Current Affairs - Jan 2020

Month All Type All

179 Current Affairs were found in Period - January 21 - 31, 2020 for Type - All

Appointments

1. Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani has been appointed as new Prime Minister of Qatar.

2. Greece’s parliament elected Katerina Sakellaropoulou as Greece's first female president.

3. India's Anil Khanna nominated as Life President of Asian Tennis Federation (ATF).

4. India's Gita Sabharwal has been appointed by United Nations as its Resident Coordinator in Thailand.

1. UN Resident Coordinators are highest-ranking representatives of the UN’s country-level development system.

5. Indian-American Arvind Krishna is appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Global Tech Major IBM (International Business

Machine).

6. Misc. Appointments (Jan 2020) -

1. Axis Bank appointed Amit Talgeri as Chief Risk Officer.

2. Andhra Pradedsh government appointed Kritika Shukla and and M. Deepika as Special Officers for implementing Andhra

Pradesh Disha Act 2019. It intends for speedy trial and faster execution in cases of sexual offences against women in state.

3. Govt approved re-employment of V K Yadav as Chairman of Railway Board for 1 year.

4. Delhi AIIMS’ Suresh Chandra Sharma has been appointed as 1st Chairman of NMC (National Medical Commission).

5. Lakshmi Vilas Bank appointed S Sundar as interim Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

6. A Sakthivel is appointed as chairman of Apparel Export Promotion Council of India (AEPC) for 2020-21.

7. Former CRPF Director-General Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar is appointed as Advisor to Lieutenant Governor of UT of Jammu and

Kashmir (Currently G. C. Murmu). Other two Advisors are KK Sharma and Farooq Khan.

8. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MLA Rabindra Nath Mahato is elected as Speaker of New Jharkhand Legislative Assembly.

9. PSU Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) appointed M Nagaraj as Chairman and Managing

Director(CMD).

10. Arun Kumar Sahu is appointed as next High Commissioner of India to Commonwealth of Dominica.

11. Indian dancer-choreographer Sandip Soparrkar has been appointed by International Business School of Washington (IBSW)

as a new Panel Member in board of Directors.

12. Rajya Sabha MP Chandra Pal Singh Yadav has been re-elected as Chairman of Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited

(KRIBHCO).

13. Girish Kumar has been re-appointed as Surveyor General of India for 1 year.

14. BCCI appointed Former Crickcters Madan Lal and Gautam Gambhir as members of CAC (Cricket Advisory Commitee).

15. Punit Sood has been appointed as country head of RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) India.

16. Japanese Investment Major SoftBank appointed Manoj Kohli as its India’s head.

17. Central Vigilance Commission appointed A.D.M. Chavali, Former Executive Director of Indian Overseas Bank, as a member

in Advisory Board for Banking & Financial Frauds.

18. Alok Kansal is appointed as General Manager of Western Railway (WR).

19. Vinay Mohan Kwatra is appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Nepal.

7. Portuguese diplomat Joao Vale de Almeida is appointed as European Union's top envoy in UK, after UK leaves the EU bloc

(Brexit).

8. RBI appointed its Executive Director Janak Raj as member of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the highest interest rate

setting body. He replaces M D Patra, who was recently elevated as Deputy Governor of the RBI.

1. RBI Monetary Policy Committee has 6 Members - 3 RBI officials and 3 external members nominated by Government.

Nominated Members serve term of 4 years.

2. M D Patra will still remain, MPC Member, now as Deputy Governor of RBI.

3. Currnet RBI MPC Members -

1. RBI Officials -

1. Governor of RBI as Chairperson - Shaktikanta Das

2. Michael Debrata Patra (Deputy Governor of RBI)

3. Janak Raj (Executive director of RBI)

2. Nominated -

1. Chetan Ghate - Professor Indian Statistical Institute

2. Pami Dua - Director, Delhi School of Economics

3. Ravindra H. Dholakia - Professor, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

9. Satinder Kumar Saini has been appointed as new Vice Chief of Indian Army.

10. Taranjit Sandhu is appointed as India’s New ambassador to United States (US).

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Awards

1. 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony -

1. Grammy Awards (originally called Gramophone Award) are presented by US Based The Recording Academy to recognize

achievements in music industry. Notable Winners in 2020 Edition -

2. Category Winner

Album of the Year When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?

Record of the Year Bad Guy – Billie Eilish

Song of The Year Bad Guy – Billie Eilish

Best New Artist Billie Eilish

Albums

R&B Ventura – Anderson Paak

Rap Igor – Tyler, the Creator

Country While I'm Livin' – Tanya Tucker

Rock Social Cues – Cage the Elephant

Dance/Electronic No Geography – The Chemical Brothers

Folk Patty Griffin

Pop When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? – Billie Eilish

New age Wings – Peter Kater

Jazz 12 Little Spells – Esperanza Spalding

World music Celia – Angélique Kidjo

Children's Ageless: Songs for the Child Archetype – Jon Samson

Historical Pete Seeger: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection

Others

Producer of the Year Finneas (Non-Classical), Blanton Alspaugh (Classical)

Best Music Video "Old Town Road" (Official Movie) – Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyru

Best Music Film Homecoming – Beyoncé

2. HealthSetGo Founder Priya Prakash won Global citizen prize - Cisco Youth Leadership award for 2019, for her school health

program that provides healthcare support to children. It honours individuals aged 18-30 years who solve some global challenges.

It includes Cash prize of $250,000.

3. Chairman of The Hindu Group, N. Ram has been selected as outstanding media person in a national award instituted by Kerala

Media Academy, carrying a cash prize of INR 1 lakh.

4. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh conferred awards related to Republic Day 2020 Parade -

1. Among States /UTs - Assam Tableau was adjudged best, based on the theme 'Land of Unique Craftsmanship and Culture'.

Tableaux of Odisha and Uttar Pradesh were named joint second best.

2. Among different ministries/departments - Ministry of Jal Shakti and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)

won joint best Tableaux award. Ministry of Jal Shakti tableau had showcased Government's new initiative 'Jal Jeevan

Mission'.

3. Tableau of Central Public Works Department (CPWD), with theme 'Kashmir se Kanyakumari', won special prize.

4. CISF declared as 'best marching contingent' amongst CAPFs and other auxiliary squads.

5. Former British film actress of Indo-British descent, Sanjna Kapoor has been awarded French honour of ‘Chevalier dans l'Ordre

des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) for her outstanding contribution to the field of theater.

6. Indian Women's Hockey Captain Rani Rampal became first hockey player in world to win the prestigious ‘World Games Athlete

of the Year’ Award, based on public votes.

7. Indian environmental economist Pavan Sukhdev has ben awarded 2020 Tyler Prize, jointly with biologist Gretchen C Daily.

1. Pavan Sukhdev was honoured for his outstanding work in sphere of the green economy. Sukhdev was head and special

adviser of UNEP’s 'Green Economy Initiative'.

2. Tyler prize is one of the first international premier environmental awards, often described as the ‘Nobel Prize for

Environment’. It was constituted in 1973 by the late John and Alice Tyler.

8. Industrial Awards (Jan 2020) -

1. Piyush Jaiswal has been awarded Global B`ihar Excellence Award 2019, for his work in promoting women empowerment.

2. Ministry of Science and Technology have awarded Swarna Jayanti Fellowships to 14 scientists to pursue basic research in

frontier areas of science and technology. The fellowship includes a fellowship of 25 thousand rupees per month and research

grant of five lakh rupees for five years is also being provided in addition to salary.

