total votes polled and a two-thirds majority. Mahinda Rajapaksa is to be sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Sri Lank and he is the elder brother of the Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa.