Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
Veteran Bollywood lyricist and Urdu poet Dr. Rahat Indori has recently passed away at the age of 70 after being tested positive for Covid-19.
The poet has recently completed 50 years in the field of poetry. He has written several famous Bollywood songs for many hit movies. He has also penned several Urdu poems and mushairas and his latest poem has been titled ‘Bulati Hai Magar Jaane Ka Nahi.’

Notes:
Under the Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors Atma Nirbhar Nidhi (SVANidhi) Scheme which was launched by Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, the number of loans sanctioned by Financial Institutions has crossed 1 lakh mark.
The scheme facilitates sanction of collateral free working capital loans up to Rs.10,000 of 1-year term to street vendors. The scheme has been launched as a part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Financial Assistance Package for COVID 19.

Notes:
Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs implements the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
The scheme aims to provide basic infrastructure for water supply, sewage and seepage management in 500 Mission cities. Recently, the scheme was in news because the states across India have completed 2,854 projects worth ₹11,110 crore under the scheme. Tamil Nadu completed the highest number of works.

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:
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties. With this, the UAE has become the first Gulf Arab country to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.
UAE also became the third Arab country to enter into diplomatic ties with Israel. This agreement is a part of the deal to stop the annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state. US President Donald Trump announced about the strategic ties.

Notes:
Among all the Indian Prime Ministers, Narendra Modi has the longest tenure as head of elected government.
Including his term of more than 12 years as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, his total term as the head stands over 18 years and 300 days. He is also the longest-serving non-Congress prime minister of the country. The term as the head of Jawaharlal Nehru was over 16 years and that of Indira Gandhi was over 15 years.

Notes:
The Anti Drone System, developed by Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) has been deployed at Delhi in the Independence Day celebrations.
The system can capture drone movements and jam them up to a distance of 3 km. The system can also bring down a target up to 2.5 km using laser. It is seen as an efficient mechanism to counter drone based anti-national activities.

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 strategic tunnel under the Rohtang Pass was named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in December last year.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has recently announced that the ‘Atal Tunnel’ in Rohtang would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi by September 2020. The 8.8-km long tunnel will be the longest tunnel among those in the world above an altitude of 3000 metres.

Notes:
Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes clinched victory at the Spanish Grand Prix for the fourth successive year. With this victory, he holds the record of the highest number of podium finishes in F1 history.
Earlier, Lewis Hamilton has shared a record of 155 podium finishes with Michael Schumacher. With the Spanish Grand Pix victory, the count stands at 156 for Hamilton. Max Verstappen finished second in the race followed by Valtteri Bottas.