8th & 9th January 2023 Daily Current Affairs in English
1. Which start-up built the ‘AzaadiSAT’ satellite, which is made by 750 school girls?
[A] Dhruv Aerospace
[B] Pixxel
[C] Space Kidz India
[D] Astra
Answer : [C] Space Kidz India
Space Kidz India, a Chennai-based space tech start-up is set to launch their satellite made by 750 girls from government schools aboard an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launch vehicle. A targeted launch date of January 16 has been set for the satellite named AzaadiSAT. Space Kidz India selected 10 girl students from 75 government schools across the country for this mission. The project is also supported by Niti Aayog.
2. Which state houses the world’s first Palm-leaf Manuscript Museum?
[A] Karnataka
[B] Kerala
[C] Tamil Nadu
[D] Odisha
Answer : [B] Kerala
The world’s first Palm-leaf Manuscript Museum has been inaugurated in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala. It is a repository of administrative, socio-cultural and economic facets of Travancore spanning a period of 650 years till the end of the 19th century. The museum also serves as a reference point for historical and cultural research for academic and non-academic scholars.
3. Which city is the host of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention 2023?
[A] Varanasi
[B] Indore
[C] Pune
[D] Chennai
Answer : [B] Indore
Narendra Modi will hold bilateral talks with the Presidents of Guyana and Suriname on the sidelines of the two-day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention in Indore. Guyana President Irfaan Ali and Surinam President Chandrikapersad Santokhi will be the chief guest and special guest of honour at this year’s conclave.
4. Which Union Ministry is organizing the ‘Startup India Innovation Week’?
[A] Ministry of MSME
[B] Ministry of Commerce and Industry
[C] Ministry of Home Affairs
[D] Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
Answer : [B] Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is organizing ‘Startup India Innovation Week 2023’ from January 10-16. It aims to celebrate the Indian startup ecosystem. On the National Startup Day on January 16, DPIIT will felicitate the winners of National Startup Awards.
5. The Aspirational Block Programme (ABP), which was launched recently, covers how many districts initially?
[A] 100
[B] 200
[C] 500
[D] 1000
Answer : [C] 500
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the government’s Aspirational Block Programme (ABP), to improve performance of blocks lagging on development parameters. The Aspirational Blocks Programme is on the lines of the Aspirational District Programme that was launched in 2018, covering 112 districts across the country. The new programme will cover 500 districts across 31 state and Union Territories initially.
6. Which state is set to inaugurate the world’s longest river cruise?
[A] Bihar
[B] Assam
[C] Uttar Pradesh
[D] Uttarakhand
Answer : [C] Uttar Pradesh
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to flag off the world’s longest river cruise ‘MV Ganga Vilas’ from Varanasi is Uttar Pradesh. The luxury cruise will cover a distance of more than 3,200 kilometers across 27 river system in five States in India and Bangladesh. 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists, with pollution-free mechanisms and noise control technologies.
7. Which institution has authorized six fintech entities to test their products under regulatory sandbox scheme?
[A] NITI Aayog
[B] RBI
[C] SEBI
[D] NSE
Answer : [B] RBI
Six entities have been allowed to test their fintech products to prevent and mitigate financial fraud as part of the fourth cohort under the RBI’s regulatory sandbox scheme. The Reserve Bank announced the fourth cohort under the regulatory sandbox in June 2022 for the prevention and mitigation of financial fraud. The six entities are – Bahwan Cybertek, Crediwatch Information Analytics, enStage Software (Wibmo), HSBC in collaboration with Wibmo, napID Cybersec and Trusting Social.
8. Which state-owned institution is one of the co-promoters of IDBI Bank?
[A] RBI
[B] SBI
[C] LIC
[D] Canara Bank
Answer : [C] LIC
At present, the government and state-owned Life Insurance Corporation hold a little over 94 percent in IDBI Bank and are classified as its co-promoters. The central government is looking to sell nearly 61 percent stake in IDBI Bank. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) accepted the central government’s request to reclassify its shareholding in the Bank after its disinvestment as ‘public holding’.
9. Which Union Ministry conducts ‘Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Mela (PMNAM)’?
[A] Ministry of MSME
[B] Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
[C] Ministry of Commerce and Industry
[D] Ministry of Electronics and IT
Answer : [B] Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship conducts the ‘Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Mela (PMNAM)’. PMNAM will be conducted across 242 districts across states and union territories this year. The event will see participation of several local business that will provide local youth the opportunity of apprenticeship training.
10. Which insurance company launched an ‘Organ donation initiative’ and relay marathon called Zindagi Express?
[A] Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance
[B] Aditya Birla Sun life Insurance
[C] Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance
[D] Max Life Insurance
Answer : [A] Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance
Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance commenced a three week long organ donation initiative. As part of the initiative, a relay marathon called Zindagi Express is organized to tour nearly 5,500 km across the country to raise awareness about organ donation. For the fourth year in a row, it joined hands with Mohan Foundation, an NGO working in the organ donation landscape.
