Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 19th January 2022

Correct Answer: C. The State of the World

Explanation: India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) Davos Agenda Summit 2022, through video-conferencing. The “Davos Agenda 2022” summit is being held digitally from January 17 to January 21, 2022, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The theme of the event is “The State of the World.”

About the Summits:

The week-long digital summit will begin with a special address by Chinese President Xi Jinping.The ‘Davos Agenda 2022’ will be the first global platform for Heads of state and government as well as CEOs and other leaders to share their visions for 2022 on critical collective challenges and how to address them. This is the second consecutive year that the event is being held virtually.

Important Points:

• World Economic Forum Founded: January 1971;
• World Economic Forum Founder & Executive Chairman: Klaus Schwab;
• World Economic Forum Headquarters: Cologny, Switzerland.

Correct Answer – E. Narendra Kumar Goenka

Explanation: Narendra Kumar Goenka has been appointed as the new chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council, AEPC. Former chairman Padma Dr A Sakthivel handed over the charge to him. Mr. Goenka has been associated with the Council for more than two decades. He was the Vice Chairman of the apex body of Indian apparel exporters before taking charge as Chairman of AEPC.

AEPC is the official body of apparel exporters in India, under the aegis of the Ministry of Textiles, that provides invaluable assistance to Indian exporters as well as importers/international buyers.

Important Points:

• Apparel Export Promotion Council Established: 1978;
• Apparel Export Promotion Council HQ: Gurgaon.

Correct Answer – A. Maya Angelou

Explanation: The US Treasury has minted coins featuring poet Maya Angelou – the first black woman ever featured on the US 25-cent coin known as a quarter. Angelou, a poet and activist, was the first black woman to write and perform a poem at a presidential inauguration. In 2010, she was given a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest US civilian award by President Barack Obama.

The new coin still features George Washington’s visage on the “heads” side, while the “tails” side honours Angelou by evoking one of her most famous works, the autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”

Correct Answer – C. Mali

Explanation: The former President of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who was ousted in a military coup, has passed away. Mr Keita had ruled Mali for seven years, since September 2013, till he was overthrown in a military coup in August 2020. He had also served as prime minister of the country from 1994 to 2000. He had promised to restore Mali’s honour as a model for democracy in West Africa as he campaigned as a unifying figure in his fractured country, pledging “zero tolerance” for corruption.

Correct Answer – B. Navdeep Kaur

Explanation: India’s Navdeep Kaur has won the award for the Best National Costume at the prestigious Mrs World 2022 pageant in Nevada, Las Vegas. She is the winner of Mrs India World 2021, was representing the country at Mrs World 2022. Navdeep hails from a small town near Odisha’s Steel City, Rourkela.

The “avant garde” outfit was inspired by Kundalini Chakra, which “symbolises the movement of energy in chakras of the body from the base to the spine up through the crown”. Cobra embellishments on the shoulder were added to represent the “mystical serpent native to India”, while the golden colour was chosen as it represents novelty, power and glory.

Correct Answer – E.  Sumit Bhale

Explanation: Lavni artist from Maharashtra, Sumit Bhale of Fulbari taluka has won a gold medal at the International Folk Art Festival in Dubai. With his splendid performance, Maharashtra’s splendour has been widely appreciated at the international platform. Lavani is a genre of music popular in Maharashtra and is a combination of traditional song and dance, which is particularly performed to the beats of Dholki, a percussion instrument.

Correct Answer – A. Roberta Metsola

Explanation:  Roberta Metsola, a Christian Democrat from Malta, was elected president of the European Union’s parliament.Metsola succeeds Italian Socialist David Sassoli, who passed recently.She is only the third woman elected to the post.She is the European Parliament’s youngest president.EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen could not attend the parliamentary session since she is in a COVID-19 quarantine.Another woman, Christine Lagarde, runs the powerful European Central Bank.

Correct Answer – C. Cartoonist

Explanation: Noted cartoonist and Padma Shri awardee, Narayan Debnath, passed away in Kolkata after a prolonged illness.Debnath is the creator of the popular Bengali comic strips of Handa Bhonda (1962), Batul the Great (1965) and Nonte Phonte (1969).He holds the record for the longest running comic by an individual artist for the Handa Bhonda comic series which have now completed 53 years.He is the only comic artist in India who has received a D.Litt degree.Debnath was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, in 2021.He also received the Sahitya Akademi Award and Banga Bibhushan Award in 2013.

