Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2021

Notes:
Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State for Culture participated in the G20 Culture Ministers’ Meeting hosted by Italy. The meeting was held on 30 July, 2021. The main focus of the meeting was on ideas related to the protection of cultural heritage. Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi presented India’s perspective on the topic ” Culture and Creative Sectors as drivers for growth”. She highlighted the significance of culture and creative sectors in providing economic growth and employment. She discussed about One District One Product Scheme of Uttar Pradesh, Tourism circuits, promotion of Yoga and Ayurveda etc.
G20 is an intergovernmental forum which comprises European Union and 19 countries including India.

Notes:
Isuru Udana, Sri Lankan Cricketer announced his retirement from International cricket at the age of 33. He will continue playing domestic cricket and will be available for franchise tournaments. He is a left hand bowler. He made his debut in the 2009 T20 World Cup which was held in 2009. He has played 21 One Day Internationals, 35 Twenty 20 Internationals.
International Cricket Council was founded on 15 June 1909. ICC is headquartered in Dubai. Greg Barclay is the current chairman of ICC.

Notes:
In the month of July, 2021, India has recorded the highest ever monthly merchandise export. The merchandise exports rose to 35.17 billion dollars. According to the provisional data of the commerce industry, there was a healthy growth in the shipment of petroleum, engineering goods and gems and jewellery.
Merchandise Exports From India Scheme (MEIS) is notified by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and implemented by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

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:
Under the aegis of Ministry of Defence, the Government of India has approved the establishment of the Defence Cyber Agency. To mitigate various cyber threats, all the three armed force Services have established their respective Cyber Emergency Response Teams (CERT). Also, the Government of India is formulating the National cyber security strategy, which is currently in the final stages of approval.

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.

 

Notes:
Veteran England pacer James Anderson has surpassed Indian spin legend Anil Kumble’s tally of 619 Test wickets during the third day of the first Test against India at Nottingham. Only Sri Lankan spin great Muttiah Muralitharan (800 Test wickets), and Australian wizard Shane Warne (708 wickets) are now ahead of Anderson, who is playing in his 163rd Test match.

Notes:
A bill seeking to abolish as many as nine appellate tribunals, including the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), was approved by Parliament with the Rajya Sabha passing the proposed legislation on August 9, 2021. The Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021, was approved by Lok Sabha on August 3. As per the statement of objects and reasons of the bill, all cases pending before such tribunals or authorities will be transferred to the Commercial Court or High Court. The legislation also provides for uniform terms and conditions of service for chairperson and members of various tribunals.

Notes:
Central Bank of India has entered into a strategic co-lending partnership with Dhanvarsha Finvest Ltd (DFL) to offer loans against gold ornaments under priority sector to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) borrowers at competitive rates. Under this partnership, DFL will originate and process loans against gold ornaments as per jointly formulated credit parameters and eligibility criteria and Central Bank of India will take into its book 80% of the gold loans under mutually agreed terms, as per the public sector bank’s stock exchange filing.

Notes:
National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) is to be developed as an international tourist destination. It will be dedicated to the legacy of maritime heritage of India, at Lothal in Gujarat. It will showcase maritime heritage of India from ancient to modern times. It seeks to create an edutainment approach (meaning education with entertainment) for the interest of visitors. It will cover an area of 400 acres comprising of structures like Heritage Theme Park, National Maritime Heritage Museum, Maritime Institute, Lighthouse Museum, eco-resorts etc. It will also comprise of pavilions where all coastal states of India and union territories can showcase artifacts and maritime heritage. NMHC will recreate the ancient Lothal city, a prominent city and port of ancient Indus valley civilization.