Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

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:
India’s top order batsman Rohit Sharma has been recommended for this year’s Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, India’s highest sporting honour. If awarded, Rohit Sharma will be the 4th cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli to be conferred with the award.
Vinesh Phogat (wrestling), Manika Batra (Table Tennis), Rani Rampal (Hockey) and M Thangavelu (Paralympics) have also been recommended for the award.

Notes:
A proposal for leasing out Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram airports through public-private partnership (PPP) has been cleared by the Union Cabinet.
The rights to run these airports in addition to Lucknow, Ahmedabad and Mangaluru airports have been awarded to Adani Enterprises by way of competitive bidding. Presently, these six airports are owned by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

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:
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved an increase in Fair and Remunerative Prices (FRP) of sugarcane by Rs.10 per quintal from the existing Rs 275 to Rs.285 per quintal.
The new FRP would come into force from October 2020. This is in line with the recommendations of the Commission of Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).

Notes:
IIT Kharagpur has recently inaugurated the Academy of Classical and Folk Arts on its campus, to offer training on music, fine arts and other performing arts.
This is in lines with the New Education Policy, 2020 to spark innovation and multidisciplinary teaching. The academy hosts a ‘100 ragas’ initiative, which will be headed by the Hindustani classical vocalist Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone for Zojila tunnel project in 2018, as the Asia’s longest bi-directional tunnel.
The project with estimated cost of Rs 4,509 crore, aims to provide all-year connectivity between Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh region. Recently, Megha Engineering and Infrastructure is set to construct the Zojila pass tunnel. The project is expected to completed in six years.

Notes:
Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is set to have the largest ecosystem of incubation ecosystem in the country, in a year by setting up 21 centres of excellence.
The proposed 21 centres of excellence (CoEs) will incubate new technologies in various sectors. Out of the 21 CoEs, 12 of them are already operational. Three centres are related to Agriculture and one more is proposed to be launched.

Notes:
The UEFA Champions League 2020 has been won by the Germany-based football club, the Bayern Munich.
The team won 1-0 against the Paris Saint Germain (PSG) at the final match held at Estadio da Luz, Lisbon. Kingsley Coman scored the only goal of the match during the 59th minute. Bayern Muncih has won the league after 7 years.

Notes:
Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital is to organise an online international conference on ‘Aerosol Air Quality, Climate Change and Impact on Water Resources and Livelihoods in the Greater Himalayas’.
ARIES, an autonomous research institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) is organising the conference along with Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University between 14th -16th September 2020.