Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs has formed a five-member central team under Smart Cities Director Rahul Kapoor.
The panel will formulate project reports for both the cities, to improve infrastructure and employment opportunities in Ladakh. These cities have been selected in addition to the 100 smart cities in different states. This idea was initially proposed by the Home Affairs Ministry.

Notes:
NASA has successfully launched its Mars rover named ‘Perseverance’ from Cape Canaveral Florida on a United Launch Alliances Atlas V rocket.
The vehicle with the size of a large car is also accompanied by a helicopter called Ingenuity which will study Mars’s atmosphere. It will drill into Mars and collect geological specimens. The rover is expected to land at the base of a crater called Jezero on February 18, 2021.

Notes:
The US House of Representatives has recently passed a legislation to promote the legacies of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr.
The bill seeks to set up an educational forum and an exchange programme for Indian and American students to study about the two great leaders. It also seeks to develop a professional development training initiative based on the principles of non-violence.

Notes:
In the month of May, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had reduced EPF contribution by 4% for three months of May, June and July.
2% of employer’s contribution and 2% of employee’s contribution were reduced. This step was taken as a part of relief measures announced by the Government during the Covid-19 pandemic. From the month of August, the effective contribution will come back to the old deduction rate of 24%.

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:
The 15th Finance Commission had set up an eight-member High-Level Group on Agricultural Exports headed by the Chairman of ITC, Sanjiv Puri.
It was set up to recommend performance incentives for States to encourage agricultural exports. The group has recently submitted the report that recommended a State-led Export Plan for a crop Value chain cluster (VCC). It also suggested to focus on 22 crop value chains.

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:
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:
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:
Veteran England all-rounder Ian Botham has been made a member of the House of Lords of the British Parliament.
The 64-year-old former England captain is the first cricketer to be awarded this honour since 2011. He is among the 36 new members announced by the Government. He was knighted in the year 2007 for his services in cricket and in the field of charity.