Current Affairs Quiz 4th and 5th January 2025 Quiz

Exp. Maharashtra government launches15 day reading campaign amongst students

The Maharashtra government has launched a 15 day “reading campaign amongst students” starting 1 January 2025. The scheme was announced by the Minister for Higher and Technical Education Minister of Maharashtra government Chandrakant Patil.

The state government has also set up committees at various levels that will oversee the reading campaign across the state.

The state government has also announced that it will honour the winners of the various activities conducted by the state government as part of the reading campaign.

The 15 day reading campaign will be under the Higher and Technical Education Department of the Maharashtra government. It will be held every year from 1-15 January.

About Maharashtra

• Capital – Mumbai
• Chief Minister – Devendra Fadnavis (3^rd time)
• Deputy Chief Minister – Eknath Sindhe & Ajit Pawar
• Governor – C P Radhakrishnan
• Legislative Assembly Speaker – Rahul Narwekar

Exp. Blinkit launches 10-minute ambulance service, starting with Gurugram

Quick-commerce company Blinkit has launched a 10-minute ambulance service in Gurugram. Blinkit plans to expand the service to other cities in India in the next two years.

The ambulances would have medical equipment such as oxygen cylinders, AEDs (Automated External Defibrillator), stretchers, monitors, suction machines, emergency medicines, and injections. The ambulance will come with a paramedic, an assistant, and a trained driver.

While the first five ambulances will immediately take to the roads of Gurugram, more users will be able to book a Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance through the Blinkit app.

CEO of  Blinkit – Albinder Dhinds

Exp. Women Entrepreneurship Platform Partners with Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation to Empower Women Entrepreneurs

The Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has conceptualized a flagship initiative called ‘Faral Sakhi’, aimed at empowering women entrepreneurs in the city of Mira Bhayandar, Maharashtra.

The program will provide comprehensive training and support to help women entrepreneurs engaged in traditional snack production to scale their ventures sustainably and effectively.

MBMC collaborated with the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) of NITI Aayog and formally launched ‘Faral Sakhi’ under the Award to Reward initiative of WEP.

WEP, incubated in NITI Aayog in 2018 as an aggregator platform, transitioned into a public-private partnership in 2022.

The ‘Faral Sakhi’ initiative aims at creating permanent employment opportunities for women by engaging them in the production and sale of traditional festive snacks (‘Faral’). A central kitchen, set up by MBMC, enables women from self-help groups (SHGs) to prepare these snacks professionally.

25 women from Mira Bhayandar will be selected for technical training in business operations. This training, facilitated by the Centre for Education, Governance, and Public Policy (CEGP Foundation), will equip participants with the skills and knowledge needed to establish sustainable businesses and contribute to the local economy.

Exp. Renowned botanist K S Manilal passes away at 86

Renowned botanist K S Manilal, who revived the Latin book ‘Hortus Malabaricus’, a landmark 17th-century botanical compendium about the medicinal plants of Kerala, by translating it into English and Malayalam, passed away in Thrissur. He was 86.

Manilal also served as the Head of the Department of Botany at Calicut University.

He received the E K Janaki Ammal Taxonomy Award (2003) and the Netherlands Government’s highest civilian honour, the Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau, awarded by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 2020.

Exp. SBI introduces TAB-based digital NRI account onboarding journey

State Bank of India (SBI) has introduced a TAB-based digital onboarding process for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to simplify the opening of NRE and NRO accounts.

The new initiative is now accessible at all SBI branches in India and select foreign offices. By utilising digital tools, the bank aims to enhance the efficiency and convenience of the account opening process.

The digital onboarding process eliminates the need for physical paperwork, enabling quicker account openings at branches and during customer visits through digital document verification. This streamlined approach is designed to make the process more efficient and convenient for NRIs.

An NRI bank account is a tailored banking solution available to Indian citizens or Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) residing overseas, offered by Indian financial institutions. These accounts offer a variety of banking services designed to assist NRIs in handling their financial affairs, investments, and transactions within India.

Exp. India submits its 4th Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

India’s 4th Biennial Update Report (BUR-4) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was submitted on 30th December 2024. The BUR-4 updates the Third National Communication (TNC) and contains the National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory for the year 2020.

The report also embodies information on India’s national circumstances, mitigation actions, an analysis of the constraints, gaps, related finance, technology, and capacity-building needs.

India’s achievements in respect of the NDC targets:

• India has progressively continued decoupling economic growth from GHG emissions. Between 2005 and 2020,
• India’s emission intensity of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was reduced by 36%.
• By October 2024, the share of non-fossil sources in the installed electricity generation capacity was 46.52%. The total installed capacity of renewable power, including large hydropower, is 203.22 GW and the cumulative renewable power installed capacity,
• (excluding large hydro projects) has increased 4.5 times from 35 GW in March 2014 to 156.25 GW.
• India’s forest and tree cover has consistently increased and currently stands at 25.17% of the total geographical area of the country. During 2005 to 2021, additional carbon sink of 2.29 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent has been created.

Exp. Pakistan begins its two-year tenure as non-permanent member of UNSC

Pakistan began its two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on January 1.

Pakistani delegation will play an active and constructive role in addressing key challenges facing the world.

