Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

Notes:
The vaccine maker Serum Institute of India is set to achieve “Net Zero State” by cutting down all forms of emission and harmful release in to the environment to zero.
A start-up firm incubated at IIT-SINE named h2e Power Systems and backed by SII would be joining hands to transform SII into a company that runs on renewable and green energy.

Notes:
An Astronomical Conjunction, which is the closer appearance of the heavenly bodies from the Earth’s perspective, is to occur on the night of December 21.
The planets will appear extremely close to each other, making them look like one bright dot in the sky. However, the actual distance from each other will be around 735 million kms. The planets were seen very close only in 1623.

Notes:
The World Bank has recently released the corrected Doing Business rankings after review of data irregularities.
The World Bank corrected the rankings of China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan. China’s rank in 2018 would have been 85, a drop of 7 places. India holds the same place of 63 in the Doing Business 2020 report.

Notes:
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and British multinational oil and gas company BP announced the commencement of Oil production from R Cluster.
It is the ultra-deep-water gas field in block KG D6 off the east coast of India. It is said to be the deepest offshore gas field in Asia, as it is located at a water depth of over 2,000 m. Three deep water gas projects are to be developed by the two companies.

Notes:
‘B.1.1.7’, a new powerful mutation of the coronavirus, has been found in the United Kingdom. This lineage has unusually large number of genetic changes.
The variant carries 14 defining mutations including seven in the spike protein, which is often responsible for how the virus interacts with a human cell. This is a relatively large number of changes compared to various variants found in circulation globally.

Notes:
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) has recently identified domestic locations including Hazira, Somnath Temple, Mumbai/JNPT, Jamnagar, Kochi, Goa, among others, for beginning ferry services through inland waterways.
Also, six international routes, connecting 4 international destinations including Chattogram (Bangladesh), Seychelles (East Africa), from Indian major coastal port towns are identified. The locations are identified under Sagarmala programme.

Notes:
The Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar released the Status of Leopard in India 2018’ report.
As per the report, the population of leopard in India has increased by 60 per cent with 12,852 leopards. Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of leopards (3421). It is followed by Karnataka and Maharashtra.

Notes:
Ministries of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences in association with Vijnana Bharati organise the India International Science Festival.
Launched in the year 2015, the festival aims to promote scientific temper in the society and encourage students to take up scientific career. This year, the theme of the 4-day long India International Science festival is ‘Science for Self-Reliant India and Global Welfare’.

Notes:
Central Bank of India has recently launched contactless ‘RuPay Select’ debit card in association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
Through this card, the users can avail membership and access to golf courses, gyms, spas and restaurants. The users can also avail discounted health check-ups with the National Common Mobility Debit Card (NCMC).

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India has recently cautioned small businesses and individuals against taking loans through unauthorised digital lending apps.
RBI also said that Legitimate public lending activities can be undertaken by Banks, NBFCs, registered with RBI and other entities who are regulated by the State Governments under statutory provisions only.