Daily Current Affairs MCQ - January 23, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

Narendra Luther, the man who unravelled Hyderabad secrets, died in Hyderabad, Telangana.

• Narendra Luther (1932 –2021) was a writer, civil servant, author and columnist.
• A 1955 batch IAS officer, Luther served in various positions before retiring as the undivided Andhra Pradesh's chief secretary in 1991.
• He worked on the history and culture of erstwhile Hyderabad state and its rulers since the city’s birth in 1591.
• He was President of the Society to Save Rocks, Hyderabad, India.
• A naturalist to the core, Luther was moved by Hyderabad’s unique rock formations that took millions of years to shape.
• He was instrumental in bringing some of the geological formations under urban development authority regulations in 1981 to conserve them for posterity.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attended the meeting of Shree Somnath Trust. The Trustees paid tributes to Late Keshubhai Patel, ex-Chairman of the Trust.

• The Trustees unanimously chose Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the next Chairman of the Trust, to guide it in the times to come.
• Past Chairpersons of the Trust include Jamsaheb Digvijaya Singh, Kanaiyalal Munshi, Former Prime Minister of India Morarji Desai, Jay Krishna Hari Vallabh, Dineshbhai Shah, Prasanvadan Mehta and Keshubhai Patel.
• The Somnath temple is also known as the Deo Patan.
• It is located in Prabhas Patan near Veraval in Saurashtra on the western coast of Gujarat.
• It is believed to be the first among the twelve jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva.
• Reconstructed several times in the past after repeated destruction by several invaders, the present temple was reconstructed in the Chaulukya style of Hindu temple architecture and completed in May 1951. The reconstruction was started under the orders of the Home Minister of India Vallabhbhai Patel.

Vice President of India launched a book of poems, “Not Many, But One” (Two Volumes), an English translation of Sree Narayana Guru's poems by Prof G.K. Sasidharan.

• Narayana Guru (1855 – 1928) was a philosopher, spiritual leader and social reformer in India.
• He was born into a family that belonged to the Ezhava caste.
• He led a reform movement against the injustice in Kerala's caste-ridden society to promote spiritual enlightenment and social equality.
• Shri Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (also known as SNDP Yogam) is an Indian spiritual organization formally founded by Dr. Padmanabhan Palpu in 1903 guidance of Shri Narayana Guru. The main aim of SNDP Yogam was to uplift the people of the Ezhava/Tiyyar communities spiritually.
• Vaikom Satyagraha (1924–25) was a social protest in erstwhile Travancore against untouchability and caste discrimination in Kerala's Hindu society. Sree Narayana Guru involved himself with the Vaikom Satyagraha and extended much co-operation.
• He published 45 works in Malayalam, Sanskrit and Tamil languages which include Atmopadesa Śatakam, a hundred-verse spiritual poem and Daiva Dasakam, a universal prayer in ten verses.
• He propagated the ideals of compassion and religious tolerance. His writings in "Anukampa Dasakam" extol various religious figures such as Krishna, The Buddha, Adi Shankara, Jesus Christ.

A day before his Kolkata visit for the launch of ‘Parakram Diwas’ celebrations to mark Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reminisced about Haripura in Gujarat, a significant venue in Netaji’s political journey.

• Haripura is a village located near Kadod town in the Surat district of Gujarat.
• Haripura is located on the banks of the Tapti River.
• During the Indian independence movement, it was the annual session of the Indian National Congress in 1938, referred to as the 'Haripura Session'.
• The Indian National Congress met at Haripura during 19 to 22 February 1938, under the presidency of Subhas Chandra Bose; he was elected President of the Haripura Congress Session in 1938.

DRDO successfully conducted a captive and release trial of indigenously developed Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) from Hawk-I of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) the Odisha coast.

• The smart weapon was successfully test fired from Indian Hawk-Mk132 of HAL. This was the 9th successful mission of SAAW conducted by DRDO till now.
• SAAW is indigenously designed and developed by DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat (RCI) Hyderabad.
• This is 125 Kg class smart weapon, capable of engaging ground enemy airfield assets such as radars, bunkers, taxi tracks, and runways etc. up to a range of 100 kms. The high precision guided bomb is light weight as compared to weapon system of the same class.
   