3. HDFC Bank hass been adjudged best in 'Innovation and Inclusiveness in Priority Sector Lending' category at '11th Inclusive

Finance India Awards' in '16th Inclusive Finance Summit' in New Delhi.

4. Award of Excellence for 2019 given by Computer Society of India (CSI) and Special Interest Group on e-Governance (CSI SIG

e-Gov) to 2 applications developed by Election Commission of India - cVIGIL’ and ‘Voter Helpline App’, in Bhubaneswar

(Odisha).

1. Using cVIGIL (Vigilant Citizen), citizens can report Violations during elections. Every cVIGIL case is replied back with

action taken in 100-minute timeline after evidentiary proof of violation.

5. Gujarat topped SKOCH State of Governance 2019 ranking, replacing West Bengal. Top 5 are Gujarat, Maharashtra, West

Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

6. Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren conferred with the "Champion of Change Award-2019" for his work in the Barhait and Dumka

assembly constituencies in state, by Former president Pranab Mukherjee.

7. Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, N Kumar honoured with Harit Ratna Award 2019 by All India

Agricultural Students Association (AIASA).

8. Nobel laureate Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee has been conferred honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) by Calcutta University.

9. Indian Ayurvedic Telemedicine Pioneer Partap Chauhan Conferred with Ayurveda Ratan Award 2020 in Brussels (Belgium),

during 2nd Ayurveda Day Celebration at European Parliament. In November 2018, Ayurveda Day was 1st celebrated at

European Parliament.

9. Kerala Tourism's Barrier-Free Tourism Project won global mention with United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO),

as an ‘Emerging Global Destination’ in Accessible Destination Awards 2019.

1. In 2019, Kerala announced to make entire state, especially tourist destinations, disabled-friendly by 2021.

2. Kerala has also been the first state to work as per the guidelines of UNWTO to make tourist destinations disabled-friendly.

10. Padma Awards 2020 Announced -

1. This year, President approved conferment of 141 Padma Awards -

1. It includes 4 duo cases (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one)

2. List comprises 7 Padma Vibhushan, 16 Padma Bhushan and 118 Padma Shri Awards.

3. 33 awardees are women, 18 are persons from category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 12 Posthumous awardees.

2. Padma Vibhushan (7) -

1. SN Name Field State/Country

1.George Fernandes

(Posthumous)Public Affairs Bihar

2.Arun Jaitley

(Posthumous)Public Affairs Delhi

3. Sir Anerood Jugnauth Public Affairs Mauritius

4. M. C. Mary Kom Sports (Boxing) Manipur

5. Chhannulal Mishra Art Uttar Pradesh

6.Sushma Swaraj

(Posthumous)Public Affairs Delhi

7.Sri Vishveshateertha Swamiji Sri

Pejavara Adhokhaja Matha Udupi(Posthumous)

Others-Spiritualism Karnataka

3. Padma Bhushan (16) -

1. SN Name Field State/Country

8. M. Mumtaz Ali (Sri M) Others-Spiritualism Kerala

9.Syed Muazzem Ali

(Posthumous)Public Affairs Bangladesh

10. Muzaffar Hussain Baig Public AffairsJammu and

Kashmir

11. Ajoy Chakravorty Art West Bengal

12. Manoj DasLiterature and

EducationPuducherry

13. Balkrishna Doshi Others-Architecture Gujarat

14. Krishnammal Jagannathan Social Work Tamil Nadu

15. S. C. Jamir Public Affairs Nagaland

16. Anil Prakash Joshi Social Work Uttarakhand

17. Dr. Tsering Landol Medicine Ladakh

18. Anand Mahindra Trade and Industry Maharashtra

19.Neelakanta Ramakrishna

Madhava Menon (Posthumous)Public Affairs Kerala

20. Manohar Parrikar (Posthumous) Public Affairs Goa

21. Prof. Jagdish ShethLiterature and

EducationUSA

22. P. V. Sindhu Sports (Badminton) Telangana

23. Venu Srinivasan Trade and Industry Tamil Nadu

4. Padma Shri (118) -

1. SN Name Field State/Country

24. Guru Shashadhar Acharya Art Jharkhand

25. Dr. Yogi Aeron Medicine Uttarakhand

26. Jai Prakash Agarwal Trade and Industry Delhi

27. Jagdish Lal Ahuja Social Work Punjab

28. Kazi Masum Akhtar Literature and Education West Bengal

29. Ms. Gloria Arieira Literature and Education Brazil

30. Zaheer khan Sports (Cricket) Maharashtra

31. Dr. Padmavathy Bandopadhyay Medicine Uttar Pradesh

32. Dr. Sushovan Banerjee Medicine West Bengal

33. Dr. Digambar Behera Medicine Chandigarh

34. Dr. Damayanti Beshra Literature and Education Odisha

35. Pawar Popatrao Bhaguji Social Work Maharashtra

36. Himmata Ram Bhambhu Social Work Rajasthan

37. Sanjeev Bikhchandani Trade and Industry Uttar Pradesh

38. Gafurbhai M. Bilakhia Trade and Industry Gujarat

39. Bob Blackman Public Affairs United Kingdom

40. Indira P. P. Bora Art Assam

41. Madan Singh Chauhan Art Chhattisgarh

42. Usha Chaumar Social Work Rajasthan

43. Lil Bahadur Chettri Literature and Education Assam

44.Lalitha & Ms. Saroja

Chidambaram (Duo)*Art Tamil Nadu

45. Dr. Vajira Chitrasena Art Sri Lanka

46. Dr. Purushottam Dadheech Art Madhya Pradesh

47. Utsav Charan Das Art Odisha

48.Prof. Indra Dassanayake

(Posthumous)Literature and Education Sri Lanka

49. H. M. Desai Literature and Education Gujarat

50. Manohar Devadoss Art Tamil Nadu

51. Oinam Bembem Devi Sports (Football) Manipur

52. Lia Diskin Social Work Brazil

53. M. P. Ganesh Sports (Hockey) Karnataka

54. Dr. Bangalore Gangadhar Medicine Karnataka

55. Dr. Raman Gangakhedkar Science and Engineering Maharashtra

56. Barry Gardiner Public Affairs United Kingdom

57. Chewang Motup Goba Trade and Industry Ladakh

58. Bharat Goenka Trade and Industry Karnataka

59. Yadla Gopalarao Art Andhra Pradesh

60. Mitrabhanu Gountia Art Odisha

61. Tulasi Gowda Social Work Karnataka

62. Sujoy K. Guha Science and Engineering Bihar

63. Harekala Hajabba Social Work Karnataka

64. Enamul Haque Others-Archaeology Bangladesh

65. Madhu Mansuri Hasmukh Art Jharkhand

66.Abdul Jabbar

(Posthumous)Social Work Madhya Pradesh

67. Bimal Kumar Jain Social Work Bihar

68. Meenakshi Jain Literature and Education Delhi

69. Nemnath Jain Trade and Industry Madhya Pradesh

70. Shanti Jain Art Bihar

71. Sudhir Jain Science and Engineering Gujarat

72. Benichandra Jamatia Literature and Education Tripura

73.K. V. Sampath Kumar & Ms.Vidushi Jayalakshmi K.S.

