This is the current affairs of 24 January 2023. Here are questions and answers of daily current affairs for better preparation of competitive exams for government jobs.
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1. Whom did the President announce to honor with the Bharat Ratna Award in 2024?
a. Kishan Singh
b. Karpuri Thakur
c. Lalu Yadav
d. Mohan Bhagwat
Answer: b. Karpuri Thakur
– President Draupadi Murmu has announced the posthumous conferment of the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, on freedom fighter, educator, and politician Karpoori Thakur.
– The announcement was made by the President on January 23, 2024.
– Karpoori Thakur served twice as the Chief Minister of Bihar and also held the position of Deputy Chief Minister once.
January 24 marks his 100th birth anniversary:
– Karpoori Thakur was born on January 24, 1924, in the Pitaunjia village of Samastipur district in Bihar, now known as Kapoorigram.
– He passed away on February 17, 1988.
His tenure as Chief Minister:
– December 22, 1970, to June 2, 1971
– June 24, 1977, to April 21, 1979
– Deputy Chief Minister: March 5, 1967, to January 31, 1968
His decisions set examples in the country:
– Karpoori Thakur is considered a champion of social justice in Bihar.
– He introduced reservations for the backward class for the first time in the country.
– In 1977, as the Chief Minister, he implemented the Mungerilal Commission, leading to job reservations for the backward communities.
– He was the first Chief Minister to provide free education up to the matriculation level in his state.
– Urdu was accorded the status of the second official language in Bihar.
– He abolished the compulsory use of English when he became Deputy Chief Minister in 1967.
– He ended rent on non-profitable agricultural land.
– Reserved quotas were introduced for economically weaker sections among the Scheduled Castes and women.
– Whether it was the struggle for independence or the JP Movement, Karpoori Thakur played a leading role.
JP, Lohia, and Narendra Dev were his ideals:
– In the transformation of the social system, Karpoori Thakur looked up to ideals like Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia, and Acharya Narendra Dev.
– When he became a minister in 1970, he made education free up to the eighth grade, granted Urdu the status of the second official language, and ended rent on five acres of land.
– Although his tenure in power was not long, in those days, reaching the highest seat of power for a person coming from a poor family and belonging to a marginalized and numerically small community like the Nai (barber) was no small achievement.
About Bharat Ratna:
– What is it: The highest civilian award of the Republic of India.
– Established: 1954
– First recipients: C. Rajagopalachari, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and C. V. Raman
– Award includes: Citation and a bronze medallion in the shape of a peepal leaf. The medallion has a shining sun made of platinum, under which “Bharat Ratna” is inscribed in silver. On the other side, “Satyameva Jayate” is inscribed along with the Ashoka Pillar.
What place does one get in the protocol?
– The person receiving this honor is accorded the status of a VIP for the country.
– In the protocol, the honored person is given a place after the leaders such as the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Chief Justice, Lok Sabha Speaker, Cabinet Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers, former Presidents, former Prime Ministers, former Chief Ministers, and the leaders of the opposition in both houses of Parliament.
What facilities are available to individuals receiving the Bharat Ratna?
1. The first thing associated with this award is that the person receiving the Bharat Ratna is given a status equivalent to that of a Cabinet Minister.
2. Recipients of the Bharat Ratna are also granted an exemption from paying income tax. Additionally, they can participate in parliamentary meetings and sessions.
3. They can also participate as special guests in programs on Independence Day and Republic Day.
They are entitled to free travel by plane, train, and bus.
4. If they travel to any state, they are given the status of State Guests.
5. According to Article 18 (1) of the Constitution, recipients of the award cannot use the term ‘Bharat Ratna’ as a prefix or suffix to their names. However, they can include the fact that they have been honored with the Bharat Ratna or are recipients of the Bharat Ratna award in their bio-data, visiting cards, letterheads, etc.
6. Those who receive the Bharat Ratna are given a place in the Warrant of Precedence issued by the government. The Warrant of Precedence is used to determine the order of priority in official programs.
