Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

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:
West Bengal state government has recently launched a massive outreach programme named “Duare Sarkar” or “Government at your doorstep”.
Under the programme, people can avail the benefit of over 11 schemes of the state including Kanyashree, Khadya Sathi and Sikshashree. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced to set up ‘Duare Sarkar’ camps in the state for redressing grievances of people.

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:
As many as 12 leopards from Sakkar Baug Zoological Park, which came in conflict with the humans, have been transferred to a private rehabilitation centre by Gujarat Forest Department.
The leopard’s maintenance would be done in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode by the Government of Gujarat and Reliance Industries Ltd- RIL’s Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Kingdom. This is the first of its kind PPP model for protection of wild animals in India.

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:
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:
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:
India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently with the United States of America (USA) to increase intellectual property cooperation between the two nations.
The agreement has been signed by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) – India and United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Notes:
International Civil Aviation Day is observed on December 7 every year worldwide, to create awareness of the role of international civil aviation organisation (ICAO) in air travel across the globe.
The ICAO is an autonomous UN Body to monitor the safety standards of international aviation. UN General Assembly declared the day in 1996. The theme of the day from 2020 to 2023 is “Advancing Innovation for Global Aviation Development”.

Notes:
The 63rd Founding Day Celebrations of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) was held recently.
During the occasion, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released the DRI’s report titled Smuggling in India Report 2019-20. The report makes a detailed analysis of smuggling trends on Gold, Foreign Currency, Narcotic Drugs etc.