1) Who has been awarded with the Golden Peacock Award 2022?
A. Jindal Steel & Power
B. Tata Steel
C. JSW Steel
D. Vedanta
Ans-A
• Leading steelmaker Jindal Steel & Power has been awarded with the prestigious Golden Peacock Award 2022 for its excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility activities in the Steel Sector.
• On behalf of the Company, JSP’s President and Group Head (CSR) Prashant Kumar Hota received the honour from Union Minister of State Law & Justice Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel on January 12, 2022 during 17th International Conference on CSR held at Mumbai.
2) Which state bagged 1st place at the 23rd National Sqay Championship?
A. Andhra Pradesh
B. Odisha
C. Jammu & Kashmir
D. Telangana
Ans-C
• The 23rd National Sqay Championship was organized by the SQAY Federation of India and hosted by Jammu and Kashmir SQAY Association at Indoor Stadium Bhagwati Nagar, Jammu.
• Jammu and Kashmir performed very well and bagged 1st place in the overall medal tally.
• Andhra Pradesh bagged 2nd place and Odisha was in 3rd place.
3) A ‘Soul of Steel’ challenge was launched in –
A. Gujarat
B. Punjab
C. Haryana
D. Uttarakhand
Ans-D
• The ‘Soul of Steel’ challenge was launched in Uttarakhand on January 14, which aims to test endurance at high altitude.
• Soul of Steel aims at pooling skill sets and creating a challenge that will develop the human ability to stabilize, survive in high altitude areas.
• The general area of the expedition would be the Nanda Devi National Park.
• It has been started on the lines of ‘Ironman Triathlon’ long distance triathlon challenge in Europe.
4) Which state’s Falak Mumtaz won a Gold medal at the National Sqay Championship?
A. Andhra Pradesh
B. Odisha
C. Jammu & Kashmir
D. Telangana
Ans-C
• Falak Mumtaz an eleven-year-old Kashmiri girl from a farflung area won a gold medal at the national level in the Sqay championship.
• Falak is one of them who won the gold medal in the Sqay championship that was played last week in Jammu.
• She is currently studying 6th standard at Aisha Ali Academy in Kulgam.
5) Who has created a World Record by typing copies of 81 books backwards?
A. Albert Tangora
B. Michele Santaglia
C. Hank Torres
D. Stella Pajunas
Ans-B
• According to a report by Guinness World Records (GWR), an Italian man, Michele Santaglia has created a world record by typing copies of 81 books backwards, which is called ‘mirror writing’.
• Santaglia types books using four completely blank keyboards without looking backwards.
• He types each book in its original language whether it be Hieroglyphs, Old Hebrew, Traditional Chinese, Mayan, Etruscan, Cuneiform or Voynich glyphs.
6) G20’s first Infrastructure Working Group meeting has been organised in –
A. Pune
B. Kolkata
C. Mumbai
D. Chennai
Ans-A
• The first G20 Infrastructure Working Group meeting under G20 India Presidency has been organised on 16-17 January in Pune.
• The meeting will be hosted by the Department of Economic Affairs along with Australia and Brazil as the co-chairs.
• The outcomes of the Working Group feed into the G20 Finance Track priorities and promote infrastructure development.
7) Who has flag off Vande Bharat train between Secunderabad-Vizag?
A. K. Chandrashekar Rao
B. Ashwini Vaishnaw
C. YS Jagan Mohan Reddy
D. Narendra Modi
Ans-D
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has virtually flag off the 8th Vande Bharat train between Secunderabad and the port city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh on 15th January 2023.
• List of Vande Bharat Express train:
• Varanasi – New Delhi: The first Vande Bharat Express train was inaugurated on February 18, 2019, connecting the capital city of Delhi to Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh).
• New Delhi – SMVD KATRA: The second Vande Bharat Express is running from Delhi to Katra (Jammu and
• Kashmir). It was inaugurated by Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs on October 3, 2019, and started running commercially on October 5, 2019.
8) Who has announced the launch of “Aarogya Maitri” project?
A. Amit Shah
B. Droupadi Murmu
C. Narendra Modi
D. Jagdeep Dhankhar
Ans-C
• PM Narendra Modi announced the “Aarogya Maitri” project during the Voice of Global South Summit.
• Through this project, India will provide essential medical supplies to any developing country affected by natural disasters or humanitarian crises.
• He also proposed setting up a ‘centre of excellence’ to facilitate development solutions to these countries.
• Also, India will launch the Global South Science and Technology Initiative to share its expertise in space technology.
9) RBI has imposed a monetary penalty of how much amount on Delhi-based Bahadur Chand Investments?
A. ₹25 lakh
B. ₹30 lakh
C. ₹40 lakh
D. ₹45 lakh
Ans-B
• The RBI imposed a monetary penalty of ₹30 lakh on Delhibased Bahadur Chand Investments.
• The penalty has been levied for non-compliance with certain provisions of the ‘Core Investment Companies (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2016’ and directions on ‘Information Technology Framework for the NBFC Sector’.
10) Europe’s largest known deposit of rare earth elements was found in –
A. Sweden
B. Germany
C. France
D. Netherlands
Ans-A
• Swedish state-owned mining company, LKAB, has discovered more than one million tonnes of rare earth oxides in the northern area of the country.
• This is the largest known deposit in Europe.
• Currently, no rare earths are mined in Europe and it mostly imports them from other regions.
