Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

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:
India and the United States attended the inaugural meeting of the Counter-narcotics Working Group (CNWG), in virtual mode.
Indian delegation was represented by the Deputy Director General of Narcotics Control Board, Ministry of Home Affairs. The two countries also agreed to improve their data sharing operations to fight the production, distribution, and export/import of drugs and related chemicals.

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:
‘737 MAX’ is the best-selling airliner of US-based leading multi-national aerospace company Boeing. It was grounded in March 2019 after two crashes in five months killing a total of 346 people.
The redesigned version of the ‘737 MAX’ airliner has recently staged its first post-grounding flight with media on board. It made a 45-minute flight from Texas to Oklahoma in the US. The flight’s first commercial passenger flight is scheduled in the month-end of December.

Notes:
The government of Maharashtra has decided to rename the settlements in the state having names based on caste.
Habitations like Maharwada, Mangwada, Bramhanwada etc that have indications of caste-based settlements would be changed and named after leaders of the nation. The State Cabinet has recently approved to change the names of those settlements.

Notes:
According to researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) is the global hot-spot of atmospheric ammonia (NH3).
This is due to concentrated agricultural activities and fertilizer production in the region. The satellite data of agricultural emissions show that atmospheric ammonia is related with total fertilizer consumption and temperature.

Notes:
The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is one of the commissions of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), headquartered at Vienna, Austria.
Recently, during a reconvened session of CND, 53 member states voted for removing Cannabis from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, where it was listed with deadly and addictive drugs. 27 members including India, voted for removing Cannabis from the convention.

Notes:
The Government of Denmark has made a land mark decision to phase out all its oil & gas exploration activities by the year 2025.
This decision has been seen as significant step by the nation to combat climate change. The country is presently is a major oil producer carrying out oil exploration in the North Sea.

Notes:
India Empowerment Fund is set to be launched by the IIT Alumni Council for investing a sum of Rs.50,000 crore in India’s research system.
The fund would be invested in a period of 10 years. The fund will be operated as IIT Angel Fund and would be regulated under Angel Investor Funds.

Notes:
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Odisha government to prepare an action plan within three months on 14 identified elephant corridors.
The State government had proposed 14 corridors, for providing stress-free migration to elephants from one habitation to another in the state. The 870 sq km-area proposal did not record any progress and so NGT issued directions to the state.