Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2021

Notes:
Union Earth Sciences Minister Harsh Vardhan has recently inaugurated the country’s highest meteorological centre in the Union Territory of Ladakh.
The centre located above 3500 metres, would provide localised weather forecasts and early warning for Leh and Kargil districts of the Union Territory as well as various tourist places.

Notes:
The Rafale fighter jets of India and France are set to carry out wargames named SKYROS in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
The exercise is to be organised in the third week of January next year. This would be the first major wargame of the Indian Air Force involving the Rafale fighters which were inducted into the service in August 2020.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s Central bank, releases the “Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India”.
The RBI recently released the latest edition of the report, which is a statutory publication as per the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. It highlights the performance of the banking sector during 2019-20 and 2020-21 so far.

Notes:
In the Jhalawar District of Rajasthan, 50 crows had died of Avian influenza (Bird flu) recently. In response, a curfew was imposed surrounding the area.
While, death of crows has also been reported from the city of Jodhpur. The administration ordered to sanitise the affected area and send the samples to the National High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (NHSADL), Bhopal.

Notes:
As per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the Interconnect usage charges (IUC) has been made zero from January 1, 2021.
IUC is the charge paid by a telecom company, for every call made from its network to different service providers. Prior to this move, the telecom company has been paying 6 paise per minute as the IUC.

Notes:
Soma Mondal has recently taken charge as the new Chairman of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). Prior to this, she was the Director (Commercial) of the Public Sector enterprise. She replaces the incumbent Chairman Anil Kumar Chaudhary
Soma Mandal also had served as the Director (Commercial) at another CPSE, the National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), before her venture in SAIL.

Notes:
The Supreme Court’s three-judge bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar delivered its verdict on Central Vista Project Case.
The bench approved the re-development project by a 2:1 majority and upheld the exercise of power by the Centre as just and valid. It also confirmed the modifications in the change in land use and the recommendations of the environmental committee.

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:
Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju has recently launched the Assam Rifles Public School in Shillong.
This school has become the first Khelo India Sports school of the North-East India. At present, nine Sports Schools have been approved across the country. The schools aim to integrate sports with education with the Government bearing the expenses of the athletes of the school.

Notes:
The Government of India has launched a new initiative called the ‘Toycathon’, to promote indigenous toy industry and reduce imports.
Six Ministries, including Education, Women & child development, Textile, Commerce and industries, MSME, I&B and AICTE are collaborating for this initiative. Students, Teachers, Design experts and start-ups will work together to develop indigenous toys and games.