Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 11th January 2023

Correct Answer:  D. e-Vivechna App

Explanation: e-NAM, a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, has won the Platinum Award in the Digital Empowerment of Citizens Category in Digital India Awards 2022 held in New Delhi. Digital India Awards has been instituted by MeitY, under the aegis of National Portal of India to encourage and honour innovative digital solutions/ exemplary initiatives.

• e-NAM is a digital platform integrating 1260 APMC mandis across 22 States and 3 UTs to facilitate online trading of 203 agriculture and horticulture commodities to enable farmers to realize better remunerative prices for their produce. e-NAM is catalysing the digital transformation of mandi operations and e- trading of agricultural commodities. As on 31.12.2022, more than 1.74 Crore farmers & 2.39 Lakh traders have been registered on e-NAM portal. A total trade consisting of 69 million metric tonnes of worth Rs. 2.42 lakh crore has been recorded on e-NAM platform.
• e-Vivechna App (MP) received platinum award in Digital Initiatives at Grassroots Level category, while DeGS Computer Basic Training (Jharkhand) received gold and Ksheerasree Portal (Kerala) received silver award in the same category.

Correct Answer:  D. Anurag Kumar

Explanation:  The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved the appointment of Anurag Kumar for the post of Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL). ECIL was set up under the Department of Atomic Energy on 11th April 1967. Dr. A.S. Rao was the Founder MD of ECIL.

Correct Answer:  M S Dhoni

Explanation:  Techno-educationalist, Professor K.K. Abdul Gaffar’s autobiography, ‘Njaan Sakshi’ (me as the witness), was released by cricket legend Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The book was introduced by senior journalist T.A. Shafi. The first copy was received by Marwan Al Mulla, the CEO of Dubai Health Authority (DHA), from M S Dhoni. He also presented copies of the book to dignitaries including actor Tovino Thomas present at the occasion. Senior Supreme Court Attorney and son of Kapil Sibal, Akhil Sibal, Former Union Minister Salim Iqbal Sherwani, Uduma MLA, C.H. Kunhambu, Kasaragod MLA, N.A. Nellikkunnu, Mangaluru City South MLA Vedavyas Kamath, participated in the event.

Incidentally, the book includes the infamous disappearance of P. Rajan, an engineering student from Kozhikode REC, during the emergency period and recalls the pressure put on him on behalf of the government and the police to influence him as a witness in the case. He was the last person who saw Rajan before the latter was taken into custody by the police from the REC hostel on March 1, 1976. The book has a lot of such details about the case, both known and unknown to Kerala society.

Correct Answer:  B. Jayan Mehta

Explanation:  Amul Federation’s managing director RS Sodhi, who has been leading the dairy giant since 2010, stepped down on January 9 as the board decided to end his tenure with “immediate effect”. He has been replaced for an interim period by Jayan Mehta, Amul’s incumbent chief operating officer. The decision to replace Sodhi was taken at the board meeting of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), the farmers’ cooperative that operates the Amul brand.

• Sodhi, who worked for Amul since 1982, was at the helm of affairs since 2010. Under his leadership, GCMMF’s turnover surged from Rs 9,774.2 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 46,481crore in 2021-22.

• Before taking over as MD, Sodhi was general marketing manager in the 2000s.
• For more than three decades, Sodhi worked under the direct guidance of Verghese Kurien, the father of the White Revolution.
• He obtained a bachelor’s degree in agri-engineering from CTAE, Udaipur, and he is among the first-batch alumni of the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (Irma).
• During the pandemic, under Sodhi’s leadership, Amul launched over 100 stock-keeping units.
• It also launched from immunity-boosting milk in variants of turmeric, ginger, and tulsi. It added sweets like mohanthal, barfi, kaju katli, and laddoo to Amul’s catalogue.
• So far, Amul has launched more than 100 products across dairy and non-dairy categories since Covid.

Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL) is an Indian dairy state government cooperative society, based in Anand, Gujarat. Formed in 1946, it is a cooperative brand managed by Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF), which today is controlled jointly by 36 lakh milk producers in Gujarat and the apex body of 13 district milk unions, spread across 13,500+ villages of Gujarat. Amul spurred India’s White Revolution, which made the country the world’s largest producer of milk and milk products.

