Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2021

Notes:
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States has recently issued new guidelines on Drones also called as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
As per the rules, small drones will be allowed to fly over people and at night in the United States. The Drone manufacturers and operators require a Remote ID, under the new rules. This will increase security by identification of the UAVs from the ground.

Notes:
‘Five Eyes’ is an intelligence network of five nations namely Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the US.
The collaborative network was formed to respond to the threats posed by North Korea and China. As per media reports, Japan had provided intelligence to the US and the UK on China’s forceful detainment of Muslim Uyghurs, last year.

Notes:
Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kiltan has recently reached the Sihanoukville Port in Cambodia to deliver 15 tonnes of disaster relief items for the flood-affected people.
Due to the floods occurred in November, over 8 lakh people are affected and over 40 people have died in Cambodia. This operation of INS Kiltan is a part of Mission Sagar-III under which humanitarian assistance and relief is provided to India’s friendly countries.

Notes:
Union Earth Sciences Minister Harsh Vardhan has recently inaugurated the country’s highest meteorological centre in the Union Territory of Ladakh.
The centre located above 3500 metres, would provide localised weather forecasts and early warning for Leh and Kargil districts of the Union Territory as well as various tourist places.

Notes:
The Rafale fighter jets of India and France are set to carry out wargames named SKYROS in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
The exercise is to be organised in the third week of January next year. This would be the first major wargame of the Indian Air Force involving the Rafale fighters which were inducted into the service in August 2020.

Notes:
As per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Zhong Shanshan’s net worth rose to USD 70.9 billion making him the richest man in Asia above both Mukesh Ambani and China’s Jack Ma.
Zhong Shanshan is the founder of ‘Nongfu Spring’, the largest beverage company in China. He is also the owner of the Chinese pharmaceutical giant ‘Wantai’.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a loan agreement recently.
As per the agreement, the ADB will provide a USD 231-million loan to improve electricity generation capacity in Assam by construction of a 120- (MW) hydroelectric power plant. The proposed hydroelectric project is a project over Kopili river.

Notes:
Michael Kondo, who was a veteran Indian Hockey player, died at the age of 73 recently. He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1972.
He was a member of the first and only World Cup-winning team in 1975 in Kuala Lumpur. He was also a member of the team that won a bronze medal in the 1972 Olympics in Munich, where he scored three goals.

Notes:
Covishield is the vaccine candidate from Pune-based Serum Institute of India. It has been approved by a Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI).
Covishield is equivalent to the vaccine being developed by the Oxford-AstraZeneca. The United Kingdom also granted emergency use approval to the vaccine in the country.

Notes:
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) considered the condition of the sailors as a suo-motto step and asked the Ministry of External Affairs to take care of the crew members.
In response, the Ministry has asked China to provide urgent assistance to as many as 39 cre members of the stranded cargo vessels, which have been stuck for months near the Chinese ports of Jingtang and Caofeidian.