Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

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:
The state Government of Maharashtra, has decided to exempt all serving and retired soldiers from the Gram Panchayat property tax. A Government resolution has been passed in this regard.
Earlier, the exemption was applicable only to Defence Gallantry Awardees or their dependents. The present decision has included all the serving and retired soldiers.

Notes:
A massive fire outbreak has recently occurred in the Srisailam hydroelectric power plant located in the state of Telangana.
Nine people including five engineers of Telangana State Power Generation Corporation were killed in the massive fire. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao directed to launch an investigation into the incident. He also announced compensation to the families of the deceased and the injured.

Notes:
Joe Biden has accepted the nomination of the Democratic Party for Presidential Candidature. Joe Biden is the former Vice President of USA and is 77 years old.
Joe Biden served as the 47th Vice president of the United States from 2009 to 2017 and as the United States Senator from Delaware from 1973 to 2009. The Presidential elections in the USA are scheduled to be held on November 3, 2020.

Notes:
Banks Board Bureau has recommended Ashwini Bhatia for the position of Managing Director (MD) of the State Bank of India (SBI).
The Personnel Ministry has appointed Ashwani Bhatia for the said position, up to the date of his superannuation (May 31, 2022). He is currently serving as the MD and CEO at SBI Mutual Fund, and will replace P K Gupta who retired on March 31.

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:
The United Nations General Assembly designated 22 August as the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief.
It comes a day after the International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism. The UN asks its members to ensure the upholding of human rights of persons belonging to religious minorities, including their right to exercise their religion or belief freely.

Notes:
The Union External Affairs Ministry has recently organised the first India-Uzbekistan National Coordination Committee.
The virtual meeting was held to monitor the implementation of mutually agreed projects between India and Uzbekistan. They also reviewed implementation of identified projects under India’s LoC, cooperation between the Gujarat state and Andijan region among others.

Notes:
In order to enhance the ease of doing business, the Aadhaar authentication has been activated by the Government for registration to GST. The Aadhaar based GST registration of an entity would be completed in 3 working days and there is no requirement for physical verification.
Those not opting for Aadhaar based registration will be subjected to physical verification of place of business activity and other related documentary verification. The time required for non-Aadhaar registration would be up to 21 days.

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.