Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

Notes:
Parliament recently passed the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (Amendment) Bill.
It aims to accord the status of ‘institute of national importance’ to six more institutes of pharmaceutical education and research situated in Ahmedabad, Hajipur, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Guwahati and Raebareli. It also aims to set up an advisory council for them.

Notes:
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Department of Space, and the government of India signed an MoU with smartphone maker OPPO to strengthen research and development of NavIC messaging service.
NavIC messaging service is the domestic satellite navigation system of India. They will develop indigenous solutions by incorporating the NavIC short messaging feature in the smartphones released by OPPO.

Notes:
A recent terrorist attack on convoy of United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) killed seven UN peacekeepers.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs condemned the attack held in Bandiagara region in Mali that resulted in the killing of seven UN peacekeepers from Togo.

Notes:
India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully flight-tested the stand-off anti-tank (SANT) missile from Pokhran range.
The indigenously designed and developed helicopter-launched missile has the ability to neutralise targets in a range of up to 10 kilometres. It also has a millimetre wave (MMW) seeker which provides high precision strike capability from distance.

Notes:
A Royal Bengal Tiger has been spotted in Buxa tiger reserve in West Bengal, after at least 23 years, as per the West Bengal government.
A picture of a tiger was captured on a trap camera in the forest of East Damanpur of Buxa tiger reserve.  It was in 1998 that images of a Royal Bengal Tiger were captured at the reserve earlier. The reserve had lost its identity as a tiger reserve from the National Wild Life Board.

Notes:
Nauru, Kiribati and the Federated States of Micronesia are island countries located in the western Pacific Ocean.
The United States, Australia and Japan have announced that they will jointly fund the construction of an undersea cable to boost internet access in three small Pacific countries. This is regarded as the counter to the rising Chinese influence in the region.

Notes:
OSCAR 1 (Orbiting Satellites Carrying Amateur Radio) is the world’s first non-governmental satellite, first amateur Radio Satellite. It was launched successfully on December 12, 1961.
It was also the first satellite built by a collection of private individuals. OSCAR 1 operated for nearly 20 days, testing radio reception from space.

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:
Meta-owned WhatsApp announced its pilot programme of adopting 500 villages across Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The programme aims to empower people with access to digital payments through ‘payments on WhatsApp’. The announcement regarding the programme was made at “Fuel For India 2021 — Meta’s annual event in India”.

Notes:
Former US President Barack Obama has retained his position at the most admired man in the world as per an international survey carried out by YouGov.
For this survey, 42,000 people from 38 countries were asked who they admired most. Bill Gates is in second spot among men while Chinese President Xi Jinping is on third place. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was listed as 8th most admired man. Among women, Michelle Obama bagged the top spot.