7th January 2023 Daily Current Affairs in English

1. Where is the headquarters of ‘Asian Pacific Postal Union’?

[A] Mumbai

[B] Bangkok

[C] Colombo

[D] Dhaka

Answer : [B] Bangkok

Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU) is an Intergovernmental organization of 32 member countries of the Asia-Pacific region. It is the only restricted union of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), a UN specialized agency. India will take over the leadership of the Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU) from this month, as per the Ministry of Communications.

2. Which country developed the Aadhaar-like platform for 9 countries called ‘Modular Open-Source Identity Platform (MOSIP)’?

 [A] China

[B] India

[C] Israel

[D] USA

Answer : [B] India

International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIITB) has developed a platform to provide Aadhaar-like digital identities for nine countries. The Modular Open-Source Identify Platform (MOSIP) is a digital identity platform. Citizens of Philippines, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Ethiopia, Republic of Guinea, Sierra Leone Burkina Faso and Togolese Republic will enroll on the platform.

3. Which Union Ministry launched the ‘Draft Online Gaming Policy’?

[A] Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

[B] Ministry of Science and Technology

[C] Ministry of Home Affairs

[D] Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

Answer : [A] Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

The draft rules for online gaming in India was released by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) The ‘Draft Amendments to the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021’, propose a ban on betting and wagering in online games. The rules propose setting up a self-regulatory body for grievance redressal and mandating know-your-customer (KYC) rules for gamers and online gaming intermediaries.

4. Which article of Indian Constitution deals with the right to freedom of speech and expression?

[A] Article 14

[B] Article 16

[C] Article 19

[D] Article 22

Answer : [C] Article 19

Article 19(2) lists down eight grounds on which the right to freedom of speech and expression can be reasonably restricted. The Supreme Court has ruled with a 4:1 majority that statements made by a minister, even if these statements are traceable to any affairs of the State or for protecting the government, cannot be attributed to the government.

5. What is the outlay of the ‘Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (BIND) scheme?

[A] Rs 1500 crore

[B] Rs 2500 crore

[C] Rs 3000 crore

[D] Rs 4000 crore

Answer : [B] Rs 2500 crore

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the proposal of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting regarding the Central Sector Scheme ‘Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development’ (BIND). The BIND scheme aims to bring modernization to the public broadcaster Prasar Bharati i. e. All India Radio (AIR) and Door Darshan (DD). The outlay of the scheme is Rs. 2540 crore for the time period up to 2025-26.

6. Twenty new frog species have been recently found in which country?

[A] India

[B] Madagascar

[C] China

[D] Bangladesh

Answer : [B] Madagascar

A team made up of international scientists have recently discovered 20 new frog species in Madagascar.

7. What is the theme of ‘All India Annual State Ministers Conference on water’?

[A] Bharat Amrit Kaal

[B] Water Vision @ 2047

[C] Amrit Paani @ 2047

[D] Sustainable Water

Answer : [B] Water Vision @ 2047

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the first All India Annual State Ministers’ Conference on Water The theme of the conference is ‘Water Vision @ 2047’ and the objective of is to bring together key policymakers for discussions on ways to harness water resources for sustainable development and human development.

8. What is the initial outlay of the National Green Hydrogen Mission?

[A] Rs 9744 crore

[B] Rs 19744 crore

[C] Rs 39744 crore

[D] Rs 79444 crore

Answer : [B] Rs 19744 crore

The Union Cabinet approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission with a total initial outlay of Rs 19744 crore. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘National Hydrogen Mission’ on Independent Day in 2021. If the electricity used for the process of generating hydrogen comes from a renewable source then the hydrogen is referred as green hydrogen.

9. The recent Supreme Court ruling on Article 19 ambit extended free speech against which entity?

[A] State

[B] Private Citizens

[C] Parliamentarians

[D] Non Resident Indians

Answer : [B] Private Citizens

Supreme Court ruled that a citizen can seek enforcement of the fundamental rights to freedom of speech not just against the state. With this the Supreme Court has extended the ground for seeking these rights against other private citizens. The court ruled that the right of free speech and expression guaranteed under the Article 19(1)(a) cannot be curbed by any additional grounds other than those already laid down in Article 19(2).

10. Which state/UT recently joined the free rice scheme of the Centre under the National Food Security Act (NFSA)?

[A] West Bengal

[B] Telangana

[C] Tamil Nadu

[D] Goa

Answer : [B] Telangana

The Telangana government has decided to join the free rice scheme of the Centre under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). The Central scheme aims to supply five kgs of rice per head per month in a family to 54.44 lakh NFSA cardholders in the State. The State government will extend the scheme to an additional 35.52 lakh cardholders at its own cost.

11. India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval held a Strategic Dialogue with his counterpart from which country?

