Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

Notes:
The Seine is a 777-kilometre-long river situated in northern France. The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on July 26, 2024, will be held on the River Seine.
Athletes and officials from more than 200 countries will sail almost 6 kilometres (4 miles) between the Pont d’Austerlitz and Pont d’Iena bridges in Paris.

Notes:
Four-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles was named Time’s 2021 Athlete of the Year, the Time magazine announced.
She had withdrawn from four event finals at the Tokyo Olympics, stating reasons of her mental health. However, the 24-year-old managed to earn all-around silver and a bronze in balance beam at the Tokyo Olympics.

Notes:
“Q-Commerce” stands for “Quick commerce”, which essentially involves delivering customer orders faster than it does currently, by setting up micro-warehouses located closer to the point of delivery.
Online grocer Grofers has rebranded itself “Blinkit”, with a focus on “quick commerce”. Grofers decided to change its business model from the conventional grocer model to the quick-commerce model.

Notes:
Maharashtra tops the list of states with maximum number of beneficiaries under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY).
It is followed by Tamilnadu and Gujarat. ABRY was announced as a part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 package to boost the economy, increase the employment generation along with social security benefits.

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.

Notes:
The UNESCO has added Durga Puja to its ‘Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’.
The 16th Committee of UNESCO for safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) at its meeting held in Paris added Durga Puja in Kolkata on the Representative List. This is the first festival of Asia, to be included in the prestigious list.

Notes:
Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Giriraj Singh launched MIS (Management Information System) portal for rankings of States/UTs in Land Acquisition Projects.
It is based on RFCTLARR Act, 2013 (Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013). The Department of Land Resources developed this MIS portal and top 3 Districts and States will be awarded based on their rankings on the portal

Notes:
The Government of India and the Germany Development Bank -KFW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau) signed a 442.26 million euro loan pact for Surat Metro Rail project.
The total cost of the project is estimated to be Euro 1.50 billion (₹12,020 crore), of which KfW bank is financing Euro 442.26 million. Surat Metro Rail Project was launched in January this year. The project is being co-financed by French Development Agency, AFD.

Notes:
The International Migrant Day is observed every year on December 18, to tackle the problem and challenges of global migration.
The United Nations General Assembly in the year 1999 created the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families. The theme for the year 2021 is ‘Harnessing the potential of human mobility’.

Notes:
The Indian Navy recently had maiden sea trials of its second indigenous stealth destroyer of the P15B class named Mormugao, which is built by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDSL). The ship has been named after the port town in Goa.
It has been proposed to commission the stealth destroyer in mid-2022 and would add significantly to the Indian Navy’s combat capabilities.