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and adjoining areas has begun the process of setting up a Decision Support System (DSS) having a web, GIS and multi-model based operational and planning decision support tool.

• This tool will help immensely in capturing the static and dynamic features of the emissions from various sources.
• The sources covered will include industries, transport, power plants, residential, DG sets, road dust, agricultural burning, refuse burning, construction dust, ammonia, volatile organic compounds, landfill etc.
• It will have an integrated framework to handle both primary and secondary pollutants using chemical transport model.
• The system will also be able to handle the source specific interventions with the framework to estimate benefits of interventions and will focus on presenting the best results in a comprehensive user friendly and simple format for different users.

A tripartite agreement was signed between Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL), Rajasthan State Mines & Minerals Limited (RSMML) and the Department of Mines & Geology (DMG), Govt. of Rajasthan for taking up feasibility studies of Solution Mining of Potash in the state of Rajasthan.

• Rajasthan has huge Potash and Halite resources spread across 50,000 sq. kms in the Nagaur – Ganganagar basin in the northwest.
• Bedded Salt formations are strategically useful for underground oil storage, repositories for hydrogen, ammonia and helium gas, storage of compresses gas and nuclear waste. Potash & Sodium Chloride from the Bedded Salt is extensively used in the Fertiliser Industry and the Chemical Industry.
• Paving the way for the 1st Solution Mining project in the country, this project will generate employment.
• Potash includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form.
• The name derives from pot ash, which refers to plant ashes or wood ash soaked in water in a pot, which was the primary means of manufacturing the product before the Industrial Era.
• Potash is produced worldwide mostly for use in fertilizer.

The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs launched “ShramShakti”, a National Migration Support Portal at a programme held at Panjim, Goa.

• It would effectively help in the smooth formulation of state and national level programs for migrant workers.
• The tribal migration repository, ShramShakti would successfully address the data gap and empower migrant workers who generally migrate in search of employment and income generation.
• The various data that will be recorded via Shram Shakti include demographic profile, livelihood options, skill mapping and migration pattern.
• He also launched a tribal migration cell, a tribal museum at Goa and “ShramSaathi”, a training manual for migrant workers.
• With this, Goa is going to be first destination state of India to set up dedicated migration cell to address diverse issues of migrant workers.

The Government has given approval to drug firms including Aurobindo Pharma and Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals under the PLI scheme for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical bulk drugs.

• The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme aims at promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical key starting materials (KSMs)/drug intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in the country.
• This will be achieved by setting up greenfield plants with minimum domestic value addition in four different target segments with a total outlay of Rs 6,940 crore for the period 2020-21 to 2029-30.
• The scheme was launched by Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
• The Target Segment-I includes 4 eligible products, viz., Penicillin G; 7-ACA; Erythromycin Thiocyanate (TIOC) & Clavulanic Acid, in which the country is presently fully import dependent. These were considered on priority as per the decided evaluation and selection criteria.
• The setting up of plants under the scheme will lead to total committed investment of Rs 3,761 crore by the companies and employment generation for around 3,825 people.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Assam on January 23. The venue for Modi’s programme is the historic Jerenga Pothar in Upper Assam’s Sivasagar district.

• Formerly known as Rangpur, Sivasagar was the powerful Ahom dynasty's seat, who ruled Assam for six centuries (1228-1826).
• Jerenga Pothar, an open field in Sivasagar town, is popularly connected to the valour of 17th century Ahom princess Joymoti. The place Joymoti was tortured to death was Jerenga Pothar.
• Joymoti Konwari, was the wife of Tai-Ahom Prince Gadapani (later Supatphaa).
• She was accorded the honorific Mohiyokhi on account of her heroic endurance of torture until the end, dying at the hands of royalists under Sulikphaa Loraa Roja without disclosing her exiled husband Prince Gadapani's whereabouts, thereby enabling her husband to rise in revolt and assume kingship.
• Gadapani and Joymoti's son Rudra Singha had the Joysagar Tank dug at the spot where she was tortured.