Current Affairs Quiz 12th December 2022 Quiz

Exp. PM Modi flagged off 6th Vande Bharat train in Maharashtra

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged off India’s sixth Vande Bharat Express between Bilaspur (Chattisgarh)-Nagpur (Maharashtra) route.

PM Modi flagged off the train from Nagpur railway station and was accompanied by Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari.

The Vande Bharat Express can run up to a maximum speed of 160 kmph and has travel classes like Shatabdi Train but with better facilities.

It aims to provide a totally new travel experience to passengers.

Vande Bharat Express is India’s first semi-highspeed train equipped with world-class passenger amenities. It can achieve high speeds due to faster acceleration and deceleration and will reduce journey time by 25 percent to 45 percent.

About Maharashtra

• Capital – Mumbai
• Chief Minister– Eknath Sindhe
• Governor – Bhagat Singh Koshyari

Recent Inauguration by PM Modi

• PM Modi flagged off 6th Vande Bharat train in Nagpur, Maharashtra
• PM Modi inaugurated AIIMS in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh
• PM Modi inaugurated 4th Vande Bharat Expressin Himachal Pradesh
• PM Modi inaugurated Shri Mahakal Lok complexin Ujjain
• PM Modi lays foundation stone of two hydropower projectsin Chamba, Himachal Pradesh
• PM Modi inaugurated PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022 inNew Delhi

Exp. Bengaluru to host first meeting of G20 Finance Track

Bengaluru will host the first meeting of the G20 Finance Track under India’s G20 Presidency.

According to the Union Ministry of Finance, First G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting is scheduled to be held in Bengaluru on 13-15 December 2022.

It will be hosted jointly by the Union Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India.

All the 20 members of the G-20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies will participate in the meeting.

India is currently the President of the G-20 and it will hold the G-20 summit meeting in September 2023 in New Delhi.

Exp. Tamil Nadu CM Stalin launched scheme to uplift sanitation staff

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has launched sanitation workers’ development programme across the state and distributed safety equipment to a few workers.

The scheme will focus on the holistic development of sanitation workers and their family members with the help of urban local bodies.

Objective – To protect the welfare of sanitary workers in the state.

Under the scheme, safety kits like gloves and boots will be distributed to 53,301 sanitary workers in the state.

He also launched a mobile app “SHWAS” (Sanitation Workers Health Welfare and Safety)

It will ensure proper education for the children of conservancy workers.

About Tamil Nadu

• Capital –Chennai

Chief Minister – M K Stalin

Governor – R N Ravi

Exp. Meghalaya government launched Asia’s first Drone delivery hub

The Meghalaya government in partnership with startup TechEagle has unveiled Asia’s first drone delivery hub & network.

It is aimed at providing universal access to healthcare for the netizens

The project is aimed at delivering vital supplies like drugs, diagnostic samples, vaccines, blood and blood components quickly and safely to different regions of the state using a dedicated drone delivery network.

The first official drone flight took off from Jengjal Sub Divisional Hospital.

About Meghalaya

• Capital– Shillong
• Chief Minister– Conrad Kongkal Sangma
• Governor – D. Mishra (additional charge)

Exp. Mopa International Airport Goa named after Manohar Parrikar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the first phase of the international airport at Mopa in north Goa.

He named the airport after late Goa Chief Minister and former Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. Mr Parrikar died in March 2019.

The Mopa airport in North Goa is the second international airport in the coastal state apart from the existing airport at Dabolim, which is operated as a city enclave from Indian naval air station INS Hansa.

The foundation stone for the airport at Mopa was laid by PM Modi in 2016.

The first phase of the airport will be able to handle 44 lakh passenger movement every year.

About Goa

Capital – Panaji

Chief Minister – Pramod Sawant

Governor – P.S. Sreedharan Pillai

Recent Inauguration by PM Modi

PM Modi dedicated 75 Digital Banking Units to the nation

PM Modi launched new strategic air base in Gujarat’s Deesa

PM Modi launched Mission LIFE movement at Kevadiya

PM Modi laid foundation stone over Rs 3,400 crore in Chamoli, Uttarakhand

PM Modi inaugurated Maze Garden, ‘OYO Ekta Houseboat’ Miyawaki’ forest in Gujarat.

