Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

Notes:
Government think tank NITI Aayog recently announced the launch of ‘e-Sawaari India Electric Bus Coalition’, to share knowledge on e-bus adoption in India.
The Coalition has been launched in partnership with Convergence Energy Service Ltd (CESL) and World Resources Institute, India (WRI India), with support from Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI).

Notes:
In the United States, the House voted to pass the Protect Our Democracy Act, which addresses presidential abuses of power. The bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, at present.
The Act also stresses the checks and balances between the branches of government. It aims to strengthen limitation on presidential pardons, requirement for candidates for president and vice president to submit their personal tax returns for 10 years, and acceptance of any foreign or domestic emoluments.

Notes:
Chief Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose inaugurated the digital platform named LokpalOnline, which enables people to file corruption complaints with the Lokpal.
At present, complaints are being sent by post, e-mail or hand-delivered. The new portal can be accessed by the citizens of the country and complaints can be filed from anywhere, anytime at lokpalonline.gov.in. In 2019, Justice Ghose was appointed as the country’s first Lokpal.

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:
World Trade Organization (WTO) panel has asked India to withdraw its subsidies under the ‘Production Assistance, the Buffer Stock, and Marketing and Transportation Schemes.’
Australia, Brazil and Guatemala raised complaints against India over its policy measures in the sugar sector, at WTO in the year 2019.  WTO also asked India to conform to its obligations under the Agreement on Agriculture and the SCM Agreement.

Notes:
The Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) has accepted the plea to rename Bihar Makhana as Mithila Makhana.
It also suggested amendments in the brand logo to reflect its origins along with identifying and protecting the product’s Geographical Indications (GI) rights. Makhana or fox nut is one of the most famous products of mithila region, span across Bihar and Jharkand.

Notes:
The ‘Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy’, an indicator of literacy among children below 10 years was released by Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).
The Index was prepared by ‘Institute for Competitiveness’. West Bengal (58.95) topped the chart and Bihar was placed at the bottom in the ‘large states’ category. In the ‘small states’ category, Kerala (67.95) grabbed the top spot. Lakshadweep (52.69) and Mizoram (51.64) are top-scoring regions in the UT and Northeast state category, respectively.

Notes:
The Telangana State Government has issued the Telangana Child Labour (prohibition and regulation) (amendment) Rules 2021.
It seeks to initiate stringent action against those employing child labour in different works and issued steps to ensure continuity of their education. As per the rules, children would not perform any tasks during school hours and between 7 p.m and 8 a.m the next day.

Notes:
India being world’s second largest coal producer and it is currently producing over 729 million tonnes of coal. Jharkhand has the most Coal reserves in the country.
Union Minister of Coal Pralhad Joshi has recently launched the fourth tranche of auction of 99 coal mines including 24 new mines. Of these 99 mines, 59 are fully explored mines and 40 are partially explored. These mines are spread across 8 states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.