• Almost 98% of rare earths used by the European Union were sent by China.
• Rare earth elements or rare earth metals are a set of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table.
11) Which Union Minister has launched the “MAARG portal” for startup mentorship?
A. Narayan Tatu Rane
B. Piyush Goyal
C. Mansukh Mandavia
D. Pralhad Joshi
Ans-B
• Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has launched the MAARG platform (Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth).
• The portal will facilitate mentorship between startups and entrepreneurs across sectors, stages, and functions.
• The winning startups will be given a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh.
12) A new book “Irrfan Khan: A Life in Movies” was authored by –
A. Baradwaj Rangan
B. Meena Karnik
C. Shubhra Gupta
D. Bikas Mishra
Ans-C
• A well-known film critic and author, Shubhra Gupta announced her new book titled “Irrfan Khan: A Life in Movies”.
• The book describes actor Irrfan Khan’s life and achievements, starting from his days at the prestigious National School of Drama (NSD) to his nearly a decade-long stint in television and his gradual ascent in the film industry.
• The book will be released in March 2023.
13) Which Union Minister has launched the “Geospatial Hackathon” to promote Innovation and Start-Ups in India?
A. Giriraj Singh
B. Raj Kumar Singh
C. Hardeep Singh Puri
D. Dr Jitendra Singh
Ans-D
• Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh on 14th January launched “Geospatial Hackathon”.
• The hackathon will promote innovation and startups in the geospatial ecosystem of India.
• The “Geospatial Hackathon” will end on March 10, 2023 and will have two sets of challenges – Research Challenge and Startup Challenge.
14) Chaudhary Santokh Singh died during “Bharat Jodo Yatra”. He was Cabinet Minister of –
A. Haryana
B. Karnataka
C. Punjab
D. Odisha
Ans-C
• Congress MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh died of heart attack during ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in Phillaur, Punjab on 14th January 2023.
• He was an Indian politician who was a Cabinet Minister of Punjab and a member of parliament from Jalandhar (Lok Sabha constituency).
• He won the 2014 Indian general election and 2019 Indian general election being an Indian National Congress candidate.
• The Congress party started the “Bharat Jodo Yatra” under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi on 7 September 2022 from Kanyakumari. This yatra will pass through 12 states.
15) Which country has inaugurated the European Union’s first mainland orbital launch complex?
A. Germany
B. Sweden
C. Belgium
D. Netherlands
Ans-B
• European officials and Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf inaugurated the EU’s first mainland orbital launch complex on 13th Jan 2023.
• The European Union wants to bolster its capacity to launch small satellites into space with a new launchpad in Arctic Sweden.
16) Who has inaugurated the Regional Office of Employees provident Fund Organization (EPFO) at Alwar, Rajasthan?
A. Dharmendra Pradhan
B. Amit Shah
C. Bhupendra Yadav
D. Mansukh Mandaviya
Ans-C
• Union Labour Minister Bhupendra Yadav inaugurated the Regional Office of Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) in Alwar, Rajasthan on 13th Jan 2023.
• The Regional Office will help more than 2 lakh workers, 12,000 establishments, and 8,500 pensioners from Alwar and the neighboring districts of Bharatpur and Dholpur.
• Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is a statutory organisation set up under the Union ministry of
• Labour and Employment was set up in 1951 by an Ordinance issued by the President.
17) How many overseas Indians has been honored with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award?
A. 27
B. 33
C. 19
D. 41
Ans-A
• President Draupadi Murmu honored 27 overseas Indians with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award on 10 January 2023 at the concluding session of the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention.
• It is the highest award given to overseas Indians for their distinguished contributions and achievements abroad.
18) Alibaba Group has sold what percentage of its stake in Paytm?
A. 5.7%
B. 4.6%
C. 3.1%
D. 6.7%
Ans-C
• China’s Alibaba Group sold a 3.1% stake in Indian digital payments firm Paytm for a total of $125 million through a block deal.
• Alibaba, which held a 6.26% stake in Paytm as of endSeptember, sold the stake at 536.95 rupees a piece.
• In November last year, Softbank Group Corp sold a 4.5% stake in the e-payments firm worth $200 million. SoftBank had a 17.5% stake in Paytm as of Sept. 30.
19) Which bank has launched e-Bank Guarantee (eBG) facility in association with National eGovernance Services Limited (NeSL)?
A. PNB
B. HDFC Bank
C. Bank of India
D. SBI
Ans-D
• State Bank of India (SBI) has launched e-Bank Guarantee (e-BG) facility in association with National e-Governance Services Limited (NeSL).
• India’s largest lender said this facility will bring about a revolutionary change in the banking ecosystem, where bank guarantee is frequently used in large volumes.
• By using the NeSL’s platform, the bank customers and other beneficiaries will instantly get an e-Bank Guarantee without additional verification.
20) Which country has recently announced the end of the outbreak of ‘Ebola’ disease?
A. Tanzania
B. Uganda
C. Somalia
D. Burundi
Ans-B
• On January 11, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that Uganda had successfully declared the end of the Ebola disease outbreak caused by Sudan ebolavirus.
• In Uganda, first case was confirmed in central Mubende district on September 20, 2022.
• The East African country recorded a total of 164 cases, of which 142 were confirmed, and 55 deaths due to the disease.
• Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD), is a rare and deadly disease caused by infection with one of the Ebola virus strains. The virus was first identified in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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