17th January 2023 Daily Current Affairs in English
1. Vidisha, the first district for deployment of innovative 5G use cases, is located in which state?
[A] Odisha
[B] Madhya Pradesh
[C] West Bengal
[D] Assam
Answer: [B] Madhya Pradesh
Vidisha, an aspirational district of Madhya Pradesh became the first ever district in India for on ground deployment of innovative 5G use cases offered by startups. It is a joint initiative by Vidisha District Administration and Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), Department of Telecommunications (DoT). DoT is pioneering the ‘5G use case promotional pilot’ for deploying 5G/4G/IoT innovative solutions of Startups & SMEs at Vidisha.
2. Which institution released the ’Rural Health Statistics report?
[A] NITI Aayog
[B] Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
[C] AIMS
[D] IMA
Answer: [B] Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
The Rural Health Statistics report was recently published by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare The Report shows that there is a shortfall of more than 80% of the required surgeons and paediatricians in the 6,064 Community Health Centres (CHCs) across the country. CHCs are 30-bed block-level health facilities which are supposed to provide basic care related to surgery, gynaecology, paediatrics and general medicine.
3. Which public sector bank partnered with ‘Garuda Aerospace’ under the Kisan Pushpak Scheme?
[A] Canara Bank
[B] State Bank of India
[C] Union Bank of India
[D] Punjab National Bank
Answer: [C] Union Bank of India
Chennai’s drone startup Garuda Aerospace has partnered with the Union Bank of India as 150 Garuda Agri Kisan drones received sanction for a loan under the Kisan Pushpak Scheme. The drone loan will help farmers to digitize land record operations for crop production, and spraying of fertilisers, chemicals and pesticides. The Agri Infrastructure Fund Scheme finances 150 drone applications that will benefit the farmer community and create 150 skilled pilots who will engage to become entrepreneurs.
4. Which state/UT suggested the Centre to grant “migrated minority” status?
[A] Punjab
[B] Delhi
[C] Jammu and Kashmir
[D] Assam
Answer: [B] Delhi
The Delhi government has suggested that the Centre can grant “migrated minority” status to Hindus who moved to the national capital from places like Jammu & Kashmir or Ladakh where they are a religious minority. This is a part of a compilation of views collected by the Centre from 24 States on whether religious and linguistic minority communities should be identified and notified by the Union or the respective States. The Centre submitted the affidavit in the Supreme Court.
5. ‘Pineapple Express’ phenomenon, which was seen in the news, is related to which field?
[A] Agriculture
[B] Transport
[C] Meteorology
[D] Tourism
Answer: [C] Meteorology
California and other parts of the West Coast have been hit with a series of atmospheric rivers, which are long, narrow regions in the atmosphere that transport most of the water vapour outside the tropics. The atmospheric rivers are called ‘Pineapple Express’ when the tail end, where the moisture is pulled into the atmosphere, starts near Hawaii stretching towards the U.S. West Coast. It is a common atmospheric phenomenon that resembles a conveyor belt for moisture.
6. Which country’s air transport faced delays due to glitches in NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) system?
[A] Russia
[B] Ukraine
[C] USA
[D] Malaysia
Answer: [C] USA
Thousands of flights, within, into or out of the United States were delayed or cancelled due to a technical glitch. The US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) system, which alerts pilots and other flight personnel about hazards or changes to airport facility services, was not processing updated information.
7. Which institution has collaborated with IISc to develop models to speed up screening of antimicrobials?
[A] Unilever
[B] Meta
[C] Biocon
[D] Tata Consumer Products
Answer: [A] Unilever
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Unilever have collaborated to develop computational models to speed up screening of antimicrobials? The models of bacterial cell walls can speed up the screening of antimicrobials. Antimicrobials are molecules which can kill disease-causing bacteria. According to IISc, each bacterial cell is enveloped by a cell membrane, which is in turn surrounded by a cell wall.
8. Which Ministry organized the ‘Sur Sarita – Symphony of Ganga’ program?
[A] Ministry of Tourism
[B] Ministry of Culture
[C] Ministry of External Affairs
[D] Ministry of Jal Shakti
Answer: [B] Ministry of Culture
The world’s longest river cruise MV Ganga Vilas was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi. Ministry of Culture organized a grand curtain raiser cultural program ‘Sur Sarita – Symphony of Ganga’ on the eve of the launch of the world’s longest river cruise in Varanasi. The concert was organized at the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor.
9. Which country hosted the ‘Voice of Global South Summit’?
[A] Sri Lanka
[B] India
[C] Bangladesh
[D] Singapore
Answer: [B] India
India is hosting the ‘Voice of Global South Summit’. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addressed the Foreign Ministers’ Session at the Voice of Global South Summit. He said that the case for a Global South-sensitive model of globalization is becoming stronger and India stands for a shift from self-centered globalization to one that is human-centered.
