Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

Notes:
Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has been awarded with the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award for the year 2020 in the Steel Sector.
SAIL has been the winner of this prestigious award for successive two years. Steel Authority of India Limited is an Indian state-owned steel making company based in New Delhi. Various measures of the company to preserve environment have been recognised.

Notes:
A new feature has been added in the RuPay cards that will allow offline contactless transactions even in areas with limited internet connectivity.
This has been introduced by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Additionally, the facility of reloadable wallet facility has also be introduced to boost retail transactions.

Notes:
As a part of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region) – India’s doctrine of maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean region, India and Indonesia have engaged in the IND-INDO CORPAT exercise.
This is the 35th edition of Naval exercises between the two countries. From the Indian side, Naval Ship INS Kulish, along with P8I Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) has participated in the exercise.

Notes:
Goa Liberation Day is observed on December 19 every year in India to mark the day on which the Indian armed forces freed Goa in 1961.
When India gained independence in 19547, Goa was under the Portuguese rule. After unsuccessful negotiations, the then Indian Prime Minister ordered for a military operation. The Armed Forces conducted ‘Operation Vijay’ from December 18, 1961, and freed Goa.

Notes:
The Government of India has recently proposed to adopt E20 fuel in Indian automobiles. The E20 fuel is a blend of 20% ethanol and 80% gasoline.
This move is aimed at reducing the vehicular emissions at the same time, bring down the crude oil import cost of the country.

Notes:
An international team of scientists has recently collected the first possible radio signal from a planet beyond our solar system.
Emission bursts have been observed which are originating from exoplanet ‘Tau Bootes’ star-system, which is about 51 light-years away. This was observed using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), a radio telescope in the Netherlands.

Notes:
The Indian Government has decided to constitute a High-Level Committee to commemorate the 125th Birth Anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
The Committee headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah will work on the activities for a yearlong commemoration starting 23rd January, 2021. Other members of the Committee will include historians, authors, family members of Netaji, as well as persons associated with Azad Hind Fauj-INA.

Notes:
In a recently published study in the ‘Endangered Species Research’ journal, Scientists analysed sound recordings from the Arabian Sea coast and found a blue whale song which had never been described.
Hence, they have confirmed that a previously undiscovered population of blue whales are living in the western Indian ocean.

Notes:
Ministries of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences in association with Vijnana Bharati organise the India International Science Festival.
Launched in the year 2015, the festival aims to promote scientific temper in the society and encourage students to take up scientific career. This year, the theme of the 4-day long India International Science festival is ‘Science for Self-Reliant India and Global Welfare’.

Notes:
The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the suspension of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) is extended till March 31, 2021.
As a part of relief measures to industries, the government had earlier suspended fresh proceedings under IBC for loan defaults on or after March 25, for six months. The suspension was further extended by three months till December 25.