Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2023

Notes:
The Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) recently chaired an online session in from India, during the World Water Week. The session was titled ‘Peer Networking for Integrated River Basin Planning and Management’ having a discussion on the adoption of the river basin management approach.
The World Water Week 2023 (from 20-24 August 2023) is an annual event held online and at Stockholm (Sweden) with the theme ‘Seeds of Change: Innovative Solutions for a Water-Wise World’.

Notes:
The country’s first indigenous e-Tractor Prima ET11 has been developed by the CSIR’s Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI), Durgapur.
The machine was launched by the Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh. Dr. Jitendra Singh unveiled a book by the CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) and a compendium showcasing 75 technologies developed by CSIR.

Notes:
The Pragyan rover of the Chandrayaan 3 mission, is embedded within the Vikram lander. After the soft landing of the Vikram lander, the Pragyan rover has begun its investigation begun its investigative.
The mission cycle is 14 days, equivalent to one lunar day and the Pragyan will embark on a series of pioneering experiments designed conduct experiments like analysing the Moon’s chemical composition, scrutinizing its soil and rocks etc.

Notes:
India and the ASEAN countries reached an agreement to review their free trade pact for goods and set a 2025 timeline for concluding the review to address the asymmetry in bilateral trade.
The decision came at a meeting of economic ministers from the two sides in Indonesia. The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) was signed in 2009.

Notes:
The African Union suspended Niger from all its institutions and activities “until the effective restoration of constitutional order” following last month’s coup.
The Executive Council of the 55-nation bloc made the decision after the soldiers overthrew Niger’s democratically elected president almost four weeks ago and placed themselves in power. President Mohamed Bazoum and his family have been kept under house arrest in the capital, Niamey.

Notes:
The 14th Joint Group of Customs (JGC) meeting between India and Bangladesh was held in New Delhi on 21st and 22nd August. During the meeting, India and Bangladesh reaffirmed their commitment to bolstering customs cooperation and streamlining cross-border trade
A set of bilateral issues like opening of new land customs stations, easing port restrictions, development of road and rail infrastructure and pre-arrival exchange of customs data were deliberated during the event.

Notes:
Tata AutoComp has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Skoda Group, a leading European manufacturer of components and vehicles for public transport.
The agreement sets the framework for a strategic joint venture aimed at producing components for the growing Indian railway and public mobility market.

Notes:
National Association of Software Services Companies (Nasscom) launched the Talent Connect portal. This portal will bridge the gap between recruiters and digitally skilled and certified candidates.
The portal, which has been in work for the last one-and-a-half year already has 100,000 candidates and has seen corporates such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tech Mahindra and Salesforce recruiting from it.

Notes:
The Embassy of India in Bahrain launched a mobile application, EoIBh-Connect, designed to facilitate online appointment booking for a spectrum of consular and visa services, accessible through both the Indian Embassy at Manama, Bahrain.
The app has swiftly broadened its capabilities, now enabling users to conveniently schedule appointments with IVS Global.

Notes:
ISRO released a graph of the temperature variation on the lunar surface. The 70 degree centigrade recorded is higher than what was expected.
The Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) payload onboard Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander measured the temperature profile of the lunar topsoil around the pole. ChaSTE payload was developed by a team led by the Space Physics Laboratory (SPL) of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in collaboration with Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad.