Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
A beginner level course on French has been started in Lok Sabha of the Parliament for the officials and staff of the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
The course has been inaugurated by the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. This course is an initiative by Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE). In future, courses in German, Spanish, Russian and other important world languages would also be organized.

Notes:
A Data Recovery Centre of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) named KRISHI MEGH has been launched at Hyderabad by the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. The objective of establishing the Recovery Centre is to protect the precious data of ICAR.
It is set up at National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM) in Hyderabad. This data center has been set up under National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP), which is funded by the Government of India and World Bank.

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:
A webinar titled “Weaves of Maharashtra and Textiles of Odisha” was organized by Press Information Bureau (PIB) – Mumbai and India Tourism – Mumbai. The key focus of the webinar was on the handlooms & fabrics of Maharashtra and Odisha.
August 7 is celebrated as National Handloom Day in India, to honour the handloom weavers of the nation. August 7 was chosen to mark the Swadeshi Movement which was launched on this day in 1905 to protest against partition of Bengal by the British Government.

Notes:
The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is an annual film festival held in Goa, every year in the month of November.
The Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant has confirmed that the Film Festival will be held as per schedule in Goa between November 20 and 28, this year. This festival is organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals in association with the state government- owned Entertainment Society of Goa.

Notes:
Gujarat-based Zydus Cadila launches the country’s cheapest version of Remdesivir, under the brand name Remdac.
The generic version of the medicine will be used for treating patients suffering from severe symptoms of Covid-19. A 100-mg vial has been priced at Rs 2800 and this the most economical medicine so far. It will be available across the country.

Notes:
An assistance of USD 1 million has been extended by India to the Caribbean country Antigua & Barbuda for combating the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ventilators, full cover goggles, disposable gowns, face shields, examination gloves and disposable masks and hydroxychloroquine tablets were supplied as a part of the assistance. This assistance is for improving health infrastructure facilities in Antigua and Barbuda.

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:
Research team from Indian Institute of Science, IISc and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have developed a process for making “Brick like structure” on lunar surface.
The researchers suggest that these bricks could be used for assembling structures in lunar surface. The raw material used is urea and lunar soil. It is developed by using bacteria and guar beans to consolidate the land into load bearing brick like structures.

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.