If you are preparing for the competitive exams then you need to give special importance to this section. An aspirant should daily learn new things, about what is happening in the world, nation, state, and all the fields. Just knowing the key points is sufficient to keep your general knowledge on par. Reading current affairs is not boring in fact it is very interesting. In order to perform well in the competitive examinations, a candidate must pay special attention to the sections like what is recent happenings all over the world and in India, Nation and worldwide politics, sports, economics, entertainment, and many more. 

Current Affairs: Days and Events

World AIDS Day: 2022

• World AIDS Day is commemorated every year on 1 December globally. 
• According to the UNAIDS’ “Dangerous inequalities: World AIDS Day report 2022”, the inequalities are blocking the end of AIDS.
• This has put millions of lives at stake. 
• There are only eight years left before 2030, the time by which the United Nations has set the goal of eliminating AIDS as a global health threat.

World AIDS Day 2022- Theme:

• This year’s theme for World AIDS Day is “Putting Ourselves to the Test: Achieving Equity to End HIV.” 
• The aim is to encourage people around the globe to unite and work on eliminating the disparities and inequities that create barriers to HIV testing, prevention, and access to HIV care.

World AIDS Day- History:

• World AIDS Day, adopted in 1988, was the first-ever international day for global health. 
• Since then, United Nations agencies, governments, and civil society have come together for campaigns related to HIV every year.
• Until 2004, UNAIDS took the lead in campaigning for World AIDS Day. Post that, the World AIDS Campaign’s Global Steering Committee began choosing a theme for the day. 
• This happened in consultation with civil society, organisations, and government agencies involved in the AIDS response.

World AIDS Day Significance:

• World AIDS Day is commemorated as a reminder that HIV has not gone away. People and governments around the globe need to be aware and raise awareness of the reality of AIDS and AIDS-related illnesses. 
• The day is also a reminder that many communities still have a critical need for increased funding for the AIDS response.

Question: 

World AIDS Day is commemorated every year globally on which of the following dates?

A. 22 January  

B. 17 May

C. 29 September

D. 01 December

Answer: D

Current Affairs: Art and Culture

23rd Hornbill Festival 2022

• In Nagaland, the 10-day long Hornbill Festival 2022 will begin today, 1 December.
• The festival is held at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama, which is about 12 km from Kohima in Nagaland.
• Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar will grace the inaugural function as the Chief Guest.

What is the Hornbill Festival?

• The first festival was held in 2000. The festival is named after the bird “Indian hornbill”, which is displayed in the folklore of most of the state’s tribes.
• It is also called the ‘Festival of Festivals’.
• This festival is organised by the “State Tourism and Art and Culture Departments of the Government of Nagaland”.
• The major objective of the Festival is to encourage inter-tribal interaction and to promote the cultural heritage of Nagaland.

What Is Done During the Festival Celebrations?

• The Celebration of the Festival includes the traditional Naga Morungs exhibition and the sale of arts and crafts, food stalls, song and dance shows, indigenous games, etc.
• The major attraction of this festival is the Hornbill International Rock Festival, where local and international rock bands perform.

About Hornbill:

• There are nine hornbill species in India, of which the Great Hornbill is the most famous
• Scientific name: Buceros bicornis
• Common name: Great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill
• This bird is also found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia
• IUCN Status: Near Threatened

Fact:

• Hornbill is not the State bird of Nagaland
• Nagaland’s state bird is: Blyth’s tragopan
• The Great hornbill is the state bird of Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh in India

Question:

Consider the following statements

1. The Hornbill Festival is celebrated in Nagaland every December month
2. Hornbill is not the State bird of Nagaland
3. There are nine species of hornbill found in India

Which of the above statements is/are correct

A. Only 1 and 2

B. Only 2 and 3

C. Only 1 and 3

D. All are correct

Answer: D

Current Affairs: Economy

Forbes Top 10 Richest Indians List: Gautam Adani on the Peak.

• Forbes has launched its annual list of the country’s 100 richest billionaires, and according to the list, the combined wealth of India’s 100 richest grew by $25 billion to touch $800 billion.
• According to the Forbes data, the cumulative net worth of the top 10 richest stands at $385.2 billion, up 15.1 per cent from 2021.
• While the richest man in the country has a net worth of $150 billion, the richest Indian woman Savitri Jindal has a net worth of $16.4 billion. There are nine women billionaires on the list this year, according to Forbes data.

