Current Affairs Quiz 2nd December 2023 Quiz

Explanation:A new circular railway expanding 287 kilometers around Bengaluru and connecting major nearby towns, is set to become India’s largest network, as mentioned by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The goal of this project is to reduce traffic congestion and enhance connectivity in the region.

The government has allocated Rs 7 crore for alignment study of this circular railway, aiming to improve local train services alleviating congestion on existing rail networks, and complement the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project and Namma Metro initiatives.

Explanation: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar will inaugurate the 5th Global Ayurveda Festival in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. This event, taking place from December 1 to 5 ,2023, focuses on the theme ‘Emerging Challenges in Healthcare and a Resurgent Ayurveda’.

GAF 2023, the biggest Ayurveda meeting ever, will bring together practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders from around the world to discuss the influence of Ayurveda in healthcare.

Representatives from more than 70 countries will attend the event.They will highlight  the increasing acknowledgment of Ayurveda’s importance in dealing with worldwide health issues.

Explanation: As of December 1, the Ministry of Finance reported a 15% increase in the government’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for November, totaling Rs 1.68 lakh crore.

However, this figure shows a 2% drop from October’s GST collection of Rs 1.72 lakh crore. Despite the slight decrease the monthly GST collection has remained above Rs 1.5 lakh crore for nine months in a row.

Although November’s total GST collections decreased slightly from October, the year-on-year growth exceeded 15%, making it the highest in 2023 to 2024.

As per the 2023-24 Budget, the Central government expects a 12% increase in GST collections for the current fiscal year. In the starting eight months, the gross GST collected is Rs 13.32 lakh crore, showing an 11.9% increase from the same period last year.

Explanation: Digital payments through the United Payments Interface (UPI) exceeded 11 billion for the second month in a row, with the country seeing 1,124 crore UPI transactions in November.

Data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) indicates a slight decrease from October’s 1,141 crore transactions but a substantial 54% increase compared to the 730.95 crore transactions recorded in November 2022.

Moreover, the transactions in November 2023 amounted to INR 17.40 lakh crore, slightly higher than the INR 17.16 lakh crore recorded in October 2023. Year-on-year, the growth was 46% higher than the transaction volume of INR 11.90 lakh crore.

This is the second consecutive time that UPI transaction volume has crossed the INR 17 lakh crore mark. It remained above INR 15 lakh crore in July, August, and September

Explanation: Minister of state for Defense Ministry, Ajay Bhatt is going to visit Accra, Ghana on December 5-6, 2023, for an official visit. He will be there for a United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting.

The UN Peacekeeping Ministerial meeting plans to talk about the problems UN peacekeepers are dealing with.

India consistently leads by sending the most troops and equipment to these missions. Further the Defense Minister will have one-on-one talks with other Ministers, discussing defense collaboration to enhance partnerships. He will also connect with the Indian community in Accra during his visit

Explanation: Cyclone ‘Michaung’ is expected to strike the eastern coast of the country. The IMD has given an update on the current situation of the cyclone. The name Michaung is given by Myanmar.

According to MD Sunanda from the Visakhapatnam Cyclone Warning Centre,It is expected to get stronger, turning into a deep depression and eventually a cyclonic storm within the next 48 hours.

The Cyclone Warning Centre also forecasts increased winds and rainfall along the North Tamil Nadu coast and South Andhra coast starting from December 3.

Explanation: The INTERPOL General Assembly started its 91st meeting in Vienna  a hundred years after the organization began in the capital of Austria.

Karl Nehammer, who is the Federal Chancellor of Austria, officially opened the conference. This year, over 1,000 police and law enforcement leaders from more than 160 countries have come together to talk about making international police cooperation stronger. They aim to address the increasing transnational crime happening worldwide.

The General Assembly is the governing body of INTERPOL, making decisions on what the organization will do and how it will spend money in the next year.It will talk about stopping environmental crimes, preventing child sexual abuse, and catching people involved in financial crimes, with detailed reports on each.