(Duo)*

Literature and Education-Journalism

Karnataka

74. Karan Johar Art Maharashtra

75. Dr. Leela Joshi Medicine Madhya Pradesh

76. Sarita Joshi Art Maharashtra

77. C. Kamlova Literature and Education Mizoram

78. Dr. Ravi Kannan R. Medicine Assam

79. Ekta Kapoor Art Maharashtra

80. Yazdi Naoshirwan Karanjia Art Gujarat

81. Narayan J. Joshi Karayal Literature and Education Gujarat

82. Dr. Narindar Nath Khanna Medicine Uttar Pradesh

83. Naveen Khanna Science and Engineering Delhi

84. S. P. Kothari Literature and Education USA

85.V. K. Munusamy

KrishnapaktharArt Puducherry

86. M. K. Kunjol Social Work Kerala

87.Manmohan Mahapatra

(Posthumous)Art Odisha

88. Ustad Anwar Khan Mangniyar Art Rajasthan

89.Kattungal Subramaniam

ManilalScience and Engineering Kerala

90. Munna Master Art Rajasthan

91. Prof. Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra Literature and Education Himachal Pradesh

92. Binapani Mohanty Literature and Education Odisha

93. Dr. Arunoday Mondal Medicine West Bengal

94. Dr. Prithwindra Mukherjee Literature and Education France

95. Sathyanarayan Mundayoor Social Work Arunachal Pradesh

96. Manilal Nag Art West Bengal

97. N. Chandrasekharan Nair Literature and Education Kerala

98.Dr. Tetsu Nakamura

(Posthumous)Social Work Afghanistan

99. Shiv Datt Nirmohi Literature and EducationJammu and

Kashmir

100. Pu Lalbiakthanga PachuauLiterature and

Education-JournalismMizoram

101. Moozhikkal Pankajakshi Art Kerala

102. Dr. Prasanta Kumar Pattanaik Literature and Education USA

103. Jogendra Nath Phukan Literature and Education Assam

104. Rahibai Soma Popere Others-Agriculture Maharashtra

105. Yogesh Praveen Literature and Education Uttar Pradesh

106. Jitu Rai Sports (Shooting) Uttar Pradesh

107. Tarundeep Rai Sports (Archery) Sikkim

108. S. Ramakrishnan Social Work Tamil Nadu

109. Rani Rampal Sports (Hockey) Haryana

110. Kangana Ranaut Art Maharashtra

111. Dalavai Chalapathi Rao Art Andhra Pradesh

112. Shahbuddin Rathod Literature and Education Gujarat

113. Kalyan Singh Rawat Social Work Uttarakhand

114. Chintala Venkat Reddy Others-Agriculture Telangana

115. Dr. Shanti Roy Medicine Bihar

116.Radhammohan & Ms.

Sabarmatee (Duo)*Others-Agriculture Odisha

117. Batakrushna SahooOthers-Animal

HusbandryOdisha

118. Trinity Saioo Others-Agriculture Meghalaya

119. Adnan Sami Art Maharashtra

120. Vijay Sankeshwar Trade and Industry Karnataka

121. Dr. Kushal Konwar Sarma Medicine Assam

122.Sayed Mehboob Shah Qadri

alias SayedbhaiSocial Work Maharashtra

123. Mohammed Sharif Social Work Uttar Pradesh

124. Shyam Sunder Sharma Art Bihar

125. Dr. Gurdip Singh Medicine Gujarat

126. Ramjee Singh Social Work Bihar

127.Vashishtha Narayan Singh

(Posthumous)Science and Engineering Bihar

128. Daya Prakash Sinha Art Uttar Pradesh

129. Dr. Sandra Desa Souza Medicine Maharashtra

130. Vijayasarathi Sribhashyam Literature and Education Telangana

131.Kalee Shabi Mahaboob & SheikMahaboob Subani

(Duo)*

Art Tamil Nadu

132. Javed Ahmad Tak Social WorkJammu and

Kashmir

133. Pradeep Thalappil Science and Engineering Tamil Nadu

134. Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi Literature and Education Arunachal Pradesh

135. Robert Thurman Literature and Education USA

136. Agus Indra Udayana Social Work Indonesia

137. Harish Chandra Verma Science and Engineering Uttar Pradesh

138. Sundaram Verma Social Work Rajasthan

139.Dr. Romesh Tekchand

WadhwaniTrade and Industry USA

140. Suresh Wadkar Art Maharashtra

141. Prem Watsa Trade and Industry Canada

11. Srinagar Journalist Yusuf Jameel selected for 2019-2020 PEN Gauri Lankesh Award for Democratic Idealism.

1. Award is in name of Gauri Lankesh, the editor-activist murdered in 2017. It carries a purse of 1 lakh.

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Books

1. Autobiography of Former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha titled ‘Relentless’ has been released.

2. Book Essays & Reminiscences: A Festschrift in Honour of Nani A Palkhivala, released to mark birth centenary of Indian Jurist

and Economist Nanaboy Nani Ardeshir Palkhivala.

3. Book Human Dignity – A purpose in perpetuity, authored by Ashwani Kumar (Former Minister of Law and Justice) has been

released.

4. Book The Gateway: A Social Commentary on Safety of Senior Citizens, authored by Hariharan Balagopal has been released.

5. Book The Story of Yoga: From India to the Contemporary World, written by Scottish cultural historian Alistair Shearer has been

released.

6. Book “Calcutta nights” (originally ‘Raater Kolkata’) translated into English by Rajat Chaudhuri has been released.

7. Former Indian Cricketer WV Raman’s book The Winning Sixer has been released.

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Committees

1. Committee constituted for transforming Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE) into a world class premier institute on

highway sector, submitted its report. It was headed by YS Malik. It stated urgent need for enhancement of knowledge and

expertise of engineers to maintain massive road network of India in efficient, environment friendly and safe manner.

2. Supreme Court has set up a panel to firm up a draft legislation to give legal sanctity to disputes settled through mediation, which

would then be sent to government as a suggestion from Supreme court. Panel will be headed by mediator Niranjan Bhat.

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Days

1. Jan 24 is observed as National Girl Child Day in India, initiated in 2008.

1. Women and Child Development announced an initiative called “Establishment of Chairs in the Universities in the name of

eminent women” which encourages women to carry out research activities. 10 chairs will be set up by UGC for five years.

2. Each chair will be given Rs 50 lakh each for a year.

2. Jan 21 is statehood day of Northeastern States of Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya (Formed in 1972).

3. Jan 23 is Birth Anniversary of Great Freedom Fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose (Born 1897).

1. On this occasion, to commemorate Netaji’s birth anniversary, Govt inaugurated a temple at Varanasi in name of the leader

with a Dalit woman as a chief priest. The prayers are to be performed to Bharat Mata at the temple.

2. Govt also announced winners of Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2020 -

1. Disaster Mitigation & Management Centre, Uttarakhand (in institution category) and Kumar Munnan Singh

(Individual category) have been selected for for their commendable work in Disaster Management.

