Test: January 2021 Weekly Current Affair - 2 - UPSC MCQ

Tamil writer A Madhavan passed away due to age-related illness. He was 87.

Justice Hima Kohli assumed charge as the Chief Justice of Telangana High Court. This is for the first time a woman Chief Justice heading the High Court of Telangana, also in its entire history since it was part of Andhra Pradesh.

Senior Journalist, noted orator and Padma Shri recipient Turlapati Kutumba Rao passed away at a private hospital. He was 87.

Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh Finance Corporation partnership with Universal Sompo shall add value to customers by means of comprehensive insurance covers at competitive prices.

Rapidly digitalising India was ranked highly (4th) among “Break Out Economies” in the third edition of the Digital Evolution Scorecard developed by Tufts University’s Fletcher School in partnership with Mastercard.
China leads the countries in the “Break Out Economies” group.
South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong emerged as the leading “Stand Out Economies”.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) lauded India for clocking 7.4% economic growth in the past five years and for steps taken in liberalising foreign direct investment policy and improving ease of doing business.

India took a tacit swipe at Pakistan for backing cross-border terrorism as it announced it would be chairing three key UN sanctions committees, includes Taliban Sanctions Committee, Counterterrorism Committee and the Libyan Sanctions Committee during 2021-22.

The book, titled “Modi India Calling – 2021″was released by Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta at the Press Club of India on the eve of the 16th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD). A coffee table book filled with over hundreds of photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from his “107 overseas and bilateral visits.
The 450-page book has been published by Maneesh Media.

In Assam, the Magh or Bhogali Bihu is celebrated across the state with traditional fervor and gaiety.

Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra will come out with a book titled “Unscripted: Conversations on Life and Cinema”. The book is scheduled to be released on January 25.

Domestic rating agency Icra Ratings said it expects the country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 10.1 per cent in FY2022. The agency expects the headline CPI inflation to decline to 4.6 per cent in FY2022 from 6.4 per cent in FY2021, while exceeding the mid-point of the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC’s) medium target of 4 per cent, for the third consecutive year.

Ramgarh in Jharkhand has topped the list of aspirational districts ranked by the government think tank Niti Aayog in November 2020. Yadgir (Karnataka), Gadchiroli (Maharashtra) have been placed at the second and third positions, respectively.

The Government of France organised the fourth ‘One Planet Summit’ through videoconferencing, which aimed at protecting the world’s biodiversity.
The theme of the Summit was “Let’s act together for nature!”.

Former chief election commissioner (CEC) S Y Quraishi has come out with his book titled “The Population Myth: Islam, Family Planning and Politics in India”.

Union Minister for Ocean Technology Dr Harsh Vardhan dedicated Sagar Anveshika a coastal research vessel to the Nation at the Chennai Port Trust.
SAGAR ANVESHIKA, a very complex platform which will enable scientists to conduct various oceanographic research missions aboard, will house state of the art laboratories equipped with modern scientific instruments.

The book titled “Gazing Eastwards: Of Buddhist Monks and Revolutionaries in China” by renowned Indian historian Romila Thapar is set to be released soon.

In Telangana, people are celebrating Kanuma, the festival of cattle, on the third day of Sankranti festival.

Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Dushyant Dave resigned from his post with immediate effect saying he has forfeited his right to continue.

Henley and Partners Passport Index of 2021 has revealed the list of the world’s most powerful passports and India has been ranked 85th on it. India shares the no. 85 rank with Tajikistan.
Japan tops the list of being the most powerful passport in the world for the year 2021.

Former Indian all-rounder and current head coach Ravi Shastri launched a new book by the Bradman Museum called ‘India’s 71-Year Test: The Journey to Triumph in Australia’, authored by cricket journalist R Kaushik.

Bengaluru has emerged as the world’s fastest-growing mature tech ecosystem in the world since 2016, followed by the European cities of London, Munich, Berlin and Paris, with India’s financial centre of Mumbai in sixth place, according to new research released in London.

The country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to expand by 11 per cent in the next financial year from the estimated contraction of 7 per cent to 7.5 per cent in FY21, due to a faster economic recovery and on a low base, says a report by domestic rating agency Brickwork Ratings.

Central Bank of India and NABFOUNDATION a subsidiary of NABARD, have signed an MOU for providing working capital finance to woman SHGs for making sanitary pads under the MY PAD MY RIGHT project.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the ‘Fire Park’, a first of its kind initiative in the country, to bring awareness on fire safety measures. He also launched a dynamic online portal, ‘AgnishamaSeva’ of Odisha Fire Service on virtual platform.

The Indian government signed a loan agreement of Rs 2,113 crore with Japan for funding India’s efforts to provide social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.