Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2021

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:
India and the European Union (EU) have agreed to resume the negotiations for an ambitious, balanced, mutually beneficial and comprehensive trade agreement. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations are to be held considering the interest of both India and EU.

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India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, conducted its maiden sea trials. Trials will be conducted for a long period under all conditions before the carrier is accepted as “proven at sea”. It will be fully operational by the year 2022. Navy will accept this warship and then will conduct aviation trials. Under the aviation trials, landing and take-off of MiG 29K fighter jets would take place. In the maiden trail, Navy conducted the deck landing of Navy’s Sea King helicopters. This 44000-tonne carrier has been designed by Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design at the cost of Rs 23,000 crore. It has been built at state-owned Cochin Shipyard in Kochi, Kerala.

Notes:
On 6th August, 2021, a bill seeking to establish a central university in the Union Territory of Ladakh was passed in the Lok Sabha. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in his brief statement about the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2021, said that every year, around 7,000 students go out of Ladakh for education and with the establishment of the central university around 2,500 students will get the opportunity to study there. The Sindhu central university will be established at a cost of Rs 760 crore.

Notes:
On 7th August, 2021 the Textile Ministry has celebrated the 7th National Handloom Day. On this day the handloom weaving community will be honoured for their contribution in the socio-economic development of India. Three Handloom Craft Villages at Mohpara Village, District Golaghat in Assam, Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, and Kanihama, Budgam in Srinagar are being set up by the Ministry in collaboration with the respective State governments.

Notes:
India’s Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) in collaboration with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, United Kingdom (FCDO UK) has launched the Swavalamban Challenge Fund (SCF) with the aim to promote entrepreneurship. SIDBI is India’s principal financial institution engaged in the promotion, financing and development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Applications are invited in two categories, which are pilot and scale-up. In the pilot category, applicants can apply with their proposal to pilot/test/trial their innovative ideas. In the scale-up category, already ongoing/completed projects can be applied for.

Notes:
Mirabai Chanu and Karnam Malleswari are the only female weightlifting medallists from the country. Karnam Malleswari is a retired Indian weightlifter. She is the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics. In 1995, she received the Khel Ratna Award, India’s highest sporting honour, and in 1999, the civilian Padma Shri award. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Malleswari lifted 110 kg in the “snatch” and 130 kg in the “clean and jerk” categories for a total of 240 kg. She won the bronze medal and became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal.
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu won the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Women’s 49 kg category. Mirabai Chanu has won the World Championships and multiple medals at the Commonwealth Games. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contributions to the sport. She was awarded Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award by the Government of India in 2018.

Notes:
Uttar Pradesh government has renamed a landmark freedom movement called “Kakori Train Conspiracy” as “Kakori Train Action” and paid tributes to the revolutionaries who were hanged for robbing a train at Kakori in Uttar Pradesh. Revolutionaries had robbed the train in order to buy weapons in 1925. Freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Roshan Singh were hanged to death on December 19, 1927 for their involvement in Kakori robbery.

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Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami has appointed Vandana Katariya, Indian Women’s Team Hockey Player, as the Brand Ambassador of the State’s Department of Women Empowerment & Child Development. During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she became the 1st Indian Woman to score an Olympic hat-trick in hockey. The Uttarakhand Government had also announced a cash reward of INR 25 Lakh to Vandana Kataria for her performance at the Tokyo Olympics.

Notes:
The PDRD is provided to the States of India under Article 275 of the Constitution. The grants are released as per the recommendations of the Fifteenth Finance Commission in monthly installments to meet the gap in Revenue Accounts of the States post devolution. The Commission has recommended PDRD grants to 17 States during 2021-22. Finance Ministry releases Revenue Deficit Grant of Rs 9,871 crore to 17 states.