Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 20th January 2022

Correct Answer: C. Jio

Explanation: National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Reliance Jio have announced that UPI AUTOPAY has now been introduced for the telecom industry with Jio. Jio’s integration with UPI AUTOPAY has made it the first player in the telecom industry to go live with the unique e-mandate feature that was launched by NPCI.

Using the UPI AutoPay launched by NPCI, customers can now enable recurring e-mandate using any UPI application for recurring payments such as mobile bills, electricity bills, EMI payments, entertainment/OTT subscriptions, insurance, mutual funds among others.

Here’s what this means for Jio subscribers:

Jio users will no longer need to remember their date of recharge once the validity ends.The Jio plan opted by the customers would be auto renewed on the set date.For recharge amounts up to Rs 5,000, customers do not have to enter the UPI PIN on the execution of the recharge.Users can also create, modify, and remove the e-mandate for the tariff plans as per their requirements through UPI Autopay.

Important Points:

• National Payments Corporation of India Founded: 2008;
• National Payments Corporation of India Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra;
• National Payments Corporation of India MD & CEO: Dilip Asbe.

Correct Answer – B. Political leader

Explanation: The former Prime Minister of Japan, Toshiki Kaifu has passed away at the age of 91 years in Japan. He served as the PM from 1989 to 1991. He is known for sending the Maritime Self-Defense Force to the Persian Gulf in 1991. After the Gulf War, the Japanese Self-Defense Force were deployed to the Gulf region to conduct minesweeping operations during Kaifu’s term of office.

Correct Answer – B. Roberta Metsola

Explanation: Roberta Metsola, a Christian Democrat from Malta, was elected president of the European Union’s parliament. Her election comes a week after the shock death of outgoing parliament president David Sassoli, who was due to step down as part of a power-sharing pact. She is only the third woman elected to the post. she is the European Parliament’s youngest president. Metsola was the candidate of the parliament’s biggest group, and she received 458 of the 616 votes cast.

Important Points:

• European Union’s parliament Headquarters: Strasbourg, France;
• European Union’s parliament Founded: 10 September 1952, Europe.

Correct Answer – B. Chandrachur Ghose

Explanation: A new biography titled “Bose: The Untold Story of An Inconvenient Nationalist” authored by Chandrachur Ghose will be released in February 2022. The book contains the thoughts and opinions of Subhas Chandra Bose about the development of independent India, communalism, geopolitics and political ideology. It also marked the untold and unknown stories of Netaji (Subhas Chandra Bose).

The essence of the book:

The biography attempts to bring new perspectives on Netaji’s thoughts on independent India’s development, the problem of communalism, geopolitics, his political ideology, and how he negotiated with the political parties, revolutionary societies, and the government.

The book throws light on Bose’s intense political activities around the revolutionary groups in Bengal, Punjab, Maharashtra, and the United Provinces; his efforts to bridge the increasing communal divide and his influence among the splintered political landscape; his outlook on and relations with women; his plunge into the depths of spirituality; his penchant for covert operations; and his efforts to engineer a rebellion among the Indian armed forces.

Correct Answer – E. Pench Tiger Reserve

Explanation: India’s “Supermom” tigress, popularly known as ‘Collarwali’, has passed away at Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Madhya Pradesh, due to old age. It was over 16 years old. ‘Collarwali’ tigress was known for giving birth to 29 cubs during her lifetime, which is believed to be a world record.

The official name given to the tigress by the forest department was T-15 but she was fondly called ‘Collarwali’ by the native people. She gained the Collarwali title as she became the first tigress in the park to be fitted with a radio collar in 2008. Madhya Pradesh also gained an identity as a ‘Tiger State’ due to the significant contribution of this supermom.

Correct Answer – B. SEBI

Explanation: Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has launched Saa ₹thi mobile app on investor education.It will create awareness among the investors about the basic concepts of securities market, KYC process, trading and settlement, mutual funds, etc.The app is available in Hindi and English.

Correct Answer – B. Microsoft

Explanation: Microsoft is buying video game publisher Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, which is the biggest deal ever in the tech industry.This acquisition will accelerate the growth in Microsoft’s gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse.Activision Blizzard is famous of Candy Crush and Call of Duty, Xbox, among other leading video games.

