Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2023

Notes:
China’s regulator wants provinces to come up with their own plans to handle financial risks, according to a report.
‘One Province, One Policy’ comes after officials previously committed to establishing a mechanism to tackle local debt issues. China has struggled for traction this year as a bounce-back from restrictive Covid Zero policies proved to be softer than expected and a property crisis dragged on.

Notes:
NITI Aayog has been publishing the Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) since 2018. So far two editions CWMI (June 2018) and CWMI 2.0 (August 2019) have been published.
Subsequent edition of CWMI was prepared in August 2022 with delay due to the nationwide Covid-19 situation. NITI Aayog will come up with a combined report from the third to sixth edition of the Composite Water Management Index.

Notes:
In order to encourage the Spatial Planning by the Gram Panchayat, Ministry of Panchayati Raj had launched the Geographic Information System (GIS) application “Gram Manchitra”. This application facilitates and supports Gram Panchayats to perform planning at Gram Panchayat level using geo-spatial technology.
It provides a unified Geo Spatial platform to better visualize the various developmental works to be taken up across the different sectors and provide a decision support system for Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP). Ministry has launched mActionSoft, a mobile based solution to help in capturing photos with Geo-Tags (GPS Coordinates) for the works which have asset as an output. Geo-tagging of the assets is done in all three stages.

Notes:
According to media reports, around 1,000 migrating birds died in Chicago after colliding with illuminated buildings. This incident raised concerns about how ‘stopover’ cities are increasingly becoming less hospitable for migrating birds. The study reveals that finding a hospitable stopover is essential for mass bird migration to happen.
Light pollution doesn’t negatively impact birds only but also humans. It can disrupt humans’ circadian rhythms, leading to health problems, including depression, insomnia, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

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:
Tiriyani Block of Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district, Telangana secured the top position in the first delta rankings of Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP) announced by NITI Aayog.
The second position was bagged by Kaushambi block of Kaushambi District, Uttar Pradesh. The rankings were announced in a virtual event at NITI Aayog. The ranking of the blocks has been calculated on the basis of performance of blocks and progress achieved in the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the month of June, 2023.

Notes:
RBI decided to regulate entities facilitating payment and settlement for online cross border export / import transactions as Payment Aggregators – Cross Border (PA-CB) under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act.
Non-banks providing PA-CB services should have a minimum networth of Rs 15 crore at the time of submitting application to the RBI for authorisation and a minimum networth of Rs 25 crore by March 31, 2026. New non-bank PA-CBs should have a minimum networth of Rs 15 crore at the time of submitting application to the RBI for authorisation and should attain a minimum networth of Rs 25 crore by end of the third financial year of grant of authorisation. RBI said the maximum value per unit of goods or services sold should be Rs 25,00,000.

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.

Notes:
Also known as Glycogen Storage Disease Type II, Pompe disease is a rare genetic disorder caused by a deficiency of the enzyme acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA).
This enzyme is crucial for breaking down glycogen into glucose within the lysosomes of cells. Its prevalence estimates range from 1 in 40,000 to 1 in 300,000 births. While there is currently no cure for Pompe disease, there are treatment options available to manage symptoms and improve the patient’s quality of life. Enzyme Replacement Therapy (ERT) is a standard treatment, involving the infusion of the missing enzyme to alleviate glycogen buildup.

Notes:
For more than five years, the two black rhinos in Chad’s Zakouma National Park have lived a lonely existence.
In May 2018, the pair of females were part of a group of six critically endangered black rhinos that African Parks helped translocate from South Africa to Zakouma. But within days of release into their new home, four had died. This week, five more black rhinos arrived in Zakouma, Chad’s oldest national park, to join the surviving pair.