7. State governments provide facilities to personalities who have received the Bharat Ratna in their respective states.
List of 49 individuals honored with the Bharat Ratna:
Serial Number – Recipient – Year of Conferment
1. Chakravarti Rajagopalachari – 1954
2. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan – 1954
3. Chandrasekhar Venkata Raman – 1954
4. Dr. Bhagwan Das – 1955
5. Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya – 1955
6. Jawaharlal Nehru – 1955
7. Govind Ballabh Pant – 1957
8. Dr. Dhondo Keshav Karve – 1958
9. Bidhan Chandra Roy – 1961
10. Purushottam Das Tandon – 1961
11. Rajendra Prasad – 1962
12. Zakir Hussain – 1963
13. Pandurang Vaman Kane – 1963
14. Lal Bahadur Shastri (posthumous) – 1966
15. Indira Gandhi – 1971
16. Varahagiri Venkata Giri – 1975
17. K. Kamaraj (posthumous) – 1976
18. Mother Teresa – 1980
19. Acharya Vinoba Bhave (posthumous) – 1983
20. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan – 1987
21. M. G. Ramachandran (posthumous) – 1988
22. B. R. Ambedkar (posthumous) – 1990
23. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela – 1990
24. Morarji Ranchhodji Desai – 1991
25. Rajiv Gandhi (posthumous) – 1991
26. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (posthumous) – 1991
27. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (posthumous) – 1992
28. J.R.D. Tata – 1992
29. Satyajit Ray (posthumous) – 1992
30. Gulzarilal Nanda (posthumous) – 1997
31. Aruna Asaf Ali (posthumous) – 1997
32. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam – 1997
33. M. S. Subbulakshmi – 1998
34. Chidambaram Subramanyam – 1998
35. Jayaprakash Narayan (posthumous) – 1998
36. Professor Amartya Sen – 1999
37. Gopinath Bordoloi (posthumous) – 1999
38. Pandit Ravi Shankar – 1999
39. Lata Dinanath Mangeshkar – 2001
40. Ustad Bismillah Khan – 2001
41. Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi – 2009
42. Prof. C. N. R. Rao – 2014
43. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar – 2014
44. Atal Bihari Vajpayee – 2015
45. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (posthumous) – 2015
46. Nana Ji Deshmukh (posthumous) – 2019
47. Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Hazarika (posthumous) – 2019
48. Pranab Mukherjee – 2019
49. Kariya Thakur (posthumous) – 2024
Note:
– Among athletes, only Sachin Tendulkar has received this award.
– Recognition has also been given to three individuals of foreign origin – Mother Teresa, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, and Nelson Mandela.
– Posthumous awards have been given to 12 individuals, including Kariya Thakur.
– There was an announcement to posthumously confer Bharat Ratna on Subhas Chandra Bose, but relatives objected, stating that if the cause of death is unclear, why give a posthumous award? After this, the decision was withdrawn.
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2. When is Parakram Diwas celebrated?
a. 22 January
b. 23 January
c. 24 January
d. 25 January
Answer: b. 23 January
– Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary is celebrated as “Parakram Diwas” on January 23.
– The announcement for this was made by the Ministry of Culture in 2021.
– Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was born on January 23, 1897, in Cuttack, Odisha (then part of Bengal division).
– In 1920, he passed the Civil Service Examination in England but left his job to participate in the Indian freedom struggle.
– In 1938, Netaji was elected as the President of the Indian National Congress.
– To free India from the British, Netaji established the “Azad Hind Government” on October 21, 1943, and formed the “Azad Hind Fauj.”
– Bose reached Burma (now Myanmar) with his army on July 4, 1944, and there he proclaimed, “Give me blood, and I will give you freedom.”
– On August 18, 1945, after a plane crash in Taipei, Netaji went missing.
– Three inquiry commissions were set up regarding the incident, two of which claimed that Netaji died after the crash.
– However, the third inquiry commission, chaired by Justice M.K. Mukherjee, claimed that Netaji was alive after the incident.
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3. Who was selected for Subhash Chandra Bose Disaster Management Award 2024?
a. 60 Parachute Field Hospital, Uttar Pradesh
b. 50 Parachute Brigade
c. UP Disaster Management Institute
d. None of these
Answer: a. 60 Parachute Field Hospital, Uttar Pradesh
– The announcement of this award was made by the Ministry of Home Affairs on the 127th birth anniversary of Subhas Chandra Bose.
– This award is given by the central government for outstanding work in disaster management.
– The establishment of the 60 Parachute Field Hospital was done in 1942.
– It provided medical assistance during a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Turkey and Syria in 2023.
The Only Airborne Medical Institute:
– The establishment of the 60 Parachute Field Hospital in Uttar Pradesh took place in 1942.
– It is the only airborne medical institute of the Indian Armed Forces and is recognized for its exceptional services during global crises.
– While announcing the award, the Ministry of Home Affairs mentioned that the hospital is involved in humanitarian aid and disaster relief (HADR) operations both nationally and internationally during times of peace and conflict.
– It provided medical assistance during the 2013 floods in Uttarakhand, as part of Operation ‘Maitri’ during the Nepal earthquake in 2015, and as part of Operation ‘Samudra Maitri’ during the Indonesian tsunami in 2018.
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4. Which digital wallet and payment platform signed MoU with NPCI International to expand UPI across the world?
a. Paytm
b. PhonePe
c. MobiKwik
d. Google Pay
Answer: d. Google Pay
– Google India Digital Services and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)’s wholly-owned subsidiary, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), has signed a memorandum of understanding to expand UPI (Unified Payments Interface) in countries other than India.
Three main objectives of the MoU:
1. Broadening the use of UPI payments for travelers outside India, enabling them to easily conduct transactions abroad.
2. Assisting in establishing digital payment systems similar to UPI in other countries.
3. Focusing on simplifying the process of remittances (receiving foreign currency) between countries using the UPI infrastructure, making cross-border financial transactions simple.
CEO of NIPL: Ritesh Shukla
What is UPI (Unified Payments Interface)?
– It is an instant real-time payment system.
– It is a concept that allows the transfer of funds between multiple bank accounts through a mobile application. It was developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
– It is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India and the Indian Banks’ Association.
– Fund transfers through UPI are very fast and efficient.
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5. The tallest statue (206 feet) of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar was unveiled in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, what was the name given to this statue?
a. Statue of Bhim
b. Statue of Social Justice
c. Statue of Equality
d. Statue of Ambedkar
Answer: b. Statue of Social Justice
Statue of Social Justice:
– Inauguration Date: January 19, 2024
– Location: Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
– Inaugurated by: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy
– Height: 206 feet from the ground [Includes a 125-foot statue and an 81-foot pedestal (the base on which the statue stands)]
– Statue established within an area of 18.81 acres
Cost: ₹404.35 crores
– It is included in the list of the world’s top 50 tallest statues.
Recent Statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar:
– Inaugurated by: President Draupadi Murmu on November 26, 2023 (Constitution Day) at the Supreme Court premises.
– In October 2023, a statue of Ambedkar, named “Statue of Equality,” was inaugurated in the United States, becoming the tallest statue of Ambedkar outside India.
– Telangana’s then Chief Minister, Chandrashekhar Rao, unveiled a 125-foot statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on April 14, 2023 (on his 132nd birth anniversary).
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar:
– Birth: April 14, 1891
– Death: December 6, 1956
– He was the first Indian to obtain a doctorate in economics abroad.
– He served as the first Law Minister of independent India.
Andhra Pradesh:
– Chief Minister: Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy
– Governor: Sayed Abdul Najeeb
– Capital: Amaravati
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6. According to Global Firepower (GFP) military power ranking 2024, which country’s military force is the most powerful?
a. USA
b. India
c. China
d. Russia
Answer: a. USA
– The institution that determines the ranking of countries worldwide based on military strength, Global Firepower, has released the list for the year 2024.
