Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

Notes:
Asian Development Bank has approved a Rs 2,644.85 crore (USD 350 million) loan for India to help improve its urban services.
The loan supports the policies set up by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to provide universal coverage of piped water supply and improved sanitation. This is part of the recently launched Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0

Notes:
Ministry of Power is celebrating the Energy Conservation Week from 8th to 14th December 2021. The Celebration is led by Bureau of Energy Efficiency.
It also provides National Energy Conservation Awards (NECA) for Industries and National Energy Efficiency Innovation Awards (NEEIA) to recognize innovative energy efficiency technologies. BEE also recognises National Level Painting Competitions on Energy Conservation for school children.

Notes:
The USA recently announced a new bill named ‘Platform Accountability and Transparency Act (PATA)’.
The bill establishes new rules which could compel social media platforms to share data with “Qualified researchers”. They are defined as university-affiliated researchers pursuing projects that have been approved by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Notes:
Operation Devi Shakti was an operation of the Indian Armed Forces to evacuate Indian citizens and foreign nationals from Afghanistan.
Recently, a special flight arrived at Delhi Airport from Kabul in Afghanistan carrying 10 Indians and 94 Afghans including members of the Afghan Hindu-Sikh minority community. The special Kam Air flight was arranged by India under Operation Devi Shakti. India has evacuated over 565 Indian nationals from Afghanistan so far.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) mandatory for cross-border transactions for capital or current account transactions of Rs 50 crore and above, from October 1 next year.
LEI is a 20-digit number used to identify parties to financial transactions worldwide to improve the accuracy of financial data systems. Banks should obtain LEI numbers from local companies undertaking capital or current account transactions of Rs 50 crore and above, for each transaction.

Notes:
The Pinaka MLRS has been successfully developed by two DRDO laboratories in Pune – Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE) and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) – in partnership with two private sector firms, L&T and Tata Power Company Ltd (TPCL).
Recently, Pinaka Extended Range (Pinaka-ER) Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), was successfully tested with rockets built by the two private firms.

Notes:
Union Minister for Ports Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the River Cruise Services at the Marmugao Port in Goa.
Mormugao Port is a 32- year- old port, located in South Goa. As per the Ministry, any entrepreneur can start a new and similar type of Service from this berthing facility, which is available in the Port.

Notes:
Commercial Space Astronaut Wings Program is implemented by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The program comes under the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984 and was designed to recognize pilots and flight crew. Recently, FAA announced that it will no longer issue Commercial Space Astronaut Wings, the pins given to individuals reaching space but instead recognise on its website.

Notes:
Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) deals with the Sedition Law. This section defines sedition as an offence committed when “any person attempts to excite disaffection towards government established by law, by means of spoken or written words, or by signs, or by visible representation.
Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju informed the Lok Sabha by a written reply that there is no proposal to scrap sedition law.  The Indian Penal Code was enacted in 1860, under the British Government.

Notes:
Photodynamic therapy involves the use of light-sensitive medicine, which is activated by a light source. The treatment is used to treat certain cancers, and patients report a side effect due to the treatment.
Many people claim to have better night vision and also vision of unusual patterns and silhouettes in the dark. Researchers discovered Rhodopsin, a light-sensitive protein found in retinas, interacts with chlorin e6, a photosensitive used in cancer treatment.