Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

Notes:
Japan’s spacecraft named ‘Hayabusa2’ is approaching the Earth after a year-long journey from an asteroid Ryugu, about 300 million kilometers from earth.
As per the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the spacecraft will bring soil samples and data that could provide clues to the origins of the solar system and life on Earth. The agency would drop the capsule containing the samples, in southern Australia.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India has recently signed a USD132.8 million loan to modernize the distribution network and improve the quality of power supplied in Meghalaya.
This project supports the state government’s initiative “24×7 Power for All” initiative. This will also help the state reduce its high technical and commercial losses. Meghalaya has achieved 100 per cent electrification while there were incidents of frequent power interruptions.

Notes:
As per the recent statement, India recorded the highest reduction in Malaria cases, in the South-East Asian region.
As per the ‘World Malaria Report 2020’, India reduced the number of cases from 20 million in 2000 to about 5.6 million in 2019. India also recorded a reduction in the number of deaths from malaria. Globally there were 229 malaria cases in 2019.

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:
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:
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 18th-century idol of Goddess Annapurna that was stolen from a temple in Varanasi, is being returned by Canada.
As per a government statement, the ancient idol was stolen about 100 years ago. The idol is said to have housed in Canada’s MacKenzie Art Gallery. It was handed over to India’s High Commissioner to Ottawa.

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:
One of the two lesser florican birds that was tagged by the Gujarat forest department has flown all the way to the state of Telangana.
The bird was tagged at the Blackbuck National Park (BBNP), Velavadar, in Bhavnagar. This has confirmed a research finding that lesser florican birds migrate to peninsular India from the western part of India after their breeding season.

Notes:
Parkash Singh Badal, who is the former Chief Minister of Punjab and a leader of Shiromani Akali Dal party has returned Padma Vibhushan award back to the Government.
He has returned the award to show his protest against Agriculture reforms brought by the Centre. He was honoured with the prestigious award in the year 2015.