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:
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is set to roll out a new National Clinical Registry of COVID-19 patients admitted across the county.
To launch this comprehensive database, the ICMR has collaborated with the Health Ministry and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). This database will help to improve treatment in hospitals and will let officials conduct clinical trials and study the effectiveness of new therapies.

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:
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:
Global chemical company SABIC’s polycarbonate plant in Spain is set to become the world’s first that will run entirely on renewable power.
The Riyadh-headquartered company has signed a major agreement with an electricity utility company Iberdrola, in this regard. This plant is expected to be completely operational by the year 2024.

Notes:
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and non-profit Pure Earth jointly released a report titled “The Toxic Truth: Children’s exposure to lead pollution undermines a generation of potential”.
As per the report, one third of the world’s children (800 million) are affected by lead poisoning and 275 million of them are in India. The report also highlights that around half of the affected children were from South Asia. Informal recycling of lead-acid batteries is a major contributor to lead poisoning.

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:
PTC India Limited, previously called as Power Trading Corporation of India has been approved to set up the third Power exchange of India.
At present, India has two power exchanges namely Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) and Power Exchange India (PXIL), to enable over-the-counter sale and purchase of power. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission has approved the proposal of PTC India made along with BSE Investments and ICICI Bank.

Notes:
Union Ministry of Defence, IIT Kanpur and the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding.
The MoU is for developing Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning techniques to analyse public grievances. The grievances received on the web-based Centralised Public Grievances Redress and Monitoring System of the Ministry would be subjected to predictive analysis.

Notes:
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) is the apex institution to implement the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), which provides a time-bound realisation of stressed assets. It is headquartered at New Delhi.
IBBI has recently amended regulations related to liquidation process and provided clarifications on fee payable to liquidators. At present, the Committee of Creditors (CoC) fixes the fee payable to the liquidator. The liquidator is entitled to the fee corresponding to the amount realised or distributed by him.