Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2021

Notes:
On 7th August, 2021 Brazil won the gold medal in men’s football at the Tokyo Olympics by beating Spain 2-1 in the final played. Malcolm and Matheus Cunha scored for Brazil while Mikel Oyarzabal scored for Spain. Mexico won the bronze medal by beating Japan with a score of 3-1. Canada defeated Sweden 3-2 on penalties after the match was tied 1-1 to win the gold medal in women’s football. Bronze medal was won by United States which beat Australia 4-3.

Notes:
The Finance Ministry has released its fifth monthly installment of Post Devolution Revenue Deficit (PDRD) Grant of Rs 9,871 crore to the states on August 9. With the release of this installment, a total amount of Rs 49,355 crore has been released to eligible states as PDRD in the current financial year. The Commission has recommended PDRD grants to 17 States during 2021-22.

Notes:
Bearing testimony to the growing defence ties between India and Saudi Arabia, INS KOCHI, the flagship destroyer of Indian Western Naval Fleet, arrived at Port Al-Jubail on August, 2021. The visit by the ship heralds a new chapter in the bilateral defence ties with the commencement of the harbour phase of first Naval Exercise between the two countries – ‘AL-MOHED AL-HINDI 2021’, according to a statement issued by the Indian Embassy in Riyadh.

Notes:
The Indian Railways has launched an integrated one-stop solution app named Rail Madad. The Indian Railways has merged several existing helplines into a single platform for various grievances. Rail Madad can be accessed through the app, web, SMS, Helpline number (139) and social media during the journey for resolution of complaints. The Railway ministry toll-free number 139 can be used for all kinds of enquiries and making complaints and the helpline facility is available round-the-clock in 12 languages. Rail MADAD stands for Mobile Application for Desired Assistance During travel.

Notes:
Nagaland has bagged seven prestigious national awards in the Van Dhan Vikas Yojana (VDVY) and Minimum Support Price (MSP) schemes for exemplary performance in various categories. The VDVY and MSP for Minor Forest Produce (MFP) scheme focus on farmers’ entrepreneurship programmes through processing, packaging, branding and marketing of locally available products, according to an official statement issued on Monday. Nagaland topped in three categories – Best Survey, Best Training and the most number of Van Dhan Vikas Clusters (VDVKCs) established. The North-eastern state also secured third positions in Best Sales Generated at Rs 1,15,86,000 and Innovation and Creativity. It got the two other awards for a couple of ideas: supply of gooseberry wine by a multipurpose society and mushroom.

Notes:
GIFT City, the country’s first international financial services centre (IFSC), has collaborated with the India InsurTech Association (IIA) to promote financial technology in the insurance sector. IIA is a not-for-profit organisation working towards growing a technology-driven insurance ecosystem in India. The two entities will collaborate on building thought leadership in the field of insurance and creating awareness about GIFT City among Indian and foreign insurance companies, the country’s first operational smart city said in a statement. To raise awareness about GIFT-IFSC, the collaboration will organise events, information series, seminars, and conferences.

Notes:
Kamlesh Kumar Pant, a 1993-batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as the new chairman of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) by the Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet. The pharmaceutical pricing agency was currently headed by IAS officer Shubhra Singh, who was appointed to the post in 2018. Singh has been repatriated to her cadre state Rajasthan, according to an order of the personnel ministry. Pant, formerly the Principal Secretary (Revenue) in the government of Himachal Pradesh and also the Financial Commisioner (Appeals) at Himachal Pradesh and the head of the Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, has taken charge of NPPA with immediate effect.

Notes:
Pakistan has test-fired a surface-to-surface ballistic missile named ‘Ghaznavi’ on August 12, 2021. This is a nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile ‘Ghaznavi’ which can strike targets up to 290 kilometres. The Ghaznavi missile has been tested in both day and night modes.

Notes:

• Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Dr. Virendra Kumar launched an online portal TAPAS (Training for Augmenting Productivity and Services)
• This portal has been developed by the National Institute of Social Defence to provide access to lectures by subject experts, study material and more, but in a manner that it supplements the physical classroom without compromising teaching quality.
• The five basic courses are on Drug (Substance) Abuse Prevention, Geriatric/Elderly Care, Care and Management of Dementia, Transgender Issues and on comprehensive course on Social Defence Issues.

Notes:

• The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently extended their collaboration to facilitate international trade, particularly e-commerce.
• This collaboration will focus on enabling UNCTAD’s automated customs management system, to manage e-commerce shipments more efficiently.
• It will include adding a risk assessment for mail shipments and facilitating access to the IATA enhanced partner identification and connectivity (EPIC) platform.
• The collaboration will also include the potential exchange of additional operational electronic information such as air cargo rules, flight schedules and others that can assist customs officials in their risk assessments.