Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2022

Notes:
After significant deterioration in air quality of Delhi-NCR in last 24 hours, the Stage III of revised Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) was invoked.
This is in addition to the preventive/ restrictive actions mentioned in Stage I and Stage II of the GRAP. Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) crossed the 407 mark, which is likely to be a localized influence.

Notes:
Indonesian lawmakers unanimously passed a sweeping new criminal code that criminalizes sex outside marriage.
The new code, which also applies to foreign residents and tourists, bans cohabitation before marriage, apostasy, and provides punishments for insulting the president or expressing views counter to the national ideology.

Notes:
Haryana Government issues orders which prohibit dismissing an employee without a proper enquiry. The move comes after a recommendation of Punjab and Haryana high court which states that authorities have been ignoring the law regarding dismissal of an employee under Article 311 (2) (b) of the Constitution.
Article 311 empowers the competent authority to dismiss, remove or reduce in rank a government employee subject to various riders.

Notes:
Bernard Arnault & family, who own the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton group of luxury brands, were briefly placed in the top position on Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List.
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk was at second position for a while after a fall in his automobile company Tesla’s shares. With a net worth of USD 185.4 billion, Musk is now again followed in the Forbes list by Arnault at USD 184.7 billion

Notes:
The government permitted complete Work From Home (WFH) options to the employees of IT units in special economic zones.
The government has amended Special Economic Zones (SEZ) rules and permitted IT/ITeS units in SEZ, subject to certain conditions. The notification increases the duration of WFH, which could be extended up to 50% of the total employees.

Notes:
International Anti-Corruption Day is observed on 9 December, with the theme of ‘Uniting the World against Corruption’.
The 2022 International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) seeks to highlight the crucial link between anti-corruption and peace, security, and development. It also marks the start of twentieth anniversary of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).

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 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:
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.

Notes:
Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) Researchers have developed an ‘Ocean Wave Energy Converter’ that can generate electricity from sea waves.
The Device was deployed at a location about 6 KM off the coast of Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu. The device targets generating 1MW of power from ocean waves in the next three years.