Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2021

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has recently approved investment of Rs 5281.94 crore investment for the Ratle hydropower project in Jammu and Kashmir.
The 850-megawatt (MW) plant is to be set up on Chenab river, which flows from India into Pakistan. A new Joint Venture Company (JVC) of National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation Ltd (JKSPDC) will also be formed.

Notes:
The report of socio-economic survey of Delhi, conducted between November 2018 and November 2019 has been finalized and released recently.
As per the report, 10% of children aged between 6 and 17 are either school drop outs or have never attended formal schooling on account of financial disabilities.

Notes:
The Indian Government has approved the construction of over 1.68 lakh houses in urban areas under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Urban.
As per the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, the total number of houses sanctioned so far stands at 1.1 crore. Under PMAY-U, 41 lakh houses have been completed so far and over 70 lakh houses are under construction.

Notes:
Reserve Bank of India recently released a discussion paper on revised regulatory framework for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).
As per the paper, the regulatory and supervisory framework of NBFCs shall be based on a four-layered structure namely Base Layer, Middle Layer, Upper Layer and a possible Top Layer. RBI also recommended more power for the NBFC Boards on capital and risk management.

Notes:
Border Security Force (BSF) organises the Operation “Garam Hawa” in summer season and operation “Sard Hawa” during the winter season every year.
BSF has recently launched “Operation Sard Hawa” of this year, under which it aims to increase security on the borders in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. This operation was scheduled from January 21 to 27, coinciding with the Republic Day.

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:
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 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:
The report, titled ‘Ageing water infrastructure: An emerging global risk’ was compiled by United Nations University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health.
As per the report, over a thousand large dams in India will be almost 50 years old in 2025. It also warns about the threat posed by the aging structures across the world. As per the UN report, a large concrete dam begins to express signs of ageing at 50 years.

Notes:
The International Customs Day is celebrated every year on January 26 across the world, led by the World Customs Organization (WCO). It is headquartered at Brussels, Belgium.
It was earlier called as the Customs Cooperation Council (CCC). The Day has been celebrated since 1983. This year the theme is ‘Customs bolstering Recovery, Renewal and Resilience for a sustainable supply chain’