Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2021

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:
The Union Agriculture Ministry has proposed a Rs 19,000 crore National mission on edible oil for approval in the upcoming budget.
The mission seeks a five-year plan to achieve self-sufficiency in cooking oil production along with cutting its import. India spends almost Rs 75,000 crore annually in importing edible oil which will also promote local production and cut its cost.

Notes:
The West Bengal Transport Corporation in association with a heritage book store has launched a Young Readers’ Boat Library.
Under the initiative, children can choose from a selection of 500 titles in English and Bengali on cruising on the waters of Hooghly river on a three-hour-long trip.

Notes:
As per media reports, the Government has appointed an expert panel to review industry’s objections to the proposed ban on 27 widely used pesticides.
Former assistant director general of ICAR, TP Rajendran is to chair the committee, which will submit the report in next three months. The Government has proposed to ban 27 pesticides, which are said to be harmful to animals and humans.

Notes:
Freedom fighter and late former Union home minister Govind Ballabh Pant’s statue was relocated from the Parliament complex, as the construction for the new building commenced.
The statue was later unveiled in New Delhi’s Pandit Pant Marg. He was also the first Chief Minister of the state of Uttar Pradesh, from 1950 to 1954. He was also awarded with the highest honour of India, the Bharat Ratna.

Notes:
The Union Health Ministry released the National Non-communicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS).
In the survey conducted during 2017-18, it was revealed that two in five adults in India have three or more risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCD). The Health Minister also launched a framework on use of telemedicine for cancer, diabetes, heart diseases and stroke in India.

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:
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 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.

Notes:
The Budget Session of Parliament recently began with the address of President Ram Nath Kovind to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament.
During the address, the President mentioned that the ‘Amrut Mahotsav’ will be observed in the country from this year, to mark commencement of the celebrations towards the 75th year of India’s Independence.