2. Winner institution receives cash prize of 51 lakhs and Winner individual receives cash prize of 5 lakhs.

3. In 2019, 8th Battalion of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Ghaziabad was selected for the award.

4. Jan 24 is observed globally as International Day of Education, with 2020 theme ‘Learning for people, planet, prosperity and

peace’. It was celebrated for first time in 2019.

5. Jan 25 is observed as National Voters’ Day in India. 2020 Theme is ‘Electoral Literacy for Stronger Democracy’. It is being

observed since 2011, to mark Foundation day of Election Commission of India, which was established on 25th January 1950.

1. On this occasion, Election Commission awarded National Media Award for print to The Hindu Tamil, for its voter awareness

and education campaign in 2019.

2. Election Commission also instituted an Annual Lecture Series as a tribute to the first Chief Election Commissioner of India,

Sukumar Sen.

3. Jan 25 is also statehood day of Himachal Pradesh, formed in 1971.

4. Jan 25 is also observed as National Tourism Day in India. World Tourism day is observed on Sep 27.

6. Jan 26 - International Customs Day.

1. Jan 26, 2020 is also observed as World Leprosy Day, observed on Last sunday of January.

7. Jan 26, 2020 is observed as 71st Republic Day of India. It marks enactment of Indian constitution on Jan 26, 1950.

1. Brazil’s President Jair Messias Bolsonaro was Chief Guest at 71st Republic Day Parade. This is the third time that a Brazilian

President was chief guest at Republic Day. Last time a Brazilian President was chief guest was in 2004 when Luiz Inacio Lula

da Silva attended.

2. 54 Persons honored by Jeevan Raksha Padak Awards 2019.

3. Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2020 conferred to 49 children under various categories (age group 5-18 years).

4. 22 Children named as winners of National Bravery Awards.

5. 104 Fire Service Medals and 49 Home Guard & Civil Defence Medals have been announced.

6. President approved 440 Gallantry and other Defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel (Army - 312, Navy - 41, Air

Force - 87).

1. No Ashoka Chakra and Kirti Chakra Awardees This year.

2. 6 Shaurya Chakras have been conferred - Lt Col Jyoti Lama, Maj Konjengbam Bijendra Singh, Nb Sub Narender

Singh, Nb Sub Sombir, Nk Naresh Kumar, Sep Karmdeo Oraon.

1. India's Top Peacetime Gallantary Awards are - Ashoka Chakra > Kirti Chakra > Shaurya Chakra.

2. India's Top Wartime Gallantary Awards are - Param Vir Chakra > Maha Vir Chakra > Vir Chakra.

7. Parade Highlights -

1. DRDO displayed A-SAT weapon system, the Anti-Satellite Weapon System. India is one of the few countries in the

world to own the technology. The other countries include US, China and Russia. DRDO launched “Mission Shakti”, the

first A-SAT mission.

2. Army Captain Tanya Shergil led an all-male marching contingent of the Indian Army Corps of Signals, as a first such

event.

3. Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) showcased tableau on Start Up India at Republic Day

Parade, with Theme Reach for the sky. This is first time Start Up India is participating at Parade.

8. Jan 28 is Birth Anniversary of Noted Freedom Activist Lala Lajpat Rai, also known as “Punjab Kesari” and “Lion of Punjab”.

9. Jan 30 is Death Anniversary of M K Gandhi, known as Martyr's Day.

10. Jan 30, 2020 is observed as First Ever World Neglected Tropical Diseases day.

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Defence

1. AN-32 aircraft of Indian Air Force powered with 10% blend of bio-jet fuel took off and landed successfully at Leh airport. This is

the first time that bot engines of an aircraft are powered with bio-jet fuel.

2. Assam Rifles constructed war memorial in Nagaland, in memory of 357 personnel who sacrificed their lives fighting against

insurgency in Nagaland. It is first of its kind in the state. It is tiled Veer Smriti.

3. Defence Acquisition Council approved Procurement of defence equipment worth 5100 crores, to be purchased from indigenous

sources. Council also approved the inclusion of iDEX (Innovations Defence Exellence) in Defence Procurement Procedure.

1. iDEX was launched in April 2018 to foster technology development in Defence and Aerospace.

4. Indian Army will induct 1st batch of 18 indigenously upgraded ‘Sharang’ artillery guns by end of March 2020. Artillery gun barrel

upgraded from 130mm to 155mm has a strike range of 39 kilometers.

5. Indian Coast Guard (ICG) commissioned high-speed interceptor boat C-448, built by L&T (Larsen & Toubro) shipyard.

6. Indian Navy launched Operation Vanilla in Southern Indian Ocean, after request received from Madagascar, which is affected by

Cyclone Diane.

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Economy

1. Adani Capital acquired Essel Finance’s MSME loan business. Through the acquisition, Adani Capital secured a loan book of

around 145 crores, operating out of 10 cities wit 1100 customers.

2. Department of Telecom (DoT) approved raising of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bharti Airtel to 100 % from 49 % allowed

earlier.

3. Drone Federation of India collaborated with Tata AIG General Insurance Company, for development and launch of tailor-made

insurance products for drone operators.

4. Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) extended USD 35.80 million line of credit to Suriname, to fund country's rural

electrification programme. With this, Exim Bank has in place 258 LOCs covering 64 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and

CIS, with credit commitments of around USD 25.48 billion from India.

5. Government announced its plan of selling its 100 % stake in Air India, inviting bids by March 17, 2020. This is government’s 2nd

attempt to sell Air India, after 1st In 2018, which failed to get any bid. Bidder would have to agree to assume roughly $3.26 billion

in debt.

6. Govt-owned insurer National Insurance Company approved its merger with Oriental Insurance Company and United India

Insurance Company. The same was apprpoved in 2019.

7. ICICI Bank launched first-of-its-kind 24×7 self-service delivery tool for customers called “iBox”. Under this, customers will be

able to take their debit, credit card, check book and return check from the branch close to their home or office. The iBox terminals

are installed outside the premises of the bank’s branches, which can be used even after bank closes.

8. India signed USD 210 million loan agreement with World bank, to support small holder farmers participate in competitive

agriculture value chains, facilitate agri-business investments, increase market access and productivity in focus commodities, and

build resilience of crops to recurrent floods or droughts in the state of Maharashtra.

9. Indian GDP Growth Forecasts (Jan 2020) -

1. World Bank's Global Economic Prospect report predicted India's GDP growth rate to be 5 % in FY 2019-20 and 5.5 % in FY

2020-21.

2. CSO (Central Statistics Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme implementation) predicted 5 % Growth ibn FY 2019-20,

under first advance estimates of National Income for FY 2019-21.

3. SBI projected gross domestic product (GDP) for FY20 to be 4.6 %, against 5 % projected earlier.

4. According to ‘World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2020’ report by United Nations, India’s GDP (Gross

Domestic Product) growth forecast for 2019-20 will be 5.7%. It has been slashed from 7.6% to 5.7 %. In FY 2020-21, growth

rate is expected to be 6.6%.

5. International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook reduced growth forecasts for India to 4.8 % for 2019-21, down from

5.8 %.

1. Also, IMF has projected global growth to rise from 2.9 % in 2019 to 3.3 % in 2020 and 3.4 % in 2021.

2. Indian economy growth is expected to rise to 5.8 percent in 2020-21 and 6.5 percent in 2021-22.

6. India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra), Indian subsidiary of Fitch group, estimated Indian economy to grow at a 5.5% rate in

FY 21 (2020-21). It is slightly higher than 5% GDP growth rate estimate for FY20 (2019-20).

7. Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), in its “Economic Outlook Survey 2020”, projected India’

s GDP growth at 5% for 2019-20 and 5.5 % in 2020-21.

10. Misc. Corporate Events (Jan 2020) -

1. Bank of Baroda signed co-lending partnership agreement with JM Financial Home Loans Limited (JMFL), to provide loans

to Home buyers.

2. Indian Bank signed MoU with Women Entrepreneurs Welfare Association in Tamil Nadu, to offer training and credit linkage

to women members/entrepreneurs of association for establishing business.

3. CSC e-Governance Services India signed MOU with Paytm Payments Bank Ltd for sale of FASTags, to facilitate sale of PPBL

FASTags through last mile network of 3.6 lakh CSCs.

4. PSU Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary company with name CONCOR Last

Mile Logistics Limited.

5. Amazon India and Future Retail signed long-term agreements to expand reach of Future Retail stores and consumer brands

through the Amazon India marketplace. Amazon also announced USD 1 billion investment in India.

6. Axis Mutual Fund announced its new fund – ‘Axis All Seasons Debt Fund of Funds’, as an open-ended fund of funds scheme

investing in debt-oriented mutual fund schemes.

7. To increase security of credit / debit cards, RBI directed all banks to give card users the facility to themselves enable/disable

their cards for different types of use - online, physical, contact-less domestically or internationally.

8. Bajaj Finserv partnered with Apollo Hospitals to extend credit to those having to undergo expensive healthcare procedures,

called Health EMI Cards.

9. RBI released minutes of Board meeting for the first time, as a step to improve transparency of its business at board meetings.

10. ICICI Bank launched Cardless cash withdrawal facility from its ATMs, with per-day transaction limit of 20000.

11. ICICI Lombard received Irdai’s approval to pilot 6 innovative applications in its health and motor portfolio under Sandbox

Project.

1. Regulatory Sandbox Project has provided insurance industry with flexibility to explore new products and services that

suit today’s technology and data driven world.

2. This is the highest number given to any company under the Irdai-introduced project.

12. E-Commerce Firm Flipkart signed MoU with Gujarat State Handloom and Handicrafts Development Corporation, for

promotion of local handicrafts by bringing on board thousands of artisans, weavers and craftsmen, as part of Flipkart’s

“Samarth” initiative.

13. Indian Bank launched 2 two tailor made credit products - Corporate Loan and Ind Surya Shakthi/ Indian Bank Solar which

will be available across country for benefit of textile sector.

11. New India Co-operative Bank will convert it into a small finance bank, under Voluntary Transition of Primary (Urban) Co-

operative Banks (UCBs) into Small Finance Banks (SFBs) dated September 27, 2018, Minimum net worth required for transition is

200 crores, along with other conditons.

12. RBI cancelled Certificate of Authorisation of Vodafone m-pesa, on account of voluntary surrender of authorisation. Customers

having a valid claim on company as a PSO, can approach the company for settlement of claims within 3 years.

13. RBI raised investment limit for FPIs in government and corporate bonds, to bring in more foreign funds into market. Currently,

short-term investments by a foreign portfolio investors (FPI) should not exceed 20 % of total investment of that FPI in either

central government securities or state development loans or corporate bonds. It is now increased to 30 per cent in both cases.

1. RBI also made a relaxation in voluntary retention route (VRR) for FPI investments in debt. The investment cap through VRR

has been doubled to 1.5 lakh crores.

14. Siemens India acquired Delhi-based electrical and electronic equipment maker C&S Electric for cash consideration of Rs 2,100

crores. It will help Siemens strengthen position as a supplier of low-voltage power distribution and electrical installation

technology in country.

15. Teleco Reliance Jio launched UPI-powered payments service, becoming first telecom operator to enter UPI payments space.

Top

International

1. As per 1st Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report 2020 by Swiss private bank Julius Baer -

1. Mumbai ranked last (28th ) in list of the world’s 28 most expensive cities for luxury living.

2. Top 5 - Hong Kong (1), Shanghai (China), Tokyo (Japan), New York (US) and Singapore.

2. As per TomTom Traffic Index by a Dutch independent location technology specialist TomTom -

1. Bengaluru is most traffic congested city in world, followed by Philippines capital Manila, Bogota (Columbia), Mumbai, and

Pune.

2. Of the top five most traffic choked cities in world, three are from India - Bengaluru, Mumbai and Pune.

3. In Europe, Moscow is the most traffic-congested city.

3. As per a survey by World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) 2020, Sri Lanka ranked 1st out of 97 surveyed countries in

supporting breastfeeding women and achieved status of being first-ever green nation in supporting them. India ranked 78th in list.

4. Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) signed agreement with German firm KUNZ GmbH, to supply aircraft recovery

equipment, to jointly establish a centre for disabled aircraft recovery training and manufacture the equipment necessary.

Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) is first airport in India with the capability effect recovery of disabled aircraft up to Code

F category.

5. Britain unveiled a new 50 pence coin minted to mark Brexit (British exit from the European Union Bloc), which bears the

inscription “Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations”.

1. After Brexit, 28 member of European Union states will come down to 27.

6. China is now world's second-largest arms industry, as per figures compiled by Sweden based Stockholm International Peace

Research Institute (SIPRI). China surpassed Russia and trails only Behind US Now.

7. Corruption Perception Index 2019 by Transparency International (180 Nations) -

1. India ranked 80th, compared to 78th last year. Other Nations with same rank as India - Benin, China, Ghana and Morocco.

2. Bottom 3 - Syria (178), South Sudan (179) and Somalia (180).

3. Top 5 - Denmark and New Zealand (1), Finland (3), Sweden, Switzerland and Singapore (4).

4. Neighbors - China (80), Pakistan (120), Bangladesh (146), Sri Lanka (93)

8. Cyclone Tino has hit oneanic island nation Fiji, causing devastation.

9. Economic Intelligence Unit released Democracy Index 2019 -

1. Top 3 - Norway (1), Iceland (2) and Sweden (3).

2. India ranked 51st, slipping 10 positions as compared to its previous ranking.

10. European Parliament deferred voting on a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, stating that it is India’s “internal

matter". As a compromise, European lawmakers agreed to postpone the voting and get a direct perspective about CAA from Indian

foreign minister S. Jaishankar, who wll visit Brussels (Belgium) shortly.

11. Hyderabad topped list of world's most dynamic cities, as per 7th edition of City Momentum Index by global real estate services

firm JLL, while Bengaluru ranks second. Chennai is at fifth and Delhi is at sixth place.

1. JLL City Momentum Index identifies a number of key growth drivers, including talent attraction, expansion of innovation

hubs and better urban planning, that cities can employ to meet challenges faced by rapid momentum.

12. India and Bangladesh signed agreement to upgrade 50.58-kilometre long road between Ashuganj river port and the Akhaura

land port in Bangladesh into a 4-lane highway.

13. Indian Oil signed MoU with National Petroleum Authority (NPA) of Ghana, for providing assistance and technical expertise in

the implementation of Ghana’s National LPG Promotion Policy. It also provides for administrative assistance to Indian Oil in case

it decides to participate as a commercial participant in Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector.