11. Which city is the host of the ‘Auto Expo 2023-Components show’?
[A] Mumbai
[B] Ahmedabad
[C] New Delhi
[D] Bengaluru
Answer : [C] New Delhi
The 16th edition of Auto Expo 2023- Components Show is scheduled from January 12 to 15, in New Delhi and over 800 companies from 15 countries will participate in the Auto Expo. India’s Component industry witnessed a growth of nearly 35% to Rs 2.65 lakh crore in first-half of the year, due to domestic demand from the passenger vehicles segment. It is jointly organized by Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), Confederation of Indian industry (CII) and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
12. Cratonavis zhui’s fossils with dinosaur-like skull and a bird-like body, have been unearthed in which country?
[A] India
[B] China
[C] Greece
[D] Turkey
Answer : [B] China
Cratonavis Zhui’s fossils were recently discovered in China, which exhibit a dinosaur-like skull and a bird-like body. The discovery opens up questions about the evolution of dinosaurs into birds as it breaks the theory that birds evolved from dinosaurs.
13. Which country organized the 10th edition of Dhaka Lit Fest (DLF)?
[A] India
[B] Bangladesh
[C] Nepal
[D] Thailand
Answer : [B] Bangladesh
The 10th edition of the Dhaka Lit Fest (DLF) has recently kicked off in Bangladesh. The DLF is one of the largest literary festivals of Bangladesh. The DLF is being organized after a gap of three years due to the pandemic. Over 500 literary personalities including Nobel Prize Winner for Literature Abdur Razzak Gurna, film makers, artists and people from the filed of science are participating in the event.
14. Afghanistan signed agreement with which country’s company to extract oil from Amu Darya basin?
[A] India
[B] Pakistan
[C] China
[D] Russia
Answer : [C] China
The ruling Taliban has signed a deal with a Chinese company to extract oil from northern Afghanistan’s Amu Darya basin. The agreement is the first major international energy extraction deal the Taliban signed since taking control of Afghanistan in 2021.
15. Which company became the Mobile communications Network Partner of Manchester City in India?
[A] Bharti Airtel
[B] Jio Platforms
[C] BSNL
[D] Vi
Answer : [B] Jio Platforms
Manchester City has announced a new regional partnership with Jio Platforms. With this, the country’s leading digital services brand becomes the Club’s Official Mobile Communications Network Partner in India. The partnership was supported by RISE Worldwide, a Reliance initiative. As part of the new agreement, Man City’s OTT platform CITY+ will be integrated into the Jio TV Platform providing fans in India further access to exclusive club content.
16. Divya Deshmukh, who became the National women’s champion, plays which sports?
[A] Squash
[B] Tennis
[C] Table-Tennis
[D] Chess
Answer : [D] Chess
Divya Deshmukh holds the record of being the youngest to retain the National women’s chess champion title. Before ten months Divya Deshmukh became the youngest National women’s chess champion. The 17-year-old player defeated the 2016 Asian champion Bhakti Kulkarni with 9.5 points. Mary Ann Gomes (9) finished second while the top seed Vantika Agarwal (8.5) ended up third.
17. Which footballer has been named as the ‘World’s Best Player’ for 2022 by IFFHS?
[A] Kylian Mbappe
[B] Neymar
[C] Lionel Messi
[D] Cristiano Ronaldo
Answer : [C] Lionel Messi
PSG superstar Lionel Messi has been crowned the ‘World’s Best Player’ for 2022 by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS). In 51 official games for club and country. Messi was also named the winner of the IFFHS World’s Best International Goal Scorer 2022 Award. Argentina’s coach Lionel Scaloni was voted as the best coach.
18. Cape Verde, the first to name a stadium after Pele, is located in which region?
[A] Europe
[B] South America
[C] Africa
[D] South Asia
Answer : [C] Africa
Cape Verde, a country in West Africa, was a colony of Portuguese. It became the first country to name a stadium after football Legend Pele. Cape Verde Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva confirmed their Estadio Nacional de Cabo Verde would be renamed after Pele. After Pele’s death in December, FIFA chief Gianni Infantino proposed that each nation should name one stadium after Pele.
19. ISRO has partnered with which company to promote space-tech startups in India?
[A] Tesla
[B] Microsoft
[C] Google
[D] Apple
Answer : [B] Microsoft
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote the growth of space-tech startups in India. The MoU Seeks to empower space tech startups across the country with technology tools and platforms, market support and mentorship. The space-tech startups identified by ISRO will be onboarded onto the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub platform.
20. ‘Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium’ is located in which state?
[A] Gujarat
[B] Odisha
[C] Jharkhand
[D] Bihar
Answer : [B] Odisha
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, organized by the FIH, along with Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar from January 13 to 29, 2023.