Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2023

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.

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The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and India’s Ministry of External Affairs have jointly launched a new initiative called Project Prayas. This project aims to promote safe and orderly migration for Indian youth and skilled professionals looking to study or work abroad.

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Iran’s navy recently added two domestically produced sophisticated cruise missiles named Talaeieh and Nasir to its arsenal. As part of boosting its defence capabilities, Iran announced addition of advanced Talaeieh and Nasir cruise missiles, with ranges over 1000 km and 100 km respectively, to its naval forces. This came amidst growing tensions between Iran and Western powers.

Notes:
Mission Karmayogi, the government’s capacity building scheme for civil servants was extended with new features. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh launched My iGOT, Blended Programs and Curated Programs on the digital iGOT Karmayogi platform. My iGOT provides targeted courses matching individual and organizational needs. Blended Programs integrate offline and online learning components. VIKAS is a blended course on developing functional, behavioral and technological competencies among mid-level civil servants. The extensions aim to groom civil servants to be more innovative, progressive and technology-enabled.

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BRI 1335-0417 is the name of the galaxy showing a spiral structure in its early developing phase, located over 12 billion light years from Earth. Analysis of gas flow patterns inside BRI 1335-0417 enabled documentation of a phenomenon similar to ‘seismic waves’, a first for early galaxies. Researchers compare its rotating disc comprising stars, gas and dust to ripples formed when a stone is thrown into a pond. Study of this exceptionally distant spiral aims to advance comprehension of mechanisms driving rapid star formation in early cosmic epochs.

Notes:
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which was ravaged by fire in 2019, plans to replace stained glass windows in side chapels with modern ones based on an approval by President Emmanuel Macron. It is facing criticism as people have signed petition calling it vandalism of the historical monument’s Gothic architecture.

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On the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh inaugurated the state’s first intra-district helicopter service from Bateshwar in Agra to Goverdhan in Mathura. During the ceremony, a statue of Atal Bihari Vajpayee was also unveiled.

Notes:
It is located in Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh. On his Arunachal visit, Ayush Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the government is committed to develop NEIAFMR as the national hub of folk medicine. Additional Rs 53 crore infrastructure will help build its capacity towards research on Ayurveda and folk medicine and enable introducing quality Ayurveda education.

Notes:
The disease is called Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), which leaves infected animals like deer emaciated and behaving oddly, hence the “zombie” moniker. It has spread to wildlife across over 30 US states, and experts warn it could someday transmit to humans as well, like mad cow disease did in the UK previously. There is concern over its appearance recently in popular public lands like Yellowstone National Park.

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Reliance Jio Infocomm, an Indian telecom operator in India, is set to launch a groundbreaking initiative in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology-Mumbai — the ‘Bharat GPT’ program. This program aims to leverage the power of large language models and generative artificial intelligence (GPT) to transform various sectors in the country.