Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2021

• Amway India has announced that it has appointed Olympian Saikhom Mirabai Chanu as the brand ambassador for Amway and its Nutrilite range of products.
• Chanu will spearhead the company’s campaigns focused on product ranges such as Nutrilite Daily, Omega and All Plant Protein among others.
• Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, a weightlifter, won the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the women’s 49kg category.

• The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has launched three online applications to enable users to easily purchase and download products related to geospatial mapping online.
• The three applications launched are – Survey of India (SOI) GEO Spatial Data Dissemination Portal, SOI’s SARTHI: WEB GIS application, and MANCHITRAN Enterprise Geoportal of National Atlas & Thematic Mapping Organisation (NATMO) – comes after the government unveiled a new geospatial policy in February, erasing all regulations on surveying and mapping.

• The United Nations marks August 19 as World Humanitarian Day to honour the sacrifices of all those who choose to serve humanity against all odds.
• Theme for 2021 WHD: #TheHumanRace: a global challenge for climate action in solidarity with people who need it the most.
• It was commemorated for the first time on 19 August 2009, after it was formally recognised by the United Nations General Assembly in 2009.

• A rare orchid species — Cephalanthera erecta var. oblanceolata– has been found for the first time in India in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district at an altitude of 1870 metres.
• A research paper on the new addition to Indian flora has been published in Nelumbo, the six-monthly journal of BSI and volumes listing the orchid species of India will soon be updated.

• SBI Life Insurance has launched a new-age protection solution ‘SBI Life eShield Next’ an individual, non-linked, non-participating, life insurance pure risk premium product that is neither linked to the stock market nor shares any profit or dividends with the policyholders.
• It offers three plan options – level cover, increasing cover and level cover with future-proofing benefit.

• India celebrates Akshay Urja Diwas every year on 20 August, to create awareness about the importance of renewable resources of energy and to commemorate the birth anniversary of the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
• The main objective or aim behind celebrating this day is to make people aware of the use of natural sources of energy like hydroelectric power, solar energy, wind energy, and biogas because the earth’s resources are depleting at a dangerous rate every day.
• The Akshay Urja Diwas has been observed and celebrated every year on this day since 2004.
• Apart from being an important day, it is also an awareness campaign which is aimed at educating and informing the masses about the benefits of renewable energy resources for our planet.

• State Bank of India (SBI) has opened an ATM on a Houseboat at Dal Lake, Srinagar for the convenience of locals and tourists.
• The floating ATM was inaugurated by the SBI Chairman Dinesh Khare.
• SBI had launched the first floating ATM in Kerala in 2004.
• This floating ATM of SBI was installed in Jhankar yacht owned by Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC).

• Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and former Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh passed away in Lucknow at the age of 89 on August 21, 2021.
• Kalyan Singh became the chief minister of the state for the first time in 1991.
• He was at the helm of the affairs in the state when the Babri masjid was demolished in 1992.
• He was CM from 24 June 1991 – 6 December 1992 and from 21 September 1997 – 12 November 1999.

• The International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief was observed by the UN on August 22, 2021.
• Commemoration of the day recognises the importance of providing victims of acts of violence based on religion or belief and members of their families with appropriate support and assistance in accordance with applicable law.
• It was first made official in 2019.

• Olympic footballer and former National coach Syed Shahid Hakim passed away on August 22, 2021 in Kalaburagi, Karnataka at the age of 82.
• Hakim, son of the legendary football coach S.A. Rahim, was part of the Indian squad for the 1960 Rome Olympics where it finished sixth.
• This was also India’ last appearance in football at the Olympics.
• Hakim was also a qualified FIFA referee, officiating in 33 international games, including the 1988 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.

Hakim became the second footballer, after Shabbir Ali, to win the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement (2017) and also served as the chief project director at Sports Authority of India (SAI).