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MONTHLY CURRENT AFFAIRS FACTS COMPILATION (JANUARY 2021)

2021 is the International Year -

 For the Elimination of Child Labor  Of Fruits and Vegetables  Of Peace and Trust  Of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development

Important Days of January

 World Braille Day - January 4  World Day of War Orphans - January 6  Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (NRI Day) - January 9  National Human Trafficking Awareness Day - January 11  World Day is observed annually on - January 10  National Youth Day - January 12  Armed Forces Veterans Day - January 14  Army Day - January 15  World Religion Day - January 17  National Road Safety Month 2021 - 18 January to 17 February  Parakram Diwas - January 23  National Girl Child Day - January 24  International Day of Education - January 24  National Tourism Day - January 25  National Voters Day - January 25  Republic Day - January 26  International Customs Day - January 26  International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust - January 27

 Martyr’s Day or Shaheed Diwas - January 30  World Leprosy Day - Last Sunday of January (January 31, 2021)

National

’s first pollinator park opens in - Uttarakhand  India’s first city to have fulfilled 100% of its energy needs during day time with solar energy - Diu  Corona virus vaccine developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca - Covishield  The COVID-19 vaccine which was recently approved by WHO for immediate use - Pfizer BioNTech vaccine  Two vaccines recently approved by the Drugs Controller General of India for “Restricted Emergency Use” in India - COVAXIN and COVISHIELD  Which state government recently announced to set up a Tamil Academy to protect the Tamil language and culture? -  The Indian city hosting the India-France joint Rafale Mega Air Exercise ‘SKYROS’ - Jodhpur  The largest floating solar energy project in the world is to be constructed by the Govt. of India at - Omkareshwar Dam (Narmada river)  Hackathon organized to develop India as the global Toy manufacturing hub - Toycathon- 2021  State govt. which launched ‘Launch Pad Scheme’ to make youth self-reliant - Madhya Pradesh  The hydroelectric project recently inaugurated in Manipur - Thoubal Multipurpose Project  India’s first Ethanol plant will be established at - Chattisgarh  According to new report, the largest exporter of rice in the world - India  India’s first double stack long-haul container train is running between - New Ateli (Haryana) to New Kishanganj (Rajasthan)  Which commission recommended that the Ministry of Labour to be handed over to the Dept of Industries? - C V Anandabose Commission  The state to have the largest floating solar project in the world by 2023 - Madhya Pradesh

 The High Court which recently declared that the right to life is more important than religious freedom - Madras HC  Chief Guest of 2021 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas - Chandrika Prasad Santokhi (President of Suriname)  Coastal Research Vehicle (CRV) launched at the Chennai Port to carry out environment indexing and bathymetric features in both coastal and offshore waters - Sagar Anveshika  Technical expert group formed to study the adverse findings from the National Family Health Survey-5 - Preeti Pant Panel  Chief Guest of Republic Day 2021 - No Chief guest due to COVID-19 pandemic  The initial invitee as the chief guest at India’s Republic Day 2021, and later being cancelled due to covid situation - Boris Johnson (British PM)  The first ever Ice climbing festival is celebrated in - Nubra Valley (Leh)  India’s first ‘Fire Park’ to educate and bring awareness on basic fire safety measures among the people is inaugurated in - Bhubaneswar  Elon Musk-owned electric vehicle (EV) company Tesla has set up a fully-owned subsidiary in - Bengaluru  Which High Court has ruled that it would be optional and not mandatory for publication of notice under Special Marriage Act? - Allahabad High Court  ‘Prarambh’, Startup India International Summit in New Delhi has been organized by - The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)  ‘SAKSHAM’ campaign to spread awareness about green and clean energy is launched by - Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas  India’s first COVID-19 Vaccine recipient is - Manish Kumar  New initiative launched by Prime Minister which will help in setting up new startups and promote their growth - Startup India Seed Fund  The first indigenously designed driverless metro car in launched in - Bengaluru  ‘One School One IAS’ scheme was lauched in the state of -  Which day, being the birthday of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, the Govt. of India decides to celebrate it as Parakram Diwas? - January 23  India’s first paperless budget after independence will be presented by - Nirmala Sitharaman  Khelo India State Centre of Excellence is inaugurated in - Pune