Correct Answer:  B. Chetan Sharma

Explanation:  Chetan Sharma was reappointed as the chairman of the senior selection committee, exactly two months after his entire panel was disbanded by the BCCI for the Indian team’s semifinal exit in the T20 World Cup. Salil Ankola, Shiv Sunar Das, Subroto Banerjee and Sridharan Sharath are new members of the selection committee. The new committee has been picked by the Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjape and Sulakshana Naik. The committee further recommended Chetan Sharma for the role of Chairman of the senior men’s selection committee.

• Salil Ankola, the former chief selector of the Mumbai cricket team, played 20 ODIs and 1 Test match between 1989 to 1997. His Test debut came along with Sachin Tendulkar against Pakistan in 1989.
• A domestic cricket veteran, Shiv Sundar Das played 23 Tests and scored 1326 runs. He also donned 4 ODI caps. Das finished his first-class career with mammoth 10908 runs in 180 matches. He has worked with the Indian women’s cricket team as the batting coach.
• Subroto Banerjee made it to the Indian team in 1991 and made his Test debut against Australia in 1992. He played 1 Test and 6 ODIs. The former right-arm pacer scalped 135 wickets in 59 first-class matches and dismissed 54 batsmen in 49 List A matches.
• A domestic cricket giant, Sridharan Sharath remained uncapped in international cricket. He was a mainstay for Tamil Nadu. Sharath scored 8700 runs in 139 matches at a solid average of 51.17.

Correct Answer:  C. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited

Explanation:  Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a Maharatna and a Fortune Global 500 Company, has announced the launch of Low Smoke Superior Kerosene Oil (SKO) for the Indian Army in Jammu. BPCL has emerged as the first OMC to commence the supply of the new LSLA grade SKO supplies to the Army, which will go a long way in improving the serving environment and alleviate the issues related to smoke and smell in use of SKO. Normal kerosene emits substantial smoke, which poses a health hazard to the Army personnel who use it at higher altitudes, where oxygen level is very low. Hence, the low-smoke kerosene is a big step towards providing a cleaner fuel to our soldiers operating in very tough terrains.

• SKO supply to the Army is vital as it is consumed as fuel in the room heaters (Bukhari) at the high-altitude camps. The Army consumes about 70 TKL/A of SKO for their Northern and Eastern commands. Northern command consumes a higher quantity of about 45 TKL/A.
• The low-smoke kerosene is a big step towards providing cleaner fuel. During the product innovation process, BPCL’s Industrial and Commercial (I&C) SBU in association with the Corporate Research & Development Centre (CRDC) and Mumbai Refinery offered the upgraded SKO with tailored parameters related to smoke point and aromatic content and conducted field trials at Karu (Leh -Ladakh) and Gangtok.

Correct Answer:  D. Chhattisgarh

Explanation:  Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel celebrated the Cherchera festival at Dudhadhari Math in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. The Cherchera festival of Chhattisgarh is celebrated on the full moon night of the ‘Paush’ Hindu calendar month. It is to celebrate the happiness and joy of taking crops to their homes after cultivation. Chief Minister Baghel extended warm wishes to all the citizens of Chhattisgarh on the auspicious occasion.

• On the occasion of the Chercher festival, CM has demanded the Governor to sign the reservation bill for the young generation of Chhattisgarh as they have to get admission to college and government jobs.
• Cherchera festival is celebrated in the month of Paush on the full moon night.
• According to the mythological belief, on this day Lord Shankar begged Mata Annapurna.
• People celebrate the cultivation of crops and spread joy among each other.
• People also donate green vegetables along with paddy on this day.

He said that the government has declared a holiday on all festivals and also celebrates all the festivals at CM’s house. The amount donated in Cherchera is spent on public welfare. People from every class including Farmers donate food grains. Giving charity is a symbol of generosity and accepting charity is a symbol of destroying the ego. The government has informed that there has been a good yield of paddy in the state and has bought 85 lakh metric tonnes of paddy. The farmers have been paid immediately.

Correct Answer:  A. Ranjan Gogoi

Explanation:  Former Chief Justice of India and member of the Rajya Sabha Ranjan Gogoi has released a book titled ‘Chief Minister’s Diary No.1’ containing the account of events of the first year in office of Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The book featured accounts of daily activities he undertook as a chief minister. Assam Chief Minister said that without bringing his personal life into the limelight, the book featured accounts of daily activities he undertook as a Chief Minister. His diary essentially featured the growth initiatives that Assam witnessed over the last 11 months.

