Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

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 recent survey by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has revealed that, over 27 % students do not have access to smart phones or laptops to attend online classes.
The survey also pointed out that lack of electricity was an obstacle in the learning process for nearly 28 % students and parents. Over 34,000 participants participated in the survey by the NCERT on the challenges of online education.

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:
Leading multi-national company IBM India, has collaborated with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to offer a free digital education platform.
The training focuses on recent technologies like cybersecurity, blockchain, artificial intelligence and machine learning and professional development skills. The online courses developed by IBM will be offered through NSDC’s eSkill India portal to the learners between 18 to 22 years.

Notes:
Union Ministry of Power recommends all power generating companies and transmission companies to charge Late payment surcharge (LPS) within 12% per annum.
In many cases, LPS is up to 18 per cent per annum and the high cap has adversely impacted Discoms during the nation-wide lockdown. This measure aims at easing the financial burden on Discoms as well as the consumers.

Notes:
HSBC India launched its ‘Green Deposit Programme’, to finance green initiatives including renewable energy.
Under this new initiative, the bank will ask their corporate clients to deposit money, which will in turn be used for financing green projects by letting the clients indirectly participate in the sustainability projects. The product offers stable principal, pre-agreed return and protection.

Notes:
Interceptor Boat ‘ICGS C-454’, that has been built by Larsen and Toubro, was recently launched into the service of the Coast Guard.
The newly-built boat of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) was launched in Surat, as per the recent notification from the Defence Ministry. It has a length of 27 meters and a maximum speed of 45 nautical miles or 83 kilometers per hour.

Notes:
The Myanmar government has signed an agreement for implementing “National Ceasefire Agreement” (NCA) with 10 armed ethnic groups. The peace accord is called Union Peace Accord III contains 15 provisions to implement the NCA.
The agreement was entered into by the parties at Nay Pyi Taw during the 4th session of the Union Peace Conference named – 21st Century Panglong.

Notes:
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has launched an application named “Harit Path”.
It has been developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to monitor the location, maintenance activities, and performance of all its plantation projects. Using the application, the data of the plants along with their photos will be uploaded to oversee their status.

Notes:
Pakistan has acquired an advanced warship named “054A/P, a guided missile frigate” from China.
This is the largest ship that China has built for any country and it is one among the 4 most sophisticated naval warships that is being built for Pakistan. This acquisition would double the combat power of Pakistan’s Navy.