Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
The cabinet of Odisha has approved the tender amounting Rs.1138 crore for implementation of its ambitious irrigation project named “Gangadhar Meher Lift Canal System”.
The irrigation project would irrigate 25,600 hectares of agricultural land in drought hit regions of Barghar and Sonepur districts of Odisha. The project was first announced in the year 2017. The implementing agency will be announced soon.

Notes:
The Anti Drone System, developed by Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) has been deployed at Delhi in the Independence Day celebrations.
The system can capture drone movements and jam them up to a distance of 3 km. The system can also bring down a target up to 2.5 km using laser. It is seen as an efficient mechanism to counter drone based anti-national activities.

Notes:
Google has collaborated with the Central Water Commission (CWC) for providing flood forecasting and public alerts.
Users in the affected region will receive alerts through their Android smartphones if they have enabled the location services. The timely and critical information is being used by several users amidst the heavy rains and floods across the country.

Notes:
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved a proposal of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) to expand to cover border and coastal districts.
The proposal regarding the scheme was announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address. As many as one lakh cadets from 173 border and coastal districts will be inducted to the NCC with one-third Cadets being girls. Over 80 NCC units will also be upgraded as a part of this expansion.

Notes:
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has stated that the Terrain Mapping Camera-2 (TMC-2) on board the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter has recently captured the images of the “Sarabhai Crater” on the lunar surface.
The crater is located at north eastern quadrant of Moon on the “Mare Serenitatis”, which is a vast flat region due to larva deposition. The crater has an average depth of 1.7 km and its walls seem to have an average slope between 25 to 30 degrees.

Notes:
The Governor of Goa, Satya Pal Malik has been transferred as the Governor of Meghalaya, as per a recent communication from the Rashtrapathi Bhavan.
He is to replace the incumbent Governor of the North Est state, Tathagata Roy who completed his five-year tenure. The Governor of Maharashtra, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, will discharge the additional functions of the Goa Governor.

Notes:
The International Solar Alliance, ISA is set to organise its first World Solar Technology Summit virtually on September 8, 2020. ISA is an alliance of 121 countries, initiated by India headquartered at Gurugram.
The inaugural address of the summit will be delivered by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ISA President and Minister of New and Renewable Energy R. K. Singh. The event will focus on using technology to effectively utilise the solar energy.

Notes:
The Government of United Kingdom (UK) has launched a £3 million Innovation challenge fund in India. The fund is aimed at supporting scientists in industry and academia to cope with acute global challenges like COVID-19 and other environment threats.
The fund aims to bring together best minds under “UK India Tech Partnership”. The fund has specifically invited innovators associated with “AI-Data cluster” in Karnataka and “Future Mobility cluster” in Maharashtra to submit research proposals.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan has recently announced that all of the state government jobs will be reserved to the people belonging to its state.
This is the first country in the state to reserve all its jobs to the people of the state. The state government is set to form legal provisions in this regard. During his Independence Day address, the Chief Minister announced that the state will give preference to their youths in government jobs.

Notes:
Ashok Lavasa has recently steeped down from his Election Commissioner position as he is to join the Asian Development Bank.
ADB has appointed Ashok Lavasa as Vice-President for Private Sector Operations and Public-Private Partnerships. His resignation has been accepted by the Indian President Ram Nath Kovind. He was next in the row to become the Chief Election Commissioner.