Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
India has recently announced a financial assistance of USD 500 million assistance for its largest civilian infrastructure project.
Out of the fund, USD 400 million line of credit and USD 100 million grant will be provided for the project that aims to connect the capital city Male with three neighbouring islands Villingili, Gulhifahu and Thilafushi. The 6.7 km Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) will also improve economic activity and employment opportunities.

Notes:
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties. With this, the UAE has become the first Gulf Arab country to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.
UAE also became the third Arab country to enter into diplomatic ties with Israel. This agreement is a part of the deal to stop the annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state. US President Donald Trump announced about the strategic ties.

Notes:
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has built an infrastructure at Rihand project in Uttar Pradesh.
The project has been designed to transport fly ash in bulk at affordable rates to cement plants. NTPC has committed to utilise the fly ash completely from power plants. The power plants will upgrade their infrastructure for utilising the fly ash using the loading facilities of the Indian Railways.

Notes:
Legendary Indian classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj has recently passed away in the United States, at the age of 90.
During his musical career spanning over 80 years, he has won several prestigious awards including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Fellowship, Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan. He was also honoured with the second highest civilian award Padma Vibhushan in the year 2000.

Notes:
The Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka has stated that an industrial corridor between Mysuru and Bidar would be built by the state to promote the development of industry and commerce.
The proposed industrial corridor would be in line with Bengaluru-Chennai and Bengaluru- Mumbai corridors. This project forms a significant part of the state’s target to make it a USD 500 billion market in next 5 years.

Notes:
Frozen shrimp was the major export product among the sea food followed by frozen fish in FY 2010-20. India has shipped 12.89 lakh tones of seafood during the last financial year amounting USD 6.68 billion.
The USA and China were the largest importers of Indian seafood. The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) is aiming to increase the country’s sea food exports to Rs 1 trillion by 2030.

Notes:
The title sponsorship of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 is awarded to Dream11, an Indian fantasy sports platform. The sponsorship rights have been awarded for Rs.222 crore.
Byju’s came second in the bid at Rs 201 crore and Unacademy stood third in the bid at Rs 171 crore. The 2020 IPL is the 13th edition of the cricket event and is scheduled to be held at the United Arab Emirates.

Notes:
USD 1 billion (equivalent to Rs 7,485 crore) financial support by way of loan has been approved by the Manila based-Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Delhi-Meerut regional rapid transit system.
The project is first of the three priority rail corridors in country. The financial assistance from ADB will be used for construction of railway tracks, station buildings, maintenance facilities and power supply.

Notes:
“Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge” has been launched by the Government of India to promote indigenous microprocessor manufacturing and designing.
100 shortlisted companies will be given grant to build their prototype. 25 finalists will win Rs.1 crore each. The top ten teams will get a fund of total Rs.2.30 crore with 12-month incubation support, from the Ministry of Information Technology.

Notes:
The High Court of Madras has rejected reopening of “Sterlite Copper” smelting plant in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu. Sterlite Copper, a unit of Vedanta Ltd had been catering to nearly 40 % of India’s copper demand from its smelting plant at Tuticorin.
The High Court’s order dismissed all 10 petitions filed by Vedanta to reopen the plant. The Court upheld the orders issued to close the plant by the Tamil Nadu Government and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.