– In this list, the United States has secured the number one position.
– Russia is at the second position, and China is at the third position.
– This ranking considers 60 different factors, and a total of 145 countries are included in this list.
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7. What is India’s position as per Global Firepower (GFP) military power ranking 2024?
a. 5
b. 6
c. 4
d. 3
Answer: c. 4
– India has consistently secured the fourth position.
– However, the United Kingdom, which was in the fifth position in 2023, has moved to the sixth position in 2024.
– Neighboring country Pakistan was in the seventh position in 2023 but has now moved to the ninth position.
Top Four Countries’ Scores:
1. United States: 0.0699
2. Russia: 0.0702
3. China: 0.0706
4. India: 0.1023
Top Powerful Countries:
1. United States
2. Russia
3. China
4. India
5. South Korea
6. United Kingdom
7. Japan
8. Turkey
9. Pakistan
9. Italy
Least Powerful Countries:
1. Bhutan
2. Moldova
3. Suriname
4. Somalia
5. Benin
6. Liberia
7. Belize
8. Sierra Leone
9. Central African Republic
10. Iceland
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8. China’s population declined for the second consecutive year in 2023, tell the total population?
a. 1.4 Billion
b. 2 Billion
c. 1.3 Billion
d. 1.1 Billion
Answer: a. 1.4 Billion
– On January 17, 2024, the Chinese government released annual statistics.
– The Chinese government stated that the total population is 1.4 billion.
– There were 11.1 million deaths and 9 million births in China.
– This is the second consecutive year with a decrease in the country’s total population.
– In 2023, there was a decrease of 2 million in the population in China.
– After the first population decline in 2022 in the past six decades, India surpassed China in 2023 as the most populous country in the world.
– The Indian government reported a population of 1,424.6 million in April 2023.
– At that time, India was number one in terms of population.
Population Decline Since 2016 Due to TFR
– Since 2016, there has been a decline in the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) or the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime in China.
– It is essential for sustaining the current generation’s population to have two children per couple in the future.
– Maintaining a stable population level in the future will require having two children per couple.
Decline Due to One-Child Policy
– The rapid decline in the birth rate in China is attributed to the One-Child Policy, and now the country is grappling with the issue of a declining economy and population.
– Experts believe that in the coming years, this problem in China could become even more severe.
Introduction of the One-Child Policy
– Introduced in 1980, the One-Child Policy imposed restrictions on couples, allowing them to have only one child or face strict penalties.
– A few years ago, this policy had to be reversed as it could lead to future issues for China.
– United Nations experts predict that by 2050, China’s population will decrease by up to 109 million.
Consequences of Population Decline
– A declining population implies a reduced number of youth in the future, while the elderly population will increase.
– This will lead to a shortage of skilled young workers for industries, affecting the economy.
China
– President: Xi Jinping
– Capital: Beijing
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9. When is National Girl Child Day celebrated?
a. 20 January
b. 21 January
c. 23 January
d. 24 January
Answer: d. 24 January
Theme for 2024:
– Wishes and Messages
– National Girl Child Day is celebrated every year on January 24 in India.
– It was initiated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2008.
– The objective is to provide support and opportunities to the girls of India.
– Additionally, it aims to raise awareness about gender-based discrimination against girls in our society.
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10. When is National Voters’ Day celebrated?
a. 23 January
b. 24 January
c. 25 January
d. 26 January
Answer: c. 25 January
– National Voters’ Day has been celebrated since the year 2011.
– The formation of the Election Commission of India took place on January 25, 1950.
– Hence, January 25 was chosen as National Voters’ Day.
– The objective is to increase the participation of youth in the political process.
– Additionally, it aims to encourage more and more people in the country to participate in the voting process.
Election Commission of India
– Chief Election Commissioner: Rajiv Kumar
– Election Commissioners: Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goyal
