Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2022

Notes:
Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologised for the country’s historical role in slavery and slave trade.
The Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte addressed the invited guests after apologising on behalf of his government for the Netherlands’ historical role in slavery and the slave trade at the National Archives in The Hague.

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:
Indian female wrestler Antim Panghal has been nominated for the honour of United World Wrestling Rising Star of the Year
In addition to Panghal, the five women across the world who were nominated for the award include Nonoka Ozaki of Japan, Amit Elor of the US, Emma Malmgren of Sweden, and Andreea Ana of Romania.

Notes:
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has approved Bharat Biotech’s intranasal Covid vaccine as a booster dose for those above 18 years of age.
India’s first intranasal Covid vaccine iNCOVACC will be added to the CoWin app, which is a web platform for vaccination registration in the country. At present, only Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, Serum Institute’s Covishield and Covovax, Russian Sputink V and Biological E Ltd’s Corbevax are listed in the CoWin portal.

Notes:
Union Cabinet decided to provide free food-grains to all 81 crore beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) till December 2023.
The beneficiary families which used to pay ₹1 for coarse cereals, ₹2 for wheat and ₹3 for rice per kg will now get 35kg of food-grains free for the next one year and others will get 5kg for free in a month till December 2023. The Centre has estimated an additional amount of ₹2 lakh crore for the scheme.

Notes:
Flipkart and PhonePe announced the full ownership separation of PhonePe, India’s largest digital payments platform.
The PhonePe Group was acquired by the Flipkart Group in 2016 and is one among India’s largest digital payments platform. PhonePe has over 400 million registered users, as it builds products and offerings tailored to the Indian market.

Notes:
The Delhi Metro has recently completed 20 years of operations, since it started its journey in December 2002 with a corridor of just 8.2 km spanning six stations on the Red Line.
The DMRC’s network span is nearly 392 km with 286 stations in 2022. An exhibition named ‘Tracing Delhi Metro’s Journey’ was launched to mark the 20^th year. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provided financial support for rapid expansion of the metro network in Delhi-NCR.

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:
Cricket Australia has named the men’s Test Player of the Year award after Shane Warne. The legendary cricketer Warne passed away earlier this year.
In 2006, Warne won the Test player of the Year award and finished as the second-highest wicket-taker in Tests by the end of his career. Warne clinched 708 wickets from 145 matches.

Notes:
In India, the minimum wage for labourers has been fixed at Rs 178 per day. The labour ministry is considering a shift from the minimum wage to a living wage.
As per reports, India could seek help from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to arrive at living wages. A minimum wage is the amount required for subsistence and is set by law while the living wage is necessary for workers to meet their basic living requirements. The difference between the two may range from 10 to 25 per cent.