Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2023

Notes:
The Central government has approved the first urban flood mitigation project of Rs 561.29 crore for ‘Integrated Urban Flood Management’ activities for the Chennai Basin project, as per Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
This is the first in a series of urban flood mitigation efforts and will help develop a broader framework for urban flood management.

Notes:
A C-17 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force airdropped in a military zone in Agra an indigenously developed heavy platform that can carry a maximum load of 16 tonnes. It is for the first time that a platform having a dimension of 24 feet by eight feet with 16 tonnes load capacity was airdropped from an IAF plane.
An Indian Air Force C-17 airdropped an ADRDE-developed Type V Platform (24 ft), for the first time. The Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) is a premier defence research laboratory.

Notes:
Bharat Bill Payments (BBPS), the platform built by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to digitise the country’s large utility bill payments market, is increasingly being used for loan repayments and clearing credit card dues.
The way utility bills get generated for consumers every month, EMI (equated monthly instalment) gets generated every month on a specific date for borrowers. The customer can use any mode of payment to clear the EMI due, and this is where the BBPS platform is fast emerging as a popular tool.

Notes:
UN President urged the UN Security Council President to help avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and appealed for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared.
The UNSC comprises five permanent members, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and Russia and 10 non-permanent members appointed for specific periods. On a rotational basis, each of these 15 countries holds the presidency for a month. Ecuador is the President for December 2023. Article 99 of the UN Charter is the founding document of the United Nations. Based on the powers conferred through it, the UN can take action on a wide variety of issues.

Notes:
Ministry of Commerce and Industry released the revised draft Rubber (Promotion and Development) Bill, 2023, to reconstitute the Rubber Board.
On a direction by the government, the Rubber Board is scheduled to hold three open house sessions, to discuss the revised draft. An earlier Bill introduced by the Union Government—Rubber (Promotion and Development) Bill, 2022, which sought to repeal the Rubber Act of 1947—had ignited widespread protests among rubber farmers.

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.

Notes:
The researchers of Botanical Survey of India (BSI) have discovered a new species of plant from Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu. The plant has been named ‘Impatiens karuppusamyi’.
The species shows similarity with its alike species Impatiens Bicornis, but differs from it in terms of having small leaves, six to eight flowered, short scape, and small flowers. It also has a conical spur that is horizontally straight with an obtuse tip; base of the anterior lobe with two purplish, fleshy and erect auriculate projections to 1 mm long; stout biseriate purplish-blue hairs in front of the mouth; and orange-pinkish pollen grains. There are more than 1000 species of Impatiens worldwide, of which more than 280 are found in India.

Notes:
England midfielder Jude Bellingham created history, becoming the first Real Madrid player to win the Golden Boy award.
Bellingham won the Kopa Trophy at the Ballon d’Or awards. The Golden Boy Award goes to the best player aged under 21 and playing in one of Europe’s top five leagues.

Notes:
The Government of India has decided to map and document all villages under Mera Gaon, Meri Dharohar (MGMD) Programme.
This National Mission on Cultural Mapping is conducted in coordination with Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) under the Ministry of Culture. A web portal on MGMD has also been launched. The MGMD seeks to compile comprehensive information detailing the life, history, and ethos of Indian villages and to make the same available to virtual and real-time visitors.

Notes:
The Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy and Power has informed that the draft National Electricity Plan (2023) prepared by Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has estimated the fund requirement for solar and wind generation projects during FY 2022 – 2032 as Rs. 20.67 lakh crore.
To ensure availability of low-cost funds for Renewable Energy Projects, Government of India raised Sovereign Green Bonds of Rs.16,000 crore during FY 22-23. Out of the proceeds of Sovereign Green Bonds, Rs. 6,186 crores were dedicated for renewable energy. IREDA raised Green Masala Bonds of USD 300 Million in October, 2017 for financing green energy projects in India.