Current Affairs Quiz-September, 2020

Notes:
The third annual Indo-Pacific Business Forum is to be held in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam on October 28 and 29, 2020.
The United States Government will sponsor the forum, in collaboration with the Government of Vietnam, the US-ASEAN Business Council and others trade associations. The main focus will be on Infrastructure, Digital economy, Market connectivity, health and economic recovery.

Notes:
The G20 Education Ministers was held virtually, where India was represented by Union Minister of Education, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.
During the meeting, member countries resolved to work together shared best practices in three identified areas namely Education continuity in times of crises, Early childhood education and Internationalization in education.

Notes:
As per a statement by Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the rainfall received by the country in August 2020 is the highest since 1926.
August 1926 recorded a rainfall of 34.8 cm exceeding normal by 33%, whereas August 2020 recorded 32.7 cm rainfall exceeding normal by 27%. Also, IMD has stated that in June’20 to 6th September’20, India had registered 7% more rainfall than what is normal for this period.

Notes:
A loan agreement for $82 million has been signed between the Government of India, the Government of Himachal Pradesh and the World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development).
The loan would be used for implementation of Himachal Pradesh State Roads Transformation Project. The world bank loan is given for a term of 15 years including a grace period of 5 years.

Notes:
India, Israel and the United States of America have begun collaboration in developmental areas.
These include development of a transparent, open, reliable and secure 5G communication network. This collaboration among the three countries is a result of people-to-people collaboration, particularly by Indian Diaspora in the US and Israel.

Notes:
The Hindustan Aeronautical Limited-HAL’s indigenously developed Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) has successfully demonstrated high altitude capability in hot and high weather conditions in the Himalayas.
The helicopter also demonstrated its payload capability in Siachen glacier. The Army version of LUH is to be presented for Initial Operational Clearance.

Notes:
The Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment, Thaawarchand Gehlot has recently released a book containing 33 Action Plans 2020-21 of all the schemes of the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment.
This is the first time that the Department has released comprehensive Annual Action Plan 2020-21. The aim is to provide specific targets for the Ministry, State Governments and NGOs.

Notes:
India and Japan have recently signed a key agreement for Reciprocal provision of supplies and services between their Defence forces.
Called as the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA), it facilitates smooth provision of supplies and services between Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and India’s armed forces. This agreement is expected to promote military cooperation and regional security.

Notes:
The US-based Aerospace and Defence company Northrop Grumman has named its spacecraft named after Kalpana Chawla, the first woman of Indian descent to go to space.
The company’s next space station resupply ship, which is a NG-14 Cygnus spacecraft has been named as ‘S.S. Kalpana Chawla’. The company has a tradition of naming each of its Cygnus ship after an individual achiever in Human spaceflight.

Notes:
The United States of America (USA) has recently revoked the Visas of more than 1,000 Chinese students and researchers.
The move is under the directions of the US President Donald Trump in May 2020. The proclamation is aimed at Chinese nationals who are suspected to have ties with Chinese military. In this regard, China has accused US of racial discrimination.