Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2023

Notes:
Odisha government’s State-level steering committee for CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) has approved an annual plan of ₹1,086 crore for 2023-24 fiscal with focus on reducing man-animal conflict.
Chief Secretary, who chaired the meeting, also raised the issue relating to wildlife management activities which are being extensively being carried out through CAMPA funds.

Notes:
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Unilever have collaborated to develop computational models to speed up screening of antimicrobials?
The models of bacterial cell walls can speed up the screening of antimicrobials. Antimicrobials are molecules which can kill disease-causing bacteria. According to IISc, each bacterial cell is enveloped by a cell membrane, which is in turn surrounded by a cell wall.

Notes:
The world’s longest river cruise MV Ganga Vilas was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi.
Ministry of Culture organised a grand curtain raiser cultural program ‘Sur Sarita – Symphony of Ganga’ on the eve of the launch of the world’s longest river cruise in Varanasi. The concert was organsied at the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor.

Notes:
Swastika defeated Chinese Taipei’s Liu Hsing-Yin thereby becoming the fourth Indian to qualify for the World Table Tennis Championship.
Swastika joins Sreeja Akula, Manika Batra and Sharath Kamal, who qualified for the World by finishing among the top-16 from the continent.

Notes:
Sri Lanka announced plans to reduce the current strength of its military to half by 2030 to build a technically and tactically sound defence force.
The country has been facing criticism that military expenditure was more than the allocation for health care and education in the 2023 budget. Due to forex shortage, Sri Lanka was unable to afford key imports, including fuel, fertilisers and medicines.

Notes:
India’s Men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty recently stormed into the semifinals of the Malaysia Open Men’s doubles Badminton event.
However, they lost in the semifinals to Chinese pair of LIANG Wei Keng and Wang Chang. Indian ace shuttler H.S Prannoy bowed out of the men’s singles after losing in the quarterfinal while PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal crashed out of the Malaysia Open in the first round.

Notes:
The Armed Forces Veterans’ Day is celebrated on 14th January every year. As on this day in 1953, the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of Indian Army Field Marshal KM Cariappa, who led the Indian forces to victory in the 1947 war, retired from the Service.
The seventh Armed Forces Veterans’ Day was celebrated across the country, as a mark of respect to the selfless duty of the ex-servicemen and their sacrifices towards the Nation. The Raksha Mantri also launched the ‘Soul of Steel’ Alpine Challenge, an initiative to promote tourism in border areas.

Notes:
The Chhattisgarh government has begun with road construction work in Pudaang village. The road will connect it with rest of the state for the first time since India’s Independence.
The Pudang village is surrounded by forests and valleys. Its remote location has been a challenging task for road construction. Residents of the village travelled to Chhattisgarh through Jharkhand border.

Notes:
The Ministry of Minority Affairs (MOMA) has discontinued the Padho Pardesh scheme. Under the scheme, students who belong to minority communities including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis are eligible to obtain interest subsidies on their loans for pursuing higher studies abroad.
The Indian Banks’ Association notified banks about the discontinuation of the scheme from 2022-23.

Notes:
Indian Opener Shubhman Gill recently hit his first double Century from 149 balls against New Zealand in the first of three ODIs.
India opener smashed a brilliant 208 with a strike rate of 139.59, with 19 boundaries and nine sixes. The 23-year-old also became the youngest batter to score a double century. Gill joined an elite list comprising Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Fakhar Zaman, Virender Sehwag, Chris Gayle, and Martin Guptill.