Current Affairs Quiz 26th January 2023 Quiz

Exp.  Visakhapatnam Railway Station awarded ‘Green Railway Station Certificate’

Visakhapatnam railway station of East Coast Railway has been awarded the ‘Green Railway Station Certification with the highest rating of Platinum’ by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) for adopting green concepts.

Visakhapatnam is one of the few railway stations to get this prestigious certificate. Visakhapatnam secured 82 out of 100 points in six environmental categories.

The Green Railway Station Rating System has been developed by the Environment Directorate of Indian Railways in collaboration with IGBC.

The system addresses national priorities such as water conservation, waste management, energy efficiency, limited use of fossil fuels, minimal reliance on the use of natural materials, and health and well-being of users.

Exp. Indian Railways launches ‘Ideal Train Profile’

Indian Railways has introduced ‘Ideal Train Profile’ for maximum capacity utilization and income generation by regularly analyzing the movement of demand in each train in reserved express trains.

The pilot project was started on seven zonal railways – Eastern, Central, Northern, Southern, South Central, Western, and West Central Railway.

The pilot project has so far been rolled out in over 200 trains in Indian Railways. It is expected that the utility will also help to enhance confirmed seat availability and increase the occupancy of a train by up to 5 percent.

Ideal Train Profile — a seat capacity optimization decision support — is done due to the fact that the number of ticket-class combinations on a single train journey date can exceed 5,000.

This module has been developed after two years of hard work by the Railway team under the leadership of R Gopalakrishnan.

Exp. North India’s largest floating solar project inaugurated in Chandigarh

The Governor of Punjab, Banwari Lal Purohit has inaugurated North India’s largest floating Solar project of 2000kWp worth Rs 11.70 crore in Chandigarh.

He has also inaugurated a 500kWp floating Solar Project with Fountains at Dhanas Lake in Chandigarh.  It was constructed at a cost of Rs 3.34 crore.

These projects were designed and executed by CREST (Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society).

It will generate a minimum of 35 Lac Units (kWh) of Solar Energy per year with 20% module efficiency.

About Punjab

• Capital – Chandigarh
• Chief Minister – Bhagwant Mann
• Governor – Banwarilal Purohit

Exp. SCO Film Festival to be organized in Mumbai

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Film Festival will be organized by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting through the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) in Mumbai from 27 to 31 January 2023.

The SCO Film Festival is being organized during the Presidency of India in the SCO.

The opening ceremony will be held at Jamshed Bhabha Theatre of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, NCPA, Mumbai on 27th January.

Veteran director Priyadarshan’s Tamil film ‘Appatha’, which also marks the 700th film of lead actor Urvashi, will be the opening film of the festival.

A total of 57 Films from member countries, including 14 from the competition section, will be showcased at the Festival. The screenings will take place at the Films Division Complex at Peddar Road and NFDC Theater at Worli.

About Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) 

• Founded – 2001
• Headquarters – Beijing, China
• Secretary General – Zhang Ming (China)
• Member Countries – 9 (Iran, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan & Uzbekistan)
• SCO Summit 2021 – Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
• SCO Summit 2022 – Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
• SCO Summit 2023 – India
• The founding members (5) of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) were China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan. India and Pakistan officially joined this organization in 2017

Exp. Ayush Ministry signed MoU with India Tourism Development Corporation

The Ayush Ministry has signed an MoU with India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) to work together for the promotion of medical value travel in Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine.

The Ministry of Ayush will provide training to the officials of ITDC to sensitize them about Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine.

They will work together for the promotion of medical value travel in Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine.

Medical Value Travel has seen significant growth in India in recent years. According to the report, the Global Wellness economy will grow at 9.9 percent annually. Ayush based healthcare and Wellness economy is estimated to grow to 70 billion dollars by 2025.

Recent MoUs

• Adani Enterprises signed agreement with Ashok Leyland to develop Asia’s first hydrogen-mining truck
• Bharti Airtel and Nokia have joined hands to bring India’s first 5G enabled immersive experience to visitors at the Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022.
• NTPC signed with Italy-based Maire Technimont Pvt Ltd for green methanol production
• NTPC Limited signed MoU with GE Power India Limited to reduce carbon intensity
• NTPC signed an MoU with GE Gas Power for hydrogen co-firing in gas turbines

Exp. Hardeep S Puri flagged off low carbon cruise on Mahabahu Brahmaputra

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri has inaugurated the demo-run of Inland Water Vessel powered by Methanol blended Diesel (MD15).

