Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

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:
Apple surpassed multinational petroleum company Saudi Aramco to become the world’s most valuable publicly listed company.
The market capitalisation of the technology company surged to USD 1.82 trillion, as per the regulatory filing of the company. Whereas, the market capitalisation of Aramco stood at USD 1.760 trillion.

Notes:
Indian journalist and Special Correspondent of the Indian Express Dipankar Ghose has won the Prem Bhatia Award for political reporting.
He covered various issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic including the migrant labour crisis. People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), a journalism website has been selected for the award for the reporting on environmental and development issues.

Notes:
Nokia is set to establish a robotics lab at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru to study about 5G technology.
Nokia Center of Excellence (CoE) for networked robotics lab will be deployed to research on socially-relevant use cases based on 5G and emerging technologies. This will promote cooperation between colleges and industries.

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 Government of India has abolished All India Handicrafts Board, as per the recent notification of the Textiles Ministry.
The Board was constituted on January 23, 1992 under the chairmanship of the Union Textiles Minister. It has Secretaries in Ministries of Rural development and Micro small & medium enterprises and various states as members. It had been advising the Government on creation of development programmes in the handicrafts and handloom sectors.

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:
Indian Journalist Nitin Sethi has won the prestigious investigative journalism award, given by the Asian College of Journalism.
He has been awarded for his coverage and investigative articles on Electoral Bonds, published on Huffington Post India. K. P. Narayana Kumar Memorial Award for Social Impact Journalism was awarded to the Hindu’s Shiv Sahay Singh.

Notes:
As per the research paper published by the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, pathogens named as critical by the World Health Organisation have been found in the river of Yamuna.
The pathogens were named by the WHO in the year 2017. The multidrug-resistant bacteria that are found in Yamuna, were found due to the entry of Sewage into the river. Several major sewer drains and the Yamuna river across New Delhi were studied by the team.

Notes:
Former India footballer who played for Kolkata-based Mohun Bagan football club, Manitombi Singh passed away at the age of 39, at his native village in Manipur.
Manitombi Singh was a part of the Indian Under-23 team that lifted the 2003 LG Cup by beating Vietnam 3-2. It was India’s first international victory at an 8-nation tournament since 1971. He also played for India in the 2002 Asian Games. He also served as the Coach for Manipur State League’s Anouba Imagi Mangal.