Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2018

Notes:
The armies of India and China has started the 7th edition of joint military exercise ‘Hand-in-Hand 2018’ from Dec 11-23 at Chengdu in China. The purpose of the joint military drill is to improve the capabilities of the two armies in fighting terrorism and promote mutual understanding. Both sides have fielded 100 personnel to take part in the exercise that focusses on tactical level operations in an International Counter Insurgency/Counter Terrorist environment as per UN mandate. The drills are being held after a gap of one year as they could not be held in 2017 because both armies were locked in a 73-day standoff at Doklam in the Sikkim sector.

Notes:
As per Article-316 of the Constitution, the Chairman and other members of UPSC shall be appointed by the President. In case the office of the Chairman becomes vacant his duties shall be performed by one of the other members of the Commission as the President may appoint for the purpose. A member of a UPSC shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier. Recently, Bharat Bhushan Vyas took the Oath of Office and Secrecy as Member of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). He will have a term of nearly three years, when he attains the age of 65. Prior to this post, he was serving as Adviser to the Governor of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K).

Notes:
On December 12, Japan picked the Chinese character “disaster” to define the year 2018, a year that saw deadly floods, strong earthquakes and heavy storms. The selection came after Japan was buffeted this year by torrential rains in the country’s west and an large earthquake in Hokkaido, heightening public awareness of the importance of disaster prevention measures. Japan was also rocked by man-made calamities such as stolen cryptocurrencies and the uncovering of harassment by coaches in the athletic world. The competition is rum by every year by the Kyoto-based Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation since 1995. The Chinese characters (or Kanji) are used widely in Japanese as well as other alphabets. Earlier, “North” won in 2017 after North Korea’s missile launches, and “gold” in 2016 after the Rio Olympics.

Notes:
The Vijay Diwas is commemorated every year on 16th of December to mark India’s victory over Pakistan in 1971 during the war for the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan. The end of war resulted in unilateral & unconditional surrender of Pakistani Army. On this day in 1971, the chief of the Pakistani forces, General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, along with 93,000 troops, surrendered to the allied forces consists of Indian Army and Mukti Bahini, led by Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora in Dhaka after their defeat in the Liberation War. The end of the war also resulted in subsequent secession of East Pakistan into Bangladesh. The anniversary of Vijay Divas is observed across India by paying tributes to the martyrs who laid down their lives for the nation.

Notes:
Catriona Elisa Gray from Philippines has been crowned at the 67th Miss Universe 2018 at a gala ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand on December 17. She was crowned by Miss Universe 2017 Demi Leigh Nel-Peters, who comes from South Africa. She is the fourth Filipina Miss Universe, after Gloria Diaz in 1969, Margie Moran in 1973 and Pia Wurtzbach in 2015. She beated contestants from 93 other countries to claim the prize. In it, Tamaryn Green from South Africa was named the first runner-up while Miss Venezuela Sthefany Gutierrez stood third.

Notes:
In Hockey, Belgium has claimed their first ever World Cup title. They defeated Netherlands 3-2 in a dramatic shoot-out in the final of the 14th edition of Men’s World Cup 2018 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on December 16. Both the teams, goalless at full time, were at level 2-2 after five penalties. Belgium has won the trophy after 16 years. Earlier, the defending champions Australia secured a consolation bronze medal after mauling England 8-1.

Notes:
India’s first military flight using blended bio-jet fuel has been successfully flown by Indian Air Force (IAF) through an AN-32 transport aircraft in Chandigarh. Bio-jet fuel is made from Jatropha oil sourced from the Chattisgarh Biodiesel Development Authority and processed at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun. The project is a combined effort of IAF, DRDO, Directorate General Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA) and CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum. Now, IAF intends to fly the An-32 transport aircraft using biojet fuel on 26th January 2019 in the Republic Day flypast.

Notes:
Madhavi Goradia Divan has been appointed as new Additional Solicitor General of India (ASGI) in Supreme Court (SC). With this, she became only the third woman to become an ASG in the Apex Court. Her appointment has been approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet(ACC) and she will hold office till June 30, 2020. Prior to her, Senior advocate Indira Jaising was the first woman to be appointed as the ASG, while the second one was Pinky Anand, who still holds the post.

Notes:
The Department of Posts (DoP) has recently released the commemorative Postage Stamp on Rajkumar Shukla, who was associated with Champaran Satyagraha of 1917. In drawing the attention of Mahatma Gandhi to the plight of peasants suffering under an oppressive system established by European indigo planters in Champaran (Bihar), Rajkumar Shukla made a seminal contribution culminating in the launch of the Champaran Satyagraha in 1917 by Mahatma Gandhi ji. This struggle was a turning point in India’s fight for independence. The DoP has been paying a tribute to eminent personalities who have made a significant contribution to public life especially freedom fighters. With this stamp, the Department has released 43 issues in the current calendar year.

Notes:
The European Union (EU) has decided to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from new cars and vans by 2030 despite industry concerns the targets are for now “totally unrealistic”. The targets will require new cars sold in 2030 to emit 37.5% less Co2 on average compared to 2021 levels. Emissions from new vans will have to be 31% lower. Ambassadors from EU countries are expected to endorse the deal in Brussels on 19th December 2018 after the COP24 summit in Poland aimed at breathing new life into the 2015 Paris climate deal. The new law means by 2030 around a third of new cars will be electric or hydrogen-powered. Under the COP21 agreement in Paris, the EU pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions (like those of carbon dioxide and methane) by 40% of 1990 levels by 2030.