Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
The Prime Minister of Lebanon, Hassan Diab has recently stepped down from his post, after a massive blast occurred in the country.
The catastrophic explosion in the capital city Beirut, has triggered a public outrage in the country. It has caused heavy destruction, by killing more than 160 people and injuring over 6,000 people. There have been mass demonstrations against the Government demanding the steeping down of the leadership.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has permitted registration of Electric Vehicles without pre-fitted batteries.
The ministry has stated that Electric Vehicles without batteries can be sold and registered only with the type approval certificate issued by the Test Agency. Also, the Ministry has clarified that there is no need to mention any other details of the Battery for the purpose of Registration.

Notes:
As per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Indian Industrialist Mukesh Ambani is the 4th richest person in the world. According to the index, his personal wealth is USD 80.6 billion in 2020.
Mukesh Ambani, the CMD of Reliance Industries Ltd has surpassed Bernard Arnault, the Chairman and CEO of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton. The top 3 richest positions are occupied by Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.

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:
A new PMRU (Price Monitoring and Resource Unit) has been set up in the state of Karnataka under NPPA (National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority), Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
The main function of the PMRU is to assist NPPA to monitor the price of drugs in the market and also to ensure their availability. NPPA has established PMRUs in 12 States/ UTs under its Central Sector Scheme called Consumer Awareness, Publicity and Price Monitoring (CAPPM).

Notes:
ICGS SARTHAK – the new Offshore Patrol Vessel of Indian Coast Guard has been launched. The vessel is indigenously designed and built by Goa Shipyard Limited. It is the fourth vessel among the five series Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV).
The new vessel is set to be deployed for Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) surveillance, Coastal Security and other duties related to search and rescue operations.

Notes:
“Atulya” – a new device that can disinfect any premise in 30 seconds was unveiled by the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Nitin Gadkari.
The design of the device is certified by DRDO and is developed completely in India. It is portable and weighs about 3 kilograms. It can be used to disinfect any premise up to an area of 5 meters at a time. It can also be used to disinfect surfaces of home, office, boxes, furniture etc.

Notes:
Considered as extinct over seventy years back, the Woolly flying squirrel was spotted at Gangotri National Park in Uttarakhand.
As per the Forest Research Institute, the flying squirrel was added in the IUCN Red List. It was spotted during the survey conducted in the national park. The animal uses its wool-like furry claws like a parachute and fly.

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:
“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.