Current Affairs Quiz-December, 2019

Notes:
Researchers from the National Astronomical Observatory of China have discovered a black hole in the Milky Way. The black hole is so huge that it challenged the existing models of the evolution of stars. The black hole was discovered by an international team of scientists using China’s sophisticated Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) telescope. The black hole, LB-1, is located 15,000 light-years away from Earth.

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:
India will set up 12 hi-tech parks in Bangladesh at a cost of $193 million.Speaking at a business meeting in Rangpur organised by the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry, High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das said that these hi-tech parks will provide training to 30,000 youth of Bangladesh as skilled IT professionals. Responding to the issue of the trade imbalance between the two countries, Riva Ganguly Das said that diversification of the product basket of Bangladesh will help reduce the gap by increasing exports to India.

Notes:
The Indigenous Faith Day (IFD) 2019 was celebrated in Tezu, Arunachal Pradesh. The Day aims to preserve the rich culture and identity of the State. The function was presided by Tezu legislator Karikho Kri. The programme was organized by the Indigenous Faith and Cultural Society of Arunachal Pradesh (IFCSAP) of Tezu. The tribes of the district showcased their cultures in a colourful programme.

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:
India has successfully conducted another night trial of its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-2 missile from a mobile launcher of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha coast. The successful test fires were part of a routine user trial for armed forces and met all parameters. Earlier, the flight test of surface-to-surface missile was carried out barely a 15 days after two back-to-back trials of Prithvi-2 were conducted successfully at night from same base on 20 November.
It is a tactical surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) with a strike range of 350 kilometres and is capable of carrying 500-1,000 kilograms of warheads. The state-of-the-art missile is powered by liquid propulsion twin engines and uses an advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target.

Notes:
The Himachal Pradesh State Cabinet approved to sign the memorandum of understanding (MoU) to sell the water of River Yamuna from Maharashtra’s share at Tajewala corridor. The Cabinet meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur. With this decision, the State would earn Rs.21 crore per annum.
The Yamuna is the longest tributary in India. It originates from the Yamunotri Glacier. It is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges. The rivers cross several states namely Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.

Notes:
In 1996 the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed that 7 December was to be the International Civil Aviation Day. The day has been celebrated by the International Civil Aviation Organization since 7 December 1994, the 50th anniversary of the signing the Convention on International Civil Aviation. The purpose of the day is to recognize the importance of aviation, especially international air travel, to the social and economic development of the world.

Notes:
Punjab State government partnered with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to design a Public-Private pilot on shared, clean and electric mobility. The move aims to combat the growing problem of environmental pollution in the state. The state is preparing its own EV policy to support the adoption of e-vehicles. WEF chose Punjab, as it is well-positioned for shared EV transition. WEF has already housed an existing auto component manufacturing base, besides having skilled labour and being a power surplus.

Notes:
The University of Mysore Academic Council has approved setting up of a separate department for disability and rehabilitation studies in its campus at Manasagangotri. Vice-Chancellor G Hemantha Kumar, said that the new department would come into effect from the next academic year. The University Syndicate had approved the proposal in August this year.