Daily Current Affairs MCQs : 30 December 2023 - Humanities/Arts MCQ

The World Bank has recently provided assistance of $ 1.34 billion to Ukraine under public expenditure. The financing includes a $1.086 billion loan from the World Bank, $190 million from Norway, $50 million from the United States, and $20 million from Switzerland.

Three heritage projects from Punjab and Haryana, namely the Rambagh Gate & Ramparts in Amritsar, Pipal Haveli in Gurdaspur, and Church of Epiphany in Gurugram, have secured prestigious spots among the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
While the Rambagh Gate in Amritsar received the Award of Excellence, the Church of Epiphany in Gurugram, Haryana, earned the Award of Merit. Additionally, three projects received the Award of Distinction, including the Fanling Golf Course in Hong Kong SAR, China; Dongguan Garden Residences in Yangzhou, China; and Karnikara Mandapam at Kunnamangalam Bhagawati Temple in Kerala, India.

Premium global smartphone brand TECNO has appointed Indian superstar Deepika Padukone as its brand ambassador. This step has been taken keeping in mind the needs of consumers and to provide innovation. Techno Mobile is a Chinese mobile phone manufacturer based in Shenzhen, China. It was established in 2006. Techno Mobile operates in more than 70 countries.

On December 21, 2023, Angola announced it was leaving the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) after 16 years of membership. The move will reduce the number of OPEC members to 12. OPEC was established in 1960 by the five founding members Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. Currently, it has 13 members, including Algeria, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Nigeria, and the United Arab Emirates. It is headquartered in Vienna, Austria. Qatar terminated its membership in 2019.
Qatar was once a member of OPEC but decided to leave the organization. The country announced its decision to withdraw from OPEC effective January 2019. This decision was made to focus more on its natural gas production, for which Qatar is one of the world’s leading producers.

Dommaraju Gukesh won the title of Chennai Grand Masters 2023. Arjun Erigaisi secured second place in this tournament. Both Arjun and Gukesh scored 4.5 out of 7 in the competition. Gukesh won this tournament on tie-break. Before this, R. Praggnanandhaa had qualified for the Candidates by finishing second in the FIDE World Cup 2023 held in Baku, Azerbaijan this year.

The Terminal 2 (T2) at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru received recognition at UNESCO’s 2023 Prix Versailles. T2 earned a special prize for its interiors and was acknowledged as one of the world’s most aesthetically pleasing airports.
Prix Versailles underscores values such as intelligent sustainability, innovation, reflection of local heritage, ecological efficiency, and social interaction. T2 is aptly named “Terminal in a Garden.”

Anmol Kharb won the women's singles title in the National Badminton Championship 2023 held in Guwahati. Unseeded Chirag Sen won the men's singles title by defeating fourth seed Tharun M. Priya Devi Konzengbam and Shruti Mishra won the women's doubles title.

After an absence of 42 years, the Namdapha flying squirrel (Biswamoyopterus biswasi) has been rediscovered in Arunachal Pradesh. It is endemic to Arunachal Pradesh. Last described in 1981, the species was thought to be extinct or confused with a similar species.
It is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) by the IUCN and is listed under Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act. It was one of the 25 “most wanted lost” species targeted by the Global Wildlife Conservation’s “Search for Lost Species” initiative.

National Mathematics Day is celebrated every year on 22 December to commemorate the birth anniversary of the great mathematician Srinivas Ramanujan. In the year 2012, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had declared 22 December as National Mathematics Day. In 1991, Srinivas Ramanujan's biography 'The Man Who Knew Infinity' was published. Ramanujan was born on this day in 1887 in a Brahmin Iyengar family in Erode, Tamil Nadu.

Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) in Amritsar won the 2023 Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy for the 25th time. The trophy is awarded annually by the President of India to the university with the best overall performance in sports at national, international, and inter-university competitions.