Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
India and Maldives recently signed a contract for development of five eco-tourism zones in Addu city of Maldives.
The development of the eco-tourism zones is a part of the projects being implemented under the High-Impact Community Development project (HICDP) scheme. It involves a total assistance of USD 5.5 million to the Maldives for high-impact assets development.

Notes:
ECHO India, a Non-Profit healthcare organization, in association with Naukri.com has launched an initiative named “COVID Health Care Professionals (CHP)”.
The initiative aims to tackle the shortage of healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic by deploying trained healthcare professionals at COVID care centre. It is a platform that connects the professionals who are willing to offer healthcare services with hospitals and other health care facilities.

Notes:
The United States has planned to provide its military airwaves for high-speed internet service of 5G wireless networks.
US authorities announced that radio spectrum used for radar defence systems were identified, which can be shared with commercial telecom providers. This is expected to push the United States ahead of China in deploying 5G wireless technology.

Notes:
International Youth Day is celebrated every year on 12th August. The theme of this year’s International Youth Day is, “Youth Engagement for Global Action”.
In 1998, a resolution to observe August 12 every year as International Youth Day was passed in the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth, which was hosted by the Government of Portugal in cooperation with the United Nations.

Notes:
World Animal Protection, an international animal welfare organisation has released a new report titled “Elephants. Not commodities”.
The third edition of the report reveals that India has the second-highest number of elephants used in tourism in Asia. It also reveals that as many as 225 of the elephants, which is more than 45%, were kept in severely inadequate conditions.

Notes:
American businessperson and veteran media giant Sumner Redstone, has recently passed away at the age of 97 years.
During his long tenure in the field of media, he built a great media empire including CBS and Viacom serving as the Executive Chairmen of both companies. He was also the Chairman of the Board of National Amusements theatre chain. Redstone’s autobiography was titled “A Passion to Win”.

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:
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:
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:
Google has collaborated with the Central Water Commission (CWC) for providing flood forecasting and public alerts.
Users in the affected region will receive alerts through their Android smartphones if they have enabled the location services. The timely and critical information is being used by several users amidst the heavy rains and floods across the country.