Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2021

Notes:
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has been re-elected as the President of Portugal. The right-wing President won the elections with 60.7 percent of the vote.
Although the Prime Minister Antonio Costa is a Socialist, the President has a prominent role in the nation’s polity with superior role in foreign policy and national security. President of Portugal has the power to dissolve the Parliament.

Notes:
Estonia’s two biggest political parties – the Reform Party and the Centre Party have agreed upon a deal to form a new government, which would be headed by Kaja Kallas.
If approved by the law makers, she would become the first women Prime Minster of Estonia. Earlier, the previous Government collapsed on charges of corruption scandal.

Notes:
The Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted the maiden launch of Akash-NG (New Generation) Missile. It is a New Generation Surface to Air Missile designed to be used in Indian Air Force.
It has the capacity to intercept high maneuvering low RCS aerial threats. The test was carried out at the Integrated Test Range off the coast of Odisha.

Notes:
The U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order which allows all qualified Americans to serve in the country’s military.
Former President Barack Obama allowed transgender people to serve in the Military while the previous President Donald Trump banned the process. Now, this new order would repeal the ban while also providing the necessary medical care to the persons.

Notes:
Giuseppe Conte resigned as Italian prime minister, as he lost the majority in the Senate due to a recent coalition rupture.
The Italian President Sergio Mattarella is set to hold formal consultations with all the parties before deciding the course of action.

Notes:
World Economic Forum (WEF) launched a global coalition at the ongoing Davos Agenda Summit to end racism at work place.
It has been named as “Partnering for Racial Justice in Business” initiative. Recently, Indian companies Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services joined the alliance, whose founding members include 48 organisations including Google, Microsoft, Deutsche Bank, EY, among others.

Notes:
Alphabet unions across the world have joined hands and created a global alliance called Alpha Global.
It has been created with the aid of UNI Global, a federation of unions representing over 20 million workers. As many as 13 different unions, from 10 different countries are part of Alpha Global alliance. Google labour union was formed recently in the United States.

Notes:
As per the Brand Finance’s Global 500 ranking, India’s Reliance Jio owned by Mukesh Ambani has emerged as the fifth strongest brand globally. The list is topped by WeChat followed by Ferrari and Russian Bank Sber. Coco Cola is ranked 4th in the chart.
Reliance Jio has achieved this fete, despite being founded only a few years ago in 2016.

Notes:
The Davos Dialogue of the World Economic Forum (WEF) which generally takes place at Davos of Switzerland, was conducted this year in an “all virtual” format.
During the virtual meet, Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi appreciated India’s efforts to fight against the COVID pandemic. Also, he shared India’s efforts and endeavours in four pillars of Industry 4.0.

Notes:
The Mount Merapi is located in Indonesia. It is an active volcano which is located in the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta. This is the most active volcano of the country and has been erupting at frequent intervals since 1500s. This volcano has erupted again recently.
Indonesia is located on the “Ring of Fire” and hence has the most number of active volcanoes in the world.