The boat ride was conducted on a 50-seater motor launch marine vessel named ‘SB Gangadhar’.

The marine vessel is equipped with two Ruston make diesel engines (each engine of 105 hp). The boat will be run on MD-15 (15% methanol blended HSD).

Methanol is a low-carbon hydrogen carrier fuel produced from high-ash coal, agricultural residue, CO2 from thermal power plants, and natural gas. It is the best pathway for meeting India’s commitment to COP 21.

NITI Aayog’s ‘Methanol Economy’ program is aimed at reducing India’s oil import bill, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and converting coal reserves and municipal solid waste into methanol.

Recent Inauguration by Union Ministers

• Hardeep Singh Puri inaugurated 5^th South Asian Geoscience Conference in Jaipur
• Hardeep Singh Puri launched guidelines for City Finance Rankings and City Beauty Competition
• Jyotiraditya Scindia inaugurated 4th Heli-India Summit 2022.
• Jyotiradity Scindia inaugurated multiple flights to boost northeast connectivity
• Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated the first phase of the New Zuari Bridge in Goa.

Exp. ECI hosted 2nd International Conference in New Delhi

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has hosted the 2nd International Conference in New Delhi.

Theme 2023 – Use of Technology and Elections Integrity

The Chief Election Commissioner of India, Rajiv Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel, inaugurated the two-day international conference.

Around 43 Participants from 17 Countries/EMBs including Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Chile, Croatia, Dominica, Fiji, Georgia, Indonesia, Kiribati, Mauritius, Nepal, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines and Suriname and 06 participants from international organizations namely, IFES, International IDEA  have joined the conference.

About Election Commissioner of India (ECI)

• It is a constitutional body to conduct and regulate elections in the country.
• Founded – 25 January 1950
• 25 January – Voter’s Day
• HQ – New Delhi
• 1st Chief – Sukumar Sen
• 1st Women Chief – V.S. Ramadevi
• 25th Chief – Rajiv Kumar
• Commissioner – Anup Chandra Pandey & Arun Goel

Exp. US President Biden nominated Julie Turner as North Korea human rights envoy

US President Joe Biden has nominated Julie Turner as special envoy for human rights in North Korea

The move to fill the post, which has been vacant since 2017, comes amid debate over human rights issues as well as efforts to counter Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.

Julie Turner is currently the director for East Asia and the Pacific in the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.

Turner has served in the office for East Asia and the Pacific for more than 16 years, primarily focusing on initiatives related to the promotion of human rights in North Korea.

Recent Appointment

• Maryland’s first Indian-American Lt. Governor – Aruna Miller

• Administrator of Shooting World Cup 2023 – Former SC Judge AK Sikri
• DG of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) – Vikram Dev Dutt
• Director of National Health Authority – Praveen Sharma

• CEO of Vedanta’s Cairn Oil & Gas – Nick Walker

Exp. Siddharth Sharma appointed as new CEO of Tata Trusts

Tata Trusts, one of the country’s oldest public charitable foundations, has appointed Siddharth Sharma as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Trusts and Aparna Uppaluri as the Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Their appointment will come into effect from 1 April 2023.

54-year-old Sharma, the chief sustainability officer at Tata Sons, will succeed N Srinath, who stepped down from the CEO’s post in 2022 following his retirement.

The company will create the COO post for the first time to accommodate Uppaluri, who is currently the programme director for India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka at the Ford Foundation.

Recent Appointment

• Chief Economist of OECD – Clare Lombardelli (UK)

• CEO of Cognizant – Ravi Kumar
• Director of Meta’s Global Business Group in India – Vikas Purohit
• Chairman of the Senior Men’s National Selection Committee – Chetan Sharma

• Chairman of Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council – Saiyam Mehra
• Vice chairman of Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council – Rajesh Rokde

Exp. Prabdev Singh appointed as new CEO of JP Morgan Chase

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given its approval to appoint Prabdev Singh as the new CEO of JP Morgan Chase & Co (India) for three years.

Singh had been JP Morgan’s interim CEO since November, replacing Madhav Kalyan who was named head of payments for Asia Pacific.

Singh, a trained engineer, had worked for a decade at HSBC Holdings Plc before joining JPMorgan in 2010.

