Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2021

Notes:
The Parliament of Turkey approved a law that would increase monitoring of civil society groups. It was proposed by the ruling party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The bill also allows the annual inspection of non-governmental organizations, to combat terrorism financing. Several rights groups have expressed their concern that the bill would violate the freedom of association.

Notes:
Recently, the Strom Bella hit parts of France and United Kingdom and caused heavy rain and winds in Northern France.
The United Kingdom created a record of generating over 50 per cent of the country’s electricity generation from wind. This was generated from the heavy winds of speed up to 100 miles per hour. It also enabled the country to record the ‘Greenest year’.

Notes:
As per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Zhong Shanshan’s net worth rose to USD 70.9 billion making him the richest man in Asia above both Mukesh Ambani and China’s Jack Ma.
Zhong Shanshan is the founder of ‘Nongfu Spring’, the largest beverage company in China. He is also the owner of the Chinese pharmaceutical giant ‘Wantai’.

Notes:
The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi announced the annual awards for excellence in implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) Mission.
In the best performing states category, Uttar Pradesh bagged the first place, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. In the North East region and Hilly states, Tripura bagged the first place. Vishakhapatnam was named the best performing Municipal Corporation.

Notes:
The Parliament of Kazakhstan signed the ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
It is a document which commits the signatories to abolish capital punishment. Life imprisonment was introduced in the country in 2004 as an alternative punishment. While ICCPR was adopted in 1966, the second optional protocol was adopted in 1989.

Notes:
People of Tamil Nadu celebrate the ‘Thai Poosam’ festival, which is dedicated for the worship of the Tamil God Lord Muruga.
After the devotees requested to declare the day as a public holiday, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami issued an order for the same. It is also celebrated in some parts of Kerala and in other countries like Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius and Indonesia.

Notes:
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL) has adopted an international practice for production of Indian Certified Reference Material (CRMs).
The CRM, which is branded as ‘Bhartiya Nirdeshak Dravya’, supports the testing and calibration of laboratories, for assuring quality at par with international standards.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath launched Kisan Kalyan Mission, to promote the income of farmers.
The scheme aims to double the income of the farmers in Uttar Pradesh by 2022. The Chief Minister also ensured that the development schemes for farmers will be launched in 825 localities across the state.

Notes:
As per the World Health Organisation’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), the two doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine should be administered within a period of 21 to 28 days.
However, the United Kingdom is said to have extended the gap between the first and second dose of Pfizer’s vaccine by more than the prescribed interval.

Notes:
The Indian Government has approved the memorandum of cooperation on a framework for partnership related to “Specified Skilled Worker” between India and Japan.
As per the agreement, the skilled Indian workers, who have qualified the skill test and Japanese language test, will be granted a new status of residence of ‘Specified Skilled Worker’ by the Government of Japan. They will work in fourteen specified sectors in Japan.