14. Indian PM Narendra Modi and Nepali PM KP Sharma Oli jointly inaugurated 2nd second Integrated Check Post (ICP) at

Jogbani-Biratnagar, built with Indian assistance to facilitate trade and people's movement.

15. International Court of Justice announced its verdict in Rohingya genocide case, directing Myanmar to take urgent measures to

protect Muslim community from persecution. Ruling came on a petition filed by Gambia at ICJ against Myanmar, alleging

genocide against the minority Muslim Rohingya community.

16. International Labour Organization released The World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2020 -

1. Global unemployment has been stable for last 9 years . But amoid slowing economic growth, no new jobs are being created.

2. Unemployment is to increase by 2.5 million in 2020, up from 188 million currently.

3. Gender gap in wages of the labours is more in South Asian countries. While it stands at 15% in developed nations, in south

asia it is 40%.

17. International arbitration tribunal Bilateral International Treaty organization dismissed all claims against India, that were

brought by private firms in Cyprus and Russia.

1. BIT allows countries to set up rules for investments between each other, as successor of 19th century friendship, commerce

and navigation treaty. First BIT was signed between Pakistan and Germany.

2. BIT ensures that foreign investors are treated equally as that of domestic investors, as nations tend to restrict foreign

investments to promote domestic entrepreneurs.

3. While most of treaties in world focus on ‘most favored Nation’ treatment, BIT treats foreign countries equally.

4. India has so far signed BIT with 75 nations, Out of these 66 are already in force.

18. Knight Frank’s Global Residential Cities Index Q3 (Quarter) 2019 -

1. Hyderabad ranked 14th among 150 cities in World. New Delhi ranks 73rd and Bengaluru 94th rank.

2. Budapest (Hungary) is at top, followed by Xi’an and Wuhan in China.

19. Lebanon President Michel Naim Aoun announced formation of new Government due to anti-government protests. New

Government will be headed by Prime Minister Hassan Diab.

20. Ministry of Law and Justice declared United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a “reciprocating territory” under Section 44A of Civil

Procedure Code 1908. It means that Indian expatriates if convicted in a civil case in the UAE would no longer be able to seek safe

heaven back in India.

1. It also declared several courts in UAE to be ‘Superior Courts’, meaning that orders passed by these courts from a

‘reciprocating territory’ can be implemented in India, as if they were passed in India.

2. It is believed to help bring down the time required for executing verdicts between the two countries.

3. Apart from UAE, other countries declared to be “reciprocating territories” are United Kingdom, Singapore, Bangladesh,

Malaysia, Trinidad & Tobago, New Zealand, Cook Islands (including Niue) and Trust Territories of Western Samoa, Hong

Kong, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Aden.

21. NTPC is announced as project management consultant for development of 300 MW of solar power projects in West Africa Nation

Togo. It is first time another country has sought help of NTPC, under International Solar Alliance (ISA).

22. Nepal became first South Asian nation to offer to "mediate" between India and Pakistan over Kashmir and cross-border

terrorism.

23. Ramsar Convention added 10 more sites from India, taking total to 37 sites in India.

1. Ramsar Convention was signed in February 1971, aimed at maintaining an international network of wetlands which are

important for the conservation of global biological diversity.

2. Maharashtra got its first Ramsar site, at Nadur Madhameshwar. Punjad added 3 and UP added 6 to its list.

24. Rights group Oxfam International released report titled Time to Care: Unpaid and underpaid care work and the global

inequality crisis -

1. India’s richest 1% of the population has more than 4 times of wealth held by 953 million people making up for bottom 70% of

population.

2. Inequality will be reduced if the richest 1% pay 0.5% etc wealth tax in the next 10 years. This would generate 117 million jobs

in elderly, childcare, education and health sectors.

25. Saudi Arabia announced to not allow Israeli citizens to visit the nation, after Israel approved its citizens from visiting Saudi

Arabia.

1. Israel does not have diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and other major gulf nations. It has peace deals with only two

Arab nations- Jordan and Egypt.

26. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh launched an e-passport facility for its citizens, which will have an electronic chip

with biometric data of passport holder.

1. Bangladesh is first country in South-Asia (and 119th globally), to provide an e-passport facility to its citizens.

27. South American Nation Guyana took over chairmanship of the Group of 77 for 2020 from Palestine.

1. G77 was established in 1964 in Geneva, as largest inter-governmental organization of developing countries in United

Nations.

28. Switzerland minted smallest gold coin in world, measuring 2.96-millimeter (0.12-inches) and weighing 0.063 grams. Its nominal

value is 1/4 Swiss francs ($0.26).

29. UK launched 4 million pound (about Rs 37 crore) fund in India to support collaborative research into emerging technologies. It

will encourage industry and academia to collaborate and develop tech solutions for social, economic and environmental challenges

in India.

30. US President Donald Trump signed revised North American Free Trade Agreement into law. The trade deal, now called the

United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, updates quarter-century-old NAFTA.

31. US President Donald Trump unveiled his middle-east peace plan, aimed at resolving Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Key

Features -

1. It recognises Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided capital, Proposing transition to a two-state solution.

2. New map will more than double Palestinian territory and provide a Palestinian capital in eastern Jerusalem where US will

open an embassy. No Israeli or Palestinian will be uprooted from their homes.

3. Vision also promises commercial investment worth 50 billion dollars into new Palestinian state.

4. Vision gives the Palestinians four years to study the deal and negotiate with Israel.

32. US announced new visa rules to restrict ‘birth tourism’, by no longer issuing temporary visitor visas to foreigners seeking to

enter the nation for birth tourism.

1. Birth tourism is a practice of travelling to US and giving birth on American soil, thereby securing automatic and permanent

American citizenship for their children.

2. By restricting birth tourism, US aims to close this immigration loophole to combat endemic abuses and protect the nation

from the national security risks created by this practice.

33. United Nation Conference on Trade and Development report on Global Investment Trend Monitor Report for 2019 -

1. Global FDI of 2019 was 1.39 trillion USD, declining by 1% as compared to 2018.

2. FDI to European Union (EU) fell by 15 % to USD 305 billion. US remained topmost FDI recipient in world (251 Billion USD),

followed by China (140 Billion) and Singapore (110 Billion).

3. FDI in South Asia increased by 10% in 2019, mainly due to India. In 2019, India’s FDI was 49 billion USD, up 16 % from 42

billion in 2018. India ranked 8th among top FDI receivers in 2019.

34. United Nations World Tourism Organisation World Tourism Barometer report -

1. International tourist arrivals in 2019 increased by 3.8%, reaching 1.5 billion. Middle east region (8%) led growth in arrivals,

followed by Asia and Pacific region (5%).

2. France had strongest increase in international tourism expenditure, while United States (US) led growth in absolute terms.

35. World Health Organization changed its status of risk of coronavirus as high, from moderate, with severe outbreak witnessed in

china and rapid expansion to other countries.

Top

Meetings

1. 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting held at Davos (Switzerland), with theme Stakeholders for a Cohesive and

Sustainable World-

1. Minister of State for Shipping (IC) and Chemicals & Fertilizers, Mansukh Mandaviya attended on India's Behalf.

2. Corruption Perception Index 2019 by Transparency International (180 Nations) -

1. India ranked 80th, compared to 78th last year. Other Nations with same rank as India - Benin, China, Ghana and

Morocco.

