Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

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:
‘Samarth’ is an initiative of E-Commerce major Flipkart, to help artisans of India that was launched last year.
Under the programme, Walmart-owned Flipkart had partnered with five non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to help local artisans in using the online marketplace to sell their products. Flipkart recently announced that under ‘Samarth’, it has supported 6 lakh artisans to reach around 200 million customers.

Notes:
NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has recently launched an Incubator Capabilities enhancement program named ‘AIM iCREST’.
AIM has collaborated with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wadhwani Foundation for support and expertise in entrepreneurship and innovation. The program aims to support start-ups in knowledge transfer and reaching global markets.

Notes:
India has recently contributed a sum of USD 15.46 million to the India-UN Development Partnership Fund.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti handed over it to the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC). This UN Office manages the India-UN Development Partnership Fund. In the 15 million fund, USD 6 million goes to the overall fund and the remaining to the Commonwealth countries.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat announced that the state will set up the country’s first snow leopard conservation centre.
The centre will be opened in the Uttarkashi forest division in the state. It is to set up jointly with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a part of its six-year long project called ‘SECURE Himalayas’. It was started in 2017 to conserve snow leopards and other endangered species in the Himalayas.

Notes:
American computer engineer William English, who played a key role in creating a computer mouse, has recently passed away at the age of 91 in California.
In 1960’s, he joined Stanford Research Institute (SRI) and worked on the development of a predecessor of modern computer along with Douglas Engelbart. Their model has a mouse which helped users to control the images on the screen interface.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has enhanced the amount of loan that banks can provide against the pledge of gold ornaments and jewellery.
As per the guidelines, banks can give 90 per cent of the pledged gold as loan for non-agricultural purposes. Earlier, the loan to value (LTV) limit was 75 per cent. This will only be applicable to banks and not to gold loan companies and will be valid till March 2021.

Notes:
The San Giorgio Bridge, that has been found in news, was inaugurated in Genoa, one of the largest cities in Italy.
Designed by the world-famous architect Renzo Piano, the bridge is the replacement for the Morandi Bridge that collapsed in a storm two years ago in Italy. The 1,100-metre-long motorway bridge was inaugurated by the Italian prime minister.

Notes:
Veteran Professor Pradeep Kumar Joshi has been appointed as the chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
PK Joshi, who is currently a member in the UPSC, had earlier served as the Chairperson of both Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commissions. He is to succeed Arvind Saxena whose term as the UPSC Chairman has ended.

Notes:
The Union Education Ministry formerly the HRD Ministry organised ‘Conclave on Transformational Reforms in Higher Education under National Education Policy’ along with the University Grants Commission (UGC).
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the inaugural address at the Conclave through video conferencing. He also highlighted various aspects of the National Education Policy. Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal also participated in the event.