Current Affairs Quiz-December, 2019

Notes:
India and Sweden has joined hands to set up a healthcare innovation centre to promote research, broadly in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and help scale-up Indian start-ups in the sector. Later, AIIMS, Delhi; AIIMS, Jodhpur, and Swedish Trade Commissioner’s Office in New Delhi signed a Memorandum of Intent (MoI) to cement cooperation, to set up a healthcare innovation centre. The signing of MoI marks 10 years of India-Sweden health cooperation.

Notes:
The world’s best loved species are being slaughtered by widespread and dangerous criminal networks. On December 4, 2012, the first time that World Wildlife Conservation Day was officially recognized around the world and calls on individuals around the globe to sign its Wildlife Pledge to respect and protect wild animals.

Notes:
Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment conferred Uttar Pradesh with the National Award of Excellence for doing a commendable job in the field of rehabilitation of persons with disabilities (Divyangjan). Uttar Pradesh also received the award for the best state in the implementation of Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan. The department’s website also received the award as the best portal for being disabled-friendly while Varanasi has been awarded for offering the best rehabilitation services among the districts.

Notes:
ISRO has planned to launch sharp-eyed surveillance satellite RISAT-2BR1 (Radar Imaging Satellite-2) with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) on 11 December 2019. RISAT-2BR1 is a radar imaging satellite. It is dubbed as a spy satellite.  It can take pictures of the earth during day and night even under cloudy conditions.  The satellites will help 24/7 border surveillance along with checking infiltration. It will keep an eye on terror or anti-national activities across the borders

Notes:
Aiming to control the human-elephant conflicts, the Assam government launched Anti-Depedration Squads of the state forest department which would be stationed at 15 major human-wildlife conflict districts in order to mitigate the problem and to ensure safety of both humans and wildlife. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched 15 Anti-Depredation Squads during a programme held in state capital Guwahati. The state forest department engaged specially trained 50 frontline staff to handle conflict situations.

Notes:
The Siu-Ka-Pha Award was presented to noted educationist, Botanist and folklore researcher Dr. Padmeswar Gogoi. It was presented at a programme held at Siu-Ka-Pha Samannay Kshetra in Golaghat. The award recognized his effort and contribution in the field of botany and science.
The inaugural edition of the award carried a citation, a memento, a cheleng chador and Rs.10,000. It was presented by Golaghat Deputy Commissioner Dhiren Hazarika. Gogoi donated the cash amount that was presented to him to the organizing committee to spend on activities that are done in order to promote the ideals of Chaolung Siu-Ka-Pha.

Notes:
Abu Dhabi is selected as the world’s leading Sports tourism Destination for the seventh consecutive time. The decision was made at the 26th edition of the World Travel Awards (WTA) that is being held in Muscat, Oman. Abu Dhabi stands as a premium destination for sports tourism in 2019. It hosted some of the world’s top sporting events, such as the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Club World Cup 2017 and 2018, the AFC Asian Cup 2019, the Special Olympics World Games 2019, the 1st edition of the UAE Tour, and the Brazil vs South Korea international friendly match.

Notes:
To ensure the benefits of FASTag beyond tolling, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has launched a pilot project for using FASTags for parking purposes at Hyderabad Airport. Conceptualised as FASTag 2.0, the tag would cover parking payments, fuel payments, etc. After the success of project in Hyderabad, it will be launched at Delhi airport.

Notes:
The Reunion Islands is an island of France in the Indian Ocean. It was discovered in 16th century by the Portuguese. France has bases in Reunion Islands, Djibouti and Mayottee to balance China.
India and France are to launch joint naval patrolling mission after the India and France are to launch joint naval patrolling mission after the Varuna Naval Exercise that was held in May, 2019. The joint mission is to be executed in the Indian Ocean Region to protect the strategic interests of the countries and to check large scale illegal fishing.

Notes:
George Laurer, the US engineer who helped develop the barcode, has passed away at the age of 94.Mr. Laurer has been recognized as the co-inventor of the Universal Product Code (UPC) or barcode. It is found on millions of products, services, and other items for identification. When he was working as an electrical engineer with IBM, he developed UPC or barcode. He developed a scanner that could digitally read codes. He used stripes to print the codes.