Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
Sembcorp Energy India Limited (SEIL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore-based Sembcorp Industries, announced the completion of its latest 800MW wind power projects.
It has become the first independent power producer to commission the projects awarded in the wind auctions conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). Union Power Minister R K Singh has dedicated Sembcorp’s SECI 1, 2 and 3 wind projects to the nation.

Notes:
Mizoram has recently launched the Green-Ag project, funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF). It is the only North Eastern state to be named for the project.
In addition to Mizoram, four states namely Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand are implementing the scheme. The project aims to promote sustainable transformation of agriculture without compromising the country’s food security and farmers income.

Notes:
The Union Government has extended the deadline for filing income tax returns for 2018-19 fiscal by two months till September 30.
The reason for the extension is constraints due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown. The Central Board of Direct Taxes has extended the deadline for the third time to September 30. Earlier it was postponed from March 31 to June 30 and then to July 31.

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 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:
The Sports Ministry has constituted a 12-member committee to select this year’s National Sports Awards winners.
The committee is to be headed by retired Supreme Court Justice, Mukundakam Sharma. It will select the award winners among both athletes and coaches. The members include Former India Cricketer Virender Sehwag, Hockey star Sardar Singh and Paralympic silver-medallist Deepa Malik.

Notes:
The 100th death anniversary of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak is being observed on 1st August, across the country.
Tilak was a prominent extremist leader in the Indian National Congress. Being an integral part of the Lal-Bal-Pal trio, he proclaimed “Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it”. Tilak was born on July 23, 1856 in Maharashtra and passed away on August 1 in the year 1920.

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:
The Rajasthan state government is set to launch the ‘Indira Rasoi Yojana’ in urban areas of the state from August 20.
Under the scheme, the poor and needy people will get nutritious food for Rs 8. As many as 358 kitchens in 213 urban bodies will be made functional. The state government is to spend Rs 100 crore per year on this scheme.

Notes:
British racing driver Lewis Hamilton has recently won the British Grand Prix tournament, to clinch his 87th career victory.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen came second and is followed by Charles Leclerc who finished third for Ferrari. Due to a technical glitch, Valtteri Bottas had to come back for a tire change and he could get only 11th spot. Four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel was placed 10th.