Current Affairs Quiz 18 January 2021 | Current Affairs for SSC, IBPS, Railway, UPSC Exams

Explanation:

There has been a significant amount of snowfall over the past few days in states falling in the western Himalayan range under the influence of a Western Disturbance. These include Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Snowfall in the western Himalayan range means cold, north-westerly winds blowing over Delhi from the direction of this high altitude area.

Explanation:

Indian Army has signed a $20-million contract with ideaForge, a player in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, to procure undisclosed quantities of a high-altitude variant of SWITCH UAV, an indigenous system used in surveillance operations. SWITCH UAV is an indigenous system built to cater to the most demanding surveillance operations of the Indian forces.

Explanation:

Soon after a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol last week, his social media accounts were suspended by Big Tech companies like Twitter and Facebook for his alleged role in inciting violence and spreading misinformation. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act was passed in 1996 and provides legal immunity to internet companies for content that is shared on their websites. The act was first introduced to regulate pornography online. Section 230 is an amendment to the act, which holds users responsible for their comments and posts online.

Explanation:

Kalaripayattu or the oldest surviving Indian Martial arts is supposedly coming from God's Own Country, which is none other than Kerala. I had the opportunity to witness these amazing artists at work, whose swift movements would stun even the kung-fu experts. Lessons in one of the most famous combat styles in the world will now be taught at Kerala Tourism’s Vellar Crafts Village en route to Kovalam.

Explanation:

With a view to create awareness among the consumers of fossil fuels, Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA), Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas launched a month long campaign, highlighting the adverse health and environmental impacts of increasing carbon footprints. ‘SAKSHAM’s idea is to convince consumers to switch to cleaner fuels and bring in behavioural change to use fossil fuel intelligently.

Explanation:

The Union Finance Ministry has drafted a model tender document for public procurement by all central government departments, in a bid to standardise the language and clauses included, and avoid contractual disputes. In India, government procurement is estimated to constitute about 30% of GDP with the central government accounting for a major chunk.

Explanation:

Jallikattu with Assembly polls round the corner in Tamil Nadu, Jallikattu, the traditional bull-taming sport, has caught the attention of the BJP and Congress. The bull-taming sport is popular in Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Theni, Pudukkottai and Dindigul districts — known as the Jallikattu belt. Jallikattu is celebrated in the second week of January, during the Tamil harvest festival, Pongal.

Explanation:

The year 2020 was one of the three warmest years on record and rivalled 2016 for the top spot, indicating the pace of the "human-induced" climate change which is now as powerful as the force of nature. NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies says that 2020 was the hottest year on record tying with 2016 (which held the previous record for the hottest year). According to NASA carbon dioxide levels have increased by over 50 percent since the Industrial Revolution began 250 years ago, while the level of methane has more than doubled.

Explanation:

The Ministry of Railways has approved a new iron-ore policy governing the allocation of rakes and transportation of iron-ore. This new policy has been named as Iron-ore Policy 2021 and shall come into effect from February 10, 2021. A new study by Geological Survey of India, Kolkata has shed light on the mineralogy of the meteorite which fell in 2017 in Mukundpura village near Jaipur. The meteorite named Mukundpura CM2 was classified to be a carbonaceous chondrite. The composition of carbonaceous chondrites are also similar to the Sun.

Explanation:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a seed fund worth Rs 1,000 crore for startups to provide them with initial capital to start and grow their business, and said that guarantees would be given to help them raise debt capital going ahead. This was announced during the ‘Prarambh: Startup India International Summit’. This will help in starting and growing new startups.