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:
US based- Merriam-Webster, known for its dictionaries, has recently announced ‘pandemic’ as its 2020 word of the year.
As per the company, when the World Health Organisation declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic on March 11, the searches on the site for ‘pandemic’ rose hugely. The word has roots in Latin and Greek. It is a combination of pan, meaning all, and demos, meaning people.

Notes:
Four Indian Boxers who are bound to appear for the forth coming Olympics have been included in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).
The TOPS scheme is launched by the Ministry of Sports and is implemented through the Sports Authority of India. Through the scheme, potential Medal winning athletes and sports personalities are identified for the forthcoming Olympic games.

Notes:
China launched the ambitious ‘One Belt and One Road’ (OBOR) initiative in 2013, to link Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes.
During the 19th meeting of the Council of Heads of Governments of the SCO, all other member nations of SCO, except India reaffirmed their support to the OBOR project of China. India is critical of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a part of OBOR.

Notes:
The Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda has launched a virtual edition of the first ever Aadi Mahotsav celebrated in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
This is a festive being celebrated for 10 days. It would be hosted by Tribes India. The key focus on this year’s Aadi Mahotsav is “tribal craft and culture of Madhya Pradesh”.

Notes:
Facebook-backed Libra cryptocurrency has been renamed as “Deim” which means “Day” in Latin.
The Libra Association has made this decision in order to gain approval from regulators and to increase its publicity. The new Deim crypto currency is proposed to be launched in early 2021, which would be backed by USD.

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:
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a small country on the north-eastern coast of South America. It was previously known as ‘Dutch Guiana’.
The 7th India-Suriname Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was recently held virtually. The JCM was co-chaired by Minister of State for External Affairs, V. Muraleedharan and his counterpart in Suriname.

Notes:
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has mandated to mention the 8- digit HSN code or tariff code for 49 chemical-based products.
The HSN (Harmonised System of Nomenclature) code should be mentioned while issuing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) invoice. At present, businesses mention up to 4-digit tariff code, while issuing invoice. This new direction is expected to curb tax evasion.

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.