Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
A five-month time extension has been given by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) from 25th March 2020 to 24th August 2020 to all the Renewable Energy Projects under implementation.
The implementing agencies have been directed to treat COVID 19 as a “Force Majeure”. This move is followed by the representation from various implementing agencies demanding extension of time due to COVID 19-imposed national lockdown.

Notes:
Considered as extinct over seventy years back, the Woolly flying squirrel was spotted at Gangotri National Park in Uttarakhand.
As per the Forest Research Institute, the flying squirrel was added in the IUCN Red List. It was spotted during the survey conducted in the national park. The animal uses its wool-like furry claws like a parachute and fly.

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.

Notes:
The World’s tallest Pier bridge is being constructed by Indian Railways in Manipur across the river “Ijai”. The height of its tallest pier is 141m. The bridge is a part of Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal railway line project. The existing record for the tallest pier bridge is 139m at Montenegro in Europe.
The bridge is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs.280 crore and the construction work is expected to be completed by March 2020. The total length of the bridge is estimated to be 703 meters.

Notes:
A Quality control laboratory for seafood processors and exporters has been opened by Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) at Porbandar, Gujarat.
The lab helps the exporters in testing of seafood to ensure safety as per international regulatory standards. The lab is equipped with advanced instruments to test and analyse antibiotic residues and heavy-metals like arsenic, mercury in seafood.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has recently approved to rename the Manduadih railway station in Uttar Pradesh as ‘Banaras’.
The state government of Uttar Pradesh had earlier sent a request to the Home Ministry for renaming the railway station in its Varanasi district. The Home Ministry issued a no-objection certificate after consulting with the Ministry of Railways, Department of Posts and Survey of India.

Notes:
Indian railways has announced that it has procured ‘Ninja Unmanned Aerial Vehicles’ (UAV) for surveillance operations.
The Railway Protection Force is deploying the Ninja UAVs to improve monitoring and provide safety to railway assets and passengers. RPF has recently procured nine drones worth over Rs 30 lakh. It is to procure more drones shortly, which are capable of for real-time tracking and video streaming.

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:
As per a recent release by the Government, India ranks first in terms of number of organic farmers and 9th in terms of area under organic farming.
In order to boost organic farming, the Union Government had launched “Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region” (MOVCD) and “Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana” (PKVY) in 2015. Sikkim became the first state in the world to become fully organic in farming.

Notes:
Chandrayaan-2 is India’s first mission to make a soft-landing of a rover on the South pole of the moon.
It is also India’s second lunar mission, which has recently completed one full year around the moon. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced that all of its instruments are performing well and there is adequate fuel to keep it functional for about seven more years.