Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

Notes:
The United States Congress passed a USD 900 billion pandemic relief package that would deliver financial assistance to businesses and individuals.
The package aims to provide resources to vaccinate the people of the country. The bill was approved and was sent to President Donald Trump, who rejected the package and demanded the lawmakers to make more relief payments to Americans.

Notes:
As per the researchers at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), tiny antibodies, or “nanobodies” from a Llama named ‘Cormac’ works against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
The researchers suggest that at least one of these nanobodies (called NIH-CoVnb-112) can prevent infections and detect virus particles by grabbing the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins.

Notes:
The National Farmers’ Day (Kisan Diwas), is celebrated on December 23, to mark the birth anniversary of India’s fifth prime minister, Choudhary Charan Singh.
When he was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and then the Prime Minister of the country, he was known for his significant contributions in abolishing Zamindari systems and drafting Land Reforms Bill. He also founded a non profit for farmers called Kisan Trust.

Notes:
China’s leading Multi-national company and tech-giant Alibaba, is being investigated by Chinese regulators on charges of monopolistic practices.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has started investigation on Alibaba Group for monopoly practices, including implementing an ‘exclusive dealing agreement’. In September, China announced new rules to regulate financial holding firms.

Notes:
The Income Tax Department, headed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, has introduced a new initiative called, ‘Jhatpat Processing’.
The aim of the initiative is to smoothen the experience of Income Tax return filing for taxpayers. Tutorial videos of the procedure to file ITR1 and ITR4 were also shared by the Department. Last date for filing income tax for taxpayers not requiring audit is December 31, 2020.

Notes:
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has recently announced that a multi-model logistics park will be constructed in Silchar.
It will be constructed in the Silchar-Saurashtra Highway by March 2022. He also announced that construction works of East-West Corridor would be fast-tracked and two new bridges would be built over the Barak river.

Notes:
The Finance Ministry has recently permitted Rajasthan to borrow an additional Rs 2,731 crore after the state achieved ease of doing business reforms.
Rajasthan has now joined the five other states namely, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, which were granted additional borrowing permission, through open market borrowings. The borrowing limit of the states was linked to people-centric reforms.

Notes:
Leading commodity derivatives exchange and India’s first listed exchange MCX has launched futures trading in natural rubber.
As there is a huge market size for natural rubber in India in production and imports, this move has been taken. MCX rubber futures are available for trading from 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays. This would also be used as a hedging tool for managing price risk.

Notes:
As per the recent notification from the Directorate General of foreign trade, the Central Government will lift the ban on export of all varieties of onion from January 1, 2021.
In September this year, the government had banned the export of all varieties, when there were signs of depletion. Now as the supply crunch has eased with good winter harvests and imports, the export ban is to be lifted.

Notes:
The Tourism Ministry of Uttarakhand has requested the state government of Madhya Pradesh, to bring in white Tiger.
Uttarakhand has made this request to bring white tigers to Nainital’s Sitabani Wildlife Reserve for a Tiger safari project. White tiger cubs are present in the Maharaja Martand Singh Judeo White Tiger Safari and Zoo in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh.