Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

Notes:
The Indian Railways is going to use the Light Detection and Ranging Technique (LiDAR) to conduct ground survey for the Delhi Varanasi high speed rail corridor.
It provides accurate and high-quality data in a short span of time. This technology was first used in Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor project.

Notes:
At the recent meeting of Central Zoo Authority chaired by Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar, two new zoos were granted recognition.
They are the Rajgir Zoo Safari in Nalanda, Bihar and Shaheed Ashfaque Ullah Khan Prani Udyaan in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. With this, the state of Uttar Pradesh has a total of 9 zoos.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has approved Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) scheme that aims to provide mobile coverage in Arunachal Pradesh and in two districts of Assam.
This would be done under the Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for North East Region. The project is aimed to be completed by December 2022.

Notes:
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who is the present President of Ghana has been re- elected as the President of the country for the second time.
He has secured 51.2 percent of the vote as against his rival – the former President John Mahama, who secured 48% votes.

Notes:
Malana Cream is a type of hash, which comes from the Malana Valley in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. The Charas is the resin obtained from a species of the cannabis plant, which grows in the valley.
The Narcotics Control Bureau has recently claimed that it has seized the smuggled ‘Malana Cream’. Charas was banned in India in 1986 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

Notes:
The Paris Climate Agreement is an agreement of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that was signed in the year 2016.
This year marks the 5th year anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement. The Paris Agreement has set a goal to keep global average temperature well below 2 °C (3.6 °F) above pre-industrial levels. UK is hosting a global summit to mark the day.

Notes:
Researchers have discovered an ancient altar in Israel. It has been created to honouring the Greek god Pan who is the deity of flocks and shepherds.
The altar was lying on ground while excavating a Church. The altar dated back to 2nd – 3rd century AD, but has been placed in a Church that was built in the 5th century.

Notes:
The researchers at Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (CAOS) – Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have revealed that more than half of the droughts that have occurred in India has occurred due to atmospheric disturbances from the North Atlantic region.
Since, Indian agriculture and water needs are predominantly rain dependent, any shortfall in annual rain fall has drastic impact. Till date, the usual suspect for such droughts has been the El Nino.

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:
NITI Aayog has recently released a white paper titled ‘Vision 2035 – Public Health Surveillance in India’.
It describes India’s vision for public health surveillance via the integration of three-tiered public health system into Ayushman Bharat. The paper aims to make the public health surveillance system of the country, more responsive.