Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

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.

Notes:
SilverLine, is a semi high-speed railway project being constructed in the state of Kerala. The project includes deploying trains running at 200 km/h between the state’s northern and southern ends.
Protests are taking place across Kerala against SilverLine, being executed by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL). The estimated cost of the project Rs 63,940 crores. The deadline of the project is 2025.

Notes:
Ryugu, also known as 1999 JU3, is a carbon-rich, diamond-shaped, near-Earth asteroid. An analysis of the JAXA’s Hayabusa-2 sample of material returned to Earth from Ryugu shows that the material is very dark, reflecting only 2% of light.
The sample also shows that the material is porous and similar to clay, contains carbonates, as well as compounds rich in nitrogen and hydrogen.

Notes:
Kisan Diwas or National Farmers Day is observed on December 23 across the country to praise the farmers.
The day was chosen to honour the birth anniversary of the fifth Prime Minister of India, Choudhary Charan Singh. Farmers day is celebrated every year, to highlight the contribution of farmers to society, since 2001.

Notes:
Delhi is set to implement the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), to tackle Covid-19. It is a colour-coded action plan with yellow at lowest level of alert and red at the highest level.
Under the plan, the level of restrictions in markets, industries, offices and public transport will be determined based on factors like Covid-19 test positivity rate, new cases, and occupancy of oxygen beds in hospitals.

Notes:
Tsongmo or Changu Lake, is located in the state of Sikkim, near India’s boundary with China. It was seen in the news, as many tourists were stuck near the lake in Sikkim due to heavy snowfall.
Over 1024 tourists were given shelter by the Indian Army near Nathula pass. They were then guided to reach Gangtok, which is around 40 km away, on foot.

Notes:
‘Airgun Surrender Abhiyan’ is being implemented in Arunachal Pradesh. Under the programme,  people are voluntarily surrendering their airguns to stop  indiscriminate hunting of birds.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently appreciated about the Airgun Surrender Abhiyan. The state has been running a unique campaign for a year and in the name of ‘Arunachal Pradesh Airgun Surrender Campaign’.

Notes:
HDFC Bank has tied up with India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) to offer its banking services to the unbanked segments in semi-urban and rural areas.
An MoU was signed between HDFC Bank and IPPB to cater to the 4.7 crore customer base of IPPB, by providing access to finance. About 90 per cent of IPPB customers reside in rural areas.

Notes:
The Trace Gas Orbiter, also called as ExoMars TGO is a collaborative project between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian Roscosmos agency.
Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) arrived at Mars in 2016 and began its full mission in 2018. Recently, a new image taken by the spacecraft shows a small crater in the Vastitas Borealis region. The crater is partially filled with water ice.

Notes:
December 27 is observed as the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness. The first International Day of Epidemic Preparedness was marked in 2020 based on the proclamation of United Nations General Assembly.
According to WHO, the day marks the significance of preventing, preparing for and partnering against epidemics.