 Bird Festival ‘Kalrav’ is inaugurated at Nagi-Nakti bird sanctuary in the state of - Bihar  Ministry for Sports and Youth Affairs, Kiren Rijiju has been given the additional charge of - Ayush Ministry  The Maharashtra government has renamed Gorewada International Zoo in Nagpur as - Balasaheb Thackeray Gorewada International Zoological Park  Person who become the 1st woman fighter pilot to take part in the Republic Day parade - Flight lieutenant Bhawana Kanth  With which country India has recently signed a pact on submarine rescue support? - Singapore  One of the oldest trains of Indian Railways, the Howrah-Kalka Mail has been renamed as - ‘Netaji Express’  India’s first blockchain enabled solar power trading is launched at - Uttar Pradesh  Committee appointed by Union Govt. regarding the unification of marriage age of girls - Jaya Jaitly Committee  India’s longest Road Arch Bridge inaugurated in Meghalaya - Wahrew Bridge  National Migration Support Portal launched by the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs – Shram Shakti  Which state govt. launched ‘Udyam Sarathi App’ for Youths? - Uttar Pradesh  Student who became the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand for one day on National Girl Child Day - Shristi Goswami  The National Mission for Edible Oil in order to increase the domestic availability and reduce the import dependency is being proposed by - Ministry of Agriculture  e-EPIC programme launched on the occasion of National Voters’ Day stands for - Electronic Electoral Photo Identity Card  Which state became the first Indian State to have 2 Expressway airstrips? - Uttar Pradesh  First Indian State which decided to provide electricity subsidy to farmers - Madhya Pradesh

Kerala

 The place where Kerala’s largest Mural painting to be established - Varkala  The first women DGP of Kerala to retire from service on 31st december 2020 - R Sreelekha  25th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) will be held at - , , , Thalassery  National Park in Kerala which the Central Govt. has notified as Eco-sensitive Zone in December 2020 - Mathikettan Chola  State assembly which recently passed a resolution against the Central Agrarian Reform laws - Kerala  Renowned poet who passed away on January 3, 2020 - Anil Panachooran  The scheme launched by Kudumbashree to help and support the SHG members - Jeevandeepam  India’s youngest Panchayath President from the ST community - Radhika Madhavan  Venue of 4th Global Ayurveda Festival - Thiruvananthapuram  Project launched by the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights for making the state child friendly - CHASE (Child Health and Safety Empowerment)  Scheme by Kerala Govt. to attract Scheduled Trribes to the agricultural sector - Haritha Reshmi  The major cities to be connected by the GAIL Natural Gas Pipeline Project Inaugurated on 5th January 2021 by Prime Minister - Kochi-Mangaluru  Scheme Implemented by KSEB to convert all street lights into LED in the State - Nilavu  The first water taxi of Malabar is started at - Parassinikadavu  Kerala’s first road tunnel project which has re-started the construction work recently - Tunnel  Vagbhadananda Park is recently inauguarated at - Vadakara  The state which recently declared bird flu as a state disaster - Kerala  The virus which caused bird flu in Kerala - H5 N8  First green sub-jail of Kerala - Kannur sub-jail  First hospital in Kerala to perform gastrointestinal transplant surgery - Amrita Hospital, Kochi

 Kerala’s TB eradication program which has been selected by the Central Govt. as the most ideal public sector health programme - Akshaya Keralam  Initiative to widen the use of LED bulbs in Kerala - Filament free Kerala  Scheme launched by Kerala state for the welfare of Unmarried mothers - Snehasparsham  App developed by the Kerala Forest Dept. to find and rescue snakes that enter into human habitations - SARPA( Snake Awareness, Rescue and Protection App)  Brand Ambassador of Kerala Samoohika Sannadha Sena (Community Volunteer Force) - Tovino Thomas  Portal to be launched by the Kerala Social Justice Dept. to help qualified and skilled differently abled people to secure employment - Karmapadham  MP from Kerala who resigned recently - Jose K Mani  First Keralite to score a century in the ODI Cricket - C P Rizwan (UAE Team)  Raja Ravi Varma Art Gallery will be established at - Thiruvananthapuram  Kerala Literary Museum will be established at - Kottayam  Kerala Cultural Museum will be established at - Palakkad  Kerala Handloom Museum will be established at - Kannur  International Archaeological Heritage Centre will be established at - Karyavattam (Thiruvananthapuram)  Kerala Govt. scheme which aims at large scale production of paddy, fruits, vegetables, tubers, grains and legumes as part of achieving self-sufficiency - Subhiksha Keralam  A scheme launched by Kerala Govt. giving an opportunity to those who want to give secret information about corruption - Corruption Free Kerala  State won the National Energy Conservation Award for energy conservation of leading state for the fourth consecutive year - Kerala  The venue of 33rd Kerala Science Congress - Thiruvananthapuram  State Legislative Assembly in which the first e-voting was held recently - Kerala  The citizen centric Mobile App by Kerala Police to give the common public easy access to all services. - POL-APP  Scheme by Kerala Govt. to provide free treatment to the children below age of 18, who are suffering from Kidney diseases, Cardiovascular diseases, Cerebral Palsy etc. - Thalolam Scheme

