Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

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:
Union Ministry of Education is all set to launch Bhasha Sangam mobile application. The app aims to introduce users with common daily conversations in scheduled Indian languages.
The app has 100+ sentences, designed on different themes that allow people to learn basic sentences in 22 Indian languages, attend self-test and generate online certificates. It also enables people to learn different languages of different states of India.

Notes:
The “International Anti-Corruption Day” is observed on December 9 every year, across the world. It is organised by the United Nations Development Program.
The Day aims to raise awareness on the importance of getting rid of corruption, which prevents the progress towards sustainable development goals. The UNCAC United Nations Convention Against Corruption was drafted in 2003.

Notes:
Assamese poet Nilmani Phookan Jr has won the 56th Jnanpith Award.  He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1990 and received the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 2002.
Konkani novelist Damodar Mauzo has won the 57th Jnanpith Award. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983 for his novel Karmelin. He worked towards the inclusion of Konkani as a language in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India, in a movement called Konkani Porjecho Avaz.

Notes:
Google released its ‘Year in Search 2021′ list, which, like displays what was searched the most on its search engine around the world.
Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra became the most searched-for personality in India in 2021. Among the most searched-for subjects on Google in India in 2021, ICC T20 World Cup and Indian Premier League, CoWin, Euro Cup, and Tokyo Olympics occupied the first five spots.

Notes:
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett became the first Prime Minister of Israel to visit the United Arab Emirates.
He recently arrived in the United Arab Emirates to meet the Gulf state’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. The two countries signed a US-brokered agreement known as the Abraham Accords.

Notes:
Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Dr. Virendra Kumar has launched a National Helpline against Atrocities (NHAA).
The Helpline is available on toll-free number “14566” across the country in Hindi, English and regional language of the State/UTs. It aims to ensure proper implementation of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) [PoA] Act, 1989.

Notes:
Dubai has become the world’s first government to turn completely paperless, the Emirate’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The Government announced that it provided a savings of 1.3 billion Dirham (USD 350 million) and 14-million-man hours. “The Dubai Paperless Strategy” was implemented in five phases. The strategy was implemented across all 45 government entities in the emirate, to provide than 1,800 digital services.

Notes:
The Odisha government and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) signed an agreement to announce the launch of Mission Shakti Living Lab.
It aims to empower women economically and promote gender equality. The Mission Shakti Living Lab will promote the use of digital technologies and e-commerce. The Mission Shakti was originally launched in 2001 for holistic development of women.

Notes:
Researchers at IIT Delhi’s Kusuma School of Biological Sciences have developed an RT-PCR based kit for detection of the Omicron (B.1.1.529.1) variant of SARS-CoV-2.
The assay is based on detecting specific mutations, which are present in the Omicron variant and absent in other currently present variants of SARS-CoV-2. Globally, the detection of the Omicron variant requires over 3 days.