Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

Notes:
‘International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People’ is observed every year on November 29, across the world.
The day was established in the year 1977 and it marks the day in 1947 when the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution partitioning Palestine into an Arab State and a Jewish State. The UN Chief called on Israel and Palestine to achieve a two-State solution.

Notes:
The 4th Trilateral Meeting on Maritime Security Cooperation between India, Sri Lanka, and Maldives was hosted by Sri Lanka.
It was held in Colombo and India was represented by the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The earlier such meetings were held in Maldives (2011), Sri Lanka (2013) and in India (2014).

Notes:
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has recently launched an asset restructuring web module for the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).
The module named ARM-MSME would assist MSMEs to get benefitted from RBI’s MSME restructuring guideline. MSMEs will be able to prepare restructuring proposals by inputting only the most essential data. This service is being offered by SIDBI at no cost to the MSMEs.

Notes:
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman delivered a Keynote Address at the 20th Edition of Sri Lanka Economic Summit (SLES) 2020 in virtual format.
SLES is annually organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC). The theme for this year’s event is “Roadmap for Take-off: Driving a People –Centric Economic Revival”.

Notes:
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has created a new laboratory named Defence Geo Informatics Research Establishment.
It has been formed by merging two existing labs namely Manali-headquartered Snow and Avalanche Studies Establishment (SASE) and the Delhi-based Defence Terrain Research Establishment. The new lab will focus on research on the terrain along the borders with China and Pakistan.

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:
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:
The Senate of United States of America has passed a bill which envisages to remove the restrictions on number of employment related immigration visas from a particular country.
This bill has been passed unanimously by the Senate. This relaxed legislation is expected to benefit many Indian professionals in America.

Notes:
Microsoft India and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) have partnered for the India edition of the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2021.
Imagine Cup is an annual innovation challenge held by Microsoft for students and technology enthusiasts. It aims to empower students to apply artificial intelligence and other technologies to solve the sustainability issues of the world.

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.