Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

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:
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:
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:
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:
The state Government of Uttar Pradesh has launched a new Electronics Manufacturing policy to make the state the new global electronics hub.
The policy aims to invite investment up to Rs.40,000 crore in five years and generate nearly 4 lakh direct employment. The new policy has a special focus on Purvanchal and Bundelkhand regions.

Notes:
Every year, August 19 is observed as the World Humanitarian Day by the United Nations (UN), to commemorate humanitarian workers killed and injured in the course of their work.
This year, the UN has initiated a global conversation / campaign -to thank #RealLifeHeroes to celebrate the humanitarians who have committed their lives to help others. The day marks the 2003 bomb attack killing 22 people, including the Iraqi chief humanitarian, Sergio Vieira de Mello.

Notes:
Government owned power major NTPC Limited has recently announced that it is to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary for its renewable energy business.
The company has recently obtained the approval from the Niti Aayog and Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), Ministry of Finance for formation of a wholly-owned subsidiary.

Notes:
The island nation of Sri Lanka has proposed to draft a new Constitution. It will also discard the 19th Constitutional Amendment passed in 2015 which imposes restriction on presidential powers.
It sets a limit of 2 years for the President to be in power. The new President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has stated that new constitution would prioritize the concept of ‘One country, One law for all the people.’

Notes:
The President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently announced that the country has discovered a large natural gas reserve along the Black Sea coast.
Around 302 billion cubic meters area of natural gas reserve has been discovered that will reduce the import dependency of the country. As per the country, it will start extracting and using the gas by 2023, when Turkey marks the centenary of the founding of Republic.

Notes:
Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Ministry of Rural Development has recently signed a Joint Communication to promote sustainable livelihood opportunities Among Tribal Women SHGs in rural areas.
Rural Development Ministry will identify and map tribal women SHG members while Ministry of Tribal Affairs will promote livelihood opportunities among women identified by State Rural Livelihood Mission (SRLM) through several arenas.