Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2022

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.

Notes:
As many as 38 people recently died in incidents related to powerful Arctic winter storm. The vast storm extends more than 3,200km from Texas to Quebec.
Over 200 million people across the country were left without power and thousands of flights were cancelled. More than eight million people remained under blizzard warnings. As per the US National Weather Service, its recent depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather advisories ever.

Notes:
India-assisted 720 Megawatts Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Power Project has been recently handed to Druk Green Power Corporation (DGPC) in Bhutan.
With this project, India and Bhutan have successfully completed four mega hydroelectric power projects. The commissioning of the project has increased Bhutan’s Electrical Power Generation Capacity by 44 per cent.

Notes:
Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry released a policy draft for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics — Extended Reality (AVGC-XR).
It has an aim to boost India’s domestic capacities and develop opportunities in AVGC-XR sector. The policy at state and national levels talks about the framing of a new curriculum at school and college levels, under ‘Create in India’ campaign and creating more job opportunities. The taskforce on AVGC-XR was formed under the aegis of I&B Ministry secretary Apurva Chandra.

Notes:
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has appointed senior bureaucrat Santosh Kumar Yadav as Chairman.
Santosh Kumar Yadav, a 1995-batch IAS officer is currently additional secretary in the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education.

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:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually laid foundation stone and projects worth more than ₹7,800 crore in West Bengal.
He also virtually inaugurated Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee – National Institute of Water and Sanitation (DSPM – NIWAS). It will serve as an apex body in the country on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in the country, serving as a hub of information and knowledge for Central, State and local governments.

Notes:
The US Census Bureau said the world’s population is projected to be at 7.9 billion on New Year’s Day 2023.
This is an increase of 73.7 million since January 2022 and an increase in global population of 0.9 percent over the previous year. The Census Bureau projected that there will be 4.3 births and two deaths globally every second in January 2023.