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:
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:
NASA has successfully launched its Mars rover named ‘Perseverance’ from Cape Canaveral Florida on a United Launch Alliances Atlas V rocket.
The vehicle with the size of a large car is also accompanied by a helicopter called Ingenuity which will study Mars’s atmosphere. It will drill into Mars and collect geological specimens. The rover is expected to land at the base of a crater called Jezero on February 18, 2021.

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:
‘World Day against Trafficking in Persons’ is observed every year on July 30 across the world, to raise awareness of the situation of victims of human trafficking and for protection of their rights.
In the year 2013, the United Nations General Assembly held a high-level meeting to review the Global Plan of Action and designated July 30 as the World Day against Trafficking in Persons. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) assists member countries in their efforts.

Notes:
The Sports Ministry has constituted a 12-member committee to select this year’s National Sports Awards winners.
The committee is to be headed by retired Supreme Court Justice, Mukundakam Sharma. It will select the award winners among both athletes and coaches. The members include Former India Cricketer Virender Sehwag, Hockey star Sardar Singh and Paralympic silver-medallist Deepa Malik.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet of India has given approval to Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Zimbabwe on cooperation in the field of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy.
The MoU that was originally signed on November 3, 2018, will mutually benefit the two countries in the field of Traditional Medicine including recognition of educational qualifications, provision of scholarships etc.

Notes:
Former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui has recently passed away at the age of 97, after having suffered from Pneumonia.
After a landslide victory, Lee Teng-hui served as the first democratically elected president of Taiwan in the year 1996. He resisted China’s activities to absorb the country and wanted Taiwan to be a ‘country of democracy, freedom, human rights and dignity’.

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:
World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated during the first week of August (August 1-7) across the world in many countries.
The campaign was initially organised by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) in association with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF in 1992. The week also marks the signing of the Innocenti Declaration. The theme of this year is “Support breastfeeding for a healthier planet”.