Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2021

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi  launched some initiatives as a part of the extension to the  National Education Policy 2020 on July 29th, 2021. Vidya Pravesh initiative has been launched for Pre School Kids, basically for Grade 1 students. Under this initiative, three-month play module will be set for the children to prepare them for school. It will also include a subject of Indian Sign language at the Secondary Level.

Notes:
Britain won a gold medal recently at the Tokyo Olympics in a mixed 4x100m medley relay event which is a Swimming event. Four British swimmers including male and female both participated in the mixed 4x100m medley relay and they finished first by taking total time duration of  3:37.58s. They set a world record by finishing the event in this time duration. The four swimmers who set this world record are Kathleen Dawson, Adam Peaty, James Guy and Anna Hopkin.

Notes:
On August 1, 2021, Ismail Haniyeh was re-elected as leader of the Palestinian Islamist group ‘Hamas’. He is the chief of Hamas since 2017. He is a senior political leader of Hamas and he became the prime minister of Palestinian National Authority in 2006 after  Palestinian legislative elections. He has earlier controlled the political activities of Hamas in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the diaspora largely from outside Gaza, splitting his time between Turkey and Qatar for the past two years.
Hamas is a Palestinian militant and nationalist organization which rules the Gaza strip and has fought violent conflicts with Israel. It was founded in 1987. Its headquarter is in Gaza, a self-governing Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

Notes:
Emma Mckeon became the first female swimmer to win seven medals in a single Olympic event. She won seven medals at the Tokyo Olympics. She belongs to Australia. She had broken the Olympic record twice in the Tokyo Olympic. She completed the 50m freestyle event in 24.02 seconds and set a world record and then again  broken this record by completing the 50m freestyle in 24 seconds.
She now matched the record for the most decorated female athlete at a single Games/event along with the Russian gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya who won seven medals in 1952 Olympics held in Helsinki.
Emma Mckeon joins Michael Phelps, Matt Biondi and Otto, as the only swimmers to win five or more golds at one Games/event.

Notes:
PhonePe became the first digital investment platform to launch UPI based AutoPay functionality for its Mutual Fund (MF) Systematic Investment Plans ( SIP) and offerings in India. The UPI AutoPay function will be available for existing as well as new investors on PhonePe app.
SIP is an investment route offered by Mutual Funds. In SIP, one can invest a fixed amount in a Mutual fund scheme according to their will at regular intervals.
SIPs are open-ended. Customers can initiate, pause, restart and terminate SIP at any time.
PhonePe  was founded in 2015 and was later acquired by Flipkart in 2016. Its headquarter is in Mumbai and Sameer Nigam is the current CEO of PhonePe.

Notes:
USA won the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2021 after defeating Mexico and claimed its 7th title.  Mexico is the most successful team till date by claiming 11 titles.
CONCACAF (Confederation of North American and Carribean Association Football) was founded in 1961.
CONCACAF Gold Cup  is the main association football competition of the men’s national football teams governed by CONCACAF. It was started in 1990 and is organised every two years.

Notes:
The Italian luxury brand ‘Bvlgari’ has appointed Priyanka Chopra Jonas as the global brand ambassador.
Bvlgari is known for its gemstone jewellery, watches, fragrances, accessories and leather goods. Priyanka Chopra Jonas will support the Roman high jewellery house and promote brand around the world. The main focus will be on themes of women empowerment, diversity and inclusion.
Bulgari / Bvlgari was founded in 1884 by Sotirios Voulgaris.  Its headquarter is located in Rome, Italy. The current CEO of this brand is Jean-Christophe Babin.

Notes:
‘Mukhyamantri Vatsalya Yojana’  has been recently launched by Pushkar Singh Dhami, the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. Under this scheme, Rs. 3000 will be directly transferred into accounts of children who lost  their parents or the earning member of their family during the Covid-19 pandemic. Free education, ration and health facilities will be provided to them till the age of 21.
State Minister Rekha Arya was also present when this scheme/programme was launched.

Notes:
Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system. The United States of America has approved the sale of one Harpoon Joint Common Test Set (JCTS) along with the related equipment to India for an estimated cost of USD 82 million. This will help in improving India’s capability to meet current and future threats.
The principal contractor of the deal will be Boeing Company which is headquartered in Chicago, USA. The present CEO & President of Boeing Company is David L. Calhoun.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has given its approval of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Indian Institute of Space science and Technology (IIST) and The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), for carrying out Research activities and Academic programmes which will involve faculty and students from each institution.