Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2023

Notes:
A team made up of international scientists have recently discovered 20 new frog species in Madagascar.
The team placed the frogs within the genus Mantidactylus and subgenus Brygoomantis. Before now, the group had just 14 members, but now has received 20 new members, and as per the researchers a lot of them sound like a creaking door or a gurgling stomach.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to flag off the world’s longest river cruise ‘MV Ganga Vilas’ from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
The luxury cruise will cover a distance of more than 3,200 kilometers across 27 river systems in five States in India and Bangladesh. The MV Ganga Vilas vessel has three decks, 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists, with pollution-free mechanisms and noise control technologies.

Notes:
At present, the government and state-owned Life Insurance Corporation hold a little over 94 per cent in IDBI Bank and are classified as its co-promoters. The central government is looking to sell nearly 61 per cent stake in IDBI Bank.
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) accepted the central government’s request to reclassify its shareholding in the Bank after its disinvestment as ‘public holding’.

Notes:
Odisha Government recently inaugurated the ‘Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium’ in Rourkela. The state government claims that it is the world’s largest facility in terms of seating capacity and certified by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
The Rourkela facility will host the Men’s World Cup Hockey, organised by the FIH, along with Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar from January 13 to 29, 2023.

Notes:
The Uttar Pradesh government has launched a statewide 100-day ‘UP Global City’ campaign, ahead of the upcoming Global Investors Summit and G20 summit.
The campaign will focus on urban facilities, improving air quality, better cleanliness, and proper disposal of garbage among others.

Notes:
India has handed 75 passenger buses to Sri Lanka, as part of its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy. This is a part of its assistance towards strengthening public transport infrastructure in the cash-strapped country.
Sri Lankan government in May last year declared a debt default on over $51 billion in the foreign loan – a first in the country’s history.

Notes:
Indian squash prodigy Anahat Singh recently clinched the girls’ Under-15 squash title at the British Junior Open tournament in Birmingham.
The 14-year-old defeated Sohaila Hazem of Egypt, 3-1 in the final. The British Junior Open is held in January every year in the UK where players from all over the world compete to win the title

Notes:
As per the list of the top-performing global airports of 2022 released by Cirium Aviation Analytics, Haneda Airport of Tokyo, Japan is placed in the first place.
Bangalore’s Kempegowda International Airport won the 2nd rank, whereas Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport acquired the 7th rank.

Notes:
Bangladesh has registered a sharp decline of over 75 percent in the under-5 child mortality rate since 1990, as per the recent report released by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on behalf of the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME).
In 1990, the under-5 child mortality rate was 146 per thousand live births which declined to 86 in 2000 and 27 in 2021.

Notes:
Japan continues to top the list of the world’s most powerful passport for the year 2023, according to the Henley Passport Index report 2023.
Japanese citizens can travel to as many as 193 countries visa-free or visa-on-arrival access destinations around the world. The second spot is shared by Singapore and South Korea. Indian passport ranks 85th in the world’s most powerful passport index 2023 and gives visa-free entry to 59 destinations.