Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2025

Notes:
The 23rd Divya Kala Mela was inaugurated at Akota Stadium, Vadodara, Gujarat, by the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment. The event celebrates the talents and entrepreneurship of Divyangjans (persons with disabilities). The event is organized by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. It runs from January 9 to 19, 2025. More than 20 states and Union Territories are participating with artisans and entrepreneurs showcasing their work.

Notes:
The Boda Tyohar festival, the largest annual celebration for the Hatti tribes in Himachal Pradesh, started recently with great enthusiasm. Hattis are a close-knit community known for selling home-grown crops, vegetables, meat, and wool at ‘haats’. They traditionally wear white headgear on ceremonial occasions. Hatti homeland spans the Himachal-Uttarakhand border, near the Giri and Tons rivers, tributaries of the Yamuna. There are two main Hatti clans, one in Trans-Giri, Himachal, and the other in Jaunsar Bawar, Uttarakhand.

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China launched the world’s largest Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) project, “Nengchu-1”. It has begun full operation in Yingcheng, Hubei Province, China. It marks a milestone in China’s energy storage technologies and is the largest CAES facility globally. CAES stores electrical energy as potential energy by compressing air into sealed spaces like underground mines or salt rock caverns. Energy is stored during off-peak hours and released to the grid during peak demand.

Notes:
São Tomé and Príncipe Prime Minister Ilza Amado Vaz resigned after her proposed cabinet list was publicly leaked before informing President Carlos Vila Nova. Amado Vaz, a former justice minister, was appointed prime minister following the dissolution of Patrice Trovoada’s government. São Tomé and Príncipe is a small archipelago in the Gulf of Guinea, covering just over 1,000 sq. km.

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Bahadur Singh Sagoo was elected as the new president of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), succeeding Adille Sumariwalla. Sumariwalla served as AFI president for over a decade, from 2012 to 2024. Sagoo, an Asian Games gold medallist (2002) and two-time Olympian, brings vast experience to the role. Sandeep Mehta was elected as the new secretary of the federation. India will host its first World Athletics Continental Tour event, the “Indian Open,” on August 10, 2025, in Bhubaneswar.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Sri Sri Radha Madanmohanji Temple of ISKCON in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, on January 15, 2025. The temple is now the second-largest ISKCON temple in Asia. The design of the temple blends spirituality and knowledge, with various facilities reflecting ISKCON’s mission to serve society.

Notes:
The Halda Festival is celebrated in January in Lahaul-Spiti, Himachal Pradesh. It honors Shiskar Apa, the Goddess of Wealth, to seek blessings for prosperity and a good harvest. Celebrations are most prominent in the Pattan, Gahar, and Chandra valleys.

Notes:
New research reveals that genetic mutations in Huntington’s Disease (HD) can have delayed effects, impacting disease progression over time. Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a genetic condition causing gradual loss of brain cell function, leading to their death. It affects brain regions regulating voluntary movement, memory, and decision-making, primarily the basal ganglia and brain cortex. HD is caused by a mutation in the HTT gene, which produces huntingtin protein crucial for neuron function. Mutated huntingtin proteins have abnormal shapes, damaging and killing neurons. HD is inherited; each child of an affected parent has a 50% chance of developing the disease. It affects 3 to 7 out of 100,000 people, primarily of European ancestry.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet approved a Third Launch Pad (TLP) at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. TLP will support ISRO’s Next Generation Launch Vehicles (NGLV) and human spaceflight missions. It will serve as a backup for the Second Launch Pad (SLP) and support LVM3 vehicles with advanced stages. The project costs ₹3984.86 crore and is expected to be completed in four years. TLP will boost launch frequencies, enabling India’s space goals, including the Bharatiya Antariksha Station by 2035 and crewed lunar landing by 2040. It enhances India’s capacity for heavier and advanced launch vehicles.

Notes:
Indian and Argentine armies jointly summited Mt Aconcagua, the tallest peak in the Americas at 6,995 meters, on Army Day, January 15, 2025. The expedition began on January 3, 2025, and featured 23 participants, including an eight-member Indian team led by Lt Col Manoj Joshi and a 15-member Argentine contingent. Mt Aconcagua, located in the Andes of Argentina, is the highest peak in South America and outside Asia, standing at 6,962 meters. The mountain is of volcanic origin but is not currently active.