Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

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:
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:
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 Union Steel Ministry, in association with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), has proposed to organise a webinar titled ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat: Fostering Steel Usage in Housing & Building Construction and Aviation Sectors’.
The webinar would be conducted with the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and Ministry of Civil Aviation. It would focus on promoting designs and construction in Building, Housing, and Airport Projects.

Notes:
The cabinet of Odisha has approved the tender amounting Rs.1138 crore for implementation of its ambitious irrigation project named “Gangadhar Meher Lift Canal System”.
The irrigation project would irrigate 25,600 hectares of agricultural land in drought hit regions of Barghar and Sonepur districts of Odisha. The project was first announced in the year 2017. The implementing agency will be announced soon.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved an annual dividend pay-out of more than Rs 57,000 crore to the Indian Government.
In this year’s budget, the Government had estimated a dividend of Rs 60,000 crore from the central bank and other government owned financial institutions. The Government’s fiscal deficit stood at a record high Rs 6.62 lakh crore in the April-June period.

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 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:
Union Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar has directed that 80 per cent of the CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) funds have to mandatorily be used for plantation drives and afforestation.
The rest of the funds are to be used capacity building, as per the separate budget of the state. The recent Finance Commission has increased the devolution to 10% for the forest cover.