Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2022

Notes:
Bharat Ratna Dr BR Ambedkar’s 67th Mahaparinirvan Diwas is observed on December 6. Lakhs of followers from all over the country gathered at Chaityabhoomi in Dadar in Mumbai to pay tribute to the great leader.
Chaitya Bhoomi is a Buddhist chaitya and the cremation place of B. R. Ambedkar, the 20th-century Indian intellectual and the chief architect of the Indian Constitution.

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:
Yoginder K Alagh, a veteran economist and former Union minister, reecntly passed away at the age of 83.
He was the Union minister of state for Planning and Programme Implementation, Science and Technology and Power during 1996-98. He also served as the Vice Chancellor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.

Notes:
India’s telecom regulatory authority recently floated a consultation paper about Calling Name Presentation (CNAP).
It seeks to help telephone subscribers identify and make informed choices about incoming calls from tele-marketers and others. The feature would provide the called individual with information about the calling.

Notes:
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative jointly released ‘State of Finance for Nature 2022 ‘ Report.
It shows that current finance flows to nature-based solutions (NbS) are at USD 154 billion per year, which is less than half of the USD 384 billion per year needed by 2025.

Notes:
Supreme Court exempted Maharashtra’s Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary (TWS) from its earlier order mandating the creation of a 1 km eco-sensitive zones (ESZ) around all protected areas in India.
It also stated that practical difficulties and ground realities will have to be taken into account before having a uniform order for creating ESZs as mandated. The Sanctuary is located in the suburbs of Mumbai.

Notes:
Bharti Airtel announced its partnership with Facebook parent Meta to jointly invest in global connectivity infrastructure that would extend a subsea cable ‘2Africa Pearls’ to India.
Last year, Meta announced a new segment of 2Africa Pearls in collaboration with regional partners. The 37,000-km subsea cable connected 23 countries, when it was launched in 2020. The cable would connect Africa, Europe, and Asia.

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 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 International Day of Neutrality is commemorated on December 12. The day was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2017, to focus on advocating and campaigning for intra-state peaceful relations.
The United Nations focuses on Preventive diplomacy, which is the diplomatic action taken to prevent disputes from escalating into conflicts, as well as limiting the spread of conflicts; as well as mediating in inter and intra-state conflicts at all stages, and peacekeeping.