Daily Current Affairs Quiz : December 13,2021

Answer: A

• Recently, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami unveiled the Milk Price Incentive Scheme, which will benefit around 53,000 people.

About ‘Milk Price Incentive Scheme’

• The milk price incentive scheme will benefit around 53,000 individuals because the money will be directly put into the beneficiaries’ accounts via Direct Bank Transfer (DBT).
• The state government would invest Rs.444.62 crore in Uttarakhand to create 500 milk vending stations.

Current Milk Production Scenario in Uttarakhand:

• In the Dehradun district, milk production and consumption are completely contradictory. On one hand, the government is making many attempts to enhance milk production, all government claims of promoting production are proving to be fictitious. Despite thousands of hours of labor, milk is not produced in accordance with demand.

Answer: B

• Bharti Airtel recently launched ‘Airtel India Startup Innovation Challenge’ in partnership with Invest India that will let early-stage technology companies demonstrate differentiated solutions.

About ‘Startup Innovation Challenge’

• As part of the ‘Startup Innovation Challenge’ early-stage technology companies are invited to demonstrate differentiated solutions in the following areas –
• 5G – Innovative B2C or B2B use cases and applications that can leverage high speed and low latency 5G technology.
• IoT – Creating innovative IoT solutions that can power the digital transformation journey of enterprises.
• Cloud Communication – Leveraging AI and ML technologies to create B2C or B2B products that can improve customer engagement and experience.
• Digital Advertising – Creating innovative and unique ad formats – both digital and otherwise that would make ads or brand promotions an enriching experience for the end customer.
• Digital Entertainment – Creating a platform or offering disruptive solutions in music, video or gaming that can support the growth of India’s content creator economy.
• Applications will close on 24th January 2022 and the results will be announced on 14th February 2022.
• The top 10 winners will win cash prizes, get access to Airtel’s Innovation Lab and will be able to leverage Airtel’s advanced technology infrastructure to scale up their use cases and even co-innovate with Airtel’s engineering teams. A select few of the 10 startups shall be offered to be on-boarded onto the Airtel Startup Accelerator Program and hyper-scale their company with Airtel.
• Under this Program, startups gain access to Airtel’s core platform strengths of data, distribution, network and payments. Further, startups get access to Airtel’s global partner ecosystem and advisory from Airtel’s executive team.

Answer: B

• Uttar Pradesh’s Haiderpur wetland has been added to the list of Indian wetlands of international importance.

About Haiderpur Wetland

• The human-made Haiderpur wetland spreads over an area of 6,908 hectares in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh. Formed in 1984 on a floodplain of the River Ganga on the Madhya Ganga Barrage, the wetland is located within the boundaries of Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary.
• In terms of supporting life, the wetland is a habitat for numerous animals and plant species. It homes more than 30 species of plants, over 300 species of birds including 102 waterbirds, more than 40 fish, and more than ten mammal species. Further, it is home to more than 15 globally threatened species such as the critically endangered gharial, endangered hog deer, black-bellied tern, steppe eagle, Indian skimmer, and gold mahseer.
• According to the Ramsar Convention, wetlands are land areas saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally. Inland wetlands include marshes, ponds, lakes, rivers, floodplains, and swamps. The coastal wetlands include saltwater marshes, estuaries, mangroves, lagoons, and coral reefs. And, human-made wetlands include fishponds, rice paddies, and saltpans. For instance, Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary, the largest wetland in Haryana is a human-made freshwater wetland.

Answer: B

• December 11 is observed every year as the International Mountain Day to raise awareness about the importance of mountains to life and to climate.

About International Mountain Day

• December 11 is observed every year as the International Mountain Day to raise awareness about the importance of mountains to life and to climate.
• International Mountain Day was designated by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to acknowledge the fact that mountains are home to 15% of the total population of the world and they also host about half of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.

Theme

• The International Mountain Day 2021 theme is ‘Sustainable Mountain Tourism’. The theme signifies that sustainable tourism in mountains is a way to preserve the cultural, natural, and spiritual heritage of the mountains around the world.

Significance of International Mountain Day 2021

• The International Mountain Day aims at creating awareness about the significance of mountains and the role that they play in maintaining biodiversity. Mountain Day also sheds light on the opportunities and constraints in mountain development.
• However, the International Mountain Day 2021 is of extreme relevance because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effect it had on mountain tourism. Mountain Day acknowledges that the covid pandemic has further compounded the vulnerabilities of the mountain communities.

Answer: C

• Participating in ‘Summit for Democracy’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the democratic spirit, including respect for rule of law and pluralistic ethos, is “ingrained in Indians”.

About ‘Summit for Democracy’

• The Summit for Democracy was a virtual summit hosted by the United States “to renew democracy at home and confront autocracies abroad” on December 9–10, 2021.
• The three themes are defending against authoritarianism, addressing and fighting corruption, and advancing respect for human rights.
• The United States calls invited attendees’ “participants”, in recognition that some attendees, such as the Republic of China (Taiwan), are not states recognized by the United Nations or by the U.S., or Kosovo, which is not fully recognized by the United Nations member states.

Answer: D

• The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced Indian architect, Balkrishna Doshi, as the recipient of the Royal Gold Medal 2022.

About BV Doshi and the RIBA Royal Gold Medal 2022

• Among one of the world’s highest honours for architecture, the medal is approved by Her Majesty The Queen.
• Having been conceived in 1848, the award is given to a person or group of people who have had a significant influence on the advancement of architecture.
• Doshi will be presented with the medal at a special ceremony in 2022.