Daily Current Affairs Quiz: January 29, 2024

ANSWER: D

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: A

ANSWER: A

• A total of ₹32.44 Crore has been released for Pre-matric Scholarships and ₹387.27 Crore for Post-Matric Scholarships to States/Union Territories (UTs) under the PM YASASVI scheme in 2023.

ABOUT PM YASASVI

• It stands for PM- YOUNG ACHIEVERS SCHOLARSHIP AWARD SCHEME FOR VIBRANT INDIA FOR OBCs AND OTHERS (PM -YASASVI)
• PM YASASVI is a scholarship program designed for students belonging to Other Backward Class (OBC), Economically Backward Class (EBC), and Denotified Nomadic Tribes (DNT).
• It offers pre-matric scholarships for students in grades 9 and 10, as well as post-matric scholarships for higher education.
• Exceptional students also have the opportunity to receive scholarships for top-tier schools and colleges.
• Additionally, hostel facilities are provided for OBC students through a construction scheme.
• Nodal Ministry- Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• Eligibility
  • The annual income of parents/guardians from all sources should not exceed Rs. 2.5 lakhs.
  • Students studying in Class IX and Class XI identified Schools across India.
• The Exam to select students- Yasasvi Entrance Test is conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA)
• Entitlement

Upto Rs. 75,000 p.a. for Class 9/10, Rs. 1,25,000 p.a. for Class 11/12, covering the school tuition fee/hostel fee.

ANSWER: B

• India is set to export BrahMos supersonic missile systems to Philippines in next 10 days.
• The venture, valued at USD 375 million, marks DRDO’s largest-ever defence contract with a foreign nation.

ABOUT BRAHMOS MISSILE

• The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is a joint venture between DRDO and Russian Federation’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya, who together have formed BrahMos Aerospace.
• It is named after the rivers Brahmaputra (India) and Moskva (Russia).
• It can be launched from land, sea, and air.
• BRAHMOS is a two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster engine as its first stage which brings it to supersonic speed and then gets separated.
• The liquid ramjet or the second stage then takes the missile closer to 3 Mach speed in cruise phase.
• Stealth technology and guidance system with advanced embedded software provides the missile with special features.
• It operates on ‘Fire and Forget Principle’.
• Its cruising altitude could be up to 15 km and terminal altitude is as low as 10 meters.
• The missile has flight range of up to 290-km with supersonic speed all through the flight.
  • The extended-range variant of the missile can strike land and sea targets at a maximum range of 400 to 500 kilometers
• It is said to be one of the most successful missile programs in the world.
• The Indian Army has integrated multiple BrahMos regiments into its arsenal since 2007.

ANSWER: A

• NATO recently launched its biggest military exercise since 1988- ‘Exercise Steadfast Defender’
• Some 90,000 troops from the United States and fellow NATO allied nations are due to join the Steadfast Defender 2024 drills that will run through May.
• More than 50 ships from aircraft carriers to destroyers will take part, as well as more than 80 fighter jets, helicopters and drones and at least 1,100 combat vehicles including 133 tanks and 533 infantry fighting vehicles.

ABOUT NATO

• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the Washington treaty, which was signed in 1949.
• Headquarters- Brussels, Belgium
• Members- 31 Countries
• NATO remains the principal security instrument of the transatlantic community and expression of its common democratic values.
  • Article 5 of the Washington Treaty — that an attack against one Ally is an attack against all — is at the core of the Alliance, a promise of collective defense.
  • Article 4 of the treaty ensures consultations among Allies on security matters of common interest.

ANSWER: B

• The Union Cabinet has granted approval for the signing of a protocol establishing a Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) between India and Dominican Republic.
• This committee will bring together the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of India, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic.
• This collaborative effort is expected to facilitate trade and industry interactions between the two countries.
• India predominantly imports gold from the Dominican Republic while exporting pharmaceuticals, marine products, motor vehicles, two and three-wheelers, among other items.

ABOUT DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

• The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Great Antilles archipelago between the Caribbean region and the North Atlantic Ocean.
• It is bordered by Haiti on the east and consists primarily of rugged mountains with fertile valleys.

ANSWER: C

• Every year, International Customs Day is observed on January 26^th.
• In the year 1953, the Customs Cooperation Council (CCC) confirmed this date to be observed as International Customs Day.
• In 1994, CCC was renamed as World Customs Organisation and it currently consists of 182 member states across the world.
  • WCO headquarters- Brussels, Belgium
• The theme of this year’s International Customs Day is – Customs Engaging Traditional and New Partners with Purpose.

ANSWER: B

• January 27^th is a global day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust.
• In November 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated January 27 as an “International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust”(Resolution 60/7).
• It reaffirmed that “the Holocaust, which resulted in the murder of one-third of the Jewish people, along with countless members of other minorities, will forever be a warning to all people of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism, and prejudice.”
• The date marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau by Soviet troops on 27 January 1945.
  • Some 1.1 million people were killed in Auschwitz, the vast majority (about 90%) of them Jews.
  • Auschwitz was just one of many sites of persecution and mass murder in Europe established by Nazi Germany.

ANSWER: D

WINNERS

• Italy’s Jannik Sinner scripted a sensational come-from-behind win, against Daniil Medvedev to claim his maiden Grand Slam trophy at the 2024 Australian Open.
• Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden beat Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 7-6 (7-0) 7-5 in men’s doubles final.
• Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus secured her second Grand Slam title by defeating Zheng Qinwen(Chian) in the Australian Open final.
• Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-Wei and Belgium’s Elise Mertens claimed the women’s doubles title with a decisive victory over the Latvian-Ukrainian pairing of Jelena Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok.