December 1st Week 2020 Current Affairs Online Test English

• The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 has been amended by the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019 to include the definition of the term ‘Aggregator’.
• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2020, to regulate shared mobility services. The ride hailing services require permission from the state governments to start operations, and states will follow the norms specified by the Centre.

• Odisha is set to celebrate International Sand Art Festival, at its Chandrabhaga Beach starting from December 1, 2020. The five–day Sand Art Festival festival also coincides with the Konark Festival that is held in the backdrop of the Sun temple in Konark. On account of COVID–19 restrictions, only Indian sand artists will showcase their art using sand, bronze or wood. Related Questions

• Several groups of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and other parts of the country, demanding the repeal of the new agriculture reform laws passed by the Union Government, are holding protests under the name of ‘Delhi Chalo’. The farmers were granted permission to hold peaceful protests at Nirankari Ground in North west Delhi. As per the farmers, the new agriculture laws will dismantle the minimum support price (MSP) system.

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has published a flagship report titled “The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2020″, Overcoming Water Challenges in Agriculture as its theme”.
• The report states that around 1.2 billion people across the globe are under high levels of water stress, which means that one out of every 6 people in the world are facing a severe water stress or scarcity in agriculture. Around 50% of the 1.2 billion people lived in South Asia and 460 million people lived in east and southeast asia.

• Mizoram has debarred its Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) and retired IPS officer Lalduhoma from the state assembly. He was in charge of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s security. In 1988, he was the first Member of Parliament to have been disqualified from the Lok Sabha, under the Anti–Defection Law. At present, the charge on him is despite being elected as an independent candidate, he declared himself as a representative of ZPM.

• World AIDS Day is observed on 1 December every year. The day aims to raise public awareness about AIDSThe theme of the 2019 World AIDS Day is “Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic: Resilience and Impact”. Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a pandemic disease that is caused due to the infection of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). HIV causes damage to the immune system.

• The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is a yearly event on December.2, organized by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The day was first celebrated in the year 1986.

• The National Milk Day is celebrated every year on 26th of November to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien, the father of India’s White Revolution. The White Revolution (also known as Operation Flood) was launched in 1970. It is considered to be world’s biggest dairy development programme which transformed India from a milk deficient nation to the one of the largest producers of milk in the world.

• GMRT (Giant Metre–wave Radio Telescope) is an observatory located in Pune, Maharashtra. It is operated by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research– National Centre for Radio Astrophysics. US based technical organisation, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has granted the status of ‘Milestone’ to the observatory. This is the third facility to receive the milestone status in India after the works of Sir C V Raman and Sir J C Bose.

• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released a report titled ‘The Impact of the COVID–19 Pandemic on Trade and Development: Transitioning to a New Normal’. The report states that a viable novel coronavirus disease (COVID–19) vaccine will not halt the spread of economic damage. The economic setback will be experienced for a long time especially by the poorest and most vulnerable countries.

• The Indian Navy has taken two MQ–9B Sea Guardian drones from an American defence company, on lease for 1 year. The unmanned aerial vehicles, manufactured by US firm General Atomics, have been obtained on lease, to enhance surveillance over the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The vehicles arrived at the naval air station INS Rajali in Tamil Nadu.

• ‘International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People’ is observed every year on November 29, across the world. The day was established in the year 1977 and it marks the day in 1947 when the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution partitioning Palestine into an Arab State and a Jewish State. The UN Chief called on Israel and Palestine to achieve a two–State solution.

• As per the recent study conducted by the Central Pollution control board and IIT– Delhi, Indo–Gangetic plains continue to be the most polluted region in the country, in terms of PM 2.5 levels. The study also revealed that the rate of increase in pollution levels southern and eastern India is greater than the Indo–Gangetic plains, between 2000 and 2019. It also found that air pollution in rural areas of the country increased similar to that of urban areas.

• The World Health Organisation has released ‘Guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour’. As per the guidelines, at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity per week is recommended for all adults.

• As per International Air Transport Association’s (IATA), recent report, China’s Shanghai has become the world’s most connected city, replacing London from the top spot. According to the IATA, London has witnessed a 67% fall in air connectivity due to the prevalent COVID–19 pandemic. With Shanghai added to the top list, world’s four most connected cities are now in China.

• China’s first domestically made nuclear reactor ‘Hualong One’, has started its operations, as per the China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC). The third–generation pressurised water nuclear reactor has been connected to the national grid. The reactor can generate 10 billion kw–hours of electricity each year and cut carbon emissions by 8.16 million tons.

• US based– Merriam–Webster, known for its dictionaries, has recently announced ‘pandemic’ as its 2020 word of the year.
• As per the company, when the World Health Organisation declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic on March 11, the searches on the site for ‘pandemic’ rose hugely. The word has roots in Latin and Greek. It is a combination of pan, meaning all, and demos, meaning people.

