Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2021

Notes:
Two new species of a rare ant genus have been recently discovered in Kerala and Tamil Nadu by a team of scientists from Punjabi University.
One of the two species which was discovered found in the Periyar Tiger Reserve of Kerala has been named Ooceraea Joshii, to honour the veteran biologist ‘Amitabh Joshi’.

Notes:
US President Joe Biden has recently proposed a five-year extension of New START Treaty with Russia.
The treaty limited the United States and Russia to 1,550 nuclear warheads each. It expires on February 5 this year since the former President Donald Trump stopped negotiations and tried to include China in the treaty.

Notes:
A new draft ‘Arctic’ policy has been released recently by the Government of India. The draft policy would be available for public opinion till Jan 26, 2021. It has been prepared after deliberations with several Ministries.
The policy aims to expand India’s scientific research, sustainable tourism and mineral oil and gas exploration in the Arctic region.

Notes:
India celebrates National Voters Day on January 25 every year to commemorate the foundation day of the Election Commission of India.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) was founded in 1950 on the same day and this occasion was first celebrated in 2011. This year’s theme is “Making Our Voters Empowered, Vigilant, Safe and Informed”. ECI launched e-EPIC (Electronic Electoral Photo Identity Card), as a part of celebration.

Notes:
Recently, the Falcon 9 rocket of Space X set a record for carrying the maximum number of satellites in a single space mission. The rocket carried and deployed 143 spacecraft into their respective orbits successfully.
The rocket was launched from the Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida. Falcon 9 rocket of Space X is a reusable in nature.

Notes:
Azim Premji University, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) released a new policy named ‘Udyog Sahayak Enterprises Network (USENET)’.
The policy aims to provide services to over 62 million nano and micro-enterprises. It also aims to create an additional 10.3 million jobs over five years. It also aims to improve Ease of Doing Business for the informal nano, micro and small entrepreneurs.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Road transport and highways has approved a proposal to impose green tax on some category of vehicles that are old and causes pollution.
This move is seen as a means to phase out old and pollution causing vehicles from the country. The ministry has also approved a policy for deregistration and scrapping of vehicles owned by government departments which are more than 15 years old.

Notes:
The International Monetary Fund released its latest World Economic Outlook Update recently. As per the report, Indian economy would grow 11.5 per cent in FY22. It has revised the earlier forecast of 8.8 per cent growth.
As per the IMF, India would be the only key country to record a double-digit growth and reclaim the status of the fastest-growing major economy of the world.

Notes:
The United States Senate confirmed veteran economist Janet Yellen as first woman Treasury Secretary of the country.
The 74-year-old eminent economist is also the Former chairperson of the Federal Reserve during the Global Financial Crisis. She is the third cabinet member of the Biden Administration to be confirmed by the Senate.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has cleared and approved the Policy on privatisation of public sector undertakings (PSUs). The policy would lay a detailed road map for presence of government ownership in strategic and non-strategic sectors of the country.
The Government has proposed for the presence of 1 to 4 Government owned entities in strategic sectors and completely exit from non-strategic sectors.