Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
Technology major Microsoft has launched a new program to teach quantum computing skills to train around 900 faculty from across the country.
As a part of this initiative, Microsoft is organizing a ‘Train the Trainer’ program in association with Electronics and ICT Academies at Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT), Jaipur and National Institute of Technology, Patna.

Notes:
Rare fish called Mahseer, whose scientific name is Tor, has been spotted in the upper part of river Sileru in Andhra Pradesh.
It has been spotted by a team of researchers of the Department of Zoology, Andhra University. This fish is listed under the endangered category by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). It is usually found in the Himalayan region in the rivers running through Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Nepal and Bhutan.

Notes:
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently announced that the African continent is completely free of Polio.
A commission headed by Rose Gana Fomban Leke has certified that no wild Polio cases occurred in the African region for the past four years. The threshold for eradication of poliovirus is also four years. Africa had earlier eradicated smallpox disease.

Notes:
From 3rd September 2020, India and Bangladesh would commence commercial operation of riverine trade route.
Both the countries signed Addendum to the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT) in May 2020. As per the agreement, the Sonamura (Tripura) – Daudkandi (Bangladesh) route is being operationalised. This move would enhance the regional connectivity to North Eastern India and reduce the transportation cost.

Notes:
As per a CRISIL report, the average income earned by MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers has doubled during the COVID lockdown.
As per the report, the income for unskilled labourers has doubled to around Rs.1000 per month during April to July 2020 from Rs.509 in the previous year. Also, this period witnessed growth in work execution by 46% in person-days.

Notes:
The Union Culture Ministry has announced the formation of seven new circles of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
This has been announced following the Prime Minister’s call to preserve and register archaeological monuments. The new circles are – Trichy (Tamil Nadu), Raiganj (West Bengal), Rajkot (Gujarat), Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh), Meerut (Uttar Pradesh) and Hampi (Karnataka). Earlier there were 29 circles of ASI in India.

Notes:
Rosatom, the Russian nuclear energy agency, has recently released a documentary footage, titled ‘Top Secret: Test of a clean hydrogen bomb with a yield of 50 megatons’, that shows the detonation of the Tsar Bomba or Tsar’s bomb.
It is claimed to be the world’s most powerful hydrogen bomb and it is over 3000 times as destructive as the bomb used in the Hiroshima attack. Tsar’s bomb was initially tested over Novaya Zemlya islands.

Notes:
Apex body on data protection in India, set up by NASSCOM, the Data Security Council of India (DSCI), along with PayPal India released a report titled ‘Fraud & Risk Management in Digital Payments’.
The report suggests to safeguard payments for consumers, MSMEs, businesses, as the e-commerce market in India and UPI transactions are growing manifold during the recent times. It also discussed about the threats in the payment ecosystem and its prevention.

Notes:
A MoU has been signed between the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) and CSC e-Governance Services India. The objective of this association is to make available the UMANG app services to citizens through 3.75 lakh Common Service Centres (CSCs) across the country.
The UMANG stands for “Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance”. The app is a single platform for the citizens to access e governance services ranging of central, state and local government bodies.

Notes:
As per the official media of China, the country is set up a bronze statue to honour the Indian doctor Dwarkanath Kotnis.
The Doctor is commemorated for his contributions during the Chinese revolution headed by Mao Zedong and the World War II. The Doctor was a part of the medical team sent by the Indian National Congress to help the Chinese during World War II. He later joined the Communist Party of China.