Top 10 businessmen List: 

	Name	Business	Net Worth (in Rupees)
1	Gautam Adani	Chairperson of Adani Group	₹1,211,460.11 crore
2	Mukesh Ambani	Chairman and MD of Reliance Industries Ltd	₹710,723.26 crore
3	Radhakishan Damani	Owns the DMart chain of supermarkets	₹222,908.66 crore
4	Cyrus Poonawalla	Chairman of Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturing company	₹173,642.62 crore
5	Shiv Nadar	Chairman Emeritus of HCL Technologies	₹172,834.97 crore
6	Savitri Jindal	Chairperson Emeritus of O.P. Jindal Group	₹132,452.97 crore
7	Dilip Shanghvi	Founder of Sun Pharmaceuticals	₹125,184.21 crore
8	Hinduja Brothers	Hinduja Group	₹122,761.29 crore
9	Kumar Birla	Chairman of the textiles-to-cement conglomerate Aditya Birla Group	₹121,146.01 crore
10	Bajaj Family	The family owns a network of 40 companies under the Bajaj Group	₹117,915.45 crore

New Faces on India’s 100 Richest List:

• Falguni Nayar, Rekha Jhunjhunwala, Nehal Vakil, Venu Srinivasan, Ravi Modi, Nirmal Minda, and Rafique Malik

Question: 

Who among the following businesspeople topped Forbes’ list of the top 100 Indian billionaires in 2022?

A. Mukesh Ambani

B. Gautam Adani

C. Cyrus Poonawalla

D. Radhakishan Damani

Answer: B

Current Affairs: Person in News

Prasoon Joshi Named Brand Ambassador of Uttarakhand

• The Uttarakhand government has named Prasoon Joshi, the CEO and CCO of McCann Worldgroup India, the state’s brand ambassador. 
• The reason why Joshi was appointed as brand ambassador is that he is a native of Uttarakhand and is a prominent and highly awarded member of the Indian advertising and media fraternity.

About Prashoon Joshi:

• Joshi is known for his work and content creation across advertising, poetry, songwriting, and cinema. 
• His socially relevant campaigns like Malnutrition Polio eradication, Women empowerment Ministry of tourism, and the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India) have all won accolades and found deep and powerful consumer connect. 
• He was also one of the key architects for the National Election campaign of 2014.
• He is currently the Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (Censor Board). 
• He is a famous and highly awarded member of the Indian advertising and media fraternity.
• Prasoon Joshi has also written the lyrics for songs in popular Bollywood movies such as Rang De Basanti, Fanaa and Taare Zameen Par. He has also written the script for the award-winning film of 2013, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.
• He is credited with brand-building for global and Indian brands such as Britannia, Saffola, Dabur, Paytm, Nestle, Coca-Cola and Mastercard.

Awards Given to Prasoon Joshi: 

• Recently the Uttarakhand government bestowed the Uttarakhand Gaurav Samman honour to Joshi for his contributions to art, literature, culture and advertising. 
• Joshi received several prestigious international honours, such as Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2006. 
• Joshi was the first Asian to become the jury president at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity in 2014 for the prestigious Titanium category. 

Question: 

Which of the following individuals has recently been appointed by Uttarakhand State as its brand ambassador?

A. Chetan Bhagat

B. Surya Kumar Yadav

C. Prasoon Joshi

D. Neeraj Chopra

Answer: C

Current Affairs: Defence

Indian Army Trains Kite to Hunt Enemy Drones as UAVs

• The Indian Army may have found a solution to tackle the problem of drones carrying drugs and arms coming from Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. 
• In a first of its kind, a kite has been trained to identify and destroy enemy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
• Instances of drones bringing drugs, arms and ammunition along the Punjab and Jammu borders from across Pakistan have more than doubled in 2022, and the BSF is looking for a foolproof solution to check this menace.

Remount Veterinary Corps:

• It is an administrative and operational branch of the Indian Army and one of its oldest formations. It is responsible for the breeding, rearing and training of all animals used in the army.

Arjun Kite:

• The kite named “Arjun”, trained to prey on enemy drones, was shown in action during an ongoing joint training exercise ‘Yudh Abhyas’ of India and the US in Uttarakhand’s Auli.
• The Indian Army is using trained Kites along with dogs for military operations.

What Is a Drone?

• Drones are also called pilotless aircraft or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). It is not flown by humans but controlled remotely by humans.
• It is equipped with infrared cameras, GPS and laser. It is used in Space, in the military, for transporting goods, spraying insecticides, land mapping, etc. 

