Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

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:
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:
Human Rights Day is observed on December 10, every year. This year, the theme is ‘Equality, Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights’.
United Nations General Assembly in 1948 adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This day is celebrated to raise awareness about people’s social, cultural and physical rights and to ensure the welfare of everyone.

Notes:
Telangana is currently witnessing cases of Covidengue, which occurs when a COVID-19 patient is infected with the Dengue virus.
Over 8 cases of Covidengue cases have been recorded in Telangana. The symptoms of this syndemic disease include “distress, shortness of breathing, chills, body pains and joint pains. COVID-19 and Dengue have similar kinds of symptoms.

Notes:
North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (NEDFi), a financial institution in the North-Eastern Region launched ‘Atmanirbhar Hastshilpkar Scheme’.
It aims to provide financial assistance in the form of term loan to the Artisans of the region, for setting up, modernization and other activities related to the sector. The credit facility is collateral free and carries a subsidized interest rate.

Notes:
‘Swarnim Vijay Parv’,  being celebrated to commemorate 50 years of India’s historic victory in the 1971 war and the Indo-Bangladesh friendship.
Union Minister Rajnath Singh attended an event on the occasion of ‘Swarnim Vijay Parv’. A pre-recorded message of Late CDS General Bipin Rawat was broadcast at the event. At the event, major weapons used during the 1971 war were displayed along with snippets of major battles.

Notes:
The state government of Himachal Pradesh recently notified to constitute a “Samanya Varg Aayog”. This was notified amid an aggressive protest by the general category people.
A large number of people in the state belonging to the general category had been demanding to constitute a commission for them.

Notes:
UN General Assembly declared December 12 as the International Day of Neutrality. Neutrality is defined as a legal status which arises when the state decides not to take part in any armed conflict.
International Day of Neutrality aims to raise awareness in public about the value of neutrality in international relations. Article 2 of the UN charter permits the member states to settle their disputes by peaceful means.

Notes:
Voters in the French island territory of New Caledonia chose to stay part of France, in a referendum, hailed by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Sonia Backes, President of the Southern Province region, announced the results, which showed 96 per cent of those who took part chose to stay in France. The vote was monitored by the UN and regional powers.

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.