Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

Notes:
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is ranked at 41st rank in the Forbes’ ranking of 100 most powerful women in the world, grabbing the highest place.
HCL Corporation CEO and Executive Director Roshni Nadar Malhotra in the 55th spot and Biocon Founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw in the 68th rank. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is placed at the first spot.

Notes:
The United Nations General Assembly designated 9 December as International Anti-Corruption Day, every year. This year, the theme is ‘Recover with Integrity’.
The day aims to raise awareness of corruption and of the role of the UN Convention in fighting and preventing it. In the year 2003, the UNGA adopted the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved an expenditure of Rs.22,810 crore, for providing a wage subsidy through the employee’s provident fund organization (EPFO).
This is a part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana. This move is set to incentivize creation of new job opportunities during the Covid recovery phase of the economy.

Notes:
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has recently made a successful demonstration of Quantum communications between two of its labs.
The communication was made using Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology which is a highly secure way to share encryption keys. In this method, the encryption keys are communicated in the form of qubits in a fibre optic cable, which is highly secure.

Notes:
The 5th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) has recently commenced with a focus on Arth Ganga – river conservation synchronised development.
The theme of the summit is comprehensive analysis and holistic management of rivers and water bodies. It is being organised virtually by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga).

Notes:
The Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX) has been launched by the Asian Development Bank. This initiative is set to support to its developing member economies to procure and deliver COVID-19 vaccines.
The total cost of this project is USD 9 billion. The aim of the scheme is to help ADB’s member countries to vaccinate their people and tide away from the ongoing COVID crisis.

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:
Gujarat is set to launch the country’s first online mechanism for approval and renewal of fire safety certifications for buildings.
A portal named ‘Fire Safety COP’ will be launched for implementing the process. Under the system, the state will train and empanel private ‘Fire safety officers (FSOs)’ to carry out periodic inspection and maintenance of fire safety systems.

Notes:
Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson accepted the invitation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be the Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations on 26 January, 2021 in New Delhi.
With this, Boris Johnson becomes the second UK prime minister to attend the celebrations after John Major in 1993. Moreover, UK Prime Minister has invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join the UK-hosted G7 summit next year.

Notes:
Vigyan Yatra is the name of the promotional activity of the India International Science Festival. Mobile science exhibition vans were flagged off from many cities as a part of the activity, to promote the culture of science among the people.
The sixth edition of the India International Science Festival to be organised from December 22 to 25 on a virtual platform due to the COVID-19 pandemic.