Explanation: The United Arab Emirates announced its commitment to contribute $30 billion to a new fund focused on addressing climate issues. This fund, called Alterra, has influential partners like BlackRock, Brookfield, and TPG joining in as initial supporters.

Alterra aims to attract $250 billion in investments by 2030. Its main focus is to enhance access to funding, particularly for developing nations in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, collectively known as the Global South.

The fund also aims to guide private markets towards investments that tackle climate challenges. It will be actively involved in areas such as transitioning to cleaner energy, reducing industrial carbon emissions and advancing climate technology.

The COP, a yearly meeting that brings together leaders, scientists, environmentalists, activists, business figures, and others, is taking place in the Emirates this year from November 30 to December 12.

Explanation: SEBI, the market regulator, has extended the deadline for linking the SEBI Complaint Redressal (SCORES) platform with the online dispute resolution platform. Initially set for December 4, the new deadline is now April 1, 2024.

In a notice dated September 20, 2023, SEBI stated that market entities should request SCORES authentication and Application Programming Interface (API) integration by December 4, the original deadline, to comply with the circular.

The deadline for applying for SCORES authentication has now been extended to April 1, 2024.

SEBI is like the regulator of India’s stock markets. It’s similar to the SEC in the U.S. Their main job is to make sure investors are safe and help the stock market grow. They also handle anything related to the securities market.

Explanation: On 1 of December 2023, Amazon Pay, a fintech company, introduced a video-based service for Know Your Customer (KYC) using sign language, specially designed for customers with unique needs.

This service facilitates communication in sign language between the company’s employees and customers facing hearing or speech challenges.

The aim is to simplify the KYC process for those who rely on sign language and to make digital payments more accessible.

Amazon Pay has trained over 120 employees for this video KYC service and created interactive modules, aligning with their commitment to customer satisfaction and financial inclusion.

Explanation: The Mitra Shakti 2023 joint military exercise, involving the Indian and Sri Lankan Armies, finished at Pune’s southern command foreign training node. The 12-day exercise aimed to help both armies understand each other’s strategies and tactics better.

The exercise had troops from both the Indian Army and Air Force, demonstrating a strong teamwork involving different parts of the military.

In the joint exercise, the participants practiced military drills, tactics, and best methods. This helped create a dynamic learning setting, making a better grip of each other’s military abilities.

Explanation: The Military Literature Festival is coming back for its second district-level edition in Amritsar. This event is organized by the Military Literature Festival Association and led by Lt.Gen TS Shergill (retd.).It aims to raise awareness about the important role of the armed forces and inspire the youth.

The festival is planned for early 2024, considering student’s exam schedules and other logistical factors. The next edition, set to start in Chandigarh on December 2 with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann inaugurating.

This edition focuses a lot on Punjab and its history. It looks at the military history of the region discussing Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s strategy and how he added places like Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir, Baltistan, and Ladakh to India through conquest.

Explanation: Somali refugee Abdullahi Mire is getting the 2023 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award Global Laureate for helping displaced kids get education.

He grew up in Kenya’s Dadaab camps and gave over 100,000 books to children and youth there. The award ceremony is on December 13, 2023, in Geneva, Switzerland.

The UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award, established in 1954 to honor the memory of Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian scientist and explorer. He was also the first High Commissioner for Refugees for the League of Nations. This award is given each year to someone or a group that has done exceptional work in helping refugees.

The UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award includes a special medal and a money prize of $100,000 USD.

Explanation: Henry Kissinger, a U.S. diplomat during the Cold War, passed away at the age of 100.

He played an important role in improving relations with China, making arms control agreements with the Soviet Union, and concluding the Vietnam War. However he faced criticism for his stance on human rights.

Kissinger was very influential in the 1970s during the Cold War. He worked as a national security adviser and secretary of state under President Richard Nixon.

Even after Nixon resigned in 1974 due to the Watergate scandal, Kissinger continued as a key diplomat under the next president, Gerald Ford.

He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973.