Correct Answer:  C. Football

Explanation:  Gareth Bale has announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 33. It brings an end to a career that saw Bale excel for Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid and LAFC, while also establishing himself as one of the greatest players in Welsh football history. Bale, who made his Wales debut in May 2006 in a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago, broke the previous Wales record of 28 goals set by Ian Rush. He has won Wales’ player of the year award six times. Bale played a Wales record of 111 games for his country and was a five-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid. He helped the Welsh reach the 2016 and 2020 Euros before leading them in their first World Cup since 1958 at Qatar 2022.

Bale became Wales’ youngest player when he made his debut as a substitute at the age of 16 years and 315 days old against Trinidad & Tobago in May 2006. Having scored 41 goals, he remains their all-time top scorer. He captained Wales in their first European Championship in 2016, making the semi-finals, and helped them qualify again for Euro 2020, before reaching the 2022 World Cup for the first time since 1958.

Correct Answer:  C. 11th January

Explanation:  The National Human Trafficking Awareness Day is observed every year in the United States on 11th January. The day is dedicated to raising awareness about human trafficking. Even though the entire month of January has been recognised as the National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, January 11 specifically aims towards the prevention of illegal practices. Since the US Senate established this day of observance in 2007, it has drawn massive public support from individuals as well as government-organised events.

Human Trafficking Awareness Day is significant as it has a long-term impact on human lives, families and households, as well as communities across the globe. The day is also commemorated to aid in detecting human trafficking red flags so that many lives can be saved. Human trafficking is the exploitation of an individual for labour, domestic servitude, or commercial sexual activity by force, fraud, or coercion. The act of enslaving or exploiting unwilling people also comes under the definition of human trafficking. Unfortunately, slavery in some form has existed for hundreds of years.

Correct Answer:  B. Vikas Purohit

Explanation:  Facebook-parent Meta has appointed Vikas Purohit as Director of its Global Business Group in India. “As a part of his role, he will lead the company’s strategic relationship with the country’s leading brands and agencies to drive Meta’s revenue growth across key channels in India,” said Meta in a release. Purohit comes with more than 20 years of experience in senior business, sales, and marketing roles at companies such as Tata CLiQ, Amazon, Reliance Brands Limited, Aditya Birla Group, and Tommy Hilfiger.

Correct Answer:  B. Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana

Explanation:  The National Health Authority (NHA) has introduced a new system to measure and grade hospital performance under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PMJAY). To shift the focus of measuring the performance of hospitals from the volume of services provided to the value of healthcare services.  The Health Ministry announced that the new model with the reward system will consequently reduce the effects of the disease in the population in the long term.

Correct Answer:  B. Rs. 90,000 crore

Explanation:  Gross bond issuances by banks surged to ₹90,000 crores in the April-December FY23 against ₹70,000 crore in FY22, surpassing the previous high of ₹80,000 crores in FY17, as they scrambled to bridge the gap between credit and deposit growth, according to ICRA. The credit rating agency expects overall gross bond issuances by banks to rise further to ₹1.3-1.4 lakh crore in FY23.

Correct Answer:  C. 6

Explanation:  Indian Tennis Player Sania Mirza (36-year-old), the former doubles World No. 1 , has confirmed her retirement from professional Tennis. She announced that the Dubai Tennis Championships, a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 1000 event in Dubai in February 2023 will be her last match. Prior to her last appearance, she is going to play in women’s doubles at the Australian Open in 16 to 29 January 2023 alongside Kazakhstan’s Anna Danilina.

• She has won six Grand Slam doubles titles
• She won her first grand slam in 2009 by winning Austraian Open Mixed doubles title with Mahesh Bhupathi. The pair also won the French Open 2012.
• She won her 3rd mixed doubles title at the US Open in 2014 with Brazil’s Bruno Soares.
• Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis of Switzerland won 3 women’s doubles – Wimbledon 2015, the US Open 2015 and the Australian Open 2016
• Mirza became the first Indian to win a WTA singles title in 2005.
• In 2007, She was ranked among the 30 and also reached her career-high ranking of world number 27(Singles).
• She was ranked India’s No 1 in Singles from 2003 till her retirement from Singles in 2013.