Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
Sembcorp Energy India Limited (SEIL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore-based Sembcorp Industries, announced the completion of its latest 800MW wind power projects.
It has become the first independent power producer to commission the projects awarded in the wind auctions conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). Union Power Minister R K Singh has dedicated Sembcorp’s SECI 1, 2 and 3 wind projects to the nation.

Notes:
A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Unnat Bharat Abhiyan-Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (UBA-IITD) and Vijnana Bharti (VIBHA), New Delhi.
The objective of the MoU is to provide joint action in the area of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) for rural development of India. UBA is a flagship program of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) by connecting academic institutions with local communities.

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:
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:
India has recently imposed restrictions on the import of Colour Television sets, in an effort to promote its domestic production.
The import of the TV sets was freed from previous restrictions two decades ago and since then there has been no amendments in the import policy. Now the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) notified to change the policy from free to ‘restricted’. However, there is no restriction on importing monochrome TVs.

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:
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 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:
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.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently announced that it will establish an innovation hub to assist start-ups to tackle the challenges of financial inclusion.
The hub seeks to provide solutions for efficient banking transactions. This has been introduced in the bi-monthly monetary policy statement released by the RBI. The funds allocated for the project and its location will be disclosed by the Central Bank.