Current Affairs Quiz 17 January 2021 | Current Affairs for SSC, IBPS, Railway, UPSC Exams

Explanation:

Renowned writer Ved Mehta, who took India to Americans and overcame blindness and became widely known as the 20th-century writer most responsible for introducing American readers to India, has died at the age of 86. Ved Parkash Mehta (1934 –2021) was an Indian-born writer who lived and worked mainly in the United States.

Explanation:

In a significant judgment affecting inter-faith couples seeking to get married under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, the Allahabad High Court has ruled that it would be optional and not mandatory for them to publish a notice about their intended marriage. While giving notice under Section 5 of the Act, it shall be optional for the parties to the intended marriage to make a request in writing to the marriage officer to publish or not to publish a notice under Section 6 and follow the procedure of objections as prescribed under the Act.

Explanation:

The wildfire at Dzukou Valley straddling the Manipur-Nagaland border has been doused after it raged for two weeks. The Dzüko Valley is located at the borders of the states of Nagaland and Manipur. It is situated at an altitude of 2452 m above sea level.

Explanation:

The Shiv Sena erased all doubts about its stand on renaming certain cities when CM Thackeray referred to Osmanabad as Dharashiv in a tweet, days after using Sambhajinagar for Aurangabad on the official CMO handle. Osmanabad is named after the last ruler of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan, while Dharashiv is derived from the name for the sixth-century caves near the city. Dharashiv caves are the nexus of 7 caves located 8 km away from Osmanabad city in Balaghat mountains in Maharashtra.

Explanation:

Amresh Kumar Chaudhary has been awarded prestigious 'Chief of Army Staff Commendation'. It is for his outstanding contribution to Armed Forces during critical period of Covid19 pandemic and it’s various operations. Mil Rail is an extension of Traffic Directorate of Ministry of Railways, headed by Executive Director (ED) level officer with office at Army HQ.

Explanation:

Prime Minister Modi flagged off eight trains connecting different regions of the country with Kevadiya, home to the Statue of Unity in Gujarat. These trains will facilitate seamless connectivity to the Statue of Unity, located on the Narmada River in the Kevadiya, Gujarat. Kevadiya station is India's first railway station with a Green Building Certification.

Explanation:

The two day ‘Prarambh’, Startup India International Summit begin in New Delhi, with members of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries participating in the inaugural event. The Summit is being organizing by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, M/o Commerce & Industry, as a follow up of the announcement made by the Prime Minister Modi at the 4th BIMSTEC Summit held in Kathmandu in August, 2018. With participation from over 25 countries and more than 200 global speakers, the Summit is the largest Startup India International Summit organized by the Government of India since the launch of the Startup India Initiative in 2016.

Explanation:

Rajnath Singh unveiled state-of-the-art ‘Driverless Metro Car’ for Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) at a function held at BEML’s Bangalore Complex on 15 January 2021. Indigenously designed & developed state-of-the-art Driverless Metro trains are being manufactured at BEML Bangaluru Complex.

Explanation:

India Meteorological Department celebrated its 146th Foundation day on 15th January 2021. The function was organized virtually at Mahika Hall, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), New Delhi. IMD is modernizing its observational network in the Central and Western Himalayas by installation of state of art Doppler Weather Radars in a phased manner, at different locations.

Explanation:

The clouds played spoilsport while citizens celebrated Sankranti day and blocked the sun’s rays from falling on the Shiva Linga at Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple in Gavipuram. It is an annual phenomenon every Sankranti. Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple is also known as Gavipuram Cave Temple. It is an example of Indian rock-cut architecture. This cave temple is dedicated to Shiva and cut into a monolithic stone.