Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

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:
In the month of May, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had reduced EPF contribution by 4% for three months of May, June and July.
2% of employer’s contribution and 2% of employee’s contribution were reduced. This step was taken as a part of relief measures announced by the Government during the Covid-19 pandemic. From the month of August, the effective contribution will come back to the old deduction rate of 24%.

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:
The Union Government has expanded the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by doubling the upper ceiling of loans to Rs 50 crore.
The scheme also includes individual loans given for business purposes to professionals like doctors, lawyers and chartered accountants under its scope. The maximum amount of guaranteed emergency credit line funding under the ECLGS scheme is also increased from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore.

Notes:
The Rajasthan state government is set to launch the ‘Indira Rasoi Yojana’ in urban areas of the state from August 20.
Under the scheme, the poor and needy people will get nutritious food for Rs 8. As many as 358 kitchens in 213 urban bodies will be made functional. The state government is to spend Rs 100 crore per year on this scheme.

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:
The Thenzawl Golf Resort project has been virtually inaugurated in the state of Mizoram, by the Union Minister of State for Culture & Tourism (IC) Prahlad Singh Patel.
The project has been launched under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme’s Integrated Development of New Eco Tourism. With a toral site area of 105 acres and a play area of 75 acres, it has been designed by the top-ranked Canada based architectural firm, the Graham Cooke and Associates.

Notes:
The present Chairman of Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Ajay Tyagi has been given an 18-month extension till February 2022.
According to a Personnel Ministry order, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved his extension. The 1984 batch IAS (retired) officer has been serving as the Chairman since March 2017.

Notes:
Malayalam movie ‘Moothon’ has won the best film award at the New York Indian Film Festival 2020 (NYIFF).
In addition to the best film award, Malayalam star Nivin Pauly won the best actor award and Sanjana Dipu won in the best child artist category. The Malayalam-Hindi bilingual movie was directed by Geetu Mohandas and was released in the year 2019.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is implementing the Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) under the National Health Mission (NHM).
It is an innovative technological solution that aims to strengthen immunization supply chain system across the country. It aims to provide real-time information on vaccine stocks and storage temperatures. At present the network has been used in 22 states and will be rolled out in all states.