Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2024

Notes:
India is developing an advanced Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system called ‘Virupaaksha’ to upgrade its fleet of Su-30MKI fighter jets. Being manufactured indigenously it would be the most capable radar equipping any Sukhoi variant globally. This airborne radar uses electronic instead of mechanical scanning allowing versatile detection and tracking exceeding capabilities of current radars on IAF’s MKI jets.

Notes:
Students can enroll in APAAR, the Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry, through the Digilocker portal. During the registration process, students are required to provide basic details such as their name, age, date of birth, gender, and a photograph. This online enrollment process facilitates ease of access and simplifies the procedure for students across India, allowing them to seamlessly monitor their academic journey and take advantage of the various benefits offered by the APAAR system. The integration of APAAR with the Academic Bank Credit (ABC) account further enhances the digital management of academic credits, reducing reliance on physical documents and improving academic tracking.

Notes:
Megha Engineering & Infrastructures contributed ₹87 crore, the highest among corporates, to electoral trusts in political funding during 2022-23 followed by Serum Institute of India at ₹50.25 crore as per the ADR report. Top 10 donors comprised 90.66% of total corporate contributions received by such trusts.

Notes:
ArcelorMittal has partnered with IIT-Madras to construct Asia’s first testing facility for Hyperloop pods and systems which enable magnetic levitation of pods through vacuum tubes for high-speed transportation of goods and people.

Notes:
FMR refers to the Free Movement Regime operational on India’s border with Myanmar. It allows tribal communities living along both sides of the boundary to travel up to 16 km across the border without visas. However, amidst rising illegal immigration and security challenges tied to cross-border crime, India plans to discontinue the FMR scheme and mandate visas for Myanmarese nationals’ entry. Concerns around FMR facilitating entry of non-tribals abusing its lax regulations prompted this reassessment of the agreement after 75 years.

Notes:
The draft rules for the Press and Registration of Periodicals (PRP) Act state that periodicals with a daily average circulation of over 25,000 in the preceding two financial years can be subjected to a faceless desk audit to verify their circulation figures. This is part of the legislation aimed at simplifying and digitising the registration of newspapers and other periodicals, including provisions for physical verification of circulation figures and the establishment of an appellate board for registration issues.

Notes:
The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the designation of several countries as “Countries of Particular Concern” for engaging in and tolerating particularly severe violations of religious freedom. This list includes Burma, China, Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. This action reflects the US’s commitment to advancing the freedom of religion or belief, a core objective of its foreign policy since the enactment of the International Religious Freedom Act in 1998. The designation is aimed at highlighting and addressing significant violations of religious freedom in these countries, which include various forms of abuses against members of religious minority communities, attacks on places of worship, communal violence, and other forms of persecution and intolerance.

Notes:
On January 8th every year, Earth Rotation Day is celebrated, and this year, it holds the significance of falling on a Monday. This special day is dedicated to acknowledging the pivotal discovery of Earth’s rotation on its axis. The theme chosen to observe Earth Rotation Day in 2024 is ‘Honoring the Discovery of Our Planet’s Movement.’ This theme invites us to reflect on the historical journey of understanding Earth’s rotation and the impact this knowledge has had on our understanding of the universe.

Notes:
The “magic islands” observed on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, are primarily made of porous, frozen organic solids. These floating formations, likened to shapes of honeycomb or Swiss cheese, were first spotted in 2014 by the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft. Scientists, led by Xinting Yu from the University of Texas, conducted research to unravel this mystery. They concluded that these structures are clusters of complex organic snow, which accumulate and snow down onto Titan’s surface and its methane and ethane lakes. Due to the unique composition of Titan’s atmosphere, rich in methane and other organic molecules, this organic “snow” does not immediately dissolve upon contact with the liquid bodies on the moon’s surface. The phenomenon is akin to ice sheets breaking off from glaciers on Earth and floating on sea surfaces, a process known as calving. This discovery not only sheds light on the intriguing features of Titan but also enhances our understanding of the moon’s geophysical processes and the interactions between its atmosphere and surface.

Notes:
France’s President Emmanuel Macron made a significant move by appointing Gabriel Attal, 34, as the country’s new Prime Minister, making him the youngest person ever to hold this position. Attal’s appointment follows the resignation of Elisabeth Borne, the former Prime Minister, and a day earlier after a tumultuous term. Gabriel Attal previously held the education portfolio in Borne’s government and has been recognized as the most popular minister in the outgoing administration.