Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2021

Notes:
Recently, the Central Board of Investigation (CBI) has filed a First Information Report (FIR) against two UK based firms Cambridge Analytica and Global Scientific Research.
The FIR has been filed after 30 months since probe was initiated against these two firms, based on a complaint by the IT Ministry. Investigation have revealed that the firm Global Scientific Research has illegally harvested Indian data and passed on to Cambridge Analytica for commercial gains.

Notes:
Department of Science and Technology has stated recently that the number of scientific publications from India has increased exponentially over the last 10 years and that India stands at 3rd position globally in number of scientific publications.
China and USA are ahead of India in the list. In the year 2017-18, 1,937 out of the total 13,045 patents were filed by Indians.

Notes:
The Ministry of Home Affairs has recently announced the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar for 2021.
As per the notification, Rajendra Kumar Bhandari has been selected in the individual category of the award, while the Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS) has been selected for the award in the institutional category.

Notes:
The central Government has recently stated that, Geological Survey of India (GSI) is in the process of expediting some of its important national level surveys. The GSI has proposed to complete its National Geochemical Mapping (NGCM) programme by 2024.
The GSI has also commenced an initiative named National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR) for collecting all the geoscience data of the country.

Notes:
As per the United Nations data, China has become the world’s top destination for new foreign direct investment in the year 2020. China overtook USA and gained the top spot in the world.
New overseas investments for USA fell by 49% in 2020 whereas in case of China, the FDI increased by 4%.

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:
The DRDO’s Integrated weapons system design centre has been inaugurated by the Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu at Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex – Hyderabad.
This centre would set an all-new platform for enhanced design – development for surface to air missile (SAM) systems and ballistic missile defence (BMD) systems.

Notes:
START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) is a bilateral agreement signed in 2010 between the United States and Russia.
The treaty, which emphasised on the reduction and limitation of strategic nuclear arms by the two countries, is set to expire next week. Russia’s lower house of parliament approved the extension of the treaty.

Notes:
The second edition of the International Conference on Gender Equality (ICGE-II) is to be hosted in February, 2021, at the Gender Park Campus, Kozhikode, Kerala.
The Chief Minister is also set to inaugurate a Gender Park at Kozhikode. It was established in 2013 under the Department of Women and Child Development. It has partnerships with various global organisations like UN Women.

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.