Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 17th & 18th January 2021

Correct Answer: D. New Delhi

Explanation: A meeting of the India-Oman Strategic Consultative Group, IOSCG was held in New Delhi.  The Indian delegation was led by Secretary Sanjay Bhattacharya while the Omani delegation was led by Undersecretary for Diplomatic Affairs in Foreign Ministry Sheikh Khalifa bin Ali al-Harthy. This was the first high-level official visit from Oman to India since the onset of COVID-19.

Correct Answer – C. 1.9 trillion

Explanation: US President-elect Joe Biden has unveiled a $1.9 trillion COVID emergency relief package. It is designed to provide another infusion of federal aid for families, businesses, and local governments confronting a surge of covid cases. Biden’s plan includes a new round of direct payments to US households, funding to promote the safe opening of schools, and mounting a national vaccine program.

Correct Answer – B. 31 January

Explanation: The government has decided to reschedule the Polio Vaccination Day, also known as the National Immunisation Day or Polio Ravivar to the 31st of January 2021. It was earlier scheduled for January 17, 2021, across India, but has been rescheduled because of the COVID vaccination drive that will begin on 16 Jan 2021. President Ram Nath Kovind will launch the Polio National Immunisation Day on 30 Jan 2021.

Correct Answer – B. Tamil Nadu

Explanation: The Government of Tamil Nadu celebrates 15th January as Thiruvalluvar Day in honor of the poet Thiruvalluvar. Thiruvalluvar was a celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher who lived in the 4th century BCE. Commonly known as Valluvar, he is best known for authoring Thirukkuṛaḷ, a collection of couplets on ethics, political and economic matters, and love.

Correct Answer – A. Dhanishtha

Explanation:  A 20-month-old toddler girl Dhanishtha from Delhi has become the “youngest cadaver donor” in the country. She lost her life after suffering a fall from the first floor of her house. Her heart, liver, kidneys, and both corneas were retrieved at the Sir Ganga Ram hospital and used in five patients. At 0.26 per million, India has among the lowest rate of organ donation.

Correct Answer – C. Bharat Dynamics Limited

Explanation: Bharat Dynamics and Thales have signed a Teaming Agreement to work in partnership on the STARStreak Air Defence system with the support of both the Governments of India and the United Kingdom. The Teaming Agreement was signed at a virtual ceremony held on 13 January 2021. BDL will become a part of the STARStreak global supply chain, providing the opportunity for export of the system to existing and future STARStreak Air Defence customers, including the UK Armed Forces through this agreement. BDL, as a part of its Global Outreach, is endeavouring to forge alliance with foreign companies to take the “Make in India” mission further. Earlier, Thales and BDL have signed a “Memorandum of Understanding‟ to assess the opportunity for the transfer of technology for STARStreak.

Correct Answer – A. Odisha

Explanation: Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik virtually inaugurated India’s first ‘Fire Park’ at Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. On that occasion CM Patnaik also launched the virtual platform ‘Agnishama Seva’ to provide through which 16 fire related services can be availed. The Fire Park is a first of its kind initiative to provide awareness on fire safety measures, mainly focusing on School and College students. It is located under the premises of the Odisha Fire and Disaster Academy in Bhubaneswar. The Fire Park will be open to the public on every Saturday from 3.30 pm to 5.30 pm.

Correct Answer – C. Russia

Explanation: V.I. Il’Ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute (POI), Russia along with CSIR- National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO), Goa & CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (CSIR-NGRI), Hyderabad have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of Marine Sciences and Technology. The POI is the largest research institution in the Far Eastern Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences comprising 31 research units equipped with modern scale devices. Whereas, CSIR-NIO and CSIR-NGRI, the constituent research laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are world renowned Institutes in the fields of Oceanography and Earth Sciences respectively.

Correct Answer – D. Tech Mahindra

Explanation:  IT services major, Tech Mahindra is set to acquire 100% share of Hong Kong based Payments Technology Service Ltd (PTSL) a subsidiary of Fidelity Information Services (FIS) for $9 million (about Rs.66 Crore) to scale its enterprise payments and banking capabilities. In regard to this acquisition, Tech Mahindra had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with FIS. The acquisition will give Tech Mahindra access to Internet Protocol(IP) and licenses for two products – Open Payment Framework (OPF) and Multi-Bank System (MBS). With this agreement, Tech Mahindra has planned to expand its BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) footprint globally. In support of this strategy, Tech Mahindra will also build a state-of-the-art Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Chennai, India.

Correct Answer – B. 10th

Explanation: Total 11 private Indian firms have made it to the list of 500 most valuable companies across the world, and the country is ranked 10th on the chart. The total value of these 11 companies grew 14 per cent and has been pegged at $805 billion or nearly a third of the Indian GDP. All these companies in the list of non-state enterprises have gained in value during 2020, which was hit by the pandemic, barring tobacco major ITC and second largest private sector lender ICICI Bank, as per the Hurun Global 500 report. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries leads among the local enterprises with a 20.5 per cent jump in valuation to $168.8 billion as of December 1 and is ranked 54th globally, as per the list.

Correct Answer – D. Subhash Chandra Khuntia

Explanation: Insurance regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) has set up a panel of experts called ‘Health Insurance Advisory Committee’ to examine the availability of health insurance products in the country, considering the need of the Indian society and recommend suitable products and processes. The expert committee will be headed by IRDAI Chairperson, Subhash Chandra Khuntia and will have a Member (Non-Life) as the vice-chairperson. The committee, which has a term of one year.

Members of the committee include:

• Nachiket Mor (Visiting Scientist, Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health),
• A K Chand (Professor and Neurosurgeon, Bangalore),
• B K Mohanti (Former Professor and Oncologist, AIIMS),
• K Hari Prasad (Anaesthetist, Hyderabad), and Pankaj Sharma (IRDAI).

Correct Answer – C. 6.7%

Explanation: The Japanese brokerage Nomura has revised upward, the GDP forecast for India in 2020-21, and now expects it to contract to 6.7 percent. Nomura has further projected the GDP of India to rise to 13.5 percent in FY22 (2021-22).

Correct Answer – C. Bengaluru

Explanation: Tesla Inc, United States-based Electric car maker has incorporated a fully owned subsidiary in Bengaluru, Karnataka as a first step to establish a Research & Development (R&D) unit in India. It has registered with the Registrar of Companies in Bengaluru, Karnataka as ‘Tesla India Motors and Energy Private Limited’. It is also in the process of setting up a manufacturing plant at Dharwad, Karnataka for producing electric vehicles in India. It has registered itself as a private company with an authorized capital of Rs 15 lakh.

Correct Answer: D. Social activist

Explanation: Noted social activist and Padma Shri winner, D Prakash Rao has passed away. He was basically a tea seller based in Cuttack, who spent his entire earning to educate slum children, through the school ‘Asha O Ashwasana’, which he started in 2000. He was conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri award in 2019 for his contribution towards boosting the value of education among slum kids in Cuttack. Apart from this, Rao was also a well-known blood donor.