Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2023

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:
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:
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:
Uttarakhand authorities declared ‘Joshimath’ as a landslide and subsidence-hit zone, after cracks appeared in many roads and hundreds of houses.
The exact reason behind Joshimath land subsidence is still unknown but unplanned construction, over-population, obstruction of the natural flow of water, and hydel power activities are cited as possible causes.

Notes:
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin launched ‘Global Tamil Angels platform’ of Start-upTN, an investment platform for Tamil diaspora.
The platform lets investors from the global Tamil diaspora to make investments in the State’s start-ups. It was launched at the “Global Startup Investors Summit,” jointly organised by the Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission and FeTNA International Tamil Entrepreneur Network. A multi-crore American Tamil Fund (ATF) by investors from the Tamil Diaspora in the US was also announced.

Notes:
India and the United Kingdom marked the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas by exchanging letters to formalise the Young Professionals Scheme.
The scheme allows up to 3,000 graduates in age bracket of 18-30 to get a two-year visa to study in each other’s countries. It aims to pave a way for the youth to understand the culture of one another. The launch of the ‘Young Professionals’ scheme was announced in November 2022 at G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.

Notes:
The Central government has extended the tenure of Dr Michael Debabrata Patra as Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India for one more year.
Michael Debabrata Patra took over as Deputy Governor of the RBI in January 2020. He was an Executive Director of India’s central bank before being elevated to the post of Deputy Governor.

Notes:
The Khelo India Senior Women National Kho Kho league is set to take place at Chandigarh University, Punjab.
The league is being organized by the Kho Kho Federation of India and will be held over three phases with financial support from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The Kho Kho women’s league for junior and sub-junior age groups is scheduled in Hotwar, Ranchi.

Notes:
The 192nd birth anniversary of the pioneering social reformer Fatima Sheikh was observed recently. Fatima Sheikh was a teacher, anti-caste activist, proponent of girls’ education, and social reformer in 19th century Maharashtra.
Along with Savitribai and Jyotirao Phule, she started the first girls’ school in the country. Last year, Fatima Sheikh was honoured with a Google Doodle on her birth anniversary.