Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2021

Notes:
The government of India has decided to set up the Indian Institute of Heritage at Noida, Gautam Buddha Nagar. This will impact higher education and research in the fields related to rich Indian heritage and its conservation. Indian Institute of Heritage would offer Masters and Ph.D courses in History of Arts, Conservation, Museology, Archival Studies, Archaeology, Preventives Conservation, Epigraphy and Numismatics, Manuscriptology etc. as well as conservation training facilities to in-service employees and the students of the Indian Institute of Heritage.

Notes:
PV Sindhu became the only female sportsperson from India, to win two successive Olympics medals – silver at Rio 2016 and bronze in Tokyo 2020. Over the course of her career, Sindhu has won medals at multiple tournaments including Olympics and on the BWF circuit including gold at the 2019 World Championships. She is the first Indian to become the Badminton World Champion and only the second individual athlete from India to win two consecutive medals at the Olympic Games.

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:
1971 war hero Commodore Kasaragod Patnashetti Gopal Rao dies at 94. Commodore Kasaragod Patnashetti Gopal Rao, a 1971 war hero and recipient of the Mahavir Chakra in the year 1971, passed away at the age of 94 on August 9, 2021. Rao was a recipient of the Veer Seva Medal also. He played a key role in the war with Pakistan to liberate East Pakistan that is now Bangladesh. Rao led a small task group of the Western Fleet and launched an offensive off the coast of Karachi as part of Operation Cactus Lily. He led the group into enemy waters on the night of December 4, 1971 and sunk two destroyers and a minesweeper.

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The Indian Air Force (IAF) has built one of the world’s highest mobile air traffic control towers at the Advanced Landing Ground in Nyoma, Ladakh. The ATC controls operations of the fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters operating in the eastern Ladakh region.

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Multi-skill Development Centre (MSDC) for Aviation Skilling has been set up at Chandigarh under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scheme which has been funded by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Aviation Skill Development Center has been set up at Mumbai by LearnNet Skills as training implementation partner for CSR project of AAI.

Notes:
International Youth Day is marked on August 12. The day as the name suggests, is celebrated for giving voice to the initiatives and actions taken by the young people across the globe. The theme of the day this year has been decided as “Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health”. The reason behind choosing this theme is to highlight the impact of the effort that has been put in by young people in transformation of the food systems. The theme also aims at making people aware of the need for inclusivity of old and young individuals in putting in efforts and ideas for collectively saving the planet. The first International Youth Day was celebrated in 1999.

Notes:
APEDA in collaboration with Himachal Pradesh Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation Ltd (HPMC) exported first consignment comprising of five unique varieties of apples in order to promote agricultural and processed food products exports to newer destinations. Five varieties of apples including Dark Baron Gala, Royal Delicious, Scarlet Spur, Red Velox and Golden Delicious were exported to Bahrain. These apples were sourced from farmers of Himachal Pradesh. First consignment was exported by APEDA registered DM Enterprises. Apples will be showcased at the apple promotion programme organized by leading retailer called Al Jajira group. The apple promotion programme will start from 15th August, 2021 on the occasion of commencement of 75th year of India’s independence celebration. Apple promotion programme is also being organized to familiarise consumers in Bahrain regarding the varieties of apples in India. Apple export comes at a time when India has been expanding its footprint of mango exports in newer countries.

Notes:

• SoftWorthy has been conferred the prestigious National Science Foundation Innovation-Corps (NSF I-Corps) Teams Award in the United States.
• Founded in 2020, SoftWorthy’s award-winning project focuses on developing state-of-the-art computational methods for ‘stochastic modelling, design simulation and sensitivity analysis of electronic devices like printed-circuit-boards (PCBs), which are critical for the growth of novel technological applications like driverless vehicles and energy-efficient smart buildings.
• The company is led by a team of Indian engineers trained at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, and has been working to develop innovative software technology for performing engineering analysis.

Notes:

• Kerala police has launched a first-of-its-kind Drone Forensic Lab and Research Centre with an aim to address the rising concerns in this regard.
• Along with addressing the threat aspects of drones, the lab-cum-research centre is also tasked to look at the utility part of the unmanned aerial vehicles.
• Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated this Forensic Lab and Research Centre.