 Welfare programme by Kerala Govt. that would help guest workers find a clean, comfortable and safe lodging facility at affordable rate - Guest Friendly Residence  India’s first ‘Labour Movement Museum’ to be set up in - Alappuzha  Covid vaccination given in the first phase in Kerala - Covishield Vaccine  The second water purifying plant of Kerala Water Authority is at - Aruvikkara (Tvpm)  Mobile app of Kerala Beverages Corporation which has been withdrawn recently - BevQ  The first para sailing in Kerala is started in - Kovalam  The fisrt Indian state to set up hologram safety registration boards on fishing boats - Kerala  The scheme by Kerala Govt. to provide safe housing for all fisher families residing in areas vulnerable to sea erosion. - Punargeham  Operation initiated by the State Motor Vehicle Dept. to prevent the use of cooling stickers and curtains on vehicles - Operation Screen  First Malayalee to be the captain of an IPL team - Sanju Samson (Team: Rajasthan Royals)  Kerala’s rank in the 2021 India Innovation Index - 5th  Which company took over the management of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport for the next 50 years? - Adani Group  Veteran Malayalam Actor who passed away recently - Unnikrishnana Namboothiri  Nila Heritage Museum, the first river cultural museum of Kerala is at - Ponnani (Malappuram)  Goodwill Ambassador of the Kerala State Tuberculosis Prevention Program - Mohanlal  Project implemented by Kerala Agriculture Dept. in memory of late poet - Naattumanthoppukal  District to become the largest solar energy producing district of Kerala - Kasargod  National Coastal Rowing Academy to be established at - Alappuzha  Cooperative Society in Kerala which bagged second rank in the World Cooperative Monitor Report 2020 published by International Cooperative Alliance - Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society, .  Tablo prepared by Kerala for 2021 Republic Day - Coir of Kerala  As per the central report, number of Polluted River Streches in Kerala - 21  Malayalee playback singer who has been conferred with Padma Bhushan 2021 - K.S. Chitra

 The first Industrial Smart City in India will be established at - Kochi  Scheme implemented by Kerala Govt. to ensure the physical and mental health of students and enhancing their fitness - Play for Health

International

 Venue of 41st Gulf summit 2021 - Riyadh  Transition period of Britain with European Union ended on - 31 December 2020  Central Asian country which recently abolished the death penalty - Kazakhstan  Country which has been chosen as the co-chair of the IUCN-supported Asia Protected Areas Partnership (APAP) for a period of three years till November 2023 - India  Which country passed the ‘Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act’? - USA  Three key subsidiary bodies of UN Security Council which will be chaired by India - Taliban Sanctions Committee, Counter-Terrorism Committee, Libya Sanctions Committee  The host country of ‘One Planet Summit’ for biodiversity - France  Person who won the presidential election in Kyrgyzstan - Sadyr Japarov  Person re-elected as the President of Uganda - Yoweri Museveni  The venue of G7 Summit 2021 - Britain  46th President of the United States - Joe Biden  First woman Vice President of the United States - Kamala Harris  The Dutch Prime Minister who resigned recently over the childcare subsidies scandal - Mark Rutte  Country recently announced to rejoin WHO and Paris Summit - USA  Which countries are part of New START Nuclear Treaty? - USA and Russia  START Treaty statnds for - Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty  The Prime Minister of Mongolia who resigned recently along with his entire government - Khurelsukh Ukhnaa  Which country become the country with the world’s largest current account surplus in the year 2020? - China  Person who became the first woman Prime Minister of Estonia - Kaja Kallas  Person who has been re-elected as the President of Portugal - Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa

Science and Technology

 India’s first Testbed for Autonomous Navigation Systems (Terrestrial and Aerial) TiHAN launched at - IIT Hyderabad  The country which palns to have the first nuclear reactor to the Moon - USA  Country which plans to launch the first wood-based satellite by 2023 - Japan  Multi Launch Rocket System successfully launched by the Pakistan Army - Fatah-1  The first company in India to use robots to clean and maintain aircraft - Air India Express  Which company announced the establishment of a Quantum Computing Applications Lab in partnership with he Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology? - Amazon Web Services (AWS)  Aerospace organization which breaks ISRO’s Record by launching 143 Satellites – SpaceX.

