Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
American businessperson and veteran media giant Sumner Redstone, has recently passed away at the age of 97 years.
During his long tenure in the field of media, he built a great media empire including CBS and Viacom serving as the Executive Chairmen of both companies. He was also the Chairman of the Board of National Amusements theatre chain. Redstone’s autobiography was titled “A Passion to Win”.

Notes:
The Union Steel Ministry, in association with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), has proposed to organise a webinar titled ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat: Fostering Steel Usage in Housing & Building Construction and Aviation Sectors’.
The webinar would be conducted with the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and Ministry of Civil Aviation. It would focus on promoting designs and construction in Building, Housing, and Airport Projects.

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:
“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:
The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently delivered his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2020.
In the speech, he mentioned about the launch of two new projects: Project Lion and Project Dolphin. The Project Lion aims to conserve Asiatic Lions and its landscape in a holistic manner. It will also help to tackle the Human-wildlife conflict and provide livelihood opportunities. Project Dolphin aims to conserve and protect Dolphins in the rivers and in oceans.

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 4th Session of the BRICS Anti-Drug Working Group was conducted recently through video conferencing.
Representatives from all 5 member countries: Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa and India participated in the session, which was chaired by Russia. Indian delegation was led by Shri Rakesh Asthana, DG of Narcotics Control Bureau. Misuse of Darknet and advanced technologies for drug trafficking was the theme of the session.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has recently approved to set up a new entity named ‘National Recruitment Agency (NRA)’ to carry out a national Common Entrance Test (CET).
This exam would be a common screening test for non-gazetted vacancies in both departments of Central government and public sector organisations. It is to conduct first level tests currently conducted by agencies like SSC, RRB and IBPS among others.

Notes:
The Union Government has announced the results of annual survey of cleanliness, the ‘Swachh Survekshan 2020’.
Indore of Madhya Pradesh bagged the top spot in the list, for four years consecutively. Gujarat’s Surat was ranked at the second place while Maharashtra’s Navi Mumbai on third place. This is the fifth edition of the survey, that ranks states based on their performance in Swachh Bharat Mission.

Notes:
The Southern Railways zone has recently conducted the trial of Roll on– Roll (RO-RO) off service, in the Tokur – Shoranur section of the Palakkad division.
According to the information from the Indian Railways, Trucks loaded with vegetables, coconuts and rubber from Kozhikode and Ernakulam regions in Kerala can be transported to Gujarat and Maharashtra. In the return direction, polymers, textiles and plastics can be transported.