Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

Notes:
India’s Harnaaz Sandhu won the new Miss Universe title. The 21-year-old contestant from Punjab won the title 21 years after Lara Dutta won the title in 2000.
Harnaaz Sandhu represented India today at the 70th Miss Universe 2021, held in Eilat, Israel. Ms Sandhu claimed the crown edging out Paraguay’s Nadia Ferreira and South Africa’s Lalela Mswane. Only two Indians have won the title of Miss Universe – Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000.

Notes:
Embassy of India in Madagascar organized the monthly literary program LaLitTana. It was held in a virtual platform for the first time due to the Omicron spread.
The event witnessed Malagasy and Indian poets reading their translations of poems to each other. The event was attended by several Indian poets. The Indian ambassador to Madagascar & Comoros Abhay Kumar highlighted that the Malagasy language has about 300 Sanskrit words.

Notes:
UN recognised the 38 degrees Celsius measured in Siberian region of Russia, as the new record high for the Arctic
The heat equivalent to 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit was seen on June 20, 2020 in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk. It marked the highest temperature ever recorded above the Arctic Circle, as per the World Meteorological Organization.

Notes:
The National Unity Government in Myanmar, the unofficial government, led by those faithful to Aung San Suu Kyi, has adopted stable-coin Tether as a legal currency.
As per the NU Government, Tether (USDT) will be domestic use to make it easy and accelerate the current trade, services and payment systems. The military forces currently control the country after declaring a one-year state emergency in February 2021.

Notes:
Malini Parthasarathy, the chairperson of The Hindu Group Publishing, is among four veteran journalists who are named by US-based Columbia Journalism School as the 2022 alumni award winners.
The other winners include Eric Marcus, founder and host of “Making Gay History” podcast, Stuart Schear, American Jewish World Service, and Thomas Maier, investigative journalist. Wendy Lu (HuffPost) and Mukhtar Ibrahim (Sahan Journal), jointly bagged the First Decade Award.

Notes:
Scientists at the Himalayan Research Group NGO, a part of Department of Science and Technology Programme of Science for Equity Empowerment and Development (SEED) Division devised a customized solar water and space heating system.
Named the ‘Solar hamam’, the system is a cost-effective alternative to fuelwood. In the higher Himalayan region, 50% of fuelwood is consumed for the purpose of heating and is also a main reason for forest degradation.

Notes:
Wholesale inflation, based on the Wholesale Price Index, jumped to 14.23 per cent in November from 12.54 per cent in October.
As per the data released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the rise is primarily due to rise in food prices especially of vegetables, and minerals and petroleum products. This is the highest level of wholesale inflation in the 2011-12 series.

Notes:
For the first time in European Union, Malta has become the first country to legalise cannabis at home and for personal use.
Under the new law of Malta, people aged 18 and above will be allowed to have up to seven grams of cannabis and grow up to four plants at home. But consuming cannabis in public remains illegal and punishable by a fine. The new law is set to go to the President for approval.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved an incentive scheme worth Rs 1,300 crore for a period of one year, for the promotion of RuPay Debit Cards and low-value (up to Rs 2,000) BHIM-UPI transactions (person-to-merchants).
The scheme will enable the acquiring banks in building a robust digital payment ecosystem and promoting RuPay Debit card and BHIM-UPI digital transactions. The main aim is to further deepen digital payments in the country.

Notes:
The Supreme Court of India has permitted the state of Maharashtra to hold bullock cart races in the state till the pendency of the issue before the constitutional Bench. Generally, such races would be held in several parts of the state like Pune and western Maharashtra region and is considered to be a  400-year-old tradition.
Bullock cart races were banned in Maharashtra state after the apex Court ruled that the race is violative of the provisions Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.