Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2023

Notes:
Suryakumar Yadav has become the fastest player to reach 1,500 runs in T20 International cricket in terms of balls faced.
He took only 843 balls to reach this landmark. The fastest batters to reach this milestone are Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Australian veteran Aaron Finch and Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, who all took 39 innings to score 1,500 runs in T20 International cricket.  Pakistan’s Mohammed Rizwan reached the milestone in 42 innings and he is now followed by Suryakumar.

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 National Human Trafficking Awareness Day is observed every year in the United States on January 11, to raise awareness about human trafficking.
In 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act addressed modern-day slavery and was the first federal law to do so. In 2010, President Barack Obama dedicated the entire month of January to awareness and prevention of human trafficking.

Notes:
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recently released a survey on dietary supplements.
The regulator tested 145,000 protein powder samples and found 4,890 to be unsafe and 16,582 to be substandard. The Consumer Protection Act 2019 bans misleading advertisements about a product or service falsely describing a product and deliberately concealing information on sugar content while focusing on immunity boost.

Notes:
Uganda declared an end to an Ebola virus outbreak that emerged almost four months ago and claimed lives of 55 people.
The disease was first detected in September in the district of Mubende. The outbreak was caused by the Sudan Ebola virus, one among six species of the Ebola virus. There is currently no confirmed vaccine for the virus.

Notes:
As per Finance Ministry’s data, India’s net direct tax collections stood at ₹12.31 lakh crore as on January 10, at almost 87% of the target for 2022-23.
Between April 1, 2022 and January 10, 2023, the government’s gross direct tax collections stood at Rs 14.71 lakh crore. Out of that, Rs 7.2 lakh crore is corporate tax and Rs 7 lakh crore is personal income tax.

Notes:
Lohri is a popular North Indian festival, which marks the end of winter solstice and the beginning of longer days.
It is celebrated every year during the month of Paush, a day before Makar Sankranti. The festival is predominantly celebrated in Punjab, and other parts of the country such as Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir. Punjabi folk songs and dances are performed in honour of Dulha Bhatti, a folk hero who led a revolt against Mughal rule.

Notes:
Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) added Neelakurinji flower (Strobilanthes kunthiana) on the list of protected plants under Schedule III of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
The plant was endemic to a small stretch in the Western Ghats from the Mangaladevi hills to the Nilgiris hills.

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 “Varuna” bilateral naval exercise between India and France is being conducted on the Western Seaboard.
The exercise began in 1993 and was given its name in 2001.  This 21st edition of the exercise will include advanced air defence exercises and other maritime operations. The exercise has been regarded as a symbol of the strategic relationship between the countries.