• In the latest development, the Government of India has decided to observe Netaji Subash Chandra Bose's birth anniversary on January 23 every year as Parakram Diwas.
• The Centre announced its move to pay tribute to the freedom fighter to inspire the youth of the nation to 'act with fortitude in the face of adversity'. Ahead of Netaji's 125th birth anniversary this Saturday, The Ministry of Culture issued a circular on Tuesday announcing January 23 to be observed as Parakram Diwas every year from now on. 
• The committee, which was to be headed by Home Minister Amit Shah comprising of experts, historians, authors, family members of Netaji and INA associates, was to decide how to pay tribute to Netaji's contribution to India’s freedom struggle.

• Lloyd Austin, a retired four-star Army general, has been confirmed by the Senate, making him the first Black defense secretary in U.S. history.
• The Senate approved President Biden's nomination for Pentagon chief in a near-unanimous 93-2 vote Friday.
• Austin's nomination was approved despite concerns raised on both sides of the aisle that he hadn't been out of uniform for the legally mandated seven-year period.
• The National Security Act of 1947 created the rule to ensure civilian control over the military is maintained, but it also permits a waiver if lawmakers in both the House and the Senate approve.
• Those votes also passed in bipartisan fashion, clearing the way for Austin's confirmation.

• Google says it has banned a prominent German user of its YouTube video platform who had repeatedly posted false claims about the coronavirus outbreak.
• Google said Friday that a YouTube channel known as KenFM was no longer available and that the person operating it would not be allowed to start another.
• KenFM was operated by Ken Jebsen, a former journalist who was fired by Germany’s public broadcaster rbb after anti-Semitic comments he had made came to light.

• The Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah inaugurated the new 4-lane Thaltej-Shilaj-Rancharda railway overbridge, built at a cost of Rs 55 crore, in Ahmedabad city of Gujarat through video conferencing from New Delhi on 21st Jan, 2021. Several dignitaries including Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Shri Nitin Patel were present at the programme.
• In his address on the occasion, Shri Amit Shah said after becoming Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has started a campaign to address the problems faced in the country in basic utilities. 
• There was a big problem of traffic on more than one lakh railway crossings in the country. 
• Railway gates would open and close more than a 100 times a day, due to which the costly fuel and precious time was wasted.

• Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma inaugurated India’s longest road arch bridge, the Wahrew Bridge at Sohbar in East Khasi Hills district.
• The bridge has been constructed at a cost of Rs 49.395 crore under Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) of the DoNER ministry.
• The bridge connects Bholaganj and Sohbar to Nongjri in East Khasi Hills, bordering Bangladesh.
• The funds for the construction of the bridge were sanctioned from the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources of the Union ministry of development of Northeastern region (DoNER).

• The board of directors of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has appointed Justice Gita Mittal, former Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir High Court, as the new chairperson of Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC). Justice Mittal succeeds former Supreme Court Judge, Justice Vikramajit Sen, whose tenure as BCCC chairperson has ended.
• Having served as the first woman Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir High Court, she is also the first woman chairperson of BCCC.
• BCCC is the independent self-regulatory body set up by the IBF in June 2011 to examine content-related complaints relating to all non-news general entertainment channels in India. 

• The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Shri Arjun Munda virtually through Video Conference launched “ShramShakti”, a National Migration Support Portal at a programme held at Panjim, Goa today.
•  It would effectively help in the smooth formulation of state and national level programs for migrant workers. He also launched a tribal migration cell, a tribal museum at Goa and “ShramSaathi”, a training manual for migrant workers. The Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant also launched dedicated Migration cell in Goa to facilitate and support migrants who come from different States to Goa.

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Thursday conducted a successful trial of the indigenously developed Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) off the Odisha coast from the Hawk-I jet of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). This was the ninth successful test of the system conducted over the last five years.
• A Defence Ministry press statement Friday said, “The smart weapon was successfully test fired from Indian Hawk-Mk132 of HAL. This was the ninth successful mission of SAAW conducted by DRDO till now. It was a text book launch, which met all mission objectives. The telemetry and tracking systems installed at Interim Test Range (ITR), Balasore captured all the mission events.”

• Vice President of India launched a book of poems, “Not Many, But One” (Two Volumes), an English translation of poems of Sree Narayana Guru by Prof G.K. Sasidharan.
• Narayana Guru (1855 – 1928) was a philosopher, spiritual leader and social reformer in India.
• He was born into a family that belonged to the Ezhava caste.
• He led a reform movement against the injustice in the caste-ridden society of Kerala in order to promote spiritual enlightenment and social equality.
• Shri Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (also known as SNDP Yogam) is an Indian spiritual organization that was formally founded by Dr. Padmanabhan Palpu in 1903, with the guidance of Shri Narayana Guru. The main aim of SNDP Yogam was to spiritually uplift the people of the Ezhava/Tiyyar communities.
• Vaikom Satyagraha (1924–25) was a social protest in erstwhile Travancore against untouchability and caste discrimination in Hindu society of Kerala. Sree Narayana Guru involved himself with the Vaikom Satyagraha and extended much co-operation.

10. Veteran bhajan singer Narendra Chanchal passes away at 80

• Popular bhajan singer Narendra Chanchal passed away on Friday in New Delhi. He was 80.
• Sanjay Malik, who was Narendra Chanchal’s concert organiser for the last 25 years, said the iconic Bhajan singer died at around 12 pm due to age-related issues. 
• Chanchal was known for his religious songs and bhajans. Apart from performing at live events for a large part of his career, Chanchal’s songs like “Chalo Bulava Aaya Hai” from Avtaar and “Beshak Mandir Masjid Todo” from Bobby became immensely popular. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Singer for Bobby.

Download Daily GK PDF of 23 January  2021