Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

Notes:
The Indian Space Research Organisation has announced that it is set to launch the communication satellite CMS-01 onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C50).
The launch is scheduled on December 17 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. PSLV-C50 is the 52nd mission of PSLV and the communication satellite will provide services to the Indian mainland, Andaman-Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands.

Notes:
Google, Intel, Dell and Citrix along with other technology major in the industry have partnered to form Modern Computing Alliance. The alliance aims to address some of the greatest IT challenges faced by the players in the industry and would provide “cloud first” computing solutions.
The alliance would be creating a seamless, user-friendly experience across the web and devices.

Notes:
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), a statutory body under the Union Ministry of Power celebrates December 14 as the National Energy Conservation Day.
The Day is being celebrated every year since 1991, to exhibit India’s steps taken towards energy conservation. BEE spreads awareness amongst the people about energy efficiency and the need to shift to sustainable energy sources.

Notes:
Social media major Facebook has launched a new iOS app called Collab, which lets users create collaborative musical videos.
Launched as a rival to the Chinese short-video making platform TikTok, this experimental app is now available on the App Store in the United States. Facebook had earlier launched Reels feature on Instagram and another app Lasso.

Notes:
The Indian Naval ship named Himgiri has been launched and commissioned into Indian Waters recently.’
The ship has been constructed as a part of Project 17A for the Indian Navy. It is the first of three stealth frigates being built under the Project at GRSE in Kolkata and at Mazagon Docks Limited in Mumbai.

Notes:
The United States of America (USA) has lifted Sudan off the list named “State sponsor of terrorism”. Earlier the two countries in October 2020 reached an agreement to lift Sudan’s name from the list.
As per the agreement, Sudan is required to pay a sum of USD 335 million to the victims of 1998 twin bombings on the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.

Notes:
The US Federal Reserve has recently joined the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS).
NGFS is an international group of central banks of various countries, that has a special focus on climate change risks. It is headquartered at Paris, France.

Notes:
The Government of India has recently offered official recognition to Yoga as a competitive sport, as a push to make it a part of the Olympic Games.
Recently, India established the National Yogasana Sport Federation of India (NYSFI) for the development of yoga as a competitive sport. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Ministry of AYUSH are collaborating in this regard. Sporting Leagues and Competitions are being planned.

Notes:
India has successfully testfired two Prithvi-2 ballistic missiles off the eastern coast of Odisha in Balasore.
The nuclear-capable surface to surface missiles were manufactured by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Earlier this month, the anti-ship version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile hit its target.

Notes:
The Chinese technology major Alibaba has developed a face-recognition software, which enables the users to identify ethnic minorities like Uighurs.
It is said that the company’s cloud-computing technology uses pre-defined facial features to detect ethnic minorities within images and video. The technology could be used to identify videos filmed by Uighurs and other ethnic minorities.