Test : August 2019 Weekly Current Affair - 3" - Current Affairs MCQ

On August 6, 2019, Rajya Sabha passed the National Institute of Design (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which seeks to declare the 4 National Institutes of Design (NID) in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Haryana as institutions of national importance. It amends the National Institute of Design Act, 2014.

The Environment Ministry, unveiled the draft Environment and Social Management Framework(ESMF) funded by the World Bank (WB) for integrated coastal management. It lays out guidelines for the coastal states to adopt and approve and regulate infrastructure projects in the coastal zones before applying for clearance.

According to Ethnologue, a directory of languages which lists 7,111 living languages (languages that are still being used and spoken by people) worldwide, Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea, Country in Oceania tops the list with 840 living languages.

On August 8, 2019, Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $200 million loan for improving road infrastructure in 34 districts of Maharashtra to connect rural areas with markets and services. The total cost of the project is $296 million. The government will provide $96 million.

On August 8, 2019, The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, Government of India has extended the tenure of State Bank of India(SBI) Managing Director (MD)Dinesh Kumar Khara by another 2 years with effect from August 9, 2019, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal announced that India’s first underwater train project is set to launch in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is a 16-kilometer long Kolkata Metro project.

The drive Samagra Siksha – Jal Suraksha which aims to create awareness among school children about water conservation was launched by Union Minister of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Dept. of School Education & Literacy, to make them conscientious and committed water citizens of the nation.

India and Pakistan will be participating in the upcoming major military exercise “Tsentr (centre) 2019” under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), to be held from tentatively scheduled period of September 10-21. All the members of SCO will be participating in the exercise. The decision to hold the exercise was announced at the 34th SCO Regional Anti- Terrorist Structure council held earlier this year in Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan. SCO members – China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, and Pakistan.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gave the status to Jana Small Finance Bank to operate as a Scheduled Bank Establishment and branches: The bank was established in the year 2009. Currently, it operates 260 branches and 338 asset centres with over 5.5million customers. Bank’s aim: To provide financial inclusion to underserved sections of society, like small business units, small and marginal farmers, micro and small industries.

On August 9, 2019, The annual National Film Awards 2019 were announced by by jury heads Rahul Rawail, AS Kanal and Utpal Bhorpujari. It was the 66th Edition.Ayushmann Khurrana (Andhadhun), Vicky Kaushal (Uri: the Surgical Strike) won the Best Actor(Male).

On August 8, 2019, The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh approved the procurement of indigenous Software Defined Radio (SDR Tactical) worth Rs 1,100 crore and Next-Generation Maritime Mobile Coastal Batteries (NGMMCB, Long Range) for the Indian Navy worth Rs 1,247 crore.

This year’s national sports awards to athletes and coaches will be decided by a 12 member panel. This panel features 6-time world boxing champion M.C. Mary Kom and former Indian football team captain Bhaichung Bhutia. The national sports awards are to be given on National Sports Day falling on August 29, which marks the birth anniversary of legendary hockey player Major Dhyan Chand. Head of committee: The committee is headed by retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice Mukundakam Sharma.

The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 is based on the recommendations of the Group of Transport Ministers (GoM) headed by the then Transport Minister of Rajasthan, Shri. Yoonus Khan.

Business-Business payments startup company EnKash launched the country’s first corporate credit card called ‘Freedom Card’ for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This card provides the freedom to avail credit facility for immediate needs and to manage liquidity of startups. To enhance the experience, banks are currently offering credit cards and EnKash partners.Enkash: It has come up with a corporate card to look into to the varied billing cycles as per the working capital cycles of different businesses.

To mark the 77th anniversary of Quit India movement, Uttar Pradesh(UP) chief minister(CM) Yogi Adityanath has launched the a mega greenery plantation drive called “Vriksharopan Mahakumbh”,which now sets a world record by planting over 22 crore saplings in a day. The state also entered the Guinness World Records’ for distributing 76,823 saplings simultaneously in six hours across the state.

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, decided to provide Rotavirus vaccine (RVV) to children across all states and Union Territories (UT) by September 2019 inorder to achieve the goal of ending morbidity and mortality in children due to diarrhoea by 2022.

9, Ahead of the Independence day celebrations(15 August,2019), thousands of people including those belonging to 35 social organizations across the state, and students from various schools unfurled a 15-km long national flag by forming a human chain from Amapara Chowk to Pt Ravishankar Shukla University in Raipur ,Chhattisgarh. As per the public relations department of Chattisgarh state government, the event, organized by Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam Foundation, entered the Champions Book of World Records for the longest tricolor.

Former director of the National Institute of Immunology (NII), Delhi, Ms Chandrima Shaha (66) is all set to become the first woman president of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) from January 1, 2020. She will succeed Ajay K. Sood. She was the vice-captain of West Bengal’s first women’s cricket team and also the first woman cricket commentator for All India Radio (AIR).

On August 9, 2019, India’s first-of-its-kind clinical ecotoxicology facility was inaugurated at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi. It will investigate the increasing number of diseases resulting from exposure to environmental toxins contaminating water, food, and air. It will provide diagnostic and research services to all the clinical departments dealing with diseases due to ecotoxicity.

Rafael Nadal won the Men’s Singles title in the 2019 Rogers Cup.

The govt. has made a significant move on safety measures by making it mandatory for children above 4 years of age to wear a headgear of prescribed standards. This safety measures for the children has been included in the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) act 2019 which was passed by the government recently. Violators will be fined an amount of Rs.1000.

Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Piyush Goyal led a high-power delegation to explore the opportunities for enhancing trade and investment from India to the Far East region of Russia at Vladivostok, Russia from August 11-13, 2019.

A newly discovered Kajin Sara lake in Manang district of Nepal is all set to record the world’s highest lake. It will replace the Tilicho lake, which is the current world’s highest lake situated at an altitude of 4,919 metres in Nepal(also in Manang) measures 4 km long, 1.2 km wide and around 200 metres deep. The lake called Singar locally, located at an altitude of 5,200 metres. But this measurement is yet to be officially verified. It is estimated to be 1,500-metre-long and 600-meter-wide.

On August 11, 2019, Indian multinational, public sector bank, Bank of Baroda (BoB) has linked its home loan product to RBI’s (Reserve Bank of India (RBI)repo rate after State Bank of India (SBI). With this, home loans at BOB will be available at repo rate linked interest rate starting at 8.35%, thus passing on the further benefit of 10 basis points to the present MCLR rated pricing.Presently, the MCLR linked home loan product is available starting at 8.45%, which had come into effect on 7th August 2019 after the MCLR was reduced by 15 basis points(bps).

On August 13, 2019, The government of France conferred the Indian Chef Priyam Chatterjee(30) with ‘Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mrite Agricoleto’ (Order of Agricultural Merit) in New Delhi. With this distinction, Chatterjee becomes the 1st Indian from Kolkata (West Bengal) to receive this honour, in recognition of his great contribution towards reinventing the gastronomic scene in India. French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler conferred Indian chef Chatterjee, who is currently the head chef at Jaan Restaurant Yacht in France, before that he was the head chef of Rooh, and Qla, in Mehrauli(France).