Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
The first batch of five Rafale fighter jets have landed at the Ambala Air Force Base, located in the state of Haryana.
The Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria received the fighter jets, which will be inducted in the No. 17 Squadron, ‘Golden Arrows’. The jets were flown by Indian Air Force pilots for seven hours with the help of the mid-air refuellers.

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:
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 Indian Space Research Organisation recently announced that IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) will be the single nodal agency to regulate space activities and the use of ISRO facilities by private sector.
The Union Cabinet cleared the setting up of IN-SPACe as a separate body. Announcing the detailed structure of IN-SPACe, ISRO said that the body will have its own Chairman, technical experts from academia and industries and members of Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of External Affairs.

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 Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) signed a deal with the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) to procure products for its personnel.
ITBP became the first Central Armed Police Force to sign such an agreement with KVIC to procure a rande of khadi goods for around 10 lakh personnel. Earlier, the Home Ministry announced that CAPF canteens will only sell local-made products.

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 United States astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, who flew to the International Space Station in SpaceX’s new Crew Dragon, landed back on the Earth.
The astronauts splashed down aboard Crew Dragon ‘Endeavor’ in the Gulf of Mexico after a 64-day voyage in space. This is NASA’s first crewed mission from American soil in nine years. This splash down is the first of its kind by NASA in 45 years.

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:
Veteran politician and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, John Hume passed away recently at the age of 83 due to age related illness.
He was a Catholic leader of the moderate Social Democratic and Labour Party. John Hume was known for initiating the agreement that ended violence in his native Northern Ireland. He was also called as the ‘Champion of Peace’.