Daily Current Affairs: January 23, 24 & 25, 2021

Daily Current Affairs (January 23, 24 & 25, 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.

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Important Days

First Parakram Diwas celebrated on 23rd January 2021

• Netaji Jayanti was observed as Parakram Divas for the first time in 2021 on his 125th birth anniversary. Netaji was born on January 23, 1897, in Cuttack, Odisha.
• The day is celebrated to honour and remember Netaji’s indomitable spirit and selfless service to the nation.

National Girl Child Day – January 24

• The National Girl Child Day (NGCD) is celebrated in India every year on January 24. It was started by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) and the Government of India in 2008, with the purpose to spread awareness among people about all the inequalities girls face in the Indian society.

International Day of Education – January 24

• The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 24 January as the International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of education for peace & development. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education by 2030.

National Voters’ Day- January 25

• The National Voters’ Day (NVD) is celebrated on January 25 across the country to encourage, facilitate and maximise enrolment, especially for the new voters. 
• The day is celebrated on January 25 every year since 2011, across the country to mark the foundation day of the Election Commission of India. President Ram Nath Kovind is the Chief Guest at the national function being organised in New Delhi.
• Theme for 2021: “Making Our Voters Empowered, Vigilant, Safe and Informed.”

National Tourism Day- January 25

• National Tourism Day is celebrated every year on January 25. The day was established by the Government of India to promote tourism and raise awareness of the importance of tourism for the country’s economy.
• Theme for 2021: ‘Dekho Apna Desh’.

Himachal Pradesh celebrates its golden jubilee statehood day on January 25

• Himachal Pradesh celebrated its golden jubilee statehood day on January 25. It was on this day in 1971 that Himachal Pradesh became the 18th state of India. 
• ‘Swarnim Rath Yatra’ will be carried out to showcase the development journey of the hill state as a part of its golden jubilee celebrations during 2021.

National News

Indian Armed Forces to conduct large-scale joint military exercise ‘Kavach’ in the Andaman sea and the Bay of Bengal

• A large-scale joint military exercise, ‘Excercise Kavach’ conducted under the aegis of Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), the only joint forces command of India. The joint force would execute multi-domain, high-intensity offensive and defensive manoeuvers in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

• The joint military exercise named as ‘Exercise Kavach’ involves the assets of the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, and Indian Coast Guard.

Amit Shah inaugurates new 4-lane Thaltej-Shilaj-Rancharda railway overbridge in Ahmedabad, Gujarat

• The Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the new 4-lane Thaltej-Shilaj-Rancharda railway overbridge, built at the cost of Rs. 55 crores, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat through video conferencing from New Delhi. Several dignitaries including Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel were present at the programme.

Gujarat

• Capital: Gandhinagar
• Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani
• Governor: Acharya Devvrat

• National Park: Blackbuck NP, Vansda NP, Gir Forest NP, Marine NP, Gulf of Kutch.

India’s largest multi-modal logistic park to come up at Virochan Nagar in Ahmedabad, Gujarat

• India’s largest multi-modal logistic park is set come up at Virochan Nagar in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. An MoU was signed between the Gujarat Authorities and Adani Port & SEZ Ltd. in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in Gandhinagar. The completion is expected within three years by 2023.
• The MoU was further signed by Chief Secretary M.Okay. Das and Karan Gautam Adani of Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd.

Gujarat

• Capital: Gandhinagar
• Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani
• Governor: Acharya Devvrat

• National Park: Blackbuck NP, Vansda NP, Gir Forest NP, Marine NP, Gulf of Kutch.

Union Minister Harsh Vardhan inaugurates the 7th Edition of MASCRADE 2021 organized by FICCI

• The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the 7th Edition of “MASCRADE 2021” – Movement against Smuggled & Counterfeit Trade organized by FICCI Cascade (Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy). 
• The event provided a platform to deliberate and discuss actionable, innovative policy solutions that can reverse the rising incidences of counterfeit, smuggled and spurious products, causing significant damage to the economy of the nation, health, and safety of people worldwide.

Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma inaugurates India’s longest road arch bridge at Sohbar

• Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma inaugurated India’s longest road arch bridge, the Wahrew Bridge at Sohbar in East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya. The bridge has been constructed at the cost of Rs. 49.395 crores sanctioned from the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) of the Union Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region (DoNER). 

Meghalaya

• Capital: Shillong
• Chief Minister: Conrad Sangma
• Governor: Satya Pal Malik.

Ministry of Tribal Affairs Virtually launches “Shramshakti” Digital Data Solution for Migrant Workers

• The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda virtually launched “ShramShakti”, a National Migration Support Portal at a programme held at Panjim, Goa. The portal will help the government in smooth formulation of state and national level programs for migrant workers. 
• Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant also launched “ShramSaathi”, a training manual for migrant workers, to ensure that the process of livelihood migration is safe and productive and dedicated Migration cell in Goa to facilitate and support migrants who come from different States to Goa.

Ministry of Road Transport & Highways sign an MoU with IIT Roorkee to boost research

• The Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari has taken the initiative to develop indigenous and apt technologies to bring down the cost of construction and reduce the construction period of Road/Bridge/Tunnel projects.
• The MoU aims for the continuation of MoRTH Professorial Chair focusing on research and development, teaching and training in the area of Development of Highway Infrastructure.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurates the 15th edition of Toshali National Crafts Mela

• Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the 15th edition of Toshali National Crafts Mela in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. It is the biggest fair in Eastern India.  
• Several women were seen shopping several necklaces, hair-bands, rings and other artificial jewellery items. Many sculptors had made portraits, models of several Gods and Goddess with a most popular one being Lord Jagannath statues.

Odisha

• Capital: Bhubaneswar
• Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik
• Governor: Ganeshi Lal
• Festivals: Dhanu Yatra, Budi Thakurani Yatra, Magha Saptami, Chhau, Dola Purnima.

• Folk Dances: Chhau, Gotipua, Ghumura, Ranappa, Chaiti Ghoda, Sambalpuri.

Border Security Force launches operation ‘Sard Hawa’ at the Rajasthan border

• Border Security Force (BSF) launched Operation ‘Sard Hawa’ at the western international border of Rajasthan, under which vigil will be beefed-up to check the instances of infiltration due to the dense fog in the area.
• The Operations aims to check the instances of infiltration due to the dense fog cover in the region and increase security on the border areas in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

Rajasthan

• Capital: Jaipur
• Chief Minister: Ashok Gehlot
• Governor: Kalraj Mishra.

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath launches ‘Udyam Sarathi’ for youth to explore self-employment opportunities

• On the occasion of 71st foundation day of Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched ‘Udyam Sarathi’ app to help youth to explore self-employment opportunities.The app prepared under the ODOP (One District One Product) scheme and considered to be a master-key for exploring self-employment opportunities to the youth. 
• Through the Udyam Sarathi app, youth would easily be able to get a varied range of business opportunities in different departments and sectors of the state and the Central government.

Uttar Pradesh

• Capital: Lucknow
• Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath
• Governor: Anandiben Patel

• National Park: Dudhwa National Park (Tiger Reserve)

• Zoological park: Shaheed Ashfaq Ullah Khan Prani Udyan (Gorakhpur), Kanpur Zoological Park, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden.

International News

China overtakes Germany with the largest current account surplus: Information and Forschung (IFO) report

• As per the survey conducted by Information and Forschung (IFO), Germany’s current account surplus shrank for the fifth year in a row in 2020 as China overtook Europe’s biggest economy during the COVID-19 pandemic to run the world’s largest current account surplus.
• The current account surplus of China more than doubled to $310 billion in 2020, while the current account surplus of Germany shrank for the fifth year in a row in 2020 to $261 billion. Japan ranked third ($158 billion).

Banking and Economy

SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank remain domestically systemically important banks: RBI

• The RBI retained State Bank of India, along with private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank to be Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) or institutions which are ‘too big to fail’. The updated list is based on the data collected from banks as on March 31, 2020.

• These banks have been identified under the same bucketing structure as in 2018.

Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance launches ‘Guaranteed Income4Life’ plan

• Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance has rolled ‘Guaranteed Income4Life’ plan to ensure life insurance coverage and financial protection for the family of policyholders. 
• It is a non-linked, non-par individual life insurance savings cum protection plan which not only offers an individual the opportunity to secure his/her life but also allows one to have a regular income to take care of both long-term and short-term financial.

