Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2023

Notes:
India’s unemployment rate reached a 16-month high of 8.3 percent in December 2022 according to a report by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).
CMIE added that the increase was partly due to the increase in labour participation rate.  The urban unemployment rate increased to 10.09 percent in December while the rural unemployment rate was marginally lower at 7.44 percent. At 37.4 percent, Haryana reported the highest unemployment rate among states, followed by Rajasthan at 28.5 percent and Delhi at 20.8 percent.

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:
Saurashtra cricket captain Jaydev Unadkat became the first bowler to take a hat-trick in the first over of a Ranji Trophy match.
The bowler achieved the feat in Saurashtra’s Elite Group B match against Delhi at Rajkot, after picking up six wickets for 29 runs in his nine overs. Unadkat was recently part of India’s squad that toured Bangladesh.

Notes:
President Droupadi Murmu laid the foundation stone of state-owned energy firm SJVN’s 1,000 MW Bikaner Solar Power Project in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
This project is being implemented by SJVN Limited through its wholly owned subsidiary SJVN Green Energy Limited (SGEL). Bikaner is one of the highest solar yield areas of the country. The project is scheduled to be commissioned by March 2024. SJVN is a leading power CPSE under Ministry of Power.

Notes:
Supreme Court ruled that a citizen can seek enforcement of the fundamental rights to freedom of speech not just against the state.
With this the Supreme Court has extended the ground for seeking these rights against other private citizens. The court ruled that the right of free speech and expression guaranteed under the Article 19(1)(a) cannot be curbed by any additional grounds other than those already laid down in Article 19(2).

Notes:
Kilauea Volcano, located in the Hawaii state of the USA is considered as one of the most active volcanoes on the planet.
The summit of Kilauea is located inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The Kilauea volcano has started erupting after a brief pause. Its neighbour named the Mauna Loa, the largest volcano in the world, erupted for the first time in 38 years last month.

Notes:
British author Fay Weldon known for the famous book ‘The Life and Loves of a She-Devil’, passed away recently.
The author has written over 30 novels, seven non-fiction books, several short stories and various television and radio programmes.

Notes:
Bengaluru’s Chirag Ghropade, a 17-year-old racing driver has recently won his second race of the season.
In the Indian National Car Racing Championship, he surpassed Sai Sanjay and Mohammed Ryan.

Notes:
The first phase of the caste-based census kicked off in Bihar, in which the number of all households in the state will be counted.
The Bihar cabinet on June 2, 2022 decided to conduct the caste-based census in the state. The  decadal census conducted by the Union Government counts religious groups and Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).

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.