Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2023

Notes:
The Indian Navy received the warship Imphal from Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai.  The crest design depicts the Kangla Palace on the left and ‘Kangla-Sa’ on the right. Kangla Palace is an important historical and archaeological site of Manipur and was the traditional seat of the kingdom.
With a dragon’s head and lion’s body, the ‘Kangla-Sa’ is the state emblem of Manipur. Imphal is the third of the four warships sanctioned under an important project called P-15B. INS Visakhapatnam and INS Mormugao have already been commissioned. The ship has an indigenous content of around 75% including its medium range surface-to-air missiles, BrahMos missiles and others.

Notes:
The Sri Lankan cabinet has given clearance to allow China’s energy major Sinopec to establish a new $4.5 billion petroleum refinery plant at the strategic Hambantota port in the island nation.
The upcoming plant of Sinopec, which entered the Sri Lankan market in July this year, would be the largest foreign direct investment with $4.5 billion for Sri Lanka.

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:
French ambassador to India honoured Lalithambika, former director, Directorate of the Human Spaceflight Programme of ISRO with Legion d’Honneur.
Lalithambika has worked extensively on various ISRO rockets, especially PSLV. Lalithambika is the second ISRO scientist after former ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar to be awarded the Legion d’Honneur of France for promoting Indo-French space cooperation.

Notes:
World AIDS Day is observed on December 1st every year. The theme for 2023 is “Let Communities Lead”. This theme highlights the importance of communities in the HIV response and the goal of ending AIDS by 2030. World AIDS Day is an international day that raises awareness of the AIDS pandemic and mourns those who have died from the disease. It also celebrates victories, such as increased access to treatment and prevention services.

Notes:
Brazil’s President Lula da Silva has clarified that Brazil is seeking OPEC+ membership to convince member nations to move away from fossil fuels, not to cap its own oil output. Lula said Brazil aims to persuade major oil producers to invest profits into renewable energy development assistance for poorer regions like Africa and Latin America instead.
Brazil seeks a leadership role in rallying OPEC+ oil economies to finance global south’s green transition through proceeds earned from essentially the last fossil fuel boom before inevitable decline. Joining the 23-member group controlling 40% of world’s oil reserves aligns with Lula’s climate justice advocacy, with rainforests protection another priority. Hence Brazil is eyeing OPEC+ as platform for climate action cooperation.

Notes:
The term extended reality (XR) covers virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and other technologies. It merges the real and virtual worlds, providing users an immersive experience.
The report, titled ‘Accelerating India’s Potential to Address the Global XR Opportunity’ which is supported by Meta, said Indian XR startups are evolving to develop global solutions, with 76% of those surveyed serving both domestic and international clients. The term extended reality (XR) covers virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and other technologies. It merges the real and virtual worlds, providing users an immersive experience.

Notes:
India, Pakistan and South Africa, along with five others, have pushed for a five-year global patent waiver for Covid-19 diagnostics and therapeutics. In a submission to the World Trade Organization, they said that diagnostics and therapeutics are essential tools to fight the pandemic.
The submission, made on behalf of 65 WTO members came after the US refrained from taking sides in extending the waiver, which is applicable to Covid-19 vaccines only. For almost two years, India, South Africa and 80 other WTO members sought a response for future pandemics through exceptions in the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement but the ministerial outcome of 2022 (MC12) only covered Covid-19 vaccines.

Notes:
The United Nations released the latest draft of a global climate agreement which presented three options to tackle fossil fuels which ranged from phasing them out to not talking about it at all.
The first proposes an ‘orderly and just phase out of fossil fuels’ stance and one seen as essential by low-lying island nations at threat from rising seas. The second calls for faster efforts to phase out projects that lack the means to capture and store emissions, and to “rapidly” reduce fossil fuel use to achieve carbon neutrality in global energy production by 2050.The third option contained in the 24-page draft is “no text” at all, a position supported by oil giant Saudi Arabia and China.

Notes:
The three-day 9th International Food Convention, IFCON – 2023, jointly organised by CSIR-CFTRI and Association of Food Scientists and Technologists (India) (AFSTI) will be held at Mysuru.
The event, which is held once in five years, is expecting more than 3,000 delegates including students, industrialists, researchers and others taking part. While the international research and conferences are held in foreign countries, the food convention is being held in India.