Current Affairs Quiz-December, 2019

Notes:
Particles, the French-Swiss film directed by Blaise Harrison won the Golden Peacock Award at the 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. The IFFI 2019 concluded on November 28, 2019. The Golden Peacock Award includes a cash prize worth Rs 40 lakh, a trophy and a citation. The jury described ‘Particles’, which is produced by Estelle Fialon, as an “ambitious yet modest film about the mysteries of being a teenager.” The prize money is to be distributed equally between the director and producer.

Notes:
On November 28, 2019 Aditya Birla Finance became the first company to list its commercial papers borrowing of Rs 100 crore on the Indian stock exchanges. The non-banking finance company (NBFC) listed its CPs on NSE with a value date of November 28, 2019 and maturity date on February 7, 2020.

Notes:
Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) and Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to organise ‘National Organic Festival of Women Entrepreneurs’. The event will be planned and organized through National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM), Sonepat, Haryana. NIFTEM Vice Chancellor has agreed to organize festival annually. NIFTEM is an academic institution under the administrative control of Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries.

Notes:
The government is to organize a two-day Conference on Ek Bharat Shreshta Bharat form 30 November- 1 December 2019 at Jammu. It will be inaugurated by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent charge) of the Ministry of DONER, Minister of State for PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions; Atomic Energy & Space along with Shri G.C. Murmu, Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, Shri R.B. Udhayakumar, Minister for Revenue & Disaster Management, Government of Tamil Nadu and Shri R.K. Mathur Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Ladakh.

Notes:
Renowened theatre artiste of Odisha, Paramananda Sahu (72) has passed away in Balasore  on 30th of November . He had directed and acted in more than a hundred dramas, besides being an artiste in All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan.

Notes:
Bestselling author Ashwin Sanghi will come out with his next book, “The Vault of Vishnu”, on January 23, 2020, announced publishing house Westland. The book, which will be the sixth installment of the author’s famous mythological ‘Bharat series’, will be released at the upcoming Jaipur Literature festival (JLF). Setting a fictional timeline of mythological events, Sanghi said, the new book will also be a “combination of history, mythology, culture, philosophy, geology, and science”.

Notes:
Lionel Messi claimed a record sixth men’s Ballon d’Or award on December 2, beating Liverpool’s four leading nominees to claim soccer’s most prestigious individual trophy. He beat Virgil van Dijk, the runner-up, and third-placed Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, who has won the award five times. Senegal’s Sadio Mane, who with Van Dijk and fellow nominees Alisson Becker of Brazil and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah, helped Liverpool win the Champions League, was fourth in the poll of international journalists.

Notes:
The Mumbai Central Terminus of Western Railway has been certified as India’s first ‘Eat Right Station’ with a 4-Star rating awarded by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), as a part of ‘Eat Right India’ movement launched in 2018. FSSAI is an autonomous body under Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW).
The honour came on basis of compliance of food safety and hygiene, food handling at preparation, promotion of local and seasonal foods, trans-shipment and retail or serving points, food waste management, availability of healthy diet, as well as creating awareness on food safety and a healthy diet.

Notes:
Joker star Joaquin Phoenix has been named by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals as its 2019 Person of the Year. A vegan since the age of 3, Phoenix, a usually interview-averse Hollywood actor, has been a longtime supporter of the animal rights organization.

Notes:
The 14 million litres per day (MLD) Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) Sarai in Haridwar, Uttarakhand started its functioning on 5 December 2019. The plant was completed before its scheduled timeline. It was inaugurated by their Majesties, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden. The Sarai 14 MLD Sewage Treatment Plant is the first STP that was completed under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) based Public-Private Partnership Model. The cost of the project was Rs.41.40 crores. The Plant is based on an advanced aerobic biological process which is capable of removing the nutrients during treatment.