Exp. India’s First Carbon Neutral Farm Inaugurated in Kerala

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has declared a seed farm, located in Aluva, as the first carbon-neutral farm in the country.

A significant reduction in carbon emission has helped the seed farm, under the Agricultural Department, achieve carbon-neutral status.

The total amount of carbon emission from the farm, located at Thuruthu in Aluva, in the last one year was 43 tons but its overall procurement was 213 ton.

The Kerala government also announced to start of Carbon-neutral farms in all its assembly constituencies.

Women’s associations will be formed to implement this in tribal areas.

About Kerala

• Capital –Thiruvananthapuram

Chief Minister – Pinarayi Vijayan

Governor – Arif Mohammad Kha

Exp. Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh

Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has been unanimously elected as the new Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. He succeeds Jai Ram Thakur.

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri also took oath with him.

Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath to both.

Sukhu was sworn in as the 17th Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.

He served as the president of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee from 2013 to 2019.

About Himachal Pradesh

• Capital –Shimla (Summer), Dharamshala (Winter)

Chief Minister – Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu

Deputy Chief Minister – Mukesh Agnihotri

Governor – Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar

Exp. Meghna Ahlawat elected as new President of Table Tennis Federation of India

Meghna Ahlawat has been elected as the first female President of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI).

While Eight-time national champion Kamlesh Mehta takes over as the new secretary general of the TTFI and Patel Nagender Reddy has been elected as the Treasurer.

Ahlawat, who is the wife of Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala, contested against Gujarat home minister Harsh Sanghvi.

Ahlawat succeeded Dushyant Chautala.

About Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI)

TTFI is the governing body for table tennis in India and was established in 1926.

It includes 32 state units and 37 institutions

Headquarters – New Delhi

Recent Appointment 

• MD & CEO of Ashok Leyland – Shenu Agarwal
• MD of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) – Meenesh C Shah
• Chair of B20 India – N Chandrasekaran
• Chairman of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) – Arun Kumar Singh
• Batting Coach of the Senior Women’s cricket team – Hrishikesh Kanitka

Exp. PT Usha elected as first woman president of Indian Olympic Association

Legendary former athlete P T Usha has been elected as the first woman president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

She is a multiple Asian Games gold medallist and a fourth-place finisher in the 1984 Olympics 400m hurdles final.

The 58-year-old Usha has been declared elected unopposed for the top post in the polls

The elections were held under the supervision of Supreme Court-appointed retired SC judge L Nageswara Rao.

Apart from her, Ajay H Patel has been elected as senior Vice President, Rajlaxmi Singh Deo and Gagan Narang as Vice Presidents of the Indian Olympic Association.

Headquarters of IOA: New Delhi.

Recent Appointment 

• Acting chief justice of J&K HC – Justice Tashi Rabstan
• Chairman and MD of Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI) – K.V. Suresh Kumar
• Chairperson of the National Statistical Commission – Rajeeva Laxman Karandikar
• National Commission for Backward Classes chairperson – Hansraj Gangaram
• Office and secrecy as UPSC Member- Preeti Sudan

Exp. J&K awarded first prize in Ayushman Bharat health account ID generation

Jammu and Kashmir has been awarded first position in the category for Ayushman Bharat health account ID generation and 2nd prize in the category for Teleconsultation conducted during Universal Health Coverage Day 2022 at International Cooperation and Convention Centre, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

Universal Health Coverage Day is celebrated every year to commemorate the significance of Universal health coverage which aims to ensure quality healthcare closer to the people without any financial hardships.

The event was graced by the Governor of UP Anandiben Patel virtually, Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare.

Recent Awards

• World Athlete of the Year 2022 awards – McLaughlin-Levrone & Mondo Duplantis
• Nadoja Award – S Shadakshari, Krishnappa G & Dr. C N Manjunath
• Prime Minister’s prize in Australia – Veena Nair
• Best Director at New York Film Critics Circle – SS Rajamouli for RRR Film
• Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2022 – Chipko Movement (Shekhar Pathak)
• Banker’s Bank of the Year Award 2022 for the India segment – Canara Bank

Exp. Indian origin Krishna Vavilala received US Presidential Lifetime Award

Indian-American Krishna Vavilala has been honoured with the Presidential Lifetime Achievement (PLA) Award for his contributions to his community and the country.