10. What is the name of the indigenously built vessel to be used for India’s manned ocean mission?
[A] Varunayaan
[B] Samudrayaan
[C] Meghayaan
[D] Prithviyaan
Answer: [B] Samudrayaan
India is set to send three explorers to a depth of 500 meters under the sea in an indigenously built vessel, Samudrayaan, this year. Engineers at the National Institute of Ocean Technology in Chennai have designed the steel sphere that will house the aquanauts in the mission.
11. What is the name of the harvest festival celebrated before Makar Sankranti?
[A] Lohri
[B] Majuli
[C] Wangala
[D] Chhath Puja
Answer: [A] Lohri
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.
12. Swastika Ghosh, who was seen in the news, plays which sports?
[A] Squash
[B] Tennis
[C] Table Tennis
[D] Badminton
Answer: [C] Table Tennis
Swastika defeated Chinese Taipei’s Liu Hsing-Yin thereby becoming the fourth Indian to quality for the World Table Tennis Championship. Swastika joins Sreeja Akula, Manika Batra and Sharath Kamal, who qualified for the World by finishing among the top-16 from the continent.
13. Which country is set to send rescue capsule to rescue three crew of the International Space Station?
[A] USA
[B] Russia
[C] China
[D] Israel
Answer: [B] Russia
Russia announced that it would send rescue capsule to rescue three crew of the International Space Station, after a meteorite damaged the spacecraft. The docked Soyuz MS-22 had a major leak last month, spraying radiator coolant into space and prompting a pair of cosmonauts to abort a planned spacewalk. Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos said the strike caused no immediate threat to the crew of the space station.
14. What is LHS 475b, which was recently discovered by the astronomers?
[A] Star
[B] Exo-planet
[C] Comet
[D] Asteroid
Answer: [B] Exo-planet
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have validated the discovery of an exo-planet interior to the habitable zone of the dwarf star LHS 475. Named LHS 475b, this planet is almost 99.1% the size of Earth, and has an orbital period of 2.03 days. LHS 475 hosts at least one planet, which was previously classified as a planet candidate by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission.
15. Which country announced to increase retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030?
[A] Canada
[B] Japan
[C] France
[D] Sri Lanka
Answer: [C] France
The French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has announced that it would increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030. The government defended the reform as a way to fiscally balance the country’s pension system. Full French pension age will be raised by three months every year, starting from 2023.
16. Which country assured to cooperate with small and medium enterprises in the state of Kerala?
[A] UAE
[B] Australia
[C] Israel
[D] France
Answer: [B] Australia
After the signing of the landmark bilateral trade pact India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IAECTA), Kerala’s food sector will open up more opportunities in Australia. The Australian delegation assured to further cooperate with small and medium enterprises in the State. The agreement will be beneficial for the sectors such as gems and jewellery, textiles, leather, footwear, furniture, agricultural products, engineering products, pharmaceuticals and automobiles.
17. Which country is the host of the annual climate change conference (COP 28) in 2023?
[A] USA
[B] UAE
[C] India
[D] Bangladesh
Answer: [B] UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will host this year’s annual climate change conference (COP 28 in November 2023). The country has named Sultan Al Jaber, Minister for Industry and Advanced Technology, as the president of the conference. The decision has invited criticism from climate activists because Al Jaber is also the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, the world’s 12th largest oil company by production.
18. Which organization forecasted the global growth in 2023 to be 2.7%?
[A] World Bank
[B] IMF
[C] WEF
[D] ADB
Answer: [B] IMF
International Monetary Fund (IMF) did not downgrade its forecast for 2.7% growth in 2023. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said 2023 would be another ‘touch year’ for the global economy. The head of the global lander noted that feared oil price spike had failed to materialize and labour markets remained strong. She also said that she did not expect another year of successive downgrades like those seen last year.
19. Which state adopted a resolution urging the Centre to implement the Sethusamudram project?
[A] Kerala
[B] Tamil Nadu
[C] Karnataka
[D] Odisha
Answer: [B] Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution, urging the Centre to immediately implement the Sethusamudram project. Sethusamudram project was originally conceived in 1890 by Commander Taylor and in 2004, Rs 2,427 crore was allotted by the UPA government. The project aims to Jink Palk Bay and the Gulf of Manner between India and Sri Lanka by creating a shipping canal. It started in July 2005 but was stalled after protests by environmentalists and Hindu activists against demolition of Ram Setu.
20. What species is ‘Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana)’ which was recently seen in the news?
[A] Flower
[B] Fruit
[C] Insect
[D] Bird
Answer: [A] Flower
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.