2. Bottom 3 - Syria (178), South Sudan (179) and Somalia (180).

3. Top 5 - Denmark and New Zealand (1), Finland (3), Sweden, Switzerland and Singapore (4).

4. Neighbors - China (80), Pakistan (120), Bangladesh (146), Sri Lanka (93)

3. 1st edition of Global Social Mobility Report titled Equality, Opportunity and a New Economic Imperative released by

World Economic Forum -

1. India ranks 76th.

2. Top 5 - Denmark (1), Norway (2), Finland (3), Sweden (4), Iceland (5)

3. Neighbors - China (45), Bangladesh (78), Pakistan (79)

4. Social Mobility is upward or downward movement of an individual in personal circumstances in relation to their

parents.

4. India joined Reskilling Revolution initiative as a founding member, launched at World Economic Forum. It aims to help

economies to adopt changes being introduced by Fourth Industrial Revolution.

1. Other founding members include US, UAE, Russia, Pakistan, France and Brazil.

2. The initiative aims at providing better education, jobs and skills for more than 1 billion people in the world by 2030.

3. Technological integration and automation will create large scale unemployment, affecting labour population greatly.

Therefore, it is essential to shift labour population towards requirement of technology upgrade. In order to achieve this,

Reskilling Revolution Platform has been launched.

4. World Economic Forum also released report namely “Jobs of Tomorrow: Mapping Opportunity in the New Economy”,

which maps 96 new emerging jobs in seven fastest growing professions based on new technologies.

5. Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2020 (GTCI) report was launched (132 Nations) -

1. India ranked 72nd, improving by 8 places.

2. Top 5 - Switzerland (1), US (2), Singapore (3), Sweden (4), Denmark (5)

3. Neighbors - China (42), Pakistan (106), Bangladesh (124), Sri Lanka (83)

6. World Economic Forum(WEF) launched 1t.org, as an effort to support efforts to grow, restore and conserve 1 trillion

trees around the world inorder to restore the biodiversity and help combat climate change.

1. Initiative is set up with initial support of Salesforce (CRM) Chairman Marc and his wife Lynne Benioff.

2. Restoring 1 trillion trees will remove 12 Gigatonnes(Gt) of Carbon Dioxide(Co2) from atmosphere per annum with the

same trees storing up to 205 Gt of CO2-equivalent once mature or grown up.

3. Locking up carbon in world’s grasslands, forests and wetlands will help reduce about one-third of the emissions

required to be cut by 2030 to meet the Paris Agreement targets.

7. World Economic Forum (WEF) in collaboration with PwC released a report titled Nature Risk Rising: Why the Crisis

Engulfing Nature Matters for Business and the Economy”.

1. Report is the 1st in a series for the New Nature Economy(NNE). As per the report, global businesses are more than

dependent on nature with an estimated exposure of $44 trillion which is half of world GDP.

2. Human activities have severely altered 75% of land and 66% of marine environments too.

8. 23rd edition of the PwC’s Annual Global CEO Survey -

1. As per survey based on confidence of CEOs over worldwide economic growth, India ranked 4th while it was topped by

United States(US).

2. China and Germany ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively.

9. Indian Actress Deepika Padukone honoured with Crystal Award 2020 at 26th annual Crystal Award ceremony during

50th WEF meet -

1. She was awarded for playing a leading role in raising mental health awareness and her foundation Live Love Laugh.

2. Other Crystal Award awardees -

1. Theaster Gates - US Artist.

2. Jin Xing (China)

3. Lynette Wallworth - Australian artist

3. Crystal Awards are conferred to honour enduring contributions to society by exceptional artists.

10. India participated at United Nations AIDS (UNAIDS) programme at World Economic Forum (WEF), with theme Access for

all: Leveraging Innovations, Investments and Partnerships for Health.

11. Tata Steel's Kalinganagar Plant has been honoured at WEF 2020 meet, for its recent admittance into Global Lighthouse

Network. The network is a small but growing group of global corporations that are showing leadership in applying fourth

industrial revolution technologies to drive financial and operational impact.

12. WEF appointed International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva and African Rainbow Minerals (ARM)

founder Patrice Motsepe to its board of trustees.

13. As per a New public opinion poll published during the meet, global public is losing trust level in climate sciences. Indians are

most trusting people in this regard, with 86% Indians trusting scientists on climate science, followed by Bangladesh (78%),

Pakistan (70%).

14. The 1st edition of Positive Impact Rating 2020 was launched at WEF Meet.

1. 2 Indian business schools - IIM Bangalore and XLRI Jamshedpur have been included in the top 30 list.

2. Business schools have been rated to measure how much they contribute to solve societal challenges by providing

relevant research results etc.

2. Election Commission of India hosted 10th annual meeting of the Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia

(FEMBoSA) at New Delhi. FEMBoSA was established at 3rd Conference of Heads of Election Management Bodies (EMBs) of

SAARC Countries held at New Delhi, in 2012.

1. India's Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora assumed chairmanship of FEMBOSA, for 2020.

3. India hosted International Summit on Women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) with theme,

Visualizing the Future: New Skylines, in New Delhi.

4. Indian Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO (INCCU) Meet held in New Delhi, as its first meet since reconstitution of the

commission.

5. India’s first global Mega Science Exhibition “Vigyan Samagam” held at National Science Centre in New Delhi.

6. World Sustainable Summit 2020 organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) at New Delhi, with theme Towards

2030: Making the Decade Count.

1. As per report released during the summit, carbon-dioxide emissions from steel sector will reach 600 million tonnes by 2050.

Current CO2 emissions from steel sector is 242 Million Tonnes, 35% of total emissions of India.

Top

National

1. 13th edition of the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) held in Jaipur (Rajasthan). Author Ashwin Sanghi launched his book ‘The

Vault of Vishnu’ during the event.

1. It was announced that France will be the guest of honour at New Delhi World Book Fair for year 2022.

2. 2020 Romain Rolland Book Prize was confered on 1st 3 albums of Asterix series (comic magazine series), translated into

Hindi by Dipa Chaudhuri and Puneet Gupta. It is given annually to the best translation of a french title into any Indian

language inclusive of english.

3. Sneha Pamneja was awarded Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize 2020, a 1st of its kind award for brilliance in book design.

She was honoured for designing the cover of the book ‘Tiffin: Authentic Recipes Celebrating India’s Regional Cuisine’.

2. Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth (CCIG) reduced wasteful expenditure on items such as travel, food and

conferences by 20%.

1. It move aims to avoid fiscal slippage by comprising non-development expenditure and controlling fiscal deficit within level of

budgeted target of 3.3% for FY 2019-20.

2. Earlier In October 2014, Department of Expenditure directed to cut non-essential expenses by up to 10%.

3. 12th National Tribal Youth Exchange Programme Held in UT of Puducherry, jointly organized by Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan

(NYKS) and Puducherry Government.

4. According to United National Development Programme (UNDP), Telangana emerged as best performing state in terms of

achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Telangana was followed by Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

1. Note that in December 2019, India became first country to release SDG index, launched by NITI Aayog. In this index, Top 5

states were - Kerala (1), Himachal Pradesh (2), Andhra Pradesh (3), Tamil Nadu (4), and Telangana (5).