• The Cambridge Dictionary has named ‘Quarantine’ as the Word of the Year 2020 based on its data which showed that the word ‘Quarantine’ is one of the most searched words on the Cambridge Dictionary in 2020.

• The 4th Trilateral Meeting on Maritime Security Cooperation between India, Sri Lanka, and Maldives was hosted by Sri Lanka. It was held in Colombo and India was represented by the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The earlier such meetings were held in Maldives (2011), Sri Lanka (2013) and in India (2014).

• The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India has contracted by 7.5% in the second quarter of the financial year 2020–21. The contraction in GDP is registered for the second consecutive quarter and hence India is said to have entered ‘Technical Recession’. The real GDP in the first quarter of 2020–21 (April – June) registered a record low of 23.9% contraction.

• Japan’s spacecraft named ‘Hayabusa2’ is approaching the Earth after a year–long journey from an asteroid Ryugu, about 300 million kilometers from earth. As per the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the spacecraft will bring soil samples and data that could provide clues to the origins of the solar system and life on Earth. The agency would drop the capsule containing the samples, in southern Australia.

• Every year, November 27th is observed as Indian organ donation day by the Government of India. This year marks the 11th Organ Donation Day event. Tamil Nadu received the ‘Best State award’ for organ donation, by the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This is the sixth consecutive year of the state receiving the award.

• As per the recent statement, India recorded the highest reduction in Malaria cases, in the South–East Asian region. As per the ‘World Malaria Report 2020’, India reduced the number of cases from 20 million in 2000 to about 5.6 million in 2019. India also recorded a reduction in the number of deaths from malaria. Globally there were 229 malaria cases in 2019.

• The Petrodava Dacian Fortress is the oldest historical monument located in Piatra Neamt city, Romania. The fort was built around 82 BC and AD 106 by the Dacian people in ancient Europe. Days after the first mysterious metal monolith disappeared in a remote, uninhabited desert in Utah, USA, a second similar structure has been spotted in Romania, a few metres away from the fortress. The monolith which disappeared and appeared again was a triangular, shiny pillar.

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India has recently signed a USD132.8 million loan to modernize the distribution network and improve the quality of power supplied in Meghalaya. This project supports the state government’s initiative “24×7 Power for All” initiative. This will also help the state reduce its high technical and commercial losses. Meghalaya has achieved 100 per cent electrification while there were incidents of frequent power interruptions.

• The birth anniversary of the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak is celebrated as the Guru Nanak Dev Gurpurab, commonly called as ‘Gurupurab’. On this occasion, a book titled ‘Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Government’s Special Relationship with Sikhs’ was launched.
• It is published by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and was released in English, Hindi and Punjabi languages with the messages of Guru Nanak.

• West Bengal state government has recently launched a massive outreach programme named “Duare Sarkar” or “Government at your doorstep”.
• Under the programme, people can avail the benefit of over 11 schemes of the state including Kanyashree, Khadya Sathi and Sikshashree. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced to set up ‘Duare Sarkar’ camps in the state for redressing grievances of people.

• The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed every year on December 3 to promote the rights and well–being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

• Music Composer AR Rahman was appointed as the Ambassador for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Breakthrough India 2020–21. This initiative is supported by Netflix.

• A team of researchers has discovered a new species of dwarf gecko named “Cnemaspis avasabinae”, This is identified as the smallest known Indian Gekkonid from the Eastern Ghats.
• Cnemaspis avasabinae is the 12 species discovered outside the Western Ghats and the first species from the Velikonda Range, Andhra Pradesh. The new species has been given a common name “Sabin’s Nellore dwarf gecko”. The paper about the discovery “A new species of South Asian Cnemaspis (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Eastern Ghats, India” was published in Zootaxa.

• ‘BrahMos Aerospace’ is a joint venture company set up by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Mashinostroyenia of Russia. Recently, Indian Navy test–fired the naval version of BrahMos missile in the Bay of Bengal. The missile was test–fired from a Rajput–class destroyer INS Ranvijay, hitting a decommissioned target ship. Earlier, the Indian Army and Air Force test–fired the missile.

• State Bank of India has partnered with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Japan’s JCB International Co to launch new ‘SBI RuPay JCB Platinum Contactless Debit Card’. This card has a dual interface feature, under which customers can use it for both contact and contactless transactions, both in the domestic market as well as overseas. The card has been launched on the RuPay network.

• China launched the ambitious ‘One Belt and One Road’ (OBOR) initiative in 2013, to link Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes. During the 19th meeting of the Council of Heads of Governments of the SCO, all other member nations of SCO, except India reaffirmed their support to the OBOR project of China. India is critical of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a part of OBOR.

• Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman delivered a Keynote Address at the 20th Edition of Sri Lanka Economic Summit (SLES) 2020 in virtual format. SLES is annually organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC). The theme for this year’s event is “Roadmap for Take–off: Driving a People –Centric Economic Revival”.

• Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has recently launched the nation’s first 100 Octane petrol. Union Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the petrol. The 100–octane petrol also called as XP100 premium petrol will be initially available at select outlet of IOC in 10 cities.
• The fuel is manufactured at IOC’s Mathura refinery in Uttar Pradesh. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) had earlier launched Octane 99. Higher the octane number of a fuel, higher will be its compression and performance.

• Pune City Police has recently inaugurated the ‘Balsnehi (Child–Friendly) Police Station’, on the premises of Lashkar Police Station in Pune Camp.
• The Police Station has a room designated for children, who would come to report cases to the station. It also aims to create a set–up to rehabilitate children in need. Earlier, a Child–friendly Police Station was set up in Krishna District on the premises of Machilipatnam.

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has created a new laboratory named Defence Geo Informatics Research Establishment. It has been formed by merging two existing labs namely Manali–headquartered Snow and Avalanche Studies Establishment (SASE) and the Delhi–based Defence Terrain Research Establishment. The new lab will focus on research on the terrain along the borders with China and Pakistan.

• The Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda has launched a virtual edition of the first ever Aadi Mahotsav celebrated in the state of Madhya Pradesh. This is a festive being celebrated for 10 days. It would be hosted by Tribes India. The key focus on this year’s Aadi Mahotsav is “tribal craft and culture of Madhya Pradesh”.

• The recent spread of Leaf Fall Disease in rubber plantations of Thailand has been a cause of worry to Indian Plantations. In November, the total affected area of rubber plantation of Thailand was 90,000 ha and there is a potential production loss of 1.30 lakh tons of rubber. It has been cited by Rubber Board officials that the disease has the potential to spread to India.

• The United Nations Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare is annually celebrated across the globe on 30th November to pay tribute to the victims of chemical warfare and to reaffirm the commitment of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to the elimination of the threat of chemical weapons and promote world peace, security and multilateralism.

• India and the United States attended the inaugural meeting of the Counter–narcotics Working Group (CNWG), in virtual mode. Indian delegation was represented by the Deputy Director General of Narcotics Control Board, Ministry of Home Affairs.

• Manila–based Asian Development Bank has signed a USD 50–million policy–based loan for the West Bengal Public Finance Management Investment Programme. The loan aims to improve financial management and operational efficiencies of the state. A centre for fiscal policy and public finance will be established along with a web–based grievance redressal system for transport corporations and urban local bodies.

• ‘737 MAX’ is the best–selling airliner of US–based leading multi–national aerospace company Boeing. It was grounded in March 2019 after two crashes in five months killing a total of 346 people. The redesigned version of the ‘737 MAX’ airliner has recently staged its first post–grounding flight with media on board. It made a 45–minute flight from Texas to Oklahoma in the US. The flight’s first commercial passenger flight is scheduled in the month–end of December.

• The United States has issued an order to ban the cotton and cotton products from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), one of the largest producers of China. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency issued “Withhold Release Order” to increase economic pressure on the Xinjiang region. US cites the reason for the ban as ‘slave labour’ of detained Uighur Muslims used by China.

• Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a small country on the north–eastern coast of South America. It was previously known as ‘Dutch Guiana’. The 7th India–Suriname Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was recently held virtually. The JCM was co–chaired by Minister of State for External Affairs, V. Muraleedharan and his counterpart in Suriname.

• In 1996 the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed that 7 December was to be the International Civil Aviation Day. The day has been celebrated by the International Civil Aviation Organization since 1994 December 7, the 50th anniversary of the signing the Convention on International Civil Aviation. The purpose of the day is to recognize the importance of aviation to the social and economic development of the world.

• Armed Forces Flag Day is observed on 7 December. It is observed every year in India. The day is observed to honor the martyrs and the men of the Armed Forces who valiantly fought on the borders to safeguard India’s honor. On this day, the three branches of the Armed Forces of India, the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force, and the Indian Navy, organized a variety of programmes to showcase their efforts towards national security.

• Microsoft India and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) have partnered for the India edition of the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2021. Imagine Cup is an annual innovation challenge held by Microsoft for students and technology enthusiasts. It aims to empower students to apply artificial intelligence and other technologies to solve the sustainability issues of the world.

• The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held on December 4, 2020 decided to keep interest rates unchanged. The MPC has kept repo rate unchanged at 4% and maintained reverse repo rate at 3.35%. RBI also predicted a real GDP growth of –7.5% for FY21. MPC also expected that the inflation rate will remain high.

• CLMV countries are Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. They are also the members of the Association of South East Nations (ASEAN). During the Inaugural Session of the 6th India – CLMV Business Conclave 2020, India invited the CLMV countries to join the International Solar Alliance and the Resilient Supply Chain Initiative by India.