Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2021

Notes:
The Mars Digger probe named the ‘Mole’ was deployed on the Mars by NASA’s InSight Lander. The probe has been recently declared dead by the Scientists, as it failed to burrow deep into the Mars.
The heat probe was developed and built by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). It has been trying since 2019, to dig deep and find the internal temperature of the Mars. The InSight lander will continue working till 2022.

Notes:
India has planned to achieve 20% ethanol-blending with gasoline by the year 2025, which is 5 years ahead of its previous target. This is aimed to reduce India’s dependence on crude oil import and narrow down the Current Account Deficit (CAD).
India is the world’s third largest importer of oil, relying on foreign suppliers to meet more than 80% of its demand.

Notes:
Ram Sewak Sharma, the first Director-General of the Unique Identification Development Authority of India (UIDAI), has authored a book titled “The Making of Aadhaar: World’s Largest Identity Platform”.
The book comprises of technical details regarding the legal, governance and social aspects of the Aadhar system. He also explains his experience during various bureaucratic positions and interactions with the team of Aadhar.

Notes:
Veteran Indian classical musician Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan has recently passed away at the age of 89, at Mumbai.
The legendary musician was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, followed by Padma Bhushan in 2006 and Padma Vibhushan in 2018. He was also honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in the year 2003.

Notes:
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has authorised Antrix, the commercial arm of ISRO, to move a petition before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to wind up Bengaluru-based start-up Devas.
The Ministry has authorised Chairman and MD of Antrix to present the petition under the Section 271 of Companies Act. Three months ago, US Federal Court ordered Antrix Corporation to pay USD 1.2 billion to Devas Multimedia Private Ltd.

Notes:
Asia’s oldest stock exchange, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has recently launched a premium platform for distributors and their clients.
Named ‘StAR MF Plus’, the digital platform will provide both front office, and back office support along with order management and analytics. It also enables distributors to perform e-KYC and customer portfolio management. BSE already houses a mutual fund distribution platform ‘StAR MF’.

Notes:
Uttarakhand Government announced that the number of working days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) will be increased from 100 to 150.
As per the Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, the entire cost will be borne by the state government. He also launched the ‘Uttarakhand Aajeevika App’ to help unemployed people in the state to search for job opportunities.

Notes:
The Ministry of Electronics and Information technology (MeitY) has recently asked WhatsApp to withdraw its new privacy policy.
The Ministry has termed the policy as unilateral, unfair and unacceptable and asked the firm to reconsider its approach to data privacy and data security. Detailed information about the data sharing protocols was also sought.

Notes:
The Start-up Advisory Council was notified in January 2020, which aims to advise the Government to nurture innovation and start-ups in the country. It is chaired by the Commerce and Industry Minister.
The Centre has recently nominated 28 non-official members for the Start-up Advisory Council notified last year, including the founders of top start-up firms in the country including Byju’s, Urban Company, Snapdeal and Ola Cabs.

Notes:
Dragon fruit is a wild cactus species native to the Americas and it is called pitahaya in those regions.
The fruit-bearing species was first introduced to India after 1990.
Many states of India including Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal cultivate the fruits. However, India imports the fruit to meet its demand. Recently, Gujarat state government proposed to rename dragon fruit as ‘Kamalam’.