Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2021

Notes:
The country’s second largest public sector bank, Punjab National Bank has partnered with IIT Kanpur and FIRST (Foundation for Innovation & Research in Science & Technology), to establish Fintech Innovation Centre (FIC).
The Innovation centre will be set up at the IIT campus, which will facilitate research and development in technological solutions used in the Banking and Finance Sector.

Notes:
The Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla recently chaired the event organised by the Uttarakhand Panchayati raj department.
During the occasion, he announced that the Central Government would soon undertake a campaign named “know your Constitution” in schools, colleges and universities across the country. It aims to create awareness about various aspects of the Constitution.

Notes:
Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) is a Mini Ratna company under the administrative control of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
Recently, IREDA has signed an agreement with the Power Ministry’s PSU, NHPC Limited, to collaborate in renewable energy (RE) projects. IREDA will also provide knowledge and technology transfer, and consultancy services.

Notes:
Union Education Ministry issues guidelines for identification, admission and supportive education of migrant children.
The guidelines include Continued Education for Out of School Children (OoSC) and Children with Special Needs (CWSN), Enrolment Drives and Awareness Generation, Support while schools are closed and Teacher Capacity Building via NISHTHA training modules and DIKSHA portal.

Notes:
The Storm Filomena hit Spain and has brought one of the heaviest snowfall in decades, across the central regions of Spain killing four people.
The Government is to send COVID-19 vaccine and food supplies to the areas cut off by the storm. As the temperatures are expected to fall to up to minus 10 degree Celsius, more dangerous situations are forecasted.

Notes:
The U.S space agency NASA is set to ignite the most powerful rocket it’s ever built on January 17, 2021.
This is also the first test-fire of the Space Launch System (SLS), the rocket ship to be used for non-commercial human space flight. It is the core system of NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to land a man-woman duo on the moon. The SLS can carry over 27 tons to the moon.

Notes:
The Indian Navy is undertaking a two-day military exercise, also claimed to be India’s largest coastal defence drill.
The exercise is to cover India’s coastline spanning over 7500 kilometers, involving 13 coastal States and Union Territories. The second edition of the exercise aims to enhance maritime security and surveillance.

Notes:
The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) of the Union Agriculture Ministry has recently completed 5 years since its launch.
It is a crop insurance scheme that was launched on January 13, 2016. The Ministry has stated that claims worth Rs.90,000 crore have so far been disbursed to farmers since the launch.

Notes:
The International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision (ICG) – which includes WHO, UNICEF, International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have established a stockpile of Ebola vaccine.
The stockpile is located at Switzerland and the vaccines are kept ready to be shipped to countries for emergency response.

Notes:
North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un was recently given a new title, “General secretary” of the ruling Workers’ Party.
The new title, which was formerly held by his late father and grandfather, was announced by the ongoing Congress of the country. In 2016, he was named as the ‘Party Chairman’. The family’s bloodline named “Paektu”, empowers their direct family members to rule the country.