Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2021

Notes:
Recently, the All-India Institute of Ayurveda – New Delhi has conducted a large largest public awareness campaign program on Ayurveda and Covid 19 pandemic and it has been named as “Ayu Samvad”.
This campaign is supported by Ministry of Ayush. More than 5 lakh lectures were organised across the country by Ayurveda Physicians, during the campaign.

Notes:
The Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh has celebrated recently its 50th statehood day on January 25, 2021.
In 1970, the State of Himachal Pradesh Act was passed in the Parliament and the state came into existence from January 25, 2071. It is the 18th Indian state to be formed in the country. Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar was its first chief minister.

Notes:
32 children across the county have been recently awarded the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, 2021.
Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India has been giving away this award to children with outstanding abilities and accomplishments in the fields of innovation, scholastics, sports, arts & culture, social service and bravery.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh has recently launched a mobile app named ‘Udyam Sarathi’ for seeking employment, as a part of the 3-day event marking UP DIWAS.
The state also announced the proposal to launch ‘Abhyudaya’ coaching centres, which would benefit the students who are preparing for various competitive examinations.

Notes:
Lt. Col. (Retd.) Quazi Sajjad Ali Zahir and musicologist Sanjida Khatun, who belong to Bangladesh have been conferred with India’s Padma Shri award for the year 2021.
This is seen as a soft diplomatic move of the country. These awards were announced on the eve of Republic Day. This year, 7 Padma Vibhushan, 10 Padma Bhushan and 102 Padma Shri awards have been conferred.

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:
Minister of Electronics and IT and Communications has recently launched virtual intelligence tool Tejas.
The tool can extract critical information for policy decisions thereby improving efficiency in government services. The Minister also launched a virtual portal to access routine office applications called ‘Work from Anywhere’ portal and ‘e-Auction India’.

Notes:
As per the Science Magazine, Scientists have discovered a rare Martian Mineral named ‘Jarosite’ in the Antarctic ice.
After boring more than a mile deep in the Antarctic region, the yellow-brown mineral which is rarely seen on Earth but found more on Mars was spotted. Mars is believed to be a dusty place and this discovery may be used to explain this theory.

Notes:
The report titled “World Gold Demand Trends” has been released by the World Gold Council. As per the report, Gold purchase by central banks of various countries declined sharply in 2020 and fell by nearly 60% to 272.9 tonnes.
The decline in purchase was most particular in Q2 of the FY 2020-21.

Notes:
Republic of Chad, a land locked country in North – Central Africa, has requested the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for debt restructuring, under the new common framework. Chad’s request makes it the first country to seek debt restructuring from IMF.
Chad has been struggling with high debt burden against a backdrop of the coronavirus crisis.