It is the nation’s highest honour for his contributions to his community and the country at large.

Vavilala is from Andhra Pradesh & the founder and Chairman of the Foundation for India Studies (FIS).

The Presidential Lifetime Achievement (PLA) Awards, led by AmeriCorps. AmeriCorps, an agency of the United States government, engages more than five million Americans in service through a variety of volunteer work programmes in many sectors.

Recent Awards

• Earthshot Prize 2022 – Telangana startup Kheyti.
• ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal at IFFI 53 – Iranian film ‘Nargesi’
• 41st IITF 2022 – Ministry of Health
• Champions of the Earth award – Purnima Devi Burman
• Para Sports Person of the Year 2022 – Avani Lekhara
• Gold in e-Governance category – Panchayati Raj Ministry

Exp. 10 December – Nobel Prize Day

Nobel Prize Day is observed every year on 10th December to honor the achievements of Alfred Bernhard Nobel, a Swedish engineer, chemist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.

The Nobel Prize is considered one of the most prestigious international awards given to people who gave their best contribution in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace.

Alfred Nobel was also known as ‘Merchant of Death’. The reason behind his nickname was because of his inventions and the most prestigious award is given after his name.

Five Nobel Prize in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace are awarded annually on 10th December since 1901.

Nobel Prize 2022

• Medicine Nobel Prize 2022

Winner – Svante Pääbo (Sweden)

Experiment – for discovery around genomes of extinct hominins

• Physics Nobel Prize 2022

Winner – Alain Aspect (France), John F. Clauser (USA), and Anton Zeilinger (Austria)

Experiment – for experiments with entangled photons establishing the violation of Bell inequalities and pioneering quantum information science

• Chemistry Nobel Prize 2022

Winner – Carolyn Bertozzi (USA), Morten Meldal (Denmark), K Barry Sharpless (USA)

Experiment – for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry

• Literature Nobel Prize 2022

Winner – Annie Ernaux (France)

Purpose – For the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory.

• Peace Nobel Prize 2022

Winner – Ales Bialiatski (Belarus), Russian Human Rights Organization Memorial, Ukrainian Human Rights Organization Center for Civil Liberties

Purpose –

Ales Bialiatski – To promoting democracy and peaceful development.

Russian Human Rights Organization Memorial – It has compiled and systematized information on political oppression and human rights violations in Russia.

Ukrainian Human Rights Organization Center for Civil Liberties – To strengthen Ukrainian civil society and pressure the authorities to make Ukraine a full-fledged democracy.

• Economics Nobel Prize 2022

Winner – Ben S. Bernanke (USA), Douglas W. Diamond (USA), Philip H. Dybvig (USA)

Purpose – For research on banks and financial crises.

Exp. 11 December – UNICEF Day

UNICEF Day is observed on December 11 every year.

UNICEF is an acronym for the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, an organization established in 1946.

Objective – To raise awareness about the condition of children around the globe and how their well-being can be ensured.

The UN General Assembly created UNICEF on December 11, 1946, as the UN International Children’s Emergency Fund to improve the health, nutrition, education, and general welfare of children devastated due to World War II.

Theme 2022 – All girls deserve better-the world deserves better

UNICEF Headquarters – New York

Exp. 11 December – International Mountain day

International Mountain day is observed every year on 11 December.

Objective – To increase public awareness of the value of mountains to both life and climate.

Theme 2022 – Women Move Mountains

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) established International Mountain Day to recognize the importance of mountains.

Nearly 15 percent of the world’s population lives in mountains, which also house roughly half of the planet’s biodiversity hotspots.

The day came into existence in 2003. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development accepted Chapter 13 of Agenda 21: Managing Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development in 1992.

Exp. Veteran Singer Sulochana Chavan passed away

Renowned Lavani singer Sulochana Chavan passed away recently at the age of 92.

She was one of the most well-known singers in the traditional Maharashtran musical genre.

Chavan has been awarded the Padma Shri in 2022.

She was also honoured with the Lata Mangeshkar Award, instituted by the Government of Maharashtra, in 2010.

She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2012