Daily Current Affairs Quiz: January 16 2023

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: A

ANSWER: D

ANSWER: C

• Every year on January 15, India celebrates its Army Day and this year marks the 75th anniversary of the Indian army day.
• It is the day on which Field Marshal Kodandera M. Cariappa (then a Lieutenant General) took over as the first Commander­in­Chief of the Indian Army from the last British Commander­in­Chief of India, General Fransis Bucher in the year 1949.
• Parades, medal presenting and other ceremonies are organized to celebrate the Army Day.
• With “Service before self” as its motto, the Indian Army is the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces.

More on the news

• Originally, the Indian army was formed under the British rule on April 1, 1895 and was called as British Indian Army.
• After India got its independence in the year 1947, it was only on January 15, 1949, when the country got its first Indian chief. Lt Gen K M Carriappa took over as commander­inchief of the Indian Army in 1949 from General Francis Butcher.
• The transfer of power from the British to India signifies an important moment in the Indian history and is celebrated as Army Day.
• This day also also honors the soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for the country.

ANSWER: C

• Makar Sankranti is an important festival that marks the day the sun transits into Makara Rashi or Capricorn zodiac. As per the solar calendar, it falls on 14 January every year.
• The festival also marks the end of winter and the beginning of a new harvest season. It has both seasonal and religious significance. It is considered one of the most auspicious days of the Hindu calendar.
• Makar Sankranti is celebrated in different ways across India under different names, each region having its unique customs and traditions.
• In Tamil Nadu, it is celebrated as Thai Pongal, where the festival is celebrated for four days, with the first day being Bhogi Pongal, the second day being Surya Pongal, the third day being Mattu Pongal and the fourth day being Kaanum Pongal.
• In Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Kerala, Bihar, Goa, Karnataka, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, and Uttar Pradesh, it is celebrated as Makar Sankranti.
• In Gujarat and Rajasthan, it is celebrated as Uttarayana, and people take a dip in holy rivers and perform rituals to mark the beginning of the sun’s northward journey.
• In Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, it is celebrated as Lohri, where people light bonfires and perform folk dances around them.
• In Assam, it is celebrated as Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu, where people light bonfires and feast on traditional food.

ANSWER: C

• A survey conducted as part of the Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) 2023 shows the populations of some migratory waterbirds, especially duck species visiting the Alappuzha region of Kerala, are falling.

Highlights of the Survey

• Major Missing Species: Duck species like Northern Shoveler, Common teal and Eurasian wigeon, sighted in the revious surveys, were totally missing this time around.
• Climate change has affected the number of birds visiting the region. However, the precise impact of climate change on bird migration requires more detailed studies.

About Asian Waterbird Census

• It is a citizen-science programme supporting conservation and management of wetlands and waterbirds worldwide.
• AWC is part of the global International Waterbird Census (IWC)coordinated by Wetlands International. AWC runs in parallel with other regional programmes of the IWC in Africa, Europe, West Asia, the Neotropics and the Caribbean.
• AWC in India:
  • It was initiated in the Indian subcontinent in 1987and since then has grown rapidly to cover major regions of Asia, from Afghanistan eastwards to Japan, Southeast Asia and Australasia.
  • In India, AWC is jointly coordinated by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and Wetlands International.

Significance

• It gives an idea of the birds at the wetland and the health of the wetland; the more the waterbirds, the more suitable the wetland is.
• It helps in better implementation of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)and the Convention on Biological Diversity‘s (CBD).

ANSWER: A

• The ‘Saharsh’ was launched in 40 schools of the state on a pilot basis in August last year.
• This year, it will be extended to all government and aided schools in Tripura from the second week of January.

Key Points

• On the inauguration of the 49^th state-level science, mathematics, and environment exhibition, Education Minister informed that the state government has been working to make Tripura self-reliant and prosperous.
• The ‘Saharsh’ initiative is aimed at empowering children to learn with happiness.
• The state government has trained 204 schools for the ‘Saharsh’ curriculum while 200 more will be trained in the future.
• 30 assistant headmasters from different districts of Tripura were also selected to work as Saharsh implementation ambassadors.
• Under the Saharsh program, Children won’t be pressurized to study, rather they will be encouraged to social and emotional learning.

ANSWER: C

• The Gangasagar Mela is organised during Makar Sankranti every year.
• On the occasion of Makar Sankranti, thousands of pilgrims, seers & tourists take a holy dip in the confluence of Ganga and Bay of Bengal, to mark this event.
• They also offer prayers at the Kapil Muni Temple.
• On the day of Makar Sankranti (January 14), when the sun makes a transition to Capricorn from Sagittarius, it is said that the bath becomes a holy source of salvation.
• Gangasagar is the second largest congregation of pilgrims, devotees and enthusiasts across the country after the Kumbh Mela at Haridwar.

ANSWER: B

• Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri launched a ‘yajna’ online booking facility for devotees at Mata Chintpurni shrine recently.

Two options

• There will be two types of yajnas (Suksham or Saptshati) to choose from
• ‘Suksham Havan’ will be of 40 minutes to one hour
• Devotees will have to pay online booking charges of Rs 500 and Rs 1,200 for the material to be used in rituals
• ‘Saptshati Havan’ will be of two to two and a half hours
• Devotees will have to deposit booking charges of Rs 1,100 and Rs 5,800 for material required for rituals

ANSWER: C

• Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has urged the Union Government to enhance the disaster fund for Himachal Pradesh as the state is prone to various types of natural disasters due to difficult topographical and climatic conditions.
• The Chief Minister raised this demand during the inauguration function of setting up of two Doppler weather radars in the state addressed virtually from New Delhi by Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Earth Sciences.
• These Doppler radars have been put up at Jot in Chamba district and at Murari Devi in Mandi district.
• These radars would be able to forecast heavy rain, thunderstorm and hailstorm within 100 kilometer radius in all directions.
• These would especially be useful for short-range forecasting.

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: C