Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2022

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:
Google’s Jigsaw subsidiary is launching a new anti-misinformation project in India. The project is aimed to prevent misleading information that has been blamed for inciting violence.
The initiative will use prebunking videos, which have been designed to counter false claims before they are circulated on the company’s YouTube platform and other social media sites. In India, the project is released in multiple local languages including Bengali, Hindi and Marathi.

Notes:
Three Indian billionaires Gautam Adani, Shiv Nadar, and Ashok Soota find place in Forbes Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy list.
Business tycoon Gautam Adani, HCL Technologies’s Shiv Nadar, and Happiest Minds Technologies’ Ashok Soota are the three Indians in the 16th edition of the list. The list highlights individual altruists in the Asia-Pacific region who are donating from their own fortunes, and giving personal time and attention to their select causes.

Notes:
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released the ‘Global status of black soils’ Report on the occasion of World Soil Day, December 5, 2022.
As per the report, Black soils, which feed the global population, are under threat, with most losing at least half of their soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. As per the FAO, the reasons are Land-use change, unsustainable management practices and excessive use of agrochemicals.

Notes:
At least six children have died of a common bacterial infection, Strep A, in the United Kingdom. When the bacteria enter the bloodstream, the infection can get severe and it is called invasive Group A Strep (iGAS).
The symptoms of Strep A include fever, skin rashes and a sore easily treated with antibiotics. As many as 851 cases of Strep A were reported in a week of November, compared to an average of 186 for the same time in preceding years

Notes:
The 4-day meeting of G20 Development Working Group (DWG) is set to begin in Mumbai under India’s Presidency.
The Development Working Group meeting aims to discuss developmental issues in Developing Countries, Least Developed Countries and Island Countries.

Notes:
As on date, 94 Financial Institutions have onboarded themselves on Account Aggregator (AA) platform as Financial Information User (FIU)
26 Financial Institutions are onboard as Financial Information Provider (FIP). Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted Certificate of Registration to six companies as Account Aggregator (AA), as on date.

Notes:
The Prime Minister virtually inaugurated the Goa-based All India Institute of Ayurveda, Ghaziabad-based National Institute of Unani Medicine, and Delhi-based National Institute of Homeopathy from Goa.
He addressed the 9th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) and Arogya Expo. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the All India Institute of Ayurveda at Dhargal will have 50 per cent reservation in seats for Goans.

Notes:
Paleontologists have recently identified a new genus and species of titanosaurian dinosaur from the fossilized remains in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.
Titanosaurs had small heads, long tails and necks, and included the largest terrestrial animals known. The newly-identified species, Caieiria allocaudata, lived during the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous epoch, between 70 and 66 million years ago.

Notes:
According to The Wheebox India Skills Report 2023, India’s employable talent has risen in the past one year.
According to the report, India’s employable workforce has increased from 46.2 per cent to 50.3 per cent. The percentage of women who were found to be employable has increased to 52.8 per cent, compared to 47.2 per cent for men.