Defence

 The first indigenously designed and developed air dropped container from IL 38SD aircraft of Indian Navy. - SAHAYAK-NG  India’s first indigenous 9mm Machine Pistol has been jointly developed by DRDO and Indian Army - ASMI  Motor Bike Ambulance developed by DRDO which has been handed over to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) - Rakshita  From which country India is about to procure 21 MiG-29 and 12 Sukhoi-30MKI fighter aircraft? - Russia  Desert Knight 21 is a Joint Air Exercise of India and - France  Operation launched by Border Security Force (BSF) on the western international border of Rajasthan - Operation Sard Hawa  Integrated Weapons System Design Centre is inaugurated in - Hyderabad  The large-scale tri-service joint amphibious exercise held in Andaman & Nicobar whivh involved the participation of Indian Army, Navy as well as Air Force - AMPHEX – 21

Recent Appointments

 Newly appointed CEO of Railway Board - Suneet Sharma  The new chairperson of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) - Soma Mondal  Deputy election commissioner in the Election Commission of India - Umesh Sinha  The new Chief Justice (CJ) of the Common High Court for the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh - Justice Pankaj Mithal  Newly elected president of the All India Chess Federation (AICF) - Sanjay Kapoor  New Deputy Chief of Army Staff - Lt Gen Shantanu Dayal  Person re-elected as the Speaker of US House of Representatives - Nancy Pelosi  New head of Google Cloud in Asia Pacific - Karan Bajwa  Person nominated to be the next U.S. attorney general - Merrick Garland  Person to be appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Kerala - V P Joy  First Woman Chief Justice of Telangana High Court - Hima Kohli  Indian-American who became the first Chief Information Officer of the US Army - Dr Raj Iyer  First deputy general secretary of All India Football Federation (AIFF) - Abhishek Yadav  Person re-elected as the president of the Central African Republic - Faustin-Archange Touadera  New Director General of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) - Subodh Kumar Jaiswal  Indian-American named as senior director for South Asia in US National Security Council - Sumona Guha  Indian-American named as senior director for Technology and National Security in US National Security Council - Tarun Chhabra  BCCI’s Official Representative on ICC Board - Jay Shah  Chairperson of empowered committee for the administration of Covid-19 vaccine - R S Sharma  Newly appointed CEO of Kerala Maritime Board - T P Salim Kumar  The Indian recently appointed as the Associate Attorney General of America - Vanitha Gupta  New chairman of Somnath Temple Trust -

 The person appointed as the member of Indian Center for Migration Council Committee - M A Yusuf Ali  New Managing Director of LIC - Siddhartha Mohanty  New Vice Chancellor of KUFOS - K Riji John

Awards and Recognitions

 “Eminent Engineer Award for the Year 2020’ won by - Vinod Kumar Yadav  Asia’s richest man according to the new report - Chong Shanshan  Mathrubhasha Prathibha Award 2020 winner - Dr. Ashok D’Cruz  Keralite scientist who won the the World Academy of Science award - Dr Ajith Parameswaran  Person who was honoured with 2020 Von Kurman Award by International Academy of Astronautics - Dr. K. Sivan  Radio Asia 2020 News Person of the Year Award winner - K K Shailaja  Kayakalp Award for promoting cleanliness, hygiene and creating sustainable practices in public health facilities is received for the third time by - AIIMS Bhubaneswar  2021 Harivarasanam Award winner - M R Veeramani Raju  13th Basheer Award winner (2021) - M K Sanu  The SKOCH Challenger Award under “Transparency in Governance” is won by - The Ministry of Panchayati Raj  Winner of the Mahakavi Ulloor Memorial Literary Award in 2021 - Sunil P Ilayidam  Indian mathematician who has been named joint winner of Michael and Sheila Held Prize - Nikhil Srivastava  Playback singer who has been conferred with Padma Vibhushan 2021 posthumously - S P Balasubramaniam  Winner of Subhash Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2021 - Rajendra Kumar Bhandari  Recipient of Mahaveer Chakra on Republic Day 2021 - Colonel Santhosh Babu  Recipient of Keerti Chakra on Republic Day 2021 - Subedar Sanjeev Kumar

