Only four states --- Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh --- have confirmed that they are following the provision of the Motor Vehicle Act and notification issued to ensure the appropriate electronic enforcement devices on national highways at high-risk and high-density corridors.

According to the road transport and highways ministry, union territories Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) have also given confirmation in this regard.

August 2021 notification issued by the ministry for electronic monitoring and enforcement of road safety mandates that the state government will ensure that appropriate electronic enforcement devices are placed at high risk and high-density corridors on National Highways. The ministry has also issued an advisory to all states in January 2020 regarding implementation of the said provisions.

China on Aug 10 reaffirmed its threat to use military force to bring self-governing Taiwan under its control, amid threatening Chinese military exercises that have raised tensions between the sides to their highest level in years.

The statement issued by the Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office and its news department followed almost a week of missile firings and incursions into Taiwanese waters and airspace by Chinese warships and air force planes.

The actions have disrupted flights and shipping in a region crucial to global supply chains, prompting strong condemnation from the U.S., Japan and others.

Taiwan split with the mainland amid civil war in 1949 and the island's 23 million people overwhelmingly oppose political unification with China, while preferring to maintain close economic links and the status quo of de-facto independence.

Taiwan is a crucial provider of computer chips for the global economy, including China’s high-tech sectors.

Top Republican leaders flung their support behind former US president Donald Trump on  Aug 9 after an extraordinary FBI raid on his palatial Florida residence sparked a political firestorm in an already bitterly divided country.

The FBI move marked a stunning escalation of legal probes into the 45th president and comes as he is weighing another White House run.

Several former advisors to the 76-year-old Trump urged him to immediately confirm that he would be a presidential candidate in 2024.

He denounced the FBI raid as a "weaponization of the Justice System" by "Radical Left Democrats who desperately don't want me to run for President in 2024."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is led by Christopher Wray, a Trump appointee, declined to provide a reason for the raid.

Sri Lanka's state-run electricity monopoly will raise tariffs by a stinging 264 per cent for people consuming the least, it announced on Aug 9 , while higher users will face a smaller increase.

The loss-making Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) said the regulator had allowed it to carry out the sharp increases, the first in nine years, from  Aug 10 to recoup part of its accumulated losses of $616 million.

The CEB had asked for a bigger tariff increase of over 800 per cent, but the regulator capped it at a maximum of 264 per cent .

Microsoft on Aug 9 joined the government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to introduce social e-commerce in the Indian market. It is the first big technology company to do so.

The tech major also plans to launch a shopping app in the country that will allow buyers to discover the best price offered by retailers and sellers. The app would be available on the ONDC network.

The Open Network for Digital Commerce aims at democratising the Indian e-commerce landscape, creating a level-playing field for all players.

There are over 4,000 small and big e-commerce companies in India, 500 logistics companies that deliver goods from the portals to customers, and more than 20,000 companies that provide services through e-commerce including travel, hotels, etc.

The companies that have joined ONDC include delivery start-up Dunzo for Business (D4B), Go Frugal, Paytm, Digit, PhonePe and Loadshare. E-commerce platform Snapdeal will also debut on ONDC this month.

Snapdeal will launch three main product categories on ONDC this August comprising fashion, home, and beauty and personal care, it had earlier said. According to a recent report by the Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the Indian e-commerce sector is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.24% from $46.20 billion in 2020 to $111.40 billion by 2025.

Lanka IOC (a wholly owned subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation Limited) will soon be inviting bids for the 50 new retail fuel outlets they have been invited to open by the Sri Lankan government.

The Ministry of Power and Energy has announced that Lanka IOC has been granted permission to open 50 new fuel stations islandwide. LIOC at present has 211 outlets.

LIOC was the only retailer of fuel in Sri Lanka selling fuel even during peak of the crisis during late June when the country was facing protests, forcing the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country.

In July, continuing their effort to reach out to ensure uninterrupted supply of fuel to essential services like healthcare, LIOC had announced a preferential prioritised fuelling of 209 ambulances from their shed across the country to ensure timely medical assistance.

As Ukraine’s national anthem echoed around the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium late on  Aug 9 night, it was quite hard not to get lost in the moment. Even in peacetime, their anthem is very powerful.

After the invasion of Russia, it has attained greater meaning.

. That the Ukraine women’s team occupied the top spot in the podium was in itself a miracle because like many people who call Ukraine their home, the players themselves have suffered untold trauma and devastation.

Take for instance, Anna Ushenina. Playing third board for the team, the undefeated 36-year-old won an individual silver apart from a team gold. She doesn’t even know if she can go back to show her medal to her friends, some of whom are still in Kharkiv, a city that’s very close to Russia.

When the team assembled in Chennai in July for the Olympiad, what worked for them was that a few of them had managed to get some sort of preparation going, amid the invasion. They also had prior history of winning big tournaments. Ushenina herself is the former winner of the Women’s World Championship in 2012.

Apart from her, they also had in their ranks the famed Muzychuk sisters, Anna and Mariya. While the latter became women’s champion in 2015, Anna has won several world titles in the shorter formats. Both of them are GMs, with ratings above 2520. It made Ukraine strong contender to finish on the podium places.

Their team, in fact, was one of the few sides that had three GMs in the women’s line-up. They also had a very strong fourth board, Nataliya Buksa. On  Aug 9 , all of them contributed to beat Poland 3-1 to take the title from under India’s noses.

Q1. The Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar was on  Aug 10 sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar for a record

1. Sixth time
2. Seventh time
3. Eighth time
4. Ninth time
5. None of These

Q2. Name the Shiromani Akali Dal leader who has been granted bail by the  Punjab and Haryana High Court on  Aug 10 in a drugs case?

1. Parkash Singh Badal
2. Sukhbir Singh Badal
3. Harsimrat Kaur Badal
4. Bikram Singh Majithia
5. None of These

Q3. Name the accused of Bhima Koregaon case who has been granted regular bail by the  Supreme Court on medical grounds ?

1. P. Varavara Rao
2. Sudha Bharadwaj
3. Arun Ferreira
4. Gautam Navlakha
5. None of These

Q4. How many states have confirmed that they are following the provision of the Motor Vehicle Act and notification issued to ensure the appropriate electronic enforcement devices on national highways at high-risk and high-density corridors  ?

1. Two
2. Four
3. Six
4. Eight
5. None of These

Q5. Which of the IT major has  joined the government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to introduce social e-commerce in the Indian market  ?

1. Wipro
2. Tata Consultancy Services
3. Microsoft
4. Infosys
5. None of These

Answers

1-----------------3   Eighth time

2------------------4 Bikram Singh Majithia

3-------------------1 P. Varavara Rao

4--------------------2 Four

·         These  four states  are --- Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh

5-----------------------3    Microsoft