Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

Notes:
The first edition of the India Young Water Professional Programme was launched virtually, under National Hydrology Project and supported by the Australian Water Partnership.
It is a Central Scheme of Department of Water Resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation. A total of 20 participants (10 men and 10 women) have been selected for the first edition of this Programme from central and state implementing agencies of the National Hydrology Project.

Notes:
Senior Indian Revenue Service Officer Shri. Vivek Johri has been appointed as the chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), by the personnel ministry.
Shri. Vivek Johri is a 1985-batch Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Indirect Taxes) officer who is presently a member of the CBIC.

Notes:
The Union government has approved the strategic disinvestment of Central Electronics Ltd (CEL) after the competitive bidding process. CEL is a CPSE under the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) empowered Alternative Mechanism (AM) has approved the highest price bid of Nandal Finance and Leasing for sale of 100% equity shareholding of GoI in CEL. The winning bid is over Rs 210 crores.

Notes:
The ‘Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare’ is observed by the United Nations on 30 November.
The day is marked to pay tribute to the victims of chemical warfare. The day also highlights the pledge taken by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to eliminate the threat of chemical weapons.

Notes:
As per a periodic labour force survey by the National Statistical Office (NSO), Unemployment rate for all ages in urban areas rose to 9.3 per cent in January-March 2021.
This is a rise from 9.1 per cent in the same month of the previous year. It also showed that unemployment rate among males remained at 8.6 per cent in January-March 2021, while for females in urban areas (age 15 and above) rose to 11.8 per cent in January-March 2021.

Notes:
The NITI Aayog released a report titled “Designing the future of dispute Resolution: the ODR Policy Plan for India”.
It proposed measures at three levels to address the challenges in adopting ODR. The report recommends increasing digital infrastructure, building capacity, regulatory framework, including permission for online notarisation, etc.

Notes:
Bangladesh Navy (BN) and the US military personnel began the annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) maritime exercise.
The exercise will be carried out virtually and in the Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh Navy has been taking part in the CARAT exercise since 2011. It aims to address shared maritime security concerns and strengthen partnerships between regional navies.

Notes:
Gita Gopinath, the India-born, first female chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is set to take over as the first deputy managing director (FDMD).
She is set to take over the role from Geoffrey Okamoto. Two months ago, Gita Gopinath had announced that she would re-join Harvard University in January 2022 to retain her tenured facility post, after three years in IMF.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the report titled “State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2021-22”.
It is an annual publication that provides assessment of the finances of State governments for 2021-22 against the actual and revised outcomes for 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively. The theme of this year’s Report is “Coping with the Pandemic: A Third-Tier Dimension”. For 2021-22, States have budgeted their consolidated gross fiscal deficit to GDP Ratio at 3.7 per cent.

Notes:
Geological Survey of India (GSI), Ministry of Mines in collaboration with the British Geological Survey has developed a prototype regional Landslide Early Warning System (LEWS) for India.
The system is being evaluated and tested by GSI in two pilot areas in India – in Darjeeling district of West Bengal, and the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. GSI is developing the prototype through the LANDSLIP project.