Science and Technology

DRDO successfully tests Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) for the 9th time

• DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) has successfully conducted captive and release trial of indigenously developed Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) from Hawk-i of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) off the Odisha coast.

• The 125 kg class smart weapon SAAW was successfully test-fired from Indian Hawk-Mk132 of HAL. SAAW is indigenously designed and developed by DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairman: Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy.

Appointments

Justice Geeta Mittal appointed as the new Chairperson of the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC)

• The broadcasters industry body, Indian Broadcasting Foundation, has appointed former Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir High Court, Justice Gita Mittal as the new Chairperson of the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC). She replaces Justice Vikramajit Sen.
• BCCC also provides inputs to the Ministry of I&B for responding to questions put up by the Members of Parliament.

Lloyd J.Austin becomes the first Black Pentagon Chief 

• Lloyd Austin, a retired four-star Army general, has been confirmed by the Senate, making him the first Black defense secretary in the U.S. history. The Senate approved President Biden’s nomination for Pentagon chief in a near-unanimous 93-2 vote.

S Gopalakrishnan appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Malawi

• S Gopalakrishnan has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Malawi, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
• Gopalkrishnan, an IFS 2005 batch officer, is currently Counsellor in the Embassy of India, Washington.

Awards and Recognitions

Indian actor Sonu Sood received the Ketto Best Celebrity Changemaker Award at the 2020 Ketto Awards

• In a bid to recognise and celebrate the initiatives driving positive change in India, Ketto, South East Asia’s largest crowdfunding platform, hosted the second edition of Ketto awards. 
• A panel of three judges from diverse sectors presented awards to prominent NGOs and individuals that includes celebrities like Sonu Sood and Rajshri Deshpande for their extensive philanthropic work during the pandemic lockdown period in 2020.

Indian mathematician Nikhil Srivastava named as the joint winner of the Michael and Sheila Held Prize

• Nikhil Srivastava, a young Indian mathematician, has been named winner of the prestigious 2021 Michael and Sheila Held Prize along with two others for solving long-standing questions on the Kadison-Singer problem and Ramanujan graphs.
• Nikhil Srivastava from the University of California, Berkeley, Adam Marcus, the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Daniel Alan Spielman from the Yale University will receive the 2021 Michael and Sheila Held Prize from the National Academy of Sciences.

Rajendra Kumar Bhandari selected for the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar

• Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society and Rajendra Kumar Bhandari have been selected for the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar for their excellent work in Disaster Management. 
• Union Home Ministry announces the award every year on 23rd January, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. The award carries a cash prize of 51 lakh rupees and a certificate in case of an institution and five lakh rupees and a certificate in case of an individual.

Obituary News

Veteran singer Narendra Chanchal passed away at 80

• The famous bhajan singer Narendra Chanchal passed away at the age of 80 in Delhi. He was known for his religious songs and bhajans. Some of his ever-popular bhajans include Chalo Bulawa Aaya Hai, Tune Mujhe Bulaya Sherawaliye, Ambe Tu Hai Jagadambe Kali, Hanuman Chalisa, Sankat Mochan Naam Tiharo, Ram Se Bada Ram Ka Naam, among others.

US talk show legend Larry King passed away at 87

• US Talk show iconic legend, Larry King passed away at the age of 87. King has quizzed thousands of world leaders, politicians, entertainers, athletes, and everyday people for CNN and other news outlets in a career spanning more than six decades.

Sports News

Indo-Tibetan Border Police won the IHAI National Ice Hockey Championship in Gulmarg, J&K

• The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) won the Ice Hockey Association of India (IHAI) 10th National Ice Hockey Championship trophy after a superb win over Ladakh in the finals in Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir.
• Eight teams took part in the championship, which took place at an altitude of 8,694 feet where the temperatures are below freezing point (Minus 1 degree).

Can you score 20/20 in Today’s Current Affairs Quiz? Attempt the Current Affairs Quiz of  January 23, 24 & 25, 2021, now from the link given below. 

Daily Current Affairs Quiz – January 23, 24 & 25, 2021