Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2020

Notes:
India levies license fees of 8% of adjusted gross revenues (AGR) from every telecom license holder. The SC on October 24 defined AGR as all revenues of a license holder, and not just revenues from telecom services. Apart from dealing a body blow to telcos, the order also made non-telecom companies holding licenses for internal communications and signaling liable to pay license fees on their entire revenue, even when they do not offer any telecom services.

Notes:
Vishva Hindi Divas or World Hindi day is celebrated every year on January 10. The day is celebrate to commemorate the First World Hindi Conference, which was held from January 10 to January 12, 1975, at Nagpur.The first Hindi Conference was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. Subsequent conferences were held in various countries including the USA, South Africa, UK, Mauritius.
The first World Hindi day was observed on January 10, 2006. The Day aims to promote Hindi language around the world.

Notes:
The Father of Green Revolution Dr M S Swaminathan is chosen as the recipient of ‘Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu National Award for Excellence’. This award is instituted by the Muppavarapu Foundation based at Hyderabad. Eminent Agricultural Scientist and plant geneticist, M.S. Swaminathan is awarded for his contributions towards the field of agriculture.
This award was presented during the 10th Anniversary Celebrations of Muppavarapu Foundation in Hyderabad by the Vice President of India, Venkiah Naidu.

Notes:
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released a chart of world’s fastest growing cities based on the data provided by the United Nation’s Population Division. Malappuram, a city of Northern Kerala topped the list. Two other cities of Kerala, Kozhikode and Kollam were ranked 4th and 10th respectively.
As per the report, Malappuram has recorded 44% rise in population between 2015 and 2020. In the report, three Kerala cities were in the top 10 list while six Indian cities were placed in the top 30 list.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently released a report titled ‘National Strategy for Financial Inclusion’.
The report suggested that along with formal banking outlets, payment banks, small finance banks, cooperative banks and non-banking units like fair price shops should also practice digital banking. The Regulator directed the banks to increase the outlets in all villages and hilly areas by March 2020. The report also suggested to make the Public Credit Registry (PCR) fully functional by 2022.

Notes:
The Uttar Pradesh cabinet chaired by its Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath recently approved to build a new zoological garden in Gorakhpur. The zoo is to be named after the famous freedom fighter Shaheed Ashfaqullah Khan, who was sentenced after the Kakori conspiracy, 1925.
The proposed 121-acre zoo is expected to improve the tourism sector of the state and provide employment opportunities. The Government also sanctioned Rs. 234 crores for the construction of the zoo.

Notes:
Lohri is a festival celebrated in North India, especially in Punjab ahead of the Makar Sankranti Festival. The festival marks the completion of Winter and the arrival of sunny weather in the region. It is also regarded that the festival commemorates the passing winter solstice.
According to the traditional calendar, this year the festival Lohri falls on January 13. People of North India celebrate the festival by lighting bonfires, with their friends and relatives. It is mainly celebrated in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.
This festival is celebrated as Makara Sankranti (Pedda Pandaga) in Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal (also called Poush sôngkrānti), Karnataka and Telangana, Sukarat in central India, Magh Bihu by Assamese, and Thai Pongal by Tamils. Vishu concides with Vaishakhi.

Notes:
During the recent Annual BCCI awards Ceremony, Indian ace cricketer Jasprit Bumrah was selected as the best male International cricketer and he was presented with the renowned ‘Polly Umrigar’ award. He also bagged the Dilip Sardesai award for highest wicket taker. In the 2018-19 season, Bumrah clinched 34 wickets in 6 matches.
Another Indian cricketer, Cheteshwar Pujara was presented with the Dilip Sardesai award for highest run getter while the awards for the best international debut were given to Mayank Agarwal and Shafali Verma in men’s and women’s category respectively.

Notes:
The recently built monument of Gujarat, ‘Statue of Unity’ was recently included in the ‘8 Wonders of SCO’ list released by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. It is the tallest statue of the world, which was built as a tribute to the Indian leader Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
The 182-metre statue was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India in October 2018 in Gujarat’s Kevadiya colony. The statue was built on the river Narmada, facing the Sardar Sarovar Dam. SCO comprises of eight member states, which are India, Pakistan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Notes:
The first mission of the year of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the communication satellite GSAT-30. It is scheduled for launch on January 17,2020 aboard the Ariane-5 launch vehicle (VA 251) from French Guiana.
The satellite will provide communication services from Geostationary orbit and is expected to serve as the replacement satellite to INSAT- 4 A with extended coverage. GSAT-30 would be beneficial in several ways including supporting VSAT networks, Cellular connectivity and DTH-Television services.