Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2022

Notes:
Indian scientist Professor Thalappil Pradeep, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras received VinFuture special prize on 20th Dec. 2022 in Hanoi.
He was awarded for innovation of a low-cost filtration system to remove arsenic and other heavy metals from groundwater. Thalappil was earlier conferred with the Padma Shri in honour of his work to develop affordable and safe drinking water solutions using nanomaterials.

Notes:
Harmanpreet Singh was named the captain of the 18-member Indian squad for the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup.
Hockey India announced the squad for the FIH men’s World Cup scheduled from January 13 to 29, 2023 in Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, Odisha. Amit Rohidas will be his deputy for the event.The Men in Blue will play its opening game against Spain at the newly built Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela.

Notes:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) cautioned that India’s fiscal space is at risk, in its Article IV consultation report.
IMF also called for a more ambitious and well-communicated consolidation to ensure medium-term fiscal sustainability. It called for further structural reforms, including addressing the adverse impact of climate change, to secure strong and sustainable growth.

Notes:
India’s budding badminton player Geto Sora recently won Junior International Badminton Championship title in Malaysia.
This is Sora’s second international badminton title in two months. The 7 year old player from Arunachal Pradesh is one of the youngest to clinch international title. Earlier, he won the multinational BTY-Yonex-Singha Championship, Thailand.

Notes:
Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs has recently released the draft guidelines for a new ranking system of cities based on their financial performance and beautification.
The ‘City Finance Rankings 2022’ aims to evaluate and reward urban local bodies on the basis of their strength across resource mobilisation, expenditure performance and fiscal governance systems. The ‘City Beauty Competition’ initiative aims to recognise efforts made by the cities and wards towards creating beautiful, innovative and inclusive public spaces.

Notes:
Pharmaceutical company Hetero received World Health Organization Prequalification of Medicines Programme (WHO PQ) approval for its generic version of Covid-19 oral antiviral treatment candidate Nirmatrelvir.
Nirmatrelvir, which originated in Pfizer laboratories, is co-packaged with ritonavir tablets as Pfizer’s Covid-19 oral antiviral drug Paxlovid.

Notes:
Telangana government has launched the 10th phase of Rythu Bandhu, the investment support scheme for farmers.
Under this phase, 7,676 crores will be deposited in the bank accounts of over 70 lakh farmers towards investment support for the Rabi crop season. The investment support is disbursed at a rate of 5000 rupees per acre.

Notes:
The Indian Army has offered the first 3D printed houses for soldiers at Ahmedabad Cantt. They are constructed by the Military Engineering Services (MES) in collaboration with MiCoB Pvt Ltd.
The dwelling unit, with a ground floor plus one configuration are not only cheap but can be constructed in less time. Construction work of the dwelling unit with garage space and first floor was completed in 12 weeks.

Notes:
Delhi government has recently cleared the draft Delhi Solar Policy 2022. It aims to increase the share of the city’s annual electricity demand met by solar energy from 9% at present to 25% by 2025.
The draft targets a total installed solar capacity of 6,000 megawatt by 2025. It includes benefits such as Generation Based Incentives and subsidy for consumers. The draft has been put in public domain for 30 days after which it will be tabled before Cabinet for final approval.

Notes:
‘Forks in the Road: My Days at RBI and Beyond’ book is a memoir of Dr C. Rangarajan, the 19th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and a former Member of Parliament.
The book includes his journey as an economist and RBI Governor and sheds lights on some of the hidden truths surrounding India’s economic history including the account of 1991 reforms.