Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2020

Notes:
Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh has recently passed away at the age of 64. He was undergoing treatment in hospital for the past few months.
Several political leaders condoled the death of Amar Singh. He was a businessman turned Politician who had acquaintances in all major parties. He was active in his social media account even during last week.

Notes:
India’s leading private sector bank Axis Bank is set to launch a an Artificial-Intelligence powered multilingual voice bot ‘AXAA’.
The bank has entered into a partnership with a Bengaluru start-up Vernacular.ai in this regard. The partnership aims to optimise AI-based voice solutions and automate customer interactions through human-like dialogues.

Notes:
Indian Government has recently extended a Line of Credit worth 18 million US dollars to the Government of Maldives.
LoC has been extended for expanding fishing facilities at Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO). This is a part of the Line of credit worth USD 800 million Line of credit offered by India to the country.

Notes:
Veteran Professor Pradeep Kumar Joshi has been appointed as the chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
PK Joshi, who is currently a member in the UPSC, had earlier served as the Chairperson of both Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commissions. He is to succeed Arvind Saxena whose term as the UPSC Chairman has ended.

Notes:
The multilateral military exercise named Kavkaz 2020 (Caucasus-2020) is to be held in Astrakhan, Southern Russia.
The strategic exercise also includes participants from many other countries including China and Pakistan and other member-states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Indian contingent includes 150 Army personnel and a small contingent from the Navy and Air Force.

Notes:
Mauritius has recently declared an ‘Environmental emergency’ after the Japanese-owned ship MV Wakashio was found spilling tons of fuel.
Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth announced the decision as the areas that were declared as ‘very sensitive’ were found as a dark layer in satellite images. The ship was carrying nearly 4,000 tons of fuel and it had suffered cracks.

Notes:
The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is set to open the country’s first Silk Training cum Production Center in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
A school building in the tribal village of Chullyu in the state has been modified into the training cum production center. KVIC will also conduct training of artisans and support the production of Eri Silk, an indigenous silk variety of the North Eastern states.

Notes:
The state government of Andhra Pradesh launched its Industrial Development Policy 2020-23. It seeks to provide best infrastructure, set-up, skilled labour and hand-holding support for units.
The policy aims to give an industry-friendly environment aligned with international standards. Some of the incentives include reimbursement of 100 % stamp duty, power reimbursement of Rs 1 per unit for five years, reimbursement of 100 % net SGST for five years, interest subsidy of 3 % for five years, among others.

Notes:
The Union Health ministry launched a tele-medicine service platform named ‘eSanjeevani’ under the Ayushman Bharat (AB-HWCs) programme.
During the nine months from its inception, the initiative has provided more than 1.5 lakh online consultations. It has provided patient to doctor consultations from the patient’s home and doctor to doctor consultations. More than 5000 tele consultations are being held every day.

Notes:
The Public Enterprises Selection Board has selected Soma Mondal as the next Chairperson of the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).
She will become the first woman chairperson of the public sector steel giant, if the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approves her appointment. She will also become the first woman to lead a steel company, in the world. The present Chairman Anil Chaudhary is to superannuate this year.