Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) mandatory for cross-border transactions for capital or current account transactions of Rs 50 crore and above, from October 1 next year.
LEI is a 20-digit number used to identify parties to financial transactions worldwide to improve the accuracy of financial data systems. Banks should obtain LEI numbers from local companies undertaking capital or current account transactions of Rs 50 crore and above, for each transaction.

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:
Mouse opossums are relatively small members of the Neotropical marsupial family Didelphidae. They are endemic to Americas, especially to South America.
Recently a newly-identified species, named the Adler’s mouse opossum (Marmosa adleri), is among the smallest subgenus Micoureus. It was named after the researcher Greg Adler and  has larger ears, with a short furry tail.

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:
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:
Chief Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose inaugurated the digital platform named LokpalOnline, which enables people to file corruption complaints with the Lokpal.
At present, complaints are being sent by post, e-mail or hand-delivered. The new portal can be accessed by the citizens of the country and complaints can be filed from anywhere, anytime at lokpalonline.gov.in. In 2019, Justice Ghose was appointed as the country’s first Lokpal.

Notes:
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed by Lok Sabha. It is an unusual amendment and seeks to rectify a drafting “anomaly” created by a 2014 amendment to the parent legislation.
The anomaly is just a sentence that alters numbering of the provisions. The 2021 Bill amends the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Section 27A of the NDPS Act, 1985, prescribes punishment for financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders.

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:
Keechant Sewell has been named the New York City’s next police commissioner, making her the first woman to lead the nation’s largest police force.
Keechant Sewell was a Long Island police official. The 49-year-old will also be the third Black person to serve as New York Police Department commissioner. Among about 35,000 uniformed members of the department, around 45% are white, 30% are Hispanic, 15% are Black and 10% are Asian.

Notes:
The Government of India has appointed Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane as Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, following the demise of General Bipin Rawat.
Here, the Government of India has adopted the old system of appointing a Chiefs of Staff Committee instead of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). Under the old system, the senior most among the chiefs among the armed forces would assume charge as Chiefs of Staff Committee.