Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
The Platform for Investor Education (PIE) has been launched by the IIM Bangalore and National Stock Exchange (NSE) – Investor Protection Fund Trust.
The platform would help in investor education through simple and easy-to-understand audio-visual format. It will reflect the current developments in financial markets through the research initiative by the faculty of IIM Bangalore.

Notes:
The National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) has been launched by the Prime Minster of India on the 74th Independence Day.
The NDHM aims to digitalise the health systems with health IDs for every Indian. The mission seeks to create Digital health records, Digital registry of Doctors and health facilities across the nation. It also proposes to include e-Pharmacy and Tele- Medicine at a later stage.

Notes:
The Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka has stated that an industrial corridor between Mysuru and Bidar would be built by the state to promote the development of industry and commerce.
The proposed industrial corridor would be in line with Bengaluru-Chennai and Bengaluru- Mumbai corridors. This project forms a significant part of the state’s target to make it a USD 500 billion market in next 5 years.

Notes:
The High Court of Madras has rejected reopening of “Sterlite Copper” smelting plant in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu. Sterlite Copper, a unit of Vedanta Ltd had been catering to nearly 40 % of India’s copper demand from its smelting plant at Tuticorin.
The High Court’s order dismissed all 10 petitions filed by Vedanta to reopen the plant. The Court upheld the orders issued to close the plant by the Tamil Nadu Government and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.

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:
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has attended the inaugural ceremony of the 5th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (5WCSP).
It is a two-day virtual Conference organized jointly by Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Geneva and Parliament of Austria. The programme is supported by United Nations (UN). The theme of the Conference is “Parliamentary leadership for more effective multilateralism that delivers peace and sustainable development for the people and planet.”

Notes:
Former Indian footballer turned coach Bhaskar Maity passed away at a Navi Mumbai. He was 67 years old.
He was celebrated as one of the most reliable goalkeepers of India in the 1970s and ’80s. Bhaskar Maity made his debut for India at the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok, against Iraq. He has also represented Maharashtra State in the Santosh Trophy from 1975 to 1979. Maity served as the Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF) coach.

Notes:
The Government of India has appointed former finance secretary Rajiv Kumar as the new Election Commissioner. He is set to succeed Ashok Lavasa, who has resigned from the post, to join the Asian Development Bank.
Rajiv Kumar is a 1984 batch Indian Administrative Service officer of Jharkhand cadre. He has been instrumental in merger of 10 public sector banks into four.

Notes:
With more than 15 crore users and more than 6.6 million Bluetooth traced contacts, the official contact tracing application of India, Aarogya Setu is the most downloaded contact tracing app in the world, as on date.
The application team has recently introduced ‘Open API Service’, which is used to obtain answers for real-time queries about the health status of their employees or any other Aarogya Setu User who has consented to share their health status.

Notes:
The Union Government has recently constituted the National Council for Transgender Persons’ under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.
This is the first-of-its-kind council and will be headed by the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. The council includes representatives from 10 central departments, five states and members of the trans-gender community. It advises the Government on the related policies.