Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2020

Notes:
According to the central government’s cleanliness survey, Indore is declared to be the cleanest city in India for the fourth time in a row. Kolkata is designated as the worst performer. It the category of cities having population more than 10 lakh, Bhopal stood second in the first quarter of the result and Rajkot got the second spot in the second quarter of the results.

Notes:
The Delhi government’s naming committee had recommended the renaming of Pragati Maidan metro station as Supreme Court metro station. It had also decided to rename the Mubarak Chowk and its flyover after the Kargil War martyr Captain Vikram Batra.

Notes:
The River Mahadayi, also known as River Mandovi, originates in Karnataka on the Western Ghats. It is one of the two primary rivers of Goa- the other being Zuari. Goa and Karnataka have disputes over the sharing of Mahadayi, especially in relation to the Kalsa Bhanduri project.

Notes:
According to the recently released Government data, Singapore remains the largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in India during the first half of the financial year with investments amounting to $8 billion. The second largest source was Mauritius with $6.36 billion worth investments followed by the United States, the Netherlands and Japan. India remains as one of the world’s favourite FDI destinations during this year. FDI limits in coal mining and contract manufacturing were recently relaxed by the Government.

Notes:
As per the recent announcement of the Chairman of ISRO, India will launch GSAT 30, a heavy geo-stationary communication satellite on January 17, 2020.  This mission would be the first satellite of the year 2020 for India. The satellite will be launched using Ariane-5ECA launch vehicle from Kourou space centre in French Guiana. The satellite will be used to provide communication links to government and private service providers.

Notes:
SPARMVs refer to Self Propelled Accident Relief Medical Vans which are vehicles to provide relief during Railway accidents and disasters. Indian Railways is gradually replacing locomotive hauled Accident Relief Medical Vans (ARMVs) with Self Propelled Accident Relief Medical Vans (SPARMVs) to improve response during disaster. Another kind of vehicles, which Railways proposes to include are high speed Self Propelled Accident Relief Trains (HS-SPARTs) with speed of 160 kmph. Railways will soon procure them.

Notes:
The 28th edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair 2020 is to be held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from January 4 to 12, 2020. To commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the theme of the fair is chosen as, ‘Gandhi: The Writers’ Writer’. Union Human Resources Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal will inaugurate the annual fair, which is organised by the National Book Trust (NBT). The Chief Guest of the inaugural event is Gandhian scholar Girishwar Mishra.  

Notes:
Veteran Theatre artist and Social Activist of Assam, Ratna Ojha passed away at Guwahati. He played an instrumental role in reviving the theatre play movement of the state. He had also actively participated and addressed demonstrations in several social issues of the country including those against Citizenship amendment act. For his great contribution towards the theatre art, he was honoured with the ‘Natasurya Award’ by the Assam Government.

Notes:
The State Government of Odisha recently launched the e-Gazette portal, to release all gazette publications of the state in digital format. This scheme is launched a s part of the ‘5T initiatives’ of the Odisha Government. After the launch of the portal, the gazette notifications will be published online saving paper and cost of transportation. All the departments of the state will be asked to upload their data in the portal, which will be monitored and verified by digital signatures.

Notes:
The Nankana Sahib Gurdwara is a highly revered gurdwara located in the city of Nankana Sahib near Lahore in Pakistan. The gurdwara is built at the place where the first Sikh Guru was believed to born and preached Sikhism. It is also called as the Janam Asthan Gurdwara. It is seen in news recently as there was a severe mob attack and vandalism in the Gurdwara.