Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

Notes:
Plasmodium Ovale, a malaria causing parasite has been detected in the state of Kerala. This has been detected in a soldier who had come from Sudan.
Malaria is caused by plasmodium parasites, that are transmitted to humans by bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. There are five parasite species that cause malaria and two among them – Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax are the greatest threats.

Notes:
National poet Mahakavi ‘Subramaniya Bharati’ is a famous poet from the southern state of Tamil Nadu. He was an Indian independence activist, journalist and a pioneer in Tamil Literature.
International Bharati Festival is organized by the Vanavil Culture Centre in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, to honour the poet. His 138th birth anniversary was observed on December 11, 2020. Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated and presented the Bharati Award to the writer Seeni Viswanathan.

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 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:
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 Ministry of Health and Family Welfare conducts a national level health survey called as the ‘National Family Health Survey’.
So far four editions of the survey have been conducted, with the latest being conducted in 2015-16. The Health Ministry has released the phase 1 results of the Fifth edition of the survey. The Under 5 and infant mortality rate (IMR) has decreased in 18 states and UTs.

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:
Bangladesh marks Martyred Intellectuals Day on December 14 every year, to remember the teachers, journalists and poets killed on this day in 1971.
The Bangladesh Liberation War which began in 1971 grew into the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, and ended with the victory of Bangladesh. After the victory, Bengali intellectuals and professionals were said to have been killed by Pakistani forces and their collaborators.