Correct Answer :   Asia

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A new reptile species was recently discovered in China and has been called Wang’s Garden Lizard.

About Wang’s Garden Lizard :

* It is a new species of iguana.

Scientific Name : Calotes wangi

Distribution : It is found in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests and tropical monsoon forests in southern China and northern Vietnam, mostly in mountainous areas, hills and plains on forest edges, arable land, shrub lands, and even urban green belts.

* It is not threatened at present. However, in some areas, their habitat was being fragmented.

Features :

* It is less than 9 cm long, and one of its distinguishing features is its orange tongue.
* It is active at the edge of the forest, and when it is in danger, it rushes into bushes or climbs tree trunks to hide.
* It lies on sloping shrub branches at night, sleeping close to the branches.
* It eats a variety of insects, spiders, and other arthropods.
* It is active from April to October every year, while in the tropics it is active from March to November or even longer.
* In addition, their bodies are used medicinally and the lizards are also eaten.


What are iguanas?

* Iguanas are stout lizards mainly living in the tropical parts of the western world.
* They are identified from their bulky appearance, scaly skin covered in warts, spines on their back, and a flap of flesh under their necks.
* They have shown various color morphs, the common ones being green, blue, and grey..

Source : SCI

Correct Answer :   Antarctica Peninsula and South America

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Recently, a research expedition in the Southern Ocean has mapped a string of seamounts that help to shape the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.

* The Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean) is one of the five great ocean basins on Earth.

* It was formed around 34 million years ago when Antarctica and South America drifted apart, creating the Drake Passage.

* The passage is located between the Antarctica Peninsula’s tip and South America.

* It is made up of the portions of the world ocean south of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans and their tributary seas surrounding Antarctica below 60° S.

Physiography :

* The structure of the ocean floor includes a continental shelf usually less than 160 miles (about 260 km) wide that attains its maximum width of more than 1,600 miles (2,600 km) in the vicinity of the Weddell and Ross seas.

* It is known for its strong winds, intense storms, dramatic seasonal changes and cold temperatures.

* It is dominated by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC): the longest, strongest, deepest-reaching current on earth.

* The ACC circulates clockwise around the continent, carrying more water around the globe than any other current.

Biodiversity : The Ocean supports a variety of plants and animals, with most animals relying on the rich phytoplankton from the Antarctic Convergence. Marine life includes whales, penguins, orcas, and seals..

Source : India Today

Correct Answer :   Uttar Pradesh

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Shares of Bharat Electronics, a Navratna PSU under the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, jumped 5.5% to hit a new all-time high of ₹184.50 apiece in today's (26th Dec 2023) trade after the company received orders worth ₹678 crore.

In today's exchange filing, the company said it had signed a contract for a value of ₹445 crore with the UP government for the next-generation UP (Uttar Pradesh) Dial 112 project. The company will provide comprehensive and state-of-the-art hardware, AI-based software tools, and cybersecurity solutions for the Dial 112 project, which is spread across the entire state of Uttar Pradesh.

“BEL is happy to be associated with the UP Government for this project, which is one of Asia's biggest emergency response system. BEL will be utilising the ecosystem of domestic suppliers, including MSMEs, for the execution of this project," the company's exchange filing said.

In addition, the company said it has also received additional orders worth ₹233 crore, which pertain to communication display units, thermal imaging cameras, and other miscellaneous spares and services.

Strong order wins :

Last week, the company received orders worth ₹2,673 crore from Goa Shipyard Limited and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers for the supply of 14 types of sensors for use on Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels (NGOPV).

On December 15, the Ministry of Defence entered into a significant agreement with BEL, Pune, for the acquisition of electronic fuzes for the Indian Army over a 10-year period, with a total investment of ₹5,336.25 crore.

With the latest order wins, Bharat Electronics Limited has accumulated orders totaling ₹26,613 crore in the ongoing financial year 2023–24.

Meanwhile, global brokerage firm UBS has lifted its target price on BEL to ₹205 apiece, citing the company's improving earnings growth visibility and an expanding order pipeline..

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   Both 1 and 2

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* Children suffering from lysosomal storage disorders like Gaucher disease are facing a bleak future as their treatment has been stopped due to the exhaustion of one-time support from the Union health ministry.

* It is an inherited lysosomal storage disorder (LSD).

* It is a type of disease that causes fatty substances (sphingolipids) to build up in your bone marrow, liver and spleen.

* The sphingolipids weaken bones and enlarge your organs.


Symptoms : Enlarged spleen, liver, eye movement disorders and yellow spots in the eyes etc.


