Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries has gone 10 places ahead in the Fortune Global 500 list and entered into the world’s top 100 companies.
As per the recent 2020 ranking released by Fortune, Reliance has been ranked at 96th place globally. This is the highest rank ever of any Indian company on the Fortune Global 500 list. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) slipped to 151st rank, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is ranked 190th while State Bank of India (SBI) is at 221st rank.

Notes:
Founded by two former scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Space tech start-up Skyroot Aerospace is the first Indian private company to build a homegrown rocket engine.
The company has recently test-fired an upper stage rocket engine successfully. It has also planned to launch the first satellite into the lower earth orbit by the end of 2021. The company had also manufactured India’s first 3D printed Cryogenic rocket engine.

Notes:
International Youth Day is celebrated every year on 12th August. The theme of this year’s International Youth Day is, “Youth Engagement for Global Action”.
In 1998, a resolution to observe August 12 every year as International Youth Day was passed in the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth, which was hosted by the Government of Portugal in cooperation with the United Nations.

Notes:
Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation and a private engineering firm Afcons jointly completed India’s deepest underground ventilation shaft.
The ventilation shaft is 43.5m deep and is part of the East West Metro Line of Kolkata. These special purpose shafts are used for ventilation of the tunnels and for evacuation during critical times or emergencies.

Notes:
According to a recent data from the NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft, the dwarf planet Ceres, which lies in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is not a barren space rock.
It was earlier believed that the dwarf planet is barren but the data collected reveal that it is a water-rich place and there could be a large and deep reservoir of salt water. In the year 2015, the Dawn spacecraft arrived at Ceres, which us far smaller than the Earth’s moon.

Notes:
The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 chaired by Dr V K Paul, Member NITI Aayog, met for the first time on 12th August. The meeting was co-chaired by Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The expert group has been constituted under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It discussed on the parameters required in selecting the COVID-19 vaccine candidates for India and procurement mechanisms for COVID-19 vaccine.

Notes:
Dwayne Johnson, also known as the Rock, has topped the Forbes List of Top 10 highly paid male actors of the world.
The recently released annual list stated that the actor was paid an estimate of USD 87.5 million in the year 2020. Indian Actor Akshay Kumar was positioned 6th in the list with earnings of USD 48.5 million.

Notes:
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee has partnered with leading online learning platform Coursera, to offer two new certificate programs in Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML) and in Data science. It is proposed to launch these programmes in 2021.
The certificate program in AI& ML would comprise of lectures, on hand learning, team projects and workshops. The certificate program in data science will impart skills in data management, data collection and critical thinking.

Notes:
Technology Major Google has introduced a new educational product named ‘Assignments’. It is an application designed for educators to distribute and award grades to student’s work.
Google has recently announced that several education tools for teachers and students will be released this year, through Google apps including Meet, G Suite, and Classroom. Tools required for virtual education field including blurred backgrounds, larger tiled view, hand-raising feature will be launched.

Notes:
Indian President Ram Nath Kovind has approved 84 gallantry awards for Defence personnel. Abdul Rashid Kalas, Head Constable of Jammu and Kashmir Police has been posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra.
The third highest gallantry award in peacetime, Shaurya Chakra has been awarded to nine Army personnel including Lt.Col. Krishan Singh Rawat, Major Anil Urs and Havildar Alok Kumar Dubey and IAF Wing Commander Vishak Nair. The President approved Sena Medal to 60 Army personnel, four Nao Sena Medal and five Vayu Sena Medal.