Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

Notes:
The Polavaram lift irrigation project which is being constructed in the state of Andhra Pradesh, is expected to be completed in 2022.
It has been reported that the project would be completed on time and would commence to supply water during Kharif 2022. The Polavaram project is seen as a life line for the irrigation of Andhra Pradesh.

Notes:
The People’s Bank of China has stated that the country’s monetary policy and key price setting would be based on Depository-Institutions
Repo Rate or DR Rate. China has introduced a Variable Interest Rate Bond, which is linked to the DR. This step is aimed to improve the pricing mechanism for financial institutions and markets.

Notes:
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Odisha government to prepare an action plan within three months on 14 identified elephant corridors.
The State government had proposed 14 corridors, for providing stress-free migration to elephants from one habitation to another in the state. The 870 sq km-area proposal did not record any progress and so NGT issued directions to the state.

Notes:
The Change – 5 is China’s ambitious lunar project, under which a capsule has recently collected lunar soil samples and has docked successfully with a space craft that is orbiting the moon.
The capsule transferred the lunar samples to the orbiting space craft which would return to the earth.

Notes:
The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) has been released by Germanwatch and NewClimate Institute together with the Climate Action Network (CAN International).
India came one rank down from ninth in 2019, to tenth position this year. No country bagged the first three ranks. The fourth rank is presented to Sweden, followed by the UK and Denmark. The index assesses the performances of 57 countries and European Union in four categories.

Notes:
The government of Australia has proposed to charge fee from Facebook and Google’s media outlets, for news content.
This move has been proposed for protecting independent journalism in the country.
These big tech firms have to pay to local publishers and broadcasters for their content that appears on the firm’s platforms.

Notes:
The 63rd Founding Day Celebrations of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) was held recently.
During the occasion, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released the DRI’s report titled Smuggling in India Report 2019-20. The report makes a detailed analysis of smuggling trends on Gold, Foreign Currency, Narcotic Drugs etc.

Notes:
Google launched a new health research app called the ‘Google Health Studies’. It enables the research institutions to connect with potential study participants.
Through this app, android users can take part in health studies by answering survey questions and providing relevant data. Its first study will focus on respiratory illnesses like COVID-19.

Notes:
The French Government has published a draft legislation to combat radical Islamism and calls it a measure to achieve “law of freedom”.
The legislation aims to curb online hate speech, punish doctors who provide “virginity certificates” for marriages, reduce the practice of home-schooling for children over three years old etc.

Notes:
The 5th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) has recently commenced with a focus on Arth Ganga – river conservation synchronised development.
The theme of the summit is comprehensive analysis and holistic management of rivers and water bodies. It is being organised virtually by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga).