Daily Current Affairs: January 12, 2021

Daily Current Affairs (January 12, 2021) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness, Static GK, and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness, and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

Also, Don’t forget to attend the Daily Current Affairs Quiz – January 12, 2021, now @ our Bankersdaily Tests.

SUBSCRIBE to Race Youtube Channel for CA QUIZ LIVE Sessions

Check: Previous – Daily Current Affairs – Banking Exam

Important Days

National Youth Day – January 12

• National Youth Day is celebrated in India every year on January 12 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. The day was declared by the Government of India in 1984 while the event was first celebrated in 1985.
• The theme for the National Youth Day 2021 is ‘Channelizing Youth Power for Nation Building’.

National News

Union Minister Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the Coastal Research Vessel ‘Sagar Anveshika’ in Chennai

• Union Minister of Earth Sciences, Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the Coastal Research Vessel (CRV) ‘Sagar Anveshika’ at Chennai Port Trust. The vessel will be used to carry out environment indexing and bathymetric (mapping underwater features) in both coastal and offshore waters.
• Sagar Anveshika, which is only the second of the two such coastal research vessels, was built for the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) by Titagarh Wagons, West Bengal.

Tamil Nadu                        

• Capital: Chennai
• Chief Minister: Edappadi K. Palaniswami
• Governor: Banwarilal Purohit.
• National Park: Mukurthi NP, Guindy NP,Gulf of Mannar Marine NP, Indira Gandhi (Annamalai) NP, Mudumalai NP.

Manipur CM Biren Singh virtually inaugurates the 4^th edition of Cherry Blossom Festival

• Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has inaugurated the ‘Virtual Cherry Blossom Festival’ at Mao in Senapati district of Manipur. The virtual festival features the picturesque landscape of Mao adorned with beautiful cherry trees laden with pink flowers which have traditionally attracted visitors from across the world.

Manipur

• Capital: Imphal
• Chief Minister: Biren Singh
• Governor: Najma Heptulla.

Indian Railways enhances speed to 130 Kmph on Golden Quadrilateral, Golden Diagonal sections

• Indian Railways enhanced the maximum speed to 130 kmph for 1,280 Km length out of 1,612 Km in Golden Quadrilateral – Golden Diagonal (GQ-GD) route. This covers the entire GQ-GD route over South Central Railway, except the Vijayawada-Duvvada section, where signaling up-gradation work is in progress.
• This included heavier rails, laying 260 meters long welded rail panels, improvement of curves and gradients, among others.

International News

India signs Rs 2,113 crore loan pact with Japan to support COVID-19 relief efforts

• 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.
• The agreement was signed between S. Mohapatra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Katsuo Matsumoto, Chief Representative, JICA, New Delhi.

Banking and Economy

ICRA forecasts India’s real GDP to expand by 10.1% in FY22

• According to ICRA Ratings, India’s real GDP is projected to record a growth of 1 percent in the Fiscal Year 2021-22. The rating agency ICRA had earlier projected a contraction of 7.8% for the ongoing fiscal 2020-21.

Science and Technology

India’s DRDO delivers landing gear systems for Tapas and SWiFT UAVs

• India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has delivered Retractable Landing Gear (RLG) systems for two different classes of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Tapas and SWiFT.
• The gears were handed over during a ceremony at the DRDO laboratory Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

New species of fruit fly ‘Euphranta siruvani’ from India named after Siruvani in the Western Ghats

• The fruit fly ‘Euphranta siruvani’ belonging to the family Tephritidae, was identified by researchers from a non-forest area near Siruvani, and the discovery has been published in the Zootaxa journal.
• At present, globally around 104 species from the genus Euphranta exist, out of which 14 are found in India.

Appointments

Jay Shah to be named BCCI’s representative to ICC board

• Jay Shah has been named as the official representative of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Board meetings.
• He will replace BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, who is recovering from a minor heart attack.

GoI appoints former TRAI chief RS Sharma to head empowered panel for Covid-19 vaccine

• The Union government has appointed former TRAI chief RS Sharma as the chairperson of an empowered committee for the administration of the Covid-19 vaccine.
• He has also been included as a member of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration of Covid-19 that was formed in August 2020 and is headed by NITI Aayog member, VK Paul.

Awards and recognitions

Indian Railways bags 13 awards at the ‘National Energy Conservation awards 2020’

• Indian Railway bagged 13 awards in three prestigious categories of National Energy Conservation Awards (NECA) for the year 2020, organized by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).
• Western Railway has been awarded the First Prize, followed by Eastern Railway. North Eastern Railway & South-Central Railway has been awarded Certificate of Merit in the Transport Category.

Books and Authors

A new book titled “Modi India Calling-2021”, Chronicling PM Modi’s Foreign Tours Released by Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta

• A coffee table book titled “Modi India Calling – 2021” filled with over hundreds of photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from his “107 overseas and bilateral visits” was released on 16^th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) on 8 January 2021.
• The book was released by Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta. It has been published by Maneesh Media.

A Book Titled ‘Gazing Eastwards: Of Buddhist Monks and Revolutionaries in China, 1957’ Authored by Romila Thapar

• The book titled ‘Gazing Eastwards: Of Buddhist Monks and Revolutionaries in China, 1957’ was authored by renowned Indian historian Romila Thapar. The book is published by Seagull Books London Ltd.

Rankings

India ranks 4^th in ‘Break Out Economies’; Digital Evolution Scorecard 2020

• India was ranked 4^th in “Break Out Economies” in the third edition of the Digital Evolution Scorecard developed by Tufts University’s Fletcher School in partnership with Mastercard.
• China topped the list followed by Azerbaijan, Indonesia. It should be noted that India doubled its mobile internet connectivity in the last four years. It will add 350 million smartphones by 2023.

Obituary News

Renowned astrophysicist Professor Shashikumar Madhusudan Chitre passes away at 84

• Renowned astrophysicist Professor Shashikumar Madhusudan Chitre passed away in Mumbai. A recipient of Padma Bhushan, he retired as a senior professor from TIFR in Mumbai in 2001.
• His scientific research is focused on solar physics, astrophysics & gravitational lensing.
• He was a stalwart of Indian astronomy community, particularly solar physics.

Can you score 20/20 in Today’s Current Affairs Quiz? Attempt the Current Affairs Quiz of  January 12, 2021, now from the link given below. 

Daily Current Affairs Quiz – January 12, 2021