Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

Notes:
The Union Government has launched “Mission COVID Suraksha” and has allotted a package of Rs.900 crore for the same. The grant by the central government would be given to Department of Biotechnology (DBT) for Research & Development of Indian COVID-19 vaccines.
The mission aims at development of approximately 5 or 6 COVID 19 vaccine candidates and ensure their faster availability to the public.

Notes:
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India has contracted by 7.5 % in the second quarter of the financial year 2020-21. The contraction in GDP is registered for the second consecutive quarter and hence India is said to have entered ‘Technical Recession’.
The real GDP in the first quarter of 2020-21 (April – June) registered a record low of 23.9% contraction.

Notes:
‘Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare’ is observed on November 30 every year, across the world.
United Nations observes the day to pay tribute to millions of lives lost round the globe in the wake of chemical warfare. ‘Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ (OPCW) is the implementing body for Chemical Weapons Convention. It is headquartered at the Hague, Netherlands.

Notes:
State Bank of India has partnered with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Japan’s JCB International Co to launch new ‘SBI RuPay JCB Platinum Contactless Debit Card’.
This card has a dual interface feature, under which customers can use it for both contact and contactless transactions, both in the domestic market as well as overseas. The card has been launched on the RuPay network.

Notes:
The Government of Singapore has allowed a US-based start up to sell lab grown chicken meat in the country.
The meat is generated from animal tissues in laboratories. This is the world’s first regulatory approval for lab-grown meat also called as cultured meat. Its production cost is higher compared to the original meat.

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:
As per the Union Ministry of Finance, the Indian Economy is registering a V Shaped recovery of GDP. This was expressed in the latest Monthly Economic Review.
The contraction of GDP in Q1 of current financial year was 23.9% where as the economy has contracted by 7.5 % in Q2. Maximum growth is registered by Agriculture sector followed by Construction.

Notes:
The Union Government has announced the post of a Deputy Chief of the Army Staff, or DCOAS, (Strategy), to bring about structural reforms in the army.
The proposal for creating this post was initiated before two years. The DCOAS would oversee the work of the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) and the Director General Military Intelligence (DGMI), who would otherwise report to the Vice Chief f Army Staff.

Notes:
In the first-of-its-kind study by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Malayan Giant Squirrel is at the verge of extinction.
It has projected that the numbers of the Malayan Giant Squirrel could decline by 90 per cent in India by 2050. If steps are not taken by the Government, the species could become extinct in the country.

Notes:
In 2019, the United Nations General Assembly designated December 4 as the International Day of Banks. It is celebrated for the first time in 2020.
The day is celebrated to recognise the importance of multilateral development banks and international development banks in financing sustainable development. It also recognises the role of the banking systems in improving the standard of living.