Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2022

Notes:
Top seed Sasikumar Mukund beat Seydina Andre of Senegal 6-4, 6-1 in the semi-finals of the USD 15,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
In the final match, Martyn Pawelski of Poland beat top seed Sasikumar Mukund to clinch USD 15,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament.  It was the maiden professional title for the 18-year-old Martyn.

Notes:
The World Bank released a report titled ‘2022 in Nine Charts’, in which it said that the world is in its steepest slowdown since 1970 and 685 million people could be living in extreme poverty by the end of 2022.
This would make 2022 the second-worst year for poverty reduction in the past two decades, after 2020.

Notes:
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal rolled out Government e-Marketplace services (GeM) through Common Service Centres (CSC) and India Post, Department of Post.
The Minister also launched the Government e-Marketplace Seller Samvaad Booklet, which is a compilation of testimonials from sellers and service providers based on their experience on GeM portal.

Notes:
The Assam cabinet has approved the proposal for grant of industry status to the tourism sector in the state, to boost investments and generate employment.
With this grant, restaurants, cafeterias, health clubs, spas and wellness centers, among others, in the state are eligible for incentives under the industrial policy.

Notes:
Indian Air Force (IAF) and Japanese Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) are set to hold their maiden bilateral air exercise, Veer Guardian 23.
The exercise will be held at Hyakuri air base and Iruma air base in Japan in January 2023. It aims to promote mutual understanding and strengthen defence cooperation between the Air Forces.

Notes:
Decacorn is the name given to a business with a value more than USD 10 billion. Unicorns are businesses with a value more than USD 1 billion.
Recently, the collective value of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is estimated to have gone up to USD 10.9 billion, thereby becoming a decacorn. Media rights, sponsorships, ticket sales, and in-stadia revenue are the contributors for its revenue.

Notes:
Japan adopted a new policy promoting greater use of nuclear energy to ensure a stable power supply amid global fuel shortages and to reduce carbon emissions.
This is seen as a major reversal of its phase-out plan since the Fukushima crisis. The new policy seeks to maximise the use of existing nuclear reactors by restarting many of them and prolonging the operating life of old reactors beyond their 60-year limit, developing next-generation reactors to replace them among others.

Notes:
Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari appointed CPN-Maoist Centre chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ as the new Prime Minister of Nepal.
Prachanda has been appointed as the Prime Minister of Nepal as per the Article 76 Clause 2 of the Constitution. There has been an understanding between Prachanda and Oli to lead the government on rotation basis.

Notes:
As per a new research, two-thirds of Antarctica’s native species, including emperor penguins, are under threat of extinction or major population declines by 2100.
This is due to current trajectories of global heating. The study was conducted by scientists, conservationists and policymakers from 12 countries.  It has identified emperor penguins as the Antarctic species at greatest risk of extinction, followed by other seabirds and dry soil nematodes.

Notes:
Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated the Sports Science Centre in Udupi.
This Sports Science Centre will bring together sports scientists and athletes. The Government has spent 2700 crore rupees to enhance sporting infrastructure as well as 3,136 crore rupees for Khelo India Games, for a period of five years.