Daily Current Affairs Quiz: December 17, 2024

Notes:
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).

Notes:
The Indian women’s junior hockey team won the 10th Women’s Hockey Junior Asia Cup by defeating China 3-2 in the penalty shootout in Muscat, Oman, on December 15, 2024. India successfully defended their title, having also won the previous edition in 2023. The tournament, held from December 7 to 15, 2024, is for players under 21 and organized by the Asian Hockey Federation. The top five teams—India, China, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia—qualified for the 2025 International Hockey Federation (FIH) Women’s Junior World Cup in Chile. The first Women’s Junior Asia Cup was held in 1992 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and won by South Korea.

Notes:
The National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) is set to submit its final report on the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) soon, excluding geo-technical tests. KLIS is a multi-purpose irrigation project on the Godavari River in Kaleshwaram, Telangana. It provides water for irrigation and drinking purposes to 45 lakh acres across 20 districts in Telangana, including Hyderabad and Secunderabad. It is the world’s largest multi-stage lift irrigation project, spanning 500 km through 13 districts with a canal network of over 1,800 km. The project produces 240 TMC of water, mainly for irrigation, municipal supply, and industrial uses.

Notes:
Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former Georgian national footballer, was elected unopposed as the President of Georgia on December 14, 2024, amid an opposition boycott. He is pro-Russian and anti-Western, replacing the pro-Western President Salome Zourabichvili, who condemned his election. The President’s role in Georgia is mostly ceremonial, with real power held by the Prime Minister. Kavelashvili, founder of the People’s Power Party, was supported by the ruling Georgian Dream Party and won 224 of 225 votes in the electoral college. The opposition boycotted the election, alleging rigging in the October 2024 parliamentary elections. He will take office on December 29, 2024.

Notes:
The Konda Reddi tribe, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, resides along the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh. They speak Telugu with a unique accent and practice folk Hinduism, worshiping local deities. Families are patriarchal and patrilocal, with monogamy being common, though polygamy exists; marriages occur through various accepted customs. Their self-governance is maintained through a hereditary headman, ‘Pedda Kapu,’ who also serves as the village priest. They practice shifting cultivation (Podu) and grow jowar as their staple crop, along with commercial crops like cashew, cotton, and chilli. Their traditional circular mud houses with thatched roofs resemble Gujarat’s Bhunga architecture.