Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2022

Notes:
India’s first gold ATM and world’s first real time gold ATM has been launched in Hyderabad. The gold ATM enables customers to buy gold without going to a physical jewellery store.
Goldsikka, a company that specialises in buying and selling of gold, introduced the ATM with technology support from a Hyderabad-based startup OpenCube. In the ATM, the buyer selects the price and gold worth the amount is released to the buyer.

Notes:
World Bank raised its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for India during the current financial year (FY23) to 6.9 per cent from 6.5 per cent.
As per the India Development Update, the World Bank cited the economy’s resilience to external headwinds, and a strong out-turn in the second quarter of the current financial year. The report forecasts that the economy will grow at a slightly lower rate of 6.6 per cent in fiscal FY24 from the earlier projected 7 per cent.

Notes:
Cyclone Mandous lies over southwest Bay of Bengal, about 620 km southeast of Chennai. The storm is likely to cross the coasts of north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh between Puducherry and Sriharikota.
Under its influence, rainfall is expected over parts of coastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh for two days. Red alert has already been issued for Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Notes:
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) saw a huge rise of 650 percent in value at the semi-urban and rural stores in India, according to a report by fin-tech company PayNearby.
According to the report, the demand for micro-ATMs and mPOS devices increased by 25 percent. There was sharp growth of over 200 percent in the cash collection business with a monthly average of Rs 1400 crores.

Notes:
University Grants Commission (UGC) has sought the translation of textbooks for undergraduate programmes in languages such as Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati, Odia, Bengali, Assamese, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu.
UGC also constituted an apex committee to prepare the roadmap to introduce undergraduate and postgraduate courses in regional languages in disciplines including commerce, humanities, and science.

Notes:
The 9th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) and Arogya Expo 2022was inaugurated today at Panaji, Goa. It aims to showcase the efficacy of AYUSH systems of medicine at Global level.
The third edition of the ‘Ayushman’ comic book series was also released on this occasion.  A MoU was signed between All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) and Rosenberg’s European Academy of Ayurveda, Germany for advanced studies in traditional Indian medicine systems.

Notes:
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has proposed allowing all general insurers to offer long-term motor insurance policies.
The proposal seeks to provide a wider choice to policyholders. The regulator proposed a three-year policy in respect of private cars co-terminus with motor third party liability cover and a five-year policy in respect of two-wheelers.

Notes:
The delegations from Sweden and Nepal last week visited the National Health Authority (NHA), to study India’s Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
NHA is the government department that is responsible for implementing the PMJAY scheme. The health assurance scheme aims to provide a health cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to over 100 million poor families.

Notes:
The Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said in Lok Sabha that 30 River-linking components have been identified.
National Water Development Agency (NWDA) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti identified 16 links under peninsular rivers component and 14 links under Himalayan component of National Perspective Plan (NPP) for inter basin transfer. Ken-Betwa river link project has been approved with estimated cost of ₹44,605 crore with central support of ₹39,317 crore.

Notes:
Bengaluru is the host of the first G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies (FCBD) meeting from December 13 to 15.
The G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies (FCBD) meeting is jointly hosted by the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The meeting will mark the start of discussions on the Finance Track agenda under the Indian G20 presidency. The Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting will be held in Bengaluru during February 23-25 2023.