Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2021

Notes:
The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has signed an MoU with UNDP India to create India’s first Social Impact Bond (SIB).
This bond describes outcome-based targets to be achieved, so that the progress of the outcomes can be tracked. It also ensures the funds are used effectively towards the project. The bonds would support the corporation in improving the healthcare services.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s Central bank, releases the “Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India”.
The RBI recently released the latest edition of the report, which is a statutory publication as per the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. It highlights the performance of the banking sector during 2019-20 and 2020-21 so far.

Notes:
Last week, around 22,000 ducks died in Kuttanad and upper Kuttanad, in the state of Kerala. The preliminary tests could not find the certain reason for the deaths.
Recently, the samples of affected birds are to be sent to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal, to analyse and ascertain the reason.

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 first hill-top Buddhist monastery of the Gangetic Valley has been found at Lal Pahari in Lakhisarai district of Bihar.
This is the first monastery located at the top of a hill. This is discovered during a joint collaboration of Bihar Heritage Development Society and the Visva-Bharati University, West Bengal. It was a Vihara, named as Srimaddharmaviharik aryabhiksusanghasya.

Notes:
The Committee of Central Drugs and Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) has approved the vaccines – Covishield manufactured by Serum Institute of India and Covaxin manufactured by Bharat Biotech for emergency use.
These vaccines are to be initially administered to 3 crore front line workers for free by the Government of India.

Notes:
The Indian Army has signed a deal with the state-run Goa Shipyard Ltd., for procurement of 12 high performance patrol boats.
This is aimed to secure and perform surveillance of large lakes like the Pangong lake in Ladakh. This comes in back drop of the tussle between the Indian Army and the Chinese counterpart at the eastern Ladakh.

Notes:
The Climate Research and Services (CRS) of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has released a Statement on Climate of India during 2020.
As per the statement, the annual mean land surface air temperature over India was above normal during the year 2020. The year 2020 was also named the eighth warmest year on record.

Notes:
Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju has recently launched the Assam Rifles Public School in Shillong.
This school has become the first Khelo India Sports school of the North-East India. At present, nine Sports Schools have been approved across the country. The schools aim to integrate sports with education with the Government bearing the expenses of the athletes of the school.

Notes:
An all-female team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was recently deployed for contingency duties in Uttar Pradesh’s Garh Mukteshwar town, on the banks of the Ganga river.
The team who are professionally trained handled the rescue boats and related equipment. The first batch of over a hundred women disaster combatants and rescuers was also inducted in the NDRF.