Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

Notes:
Every year 6th December is observed as Mahaparinirvana Diwas, which marks the death anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar.
He died in this date in the year 1956 and this year marks the 64th death anniversary. Parinirvana is one of the important principles of Buddhism which means release or freedom after death.

Notes:
The United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) works under the UN to mobilise the global efforts in SDGs. It is headquartered in New York.
UN SDSN and the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) published the Europe Sustainable Development Report 2020. It reports the progress of the European Union, its member states, and other European countries towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Notes:
The government of Australia has proposed to charge fee from Facebook and Google’s media outlets, for news content.
This move has been proposed for protecting independent journalism in the country.
These big tech firms have to pay to local publishers and broadcasters for their content that appears on the firm’s platforms.

Notes:
The Indian Railways is going to use the Light Detection and Ranging Technique (LiDAR) to conduct ground survey for the Delhi Varanasi high speed rail corridor.
It provides accurate and high-quality data in a short span of time. This technology was first used in Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor project.

Notes:
Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati claimed to have developed a new technology to harvest water from the air.
The researchers have used the concept of hydrophobicity, which is the property of a material to repel water. Slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces or SLIPS material is chemically patterned and used.

Notes:
Starship is the futuristic rocket-ship of SpaceX, the private space company owned by billionaire Elon Musk. It is being designed to carry people to Mars.
The first high-altitude test flight of the Starship was aborted at the last second, due to an automatic engine abort just ahead of the count-down. SpaceX has conducted five Starship test flights but not at high altitude.

Notes:
The entire Union Territory of Lakshadweep has been declared as fully organic region. It is the second region after the state of Sikkim to be declared as 100% organic.
The certification has been given by the Union Government under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (Organic cultivation development programme). The UT has not allowed any chemical inside the islands since 2005.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet headed the Prime Minster Narendra Modi has approved a scheme named PM-WANI, which stands for PM – Wi-Fi Access Network Interface.
The proposed scheme provides for free wireless internet in public spaces. It is expected to enhance the Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living in India.

Notes:
The companies of USA and China have dominated the global arms market in the year 2019, as per a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The arms industry of USA accounts for nearly 61% of the sales by top 25 arms manufacturers. Chinese firms account for 15.7% of the sales by top 25 arms manufacturers.

Notes:
Anil Soni, who is an Indian Origin health expert, has been appointed as the first Chief Executive Officer of WHO Foundation. He is set to assume office on 1st Jan 2021. Erstwhile, he was the head of global infectious disease of the health care company named Viatris.
The WHO Foundation is a newly formed organisation will work alongside the World Health Organisation that would combat the most pandemic disease of the world.