About Yudh Abhyas Exercise:

• The 18th edition of India-US joint military exercise Yudh Abhyas aims to enhance interoperability and share expertise between both armies in peacekeeping and disaster relief operations. 
• The exercise is conducted annually between India and the US to exchange best practices, tactics, techniques and procedures between the armies of the two nations. 
• The previous edition of the exercise was conducted at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska, the US, in October 2021.

Telangana’s Garuda Squad:

• In 2020, the Telangana government gave the state’s Integrated Intelligence Training Academy (IITA) the go-ahead to create the Garuda Squad.
• It trains birds to neutralise drones during VIP/VVIP visits/programmes in the state.

Question: 

Which of the following is the Indian Army’s latest biological companion in hunting down enemy drones and UAVs in border areas?

A. Kites

B. Horses

C. Camels

D. Foxes

Answer: A

Current Affairs: Awards and Rankings

Mumbai Holds 22nd Rank in Global Prime Cities Index by Knight Frank

• According to Knight Frank, Mumbai, India’s financial capital, stood at 22nd rank in a global index that measures annual price appreciation of premium residential properties. 
• Mumbai moved up to 22nd rank in the third quarter of 2022 from 39th rank in the year-ago period.
• In its report on ‘Prime Global Cities Index Q3 (July-September) 2022’, Property consultant Knight Frank said that all three Indian cities—Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi—registered an increase in average annual prices in the third quarter of 2022.

What Is the Prime Cities Index?

• The prime global cities index is a valuation-based index tracking the movement in prime residential prices in local currency across 45-plus cities worldwide.

About Knight Frank?

• Knight Frank LLP is an estate agency and residential and commercial property consultancy founded in London by John Knight, Howard Frank and William Rutley in 1896. 
• Knight Frank, together with its American affiliate Cresa is one of the world’s largest global property consultancies.
• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
• Founded: 1896
• Founder: Howard Frank
• Subsidiaries: Knight Frank Asia Pacific Pte Ltd

Question: 

Which of the following rankings did Mumbai recently get in the Prime Cities Index, published by Knight Frank?

A. 12th

B. 15th

C. 22nd

D. 39th

Answer: C

Current Affairs: Awards and Recognitions

National Sports and Adventure Awards 2022

• The President of India, Droupadi Murmu recently presented the National Sports and Adventure Awards 2022 at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
• National Sports Awards are given every year to recognise and reward excellence in sports.

Details:

• This year, a total of 44 Awards have been presented in the National Sports and Adventure Awards in seven Categories in 2022. 
• This year 25 athletes across the sports related to Olympics, Paralympics and Deaflympics have received the Arjuna Awards. 

Details of Awards:

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award-2022: Shri Sharath Kamal Achanta- Table Tennis

• It is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over the period of the previous four years.

Arjuna Award 2022: Given to 25 Sportspersons of Various Disciplines

• It is given to sportspersons for their outstanding performance in ‘Sports and Games’. It is given for their performance over the previous four years and for showing qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline.

Dronacharya Award 2022: Four persons 

• It is given to outstanding coaches in ‘Sports and Games’ for doing outstanding and meritorious work on a consistent basis and for enabling sportspersons to excel in International events.

1. Shri Jiwanjot Singh Teja–Archery
2. Shri Mohammad Ali Qamar-Boxing
3. Ms Suma Siddharth Shirur–Para Shooting
4. Shri Sujeet Maan–Wrestling

Dhyan Chand Award 2022: Four Sportspersons

• Lifetime achievement in Sports and Games’ is given to honour sportspersons who have contributed to sports through their performance and continue to contribute to promoting sports events after their retirement.

1. Ms Ashwini Akkunji C.–Athletics
2. Shri Dharamvir Singh–Hockey
3. Shri B.C Suresh–Kabaddi
4. Shri Nir Bahadur Gurung–Para Athletics

Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2022:

• It is given to corporate entities (both in the private and public sector), Sports Control Boards, NGOs, and sports bodies at the State and National levels, who have played a visible role in sports promotion and development.

1. Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young Talent–TransStadia Enterprises Private Limited.
2. Encouragement to sports through Corporate Social Responsibility–Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology.
3. Sports for Development–Ladakh Ski and Snowboard Association.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2022: Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar:

• This trophy is given to the overall top-performing university in inter-university tournaments.

Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards-2021- Three Persons:

• Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards are given every year to recognise the achievements of persons in the fields of adventure, to encourage young people to develop the spirit of endurance, risk-taking, cooperative teamwork and quick, ready and effective reflexes in very challenging situations and to provide an incentive to the young people for getting exposed to the adventure activities.

1. Ms Naina Dhakad–Land Adventure.
2. Shri Shubham Dhananjay Vanmali–Water Adventure
3. Group Captain  Kunwar Bhawani Singh Samayal–LifeTime Achievement

Details of Each award are given in PDF format. Click on the link below:

National Sports and Adventure Awards 2022

Question: 

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award-2022 was recently given to Shri Sharath Kamal Achanta. He is a famous player of

A. Squash

B. Kabaddi

C. Table Tennis

D. Tennis

Answer: C

Current Affairs: Defence

Indian Coast Guard Commissions Advanced Light Helicopter Mk-III Squadron

• In a major boost to further strengthening the Coast Guard Region East, 840 Sqn (CG), an Indian Coast Guard Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Mk-III squadron, was commissioned by DG Shri VS Pathania at ICG Air Station, Chennai recently.
• The commissioning of 840 Sqn (CG) is indicative of the leap towards self-reliance in the field of helicopter manufacturing, in line with the government’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. 
• It will provide a major fillip to the abilities of the Indian Coast Guard in the security-sensitive waters off Tamil Nadu and Andhra region.

About Helicopter:

• The ALH Mk-III helicopters, indigenously manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), feature state-of-the-art equipment including advanced RADAR as well as Electro optical sensors, Shakti engines, full glass cockpit, high-intensity searchlight, advanced communication systems, automatic identification system as well as search-and-rescue homer. 

Features:

• This feature enables the helicopter to undertake maritime reconnaissance and carry out search and rescue at extended ranges while operating from ships, both day and night.
• The aircraft has the ability to switch roles from an offensive platform with a heavy machine gun to that of a benign one carrying a Medical Intensive Care Unit to facilitate the transfer of critically ill patients.

Facts:

• A total of 16 ALH Mk-III aircraft have been inducted into the Indian Coast Guard in a phased manner, and four of these aircraft are positioned in Chennai. 
• Since induction, the squadron has flown over 430 hours and conducted numerous operational missions.

Question: 

Indian Coast Guard recently commissioned an Advanced Light Helicopter Mk-III squadron, 840 Sqn (CG), in which of the following cities?

A. Pune

B. Chennai

C. Thiruvananthapuram

D. Mumbai

Answer: B

Today’s Fact Book: 1 December

1. Monkeypox Disease Now Has a New Name: mpox

• WHO announced the change, saying the disease’s original name plays into “racist and stigmatising language”.
• The first human monkeypox case was recorded in 1970. The virus was initially detected years earlier in captive monkeys.
  • Monkeypox is caused by the monkeypox virus, which is a member of the Orthopoxvirus genus in the family Poxviridae
  • Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease that occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of central and West Africa and is occasionally exported to other regions

2. Perennial Rice Variety- PR23 

• Farmers in China are now growing a perennial variety of rice that does not need to be planted every year
• This cultivar of rice doesn’t have to be replanted each season and could reap up to eight harvests
• In 2018, researchers from Yunnan University finally developed a commercial-grade perennial variety of rice called PR23

3. Scientists discover New Drought-Resilient Wheat Gene, Suitable for Drier Soil Conditions

• The new ‘reduced height’ or semi-dwarf gene is called Rht13
• Reduced height gene means seeds that can be planted deeper in the soil, giving access to moisture, without the adverse effect on seedling emergence seen with existing wheat varieties
• The varieties of wheat with the Rht13 gene could be rapidly bred into wheat varieties to enable farmers to grow reduced-height wheat in drier soil conditions

4:-Shiveluch Volcano:

• Scientists predicted that the Shiveluch volcano in Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka peninsula is gearing up for its first powerful eruption in 15 years
• Shiveluch Volcano is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in the Kamchatka peninsula, Russia

5:- Mariner-4 Spacecraft 

• It was the first spacecraft that undertook the first flyby of mars, becoming the first-ever spacecraft to take close-up photographs of another planet 
• It was a mission of NASA, launched in 1964  
• Its day of launch is commemorated as Red Planet Day

Also check,

Daily current affairs for November 28, 2022	Daily current affairs for November 29, 2022
Daily current affairs for November 30, 2022	Daily current affairs for December 01, 2022

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