India has exported 16.92 lakh tonnes of sugar till January 4 of the ongoing 2022-23 marketing year, including 59,596 tonnes of the sweetener to neighbouring China.

Among other neighbouring nations, India has exported 1.47 lakh tonnes of sugar to Bangladesh, and 82,462 tonnes to Sri Lanka during October-January 4 of the current marketing year, All India Sugar Trade Association (AISTA) said in a statement.

The sugar marketing year runs from October to September. The government has allowed export of 6 million tonnes till May of the 2022-23 marketing year.

According to AISTA, mills have exported a total of 16,92,751 tonnes of sugar from October 1, 2022 to January 4, this year.

Of the total exports undertaken so far, maximum exports have been to Somalia at 1.70 lakh tonnes, followed by the UAE at 1.69 lakh tonnes, Djibouti at 1.50 lakh tonnes, and Sudan at 1.37 lakh tonnes.

India exported 1.36 lakh tonnes to Malaysia, 1.18 lakh tonnes to Indonesia, and 1.08 lakh tonnes to Saudi Arabia till January 4 of the current marketing year.

Sugar exports from India, one of the world's major sugar-producing nations, stood at 11.2 million tonnes in the 2021-22 marketing year.

India rode on batting maestro Virat Kohli's 73rd international hundred to beat Sri Lanka by 67 runs in the first ODI and take 1-0 lead in the three-match series  in Guwahati on jan 10 .

Brief Scores: India: 373/7 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 113, Rohit Sharma 83, Shubman Gill 60).

Sri Lanka: 306 for 8 in 50 overs (Dasun Shanaka 108 not out, Pathum Nissanka 72, Dhananjaya de Silva 47; Umran Malik 3/57, Mohammed Siraj 2/30).

Top Indian javelin thrower Shivpal Singh's ban period was on  Jan 10 reduced from four years to one as the Appeal Panel of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) accepted his contention that "contaminated supplement" was behind his flunked dope test.

The Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel of NADA on August 16 last year had sanctioned Shivpal, who participated in the Tokyo Olympics, for four years after his dope sample tested positive for a steroid in an out-of-competition test in September 2021.

Q1.  Name the  Indian-origin man who  has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Fort Bend Toll Road Authority and the Grand Parkway Toll Road authority in the US state of Texas ?

1. Swapan Dhairyawan
2. Gautam Raghavan
3. Bharat Ramamurti
4. Vinay Reddy
5. None of These

Q2. Name the Iranian activist and  daughter of former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani who  has been sentenced to five years over "propaganda" and acts against national security ?

1. Shiva Nazar Ahari.
2. Raheleh Ahmadi.
3. Masih Alinejad.
4. Faezeh Hashemi
5. None of These

Q3. Name the Indian-American aerospace industry expert who  has been appointed as NASA's new chief technologist to serve as principal advisor to Administrator Bill Nelson on technology policy and programmes at the space agency's headquarters

1. Neera Tanden
2. AC Charania
3. Dr Vivek Murthy
4. Vanita Gupta
5. None of These

Q4. Name the theme on which government has decided to celebrate the National Science Day (NSD) this year on February 28 to match the spirits of the G-20 presidency.

1. Global Science for Global Village
2. Global Science for Global Wellbeing
3. Ayurveda for Global Wellbeing
4. Indian Science for Global Wellbeing
5. None of These

Q5. What amount of remittances sent to the country by overseas Indians for the year 2022 which is  an increase of 12 per cent in one year ?

1. About USD 500 billion
2. About USD 300 billion
3. About USD 100 billion
4. About USD 50 billion
5. None of These

Answers

1----------------1  Swapan Dhairyawan

2-----------------4    Faezeh Hashemi

3-----------------2  AC Charania

4-----------------2   Global Science for Global Wellbeing

5------------------3   About USD 100 billion

It is a moment of joy for the residents of the remote-and-hilly village of Dooru in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district as the electricity has reached the village for the first time since independence. Tethan village, which is about 90 km away from Srinagar, comprises about 35-40 families, mostly Gujjars and Bakerwals.

The village has been electrified under the Pradhan Mantri developmental programme “Har Ghar Bijli Yojana”. The programme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019. 

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on  Jan 10 declared Arshdeep Singh Gill alias Arsh Dalla, a Canada-based Punjabi gangster and Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) operative, as a designated terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Arshdeep was found involved in targeted killing, murders and extortion for terror funding. 

The Union government has decided that the Indian delegation for this year’s annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) will not be headed by Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal.

The team for the January 16-20 meeting at Davos in Switzerland will instead be headed by Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnav and Smriti Irani. While Vaishnav is the minister for railways, and electronics and information technology, Irani heads the ministries of women and child development and minority affairs.

Goyal, who is in the US to participate in the India-US Trade Policy Forum, is expected to be back by January 13, well in time to lead the delegation to the WEF. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under Goyal’s ministry plays a key role in all investment-related talks at WEF meets.

Among other Union ministers likely to accompany Vaishnaw and Irani are Anurag Thakur, minister for information and broadcasting, and youth affairs and sports, and Mansukh Mandaviya, minister for health and family welfare, and chemicals and fertilizers.

Besides them, delegations from various states would also attend. They include a team from Uttar Pradesh led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The Maharashtra team comprises Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis. Teams from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu are also expected to take part in the five-day meet at the alpine resort town.

The high-level Indian delegation will strengthen India’s position at the WEF 2023 as an important stakeholder shaping the global narrative.

The theme of this year’s meet is “Cooperation in a Fragmented World”.

The fare of the world's longest river cruise will blow your mind.

The per day per person charge on MV Ganga Vilas, which will set sail from Varanasi and anchor in Assam's Dibrugarh, is $300 (Rs 24692.25), Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal told reporters in Guwahati on  Jan 9. He said the fare is the same for Indians and foreigners.

The cruise, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch on January 13, will reach Dibrugarh after covering a distance of more than 3,200 km in a voyage that will last 51 days and cost $153000 (Rs 12.59 lakh plus).

The ship -- 62 metres long and 12 metres wide -- has three decks, 18 suites with a capacity of 36 passengers and all amenities to provide a luxurious experience.

"The cruise will pass through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bangladesh and Assam. It will halt at 50 places in these Indian states and Bangladesh. The tourists will visit local cultural and heritage sites during stopover," Sonowal said.

In Assam, the cruise will halt at Dhubri, Jogighopa, Pandu in Guwahati, Kaziranga, Nimati and Majuli before anchoring in Dibrugarh.