Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2023

Notes:
Ace Football player Cristiano Ronaldo has joined Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr on a two-and-a-half-year contract.
He left the Manchester United last month. Ronaldo will arrive in Saudi Arabia after a spell at Spanish giants Real Madrid from 2009-18 where he won two La Liga titles, two Spanish Cups, four Champions League titles and three Club World Cups.

Notes:
The government has achieved the target of starting 1.5 lakh Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres across the country, as per the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
Under Ayushman Bharat, the government had set a target of transforming existing 1.5 lakh Sub-Health Centres (SHCs) and rural and urban Primary Health Centres (PHCs) across the country as AB-HWCs by December 2022.

Notes:
Sweden has taken over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first six months of the year, on January 1, 2023,
It followed Czech Republic, which headed the Council in the second half of 2022. This is the third time that Sweden has taken over the Presidency of the Council. The EU Council Presidency rotates every six months between the Member States of the EU.

Notes:
In December, 782 crore transactions in volume terms were done on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform, as per the Department of Financial Services.
UPI payments have touched record high of ₹12.82 lakh crore in December. The platform was launched in 2016. In November, as many as 730 crore transactions worth ₹11.90 lakh crore took place via UPI.

Notes:
The 205th anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle was observed recently as lakhs of Ambedkarites from across Maharashtra and the country congregated at the memorial.
The ‘Koregaon Bhima war memorial’ is located in Perne village in Pune. People pay floral tributes to the bravery of the Mahar soldiers who fought against the Peshwa forces in the 1818 battle.

Notes:
India’s unemployment rate reached a 16-month high of 8.3 percent in December 2022 according to a report by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).
CMIE added that the increase was partly due to the increase in labour participation rate.  The urban unemployment rate increased to 10.09 percent in December while the rural unemployment rate was marginally lower at 7.44 percent. At 37.4 percent, Haryana reported the highest unemployment rate among states, followed by Rajasthan at 28.5 percent and Delhi at 20.8 percent.

Notes:
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachand inaugurated the country’s third international airport in Pokhara built with Chinese assistance.
The Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA), a flagship project of Nepal-China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation, was constructed with Chinese loan assistance. Besides the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Gautam Buddha International Airport was upgraded as international airport in May 2022.

Notes:
President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, the ninth President of Guyana,  is one among the 21 recipients of the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA).
He will also be the Chief Guest at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention will be held this time in Indore. US-based businessman Darshan Singh Dhaliwal, and DSB Group CEO Piyush Gupta are among 21 recipients.

Notes:
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation designed and manufactured by SpaceX to provide high-speed internet to people living in remote locations. SpaceX launched the first batch of a new generation of 54 Starlink satellites into orbit aboard the Falcon 9 rocket.
The The touchdown of the Falcon 9 first stage marked a successful end to SpaceX’s 60th launch of SpaceX in 2022, nearly doubling the record of 31 launches made in 2021.

Notes:
The Centre has constituted a High Powered Committee to discuss measures to protect Ladakh’s unique culture, language and employment.
A 17 member committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai. Other members include Ladakh Lieutenant Governor RK Mathur, MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, and nominee officials of Home ministry among others.