There are three types of Gaucher disease :

Type1 : It affects your spleen, liver, blood and bones. It doesn’t affect your brain or spinal cord. Gaucher disease type 1 is treatable, but there’s no cure.

Type 2 : A rare form of the disorder appears in babies younger than 6 months old.

* It causes an enlarged spleen, movement problems and severe brain damage. There’s no treatment for Gaucher disease type 2.

Type 3 : It is the most common form which appears before age 10 and causes bone and organ abnormalities and neurological (brain) problems.


* Treatments can help many people with Gaucher disease type 3 live into their 20s or 30s.

Treatment : There’s no cure for Gaucher disease, but treatments can relieve symptoms and greatly improve quality of life.

Correct Answer :   Bihar

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The Union Cabinet on Wednesday (27th Dec 2023) approved the construction of a new 4.56 km long, 6-lane bridge on the river Ganga, connecting Digha and Sonepur in Bihar, according to an official statement.

* The total cost for the project is estimated at Rs 3,064.45 crore, including Rs 2,233.81 crore for civil construction, it added. The bridge will make traffic faster and easier, resulting in the overall development of the state, especially north Bihar, the statement noted.

* "The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today (27th Dec 2023) gave its approval for the construction of the new 4,556 m long, 6-lane high level/ extra dosed cable-stayed bridge across River Ganga (Parallel to Western Side of existing Digha-Sonepur Rail-Cum Road Bridge) and its approaches on both sides in the districts of Patna and Saran (NH-139W) in Bihar on EPC mode," it said.

* Digha (situated at Patna and South Bank of Ganga River) and Sonepur (North Bank of Ganga River in Saran District) are presently connected by a rail cum road bridge for the movement of light vehicles only.

* Therefore, the statement said, the present road cannot be used for the transport of goods and commodities, which is a major economic blockade.

* The constraint will be removed by providing the bridge between Digha and Sonepur, and goods and commodities can be transported once the bridge is constructed, unleashing the economic potential of the region, as per the statement.

* The work is to be implemented on an EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) model with the use of the latest technology like 5D-building information modelling (BIM), bridge health monitoring system (BHMS) and monthly drone mapping to ensure quality of construction and operations. The work is targeted to be completed in 42 months from the appointed date.

* "This bridge will provide direct connectivity from Patna to Golden quadrilateral corridor via NH-139 at Aurangabad and Sonepur (NH-31), Chhapra, Motihari (East-West corridor oldNH-27), Bettiah (NH-727) in the Northern side of Bihar," the statement said. It also pointed out that this project is a part of the Buddha circuit.

* According to the statement, the economic analysis results of the project have shown an economic internal rate of return (EIRR) of 17.6 per cent in base case and 13.1 per cent in worst case scenario which may be attributed to the savings in distance and time travelled..

Source : Zeebiz

Correct Answer :   Narendra Modi

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Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will chair the third National Conference of Chief Secretaries in Delhi on 28th and 29th December 2023. This is the third such conference, the first was held in June 2022 in Dharamshala and the second in January 2023 in Delhi.

Driven by the vision of the Prime Minister of putting the principle of cooperative federalism in action, National Conference of Chief Secretaries are organised to encourage participative governance and partnership between the Centre and the State Governments. This year, the National Conference of Chief Secretaries will be held from 27th to 29th December 2023.

The three day conference will witness participation of more than 200 people comprising of representatives of the Central Government, Chief Secretaries and other senior officials of all States/Union Territories. It will lay the ground for collaborative action for achieving better quality of life for both rural and urban population by strengthening the delivery mechanisms of government interventions.

The key focus of the National Conference of Chief Secretaries this year will be ‘Ease of Living’. The Conference will emphasise on the evolution and implementation of a common development agenda and blueprint for cohesive action in partnership with the States.

With special emphasis on easy access to welfare schemes and quality in service delivery, five sub-themes which will be discussed in the conference are Land & Property; Electricity; Drinking Water; Health; and Schooling. Apart from these, special sessions will also be held on Cyber Security: Emerging Challenges; Perspectives on  AI,  Stories from the Ground: Aspirational Block & District Programme; Role of States: Rationalisation of Schemes & Autonomous entities and Enhancing Capital Expenditure; AI in Governance: Challenges & Opportunities

Besides these, focused deliberations will also be done on Drug De-addiction & Rehabilitation; Amrit Sarovar; Tourism Promotion, Branding & Role of States; and PM Vishwakarma Yojana & PM SVANidhi. Best practices from States/ UTs under each of the themes would also be presented at the Conference so that the States can replicate the success achieved in one state or manoeuvre as per their own requirements..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to fly

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Paleontologists from China and Brazil recently identified a new species of chaoyangopterid pterosaur.

