Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2021

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s Central bank, releases the “Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India”.
The RBI recently released the latest edition of the report, which is a statutory publication as per the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. It highlights the performance of the banking sector during 2019-20 and 2020-21 so far.

Notes:
Estonia is a country in Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland. Recently the Union Cabinet of India approved the proposal of the Ministry of External Affairs to open three new missions.
In 2021, three new missions of India would be opened in Estonia (Europe), Paraguay (South America) and the Dominican Republic (North America). This move would strengthen political relations and promote growth of bilateral trade and investment.

Notes:
A wildfire has recently started in the Dzukou Valley, a popular trekking destination located on the Manipur-Nagaland border. It is said to have started three days ago from the Nagaland.
The Indian Air Force has deployed an Mi-17V5 helicopter to put off the massive wildfire in Dzukou Valley.

Notes:
As per the Russian media, a well-preserved Ice Age woolly rhino, with many of its internal organs still intact has been recovered.
The carcass has been recovered from permafrost in Russia’s north region near Siberia. It’s among the best-preserved specimens of the Ice Age animal found till date. Scientists date the carcass to be 20,000- to 50,000-years-old.

Notes:
The Indian Army has created a new human rights cell for the first time in the history. Its aims is to provide more transparency and probity in its functioning in disturbed areas like Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast.
Major General Gautam Chauhan has taken charge as the first additional Director General (human rights) and will report directly to the Army vice-chief.

Notes:
The Supreme Court’s three-judge bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar delivered its verdict on Central Vista Project Case.
The bench approved the re-development project by a 2:1 majority and upheld the exercise of power by the Centre as just and valid. It also confirmed the modifications in the change in land use and the recommendations of the environmental committee.

Notes:
Dell Technologies announced that they have developed a new mobile application in collaboration with Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and Tata Trusts.
The application aims to support the management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) at the government primary health centres (PHCs) across the country. It strengthens the NCD IT system, which is already existing.

Notes:
The National Human Rights Commission has recommended for strict action against Government Officials who reported incorrect data on number of manual scavengers in India.
It made a remark that many states have reported NIL manual scavengers, which is not realistic. NHRC recommended to expand the definition of manual scavenging in order to cover other hazardous cleaning and to enact a new law for hazardous cleaning.

Notes:
World Braille Day is observed annually on 4 January, after it was established by the UN General Assembly in December 2018.
The date also marks the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, who invented the system for reading and writing, used by people who are visually impaired. This year, the UN highlights the importance of the universal touch-based communication system.

Notes:
An all-female team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was recently deployed for contingency duties in Uttar Pradesh’s Garh Mukteshwar town, on the banks of the Ganga river.
The team who are professionally trained handled the rescue boats and related equipment. The first batch of over a hundred women disaster combatants and rescuers was also inducted in the NDRF.