Current Affairs Quiz 24th and 25th December 2022 Quiz

Exp. CJI D Y Chandrachud constituted committee to conduct accessibility audit of SC premises

The Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud has constituted a committee to conduct an audit of “physical and functional access” of the top court premises to make them disabled-friendly.

The committee will be headed by Supreme Court Judge S Ravindra Bhat.

The ‘Supreme Court Committee on Accessibility’ has been given a broad mandate to prepare and release a questionnaire for persons with disabilities, including the apex court employees, advocates, litigants and interns, who visit the top court premises to assess the nature and extent of problems they face.

Recent Committee

• Centre constituted a panel for Higher Educational Institutions – Dr K. Radhakrishnan
• Government formed 5-member committee to review pharma marketing practices – V K Paul
• SEBI reconstituted 21 members Market Data Advisory Committee (MDAC) –  MS Sahoo
• SEBI restructured Secondary Market Advisory Committee (SMAC)- Gurumoorthy Mahalingam
• SC appointed panel for recovery of money from NSEL defaulters- Pradeep Nandrajog
• Government sets up committee to develop framework on right to repair – Nidhi Khatri

Exp. 10th Edition of North East Festival begins at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium

The 10th Edition of the North East Festival began at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.

Objective – To promote the North East region’s diverse life, culture, traditions, and tourism.

Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Narayan Rane has inaugurated the MSME Exhibition at the North East Festival.

The festival will provide an opportunity to entrepreneurs from North East regions especially women and SC/ST entrepreneurs to showcase their skills, products and create new opportunities for growth.

Exp. Anurag Singh Thakur launched new dashboard for Khelo India

Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur has launched Khelo India’s new Dashboard.

The Dashboard is inclusive of all the statistical data related to the Khelo India Scheme and the Khelo India events.

It will be updated in real-time and it aims to be a unique one-stop platform for the citizens to access all the information regarding various offerings of the Khelo India Scheme.

The platform will also help in accessing information regarding progress made regarding the development of sports infrastructures, Fit India & playfield development.

Recent Inauguration by Anurag Thakur

• Anurag Thakur unveiled FIH Hockey World Cup 2023 trophyin New Delhi
• Anurag Thakur inaugurated Water Sports Centerin Himachal Pradesh
• Anurag Thakur launched the WADA Athlete Biological Passport Symposium.
• Anurag Thakur has inaugurated ’53 Hours Challenge’ for ‘75 Creative Minds Tomorrow’.
• Anurag Thakur inaugurated Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union Assembly in New Delhi
• Anurag Thakur inaugurated India’s 1st Drone Training Conference

Exp. PM Modi addressed 75th Amrut Mahotsav of Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Rajkot Sansthan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the 75th “Amrut Mahotsav” of Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Rajkot Sansthan via video-conferencing.

The five-day Amrit Mahotsav celebrations were inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel at Sahajanand nagar in Rajkot.

As part of the Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, mega blood donation camps, and free medical check-up camps are being organized at Sahajanand nagar where renowned multi-specialty doctors are providing free medical services and free-of-cost medicine to the people.

Established in 1948 by Shri Dharmajivandasji Swami. Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Rajkot Sansthan has more than 40 branches all over the world.

Recent Inauguration by PM Modi

PM Modi inaugurated projects worth Rs 6,800 crore in Tripura, Meghalaya

PM Modi launched projects worth Rs 75,000 cr in Maharashtra

PM Modi inaugurated the first phase of the international airport at Mopa in north Goa.

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 Express in Himachal Pradesh

Exp. IFC provides $400 million loan to HDFC to promote green housing

World Bank’s investment arm, International Finance Corporation (IFC) has provided to make a $400 million (around ₹3,400 crore) loan to mortgage lender HDFC Ltd, with an aim to drive India’s green housing growth.

The capital will help HDFC boost its green affordable housing portfolio, with 75% (around $300 million) of the proceeds earmarked for this sector.

Earlier in April, HDFC Ltd decided to merge with its banking subsidiary HDFC Bank.

Green Houses are built with sustainable, environmentally-friendly, energy-efficient, and recyclable resources.

These houses are constructed in such a way that water, air, solar, and geothermal energy are optimally utilized, thus reducing energy waste. Affordable houses means that it will target Middle-income groups.

About World Bank

• Founded –1944
• Headquarters –Washington Dc
• President – David Malpass
• MD & CFO –Anshula Kant
• Chief Economist– Carman Reinhart
• Executive Director– Rajesh Khullar
• Member Countries-189
• World Bank Group– 5 (IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA and ICSID)

Exp. PV Sindhu among top 25 highest-paid female athletes in Forbes annual list

India’s badminton star PV Sindhu is the only player in the top 25 in Forbes’ annual list of the highest-paid female athletes in the world.

Sindhu, the 2016 Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, occupies the 12th spot in the list.

Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka tops the list.

The 27-year-old made 7 million US Dollars of her earnings, having won a singles gold and doubles silver at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year in Birmingham.

For the third straight year, Osaka tops Forbes’ annual list of the World’s highest-paid female athletes.

Exp. England cricketer Sam Curran breaks IPL auction record

England all-rounder Sam Curran became the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) most expensive ever buy in the players’ auction.

Curran returned to the Punjab Kings for the staggering sum of 185 million Indian rupees ($2.23 million) following a fierce bidding war involving the Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.

Curran, who was player-of-the-series in England’s T20 World Cup triumph in Australia this year, previously featured for the Punjab Kings in 2019.

The fee for Curran surpassed the previous highest bid of 162.5 million rupees, paid by the Rajasthan Royals for South African all-rounder Chris Morris last year.

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and England batter Joe Root went unsold.

Exp. Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated the National Level Kabaddi Championship

Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur has inaugurated the National level Kabaddi championship in Udupi in Karnataka.

The National level Kabaddi tournament will be held under the floodlights on MGM grounds where 12 teams from different states will take part.

The winner will get the Atal trophy and a prize money of one lakh rupees

The runner-up will be awarded Rs 75,000, the third prize winner Rs 50,000 and the fourth prize winner Rs 25,000.

Recent Inauguration by Anurag Thakur

• Anurag Thakur unveiled FIH Hockey World Cup 2023 trophy in New Delhi
• Anurag Thakur inaugurated Water Sports Centerin Himachal Pradesh
• Anurag Thakur launched the WADA Athlete Biological Passport Symposium.
• Anurag Singh Thakur has inaugurated ’53 Hours Challenge’ for ‘75 Creative Minds Tomorrow’.
• Anurag Thakur inaugurated Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union Assembly in New Delhi
• Anurag Thakur inaugurated India’s 1st Drone Training Conference

Exp. Puma India appointed Anushka Sharma as its brand ambassador

Puma India has appointed Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma as its new brand ambassador.

The actor will endorse the brand’s footwear, apparel and accessories, including select collections, through myriad activities and brand campaigns throughout the year.

Puma India has a total of 30-35 brand ambassadors in India which include Sharma’s husband and cricketer Virat Kohli.

Other brand ambassadors associated with Puma India include Kareena Kapoor Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Mary Kom, Sunil Chhetri and Harrdy Sandhu.

Recent Brand Ambassador

• Deepika Padukone – American furniture retailer Pottery Barn
• Virat Kohli –  Wearables martwatch leader Noise
• Prasoon Joshi – Uttarakhand State
• Janhvi Kapoor – Marico’s Saffola Fittify
• Deepa Malik  – Ambassador of Nikshay Mitra (TB Campaign)
• Suryakumar Yadav – UrbanGabru (Men’s grooming brand)
• Neeraj Chopra – Friendship Ambassador of Switzerland
• Lionel Messi – Byju’s
• Yuvraj Singh -T20 World Cup for the Blind
• Sourav Ganguly – Bandhan Bank
• Smriti Mandhana – Gulf Oil Lubricants.
• Rohit Sharma & his wife Ritika Sajdeh – Max Life Insurance
• Punyakoti Dattu Yojana (Karnataka)- Kiccha Sudeep
• Vaani Kapoor – Noise X-Fit 2 smartwatch
• Ravi Shastri – FanCode
• Mahendra Singh Dhoni – Garuda Aerospace
• Robin Uthappa – Karnataka Brain Health Initiative (Ka-BHI)
• Shubman Gill & Ruturaj Gaikwad – My11Circle
• Rishabh Pant – Dish TV India
• Jhulan Goswami -All Women Match Official Team
• Rishabh Pant – Uttarakhand’s brand ambassador
• Jasprit Bumrah- Unix
• Ravindra Jadeja – Kinara Capital
• Smriti Mandhana – IIT Madras incubated startup, GUVI
• Saurav Ganguly – Century LED

Exp. Sitiveni Rabuka elected as new Prime Minister of Fiji

Sitiveni Rabuka has been elected as Fiji’s new Prime Minister.

After 16 years, Fiji is preparing to welcome its new prime minister.

It also signals the end of former Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama’s 16 years in power. In the 55-member Parliament of Fiji, Sitiveni Rabuka secured 28 votes against Bainimarama’s 27 votes.

