Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2021

Notes:
Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed the highest motorable road in the world at a height of 19,300 ft at Umlingla Pass in the Eastern Ladakh region. This construction has created a record in high-altitude road construction. BRO has constructed a 52-km long tarmac road through Umlingla Pass, bettering the record of a road which is in Bolivia at 18,953 ft. This newly constructed road by BRO will now connect the important towns in Chumar sector of Eastern Ladakh.

Notes:
The Government of India, the Central Water Commission, government representatives from 10 participating states and the World Bank has signed a $250 million project for long-term dam safety program and improving the safety and performance of existing dams across various states of India. The project will be implemented in approximately 120 dams across the states of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Odisha, Manipur, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan and at the national level through the Central Water Commission (CWC).

 

Notes:
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bangalore with the aim to boost export of agricultural and processed food products, especially from the state of Karnataka.  The key areas of cooperation will be developing technologies jointly with APEDA for efficient & precision farming, advance alertness, enhancing quality exports, diversifying the export basket, boosting high-value agri exports, etc.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has given its approval of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Indian Institute of Space science and Technology (IIST) and The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), for carrying out Research activities and Academic programmes which will involve faculty and students from each institution.

 

Notes:
The Union Cabinet on 4th August, 2021 approved the continuation of the Samagra Shiksha Scheme for school education for another five years. Provision of training of master trainers for Anganwadi workers, incinerator and sanitary pad vending machines in all girls’ hostels, addition of new subjects instead of stream in existing senior secondary schools, holistic progress card for each learner, and upgrade of all Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas up to class 12 are among the initiatives in the revised scheme. Samagra Shiksha Scheme covers the school education from preschool to Class 12.

Notes:
Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has secured Patent registration for its innovative Plastic-mixed Handmade Paper developed to reduce plastic menace from nature. The patent certificate was issued to KVIC’s Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute (KNHPI), Jaipur, by the Controller of Patent, Intellectual Property of India. The idea of developing plastic-mixed handmade paper was invented in September in the year 2018, and in just two months, i.e. in November 2018, the project was executed by the team of scientists at KNHPI.

Notes:
A 101 member contingent of the Indian Army will proceed to Russia to participate in International Army Games – 2021 from 22nd August to 4th September, 2021. The contingent will participate in Army Scout Masters Competition (ASMC), Polar Star, Elbrus Ring, Sniper Frontier and Safe Route games showcasing various drills in operations in snow, High Altitude Area terrain, sniper actions, combat engineering skills in obstacle ridden terrain. The contingent will also contribute two observers (one each) for the Falcon Hunting and Open Water games in which Pontoon Bridge laying and UAV crew skills will be showcased by the participating teams. The Indian Army contingent has been selected out of the best from various arms after three levels of screening.

Notes:
Indian Bank has partnered with NSRCEL (N S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning), the entrepreneurship Centre of Excellence at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B) to provide funding for identified start-ups under Indian Bank’s ‘Ind Spring Board’ Scheme. In the year 2020, Indian Bank had launched ‘IND Spring Board’ in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology Madras Incubation Cell to provide a credit facility of Rs 50 crore to Start-Ups.

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:
The Parliament has passed the Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to encourage the start-up ecosystem and further boost the ease of doing business. The bill seeks to decriminalise 12 offences under the law and help improve the ease of doing business by amending the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Act, 2008. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 9, 2021 and Rajya Sabha on August 4. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that with the passage of the bill, criminal offences will be brought down while ease of doing business will go up and partners will have more flexibility.