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:
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:
Veteran Folk musician Sonam Tshering Lepcha has recently passed away at Kalimpong, West Bengal at the age of 92.
He travelled to various parts of Sikkim and compiled several Indian folk and traditional Lepcha songs. He was also known for his efforts to popularise and represent Lepcha culture. He was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri award by the Government.

Notes:
Muslim Women’s Rights Day is being observed on July 31, to commemorate the first anniversary of the passage of law against instant Triple Talaq.
On the same day in 2019, the Union Government passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act that prohibits the practice of instant divorce. As per the law, any violation of the law is punishable by jail term of up to three years. The Supreme Court of India declared this practice as unconstitutional.

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 All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) is an apex Ayurveda medicine and research institution located in New Delhi.
It was seen in news as the institute has started providing free testing and treatment to patients in its COVID 19 Health Centre (CHC). AYUSH Minister Shri Naik inaugurated the ventilator-equipped Intensive Care Unit of the centre as well as a COVID Call Centre at AIIA.

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:
The Union Government has provisionally granted permission for the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) 2020 edition to be scheduled in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the IPL governing council had earlier postponed the tournament. It is to be held from September 19 to November 10 across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, after the final clearances from the Indian government.

Notes:
The Thenzawl Golf Resort project has been virtually inaugurated in the state of Mizoram, by the Union Minister of State for Culture & Tourism (IC) Prahlad Singh Patel.
The project has been launched under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme’s Integrated Development of New Eco Tourism. With a toral site area of 105 acres and a play area of 75 acres, it has been designed by the top-ranked Canada based architectural firm, the Graham Cooke and Associates.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat announced that the state will set up the country’s first snow leopard conservation centre.
The centre will be opened in the Uttarkashi forest division in the state. It is to set up jointly with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a part of its six-year long project called ‘SECURE Himalayas’. It was started in 2017 to conserve snow leopards and other endangered species in the Himalayas.