Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2023

Notes:
India and Saudi Arabia are in talks to sign a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to obtain formal assistance from each other in investigations related to criminal cases.
Saudi Arabia is only among 12 other countries that does not have either an MLAT or any other bilateral agreement with India to facilitate such investigations. India has so far signed MLATs with 45 countries. India is also in talks to finalise MLATs with Italy and Germany.

Notes:
The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (3) of article 77 of the Constitution amended the rules governing E-sports.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Sports Ministry are asked to include ‘e-Sports as part of multi-sports events’.

Notes:
Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen created a unique feat when he won both the World Rapid and World Blitz chess titles in Almaty.
The 32-year-old became the holder of all three world chess championship titles – in Classical, Rapid and Blitz – for the third time in his career. As of 2022, no other player has ever won both the Rapid and Blitz titles in the same year.

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:
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:
Japan has planned to boost financial support to households to move away from the capital city Tokyo.
This move aims to combat depopulation in other areas of the country. Eligible families in the Tokyo metropolitan area will receive 1 million yen (USD 7,700) per child starting in the fiscal year 2023 if they move to a disadvantaged local area. The increased support for children comes on top of a 1 million yen scheme.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission with a total initial outlay of Rs 19,744 crore.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘National Hydrogen Mission’ on Independence Day in 2021. If the electricity used for the process of generating hydrogen comes from a renewable source then the hydrogen is referred to as green hydrogen.

Notes:
Assam Government released the list of winners of the Highest Civilian Awards- the Assam Baibhav Award.
There will be one recipient for the Assam Baibhav, five recipients for the Assam Saurav and fifteen recipients for the Assam Gaurav awards respectively. Dr Tapan Saikia, associated with the Healthcare & Public Services sectors, has been declared the Assam Baibhav for the year 2023.

Notes:
Manchester City has announced a new regional partnership with Jio Platforms. With this, the country’s leading digital services brand becomes the Club’s Official Mobile Communications Network Partner in India.
The partnership was supported by RISE Worldwide, a Reliance initiative. As part of the new agreement, Man City’s OTT platform CITY+ will be integrated into the JioTV platform providing fans in India further access to exclusive club content.