[A] USA

[B] France

[C] Australia

[D] Sri Lanka

Answer : [B] France

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and his French counterpart Emmanuel Bonne held discussions on defence and security cooperation. In addition to being the diplomatic advisor to the French president, Emmanuel Bonne is also French’s G7-G20 sherpa.

12. The ‘Intelligent Tray Retrieval System (ITRS)’ has been inaugurated in which state’s airport?

[A] Maharashtra

[B] Goa

[C] Tamil Nadu

[D] New Delhi

Answer : [B] Goa

Union Minster for MSME, Narayan Rane, inaugurated Intelligent Tray Retrieval System (ITRS) at MOPA (GOA) International airport. ITRS is an Artificial Intelligence-based fully automatic machine that helps in providing enhanced passenger security with advanced screening technology. It is equipped with image analysis software with advanced tools to take correct decisions against baggages.

13. When is the ‘World Braille Day’ observed?

[A] January 2

[B] January 4

[C] January 6

[D] January 8

Answer : [B] January 4

World Braille Day on January 4 is celebrated to honor the birth anniversary of Braille’s inventor, Louis Braille from France. Braille, used by blind and partially sighted people, is a tactile representation of alphabetic and numerical symbols using six dots to represent each letter and number, and even musical, mathematical and scientific symbols.

14. ‘Baibhav, Saurav and Gauray’ are the civilian awards provided by which state?

[A] West Bengal

[B] Assam

[C] Odisha

[D] Jharkhand

Answer : [B] Assam

Assam Government released the list of winners of the Highest Civilian Awards- the Assam Baibhav Award. There will be one recipient for the Assam Baibhav, five recipients for the Assam Saurav and fifteen recipients for the Assam Gaurav awards respectively. Dr Tapan Saikia, associated with the Healthcare & Public Services sectors, has been declared the Assam Baibhav for the year 2023.

15. Which state launched the ‘Chief Minister’s Residential Land Rights scheme’?

[A] Gujarat

[B] Madhya Pradesh

[C] Assam

[D] Odisha

Answer : [B] Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan launched the Chief Minister’s Residential Land Rights scheme (Mukhyamantri Awasiya Bhu Adhikar Yojana). Chief Minister also gave land rights letters to the eligible beneficiaries of this scheme. The objective of this scheme is to provide free plots to the poor living in rural areas for building their houses.

16. Sam Bankman-Fried, who was in the news recently, was the founder of which company?

[A] Tesla

[B] FTX

[C] TikTok

[D] Coin Base

Answer : [B] FTX

The founder of cryptocurrency company FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried faces eight criminal counts, including wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy, among others. He recently pleaded not guilty Manhattan federal court, to charges of defrauding investors related to the collapse of the crypto exchange. He is accused of redirecting the deposits of FTX customers without their consent to his Alameda Research hedge fund.

17. Silent Valley National Park is located in which state/UT?

[A] Tamil Nadu

[B] Kerala

[C] Uttarakhand

[D] Jammu and Kashmir

Answer : [B] Kerala

A bird survey was conducted at the Silent Valley National Park, located in the Nilgiri hills in Kerala, in the last week of December. The survey identified 141 species, of which 17 were new. So far, 175 species of birds have been spotted in Silent Valley. The first survey was held in the National Park in December 1990, 30 years ago.

18. The Greenfield International Airport at Goa has been named after which leader?

[A] Atal Bihari Vajpayee

[B] Manohar Parrikar

[C] Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

[D] Sushma Swaraj

Answer : [B] Manohar Parrikar

The Union Cabinet has given ex-post facto approval for naming of Greenfield International Airport at Goa’s Mopa as Manohar International Airport. It was named after former Defence Minister and Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar. He served as Chief Minister of Goa from 2017 until his death.

19. The Government has approved Rs 28.11 crore to extend the interest-free loan to tobacco farmers of which state?

[A] Tamil Nadu

[B] Andhra Pradesh

[C] Kerala

[D] Karnataka

Answer : [B] Andhra Pradesh

The government has approved Rs 28.11 crore to extend the interest-free loan to tobacco farmers Andhra Pradesh. This measure will help the Flue Cured Virginia tobacco farmers overcome the damage caused by Mandous Cyclonic rains, as per the Commerce Ministry. The interest-free loan to the eligible farmers will be administered by the Tabacco Board.

20. Which country has generated a record 87.6% of power from zero-carbon sources?

[A] Canada

[B] Singapore

[C] UK

[D] Norway

Answer : [C] UK

The United Kingdom announced that a record 87.6% of power generated into the grid came from zero-carbon sources like wind, nuclear and hydropower. This was announced by National Grid Plc’s Electricity System Operator. 67% of Britain’s power came from wind, with 19% from nuclear and 9.5% from gas-fired power stations. A wind generation record was also set with almost 21 gigawatts of output.