Daily Current Affairs Quiz : December 30,2021

Answer: A

• Bag makers in Pudukkottai in Tamil Nadu have welcomed Chief Minister MK Stalin’s ‘Meendum Manjappai’ scheme to reduce the use of plastic bags, and are all set to print yellow bags, among other cloth bags.

About ‘Meendum Manjappai’

• The demand for the traditional yellow cloth bag in Tamil Nadu that has been a landmark for the businessmen and ordinary people of the state is making a major comeback.
• Chief Minister M K Stalin has inaugurated a scheme ‘Meendum Manjappai’ aimed at reducing the use of plastic bags and promoting cloth bags.
• The cloth bag-making units of Pudukottai, Kancheepuram, Salem, Erode, and Dindigul have become vibrant with orders pouring in from wholesale and retail traders across the state.

Answer: D

• Telangana is the first large state across the country to complete 100 per cent first dose vaccination against Covid-19, said state health minister T Harish Rao recently.

About Telangana having 100% first dose Covid vaccine

• Telangana is the first large state across the country to complete 100 per cent first dose vaccination against COVID-19, said state health minister T Harish Rao recently.
• As per the health minister of Telangana, until now the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Sikkim — only 8 smaller states, Union Territories, have achieved this feat.
• The minister further informed that that state has completed 66 per cent coverage of second dose.

Answer: C

• The Indian Army is making steady, yet significant strides in the field of emerging technology domains. The Army, with support from the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) has recently established the Quantum Lab at Military College of Telecommunication Engineering, Mhow (MP) MCTE to spearhead research and training in this key developing field. Gen MM Naravane, the Chief of Army Staff was briefed on the facility during his recent visit to Mhow.

About Quantum Laboratory by the Indian army and other achievements

• Indian Army has also established an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Centre at the same institution with over 140 deployments in forward areas and active support of industry and academia. Training on cyber warfare is being imparted through a state of art cyber range, and cyber security labs. Ideation for Army’s involvement in Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations was done in a seminar on Electromagnetic Spectrum and National Security organised in October last year. Since then, an impetus has been given to Indian Army’s Technology Institutions for investing in AI, Quantum and Cyber.
• Research undertaken by Indian Army in the field of Quantum Technology will help leapfrog into next generation communication and transform the current system of cryptography in the Indian Armed Forces to Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC).
• Key thrust areas are Quantum Key Distribution, Quantum Communication, Quantum Computing and Post Quantum Cryptography.

Answer: B

• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) NITI Aayog recently released the second edition of – ‘Innovations for You’- a compendium of innovations focused on agriculture featuring 70 startups supported by Atal incubation Centers (AICs) of AIM and ‘The Ingenious Tinkerers’ – a compendium on the innovations on technology featuring 41 innovations from Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) of India.

About ‘Innovations For You’ & ‘The Ingenious Tinkerers’

• As the nation rejoices the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav – 75th Year of Independence, both the books are celebration of the success stories of young innovators of India. The ‘Innovations For You’ is a compilation of successful innovations by the entrepreneurial minds of India solving problems of present for future, while as ‘The Ingenious Tinkerers’ is a compilation of the top innovations created by young student innovators who participated in the ATL Marathon – which invites school students to address a problem that they see or face on a day-to-day basis.
• ‘The Ingenious Tinkerers’ leveraged the up-and-coming technologies available at ATLs to devise a solution. These young tinkerers took it upon themselves to identify their problem statements by interacting with the members of their community and designing a prototype in a manner that fits their needs and demands.
• Meanwhile, the ‘Innovations For You’ in its second edition, focuses on the startups and innovations in field of Agriculture and Allied services. The book is a compilation of 70 Ag-Tech startups, incubated at Atal Incubation Centres spread across the country. These startups are leveraging frontier technologies such as AI, IoT, ICT and others to provide socially relevant solutions to problems of modern farming. The first edition of this book was focused on innovations in Health Care, which was launched in October, this year.

Answer: B

• Japan introduces world’s first dual-mode vehicle that can run on roads and tracks.

About world’s first dual mode vehicle

• The world’s first dual-mode vehicle has hit the ground recently in the town of Kaiyo, Japan. It is said that the vehicle can run on roads as well as rail tracks.
• The DMV looks like a minibus and runs on normal rubber tyres on the road. What makes this vehicle different from the rest is, it also has steel wheels in its underbelly which descend when it hits the rail tracks.
• The front tyres are lifted off the track and the rear wheels stay down to propel the DMV onto the railway. This feature of effectively changing into a train-like module easily on a rail track is the first of its kind.
• According to reports, the DMV can carry upto 21 passengers and runs at a speed of 60km/h on rail tracks and can go as fast as around 100km/h on public roads.
• Powered by diesel, the small fleet of vehicles comes in different colours. It runs along part of the coast of Shikoku island in southern Japan, connecting several small towns and offering passengers attractive seaside scenery.

Answer: B

• IndusInd Bank has announced the launch of ‘green fixed deposits’, whereby the deposit proceeds will be used to finance projects and firms supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

About ‘green fixed deposits’

• Investing in green deposits allows customers to build a cleaner and better society
• These deposits will be offered to both retail and corporate customers.
• The Bank will use the proceeds from these deposits to finance a wide array of sectors falling under the SDG category including, energy efficiency, renewable energy, green transport, sustainable food, agriculture, forestry, waste management and greenhouse gas reduction.

Answer: B

• Lit Mandi innovate new fabric to mix Artica Parviflora
• found from Himalayans) with cotton under his Startup programs
• This fabric will be suitable for both summer And winter seasons.
• This innovation help also to Planatation programs in the forests.

Answer: A

• Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) activists took out a candlelight march in McLeodganj last night to protest the demolition of a 99-feet-tall statue of the Buddha by the Chinese government in Tibet.
• The bronze statue was built with the contributions of Tibetans in Drakgo which cost around 40,000,000 Yuan (around 6.3 million USD). In 1973, Drakgo had witnessed a massive earthquake that caused widespread damage. The statue was built on October 5, 2015, to ward off natural disasters.

Answer: A

• Pawan Hans has assured Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur that the fares of the Shimla-Dharamsala heli-taxi services will be reduced to promote tourism in the state.
• The Chief Minister met Sanjeev Razdan, Managing Director, Pawan Hans Ltd., in New Delhi today and reviewed the government company’s operations in Himachal Pradesh.
• He asked Razdan to reduce the fare of the Shimla-Dharamsala heli-taxi services and operate direct flights from Shimla to Dharamsala and Shimla to Manali at the earliest.