Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
China has recently claimed that the Diaoyu islands are Chinese territory and it has the right to conduct law enforcement activities in the area.
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin denied the criticism of the U.S. of incursions of China. The islands located in the East China sea has also been claimed by Japan for several year. Japan calls the territory as Senkaku and China calls as Diaoyu.

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:
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:
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:
Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh has recently passed away at the age of 64. He was undergoing treatment in hospital for the past few months.
Several political leaders condoled the death of Amar Singh. He was a businessman turned Politician who had acquaintances in all major parties. He was active in his social media account even during last week.

Notes:
Sanskrit Diwas also known as ‘Vishva samskrita dinam’ is celebrated on the full moon of the ‘Shravana’ month of Hindu calendar.
This year, Sanskrit Day that promotes the revival of the language is celebrated on August 3. All India Radio broadcasted the first special program in Sanskrit titled ‘Bahujan Bhasha – Sanskrit Bhasha’ to mark the occasion.

Notes:
Veteran theatre mentor and the longest serving director of the National School of Drama, Ebrahim Alkazi has passed away recently at the age of 94.
He won several prestigious awards including Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award & Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship. He had trained several artists and his significant plays include Tughlaq and Andha Yug.

Notes:
On August 5 2019, the special status of Article 370 and 35-A of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was abrogated and it was bifurcated into two Union Territories.
The first anniversary of the event was observed on the same day this year. During the past year, several initiatives carried out in the UTs include National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS), Extension of all allowances of Central Government employees, J&K Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Commission.

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, has developed the country’s first ICMR-approved mobile RT-PCR lab.
Called the MITR (Mobile Infection Testing and Reporting) lab, it is capable of conducting 9000 tests per month. The lab than can produce 100% accurate results within four hours, has been handed over to the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS).

Notes:
The state government of Chhattisgarh has launched a social security scheme for Tendupatta (Tendu leaves) collectors.
The scheme was named as ‘Saheed Mahendra Karma Tendupatta Sangrahak Samajik Suraksha Yojana’, after the Congress leader Mahendra Karma, who was killed by rebels in the year 2013. The scheme aims to provide financial support to families of tendupatta labourers.