Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2022

Notes:
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced that from April 1, poor families covered under the Ujjwala scheme will be given 12 LPG cylinders a year for Rs 500 each.
The chief minister made the announcement at an event for the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra event.  Under Ujjwala scheme, the people are provided with LPG connections but not cylinders. The current price for LPG cylinders of14.2kg is around Rs 1,057.

Notes:
Argentina’s Lionel Messi creates record as the professional football player with the most appearances in FIFA World Cup.
Messi has appeared in 26 matches across all FIFA Men’s World Cups since 1930. The record was earlier held by Lothar Matthaus. Miroslav Klose appeared in 24 matches, followed by Paolo Maldini and Cristiano Ronaldo. Earlier, Messi held the record for being the youngest player to score and assist in the same game in the tournament.

Notes:
India will host the next special negotiation round on three of the four pillars of the United States-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) on February 2023.
IPEF has four pillars in all namely trade, supply chain, tax and anti-corruption and clean energy. During the first-ever in-person ministerial in September 2022, India decided to join only three pillars, and opted out of the trade pillar.

Notes:
Ten captive-bred Asian Giant Tortoise juveniles were soft-released into the protected Intanki National Park of Nagaland.
It is the first monitored rewilding of the species in India. The Asian Giant Tortoise (Manouria emys phayrei) is the largest tortoise in mainland Asia, listed as ‘critically endangered’ in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Notes:
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (MDL) announced the delivery of the fifth Scorpene Submarine ‘Vagir’ of Project P-75 to the Indian Navy.
It is scheduled to be commissioned into service in January. The sixth Scorpene submarine Vaghsheer was launched on 20 April 2022 and is getting readied for trials. Vagir can undertake anti-surface, anti-submarine, intelligence gathering, mine laying, area surveillance missions.

Notes:
Credit bureau TransUnion CIBIL along with SIDBI and Online PSB loans launched a ranking for MSME companies.
The FIT Rank model uses machine learning to predict the probability of MSME becoming a NPA in the next 12 months. The system will leverage business information including GST, bank statements, income tax returns.

Notes:
Fitch Ratings affirmed India’s sovereign credit rating at ‘BBB-‘ with stable outlook. It also said that the country’s rating reflected strengths from a robust growth outlook and resilient external finances.
Fitch expects the government to push ahead with fiscal consolidation and forecast FY24 deficit target to be set at 6.0% of GDP in the FY 24 budget.

Notes:
Adani Solar, the photovoltaic manufacturing and research arm of the Adani Group, has introduced India’s first large sized monocrystalline silicon ingot.
Inaugurated at its Mundra facility recently, the mono-crystalline ingots will help to produce renewable electricity from Silicon based PV modules with efficiencies ranging from 21% to 24%. Adani Solar is a part of Adani New Industries (ANIL).

Notes:
Maritime logistics arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Singapore-based AG&P signed agreement to use Liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier as a floating storage unit in India.
The LNG carrier is owned by ADNOC Logistics and Services (ADNOC L&S). It will be used at AG&P’s LNG import terminal in India which will be commissioned in the second half of 2024. It is the third agreement is for a floating storage unit lease in India and the Philippines.

Notes:
National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has received in-principle approval from the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to set up a Social Stock Exchange (SSE) as a separate segment of the NSE.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Union Budget speech of 2019-20, proposed the creation of a Social Stock Exchange, under the regulatory ambit of SEBI, for listing social enterprises and voluntary organisations.