Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

Notes:
Typhoon Rai hit Philippines and rapidly intensified to a Category 5 storm and made landfall in the southern Philippines.
Rai is the 15th typhoon to enter Philippines this year. It has hit the island of Siargao with sustained winds of up to 195 km (121 miles) per hour. This is set to be the second-most powerful typhoon to strike the nation this year.

Notes:
The Telangana State Government has issued the Telangana Child Labour (prohibition and regulation) (amendment) Rules 2021.
It seeks to initiate stringent action against those employing child labour in different works and issued steps to ensure continuity of their education. As per the rules, children would not perform any tasks during school hours and between 7 p.m and 8 a.m the next day.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet passed a proposal to raise the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years — the same as men.
This step is based on recommendations submitted to NITI Aayog in December 2020 by the task force headed by Jaya Jaitly, which was constituted to examine “matters pertaining to age of motherhood, imperatives of lowering MMR (Maternal Mortality Rate), improvement of nutritional levels and related issues”.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the 594-km Ganga Expressway in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
After completion of work, it will be the longest expressway of Uttar Pradesh, connecting the western and eastern regions of the state. The six-lane expressway, which is expandable to eight lanes, will be built at a cost of over Rs 36000 crore.

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:
Goa Liberation Day is observed on December 19 every year to mark the success of ‘Operation Vijay’ undertaken by Indian armed forces.
Operation Vijay liberated Goa from Portuguese rule. Goa was ruled by the Portuguese for nearly a decade more, after India attained independence. The Portuguese also ruled Daman, Diu, Dadra, Nagar Haveli and Anjediva Island.

Notes:
Phage therapy is the concept of using viruses (known as phage) that are harmless to humans to kill bacteria.
As per a new research, this therapy can be used in combination with antibiotics to cure infections more effectively. It will in turn reduce the threat of antibiotic resistance.

Notes:
The fixation of Minimum Support Price (MSP) is based on recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). It assures a minimum of 50 percent as margin of profit for farmers.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given approval to increase the minimum support price (MSP) of milling copra by Rs 255 per quintal and ball copra by Rs 400 per quintal.

Notes:
The World Health Organization approved a Covid vaccine made by US pharma giant Novavax for emergency use.
Nuvaxovid uses a traditional technology involving proteins found on coronavirus spike proteins. It is a tested approach used in vaccines against diseases including hepatitis B and whooping cough. The European Medicines Agency had earlier assessed and approved Nuvaxovid vaccine.

Notes:
As per the latest report published by the World Anti-Doping Agency, 152 Anti-doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) were reported in India in 2019 and India is at third place in the list.
The 152 violations amount to 17% of the world total. Bodybuilding, weightlifting and athletics contribute majorly to the violations. India is only behind Russia (167) and Italy (157), while Brazil (78) is at fourth and Iran (70) at fifth.