Current Affairs Quiz 13th December 2021 : Daily GK Update Quiz

Exp. Himachal Pradesh govt set up General Category Commission (Samanya Varg Aayog)

Himachal Pradesh govt announced setting up Commission for upper castes, on the lines of Madhya Pradesh.

The Commission, to be named as ‘Samanya Varg Aayog’, will be formalised through a legislative enactment in three months.

A Scheduled Caste Commission is already in operation in Himachal Pradesh and is chaired by former Shimla MP Virendra Kashyap.

Exp. Karnataka & UNDP signed LoU as a part of ‘Code-Unnati’ to improve entrepreneurship & youth employment

Govt of Karnataka has signed a Letter of Understanding (LoU) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a part of the State-level initiative ‘Code-Unnati’ to improve the access to entrepreneurship and employment opportunities among the youths, including women.

The initiative involves United Nations Volunteers (UNV) and is supported by SAP India Lab’s CSR Strategies will be implemented in 4 districts of Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Dakshina Kannada and Raichuru.

Exp. Uttar Pradesh holds top spot in Total Registered EVs in India: Ministry of Road Transport & Highways

During the Winter Session of the Parliament, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways, informed the Rajya Sabha on the state of Electric Vehicles (EV) in India.

As per the data release, India has a total of 870,141 registered EVs, with Uttar Pradesh (UP) holding the top spot with 255,700 registered EVs. UP is followed by Delhi (125,347), Karnataka (72,544), Bihar (58,014) and Maharashtra (52,506) in successive positions.

Exp. Global Health Security Index 2021: India ranked 66th; USA topped

As per the Global Health Security (GHS) Index 2021, the world’s average overall GHS Index score was reduced to 38.9 (out of 100) in 2021, from a score of 40.2 in the GHS Index, 2019.

India ranked 66 out of 195 countries with an overall Index score of 42.8 and along with a change of -0.8 from 2019. The United States of America (USA) ranked 1st on the index with a score of 75.9 followed by Australia and Finland.

Exp. Global Health Security Index 2021: India ranked 66th; USA topped

As per the Global Health Security (GHS) Index 2021, the world’s average overall GHS Index score was reduced to 38.9 (out of 100) in 2021, from a score of 40.2 in the GHS Index, 2019.

India ranked 66 out of 195 countries with an overall Index score of 42.8 and along with a change of -0.8 from 2019. The United States of America (USA) ranked 1st on the index with a score of 75.9 followed by Australia and Finland.

Exp. India re-elected to International Maritime Organisation Council for 2022-2023

India has been re-elected to International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council for the 2022-2023 biennium under category B states.

The Assembly of the International Maritime Organization has elected the Members of its Council for the 2022-2023 biennium.

Headquarters: London, United Kingdom

Founder: United Nations

Founded: 17 March 1948

Exp. UAE became the 1st Country to transition to 4 and half-day work week

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced to change its 5-day work-week to a 4 and a half day starting from 1st January 2022 and became the first country to make the employee-friendly transition as part of its efforts to improve productivity and work-life balance.

The government’s move is expected to make it come closer to timings of the US, the UK and Europe, boosting commerce.

Exp. IPPB and NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited collaborated for Doorstep Bill Payments Service

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) partnered with NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL) to facilitate pan India doorstep bill payments service for IPPB and non-IPPB customers.

NBBL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The platform enables customers to pay bills for various utilities and other recurring services.

Exp. India’s Harnaaz Sandhu named winner of Miss Universe 2021

India won the Miss Universe crown after 21 years after 21-year-old Harnaaz Sandhu from Chandigarh was named the winner of the 70th edition of the beauty pageant held in Israel.

Paraguay’s Nadia Ferreira was named first runner-up and South Africa’s Lalela Mswane was the second runner-up. Lara Dutta last won the Miss Universe title for India in 2000.

Exp. ISRO inked agreement with Oppo India to strengthen R&D of NavIC messaging service

An agreement has been inked between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Chinese smart devices maker Oppo’s Indian arm to strengthen the Research and Development (R&D) of the NavIC messaging service, an Indian satellite navigation system.

NavIC, an acronym for Navigation with Indian Constellation, aims to provide a user-friendly platform.

Exp. World Chess Championship 2021: Magnus Carlsen won his 5th title

Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, the defending Champion won his 5th World Chess Championship after defeating Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi in 2021’s World Chess Championship that was organised by FIDE (the International Chess Federation) at Dubai, UAE.

Magnus Carlsen has previously won the Championship in 2013, 2014, 2016 & 2018.

Exp. Max Verstappen won 2021 Formula One Drivers’ championship by winning Abu Dhabi GP 2021

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won maiden F1 Drivers’ championship title by beating Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes in the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP 2021.

Mercedes bagged another World Constructor’s Championship title but were denied the double they would have wanted.

Verstappen ended the season with 10 wins to Hamilton’s eight, having also led more laps and taken more poles and podiums.

Exp. India won a total of 6 medals at Asian Rowing Championship

India won total of six medals, including two gold and 4 silver medals in the Asian Rowing Championship in Thailand.

Senior rower Arvind Singh bagged a gold in the lightweight Men’s single sculls event while his compatriots won three silver medals. India bagged silver medals in Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls, Men’s Quadrapul Sculls and in Men’s Coxless Four.

In Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls, India’s Ashish Phugat and Sukhjinder Singh won the silver.

Exp. A new book titled “Watershed: How We Destroyed India’s Water And How We Can Save It” authored by Mriduala Ramesh

Mriduala Ramesh, the founder of Sundaram Climate Institute, which works on water and waste solutions and the angel investor in cleantech start-ups, has authored a new book titled “Watershed: How We Destroyed India’s Water And How We Can Save It”.

Mriduala Ramesh is the author of “The Climate Solution” and she writes regularly on climate issues.

Exp. 12 December: International Day of Neutrality

International Day of Neutrality is a United Nations recognized day held on December 12 each year to raise public awareness of the value of neutrality in international relations.

It was officially declared by a UN General Assembly resolution adopted in February 2017 and first observed on December 12, 2017.