Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2022

Notes:
The Oxford English Dictionary recently unveiled the word of the year 2022 as ‘Goblin mode’, which was selected by public votes.
According to Oxford University Press (OUP), it means ‘a type of behaviour which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations.’ The term was first used in 2009 but went viral on social media earlier this year.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) hiked the repo rate by 35 basis points (bps) to 6.25 per cent with immediate effect.
The policy rate is now at its highest level since August 2018 and this is the fifth rate hike by the central bank in this financial year. MPC decided to remain focused on the withdrawal of accommodative stance. The standing deposit facility (SDF) rate stands adjusted to 6.00 per cent and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.50 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:
Three Female umpires will officiate in Ranji Trophy this season, for the first time in Indian cricket history.
Vrinda Rathi, Janani Narayan and Gayathri Venugopalan will officiate in the Ranji Trophy. It will be the first for Indian cricket when female umpires are asked to officiate in the men’s cricket matches. One of the umpires Gayathri has served as a fourth umpire in Ranji Trophy in the past.

Notes:
Centre has launched a plan to develop the power transmission system for integration of 500 GW of green energy by 2030.
The union ministry of power constituted a high-level committee under chairperson of Central Electricity Authority with representatives from SECI, Central Transmission Utility of India Ltd, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, among others for planning the transmission system required for having 500 GW of non-fossil fuel based installed capacity by 2030.

Notes:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has been named as the 2022 person of the year by Time magazine.
The Times cited that the President has put up a feisty resistance against the Russian invasion for nearly a year now. Zelensky shares the 2022 title with the spirit of Ukraine. When Russia declared war against its neighbour, Zelensky announced his decision to stay in Kyiv and rally his country.

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:
Three medicinal plant species found in the Himalayas have been added to IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Meizotropis pellita, commonly known as Patwa and endemic to Uttarakhand, has been assessed as ‘critically endangered’, Fritilloria cirrhosa as ‘vulnerable’, and Dactylorhiza hatagirea as ‘endangered’.

Notes:
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced that the test run of hypersonic vehicles was successfully conducted with Headquarters of the Integrated Defense Staff (HQ IDS).
The Trisonic Wind Tunnel system helps with the aerodynamic design of rockets and re-entry spacecraft. The tunnel can simulate flight at speeds from 68 metres per second to 1,360 metres per second.

Notes:
France football team entered the semifinals of the World Cup by beating England 2-1. Olivier Giroud scored in the 78th minute which helped Franc win the game.
France is also on course to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cups. Kylian Mbappé is a 23 year old football player of the France team.