1) “Saarang 2023”, India’s largest student-run festival has been organised at –
A. IIT Bombay
B. IIT Madras
C. IIT kharagpur
D. IIT Kanpur
Ans-B
• The 28th edition of Saarang, India’s largest studentrun festival begins at IIT Madras on 11th January 2023.
• Saarang 2023 feature more than 100 events with participation from 500 colleges across the country between the 11th and 15th January 2023.
• The Saarang 2023 is one of the largest student-run festivals held completely in physical mode.
• Theme for Saarang 2023: ‘Mystic Hues’
• Saarang 2023 launched ‘Panacea’ for this year’s social cause. Panacea is a campaign aimed to encourage healthy habits to prevent disease outbreaks.
2) World’s longest river cruise “Ganga Vilas” has been flagged off in –
A. Varanasi
B. Lucknow
C. Prayagraj
D. Dhaka
Ans-A
• The world’s longest river cruise MV Ganga Vilas was flagged off by PM Narendra Modi on January 13, in Varanasi.
• The MV Ganga Vilas vessel measures 62 metres in length, 12 metres in width, and has a draught of 1.4 metres.
• Ganga Vilas Cruise will travel 3,200 km in a journey of 51 days.
• This cruise will travel through 27 river systems in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Bangladesh, and Assam, including the three major rivers Ganga, Meghna, and Brahmaputra.
• The PM Modi also inaugurated a ‘Tent City’, developed on the lines of similar setups in Gujarat’s Kutch and Rajasthan, on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi.
3) What is the Mascot of the “Khelo India Youth Games 2022”?
A. Savaj
B. Dhakad
C. Vijay
D. Asha
Ans-D
• Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has unveiled the mascot, torch, and anthem of Khelo India Youth Games-2022 in a colorful program at Shaurya Smarak in Bhopal.
• The mascot of Khelo India Youth Games 2022 is ‘Asha’. While the theme song is ‘Hindustan Ka Dil Dhadka Do…’ sung by famous singer Shaan.
• The torch of Khelo India Youth Games was named Amarkantak.
• The Games will be hosted in Madhya Pradesh from 31 January 2023 to 11 February 2023.
• For the first time water sports namely Kayaking Canoeing, Canoe Salaam and Fencing will be part of this edition of Khelo India Games.
4) A grand cultural program ‘Sur Sarita-Symphony of Ganga’ was organised in –
A. Prayagraj
B. Kanpur
C. Lucknow
D. Varanasi
Ans-D
• On the eve of the launch of the world’s longest river cruise ‘MV Ganga Vilas Cruise’ on January 12, a grand cultural program ‘Sur Sarita-Symphony of Ganga’ was organised in Varanasi.
• This cultural program was organized by the Ministry of Culture.
• The nearly one-hour show ended with Shankar Mahadevan’s rendition of ‘Kartavya Ganga’.
5) Which state government has launched the “Saharsh” special education program?
A. Manipur
B. Tripura
C. Nagaland
D. Sikkim
Ans-B
• The Tripura government has launched “Saharsh” special education program to promote social and emotional learning.
• It was started as a pilot program in 40 schools in the state in August 2022, now it will be made available to all government and aided schools in the state.
• Its objective is to enable children to study with joy and enthusiasm.
6) Central Government has named the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) with an outlay of –
A. ₹1 crore
B. ₹2 crore
C. ₹3 crore
D. ₹4 crore
Ans-B
• The government of India has named the new Integrated Food Security Scheme as Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY).
• Prior to this, the Union Cabinet had approved this scheme for providing free food grains to Antodaya Ann Yojna (AAY) and Primary Household (PHH) beneficiaries.
• This scheme came into effect on 1st January 2023.
• The Central Government will spend more than two lakh crore rupees in 2023 as food subsidies.
7) India has established a Hindi Chair at the Sabaragamuwa University of –
A. Bangladesh
B. Sri Lanka
C. Nepal
D. Vietnam
Ans-B
• The Indian High Commission has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a Hindi Chair at Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.
• The MoU was signed between Gopal Baglay (High Commissioner) and Prof. Udaya Rathnayake (Vice Chancellor of Sabaragamuwa University).
• Aim: To help in familiarizing students with India, its history, and culture as well as pave way for popularising Hindi by deputing Indian faculties.
8) As per World Bank report, India’s economy will grow in FY23 by –
A. 6.5%
B. 7.2%
C. 6.9%
D. 8.7%
Ans-C
• The World Bank has projected that India’s economy would grow 6.9% in FY23, which is much lower than the 8.7% growth achieved by the country in the previous financial year (FY2021/22).
• The World Bank has also predicted that global growth in 2023 would slow to 1.7% from the 3%.
• Reason: Elevated inflation, higher interest rates, reduced investment, and disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
9) India’s first 5G-enabled drone has been developed by –
A. Skylark Drones
B. Teja Aerospace and Dynamics
C. IG Drones
D. Garuda Aerospace
Ans-C
• Skyhawk, India’s first 5G-enabled drone capable of vertical take-off and landing, has been built by Noidabased IG Drones.
• The firm arose from the Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology in Odisha.
• Skyhawk can carry a 10-kilogram payload, has a fivehour endurance, and can function through satellites if an internet connection is absent.
10) Which Union Minister has launched a book titled ‘Braving A Viral Storm: India’s Covid-19 Vaccine Story’?
