Current Affairs – 19 January 2023

National Popcorn Day

on January 19 as we celebrate National Popcorn Day! Buttered, salted, kettled, and drizzled with caramel, popcorn is one of those snacks perfect anytime, anywhere. It’s great on the go, in the theatre, or in your living room! Just be prepared to dig some of it out of your teeth.

NCERT notified India’s first national assessment regulator ‘PARAKH’

• The National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) has notified India’s first national assessment regulator, PARAKH.
• PARAKH stands for Performance Appraisal, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development.
• The regulator aims to set up assessment guidelines for all boards to help remove disparities in scores of students enrolled with different state boards.

Telangana CM launched the second phase of ‘Kanti Velugu’

• Telangana Chief Minister, K Chandrasekhar Rao has launched the second phase of the ‘Kanti Velugu’ initiative in Khammam district.
• It is considered to be the world’s largest eye screening programme.
• Under the Kanti Velugu, free eye screening will be held at the special health camps for 100 days with 1500 medical teams.

Kerala Literature Festival concludes in Kozhikode

• The 6th edition of the Kerala Literature Festival concluded in Kozhikode, Kerala.
• The event was included in the World Tourism Calendar.
• The Thrissur Pooram and the Kochi-Muziris Biennale are other events in Kerala that have found a place in the World tourism calendar.
• The 7th edition would be held at the same venue from January 11 to 14, 2024.

ASI discovered two 1200-year-old miniature stupas at Nalanda, Bihar

• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered two 1200-year-old miniature stupas within the complex of the world heritage site ‘Nalanda Mahavihara’ in the Nalanda district of Bihar.
• The figures of Buddha are shown on the stupa carved out of stone. Such stupas were popular as votive offerings in India as early as the 7th century.

Kollam becomes the first constitution-literate district in India

• Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan has declared Kollam district as the first Constitution-literate district in the country.
• It is achieved through ‘The Citizen’, a Constitution literacy campaign.
• The district’s success is the result of a seven-month campaign launched by the Kollam district panchayat, the District Planning Committee, and the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) to educate citizens about the country’s laws and their rights.

Uttar Pradesh tops charts for mobile gaming destination in India

• Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the top destination for mobile gamers, followed by Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar, and West Bengal, according to India Mobile Gaming Report 2022 by gaming platform Mobile Premier League.
• Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Himachal Pradesh have seen the highest increase in mobile gamers in 2022 compared to 2021.

PM Modi inaugurated the second phase of Saansad Khel Mahakumbh

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the second phase of Saansad Khel Mahakumbh 2022-23 in Basti District of Uttar Pradesh via video conferencing.
• The Khel Mahakumbh organizes diverse competitions in both indoor and outdoor sports like wrestling, Kabaddi, Kho Kho, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Chess, Badminton, and Table Tennis.

Janani Ramachandran becomes the first LGBTQ woman on the colour city council

• A 30-year-old Indian American social justice lawyer, activist, and artist, Janani Ramachandran has become the youngest and the first LGBTQ woman of colour to serve on Oakland City Council in the US state of California.
• Ramachandran currently serves on the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs and has previously served as a Commissioner at the City of Oakland Public Ethics Commission.