Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2021

Notes:
The First Virtual Expo 2021 for R&D in processed food sector has been organized recently by the Union Ministry of Food Processing and Industries.
The expo is aimed to showcase the outcomes of projects supported by the Ministry through some of its leading food technology institutions. A portal displaying various researches undertaken in the food processing sector, was also launched during the expo.

Notes:
The freight train named ‘Vasuki’ operated by South East Central Railway has created a new record for longest ever freight train. This train has been formed by amalgamation five rakes of goods trains as a single unit of around 3.5 km.
The train has covered a total distance of 224 km between Bhilai and Korba.

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:
January 24 is observed as ‘International Education Day’ globally to highlight the role of education for peace and development.
The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution co-authored by Nigeria and 58 other member states in 2018, which sought for political will to support inclusive and quality education for all. This year, the day was observed on the theme ‘Recover and revitalise education for the COVID-19 generation’.

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:
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in India.
President has approved conferment of 119 Padma awards comprising 7 Padma Vibhushan, 10 Padma Bhushan and 102 Padma Shri awards. Former Chief minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi and former union minister Ram Vilas Paswan have been awarded the Padma Bhushan.

Notes:
Indian IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has surpassed Accenture, to become the world’s most valued IT services company.
The Market Capitalization of TCS surged to USD 169.9 billion recently. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is also India’s largest software exporter.

Notes:
Union Bank of India announced that it has raised Rs 1,000 crore by issuing Basel III-compliant bonds on a private placement basis.
The bank issued perpetual bonds in the nature of debentures, which qualify as the Additional Tier 1 Capital of the bank. The public sector bank also announced that it will raise Rs 205 crore by issuing Basel III compliant bonds later this week.

Notes:
The United Kingdom (UK) has launched a New Variant Assessment Platform, which will be used to identify new variants COVID-19 viruses.
It uses genomics expertise possessed by UK and has been dedicated for use by countries which does not have sufficient resources for identifying the new Covid virus strains.

Notes:
The state government of Rajasthan has recently reduced value-added tax (VAT) by two percent on petrol and diesel. This has relaxed the fuel prices in the state. Recently, the price of premium petrol price crossed Rs.100 in the state.
Petrol, Diesel and other fuels in India have been kept outside the ambit of Goods and Services Tax (GST). Presently, the state governments determine the VAT on these fuels.