UPSC IAS Prelims 2021: Monthly Current Affairs Questions for Preparation | December 2020

Explanation: 

Hayabusa 2 is a Japanese spacecraft that is bringing back a lot of samples from Ryugu. The impactor hit the asteroid's surface and make a small crater several metres in diameter allowing fresh material to be exposed. After collecting samples, Hayabusa 2 then headed home in November 2019, releasing the capsule from an altitude of about 200 km on 5 November 2020 when it returned to Earth via parachute. Check details

Explanation: 

The Act provides for a farming agreement between a farmer and a buyer prior to the production or rearing of any farm produce. The minimum period of the farming agreement would be only for one crop season or one production cycle of livestock while the maximum period of the agreement would be five years. The act also states that if the production cycle of any farming produce is longer and may go beyond five years, the maximum period of farming agreement may be mutually decided by the farmer and the buyer and explicitly mentioned in the farming agreement. Read More here

Explanation:

ASEEM, a Skill Management Information SystemActs as a directory of skilled workforce. The objective is to provide a platform that matches supply of skilled workforce with the market demand, thereby facilitating better livelihood opportunities. It is prudent to mention that not all candidates registered on ASEEM will be looking for jobs at every given point in time. However, when they will, the employers will have access to their profiles via common skill workforce directory called ASEEM.

Explanation:

The UN does not consider if the person’s reasons for movement are voluntary or involuntary. As per UN Migration Agency (IOM), a migrant is any person who is moving or has moved across an international border or within a State away from his/her habitual place of residence, regardless of;

• the person's legal status
• whether or not the movement is voluntary or involuntary
• what may be the causes for the movement are or
• what may be the length of the stay is

Know more about the UN Migration policies here. 

Explanation:

These lines are from a famous song 'Pagri Sambhal Jatta', written by Banke Dayal. On 3 March 1907, Banke Dayal (the editor of the Jang Sayal newspaper) sang the song for the first time at a peasants rally in Lyallpur (present-day Faisalabad, Pakistan). The song soon became an anthem against three British Laws, the Doab Bari Act, Punjab Land Colonisation Act, and the Punjab Land Alienation Act. Read complete details here. 

Explanation:

Kalaripayattu is a game that originated in Kerala. It involves features like chattom (jumping), ottam (running) and marichil (somersault) and weapons like swords, daggers, spears, maces, and bows and arrows.

Explanation:

Human Freedom Index 2020 is the sixth annual report by the Cato Institute in the United States and Fraser Institute in Canada. 76 indicators of personal, civil, and economic freedoms were taken into consideration before ranking 162 countries from 2008 to 2018.  Also Read| All about Human Freedom Index 2020

Explanation:

The most common way to spread the disease is direct person-to-person contact. Eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water are common ways to get infected.

Explanation:

 India’s Act East Policy focuses on the extended neighbourhood in the Asia-Pacific region.  The policy which was originally conceived as an economic initiative has gained political, strategic, and cultural dimensions including the establishment of institutional mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation.

The Act East Policy also emphasizes India-ASEAN cooperation in our domestic agenda on infrastructure, manufacturing, trade, skills, urban renewal, smart cities, Make in India, and other initiatives. For regional integration and prosperity, connectivity projects, cooperation in space, S&T, and people-to-people exchanges could become a springboard.

Explanation:

Explanation: Ladakh’s Tso Kar Wetland Complex has been recognized as a wetland of international importance, becoming India’s 42nd Ramsar site. This is the second Ramsar site in the Union Territory of Ladakh.

Explanation:

‘Look East Policy’ of India was launched by the former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. This policy continues till the formation of NDA Government in 2014. Since the formation of the new government within the centre, the government upgraded ‘Act East Policy’. In November 2014, the ‘Act East Policy’ was launched at the East Asia Summit in Myanmar.

Explanation:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a first-of-its-kind intentional genomic alteration (IGA) in a line of domestic pigs which are referred to as GalSafe pigs. They can be used for food or human therapeutics. 

Explanation:

Solar Wind Hack has been the biggest ever targeted cyber attacks in the United States of America. US Government, its agencies as well as many private companies have been affected by it. Read all about solar wind hack here

Explanation:

China’s Atomic Energy Authority tested its HL-2M Tokamak reactor for the first time on Friday, December 4, 2020. HL-2M Tokamak can help China in reaching its target to produce fusion energy commercially by 2050. Know more about China's artificial sun here. 

Explanation:

Thus Inner Line Permit is a document required by the citizens outside of the protected states to enter and stay in the area for some time. Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram are protected by the Inner Line. Manipur was added later. The concept has its origins in the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act (BEFR), 1873.