Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2020

Notes:
The renowned Indian scientist and Director General of Aeronautical Systems, DRDO, Dr.Tessy Thomas was the Chief Guest of the Women Science Congress, held at Bengaluru. It was a part of the ongoing 107th Indian Science Congress. Tessy Thomas was the first woman scientist to head a missile project in India, when she was the Project Director of India’s Agni-IV missile.

Notes:
Academy award winning American actress Renee Zellweger won the ‘Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama’ award in the Golden Globe awards 2020. With this year’s award, Zellweger has been presented with the coveted Golden Globe awards for the fourth time. In the biopic film ‘Judy’, she had played the critically acclaimed role of Judy Garland. She had earlier won the Academy award for best supporting actress for her role in the movie titled ‘Cold Mountain’.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Bihar launched the climate change initiative called ‘Jal- Jiwan- Hariyali’ scheme in the state recently. Under the scheme, various awareness programs about climate change and importance of water conservation are conducted across the state.
The Chief Minister, Nithish Kumar recently launched schemes worth more than Rs.700 Crores in the ‘Jagruta Sammelan’, organised as a part of the ‘Jal-Jiwan-Hariyali’ mission. The state has also planned to organise a human chain movement across the state for spreading awareness on climate change.

Notes:
To commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a ten-day art exhibition was recently inaugurated in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. The exhibition was named as ‘Gandhi @ 150 Art Exhibition’
The Indian High Commission in Bangladesh organised the exhibition in association with the national cultural centre of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. The art products of the Bangladesh artists created during the art camp and photographs of Gandhi were exhibited in the event.

Notes:
On January 8, 2020, Union Cabinet has approved promulgation of Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2020. The Ordinance will amend Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation ) Act 1957 and Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act 2015. The Ordinance will ease rules for auctioning of coal mines and to open up to all sectors. Government has also done away with end-use restrictions of the coal mining blocks.

Notes:
The World Economic Forum, held annually at Davos, is a meeting in which world leaders discuss economic matters. This year’s summit will take place on January 21- 24.

Notes:
MILAN is a multilateral naval exercise, which is scheduled to be held at Vishakhapatnam in March 2020. The event was previously planned at Andaman and Nicobar Islands and then has been changed to Vishakhapatnam as navies from many countries are participating in the event.
Nearly 30 international navies have confirmed their participation in the event. The theme of the exercise is “Synergy Across the Seas”. This event would help the navies to have professional discussions and learn the best practices in the naval arena across the world.

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 ruler of Oman and one of the longest serving rulers in the Middle East countries, Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said recently passed away. He was not keeping well for a long time and was undergoing medical treatment in Belgium last month.
After his demise, the former culture minister of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq was named as the successor of Sultan Qaboos. It is mandatory to name the successor of the vacant throne within three days, as per the constitution of Oman.

Notes:
HDFC and its subsidiary HDFC ERGO has got approvals the Competition Commission of India (CCI) , the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) for acquiring a majority stake in Apollo Munich. HDFC acquired 50.80 % stake of Apollo Hospitals Group in Apollo Munich for ₹1485 crore
It was also announced that after the acquisition, Apollo Munich Health Insurance Co Ltd has been renamed as HDFC ERGO Health Insurance Ltd and will operate as a subsidiary of HDFC.