Daily Current Affairs Quiz : December 14,2021

Answer: A

• India’s Harnaaz Sandhu is the new Miss Universe, 21 years after Lara Dutta won the title in 2000.

About Harnaaz Sandhu

• Ms Sandhu represented India at the 70th Miss Universe 2021, held in Eilat, Israel.
• The 21-year-old from Punjab claimed the crown edging out Paraguay’s Nadia Ferreira and South Africa’s Lalela Mswane.
• Ms Sandhu was presented the crown by Andrea Meza, former Miss Universe 2020 from Mexico.
• Before the Chandigarh-based model, only two Indians have won the title of Miss Universe – actors Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000.

Answer: C

• West Bengal Forest Minister Jyotipriya Mallick recently broke the good news of Royal Bengal Tiger sighting at the Buxa Tiger Reserve in Alipurduar after 23 years.

About Buxa Tiger Reserve

• Buxa Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve in northern West Bengal, India, covering an area of 760 km2 (290 sq mi).
• In altitude, it ranges from 60 m (200 ft) in the Gangetic Plains to 1,750 m (5,740 ft) bordering the Himalayas in the north.
• At least 284 bird species inhabit the reserve.
• Mammals present include Asian elephant, gaur, Sambar deer, clouded leopard, Indian leopard.

Answer: D

• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Catherine Russell, an adviser to US President Joe Biden, as Executive Director of UNICEF.

About Catherine Russell being appointed as the Executive Director of UNICEF

• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Catherine Russell, an adviser to US President Joe Biden, as Executive Director of UNICEF.
• She replaces Henrietta Fore, to whom Guterres expressed his gratitude for her commitment and dedicated service to the UN agency.
• Russell brings to the role decades of experience in developing innovative policy that empowers underserved communities around the world.
• Russell currently serves as Director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. From 2013 to 2017, she served as ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues in the Department of State.
• UNICEF, also known as the United Nations Children’s Fund, is a United Nations agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide.
• UNICEF activities include providing immunizations and disease prevention, administering treatment for children and mothers with HIV, enhancing childhood and maternal nutrition, improving sanitation, promoting education, and providing emergency relief in response to disasters.
• The UN’s International Children’s Emergency Fund was established in the aftermath of World War II. Their mandate was clear, which was to help people whose lives and futures were at risk, no matter what role they played during the war.

Answer: B

• UNICEF Day is observed on December 11 every year, to spread awareness on saving children’s lives, defending their rights and helping them fulfil their potential from childhood to adolescence.

About UNICEF DAY

• The United Nations General Assembly announced this day on December 11 in year 1946. This was done to ensure the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.

UNICEF day 2021 theme

• UNICEF Day 2021 theme is to help children to recover from interruptions and learning losses experienced through the Pandemic in the last two years.
• UNICEF is providing a lot of opportunities across the globe and working towards a better future.

Answer: C

• Every year Universal Health Coverage is observed on December 12 to raise awareness about having strong and resilient world-class health systems across the globe with multi-stakeholder partners.

About Universal Health Coverage Day

• The reason behind the day is to have access to quality, affordable health care for international development. The inequalities among the various sections are promoted on this day in the health care system that threatens social and economic development worldwide. The Covid-19 pandemic has more emphasized the health inequalities everywhere. Therefore, health equity should be high on the agenda in working for universal health coverage.

Significance

• The day plays a significant role in reviewing the progress and identifying loopholes of the health care system. So that it is ensured to help the needy with an accessible health care system without failing the financial hardship. The idea is to achieve continuous, concrete progress towards a fairer and healthier world.

History

• On December 12, 2012, the United Nations General Assembly established a resolution to urge nations to fasten the progress of universal health coverage (UHC). Finally, in the year 2017, the United Nations proclaimed Universal Health Coverage Day.

Theme

• This year’s theme for Universal Health Coverage Day 2021 is ‘Leave No One Behind When It Comes to Health: Invest in Health Systems for All.’

Answer: B

• G7 told Russia to de-escalate its military buildup near the Ukrainian border, warning that an invasion would have massive consequences and inflict severe economic pain on Moscow.

About G7

• The seven members (UK, USA, Canada, Japan, Germany, France and Italy, plus the EU) are all bound by shared values as open, democratic and outward-looking societies.
• In past years the G7 has taken action to strengthen the global economy and combat tax evasion, save 27 million lives from AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and supported the education of millions of children in the poorest countries.

Answer: C

• Dubai is the first government globally to turn completely paperless, according to the Emirate’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Makhtoum.

About Dubai going 100% paperless

• Dubai is the first government globally to turn completely paperless, according to the Emirate’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Makhtoum. He also pointed at savings worth $350 million- and 14-million-man hours across the Dubai Government.
• Internal, external transactions and procedures in the Dubai government are 100 per cent digital and managed using a comprehensive digital government services platform.
• The achievement of this target marks the beginning of a new stage in Dubai’s journey to digitize life in all its aspects, a journey rooted in innovation, creativity and a focus on the future.
• Dubai government’s paperless strategy was implemented in five phases, each of which comprises different group of Dubai government entities. These entities provide over 1,800 digital services and more than 10,500 key transactions. With the end of the fifth phase, the strategy was fully implemented in all 45 Dubai government entities.
• As per various statements collaboration and integration among entities enabled automation of processes and services provided to customers and reduced paper consumption by ~336 million papers. It added the digital transformation in the Dubai Government will enrich smart city experience for all residents, entirely removing the need for paper transactions. Digitalisation will also help in providing exceptional experiences for residents through the Dubai Now application which allows access to more than 130 smart city services in 12 major categories.