About Fiji

Capital- Suva

Currency- Fijian dollar

President – Wiliame Katonivere

Newly Appointed Prime Minister & President

• Prime Minister of Ireland – Indian-origin Leo Varadkar (2^ndterm)
• First female President of Peru – Dina Boluarte
• Prime Minister of Malaysia – Anwar Ibrahim
• President of Kazakhstan – Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (2^ndterm)
• First female president of Slovenia – Natasa Pirc Musar
• New Prime Minister of Israel – Benjamin Netanyahu
• President of Brazil – Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
• Prime Minister of Sweden – Ulf Kristersson
• President of Iraq – Abdul Latif Rashid
• PM of United Kingdom – Rishi Sunak

Exp. Prof. Thalappil Pradeep received VinFuture special prize 2022

Renowned researcher and Madras IIT Professor Pradeep Thalappil has received the VinFuture Prize 2022 in Hanoi.

He has been awarded the ‘Special Prize dedicated to Innovators from Developing Countries’ for his development of a low-cost filtration system to remove arsenic and other heavy metals from groundwater.

He has received the Padma Shri award in 2020 for his distinguished contribution to the field of science and technology.

He also received Nikkei Asia Prize in 2020.

Recent Awards

• Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2021-22 – Sudeep Sen and Shobhana Kumar
• Platinum Icon in Digital India Awards 2022 – Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
• First Rohini Nayyar prize for rural development – Sethrichem Sangtam
• Mrs World 2022 title- India’s Sargam Koushal
• ITF World Champions 2022 crowned – Rafael Nadal (Men’s) & Iga Swiatek (Women’s)

Exp. Sahitya Akademi Awards 2022 announced

Sahitya Akademi has announced its annual Sahitya Akademi Awards in 23 languages.

7 books of poetry, 6 novels, 2 short stories, 3 Play/Dramas, 2 Literary Criticisms, one each of Autobiographical Essays, Collection of Articles, and Literary History have won the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2022.

The awardee will receive an engraved copper plaque, a shawl, and Rs. 1,00,000 in Cash.

It also announced the ‘Sahitya Akademi Translation’ awards for 2022.

Sahitya Akademi Awards –

Hindi – Tumadi Ke Shabd (Poetry) – Badri Narayan

English – All The Lives We Never Lived (Novel) – Anuradha Roy

Sanskrit – Deepmanikyam (Poetry) – Janardan Prasad Pandey ‘Mani’

Urdu – Khwab Saraab (Novel) – Anis Ashfaq

Punjabi – Main Aynghosh Nahi (Short Stories) – Sukhjit

Rajasthani – Alekhun Amba (Play) – Kamal Ranga

Gujarati – Gher Jatan (Autobiographical Essays) – Gulam Mohammad Shaikh

Assamese – Bhool Satya (Short Stories) – Manoj Kumar Goswami

Kannada – Bahutvada Bhaarata mattu Bouddha Taatvikate (Collection of Articles) – Mudnakudu Chinnaswamy

Kashmiri – Zael Dab (Literary Criticism) – Farooq Fayaz

Dogri – Chhe Roopak (Drama) – Veena Gupta

Nepali – Saino (Drama) – K.B. Nepali

Manipuri – Leironnung (Poetry) – Koijam Shantibala

Konkani – Amrutvel (Novel)  – Maya Anil Kharangate

Maithili – Pen-Drive Me Prithvi (Poetry) – Ajit Azad

Malayalam – Ashaante Seethayanam (Literary Criticism) – M. Thomas Mathew

Marathi – Ujavya Sondechya Bahulya (Novel) – Praveen Dashrath Bandekar

Odia – Dayanadi (Poetry) – Gayatribala Panda

Santali – Sabarnaka Balire Sanan’ Panjay (Poetry) – Kajli Soren (Jagannath Soren)

Sindhi – Sindhi Sahit Jo Mukhtasar Itihas (Literary History) – Kanhaiyalal Lekhwani

Tamil – Kaala Paani (Novel) – M. Rajendran

Telugu – Manodharmaparagam (Novel) – Madhuranthakam Narendra

Bodo – Sansrini Modira (Poetry) – Rashmi Choudhury

Exp. Harmanpreet Singh to captain Indian team at the FIH men’s world cup 2023.

Hockey India has announced Dragflicker Harmanpreet Singh as the captain of the Indian men’s Hockey team for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023.

Amit Rohidas has been named as the vice-captain of the squad. The team coach is Graham Reid.

The FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup is held every four years and the 2022 event was postponed to 2023 due to the corona pandemic.

The last 14th FIH Men’s World Cup Hockey was also played in Odisha in 2018.

Exp. 24 December – National Consumer Rights Day

National Consumer Rights Day is observed every year on 24 December.

The Consumer Protection Act, of 1986 received the assent of the President on this day.

It also provides awareness about consumer rights and responsibilities.

While World Consumer Day is celebrated on 15th March every year.

Exp. Telugu actor Kaikala Satyanarayana passed away

Legendary Telugu actor Kaikala Satyanarayana passed away at the age of 87.

Sri Ranga Neethulu was one of his well-known films.

He was also a producer, director, and politician.

In his career spanning over six decades, Satyanarayana received a number of awards, including a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award and two Nandi Awards.