Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi announced that its arm MI India will distribute over 2,500 smartphones worth Rs 2 crore to Indian children, to support online education.
MI India will partner with Indian non-profit organisation ‘Teach for India’, to carry out the distribution process. The hand sets would be used in shifts to utilise the service effectively, to enable children access quality education.

Notes:
The state of Assam has proposed to launch a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme named “Arunodoi”.
This scheme will be launched in lines with the flagship DBT scheme Jan Dhan Yojana. This is claimed as the largest DBT scheme of Assam till date. The scheme also called as Orunodoi, seeks to transfer Rs 830 per month to around 19.7 lakh families. The main beneficiaries of the scheme will be women.

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:
The Online Performance dashboard of Ministry of Tribal Affairs called the “Empowering Tribals, Transforming India” has been launched. The dashboard was launched by Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog and Ramesh Chand, Member of NITI Aayog.
The Dashboard is an interactive online platform that shows the real-time details of 11 schemes / initiatives of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. It also displays performance of 5 Scholarship Schemes of the Ministry.

Notes:
India’s leading private sector bank, HDFC Bank has recently announced the launch of “Shaurya KGC Card” for the armed forces.
This card has been designed based on the Kisan Credit Card guidelines by the Government. More than 45 lakh Indian armed force personnel would get a life cover ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. It also requires simple documentation suited to the job nature of the armed force personnel.

Notes:
As per the findings published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology, a new low-cost nasal swab test named ‘N1-STOP-LAMP’ has been developed.
As per the researchers, the test can accurately diagnose the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19, in just 20 minutes. It is also 100 per cent accurate in diagnosing the samples at high loads. It uses a single tube and involves only one step and so it is very efficient and affordable.

Notes:
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has built an infrastructure at Rihand project in Uttar Pradesh.
The project has been designed to transport fly ash in bulk at affordable rates to cement plants. NTPC has committed to utilise the fly ash completely from power plants. The power plants will upgrade their infrastructure for utilising the fly ash using the loading facilities of the Indian Railways.

Notes:
A 10-member Technical Response Team and 30 tons of Technical Equipment are sent by India to assist Mauritius in its effort to contain oil spill. This has been done in response to the request by the Government of Mauritius.
A Japanese ship named MV Wakashio, ran aground at Pointe d’Esny of Mauritius last month and oil began leaking from it. It is estimated that more than 1000 tons of oil leaked from the ship. Government of Mauritius has announced this as a National Emergency.

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:
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.