Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2023

Notes:
G Kamala Vardhana Rao has taken over the charge as the CEO of food regulator FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India).
The FSSAI is a statutory body established under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Prior to this, Rao was serving as the Managing Director of Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), a Miniratna PSU under the Ministry of Tourism.

Notes:
The Union government spent more than Rs 13,000 crore on cleaning the Ganga since 2014. The Ganga Council recently met in Kolkata and Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the meeting through video conference.
Uttar Pradesh received the largest outlay among states at 4,205 crore. Bihar is in second place at 3,516 crores. Bengal (1,302 crore), Delhi (1,253) and Uttarakhand (1,117) are the other regions in the top five states.

Notes:
According to a submission made in Parliament by the Ministry of Culture, 50 of India’s 3,693 centrally protected monuments are missing.
The missing monuments include 11 that were in Uttar Pradesh, two each in Delhi and Haryana. The list also included monuments in Assam, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. As per the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), 14 of these monuments have been lost to rapid urbanisation, 12 are submerged by reservoirs or dams, and the locations of remaining 24 are untraceable.

Notes:
Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is working on a new industrial policy.
The draft ‘Statement on Industrial Policy 2022-Make in India for the world’ has been circulated to different ministries for their views and comments. It proposes to increase financing sources for industry and a scheme for promoting Made in India brand.

Notes:
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that XBB.1.5 has more than doubled its share of the Covid-19 figures each week.
In the Northeast region of the country, XBB.1.5 is causing 75% of new cases. The XBB.1.5 strain is a relative of the Omicron XBB variant, which is a recombinant of the Omicron BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 subvariants.

Notes:
Anil Kumar Lahoti has taken over the charge of new Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Railway Board, Ministry of Railways.
Prior to this, Anil Kumar Lahoti worked as Member (Infrastructure) of the Railway Board. He was behind the planning and construction of Anand Vihar Terminal in Delhi and the Ajmeri Gate side station building. He was also associated with planning for redevelopment of New Delhi station as a World Class station.

Notes:
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office for a third term as Brazil’s President, after the divisive election in October.
The outgoing leader of the Latin America’s biggest economy is Jair Bolsonaro. The 77-year-old ex-metalworker Lula da Silva previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010.

Notes:
A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court has upheld by a 4-1 majority the Centre’s 2016 decision to withdraw from circulation currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations.
The majority, comprising Justices S Abdul Nazeer, B R Gavai, A S Bopanna, V Ramasubramanian, held that the Centre’s notification was valid and satisfied the test of proportionality. Justice BV Nagarathna in her dissenting view held that though demonetisation was well-intentioned and well thought of, it has to be declared unlawful on legal grounds.

Notes:
Indian Government signed USD 1.2 billion loan agreements for infrastructure projects with Asian Development Bank.
A loan agreement was signed worth USD 350 million to improve connectivity in Maharashtra, and a loan agreement worth USD 300 million to upgrade highways and major roads in Assam. Other agreements are to improve power sector in Tripura and metro rail system in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Notes:
NTPC Ltd commissioned India’s first green hydrogen blending project in the piped natural gas (PNG) network of NTPC Kawas Township, Surat.
The project is a joint effort of NTPC and Gujarat Gas Limited (GGL). Green hydrogen in Kawas is made by electrolysis of water using power from already installed 1 MW floating solar project. This feat has been achieved only by few countries like UK, Germany, and Australia.