Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

Notes:
The Parliament of Iran has passed a bill, called as “The strategic measure for the removal of sanctions”.
It aims to uplift the country’s nuclear activities, following the assassination of Iranian nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. The scientist, who died of gun men attack, was the head of the Iranian Defense Ministry’s innovation center.

Notes:
Dubbed as the “world’s loneliest elephant”, the 36-year-old bull elephant at Islamabad zoo has been shifted to a Cambodian sanctuary.
This step is taken after years of outcry of public and activists and recent campaigning by American pop star Cher. Kaavan is the only Asian elephant in Pakistan, where the elephants at other zoos are African. Kaavan’s mate Saheli, who arrived from Sri Lanka, died in the year 2012.

Notes:
BrahMos Aerospace is a joint venture company set up by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Mashinostroyenia of Russia.
Recently, Indian Navy test-fired the naval version of BrahMos missile in the Bay of Bengal. The missile was test-fired from a Rajput-class destroyer INS Ranvijay, hitting a decommissioned target ship. Earlier, the Indian Army and Air Force test-fired the missile.

Notes:
The Municipal Bonds issued by Lucknow Municipal Corporation has been listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
The bonds amount to Rs.200 crore and offer 8.5 per cent interest per annum with a tenure of 10 years. Lucknow joins the 8 other smart cities whose Municipal Bonds have been listed in stock exchanges.

Notes:
The cyclone name “Burevi” was suggested by Maldives. The second cyclone approaching India from Bay of Bengal has been named as “Burevi” as per the guidelines of World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
The storm commenced its course from South West Bay of Bengal and it is the fifth tropical cyclone system that has developed in the Norther Indian Ocean, this year.

Notes:
Manila-based Asian Development Bank has signed a USD 50-million policy-based loan for the West Bengal Public Finance Management Investment Programme.
The loan aims to improve financial management and operational efficiencies of the state. A centre for fiscal policy and public finance will be established along with a web-based grievance redressal system for transport corporations and urban local bodies.

Notes:
CLMV countries are Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. They are also the members of the Association of South East Nations (ASEAN).
During the Inaugural Session of the 6th India – CLMV Business Conclave 2020, India invited the CLMV countries to join the International Solar Alliance and the Resilient Supply Chain Initiative by India.

Notes:
India’s national think-tank – NITI Aayog has released a draft paper titled “Guiding principles for the uniform national-level regulation of online fantasy sports platforms in India”.
As per the released report, online sports fantasy sector in India has a huge FDI potential of Rs.10,000 crore in the upcoming years and can generate 1.5 billion transactions by 2023.

Notes:
The People’s Bank of China has stated that the country’s monetary policy and key price setting would be based on Depository-Institutions
Repo Rate or DR Rate. China has introduced a Variable Interest Rate Bond, which is linked to the DR. This step is aimed to improve the pricing mechanism for financial institutions and markets.

Notes:
German multinational investment bank, Deutsche Bank has recently announced to link the pay of its top executives with their achievement in reaching sustainability goals.
Under the new policy, which come into effect next year, the volume of sustainable financing and investment and how the bank is ranked by rating agencies on sustainability is measured.