Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

Notes:
China’s first domestically made nuclear reactor ‘Hualong One’, has started its operations, as per the China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC).
The third-generation pressurised water nuclear reactor has been connected to the national grid. The reactor can generate 10 billion kw-hours of electricity each year and cut carbon emissions by 8.16 million tons. This is expected to reduce China’s dependency in nuclear power from its western allies.

Notes:
The birth anniversary of the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak is celebrated as the Guru Nanak Dev Gurpurab, commonly called as ‘Gurupurab’.
On this occasion, a book titled ‘Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Government’s Special Relationship with Sikhs’ was launched. It is published by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and was released in English, Hindi and Punjabi languages with the messages of Guru Nanak.

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:
Mount Semeru is an active volcano located in East Java, Indonesia. It is the highest mountain on the island of Java. This is also known as Mahameru, meaning ‘The Great Mountain’.
Recently, hot ash fell as far as 3,000 metres down the slopes of Mount Semeru. Earlier, Mount Ili Lewotolok of the country spew out hot clouds for 4,000 metres into the sky. The country’s disaster management team evacuated thousands of people.

Notes:
The festival named Dev Deepawali is celebrated in Indian city. This is a festival of lights and is celebrated in the Poornima day of the Karthik Month of Hindu calendar.
This year’s celebration is attended by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. During the event, 11 lakh earthern lamps were lit on both sides of river Ganga.

Notes:
December 2 is observed as National Pollution Control Day every year, in the memory of those who lost their lives in the Bhopal Gas tragedy and to create awareness on environment pollution.
Bhopal Gas tragedy, one of the biggest industrial pollution disasters of the country, occurred on the night of December 2nd and 3rd, 1984. Many people died due to the leakage of the poisonous gas Methyl Isocyanate.

Notes:
The Indian Government has constituted a Apex Committee for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement (AIPA). It was formed through a gazette notification.
The committee comprises of 17 members. It is entrusted with the responsibility of formulating policies and programmes for implementing the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), under Paris Agreement 2015. The Secretary of Union Environment Minister would be the Chairperson.

Notes:
The United Kingdom has become the first nation in the world to approve coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer – BioNTech.
The country’s medical regulator has given a nod for commercial production and mass vaccination. The vaccine is said to offer 95% protection against Covid disease. The country aims to produce 8 lakh doses in the next few days.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently directed HDFC Bank to temporarily halt all its digital launches and new sourcing of credit card customers.
The country’s largest private sector lender has been asked to stop the digital launches as the bank had faced technical glitches in the past two years. RBI also asked the bank’s board to examine the lapses and fix accountability.

Notes:
During the India-Oman virtual dialogue recently held, Oman announced to establish first-of-its-kind Oman-India Friendship Association.
This is the first such initiative in West Asia led by the Foreign Ministry. In December 2019, India and Oman signed a Maritime Transport Agreement during the visit of Foreign Minister Jaishankar to the country.