Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2021

Notes:
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has set up a committee after receiving the proposals from the government of Puducherry and Sri Lanka to start the passenger shipping between Karaikal Port (Puducherry) and Kankesanthurai Port (Sri Lanka).
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between India and Sri Lanka in 2011 and under the provisions of this amendment, the Puducherry govt. and the govt. of Sri Lanka has sent proposals to the Union government of India.
The proposals to start the ferry service for passenger shipping between these two ports has been sent by King lear limited.

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:
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:
Man Kaur was an Indian track-and-field athlete. She was a Centenarian sprinter. She holds the world records in the Over-100 years old categories for many events. She won multiple Gold medals at the World Masters Athletics Championships. She got famous after winning the 100 metre sprint at the World Masters Games in Auckland in 2017. She got Nari Shakti Puraskar award at the age of 103. Pranab Mukherjee, the then president of India gave her this award. She was nicknamed as the “Miracle Mom from Chandigarh”.

Notes:
As per the media reports, the Military ruler, Gen. Min Aung Hlaing has been appointed as the Prime Minister of Myanmar in a newly formed caretaker government. The caretaker government was formed on August 1, 2021. The military leader has taken a pledge to hold elections by 2023 and will establish a union based on democracy and federalism. The military siezed the power from the elected government headed by the State counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi in February, 2021.
Aung San Suu Kyi is a Burmese politician, diplomat and author. She is a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. She served as State Counsellor of Myanmar and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2021.

Notes:
India started its two-year tenure as non-permanent member of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on January 1, 2021. India is holding the presidency of UNSC for August and Narendra Modi has become the first Prime Minister to chair an open debate at UNSC. India has been a member of UNSC in 1950-51, 1967-68, 1972-73, 1977-78, 1984-85 and 1991-92 earlier.
UNSC was created after World War II when league of Nations failed to maintain world peace. The first session of UNSC was held on January 17, 1946. It is among six principal organs of United Nations and is tasked with ensuring international peace and security.

Notes:
Sanjeev Singh, who is a specially-abled (Divyang) cricketer, composed and sung the theme song of India for the Tokyo Paralympics. The theme song “Kar De Kamaal Tu” was launched by Anurag Thakur, the Sports Minister of India.
In the Tokyo Olympics, a record number of 54 athletes  from India will participate in nine sports disciplines.
The Paralympic Committee of India (PIC) is the body responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Paralympic Games and other International athletic meets. It was founded in 1992 and was known as the ‘Physically Handicapped Sports Federation of India’. Rao Inderjit Singh is the current President of the Paralympic Committee of India.

Notes:
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has notified about a New Central Sector Scheme for industrial development of Jammu and Kashmir with an amount of Rs. 28,400 crore. This scheme is applicable for any eligible industrial (manufacturing) entity or eligible service sector enterprise other than those run departmentally by Government.

Notes:
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed the highest motorable road in the world at the height of 19,300 feet at Umlingla Pass in eastern Ladakh, the defence ministry said on August 4, 2021. The BRO has constructed a 52-km long black-topped road through Umlingla Pass, bettering the previous record of a road in Bolivia connecting to its volcano Uturuncu at 18,953 ft. The road at Umlingla Pass now connects the important towns in the Chumar sector of Eastern Ladakh.

Notes:
India and China have disengaged their troops in the Gogra region located in the Eastern Ladakh. The move comes following the twelfth round of talks held between the Corps Commanders of India and China and was held at Chushul Moldo Meeting Point in Eastern Ladakh on July 31. Since May 2020, the troops in this area have been in a face-off situation. The two sides had an in-depth and candid exchange of views on resolution of the remaining areas related to disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas.