Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

Notes:
The Indian Navy launched ‘Sandhayak’, the first of the four large survey vessels, in Kolkata. The primary role of these survey ships would be to conduct full-scale coastal and deep-water hydrographic survey of ports and harbours.
The ships would be deployed for collecting oceanographic and geophysical data and determination of navigational routes. The contract for building four survey ships was signed between the Defence Ministry and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in 2018.

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:
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is implementing an Umbrella scheme namely Atal Vayo Abhyudaya Yojana (AVYAY).
The scheme aims for welfare of Senior Citizens across the country. This has several components, namely Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY), SACRED, IPSrC, SAPSrC among others.

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:
The Sikkim Assembly passed Sikkim (Re-Organisation of Districts) Bill, 2021 bill, for the creation of two more districts named Pakyang and Soreng.
Sikkim will have six districts after Governor Ganga Prasad gives his assent to the bill. The House also passed an amendment bill to rename Sikkim State University after Mt Kanchenjunga, the guardian deity of the people.

Notes:
UPI is the single-largest retail payment system in the country, with 14 crore transactions per day in October 2021 and 50% transactions were below Rs 200.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently proposed to increase the transaction limit for payments made through Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for the Retail Direct Scheme and initial public offering (IPO) applications to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 2 lakh. RBI also proposes td launch UPI-based payment products for feature phone users.

Notes:
On National Energy Conservation Day, the Power Ministry will distribute LED bulbs at a subsidised rate at 10 Rupees in over 2,500 villages in five states – Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.
This will be done under the expansion of flagship Gram UJALA programme. The programme has been launched in March 2021 and achieved a distribution mark of more than 33 lakh LED bulbs in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Notes:
Catherine Russell, an assistant to US President Joe Biden, has been appointed as the next head of the UN children’s agency UNICEF.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced  that Russell will succeed Henrietta Fore, who resigned in July. Russell heads the White House Office of Presidential Personnel and had served as the ambassador-at-large for global women issues.

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:
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.