Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
Spain has recently reported an outbreak of West Nile Virus spread by mosquitos. It spreads due to mosquitoes and causes West Nile Fever.
It has claimed the lives of two people in Spain and several people were admitted in hospital. It was originally discovered in Uganda in 1937. It was indigenous to Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. This RNA virus belongs to the Flaviviridae family, which also has Zika virus, yellow fever virus and Dengue virus.

Notes:
Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Ministry of Rural Development has recently signed a Joint Communication to promote sustainable livelihood opportunities Among Tribal Women SHGs in rural areas.
Rural Development Ministry will identify and map tribal women SHG members while Ministry of Tribal Affairs will promote livelihood opportunities among women identified by State Rural Livelihood Mission (SRLM) through several arenas.

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:
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:
The Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs has advised State Governments and UTs to include all eligible disabled persons under the National Food Security Act, NFSA 2013.
As per the direction of the Ministry, those not covered under the scheme should be covered with fresh ration cards. After registration, they will get the entitled quota of food grains under NFSA and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana as per provisions of the Act.

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:
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:
The state of Kerala is set to host the first-ever State Dragonfly Festival named ‘Thumbimahotsavam 2020’.
This is a part of the National Dragonfly festival being organised by the WWF India, Bombay Natural History Society & Indian Dragonfly Society. It also involves the collaboration of NBB, UNDP, UNEP and IUCN- CEC. The official mascot of the festival is named ‘Pantalu’.

Notes:
The COAS (Chief of Army Staff) Unit Appreciation was conferred to NSG’s (National Security Guard) 51 Special Action Group (SAG). The appreciation was conferred to the unit for the group’s exemplary achievements in combating terrorism.
The most important operation undertaken by the unit is “Operation Black Tornado” which was launched against the terror strikes in Mumbai in November 2008.

Notes:
Renowned scientist and the present head of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Dr.G.Satheesh Reddy has been given a 2 year extension as the Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development and Chairman DRDO.
This extension in his service was approved by the Appointments committee of the Union Cabinet. Earlier, he was appointed for the post in August 2018.