Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2021

Notes:
Rajasthan state has launched the new M-Sand Policy-2020 recently. The state Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the state government aims to meet the quantity of sand needed for construction work in the state.
This would encourage the production of manufactured sand or M-sand and reduce the dependence on traditional sand.

Notes:
A 122-member armed forces contingent of Bangladesh participated in the Rajpath at the Republic Day parade of India.
This comes as a part of celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1971 Liberation War, by India and Bangladesh. While Bangladesh takes part in the parade for the first time, it is the third foreign country after France (2016) and the UAE (2017) to take part in India’s Republic Day parade.

Notes:
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) released the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2021.
As per the report, India’s economy is projected to grow at 7.3 per cent in 2021 while it is estimated to contract by 9.6 per cent in 2020. According to the UN, the reasons for the contraction are the lockdown and the fallen domestic consumption.

Notes:
The U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order which allows all qualified Americans to serve in the country’s military.
Former President Barack Obama allowed transgender people to serve in the Military while the previous President Donald Trump banned the process. Now, this new order would repeal the ban while also providing the necessary medical care to the persons.

Notes:
The United States Senate confirmed veteran economist Janet Yellen as first woman Treasury Secretary of the country.
The 74-year-old eminent economist is also the Former chairperson of the Federal Reserve during the Global Financial Crisis. She is the third cabinet member of the Biden Administration to be confirmed by the Senate.

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:
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for milling copra and ball copra.
As per M S Swaminathan recommendations, the increase in MSP has been approved. The MSP of copra was raised by Rs 375 from the previous year, 2020 to Rs 10,335 per quintal. Farmers of 12 coastal states are likely to impact by the price hike.

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 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.