Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

Notes:
The 20th meeting of India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military & Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) was held recently between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with his Russian counterpart General Sergey Shoigu.
The four pacts signed between the two sides include a protocol on amending the agreement between India and Russia on cooperation in the field of Kalashnikov series small arms manufacturing and Rs 5,000-crore contract for procurement of 6.01 lakh AK-203 assault rifles through a joint venture Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited.

Notes:
‘World Petroleum Congress’, the largest gathering in the industry, began in Houston, the largest city of south-central U.S. state Texas.
More than 300 speakers are set to participate in the programme and technical forums, from about 70 countries and regions. The World Petroleum Congress is organized every three years by the London-based World Petroleum Council which includes 65 member countries.

Notes:
India has set a $400 billion target for merchandise exports for 2021-22, of which $262 billion has already been achieved in the April-November 2021-22 period.
A record export target of $43 billion has been set for agricultural products in 2021-22. During the Agri-Export Conference held at Uttar Pradesh, the Minister of State of Commerce and Industry announced that the target would be achieved in the current fiscal.

Notes:
The Indian Armed Force’s firing killed 14 civilians in Oting village of Nagaland, which included Konyaks, the largest tribes in the state.
They are known to be one of the fiercest warrior tribes in Nagaland. By 1980, they were the last to give up the practice of head-hunting, the practice of severing heads of enemies after attacking rival tribes. With a population of roughly 3 lakh, Konyaks also inhabit parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Myanmar.

Notes:
The United States has recently warned Russia not to invade Ukraine and urged both countries to return to the agreements designed to end a separatist war by Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine.
In 2014, Ukraine and the Russian-backed separatists agreed a 12-point ceasefire deal in the capital of Belarus- Minsk. Representatives of Russia, Ukraine, OSCE and the leaders of two pro-Russian separatist regions signed a 13-point agreement in 2015 in Minsk. These are called Minsk agreements.

Notes:
The Government of India and Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $150 million loan to provide access to resilient and sustainable housing for the urban poor in the state of Tamil Nadu.
The Indian government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a $125 million loan pact to improve access to safe and affordable drinking water and city-wide inclusive sanitation services in Dehradun and Nainital cities of Uttarakhand.

Notes:
On December 7, NASA launched its new Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD). It is the agency’s first-ever laser communications system from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The LCRD will help the NASA to test optical communication in space. At present, most NASA spacecraft use radio frequency communications to send data. LCRD has two optical terminals – one to receive data from a user spacecraft, and the other to transmit data to ground stations.

Notes:
World Malaria Report 2021 has been released by the World Health Organization (WHO). As per the report, global efforts to tackle malaria suffered due to COVID-19 in 2020.
There were estimated 627,000 malaria deaths in 2020, which is an increase of 12 per cent over 2019. The report also warns that if expeditious action is not taken, the world is in the danger of seeing an immediate resurgence of the disease, especially in Africa.

Notes:
Telangana is currently witnessing cases of Covidengue, which occurs when a COVID-19 patient is infected with the Dengue virus.
Over 8 cases of Covidengue cases have been recorded in Telangana. The symptoms of this syndemic disease include “distress, shortness of breathing, chills, body pains and joint pains. COVID-19 and Dengue have similar kinds of symptoms.

Notes:
‘Swarnim Vijay Parv’,  being celebrated to commemorate 50 years of India’s historic victory in the 1971 war and the Indo-Bangladesh friendship.
Union Minister Rajnath Singh attended an event on the occasion of ‘Swarnim Vijay Parv’. A pre-recorded message of Late CDS General Bipin Rawat was broadcast at the event. At the event, major weapons used during the 1971 war were displayed along with snippets of major battles.