Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2023

Notes:
New Zealand’s new government will scrap the country’s world-leading law to ban smoking for future generations to help pay for tax cuts.
In 2022 the country passed pioneering legislation which introduced a steadily rising smoking age to stop those born after January 2009 from ever being able to legally buy cigarettes. The law was designed to prevent thousands of smoking-related deaths and save the health system billions of dollars.

Notes:
The National Water Mission of Ministry of Jal Shakti is organizing ‘Jal Itihas Utsav’ at Shamsi Talab, Jahaz Mahal situated in Delhi.
It aims to raise public consciousness about safeguarding water heritage sites, creating a sense of ownership among the masses as well as promote tourism and restoration of such heritage structures. The Ministry of Jal Shakti has successfully implemented the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’ 2023 with the theme “Source Sustainability for Drinking Water”.

Notes:
On December 1, 2023, R. Vaishali became India’s third female chess Grandmaster. She is also India’s 84th Grandmaster. Vaishali, 22, joined Koneru Humpy and D Harika as India’s female Grandmasters. Humpy was the first Indian woman to become a Grandmaster in 2002 at the age of 15. Harika received the title 12 years ago.

Notes:
The UK will deploy surveillance aircraft over Israel and Gaza to locate over 130 people still held hostage by Hamas since its October attack on Israel. At least 5 missing British nationals are feared captive amid rescued hostages. The unarmed Shadow R1 drones conduct intelligence gathering for UK forces. While the offensive has resumed after a temporary Gaza truce, the reconnaissance flights starting soon will solely focus on hostage recovery without any combat role. The visuals and data obtained on captives’ whereabouts will be shared with Israeli authorities coordinating rescue operations. The UK move follows similar US aerial scanning assistance to pinpoint Hamas hostage locations through unarmed drones.

Notes:
India has declined to sign on to a global renewable energy pledge launched at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. The pledge commits 118 nations to tripling installed renewable energy capacity globally by 2030. However, India opted out, along with China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran.
India remains committed to its own national renewable energy targets but could not agree to the terms of this specific pledge which could potentially hurt development priorities. India aims to have 50% non-fossil fuel installed electric capacity by 2030.

Notes:
A rare case of scrub typhus has been reported in Gujarat’s Narmada district, believed to be transmitted through insect bites. A 51-year-old tribal woman from Dediyapada, displaying symptoms like fever, swelling, headache, recovered after treatment at Surat hospital.
Doctors confirmed scrub typhus infection, which can be fatal without medical care. The disease is caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi bacteria from bites of larval mites or ‘chiggers’. Gujarat has prepared guidelines for tackling the disease that sees outbreaks after monsoons in UP, Bihar and Odisha. This first case has highlighted risks of neglecting flu-like symptoms after rural insect bites.

Notes:
The Indian Government cleared for submission the country’s Third National Communication (TNC) and Initial Adaptation Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The submission will fulfil India’s obligation to furnish information under the Convention and the Paris Agreement. In a press brief, key points were highlighted from the TNC, emphasising India’s commitment to addressing climate change, reducing emissions, and enhancing adaptive capacities. India currently has a 41 per cent share of clean power in terms of capacity, while India generated 73 per cent of its power from coal in 2022-23.

Notes:
Local villagers of Odisha have expressed fear of environmental degradation and loss of livelihood due to the proposed Sijimali Bauxite Mines by Vendanta Ltd.
The concerns were raised by the locals during the public hearing for the proposed mining area of 1,549 hectares. A large variety of flora and fauna will be endangered due to the proposed mining activity in the said project areas. The local tribal people fully depend on the Sijimali and Karlapat forest for their livelihood and fuelwood for cooking, which will be hampered drastically.

Notes:
‘JT-60SA’, the world’s largest and most advanced nuclear fusion reactor, started its official operations in Japan’s Ibaraki Prefecture.
JT-60SA is a joint initiative between the European Union and Japan. The JT-60SA reactor is a six-storey-high machine, which is kept in a hangar in Naka north of Tokyo. The experimental nuclear fusion reactor uses a new technology.

Notes:
The Central government has approved the first urban flood mitigation project of Rs 561.29 crore for ‘Integrated Urban Flood Management’ activities for the Chennai Basin project, as per Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
This is the first in a series of urban flood mitigation efforts and will help develop a broader framework for urban flood management.