Current Affairs Quiz-December, 2019

Notes:
Actress Deepika Padukone has been honoured by the 26th Annual Crystal Award for raising mental health awareness. She is the only Indian actress to feature in Davos 2020 winners list. With more than 300 million people suffering with the illness, depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability in the world and a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease.

Notes:
Japanese movie ‘They Say Nothing Stays the Same’, directed by actor and musician Joe Odagiri bagged the ‘Suvarna Chakoram’ (The Golden Crow Pheasant) award at the 24rd edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). The movie recites a poetic tale of idyllic rural life being threatened by change in an uncompromising visual style. Brazilian director Allan Deberton was awarded the ‘Rajatha Chakoram’ (The Silver Crow Pheasant), for the best director for his movie ‘Pacarrete’, which brings out the bold dynamic life and dreams of an ageing artiste in a changing world.

Notes:
The Haryana Police Department has adopted a unique barcoding software. The software is used to ensure that 1000s of digital forensic reports are stored safe and secure. It offers a foolproof security to the samples collected from the crime scene.The Software features two stages of bar coding to maintain the secrecy of the samples. The samples and reports are sent through biometrically authorized chain. The cases are allocated to the biotechnology experts through automated case allocation. Therefore, the experts will not know about the details of the case or the names associated with case.

Notes:
Blue Sky Analytics won the Space Oscars awards on the international competition Copernicus Masters. The awards were presented in a ceremony during the European Space Week held at Helsinki, Finland. Blue Sky Analytics became the has become the first Indian Startup to win the Space Oscars award presented by the European Space Agency.

Notes:
Thailand’s famous 2000-year-old massage, Nuad Thai was added to UNESCO’s (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) prestigious heritage list. Nuad Thai is an intense form of massage in which the body is pulled and rotated well with the help of the thumb, elbow, knees and feet. Thai massage originated in India and brought it to Thailand about 2,500 years ago by doctors and monks who carried its secrets for generations.

Notes:
Apple, Microsoft and Google’s parent Alphabet are among the tech giants who were named in a case that is currently looking into the death of child labourers in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Democratic Republic of Congo is the largest producer of Cobalt, a rare metal and a vital raw material for batteries used in mobile phones and electric vehicles.

Notes:
Ilisu Dam is in Turkey. It is one of the Southeastern Anatolia Project which involves 22 dams. The Ilisu Dam is located on the Tigris River. The dam is meant for water storage, flood control and also hydroelectricity generation. It is a concrete face rock filled dam.

Notes:
The Abraham Koshy Committee is an eight member panel that serves as an advisory body for the SEBI/ Securities and Exchange Board of India. It was recently revamped to look into the issues of investor education and protection. It is headed by Abraham Koshy who is a former professor of IIM Ahmedabad.

Notes:
The laser fencing of the Indo-Nepal border is being put up by the Sashastra Seema Bal. The project was commenced in December to curb the entry of Third Party nationals into the country without permission. The SSB is involved in guarding the Indian border with Bhutan and Nepal.

Notes:
RUSADA is the national anti-doping agency of Russia. It was previously affiliated with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) but is currently suspended. It was suspended in light of the recent allegations of illegal doping practice among Russian athletes.