Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) of Government of India has launched a new national portal called SURAKHSYA. It has been launched for real time data collection on Human Animal conflict.
The portal is launched as a part of the World Elephant Day, which is observed every year on 12th August. The portal would be used by policy makers for preparation of Action Plans and Strategies to mitigate conflicts.

Notes:
The United States has entered into an agreement with drugmaker Moderna to acquire 100 million doses of its potential COVID-19 vaccine.
The deal has been signed for a cost of around USD 1.5 billion. The United States, as part of its Operation Warp Speed program, has partnered with several companies to acquire millions of doses of potential COVID-19 vaccines, by the end of the year.

Notes:
The procurement of 106 Basic Trainer Aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for Indian Air Force has been approved by the Ministry of Defence.
The procurement of 106 HTT-40 aircraft from HAL was approved by Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the highest decision-making authority of the Defence Ministry. A total of Defence Acquisition proposals worth over Rs.8500 crore was cleared by the DAC.

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 Bombay Stock Exchange has signed a MoU with two Maharashtra Based Bullion trade associations namely Akola Sarafa Association and Akola Sarafa Va Suvarnakar Yuva Sangh.
Through this MoU, the BSE aims to create awareness on price risk management for bullion traders, and move them towards organised trading. The MoU is aimed at enhancing the cooperation between Bombay Stock Exchange and physical markets in areas of knowledge sharing, education and training.

Notes:
According to a new report by Purely Diamonds, Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city of Vietnam is the cheapest city to rent in the world.
The report also revealed that New York is the most expensive city to rent, in the world. The Indian Capital, Delhi is the second cheapest city in the world. Delhi is followed by the capital of Tamil Nadu, Chennai. New York is followed by Los Angeles as the second most expensive city.

Notes:
An Ayurveda Based Biodegradable Face Mask named “Pavitrapati” has been developed by Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, (DIAT) Pune.
In this regard, an agreement was signed between DIAT Pune and a private company for mass development of the product. The company has now offered the face mask for sale. Similarly, the technology of developing anti-microbial body suit named “Aushada tara” is also transferred to the company.

Notes:
NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission has partnered with NASSCOM to launch an Artificial Intelligence-based module for school students. This module aims to bring AI based technology to the classrooms of the country.
This module is launched as a successor to a similar module launched in February. It contains a set of self-learning attractive modules, which can be easily understood by both rural and urban students.

Notes:
The Platform for Investor Education (PIE) has been launched by the IIM Bangalore and National Stock Exchange (NSE) – Investor Protection Fund Trust.
The platform would help in investor education through simple and easy-to-understand audio-visual format. It will reflect the current developments in financial markets through the research initiative by the faculty of IIM Bangalore.

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.