Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

Notes:
India, Iran and Uzbekistan are on discussion about the joint use of Chabahar port, located in Iran. In this regard, a joint trilateral meeting would be held to deliberate regarding the same.
The trilateral meeting would be held in a virtual mode and is set to be chaired by the Dy. Minister of Iran, Dy. Minister of Uzbekistan and senior Foreign Ministry official from India.

Notes:
Indian Mountain Initiative (IMI) organized the 9th edition of Sustainable Mountain Development Summit in Dehradun. The summit has been organized in a Virtual Mode, on account of the COVID 19 pandemic.
It is a 4-day long summit where issues like migration, water security, climate resilience would be discussed by delegates.

Notes:
The Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has recently extended a USD 448-million line of credit (LOC) for various infrastructure projects in Uzbekistan.
Extended on behalf of the Indian government, the LoC would be used in various projects in transport, water and technology sectors in the country. EXIM Bank has so far extended 266 LOCs to various countries.

Notes:
The European Council President has declared after their recent summit that the EU leaders have agreed to set a target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030.
After long series of discussions, the EU leaders came to a consensus of the target. European Commission had set a target of achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

Notes:
Russia has successfully test-launched its heavy lift Angara A5 space rocket for the second time, the first launch having undertaken in 2014.
As per the state space agency Rocosmos, these Angara rockets do not use aggressive and toxic propellants, thereby increasing environmental safety in the areas adjacent to the launch complex and in the drop zones.

Notes:
Asia’s oldest stock exchange, BSE Limited, has launched an electronic spot platform for agricultural commodities through its subsidiary BSE Investments.
The platform is named as BSE E-Agricultural Markets Ltd (BEAM). It is to function as a national level, electronic, commodity spot trading platform. Through this, farmers of one state will get access to markets in other states.

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:
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) has stated that more than 5 million people of Yemen would head towards hunger in the year 2021.
Also, FAO has estimated that more than 50,000 people in the country would be living in famine conditions by next year. Yemen has been in a civil war since 2014 and the normal life of the Arab country has been severely hurt.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has approved the Memorandum of Understanding between Indi and United States for exchange of information in areas of mutual interest in the electricity sector.
Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), India and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), USA would join hands for this arrangement. The MoU will help to improve regulatory framework in power sector.

Notes:
The CEO of Prasar Bharati Shashi Shekhar Vempati has been elected as the Vice President of Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU). ABU is one of the largest broadcasting associations in the world.
The election for the prestigious post was held virtually and Shashi Shekhar Vempati has been elected for a term of three years.