Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
In order to reduce the dependency of China, three countries namely India, Japan and Australia have begun discussions to launch a trilateral “Supply Chain Resilience Initiative” (SCRI).
The initiative was originally proposed by Japan, which had approached India to take forward the initiative. The first meeting of the commerce and trade ministers of the three countries will be held next week.

Notes:
India is set to launch a new direct cargo ferry service to the Maldives, in the third week of September, as per the Indian high commission in the Maldives.
The service will link Kochi and Tuticorin with Male and will boost bilateral trade relations. A vessel operated by the Shipping Corporation of India, will be used for the ferry service. The vessel is to carry electrical machinery, medicines, construction material as well as perishable goods.

Notes:
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 August as the International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism.
The day is observed to honour and support the victims and survivors of terrorism. It also strives to promote and protect their human and fundamental rights. This year, the UN held a virtual commemoration of the 3rd International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism.

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:
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:
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 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 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.

Notes:
As per the recent date given by the Ministry of Finance to the Rajya Sabha, over 15 crore loans worth Rs 4.78-lakh crore have been disbursed to women borrowers since the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) was launched.
Among the states, Tamil Nadu topped the list of women beneficiaries with loans amounting Rs 58227 crores. It is followed by the women in West Bengal (Rs 55,232 crore) and Karnataka (Rs 47,714 crore).

Notes:
Indian Navy’s longest serving warship, the Indian Naval Ship (INS) Viraat, that was earlier decommissioned and laid at the Naval dockyard in Mumbai, is to be dismantled at Alang yard, Gujarat.
INS Viraat is a 27,800-tonne Centaur class aircraft carrier. It had originally served in the British Navy for 25 years till 1984. It was commissioned into the Indian Navy in the year 1987 and was operating Harrier fighter jets.