Current Affairs Quiz -20th August, 2018 - Current Affairs MCQ

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj inaugurates Panini Language Laboratory In Mauritius. The lab is gifted by the Indian government and will help MGI in teaching Indian languages in Mauritius. Education Minister of Mauritius Leela Devi Dookun and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

Walmart and Flipkart announced the completion of the $16-billion deal. Walmart now holds 77 per cent stake in the Indian firm. Walmart will appoint five members to the eight-member board of Flipkartout of which 2 will be independent directors, Initially, Steuart Walton, Judith McKenna and Dirk Van den Berghe, regional CEO of Walmart Canada and Asia, will join the Flipkart board. $16 billion investment includes a $2 billion of new equity funding to help accelerate the growth of the Flipkart business.

August 19 is celebrated as World photography day. It is celebrated in order to inspire photographers to share their work and to celebrate the art of photography. The birth of this day dates back to 1839 in France, but it came in to force in 2009.

Delhi government's additional director of health S K Arora has been awarded the prestigious WHO World No Tobacco Day 2017 Award for his extraordinary contribution towards tobacco control. Tobacco prevalence in Delhi has come down by 6.5% in the past six years. The National Health Policy 2017 has set targets of relative reduction in tobacco prevalence by 15% by 2020 and 30% by 2025.

The Central Government launched the 'Digital Northeast Vision Document 2022' in Guwahati. North East Indian region has become the newest member of the Centre's flagship programme 'Digital India' initiative. 'Digital Northeast India Vision 2022' envisages in implementing the initiative throughout the North East through optimum utilization of information, communication, and technology.

The United States government has awarded the Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) to General Dalbir Singh Suhag (Retired), of the Indian Army, for exceptionally meritorious service as chief of the Army staff, Indian Army. The award was presented to General Suhag at Pentagon, Washington DC, in the presence of his family members and the Indian Military Attache to the United States of America.

British director Steve McQueen will receive BAFTA's John Schlesinger Britannia Award. McQueen, who won an Oscar for 12 Years a Slave, would be this year's recipient of the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for excellence in directing. The award's previous recipients include Danny Boyle, Christopher Nolan, and Quentin Tarantino.

August 19th is annually observed as World Humanitarian Day 2018. It is observed to pay tribute to aid workers who risk their lives for humanitarian services. The theme for the 2018 World Humanitarian Day is : #NotATarget. The day was designated by the UN General Assembly to commemorate the 19 August 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq.

Bajrang Punia won gold in the final of the 65kg freestyle wrestling competition at the Asian Games 2018. He defeated Japan's Daichi Takatani with a scoreline of 11-8. He became the winner of India's 140th Asiad gold. Punia is the sole torch-bearer of Indian wrestling. Punia said that he has fixed his eyes on bigger targets, the first of which would be the World Championships in October, with an Olympic quota at stake. He also said he dedicates his win to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan to have 3 awards after former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The first award will be given for poets (as former PM was also a poet). The second award will be for the outstanding contribution in the field of journalism. And the third award would be for good work in administration.

The IIT Kharagpur has decided to set up a Re-Water Research Center to replenish and rejuvenate water resources. It will be seed-funded by two alumni members - Aneesh Reddy & Aditya Choubey. The purpose of the 'Aditya Choubey Center for Re-Water Research' is to tackle the challenge of resolving two burning issues faced by urban India - sewage disposal and access to clean potable water. The institute will set up an on-campus plant which will convert 1.35 million litre of sewage water from the hostels to 1.2 million litre of potable water, on a daily basis. The project is being developed to attract potential entrepreneurs and government agencies to take up sewage treatment at a large scale and with a business model for banks to gain confidence in funding such businesses.

Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, has announced the creation of the Iran Action Group (IAG). IAG is a dedicated group to coordinate and run the US's policy towards Iran following President Donald Trump's unilateral withdrawal from a multinational nuclear deal with Tehran. Brian Hook, the Department of State's director of policy planning, has been appointed as its head.

Apurvi Chandela and Ravi Kumar won bronze in 10m Air Rifle mixed Team Shooting event in Asian Games 2018, Indonesia. The team scored 429.9. It was a maiden Asian Games medal for Apurvi. Chinese Taipei's Yingshin Lin and Shaochuan Lu won the gold by scoring 494.1. The silver was won by Chinese pair Ruozhu Zhao and Haoran Yang who scored 492.5. Korea and Mongolia finished fourth and fifth respectively in the event held for the first time at the Games.

IT major Infosys said its Chief Financial Officer M D Ranganath has resigned from the company. Ranganath will continue in his current position till November 16, 2018. Ranganath had taken over the said role after the then CFO Rajiv Bansal had quit in 2015. Ranganath has worked at Infosys for 18 years.

Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) has become the first public sector enterprise to make a transaction on the "TReDS platform". TReDS is an online electronic institutional mechanism for facilitating the financing of trade receivables of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) through multiple financiers. In 2017, the government mandated all major PSUs to join TReDS platform.

Subhash Sheoratan Mundra has been appointed as Independent Director on the Board of Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd (IBHFL) for a period of three years. The former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and senior banker is not replacing an existing member on the Board. Mundra, a Post-Graduate from the University of Poona, used to be the Chairman of Bank of Baroda and an Executive Director at Union Bank of India. He left the RBI in July 2017.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) signed an agreement for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to host the prestigious Asia Cup. The Asia Cup 2018 will have cricket teams from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The tournament will be held from September 15 to September 28 in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.