Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2021

Notes:
India’s first pollinator park has been established in the city of Nainital, Uttarakhand. It has been developed by research wing of the Uttarakhand Forest Department.
The four-acre-park has over 40 species of butterflies, honeybees, birds and insects. The park aims to create awareness among people about the conservation of these species. It also aims to promote research on threats to habitat and impact of pollution on these species.

Notes:
Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan has been nominated by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) as a member on the GAVI Board.
The Minister is to succeed Mr. Myint Htwe of Myanmar and will represent the South East Area Regional Office (SEARO)/ Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) constituency from 1st January 2021 until 31st December 2023.

Notes:
As per the recent notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the entire state of Nagaland was declared a “disturbed area” for six more months.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) has been in force in Nagaland for several decades. With this move, the act would be continued in the state, for six months with effect from 30th December 2020.

Notes:
As per media reports, China has recently completed the track-laying work for a railway line which links the cities of Lhasa and Nyingchi in Tibet.
The cities are close to the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh. This Sichuan-Tibet Railway is the second railway into Tibet, which starts from the capital of Sichuan Province, Chengdu and enters Tibet.

Notes:
Michael Kondo, who was a veteran Indian Hockey player, died at the age of 73 recently. He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1972.
He was a member of the first and only World Cup-winning team in 1975 in Kuala Lumpur. He was also a member of the team that won a bronze medal in the 1972 Olympics in Munich, where he scored three goals.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has developed the Digital Payments Index (DPI), to record the expansion of digitisation of payments across the country.
The index has been constructed with March 2018 as the base period. As per the RBI, the DPI for March 2019 and March 2020 stand at 153.47 and 207.84 respectively. The index includes 5 parameters with the highest weightage for Payment Performance.

Notes:
The Department of Science and Technology (DST), Union Ministry of Science and Technology has released the draft Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP).
It includes nudge for self-reliance in technology, enhanced funding for science, technology and innovation via state budget. It also calls for gender and social audits in academic organisations. DST has also invited suggestions from stake holders and public by January 25.

Notes:
Union Home Minister Amit Shah released the inaugural issue of the National Police K-9 Journal in New Delhi.
It is the India’s first such publication on the subject of Police Service K9s, which is the name given for Police Dogs. A special Police K9 Cell was set up in November 2020. The biannual journal will be released in April and October, with sections in Hindi and English.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the permanent campus in the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Sambalpur in Odisha.
The institute has been functioning in a makeshift campus for more than five years, since it was launched as a third-generation IIM, in the year 2015-16.

Notes:
The National Metrology Conclave 2021 has been organized by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL), New Delhi.
This research organization has entered its 75th year of inception. The theme of the function was ‘Metrology for the Inclusive Growth of the Nation’. The inaugural function was attended by the Prime Minster of India via video conferencing.