Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2023

Notes:
The government launched a national protocol to provide for training of anganwadi workers to track and help children with disabilities.
The anganwadi eco-system reaches out to over eight crore children from birth to six years on a daily basis, according to a statement issued by the Women and Child Development Ministry. According to the Draft National Policy for Persons with Disabilities 2021, one-third of most disabilities in India are estimated to be preventable, if they are detected early enough and adequately addressed.

Notes:
India’s AstroSat space telescope has crossed a major milestone by detecting 600th Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB). The Gamma Ray Bursts represent either the death of a massive or merger of neutron stars.
AstroSat was launched in the year 2015 by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was designed to last for five years. However, it has exceeded its lifespan and is still functioning fine making important observations.

Notes:
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has constituted a taskforce to examine the impact of Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 on the insurance sector.
The Ministry of Law and Justice notified the Act in 2023. The insurance regulator formed a task force headed by Randip Singh Japal, Executive Director (Non-Life), IRDAI.

Notes:
Punjab defeated the defending champions Haryana in a penalty shootout to clinch the title in the Senior Men’s National Hockey Championship in Chennai.
Punjab skipper and India player Harmanpreet Singh scored for Punjab. Earlier, Tamil Nadu overwhelmed Karnataka 5-3 in penalty shootout to take the bronze medal.

Notes:
The Special Jury or Silver Peacock Award was given to the Kannada film ‘Kantara’, directed by Rishab Shetty at the 54th International Film Festival of India.
Abbas Amini directed ‘Endless Borders’ which bagged the Best Film or the Golden Peacock Award, while the Best Director award went to Stephan Komandarev for the film ‘Blaga’s Lessons’.

Notes:
Anthrobots are tiny, self-assembling robots made from human cells. They can move around in a lab dish and are capable of healing neurons and damaged tissue. Anthrobots are made from human tracheal cells and can be created without genetic modifications. They are made up of a few hundred cells and only last a few weeks before breaking down. This means they can be easily reabsorbed into the body after their work is done. Anthrobots could be used in personalized medicine. They could help heal wounds or damaged tissue by forming large structures that span the width of a wound.
A team at Tufts University and Harvard University’s Wyss Institute created anthrobots.

Notes:
The UK will deploy surveillance aircraft over Israel and Gaza to locate over 130 people still held hostage by Hamas since its October attack on Israel. At least 5 missing British nationals are feared captive amid rescued hostages. The unarmed Shadow R1 drones conduct intelligence gathering for UK forces. While the offensive has resumed after a temporary Gaza truce, the reconnaissance flights starting soon will solely focus on hostage recovery without any combat role. The visuals and data obtained on captives’ whereabouts will be shared with Israeli authorities coordinating rescue operations. The UK move follows similar US aerial scanning assistance to pinpoint Hamas hostage locations through unarmed drones.

Notes:
As per a report by the Environment ministry and UNDP, India has successfully phased out ozone depleting and climate warming chemical HCFC 141b (1,1-Dichloro-1-fluoroethane) and is ahead of schedule in eliminating another such gas in new equipment manufacturing.
As against the 35 per cent phase-out target for HCFCs, India has achieved an impressive 44 per cent reduction.

Notes:
Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative (AGII) was launched at the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The ambitious programme to upscale and accelerate green industries and businesses across Africa was launched by presidents and representatives from Kenya, Angola, Burundi, Djibouti, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal and Zambia, as well as COP28 President Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber. The initiative underscores the importance of green industrialisation to harness Africa’s vast and quality resources to secure prosperity for all.

Notes:
To assess and measure the progress made by Grassroots level Institutions in achieving Localized SDGs and thereby attaining SDG 2030, Ministry has released a report on Panchayat Development Index (PDI).
Panchayat Development Index would play a significant role for performance evaluation and progress assessment in achieving the LSDGs in rural area. Under the revamped RGSA, Ministry has been incentivizing best performing Panchayats through National Panchayats Award (NPA) by assessing their performance in the attainment of SDGs to generate positive competition among Panchayats.