Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2021

Notes:
NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) which is a joint mission of ISRO and NASA is proposed to be launched in 2023. It is focusing on making global measurement of land surface changes using advanced radar imaging. The information was given by Jitendra Singh, Earth Sciences Minister.
NISAR Satellite will be the first satellite to use dual frequencies. It will be used for remote sensing. It will be also used for global observations over all land masses including the Polar cryosphere and the Indian Ocean region i.e. it will help in understanding the natural processes of the Earth.

 

Notes:
A formal ceremony was held in the morning on 31st July, 2021 at South block, New Delhi. In this meeting, Vice Admiral SN Ghormade, AVSM, NM assumed charge as the Vice Chief of Naval Staff from Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC.
The new Vice Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral SN Ghormade is an alumni of National Defence Academy (NDA). He was commissioned in the Indian Navy on 1 Jan 1984 and is a Navigation and Direction Specialist.
The Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) is the second-highest ranking officer of the Indian Navy and the deputy to the chief of the navy. VCNS is a PSO at Naval Headquarters in New Delhi. He is responsible for naval related tasks.

Notes:
On 1 August 2021, Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Chawla has been appointment as the Director General of Artillery. He takes over the appointment from Lt Gen K Ravi Prasad, PVSM, VSM who completed thirty nine years of distinguished service in the army.
Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Chawla, AVSM is an alumnus of St. Thomas High School and National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla. He was commissioned into a Field Regiment of Artillery in June 1984. He has also served as a Military observer at the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL).

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:
A virtual meeting “BRICS Counter Terrorism Working Group” was oraganised recently on July 28-29 under the chairmanship of India. It was the 6th meeting of the BRICS Counter Terrorism Working Group.
The main outcome of the meeting was the finalisation of the BRICS Counter Terrorism Action Plan containing specific measures for the implementation of the BRICS Counter Terrorism Strategy adopted by BRICS leaders in 2020.
BRICS includes five major emerging economies : Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The BRICS members are known for their significant influence on regional affairs. It was founded in 2006.

Notes:
Government of India has appointed Deepak Das as the new Controller General of Accounts (CGA) of India. CGA comes under the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. Deepak Das is the 25th CGA. He is a 1986-batch Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) officer. He earlier served as the Principal Chief Controller of Accounts in the Central Board of Direct Taxes. He has also been the Director of the Institute of Government Accounts and Finance (INGAF), the training academy of the Indian Civil Accounts Service.
He is an alumnus of Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi.

 

Notes:
Shri Bhupendra Singh, Madhya Pradesh Urban Development and Housing Minister launched “Ek Mask-Anek Zindagi” public awareness campaign on August 1, 2021. The campaign will end on August 15, 2021.
The main idea behind the initiation of this campaign is to spread awareness about wearing masks as an preventive step towards controlling the spread of Covid-19. Mask Banks will be established under this scheme where people can donate new masks for poor and needy people. Citizens can donate mask or funds with the help of NGOs also.

Notes:
Hungarian Grand Prix, 2021 was held at the Hungaroring in Mogyorod, Hungary on August 1, 2021. Esteban Ocon won his maiden F1 race. Hungarian Grand Prix was the eleventh round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship. Esteban Ocon has now taken the Formula One Championship lead from Max Verstappen.
Esteban Ocon belongs to France and he competes for Alpine-Renault.
Formula One World Championship 2021 is a motor racing championship for Formula One cars. It is recognised by the International Automobile Federation which is the governing body of International motorsport. According to FIA, Formula One World Championship  is the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship is being conducted over 23 Grands Prix  across the world.
Lewis Hamilton is the defending World driver and Mercedes is the defending World constructor. They won the titles in 2020.

Notes:
A core committee meeting was held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat to review the progress of the vaccination programme across the state. As per the meeting reports, Gujarat is on the top position in terms of vaccinations per million people.
Officials said that about 5 lakh 17 thousand people have been vaccinated in the state against the population of ten lakhs. More than 3.32 crore doses of vaccines have been administered under state wide vaccination drive. In the month of July, more than 75 lakh vaccinations have been done.

Notes:
Forbes released Fortune 500 global list of companies on August 2, 2021. According to the list,
Walmart is ranked first in terms of total revenues for their respective fiscal years ended on or before March 31, 2021. Walmart had a revenue of USD 524 billion.
Walmart Inc. is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores and grocery stores. The company is based in United States of America. It is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. It was founded on 2 July, 1962 by Sam Walton and Walton family is its owner. Doug Mcmillion is the current CEO of this company.
Forbes is an American business magazine. It is owned by Integrated whale media investments and Forbes family. It features articles on finance, industry, investments and marketing topics. It is based in New Jersey, USA.