Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2023

Notes:
On December 21, 2023, China implemented export bans on technologies related to rare earth extraction, separation, and magnet production. These bans are China’s latest effort to maintain dominance in the global rare earths market, as the country accounts for 70% of rare earth production.
Rare earths are 17 scarce metallic elements critical for technology manufacturing. In response to moves by the United States and Japan to become less reliant on Chinese rare earth suppliers, China has now prohibited the export of key rare earth processing technologies. This export ban highlights China’s control over the rare earths supply chain and the geopolitical tensions surrounding these strategically important minerals.

Notes:
Every year, National Consumer Rights Day is celebrated on December 24. In 1986, the Consumer Protection Act was passed and received the assent of the President on December 24.
The Department of Consumer Affairs celebrated the National Consumer Day 2023 with focus on leveraging technology for consumer protection and grievance redressal. World Consumers Rights Day is celebrated every year on March 15.

Notes:
The 8th edition of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Conclave of Chiefs (CoC) was conducted by Royal Thai Navy at Bangkok, Thailand from 19 – 22 Dec 23. Chiefs of Navies/ Senior Delegates from 27 Members/ Observer countries participated in the event. IONS was conceived by the Indian Navy in 2008. The inaugural edition of IONS was held in Feb 2008 at New Delhi, with Indian Navy as the Chair for two years (2008 – 2010).
India is also scheduled to take over as the Chair of IONS (2025-27) during 9th CoC planned to be conducted in India in end 2025.

Notes:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its latest annual Article IV consultation report on India released on December 22nd, has warned that under adverse economic shocks India’s general government debt could exceed 100% of the GDP by 2030. The IMF said based on India’s historical experience of external shocks such as the Covid pandemic, debt-to-GDP ratio could witness a steep climb amid global uncertainties like the Russia-Ukraine war or monetary tightening by central banks.

Notes:
India’s debutant Sai Sudharsan was awarded the ‘Impact Fielder of the Series’ medal by India’s fielding coach Ajay Ratra after the KL Rahul-led side clinched the 3-match ODI series against South Africa 2-1.

Notes:
A new stealth destroyer INS Imphal has been named after the capital city Imphal of the northeastern state of Manipur. The latest warship INS Imphal was commissioned recently in Mumbai, the first naval vessel named after a city from northeast region emphasizing Imphal’s role in national security.

Notes:
The new telecom law passed by the Indian parliament specifies a penalty of Rs 50,000 for sending unsolicited messages to users. For repeat offenders of such spam messaging, the law provides for suspension of their telecom network. This provision to curb pesky messages and calls was included in the law to address rising complaints of telemarketers disturbing subscribers despite do-not-disturb preferences.

Notes:
NASA is sending a returned spacecraft to study the asteroid Apophis, which will have an extremely close flyby of Earth in 2029. Apophis has been dubbed the “God of Chaos” asteroid after the ancient Egyptian deity representing disorder and chaos. The spacecraft will observe how the asteroid’s orbit and physical surface changes due to Earth’s gravity during the close encounter.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the first world leader to reach two crore subscribers on his official YouTube channel. The second most followed global leader is former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonora, who has just 64 lakh subscribers.

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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.