Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2023

Notes:
The Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) for procurement of 16 Upgraded Super Rapid Gun Mount (SRGM) along with associated equipment/ accessories for Indian Navy under Buy (Indian) category at a total cost of ₹2956.89 Cr.
The upgraded SRGM, which will be manufactured by BHEL is a medium caliber anti-missile/anti-aircraft point defence weapon system which provides a sustained rate of fire and high accuracy.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of Fast Track Special Court (FTSCs) as, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) from 01.04.2023 to 31.03.2026 with financial implication of Rs. 1952.23 crore (Rs. 1207.24 crore as Central Share and Rs. 744.99 crore as State share).
The Central Share is to be funded from Nirbhaya Fund. The Fast Track Special Court (FTSCs) Scheme was launched on 02.10.2019.

Notes:
Union Cabinet approved a special development mission for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) with a total outlay of over ₹24,104 crore over a three-year period.
The scheme will focus on 11 critical interventions through 9 Ministries including Ministry of Tribal Affairs.An amount of Rs.15,000 crore will be made available to implement the Mission in the next three years under the Development Action Plan for the Scheduled Tribes (DAPST).

Notes:
Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his official approval to a significant increase in military spending that will see around 30% of fiscal expenditure directed towards the armed forces in 2024.
The President signed draft budget plans into law. Russia is diverting ever more resources towards prosecuting its war in Ukraine. Spending on defence and security combined is set to reach around 40% of all budget expenditure next year.

Notes:
Tushar Shelke and Sangeeta claimed the recurve men and women titles in the National archery championships.
Prathamesh Jawkar and World champion Aditi Swami took the men and women top titles in the compound division.

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Anthrobots are tiny, self-assembling robots made from human cells. They can move around in a lab dish and are capable of healing neurons and damaged tissue. Anthrobots are made from human tracheal cells and can be created without genetic modifications. They are made up of a few hundred cells and only last a few weeks before breaking down. This means they can be easily reabsorbed into the body after their work is done. Anthrobots could be used in personalized medicine. They could help heal wounds or damaged tissue by forming large structures that span the width of a wound.
A team at Tufts University and Harvard University’s Wyss Institute created anthrobots.

Notes:
The government has approved a five-year extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), its flagship free foodgrain scheme for the poor, beyond December 2023. Launched in 2020 to provide relief during the COVID-19 crisis, the PMGKAY supplies 5 kgs of free ration monthly to over 800 million beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act. The scheme will now continue till 2028 at an estimated expenditure of Rs 1.18 lakh crore annually.

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India is aiming to expand its clean energy capabilities by proposing 13 new hydroelectric projects in Arunachal Pradesh, which would contribute 13,000 megawatts to the national grid. The state government signed MoUs with central public sector undertakings to construct these ventures, which require an investment of Rs 1.4 lakh crore and would quadruple the region’s per capita income. This supports India’s goal to better utilize its hydropower potential, currently at only 35% of capacity. The 2,000 megawatt Subansiri dam, the largest hydroelectric project underway in India, will also boost Arunachal Pradesh through its environmentally friendly run-of-river model that maintains downstream river flow.

Notes:
Hydropower currently makes up around 11% of India’s energy mix, as per government data. However, experts estimate the country has a total hydroelectric potential of 145 gigawatts (GW), of which only 29% has been utilized so far. Unlike coal power, hydropower offers flexible generation as the units can rapidly adjust output to match demand fluctuations. This ability makes it well-suited to balance the intermittency of renewables like solar and wind.

Notes:
The recently announced roadmap by the National Biofuels Coordination Committee (NBCC) lays out a phased plan for mandating blending of compressed biogas (CBG) into city gas distribution (CGD) networks across India. As per this roadmap, CGD entities will have to start blending CBG with compressed natural gas (CNG) for transportation and piped natural gas (PNG) for households from the financial year 2025-26.
The blending percentage will be 1% of total CNG and PNG consumption in FY26, progressively increasing to 3% in FY27 and 4% in FY28. From financial year 2028-29 onwards, the obligatory CBG blending percentage has been set at 5% of overall CNG and domestic PNG demand.