Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
The famous computer scientist Russel Kirsch who is celebrated for invention of Pixel died at the age of 91.
Russel Kirsch created a small 2 by 2 inch black and white image of his son in digital form in 1957. This was also the world’s first photograph that was scanned into a computer using a device created by his research team. That was the basis for satellite imaging, medical scans, virtual reality and other imaging technology being used recently.

Notes:
Vijay Rupani, the Chief Minsiter of Gujarat has given approval for construction of sky scrapers and high-rise buildings of 70 floors or more in five major cities of the state namely Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot and Gandhinagar.
The present rule governing the construction of buildings permits construction only up to 23 floors. A special technical committee would be set up to give approval to such projects.

Notes:
USD 1 billion (equivalent to Rs 7,485 crore) financial support by way of loan has been approved by the Manila based-Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Delhi-Meerut regional rapid transit system.
The project is first of the three priority rail corridors in country. The financial assistance from ADB will be used for construction of railway tracks, station buildings, maintenance facilities and power supply.

Notes:
The Union Government has announced the results of annual survey of cleanliness, the ‘Swachh Survekshan 2020’.
Indore of Madhya Pradesh bagged the top spot in the list, for four years consecutively. Gujarat’s Surat was ranked at the second place while Maharashtra’s Navi Mumbai on third place. This is the fifth edition of the survey, that ranks states based on their performance in Swachh Bharat Mission.

Notes:
Iran has displayed a surface-to-surface ballistic missile, that has a range of 1,400 kilometres, named martyr Qassem Soleimani.
The country also displayed a new cruise missile called martyr Abu Mahdi, with a range of over 1,000 km, amidst the demand from the United States to stop its missile programme. The head of Iran’s Quds Force, Soleimani and Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed in a U.S. strike.

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:
The state of California in USA is struggling with more than 500 lightning sparked fires, burning more than 9 lakh acres. More than 1.19 lakh people have been evacuated.
LNU Lightning Complex, SCU Lightning Complex and CZO August Complex had some of the largest fires. It has adversely affected the northern part of California. Several people are involved in containing the fire.

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.

Notes:
‘Nuakhai Juhar’ is the agricultural festival and one of the most ancient festivals celebrated in Odisha, Chhattisgarh. It is also celebrated in regions of neighbouring states. This festival is celebrated to welcome the new crop of the season.
‘Nua’ means new and ‘Khai’ means eat. During the festival, people worship food and farmers offer their first agriculture produce from their lands to Goddess Samaleswari.

Notes:
As per the recent notification from the Personnel Ministry, over 700 districts have participated in the Prime minister’s awards for excellence in public administration.
The awards will be conferred on October 31, the Ekta Diwas (Unity Day), at the Statue of Unity in Gujarat by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The award is to recognise the performance of District Collectors towards economic development of their regions.