Correct Answer – A. Nusantara

Explanation: Indonesian Parliament has passed a law to relocate capital from Jakarta to Nusantara (East Kalimantan), situated to the east of Borneo Island.The new law has been formulated as Jakarta is prone to flooding amid climate change and also suffers from chronic congestion and air pollution.Initial relocation will start from between 2022 and 2024.

Correct Answer – D. Sania Mirza

Explanation: Indian tennis player, Sania Mirza (35 years) has announced her retirement in 2022.She is a six-time Grand Slam champion, 42-time tour winner, and first Indian woman and third from the country to be the World No. 1 doubles player.She is the only Indian woman to break into the top 30 in singles, and a two-time Asian Games gold medallist.

Correct Answer – C. Amazon

Explanation: National Innovation Foundation’s Incubation and Entrepreneurship Council and Amazon India have signed an MoU for online distribution of product of grassroots innovations, student innovations, and outstanding traditional knowledge-based products.It will make innovations from rural parts of India available universally and will ensure capacity building of grassroots innovators by engaging industry and subject matter experts.

Correct Answer – C. 40 percent

Explanation: Digital payment transactions reported a 40% year-on-year jump as of September 2021, as per the RBI’s latest index. The newly constituted RBI’s digital payment index (RBI-DPI) stood at 304.06 during September 2021 as against 270.59 in March 2021 and 217.74 in September 2020.   The index is published on a semi-annual basis from March 2021 onwards with a lag of 4 months.

Additional Information

In December 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed Corporate-promoted Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFC) to hold a stake in commercial banks. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the empanelment of CSB Bank, a private sector lender as an ‘Agency Bank’ in December 2021.

List of banks recently empanelled as Agency Bank of RBI:

• RBL Bank
• Dhanlaxmi Bank
• IndusInd Bank
• Bandhan Bank
• South Indian bank
• Karnataka bank
• DCB Bank

To put restrictions on para-banks whenever vital financial metrics dip below the prescribed threshold, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced a prompt corrective action (PCA) framework for large non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) with effect from October 2022.

• RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikanta Das (As of Jan 2022).
• RBI Headquarters: Mumbai;
• RBI Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.

Correct Answer – D. India Accelerator

Explanation: India Accelerator has received the ‘Best Accelerator of the Country’ award at The National Startup Awards (NSA) 2021 hosted by Startup India. It is one of the country’s premier seed accelerators and the only one associated with GAN (Global Accelerator Network). India Accelerator emerged as the best accelerator in the ecosystem enabler category.

Additional Information

Startup accelerators support early-stage, growth-driven companies through education, mentorship, and financing. Startups enter accelerators for a fixed period of time, and as part of a cohort of companies.Startup India scheme was launched in 2016 with an aim to promote and support the start-ups in India by providing bank finances.

• Date of launch: 16th January 2016
• Minister and Ministry: Piyush Goyal (As of Jan 2022) Ministry of Commerce and Industry
• Launched by:  Arun Jaitley (Former Finance Minister of India).

Correct Answer – A. Indian Energy Exchange Limited (IEX) 

Explanation: Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), the country’s largest power exchange, has sold 4.93% of its stake in Indian Gas Exchange Ltd to Indian Oil Corp.IEX and National Stock Exchange are promoters of IGX, India’s only gas exchange, while other strategic investors in IGX include GAIL Ltd, ONGC Ltd, Torrent Gas Pvt Ltd, and Adani Total Gas Ltd. IGX offers 6 delivery-based contracts for trading in gas.

Additional Information

The Indian Energy Exchange is an Indian electronic system-based power trading exchange regulated by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.

The Indian Energy Exchange:

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Founded: 2008

Indian Oil Corporation:

• Chairperson: Shrikant Madhav Vaidya (As of Jan 2022).
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Founded: 30 June 1959

Correct Answer –  A. ₹1,500 crores

Explanation: The Union Cabinet has approved the infusion of ₹1,500 crores in the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA). IREDA was set up in 1987 to work as a specialized non-banking finance agency for the renewable energy sector. The equity infusion will enable IREDA to facilitate the debt requirement of an additional renewable energy generation capacity of about 3,500-4,000 MW.

Additional Information

The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) has launched a ‘Whistle-blower Portal’ as a part of the celebration of ‘Vigilance Awareness Week 2021’. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is headed by Union Cabinet Minister Raj Kumar Singh.

• IREDA CMD: Shri Pradip Kumar Das (As of Jan 2022).
• IREDA Headquarters: New Delhi;
• IREDA Founded: 11 March 1987