Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2020

Notes:
The Union Minister for Home Affairs had recently visited Sashastra Seem Bal Headquarters in New Delhi. He reviewed the functioning of the SSB during this visit. The deployment, operational achievements and concerns were reviewed. SSB, one of the Central Armed Police Forces, was known as Special Service Bureau prior to 2001.

Notes:
On 1^st January each year, India and Pakistan exchange a list of their nuclear installations in accordance with the Agreement on the Prohibition of attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities. This agreement prohibits both the countries from attacking each other’s atomic facilities.

Notes:
Pariksha Pe Charcha was introduced in 2018. The 2020 contest is going to be the 3^rd edition of this program. The certificates of participation are issued by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development. The student winners get the chance to interact with the Prime Minister and ask questions related to exams.

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:
The World Braille Day is celebrated across the world on the 4th day of January. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in November 2018, to announce January 4 as World Braille Day. Following the proclamation, the day has been observed since 2019. According to the  World Health Organization, there are 36 million blind people and 216 million people with moderate to severe visual impairment. Invented by Louis Braille, Braille is a representation of letters and number using six dots, which could be interpreted by the visually impaired.

Notes:
The Ministry of Railways recently granted ‘Organized Group A Status’ (OGAS) to the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and also renamed it as the Indian Railway Protection Force Service. Recently the Union Cabinet approved the restructuring of the Indian Railways and merged eight Group A services of the Railways into a central service called the Indian Railway Management Service. Vinod Kumar Yadav recently assumed charge as the chairman of Railway Board after an extension in his term.

Notes:
The ace Indian all-rounder and bowler famous for his swings, Irfan Pathan announced his retirement from all forms of cricket recently. Irfan made his debut in 2003 when he was only 19 years old. In his professional cricket career spanning 16 years, he made several records including the hat-trick wicket in the first over of the test match. Irfan was also a part of the winning team of the 2007 T20 World cup.

Notes:
The Ramsar site – designated Bhitarkanika National Park is located in Odisha’s Kendrapara District. It is seen in news recently as the annual census of estuarine crocodiles was conducted in the national park. As per the census, there are 1,757 estuarine or salt water crocodiles in the park, 15 more than the previous year count. The national park is also a mangrove ecosystem and is home to several flora and fauna in addition to crocodiles.

Notes:
The Central Statistical Office recently released the first advance estimates of the Gross Domestic Product of India for 2019-2020. The CSO forecasted the GDP growth rate of India to be 5 % in the current fiscal year.
The CSO had earlier estimated the GDP growth of the previous fiscal to be 6.8%. The reason for the decrease in the growth rate is cited to the slowdown in manufacturing sector. The Reserve Bank of India also estimated 5% as the GDP growth rate for this fiscal.

Notes:
The Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently announced that indigenous relay satellite series called the Indian Data Relay Satellite System (IDRSS) will be launched soon .
The IDRSS is a set of relay satellites that will continuously track the Indian satellites and exchange information with them. The first of the two proposed satellites will be launched by the end of 2020, before the unmanned space flight to be conducted preceding the Gaganyaan Mission. Such crucial missions can be continuously monitored by the new relay satellite series.