Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2023

Notes:
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and his French counterpart Emmanuel Bonne held discussions on defence and security cooperation.
In addition to being the diplomatic advisor to the French president, Emmanuel Bonne is also France’s G7-G20 sherpa.

Notes:
The United Kingdom announced that a record 87.6% of power generated into the grid came from zero-carbon sources like wind, nuclear and hydropower.
This was announced by National Grid Plc’s Electricity System Operator. 67% of Britain’s power came from wind, with 19% from nuclear and 9.5% from gas-fired power stations. A wind generation record was also set with almost 21 gigawatts of output.

Notes:
Space Kidz India, a Chennai-based space tech start-up is set to launch their satellite made by 750 girls from government schools aboard an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launch vehicle.
A targeted launch date of January 16 has been set for the satellite named AzaadiSAT. Space Kidz India selected 10 girl students from 75 government schools across the country for this mission. The project is also supported by Niti Aayog.

Notes:
One 97 Communications is the parent entity of the leading Indian mobile payments and financial services company Paytm , headquartered in Noida.
Paytm Payments Bank appointed Surinder Chawla as Managing Director and CEO, after banking regulator RBI’s approval. However, the RBI continues to bar Paytm Payments Bank from on-boarding new customers.

Notes:
Ace Tennis player Novak Djokovic defeated America’s Sebastian Korda in the final to win the Adelaide International men’s singles title.
The 21-time Grand Slam winner also equalled Rafael Nadal’s tally of 92 ATP singles titles in the Open Era. They are only behind Jimmy Connors (109), Roger Federer (103) and Ivan Lendl (94). Djokovic also won his 34th match in a row on Australian soil since 2019.

Notes:
Union Home Minister Amit Shah unveiled a 120-feet-tall statue of a polo player riding a pony at Marjing Polo Complex in Imphal, Manipur
Manipur is considered the birthplace of the game and it reached the British before 1850.  In November last year, the first Chief Minister’s Sagol Kangjei Championship was held during the Sangai festival to promote the indigenous game. The ponies in Manipur are becoming vulnerable due to lack of grazing grounds.

Notes:
Aadi Shaurya – Parv Parakram Ka, a Military Tattoo and Tribal Dance Festival will be held at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in New Delhi.
As per the Defence Ministry, the two-day festival will showcase the competence of the Armed Forces and the beauty of India’s tribal culture. The Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs are jointly organising the event.

Notes:
Christmas is celebrated on December 25, according to the Gregorian calendar, in most of the Western world.
Orthodox Christians follow the Julian calendar and mark the festival on January 7. Russian President Vladmir Putin called for a temporary 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to allow Orthodox followers to attend Christmas services. Orthodox Christians are estimated to be between 200 and 300 million people globally.

Notes:
Kumarakom in Kottayam and Beypore in Kozhikode from Kerala have been selected for development under the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 Scheme.
The two places are among 34 other destinations from 19 states and Union Territories selected under the scheme of the Ministry of Tourism. Kerala has many places declared under eco circuit, spiritual circuit, rural circuit, as part of the Swadesh Darshan scheme 1.0.

Notes:
India has deployed a women-only platoon of peacekeepers to the UN Mission in Abyei on the border of Sudan and South Sudan.
This is a part of the Indian Battalion in the United Nations Interim Security Force, Abyei (UNISFA). It is also the single largest deployment of women peacekeepers in recent years. India is among the largest troop-contributing countries to UN peacekeeping.