Current Affairs Quiz-December, 2019

Notes:
Researchers from the National Astronomical Observatory of China have discovered a black hole in the Milky Way. The black hole is so huge that it challenged the existing models of the evolution of stars. The black hole was discovered by an international team of scientists using China’s sophisticated Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) telescope. The black hole, LB-1, is located 15,000 light-years away from Earth.

Notes:
Steve Smith has become the fastest man to score 7,000 Test runs in the ongoing second Test against Pakistan. He broke English great Wally Hammond’s record that had stood since 1946. Smith also passed Bradman’s 6,996 Test runs.  It took Smith 70 Tests to do so, while Bradman needed only 52.

Notes:
Renowened theatre artiste of Odisha, Paramananda Sahu (72) has passed away in Balasore  on 30th of November . He had directed and acted in more than a hundred dramas, besides being an artiste in All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan.

Notes:
The Government of India has proposed increasing the fine for illegal and improper use of national emblems for commercial gains from Rs.500 to Rs.1 lakh. It also suggested change also includes jail time and a fine of Rs.5 lakh for repeat offenders. The aim is to crack down on their misuse. The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 of India prohibits the misuse of the national flag, the Ashoka Chakra, the official seal of the President or Governor, the coat-of-arms used by a government department, the pictorial representation of Mahatma Gandhi and the Prime Minister.

Notes:
Carolina Marin won second title in 71 days but Sourabh Verma faltered at the final hurdle of the $150,000 Syed Modi International badminton tournament on December 1,2019. Marin, a three-time World champion and ranked 18th in the world, went about her job in a business-like manner. She was comfortably ahead in the opening game. In the second, she easily bridged a five-point deficit. In fact, she won 15 of the last 20 points. In January, Marin suffered a nasty fall during the Indonesia Masters final against Saina Nehwal and underwent a surgery on her right knee. Following an eight-month layoff, in six tournaments, Marin won the China Open in September, lost the French Open final and now added a second title.

Notes:
The Hornbill Festival began with a colourful blend of culture and tradition with a modern twist at Naga Heritage Kisama in Nagaland this evening. This is the 20th edition of Hornbill Festival. The festival organised by Nagaland Government is an annual tourism promotional event to showcase the state’s traditional and rich cultural heritage in all its ethnicity, diversity and grandeur.

Notes:
A total of 19,668 hospitals in the country have been empanelled under Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana on 25th of November this year.They included over nine thousand hospitals in the private sector. This information was given in a written reply in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Ashwini Kumar Choubey. Gujarat topped the list with 2856 empanelled hospitals followed by Karnataka with 2849 and Uttar Pradesh with 2312 hospitals.

Notes:
Lt Gen Podali Shankar Rajeshwar took over as the 14th Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN). He is a graduate of Indian Military Academy and was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery in December 1980. A gunner and aviator, he is an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, Army War College and National Defence College in New Delhi and Philippines.

Notes:
India has successfully conducted another night trial of its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-2 missile from a mobile launcher of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha coast. The successful test fires were part of a routine user trial for armed forces and met all parameters. Earlier, the flight test of surface-to-surface missile was carried out barely a 15 days after two back-to-back trials of Prithvi-2 were conducted successfully at night from same base on 20 November.
It is a tactical surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) with a strike range of 350 kilometres and is capable of carrying 500-1,000 kilograms of warheads. The state-of-the-art missile is powered by liquid propulsion twin engines and uses an advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target.

Notes:
ISRO has planned to launch sharp-eyed surveillance satellite RISAT-2BR1 (Radar Imaging Satellite-2) with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) on 11 December 2019. RISAT-2BR1 is a radar imaging satellite. It is dubbed as a spy satellite.  It can take pictures of the earth during day and night even under cloudy conditions.  The satellites will help 24/7 border surveillance along with checking infiltration. It will keep an eye on terror or anti-national activities across the borders