Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2021

Notes:
As part of one year celebration of transformative reforms under the government’s National Education Policy, 2020, the Government of India is organising a series of theme-based webinars on different aspects of National Education Policy, 2020. Indian Knowledge System, Language, Arts & Culture being one of the innovative thrust areas of NEP, Indian Knowledge System at AICTE under Ministry of Education organised a National Webinar on Transforming Education in the Light of Indian Knowledge System, Language, Arts & Culture. Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Education and Skill Development and Employment Shri, was the Chief Guest on the occasion.

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At the Tokyo Olympics Netherlands won the women’s hockey gold medals by beating Argentina with a 3-1 score in the final which was held on 6th August, 2021. Great Britain defeated India with a score of 4-3 in the match between losing semi-finalists to win the bronze medal.

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Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has inducted its first women officers in combat. On 8th August, 2021 ITBP commissioned its first two women officers in combat after they completed their training at the ITBP officers’ training academy located in Mussoorie. A first-ever ‘History of ITBP’ book containing many unknown facts and photographs of the border guarding force was also released by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami along with ITBP director general S. S. Deswal.

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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.

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Seekho Aur Kamao is a skill development scheme for youth of 14 – 35 years age group and aiming at providing employment and employment opportunities; improving the employability of existing workers, school dropouts etc. In the last 7 years around 3.92 lakh persons have been benefitted under this employment oriented scheme. This scheme was launched in the year 2013 and it is implemented by the Ministry of Minority Affairs.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 8, 2021 announced a National Edible Oil Mission-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) to make India self-sufficient in cooking oils, including palm oil, as he stressed on reducing the dependence on imports. He said over Rs 11,000 crore will be invested in the edible oil ecosystem. India is dependent on imports of edible oil to meet the domestic demand. Of the total imports, palm oil constitutes about 55%.

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The Mission Innovation (MI) is a global initiative of 22 countries and the European Commission (on behalf of the European Union) catalyzing investment in research, development and demonstration to make clean energy affordable, attractive and accessible for all. Mission Innovation was launched during 21st Conference of the Parties (COP 21) in November 2015. India, During Phase I played crucial role in MI Activities at global level by participating through DBT, DST and CSIR in eight Innovation Challenges and co-leading three challenges (Smart Grids, Off-Grid access to Electricity and Sustainable Bio fuels). The Ministry of Science and Technology, through Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) have played a key role in developing global Science & Technology partnerships in critical areas including energy, water, health and astronomy.

Notes:
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.

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.

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Agritech start-up Arya has tied up with SBM Bank India for commodity financing. SBM Bank India is part of Mauritius-based SBM group. The lender is headquartered in Mumbai. Arya provides integrated post-harvest services. Its platform helps users to choose ancillary services like warehouse management, access to finance, quality testing, storage protection services, and connecting produce to buyers. The start-up helps farmers, aggregators, farmer producer organisations (FPOs), food processors and end-user corporates avoid post-harvest losses. It assists sellers of agri-commodities to avoid distress sale of produce by extending post-harvest credit. In a statement, Arya said it has formed a strategic partnership with SBM Bank India to reinforce its competencies in financing solutions. SBM Bank India has profound domain expertise and is led by a core team of industry veterans. Through this collaboration, SBM Bank India said it is expanding presence to cater to agri-traders and agri-entrepreneurs across the country and offering them customised solutions to help them grow. Established in 1973, SBM is the leading international BFSI group of Mauritius.