Indices

 World’s richest person according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index - Elon Musk  India’s rank in Henley Passport Index 2021 - 85  India’s rank in “Break Out Economies” Index - 4th  “International Migration 2020 Highlights” is a report recently released by - The United Nations  According to 2020 UN Report, the country having the largest immigrant community is - India  India Innovation Index 2.0 is released by - NITI Aayog  The Global Risks Report 2021 is released by - (WEF)  The Global Climate Risk Index 2021 was recently released by - Germanwatch  India’s rank in Global Climate Risk Index 2021 - 7th

Books and Authors

 Author of the book “Vahana Masterclass” - Alfredo Covelli (Italian Writer)  “The Battle of Belonging” is a book written by - Shashi Tharoor  ‘India’s 71-Year Test: The Journey to Triumph in Australia’ is authored by - R. Kaushik  ‘Right Under our Nose’ is a novel written by - R Giridharan  “The Population Myth: Islam, Family Planning and Politics in India” is a book authored by - S Y Quraishi  The book “Making of a General-A Himalayan Echo” is authored by - Konsam Himalaya Singh  ‘The Commonwealth of Cricket’ is a book written by - Ramchandra Guha  The book ‘Manohar Parrikar- Off the Record’ is written by - Waman Subha Prabhu

Sports

 India’s 67th Grandmaster - Leon Mendonca  Michael Kindo, who passed away recently is associated with - Hockey

 Khelo India Ice Hockey Tournament begins in - Kargil  Venue of 2023 Asia Cup Football - China  Kerala cricket player who scored the fastest century in Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy Cricket - Mohammad Azharuddeen  Yonex Thailand Open badminton tournament 2021 winner - Carolina Marin  Winner of Gazprom Brilliancy Prize by the International Chess Federation - Nihal Sarin  Person who made the record of most official goals in the Football career - Cristiano Ronaldo  Venue of 2021 Asia Cup Cricket - Sri Lanka  The cricket player who became the first foreign player to earn Rs.1 billion in the IPL - A B de Villiers

Banking

 The Digital Payment Index is launched by - RBI  Expectation Survey of Households is launched by - RBI  Digital Payments Index (DPI) to capture the extent of digitization of digital/electronic payments across the country has been launched by - RBI  Which bank became India’s first urban co-operative bank to make transition to Small Finance Bank (SFB)? - SMCB  Which three banks will continue as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) as per new report? - SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank.

Miscellaneous

 Legendary Odia Music Director who passed away recently - Shantanu Mohapatra  Theme of National Metrology Conclave 2021 - ‘Metrology for the Inclusive Growth of the Nation’  Company which became world’s most valuable two-wheeler company - Bajaj Auto

 Theme of EDUCON 2020 - Envisioning education for transforming youth to restore global peace  The theme for National Youth Day 2021 - ‘Channelizing Youth Power for Nation Building’  New innovative, eco-friendly, non-toxic paint developed by Khadi and Village Industries Commission - “Khadi Prakritik Paint”  The storm which recently brought the heaviest snowfall in decades all over - Storm Filomena  Founder of social media app ‘Signal’ - Brian Acton  Ustad Gulam Mustafa Khan who passed away recently is famous as - Hindustani Musician  Company which recently received Google Cloud Partner Status - Infosys  Veda Nilayam, which was recently converted to a museum, was the residence of – Jayalalitha

International Film Festival of India (IFFI)

 Opening movie at 51st IFFI - Another Round  Chairman of the International Jury for 51st edition of International Film Festival of India - Pablo Cesar (Argentina)  Country declared as ‘Country in Focus’ for 51st IFFI - Bangladesh  Person who conferred with Indian Personality of the Year Award in 51st IFFI - Biswajit Chatterjee  The Lifetime Achievement Award at the 51st IFFI is recieved by - Vittorio Storaro  Golden Peacock Award for Best Film - Into The Darkness  Director of Into The Darkness - Anders Refn  Silver Peacock Award for Best Director - Chen-Nien Ko (Movie: The Silent Forest)  Silver Peacock Award for Best Actor (Male) - Tzu-Chuan Liu (The Silent Forest)  Silver Peacock Award for Best Actor (Female) - Zofia Stafiej (I Never Cry)