Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2021

Notes:
On 7th August, 2021, Dr. Virendra Kumar, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment has launched ‘PM-DAKSH’ Portal and ‘PM-DAKSH’ Mobile App. This portal and app has been developed by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in collaboration with NeGD, to make skill development schemes accessible to the target groups of Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes and Safai Karamcharis. From the year 2020-21 the Pradhan Mantri Dakshta Aur Kushalta Sampann Hitgrahi (PM-DAKSH) Yojana is being implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

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:
A bill seeking to abolish as many as nine appellate tribunals, including the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), was approved by Parliament with the Rajya Sabha passing the proposed legislation on August 9, 2021. The Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021, was approved by Lok Sabha on August 3. As per the statement of objects and reasons of the bill, all cases pending before such tribunals or authorities will be transferred to the Commercial Court or High Court. The legislation also provides for uniform terms and conditions of service for chairperson and members of various tribunals.

Notes:
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%.

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.

Notes:
Uttar Pradesh government has renamed a landmark freedom movement called “Kakori Train Conspiracy” as “Kakori Train Action” and paid tributes to the revolutionaries who were hanged for robbing a train at Kakori in Uttar Pradesh. Revolutionaries had robbed the train in order to buy weapons in 1925. Freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Roshan Singh were hanged to death on December 19, 1927 for their involvement in Kakori robbery.

Notes:
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has launched eNagar mobile application and portal. The eNagar covers 10 modules with 52 services including property tax, professional tax, water & drainage, Complaints and grievance redressal, building permission, fire and emergency services. Gujarat Urban Development Mission has been appointed as a nodal agency for eNagar project. Total 170 locations including 162 municipalities and 8 Municipal Corporations are covered under the eNagar project.

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:
Chhattisgarh has become the first State to recognize the Community Forest Resource Rights in urban areas. The State Government recognized the rights of residents of Dhamtari district spread over 4,127 hectares of forest. The State Government also recognized the community resource rights over 5,544 hectares of forest within the core area of the Sitanadi Udanti tiger reserve area. Any forest resource that the tribal and other forest dwelling communities use and depend on for a livelihood is known as Community Forest Resource. This can be a common forest area that the community has been conserving and protecting to make use of its resources. The community forest resource area may include forest of any category i.e. revenue forest, classified and unclassified forest, deemed forest, reserve forest, protected forest, sanctuary and national parks etc.

Notes:
Every year on 13 August, World Organ Donation Day is observed across the world. The day is marked to spread awareness about organ donation and to clear misconceptions related to donating organs. The day is recognised to encourage people to take a pledge of donating healthy organs after their death to those who are in need. The worlds first-ever organ transplant was carried out successfully in the year 1954 in the United States of America.