Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2023

Notes:
Indian Armed Forces have been honored with the coveted ‘Golden Owl’ award for their outstanding performance. In a remarkable display of excellence, three officers from the Indian Armed Forces, undergoing the prestigious Command and Staff Course at Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) in Sri Lanka, have been honored with the coveted ‘Golden Owl’ award for their outstanding performance. The award, presented by Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, recognizes their exceptional achievements in analytical skills, strategic thinking, and their potential for future leadership.

Notes:
World Arabic Language Day is observed on December 18th annually, established in 2010 by UNESCO to celebrate the Arabic language and cultural diversity. International Migrants Day, also on December 18th, was initiated by the UNGA in 2000 to recognize the increasing global migrant population. In India, National Minorities Rights Day is marked on December 18th to uphold the rights of various minority groups. The International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers is commemorated on December 17th, started in 2003 to highlight violence against sex workers.

Notes:
To enhance cybersecurity, the government of India has implemented a secure e-mail system for 10,000 users across 17 ministries and departments. This system, developed by the National Informatics Centre, employs Zero Trust Authentication, including two-factor authentication with biometrics or facial recognition. It’s a response to increasing cyberattacks, such as the AIIMS Delhi incident in November 2022. Additionally, the government is migrating e-mail services to the cloud with a private provider, possibly Zoho. The government also acknowledged a probe into a massive data leak of Aadhaar and passport details in Parliament. This is part of a broader strategy to strengthen cybersecurity, including adopting e-office in 75 out of 84 ministries and issuing National Information Security Policy and Guidelines to prevent cyber intrusions.

Notes:
‘Children of Nobody’ clinched the Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for Best Film at the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival. Other films like ‘Endless Borders’ and ‘Kantara’ received accolades at the 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), with ‘Kantara’ making history in the Kannada film industry. Michael Douglas was honored with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award, and ‘Panchayat Season 2’ was named Best Web Series. ‘Featherweight’ had its Asian premiere at the 54th IFFI.

Notes:
NASA’s TEMPO satellite, the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution sensor, is a ground breaking Earth-observation satellite in geostationary orbit designed to provide hourly measurements of pollutants over North America.
TEMPO covers a vast area from Canada’s oil sands to the Yucatán Peninsula and spans across the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, enhancing its ability to monitor air pollution comprehensively.

Notes:
Recently late Vice-Admiral Benoy Roy Chowdhury has been awarded the Vir Chakra. He was the hero of the India-Pakistan war of 1971. In this war, Benoy Roy was posted as an engineer on INS Vikrant. ‘Veer Chakra’ is an award given for military bravery during wartime.
Vice Admiral Dinesh Prabhakar, AVSM, NM, VSM (Retd), currently holding the position of Distinguished Chair Marine Engineering at INS Shivaji, received the ‘Vir Chakra’ on behalf of the Indian Navy. Honorary Captain Yogendra Singh Yadav was the recipient of the prestigious Param Vir Chakra award in 2022. Subedar Major (Honorary Captain) Yogendra Singh Yadav of the 18 Grenadiers Battalion (Retd) is the youngest person to win the Param Vir Chakra award.

Notes:
The Dalai Lama inaugurated the three-day International Sangha Forum 2023 on Bridging Traditions, Embracing Modernity: A Dialogue on the Buddha’s Teaching in Today’s World at the International Convention Centre in Bodh Gaya, Bihar.
It was organised jointly by the Office of the Dalai Lama and the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC). The ISF aims to foster dialogue on the intricate aspects of Vinaya rules and explore the evolving role of Buddhism in the 21st century. Earlier, in December, about 5,000 monks and nuns from around the world, including India, gathered in Bodh Gaya for the 18th International Tipitaka Chanting Programme, from December 2 to 12.

Notes:
National Mathematics Day is celebrated on December 22nd every year to honor the birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan, a renowned Indian mathematician. The day recognizes his contributions to the field of mathematics and aims to raise awareness about its importance. The International Day of Mathematics is celebrated on March 14th and is also known as Pi Day.
The number 1729 is known as the Hardy–Ramanujan number after a famous visit by Hardy to see Ramanujan at a hospital. About this number, Ramanujan remarked that “it is a very interesting number; it is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways.”

Notes:
Wheebox, in collaboration with several entities including the All India Council for Technical Education, Confederation of Indian Industry, and Association of Indian Universities, has unveiled the India Skills Report. As indicated by the India Skills Report 2024, employability in India has shown improvement, with 51.25% of evaluated young individuals deemed employable possessing the necessary skills.
Kerala has emerged as the top choice among states for employment, securing the second position in overall employability within the 18-21 age group, reaffirming its position as a robust talent pool in India.

Notes:
French President Emmanuel Macron will be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations on January 26, making him the fifth head of state from France to be accorded the honour, and the sixth time that a French leader will attend the celebrations as chief guest since 1976.
Modi was the guest of honour at the Bastille Day or French national day parade held in Paris on July 14.