Recent Appointment in Banking Sector

• RBI Deputy Governor – Michael Patra (reappointment)
• MD & CEO of Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) – Surinder Chawla
• Interim CEO of BharatPe – Nalin Negi
• CEO of Bank of Singapore – Jason Moo
• MD and CEO of the Indian Overseas Bank – Ajay Kumar Srivastava
• MD & CEO of BSE – Sundararaman Ramamurthy

Exp. Aska police station of Odisha becomes country’s number 1 station

Aska police station in Ganjam district of Odisha was awarded the number one police station.

The award was given during DGSP/IGSP conference held in New Delhi.

Aska station got this title in the annual ranking of police stations for the year 2022.

Gangapur police station in Odisha’s Ganjam district has been awarded the second-best police station award.

Banbasa police station in Champawat district of Uttarakhand has been selected as the third-best station.

Sadar Bazar police station was adjudged the best police station in the year 2021 while Gangapur police station was awarded the second-best police station award.

Exp. Padma Awards 2023 Winners List Announced

The Union ministry of home affairs announced the Padma Awards on the eve of the country’s 74th Republic Day.

The government announced 6 names for Padma Vibhushan, 9 for Padma Bhushan, and 91 for Padma Shri Awards.

Nineteen of the awardees are women.

Padma Vibhushan (6)

1. Zakir Hussain – Art
2. S M Krishna – Public Affairs
3. Dilip Mahalanabis (Posthumous) – Medicine
4. Srinivas Varadhan – Science & Engineering
5. Mulayam Singh Yadav (Posthumous) – Public Affairs
6. Balkrishna Doshi (Posthumous) – Architecture

Padma Bhushan (9)

1. S L Bhyrappa – Literature & Education
2. Kapil Kapoor – Literature & Education
3. Kumar Mangalam Birla – Trade & Industry
4. Deepak Dhar – Science & Engineering
5. Vani Jairam – Art
6. Suman Kalyanpur – Art
7. Swami Chinna Jeeyar – Spiritualism
8. Kamlesh D Patel – Spiritualism
9. Sudha Murty – Social Work

Padma Shri (91)