Pakistan will sit in the Security Council for the 2025-26 term as a non-permanent member the eighth time that the country has had a seat on the 15-member body’s horseshoe table.

Pakistan replaced Japan, which currently occupies the Asian seat in the Security Council, a primary instrument for establishing and maintaining international peace.

Pakistan’s earlier terms on the council were in 2012-13, 2003-04, 1993-94, 1983-84, 1976-77, 1968-69 and 1952-53.

In the June election in the General Assembly, Pakistan was elected along with Denmark, Greece, Panama and Somalia to replace Japan, Ecuador, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland whose terms end on December 31, 2024.

The new members join the five veto-wielding permanent members the United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom and France and the five countries elected as non-permanent members last year Algeria, Guyana, South Korea, Sierra Leone and Slovenia.

Exp. Federal Bank launches digital platform FedOne for corporate banking

Federal Bank, one of India’s largest private sector banks, has launched FedOne, a new transaction banking platform powered by Nucleus Software’s FinnAxia solution.

The implementation, completed after a 10-month collaboration, aims to modernize the bank’s corporate banking services.

Federal Bank, one of India’s leading private sector banks, has marked a significant milestone in its digital transformation journey with the launch of FedOne™, powered by Nucleus Software’s advanced transaction banking platform, FinnAxia®.

FedOne™ is set to revolutionise the corporate banking landscape, enabling Federal Bank to seize emerging business opportunities and deliver exceptional value through streamlined processes and advanced technology.

Exp. 2 January 2025 – 67th Foundation Day of DRDO

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) celebrated its 67th Foundation Day on January 2, 2025.

 Since its establishment in 1958, DRDO has grown from a modest setup of 10 laboratories to a robust network of 52 laboratories and 5 DRDO Young Scientist Laboratories (DYSLs), covering a vast spectrum of defence technologies.

On 2025 being declared as the ‘Year of Reforms’, Raksha Mantri asserted that DRDO will play a crucial role in achieving the set objectives.

Exp. IIT Madras partners with Union govt. to enhance agricultural extension system

The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, has collaborated with the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on a project to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of agricultural extension system through digitalisation.

Vistaar (Virtually Integrated System To Access Agricultural Resources) is a pilot project wherein the institute’s expertise will be used. The Centre for Research on Startups and Risk Financing and the startup it incubated, YNOS Venture Engine, have developed comprehensive information on the Indian startup landscape.

The institute and the agriculture ministry have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enrich the Vistaar platform with information about startups in agriculture and allied sectors. This will enable farmers and stakeholders in agriculture and allied sectors to be aware of the capabilities and offerings of startups.  

Exp. Amit Shah released Jammu Kashmir & Ladakh Through The Ages Book

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah has released the book ‘Jammu Kashmir & Ladakh Through the Ages: A Visual Narrative of Continuities and Linkages’ in New Delhi.

The editor of the book is Professor Raghuvendra Tanwar, Chairman, Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR).

Recent Books in News

• In Pursuit of Democracy – Najma Heptulla
• The Nehru Development Model – Arvind Panagariya
• Living with Birds – Asad Rahamani
• Modi’s Governance Triumph: Reshaping India’s Path to Prosperity – Tarun Chugh
• Breaking Rocks and Barriers – Sudipta Sengupta
• Power Within: The Leadership Legacy of Narendra Modi’ – Dr R Balasubramaniam
• I have the Streets – R Ashwin & Sidharth Monga

Exp. 4 January – World Braille Day

World Braille Day is observed every year on January 4.

Objective – To raise awareness about the importance of Braille as a means of communication for blind and partially sighted people.

In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly decided to proclaim January 4 as World Braille Day as a tribute to Louis Braille, the visionary behind the braille system.

Louis Braille, inventor of the braille code, was born on January 4, 1809, in France’s Coupvray. When he was three, Braille injured his eye with a sharp tool while he was playing in his father’s shop. Even after the best care, the infection in his eye soon spread to the other one and he was left completely blind.

Exp. Faiz Ahmed Kidwai appointed as Aviation Body Chief

Senior IAS officer Faiz Ahmed Kidwai has been appointed the chief of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The 1996-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre is currently Additional Secretary in the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Ashutosh Agnihotri, Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry, has been named Chairman & Managing Director of Food Corporation of India (FCI).

Senior bureaucrat Akash Tripathi has been appointed as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Power.

Kamal Kishore Soan, Additional Secretary in the Labour Ministry, will now be Additional Secretary & Mission Director, Jal Jeevan Mission under the Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation.

Shubha Thakur, Additional Secretary in the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, has been appointed as Additional Secretary in the Inter State Council Secretariat under the Home Ministry.

Recent Appointment

• Secretary General of Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM)- Manish Singhal (replace Deepak Sood)
• CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) – Bhuvnesh Kumar (replace Amit Agrawal)
• First transgender woman as a guest lecturer at Karnataka University – K N Renuka Pujar (For Kannada Department)
• Chairperson of the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), a constituent board of the Quality Council of India (QCI) – Dr. Sandip Shah
• Revenue Secretary in Finance Minsitry – Arunish Chawla
• Textiles Secretary – Neelam Shami Rao