Correct Answer – C. IGNOU

Explanation: Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship has signed MoU with Indira Gandhi Open University (IGNOU) to further strengthen the vocational and technical training framework.Aim: to link vocational education and training with higher education, making India’s youth employable by creating avenues for them to access better work opportunities.The trainees attached to National Skill Training Institutes (NSTI), Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), PMKK and JSS.

Correct Answer – B. Telangana

Explanation: Telangana cabinet has approved ‘Mana ooru, mana badi’ programme aimed at allround development and creation of effective basic infrastructure in schools across the State.The programme will be implemented in three years with a budget of ₹7,289 crore to benefit 19.84 lakh children of 26.065 schools.The amount will be spent on setting up digital classrooms, construction of additional classrooms and taking up repairs to schools.

Correct Answer – C. UTI Mutual Fund

Explanation: UTI Mutual Fund has launched an open-ended scheme – UTI Sensex Index Fund – replicating/tracking the S&P BSE Sensex Total Return Index (TRI). The New Fund Offer opens on 19 January 2022 and closes on 24 January. The minimum initial investment is ₹5,000 and in multiples of ₹1 thereafter.The additional purchase amount is Rs. 1,000 and in multiples of ₹1 thereafter with no upper limit.

Additional Information

The Unit Trust of India Act 1963 was repealed, paving way for the bifurcation of UTI into Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India and UTI Mutual Fund.

• Founded: 14 January 2003
• CEO: Imtaiyazur Rahman (As of Jan 2022).
• Headquarters: India

Correct Answer – B. Addverb Technologies

Explanation: Reliance Industries Ltd’s retail arm has purchased a 55.7% stake in Addverb Technologies, a Noidabased robotics company, for $132 million. Post the transaction, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) will have four directors on the board of Addverb of a total of nine directors. The company currently has a manufacturing plant in Noida where it produces around 10,000 robots a year.

Additional Information

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has announced the acquisition of a controlling stake of 73.37% in Mandarin Oriental New York Hotel. Reliance Retail has invested $200 million or around Rs 1,488 crore in Dunzo for a 25.8 percent stake. Reliance Industries Ltd, India’s largest corporate by revenues, profits, and market value, topped the 2021 Wizikey News Score ranking as India’s most-visible corporate in the media.

Reliance Industries Ltd:

• CEO: Mukesh Ambani (As of Jan 2022).
• Founder: Dhirubhai Ambani;
• Founded: 8 May 1973,
• Headquarters: Mumbai. Maharashtra

Correct Answer – A. Radiant Cash Management Services Ltd (RCMS)

Explanation:- Radiant Cash Management Services Ltd (RCMS), backed by Ascent Capital, has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to raise funds through a public listing. The Chennai-based firm intends to issue up to ₹60 crores worth of fresh shares. RCMS is one of the largest retail cash management firms in India by network locations or touchpoints served as of July 2021.

Additional Information

Securities and Exchange Board of India has restructured its primary market advisory committee on data.  Aarati Krishnan has been inducted as a member of the Securities & Exchange Board of India’s Advisory Committee on Mutual Funds.The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has set up an Advisory Committee for Leveraging Regulatory and Technology Solutions (ALeRTS) to enhance technological capabilities and explore suitable technology solutions for the early detection of market anomalies.

Securities and Exchange Board of India:

• Founded: 12 April 1992.
• Headquarters: Mumbai.
• Agency Executive: Ajay Tyagi (As of Jan 2022).

National Stock Exchange of India Limited is the leading stock exchange of India, located in Mumbai, Maharashtra. NSE was established in 1992 as the first dematerialized electronic exchange in the country.

Correct Answer: A. Vikram Dev

Explanation: Senior bureaucrat Vikram Dev Dutt has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Air India Limited. He is an Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer from the 1993 batch officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre. He succeeds Rajiv Bansal who took over as the Secretary at the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) in Sept 2021.

Additional Information

Tata Sons bid ₹180 billion for the government’s 100% stake in Air India in October 2021.JRD Tata founded the airline in October 1932 and it was at that time called Tata Airlines.

• Founded: 1932
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Founders: Tata Group, J. R. D. Tata