Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

Notes:
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani and wife Nita Ambani topped the annual Power Couple ranking done by the Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB).
The survey was conducted among over 1000 respondents across India aged 25-40 years. The couple is followed by Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh at the second place and Cricket captain Virat Kohli and his actress wife Anushka Sharma at third place.

Notes:
Catherine Russell, an assistant to US President Joe Biden, has been appointed as the next head of the UN children’s agency UNICEF.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced  that Russell will succeed Henrietta Fore, who resigned in July. Russell heads the White House Office of Presidential Personnel and had served as the ambassador-at-large for global women issues.

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:
The present world chess champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway defended his title and won the FIDE World Championship in Dubai.
Carlsen beat Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia, crossing the seven point threshold to win the global tournament held at Dubai’s Expo 2020 in the United Arab Emirates.Carlsen clinched his fifth world championship title.

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:
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:
The Asian Development Bank trimmed its 2021 growth forecast for India to 9.7% from the earlier estimate of 10.0% made in September. However it left the 2022 growth forecast unchanged at 7.5%.
The growth forecasts for developing Asia for this year and next were also slashed to 7.0% and 5.3%, in order to reflect risks and uncertainty brought by the new Omicron coronavirus variant.

Notes:
India launched the supersonic missile assisted torpedo system developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The next-generation missile-based standoff torpedo delivery system was launched from Wheeler Island in Odisha, from a ground mobile launcher. Several DRDO labs were involved in developing the missile system.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister of India has approved the construction of the Lakhwar Multipurpose Project in Uttarakhand, on the Yamuna River.
The project includes construction of a dam and a underground power house, to be constructed by Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. This project would benefit Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh.

Notes:
The Government of India has decided to notify the Najafgarh Jheel, which is the second largest water body in Delhi-NCR as a transboundary wetland for its restoration and rejuvenation.
Najafgarh Jheel is fed by Sahibi River and was a vast lake in south west Delhi and was connected to the river Yamuna by a drain called the Najafgarh nullah.