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:
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:
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 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 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:
Large companies with turnover of over Rs 500 crore are mandated to submit sales invoices electronically.
This has been notified by the Government under the Goods and Services tax (GST) regime. As per the notification released, Units in special economic zones have been exempt from complying with e-invoicing. Earlier, the limit of turnover was Rs 100 crore.

Notes:
Indian journalist and Special Correspondent of the Indian Express Dipankar Ghose has won the Prem Bhatia Award for political reporting.
He covered various issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic including the migrant labour crisis. People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), a journalism website has been selected for the award for the reporting on environmental and development issues.

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:
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.

Notes:
Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and Union Minister of Textiles and Women & Child Development Smriti Irani officially launched the book with essays on the journey of Swachh Bharat Mission.
Named the ‘Swachh Bharat Kranti’ (Swachh Bharat Revolution), it has been edited by the Secretary of the Department of Water and Sanitation and has been translated to Hindi. The book has as many as 35 essays by several stake holders involved in the mission.