Daily Current Affairs Quiz: January 17, 2024

ANSWER: D

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: A

ANSWER: C

• Scientists at the University of Oxford in the U.K. have launched first-in-human vaccine trials for the deadly Nipah virus which impacts many Asian countries, including India.
• The trials of the ChAdOx1 NipahB vaccine, consisting of 51 people aged 18 to 55, will be led by the Oxford Vaccine Group.
• The vaccine uses the ChAdOx1 platform, the same viral vector vaccine platform that was used for the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

ABOUT NIPAH VIRUS

• Nipah virus was first identified in 1998 with outbreaks in Malaysia and Singapore.
• Outbreaks have occurred in countries in Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh and India, with a recent one in Kerala in September last year.
• Nipah virus is carried by fruit bats and may also be transmitted by contact with infected animals (such as pigs) or from person-to-person via close contact.
• Symptoms include fever, headache, cough, sore throat, difficulty in breathing, and vomiting, with severe cases potentially leading to encephalitis, coma, and death.
• The virus, which is recognised by the World Health Organization as a priority disease requiring urgent research, belongs to the same family of paramyxoviruses as more well-known pathogens like measles.
• Nipah virus is a devastating disease that can be fatal in around 75% of cases.
• There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments.

ANSWER: D

• National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has launched the ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ initiative.
• The move aims to enhance the efficiency of the Electronic Toll Collection system and provide seamless movement at the Toll Plazas.
• The new arrangement Of ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ has also been introduced to discourage user behaviour of using single FASTag for multiple vehicles or linking multiple FASTags to a particular vehicle.
• With a penetration rate of around 98 per cent and over eight crore users, FASTag has revolutionized the Electronic Toll Collection system in the country.

ABOUT FASTAGS

• FASTag is a device that employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for making toll payments directly while the vehicle is in motion.
  • RFID is a method of wireless communication involving electromagnetic waves.
  • It utilises the principle of inductive coupling.
  • It has two components, tags and readers which do not need to be in line of sight to share information.
• FASTag (RFID Tag) is affixed on the windscreen of the vehicle and enables a customer to make the toll payments directly from the account which is linked to FASTag.

ANSWER: A

• India recently has cut its windfall tax on petroleum crude to 1,700 rupees ($20.53) a tonne from 2,300 rupees a tone.

ABOUT WINDFALL TAX

• It is a higher tax levied by the government on specific industries when they experience unexpected and above-average profits.
• Imposing of tax
  • When the government notices a sudden increase in an industry’s revenue which cannot be linked to anything the company actively pursued, such as its business strategy or expansion, it impose this tax.
  • A Windfall Tax is imposed on an industry’s profits when it experiences a sharp increase in revenue due to unrelated external events.

ANSWER: A

• In a significant move to deepen cultural ties, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced that the Government of India has decided to include Farsi (Persian) as one of the nine classical languages in India under the New Education Policy.
• India recognizes six languages as classical, including Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Odia.
• In addition to these classical languages Pali, Persian, and Prakrit and their works of literature are to be preserved according to India’s National Education Policy-2020.

ANSWER: D

• Rohit Sharma, the captain of Team India, recently became the first men’s player to feature in 150 T20 International matches.
• He achieved the milestone during the second T20I against Afghanistan.

ANSWER: B

• The Assam government has decided to launch the Mukhyamantri Mahila Udyamita Abhiyan, a scheme that aims to promote entrepreneurship among 9 million women members of self-help groups in the state
• According to the scheme, in the first phase, each applicant will be provided with a grant of ₹10,000 for the first year to start any business from a list of 145 business plans prepared by the government.
• The total amount earmarked by the scheme as part of the state annual budget is ₹3,900 crores.

ANSWER: C

• Himachal Pradesh has been recognised as the ‘Best Performer’ state under the ‘State’s Start-up Ranking 2022’ in B category (having population less than one crore).
• Himachal Pradesh is evaluated on seven reform areas and 27 action points that have a significant contribution towards propelling the start-up ecosystem.
• The State was recognised as a Capacity Building Pioneer, Funding leader, Sustainability Promoter, an Incubation Hub, Mentorship Champion, an Innovative Leader and an Institutional Champion.