Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

Notes:
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has recently inaugurated the Koilwar bridge over Sone river in Bihar.
This 1.5 km long bridge has been laid in parallel to the 138-year-old two lane rail-road bridge. A six-lane bridge is being constructed with the outlay of Rs 266 crore. The three-lane carriageway has been opened for public.

Notes:
Scientists have stated that the strongest meteor shower of the year – “Geminids meteor shower” would be active from December 4 to 20 this year. These meteors originate from 3200 Phaethon Asteroid and its diameter is about 5 Km. This meteor was discovered in the year 1983 and has been named after the Greek myth of Phaethon the son of Sun god Helios.

Notes:
In the year 2018, artists, journalists and activists gathered in the San Isidro region of Cuba, to protest against the country’s rules on censorship of cultural activities.
Hence, it came to be known as the Movimiento San Isidro, or the San Isidro Movement (MSI). After a member of MSI was arrested in November this year, its members began a hunger and then were arrested. The Government name the protestors as agents of Imperialism.

Notes:
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has recently launched a project to set up 2,000 mini-clinics across the state.
They will be known as ‘Amma Mini Clinics’, after the former late Chief Minister J Jeyalalitha. The clinics aim to provide essential healthcare services to the poor and downtrodden. Minor ailments will be treated and this step will reduce the burden of Government hospitals.

Notes:
As per the recent announcement from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), widespread rain or thundershowers will come back to Tamil Nadu, Kerala and regions over the South Peninsula.
The Easterly waves move fast across the Bay of Bengal and usually target the south peninsula region. Also called as the tropical wave or tropical easterly wave, it is an area of relatively low air pressure, which moves from east to west across the tropics and causes cloudiness and thunderstorms.

Notes:
The Union Finance Minister chairs the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) meeting. FSDC was constituted as a non-statutory apex body under the Ministry of Finance in 2010.
Recently, the 23rd FSDC meeting was chaired by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman via video conferencing. The meeting discussed India’s efforts to economic recovery and the policy measures taken by the government.

Notes:
International Development Association (IDA) is member of the World Bank Group, headquartered in Washington, D.C. It offers concessional loans and grants to the poorest developing countries.
The IDA has signed a USD 400 million agreement with India, to support India’s efforts to provide social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, the World Bank group had approved a USD 750 million loan to India.

Notes:
The 4th Bilateral Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting between the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) India and the National Narcotics Board (BNN), Indonesia was held.
The Indian delegation was led by Rakesh Asthana, Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau. During the meeting, NCB highlighted issues of Heroin and Amphetamine Type Stimulant (ATS) trafficking in the country through land and sea routes.

Notes:
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has set up a dedicated control centre for Space Situational Awareness (SSA).
It has been named as Netra” and is aimed at monitoring, tracking and protecting India’s space assets. It is set up at ISTRAC campus at Peenya, Bangalore.

Notes:
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch satellites of private players onboard PSLV C 51.
The first of its kind mission would launch an earth observation satellite ‘ANAND’, fully built by a start-up named Pixel India. Two more satellites named ‘SATISH SAT’’, built by ‘Space Kids India’, and ‘UNIT-SAT’, built by consortium of universities would also be sent.