Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2020

Notes:
Khurana shared the 1968 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Marshall W. Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley for research that showed the order of nucleotides in nucleic acids, which carry the genetic code of the cell and control the cell’s synthesis of proteins. In 1972, he also created the first ever artificial gene.

Notes:
According to the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD’s) Statement on Climate of India During 2019 report, the number of cyclones in the Arabian Sea was 400% higher than normal frequency because five out of eight cyclones affected Arabian Sea. These give cyclones were Vayu, Hikka, Kyarr, Maha and Pavan. This after the sea on India’s west coast normally undergoes only one cyclone annually — read a 400% rise. (India normally has five cyclones in total every year.) However, the Bay of Bengal — usually the more cyclone-prone coast of India — was relatively subdued in 2019 with three (Pabuk, Fani, Bulbul) instead of four cyclones that occur there annually on an average.

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:
For the first time in the state, the Kerala State Youth Commission has announced that it would conduct a state-level Adalat for LGBT community. The programme would be held at the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram.
The main objective of the Adalat is to encourage the transgender community to come out with their grievances and to make arrangements for redressal of the issues. The Government of Kerala had introduced a Transgender policy in 2015 and it has a dedicated ‘Transgender Cell’ working under the state’s Social Justice Department.

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:
India’s leading digital payment company, Paytm has recently launched an all-in-one QR code for merchants. Using the QR code the businessmen can accept unlimited payments through Paytm Wallet, Rupay Cards and all UPI-based payment directly into their bank account.
The transactions are processed at zero percent fee using the code. The company also launched ‘Paytm Business Khata’ service. This will help the merchants to maintain ledgers of all transactions of their customers in the digital form.

Notes:
After completion of extensive trials on the Shore Based Test Facility, the naval variant of indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) made its first successful landing on the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. The Light Combat aircraft is developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO.
INS Vikramaditya was formally inducted into the Indian Navy on June 2014. It is a flagship air-craft carrier of the Indian Navy. Prior to this commission, it served with the Russian Navy.

Notes:
The famous Indian entrepreneur and co-founder of Flipkart, Sachin Bansal recently acquired the DHFL General Insurance company. He bought the company from the Wadhawan Group of companies for ₹100 crore.
The acquisition is done through the investment firm named ‘Navi technologies’, which was founded by Sachin Bansal along with his IIT batchmate, after quitting Flipkart. The microfinance arm of Navi Technologies, Chaitanya India Fin Credit Pvt. Ltd (CIFCPL), has recently applied for a universal banking licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Notes:
Union Minister for Women and Child Development and Textiles, Smriti Irani recently launched a scheme named ‘Yashaswini’ from Goa. It is a women empowerment scheme, which aims at supporting women Self Help Groups (SHGs) with interest free loans up to ₹5 lakh. The scheme will also help them to get guidance from experts.
During the event, the Minister also launched Swasthya Sakhi Project and a mobile breast cancer screening initiative, which will be carried out by Anganwadi workers to screen all women of Goa for breast cancer.

Notes:
Kaspersky Labs, an international cyber-security and anti-virus provider recently made an announcement about a trojan application or a malware named ‘Shopper’. It is said to randomly increase the ratings of some popular e-commerce applications through the social media counts of the victims.
Nearly 14% of the users, who were affected by the malware were Indians while the highest number of people affected were from Russia.