Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2021

Notes:
On 7th August, 2021 Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal in men’s javelin throw at the Tokyo Olympics with a throw of 87.58 metres. Czech Republic throwers Jakub Vadlejch (86.67m) and Vitezslav Vesely (85.44m) took the silver and bronze respectively. Chopra becomes the first Indian to win a medal in athletics at the Olympic Games and is only the second Indian to win an individual gold medal after shooter Abhinav Bindra at Beijing in the year 2008.

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Recently, Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) Vikrant successfully accomplished its maiden sea voyage. It is under a series of trial currently. INS Vikrant, also known as Indigenous Aircraft Carrier 1 (IAC-1) is an aircraft carrier constructed by the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) for the Indian Navy. It is the first aircraft carrier to be built in India. The name Vikrant means “courageous” and the motto of the ship is “Jayema Sam Yudhi Sprdhah”, which is taken from Rigveda and can be translated as “I defeat those who fight against me”.

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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.

Notes:
Last remaining population of the Asiatic Lions are found in Gir National Park of Gujarat. In 2020, population of Asiatic lions has surged by almost 29% in Gujarat’s Gir forests. The distribution area of lions has also increased by 36%. Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Sasan Gir, is a forest, national park, and wildlife sanctuary near Talala Gir in Gujarat, India. This national park was established in 1965.

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According to Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, India’s first Internet Governance Forum (IIGF) will be held for three days starting from October 20, 2021. Launch of the Internet Governance forum was announced by Anil Kumar Jain, CEO of National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and Chairman of Coordination Committee. Pre-IIGF engagement events will also start from August 2021 across colleges and universities. Pre-events will be organised with the aim of engaging students and youth to participate in main event in October. IIGF 2021 will be held under the theme- “Inclusive Internet for Digital India”.

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Karnataka has become the first state in the country to issue the order with regard to the implementation of National Education Policy-2020, State Higher Education Minister C N Ashwath Narayan claimed. The state government has issued an order on Saturday on the implementation of NEP-2020 with effect from the current academic year 2021-2022. The implementation will be done as per the guidelines of the NEP.

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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.

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12th August is observed as World Elephant Day to draw focus towards protection and conservation of elephants across the world amid mistreatment in captivity, human-elephant conflict, poaching, and habitat loss. World Elephant Day aims to accelerate efforts to offer better protection to elephants, prevent the trade of ivory, improving enforcement policies, conserve elephant habitat, illegal poaching, better captive environments for elephants, and reintroduce the captive elephants back in their natural sanctuaries.

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SAP India and Microsoft has announced the launch of a joint skilling programme ‘TechSaksham’ for empowering young women students from underserved communities to build careers in technology. Through the joint initiative, SAP India and Microsoft aims to skill 62,000 women students in areas like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, web design and digital marketing. The programme will work in collaboration with the AICTE Training and Learning Academy-ATAL and state collegiate education departments to support the professional development of faculty at participating institutes.