About Pterosaur :

* A pterosaur is any of the flying reptiles that flourished during all periods (Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous) of the Mesozoic Era (252.2 million to 66 million years ago).

* Although pterosaurs are not dinosaurs, both are archosaurs, or “ruling reptiles,” a group to which birds and crocodiles also belong.

* They were also the first animals after insects to evolve powered flight—not just leaping or gliding, but flapping their wings to generate lift and travel through the air.

* Pterosaurs were not only the first reptiles capable of flight. They were also the first vertebrates to fly.

* It included the largest vertebrate ever known to fly: the late Cretaceous Quetzalcoatlus.

* The appearance of flight in pterosaurs was separate from the evolution of flight in birds and bats; pterosaurs are not closely related to either birds or bats and thus provide a classic example of convergent evolution.

* Their wings were formed by a sophisticated membrane of skin stretching from the thorax to a dramatically lengthened fourth finger.

* The pterosaurs went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period, around 65.5 million years ago, during the mass extinction known as the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event (K-T extinction event)..

Source : SCI

Correct Answer :   Lucknow

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Uttar Pradesh is planning to build India’s first AI city in Lucknow to house and promote the AI ecosystem.

UP Electronics Corporation Ltd, the nodal agency for the project, has released an expression of interest (EoI) seeking proposals for the design, development and operation of an AI City in Lucknow, as per Businessline.

The vision for this AI city is to become a dynamic hub where ideas thrive, incorporating cutting-edge technology, research centres, and educational institutions. The EoI invites real estate developers to participate in building and operating the AI city, to nurture the workforce of the future.

Lucknow is already host to Centers of Excellence specialising in fields such as AI and medtech, showcasing extensive integration of AI technologies.

The AI Centre of Excellence at IIIT Lucknow plays a pivotal role in supporting over 15 AI/ML startups, contributing to the development of a vibrant culture of creativity and entrepreneurship.

According to a report by Grand View Research, the global AI market was valued at $137 Bn in 2022 and is expected to witness a compound annual growth rate of 37.3% from 2023 to 2030..

Source : FTL

Correct Answer :   China

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Breathtaking patterns of giant trees appeared on the frozen Qiantang River in east China's Zhejiang Province amid a continuing cold wave.

About Qiantang River :

* It is a southeast Chinese River that originates on the borders of Anhui and Jiangxi provinces.

* It runs for 459 kilometers through Zhejiang, passing through the capital city - Hangzhou and Yanguan Town, Haining, Jiaxing City before flowing into the East China Sea via Hangzhou Bay.

* The river is also the southern terminal of the ancient Grand Canal that links five major rivers in China from north to south, enabling traffic north to Beijing from Hangzhou via the Canal.

* It is encircled by a group of economically booming cities, including Shanghai, the leading industrial and commercial hub of the country, and Ningbo, one of China's leading port cities.

* The spectacular Qiantang River Tidal Bore is known as one of the largest tidal bores in the world. The highest tidal bore can reach up to 9 meters (30 feet) high..

Source : CGTN

Correct Answer :   Deepika Padukone

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* TECNO has announced Deepika Padukone as its brand ambassador.

* As the brand ambassador, Deepika will take centre stage, representing TECNO across the board and strengthening their vision of making innovative and stylish tech accessible to everyone.

* Commenting on the new collaboration, Deepika Padukone, said: “I’m excited to join TECNO, a brand synonymous with innovation and stylish smartphones. TECNO's lifestyle-tailored approach seamlessly blends innovation, style, design, and accessibility, resonating with the spirit of the new generation. I look forward to this partnership and the exciting opportunities that lie ahead.”

* Speaking about the recently formed partnership, Arijeet Talapatra, CEO, TECNO Mobile, said, "We are thrilled to announce Deepika Padukone as TECNO's brand ambassador. Deepika's charisma, coupled with TECNO's innovation focus, creates a powerful synergy that will strengthen our brand perception and resonate with younger audiences. Beyond being a smartphone brand, TECNO aspires to be a lifestyle companion. We anticipate the association will enhance our brand image and engage a diverse audience, fostering our pursuit of excellence and 'Stop at Nothing' brand philosophy. With Deepika, we look forward to a year of ground-breaking launches, captivating campaigns, and a partnership reflecting the essence of TECNO – where technology meets style to redefine the smartphone experience.”..

Source : Exchange4media