A. G. Kishan Reddy
B. Piyush Goyal
C. Mansukh Mandaviya
D. Bhupendra Yadav
Ans-C
• Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on 11th January, officially launched the book titled ‘Braving A Viral Storm: India’s Covid-19 Vaccine Story’ in New Delhi.
• The co-authors of the book are Ashish Chandorkar and Suraj Sudhir.
• In this book, the inside story of India’s fight against Corona and the challenges of making a vaccine in difficult circumstances is told.
11) Which state has created the Guinness Book of World Records by taking 4,500 penalty kicks in 12 hours?
A. Gujarat
B. Maharashtra
C. Telangana
D. Kerala
Ans-D
• Kerala kicked itself into the Guinness Book of World Records, by taking 4500 penalty kicks within a span of 12 hours at the Dream Goal Penalty Shootout organised at the Payyanad Stadium in Malappuram district on 10th Jan 2023.
• Former Indian football player U Sharaffali took the first kick at 7.38 am, while the last kick was taken by the State Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports V Abdurahiman at 7.38 in the evening.
• The Malappuram event obliterated the previous record of 2500 penalty kicks held by Germany.
12) Which state’s “Year of Enterprises” project gets recognition for ‘best practice model’ to promote MSMEs?
A. Odisha
B. Gujarat
C. Kerala
D. Rajasthan
Ans-C
• The ‘Year of Enterprises’ project was recognized as the best practices model at the National Conference on Micro Small and Medium Enterprises.
• The ‘Year of Enterprises’ aimed to create 1,00,000 enterprises and has successfully created 1,18,509 enterprises and got investment worth ₹7,261.54 crores.
• The Kerala government has stated that the ‘Year of Enterprises’ Project has created 2,56,140 jobs till now.
• The ‘Year of Enterprises’ Project was inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on 30th March 2022.
13) Which Indian city has topped the Start-up funding in 2022?
A. Bengaluru
B. Chennai
C. Hyderabad
D. Visakhapatnam
Ans-A
• In 2022, Bengaluru topped the startup funding chart in India, according to data provided by Tracxn, a leading global market intelligence platform.
• Bengaluru topped with $10.8 billion in 2022, followed by Mumbai at $3.9 billion, and Gurugram at a distant $2.6 billion.
• Startups based in Delhi and Chennai registered $1.2 billion each in funding, followed by Pune at $1 billion.
14) Who has become the India’s 1st woman pilot fly Sukhoi fighter aircraft?
A. Ankita Singh
B. Avni Chaturvedi
C. Vartika Mishra
D. Mansi Gulati
Ans-B
• Su-30MKI pilot Squadron Leader Chaturvedi was assigned to the Veer Guardian 2023 in Japan.
• First female fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force (IAF), squadron commander Avani Chaturvedi, has participated in the inaugural air exercise Veer Guardian 2023.
• India’s first female pilot, Avani Chaturvedi, to pilot an Indian Sukhoi fighter jet in aerial wargames in Japan.
• For the first time, female officers would be travelling abroad to represent the nation.
15) A Santhi Kumari has been appointed as the 1st Woman Chief Secretary of –
A. Tamil Nadu
B. Karnataka
C. Andhra Pradesh
D. Telangana
Ans-D
• Senior IAS Officer A Santhi Kumari has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Telangana.
• She has succeeded Somesh Kumar, who was relieved from the Telangana government by the Union Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
• Santhi Kumari is a 1989 batch officer who hails from Andhra Pradesh and has become the first woman to be Chief Secretary of Telangana.
16) A new book titled “Jadunama” written on about the life of –
A. Salim Khan
B. Javed Akhtar
C. Anurag Kashyap
D. Gulzar
Ans-B
• Jadunama, a book written on veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar by Arvind Mandloi, was released.
• Javed’s wife, actor Shabana Azmi and children Zoya and Farhan Akhtar were present at the book launch.
• Jadunama is about a writer, poet, lyricist, and political activist. It is also about this one man’s struggle since childhood to become what he is today and to create a hallmark of success in everything he does.
17) As per OAG’s Punctuality League 2023 report, What is the rank of Indigo?
A. 11th
B. 13th
C. 15th
D. 18th
Ans-C
• According to OAG’s Punctuality League 2023 report, India’s largest airline IndiGo and state-owned Coimbatore airport are among the 20 most punctual airlines and airports globally
• When it comes to On-Time Performance (OTP) in 2022, IndiGo is ranked 15th while Coimbatore airport is at the 13th position.
• The list is topped by Garuda Indonesia airline with an OTP of 95.63 per cent, followed by Safair (95.30 per cent) and Eurowings (95.26 per cent) at the second and third spots, respectively.
• The list is topped by Japan’s Osaka international airport (Itami) with an OTP of 91.45 per cent.
18) 3,700 Indian Dams will lose 26% Storage Capacity by which year?
A. 2040
B. 2050
C. 2060
D. 2070
Ans-B
• About 3,700 large dams across India could lose up to 26% of their original storage capacity due to sedimentation build-ups by 2050.
• Globally the storage capacity of dams across the world could be hot by 25%, a new study by the UN University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) revealed.
• India’s Central Water Commission had in 2015 reported that among 141 large reservoirs over 50 years old, onequarter had already lost at least 30 per cent of their initial storage capacity.
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