Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2024

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December 9th marks International Anti-Corruption Day to raise awareness about corruption and promote collective action against it. Corruption in India affects both public and private sectors, manifesting as bribery, embezzlement, nepotism, and misuse of power. It undermines economic growth, erodes public trust, weakens the rule of law, and impacts citizens’ welfare. Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index ranks India 80th among 180 countries, highlighting the issue’s seriousness.

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Bird enthusiasts spotted a marbled duck, a rare winter migrant, at Sultanpur National Park after 30 years. The Marbled Duck (Marmaronetta angustirostris) is a small duck with a black bill, gray-brown plumage, and a dark eye patch. It is found in fragmented populations from Central Asia to northwest Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. During winter, it migrates south to regions like North Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Prefers shallow, brackish wetlands with well-structured vegetation. Marbled ducks are monogamous. They are classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List.

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Ghana’s Electoral Commission declared ex-president John Dramani Mahama the winner of the presidential election with 56.55% votes. Mahama, 66, served as Ghana’s president from 2012 to 2016 and aims to address Ghana’s economic crisis. He plans to renegotiate the $3-billion IMF bailout, ease business regulations, introduce a triple-shift work system, enact tax reforms, and invest $10 billion in infrastructure modernization.

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Google recently unveiled its next-generation quantum computing chip called ‘Willow’. Willow includes advanced components like single and two-qubit gates, qubit reset, and readout, all integrated to ensure seamless performance. The chip solved a complex problem in five minutes, a task that would take classical computers longer than the history of the universe. Willow completed a benchmark computation in under five minutes, which would take today’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years. It uses superconducting transmon qubits, which behave like artificial atoms at low temperatures. Quantum chips use qubits instead of bits, enabling faster and more complex calculations.

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The IndiaAI Future Skills platform has enrolled 8.6 lakh candidates, announced by the Union Ministry of Electronics and IT. It is a key pillar of the IndiaAI Mission, aiming to prepare India’s AI workforce. The platform removes barriers to AI education, boosts AI courses in UG, PG, and Ph.D. programs, and fosters inclusive AI access. Data and AI Labs are being set up in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities like Gorakhpur and Patna for foundational AI courses. IndiaAI Mission is led by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) under the Digital India program.

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The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has introduced ‘Rajmarg Saathi’, advanced Route Patrolling Vehicles (RPVs) aimed at enhancing road safety and incident management on national highways. Equipped with AI video analytics, these vehicles monitor highway conditions and respond to emergencies. The RPVs will replace vehicles after 300,000 km or three years of operation, ensuring optimal service. This initiative reflects NHAI’s commitment to improving traffic flow and safety for road users across the country.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the fourth National Conference of Chief Secretaries on December 14-15 in New Delhi. The conference strengthens Centre-state partnerships and reinforces cooperative federalism. Previous conferences were held in Dharamshala (June 2022) and New Delhi (January, December 2023). The 2024 conference focuses on a unified development agenda and strategic growth plan.

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The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) will submit a survey report to the Supreme Court on religious structures in Delhi’s Mehrauli Archaeological Park. Mehrauli Archaeological Park spans over 200 acres near the Qutb Complex and reflects India’s heritage from Pre-Islamic to Colonial periods. It contains 440+ monuments, including remains of Delhi’s first city, the Tomar rulers’ capital from the 11th century.

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A team from Bengaluru-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) discovered five new species of Darwin wasps from India and Thailand. These parasitoid wasps parasitize insects like moths, beetles, and ants. They have a head, thorax, abdomen, six legs, and large compound eyes. Females lay eggs on host larvae or pupae. Some use their ovipositors to drill into wood. The wasps help control crop-damaging pests like aphids and caterpillars. Four new species were found in India: Microleptes chiani (Tamil Nadu), Microleptes gowrishankari (Karnataka), Microleptes sandeshkaduri (Arunachal Pradesh), and Microleptes tehriensis (Uttarakhand).

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India’s first diabetes biobank has been established in Chennai by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF). It stores biological samples to support scientific research with ICMR’s approval. The biobank focuses on studying the causes, variations, and related disorders of Indian diabetes. Blood samples are collected from two ICMR studies: the India Diabetes (INDIAB) study (2008-2020) and the ongoing registry of young-onset diabetes (since 2006).