Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

Notes:
The Philippines based Asian Development Bank has approved a loan of USD 500 million (about Rs 3,752 crore) to India for improving the quality of the country’s school education.
The funding would support India’s Integrated Scheme for School Education and help mitigate the impact of the COVID 19 on student’s education.

Notes:
The MSME Conclave was organised by Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence in partnership with Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) in hybrid mode, in New Delhi.
Defence Minister, during his inaugural address, urged MSMEs and SIDM to create an industrial base in India, on the lines of ‘Mittelstand’ of Germany, which has been recognised by the whole world for manufacturing metal equipment.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has released a “National strategy on blockchain”, in which 44 potential areas have been identified for use of blockchain technology in India.
The Ministry has proposed setting up a National Blockchain Framework with 3 participants namely – user, operator and technology stack builder.

Notes:
36-year old Top British Racing Driver Lewis Hamilton won the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Tournament.
He passed Max Verstappen with six laps remaining in the race on the street circuit on the 30-kilometer coastal resort area in Jeddah. With this victory, Hamilton also levelled points with Red Bull rival Max Verstappen.

Notes:
Yutu-2 is a robotic lunar rover which was launched in 2018, as a part of Chang’e 4 mission to the Moon.
The rover has recently detected a strange-looking, cube-shaped object on the surface of the Moon. The rover spotted the object as it crossed the Von Karman crater on the far side of the Moon. The object has been dubbed “mystery house” and scientists are set to drive the rover closer to get a better look.

Notes:
A bright comet in northern skies was spotted in November this year. It is Comet C/2021 A1, also known as Leonard.
The comet was first discovered around Jupiter in January 2021.  The comet was picked up by the telescope, with a greenish coma, at the heart of NGC 4631 also known as the Whale Galaxy. The comet Leonard will grow brighter in the month of December.

Notes:
Japanese Entrepreneur and Fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa and producer Yozo Hirano, blasted off for the International Space Station in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft along with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin.
They are the first self-paying space tourists to visit the space station since 2009. Maezawa and Hirano are scheduled to spend 12 days in space.

Notes:
Human Rights Day is observed on December 10, every year. This year, the theme is ‘Equality, Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights’.
United Nations General Assembly in 1948 adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This day is celebrated to raise awareness about people’s social, cultural and physical rights and to ensure the welfare of everyone.

Notes:
Indian Government passed an amendment to the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act to ensure that account holders can access their insured deposit amount within 90 days.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended a bank deposit insurance programme and said that Rs 1,300 crore had been paid to over 1 lakh depositors whose banks faced financial crises. 3 lakh such depositors were set to receive funds stuck in such accounts.

Notes:
A Royal Bengal Tiger has been spotted in Buxa tiger reserve in West Bengal, after at least 23 years, as per the West Bengal government.
A picture of a tiger was captured on a trap camera in the forest of East Damanpur of Buxa tiger reserve.  It was in 1998 that images of a Royal Bengal Tiger were captured at the reserve earlier. The reserve had lost its identity as a tiger reserve from the National Wild Life Board.