1. Shri Anand Kumar – Literature & Education
2. Shri Radha Charan Gupta – Literature & Education
3. Shri Rattan Singh Jaggi – Literature & Education
4. Shri C I Issac – Literature & Education
5. Shri Prabhakar Bhanudas Mande – Literature & Education
6. Shri Antaryami Mishra – Literature & Education
7. Shri Ramesh Patange – Literature & Education
8. Shri Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari – Literature & Education
9. Shri Dhaniram Toto – Literature & Education
10. Shri Prakash Chandra Sood – Literature & Education
11. Janum Singh Soy – Literature & Education
12. Shri Mohan Singh – Literature & Education
13. Shri B Ramakrishna Reddy – Literature & Education
14. Shri Arvind Kumar – Science & Engineering
15. Shri Khadar Valli Dudekula – Science & Engineering
16. Shri Ganesh Nagappa Krishnarajanagara – Science & Engineering
17. Shri Modadugu Vijay Gupta – Science & Engineering
18. (Dr.) Mahendra Pal – Science & Engineering
19. Sujatha Ramdorai – Science & Engineering
20. Shri Abbareddy Nageswara Rao – Science & Engineering
21. Shri Bakshi Ram – Science & Engineering
22. Jodhaiyabai Baiga – Art
23. Shri Premjit Baria – Art
24. Usha Barle – Art
25. Shri Hemant Chauhan – Art
26. Shri Bhanubhai Chitara – Art
27. Hemoprova Chutia – Art
28. Shri Hem Chandra Goswami – Art
29. Pritikana Goswami – Art
30. Shri Domar Singh Kunvar – Art
31. Shri Risingbor Kurkalang – Art
32. Subhadra Devi – Art
33. Shri Ahmed Hussain & Shri Mohd Hussain – Art
34. Shri Dilshad Hussain – Art
35. Shri Parshuram Komaji Khune – Art
36. Shri Maguni Charan Kuanr – Art
37. Rani Machaiah – Art
38. Shri Ajay Kumar Mandavi – Art
39. Krishna Patel – Art
40. Shri K Kalyanasundaram Pillai – Art
41. Shri Mahipat Kavi – Art
42. Shri M M Keeravaani – Art
43. Shri Mangala Kanti Roy – Art
44. K C Runremsangi – Art
45. Shri Ritwik Sanyal- Art
46. Shri Kota Satchidananda Sastry -Art
47. Shri Kapil Dev Prasad – Art
48. Shri Shah Rasheed Ahmed Quadri – Art
49. Shri C V Raju – Art
50. Shri Pareshbhai Rathwa – Art
51. Shri Moa Subong – Art
52. Raveena Ravi Tandon – Art
53. Coomi Nariman Wadia – Art
54. Neihunuo Sorhie – Art
55. Shri Ghulam Muhammad Zaz – Art
56. Shri Ramesh Parmar & Ms. Shanti Parmar – Art
57. Shri Nadoja Pindipapanahalli Munivenkatappa – Art
58. Shri Bhiku Ramji Idate – Social Work
59. Shri Bikram Bahadur Jamatia -Social Work
60. Shri Ramkuiwangbe Jene – Social Work
61. Hirabai Lobi – Social Work
62. Shri Moolchand Lodha – Social Work
63. Shri Gajanan Jagannath Mane – Social Work
64. Shri Uma Shankar Pandey – Social Work
65. Shri V P Appukuttan Poduval – Social Work
66. Shri Laxman Singh – Social Work
67. Shri Palam Kalyana Sundaram – Social Work
68. Shri Karma Wangchu (Posthumous) – Social Work
69. Shri Sankurathri Chandra Sekhar- Social Work
70. Shri Vadivel Gopal & Shri Masi Sadaiyan – Social Work
71. Shri Narendra Chandra Debbarma (Posthumous) – Public Affairs
72. Shri Rakesh Radheshyam Jhunjhunwala (Posthumous) – Trade & Industry
73. Shri Areez Khambatta (Posthumous) – Trade & Industry
74. Shri Ratan Chandra Kar – Medicine
75. Nalini Parthasarathi – Medicine
76. Shri Hanumantha Rao Pasupuleti – Medicine
77. Shri Munishwar Chanddawar – Medicine
78. Gopalsamy Veluchamy – Medicine
79. Ishwar Chander Verma – Medicine
80. Shri Manoranjan Sahu – Medicine
81. Shri S R D Prasad – Sports
82. Shri Cheruvayal K Raman – Agriculture
83. Shri Tula Ram Upreti – Agriculture
84. Shri Patayat Sahu – Agriculture
85. Shri Nekram Sharma – Agriculture
86. Shri K Shanathoiba Sharma – Sports
87. Shri Gurcharan Singh – Sports
88. Shri Thounaojam Chaoba Singh – Public Affairs
89. Shri Kushok Thiksey Nawang Chamba Stanzin – Spiritualism
90. Sukama Acharya – Spiritualism
91. Shri S Subbaraman – Archaeology

Exp. 25 January- National Tourism Day

National Tourism Day is celebrated every year on January 25.

Objective – To raise awareness about the importance that the tourism industry plays in the country

The day is also a way to recognize the contributions of the thousands working in the tourism industry.

While many countries around the world have been celebrating World Tourism Day on September 27 since the 1980s.

This contribution from the tourism sector is expected to grow rapidly. It is estimated that the number of people employed in the sector is expected to grow by around 35 percent to 53 million by 2028.

During the same time period, the tourism industry is expected to grow to $125 billion, an increase of nearly 67 percent. By 2028, India is expected to see 30.5 million foreign tourists and earn $56 billion in foreign exchange.

Exp. Renowned architect Dr. B.V. Doshi passed away

Noted architect and Padma Bhushan awardee Balkrishna Doshi passed away recently at the age of 95.

Doshi was awarded the prestigious Aga Khan Award in the year 1995 for the architecture of ‘Aranya Low-Cost Housing’ township.

Doshi was also awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian award in the year 2020 and Padma Shri in 1976.

He was awarded the most prestigious award in the field of architecture “Pritzker” in the year 2018. He was the first Indian to receive this honour.

He was credited with designing some of the most iconic structures in the country such as IIM Bangalore, NIFT Delhi, and CEPT University in Ahmedabad.

Important Obituary

• Ronald E Ashe – A British linguist and educator specializing in Dravidian languages
• Sharad Yadav – Politician
• Tehemton Erach Udwadia – Father of Laparoscopic Surgery in India
• Rehman Rahi – Renowned poet and Kashmir’s first Jnanpith awardee
• Padma Shri awardee Prabhaben Sobhagchand Shah – Social Worker