5. American Chipmaker Qualcomm launched 3 chipsets in India – Snapdragon 720G, 662 and 460).

1. These chipsets have been developed with support for ISRO’s Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC), a technology

considered an advanced location positioning and navigation system than the GPS technology currently in use.

2. Chinese smartphone brands Xiaomi and Realme will soon launch new smartphones with Snapdragon 720G chipset

processor.

6. Andhra Pradesh cabinet approved to abolish Legislative Council.

1. Legislative Council had stalled two bills that were passed by assembly - AP Capital Region Development Authority Repeal

Bill and Decentralization bill.

2. Andhra Pradesh is one of the few states to have bicameral legislature, others being Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar

Pradesh and Telangana. Article 169 of constitution defines Legislative Council in a state.

7. Annual event Bharat Parv organised in Delhi, with Theme Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ and Celebrating 150 Years of M K

Gandhi.

8. As per ManpowerGroup's research report on Talent Shortage 2020, India faces a talent shortage of 63 percent, higher than global

average.

9. As per a Jal Shakti Ministry Report, Gujarat is named most water-efficient state, with Rajasthan third and Delhi among worst

states.

1. Among 7 Central departments reviewed, Survey of India is ranked at top, followed by National Institute of Hydrology (NIH)

and Central Pollution Control Board got lowest (7th) rank.

2. In 2018’s ranking, Telangana was at top and Gujarat was ranked 7th last. Delhi improved its position by getting 35th rank as

compared to the bottom 41 in 2018.

10. As per survey by Transparency International, Assam tops in terms of budget formulation followed by Odisha and Andhra

Pradesh. Survey was based on four parameters - budgetary process, public disclosure, post budget fiscal management and efforts

to make budget citizen friendly.

11. Bombay Stock Exchange signed licensing agreement with Intercontinental Exchange Inc, a leading operator of global exchanges

and clearing houses and provider of data and listings services.

1. It is for use of the ICE Brent Index as final settlement price for BSE's rupee-denominated Brent futures contract. India is a

large consumers of crude oil, and Brent crude is highly co-related with Indian crude oil basket.

12. Cabinet Approvals (Jan 22, 2020) -

1. MOUs -

1. Approved MoUs among India, Tunisia and Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission for elections for cooperation in

the field of electoral management and administration.

2. Approved Model MoU for unilateral/bilateral recognition of Certificates, pursuant to Regulation 1/10 of International

Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) for Seafarers 1978, as amended to be

signed between Directorate General of Shipping (India) and its counterparts in foreign countries.

1. It would facilitate unilateral recognition by another country of certificates issued by Directorate General of

Shipping to Indian seafarers, without seeking similar recognition by India of certificates issued by that country.

3. Brazil - Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, Oil and natural gas sector, Early childhood, Geology and Mineral

Resources.

2. General Approvals -

1. Approved extension of term of the Commission to examine the issue of Sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes,

by six months, up to 31-7-2020.

1. Commission was constituted under article 340 of Constitution, in October 2017, headed by G. Rohini.

Commission has sought extension of its term by six months, and also addition in its existing Terms of Reference.

2. Approved Revised Cost Estimates (RCE) for establishment of permanent campuses of new National Institutes of

Technology (NITs), at total cost of 4372 crores for period till 2021 - 2022. These NITs were established in the year

2009 and started functioning from 2010-2011 in their respective temporary campus with limited infrastructure.

Student capacity in these campuses will be 6320.

3. Approved amendments in concrerned Acts / Regulations dealing with Goods and Services Tax (GST), Value Added Tax

(VAT) and State Excise, and for designation of Daman as Headquarters for UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman

and Diu.

3. CCEA Approvals -

1. Approved Closure of Hindustan Fluorocarbons Limited (HFL), a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under

Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals. It also approved interest free loan of 77.20 crores by Govt. to HFL, for

expenditures during closure proocess.

1. HFL has only 1 plant/unit located at Rudraram (District Sangareddy) in Telangana.

13. Cabinet Approvals (Jan 29, 2020) -

1. General Approvals -

1. Approved to extend existing Productivity Linked Reward (PLR) Scheme beyond 2017-18. It will annually benefit to

28,821 Major Port Trusts and Dock employees/workers and yearly estimated outgo will be Rs.46 crore.

2. Approed amendments in National Commission for Homoeopathy Bill 2019, for amending Homoeopathy Central

Council (HCC) Act 1973. Presently, the Bill is pending in Rajya Sabha. Amendments will -Ensure necessary regulatory reforms in the field of Homoeopathy education.Enable transparency and accountability for protecting interests of public.

3. Approved Amendments in National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill 2019 (NCIM) which is pending in

Rajya Sabha.

1. Proposed legislation will ensure necessary regulatory reforms in the field of Indian System of Medicine

education.

2. Proposed regulatory structure will enable transparency and accountability for protecting the interest of the

general public.

4. Approved 30% of North Eastern Council funds to be allocated to new projects in North East Region.

1. These projects have been given least importance so far. With increased funds, they will be able to reach in pace

with the older projects and help in faster development.

5. Approved Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill 2020, to amend Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act

1971. Bill will be introduced in coming summer session of Parliament.

1. Proposing requirement for opinion of one provider for termination of pregnancy, up to 20 weeks of gestation and

introducing requirement of opinion of two providers for termination of pregnancy of 20-24 weeks of gestation.

2. Enhancing upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women which will be defined in

amendments to MTP Rules and would include 'vulnerable women' including survivors of rape, victims of incest

and others.

3. Upper gestation limit not to apply in cases of substantial foetal abnormalities diagnosed by Medical Board.

4. Identity of concerned woman shall not be revealed except noted cases.

5. Bill is for expanding access of women to safe and legal abortion services.

14. Census India 2021 will begin on April 1, 2020 and will end on September 30, 2020. It will be conducted through a mobile phone

application, moving away from traditional pen and paper.

1. For the first time, Census will collect data of transgenders headed houses. Also, the census will enquire about “Main cereal”,

which s also included for the first time in the history of census of India.

2. Census 2021 is to ask 31 questions to the citizens.

15. Coal-belching town of Jharia in Jharkhand named most polluted city in India, as per a Greenpeace India report.

1. Delhi is 10th-most polluted city in India, making marginal improvement in its air pollution level.

2. Average annual levels of PM10 particulate matter less than 10 micrometers in diameter that can enter lungs and

bloodstream, in Jharia was 322 micrograms per cubic metre in 2018.

3. Jharkhand's Dhanbad is second-most polluted city in India.

4. Lunglei in Mizoram is the least polluted followed by Meghalaya's Dowki.

16. Cross-border payments Firm Western Union partnered with teleco firm Bharti Airtel’s 2 arms– Airtel Payments Bank & Airtel

Africa Plc, to enable Airtel customers in India to receive international remittances in their bank accounts & and Mobile Wallets

across 14 countries in Africa.

17. Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare released Final Estimates of 2018-19 and 1st Advance Estimates of

2019-20 of Area and Production of various Horticulture Crops -

1. 2017-18

2018-19

(Final)

2019-20

(1st Advanced Estimate)

Area (Million Hectare) 25.24 25.43 25.61

Production

(Million Tonne)310.67 310.74 313.35

18. Department of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) launched paperless licensing process for petroleum service stations, under

Petroleum Rules 2002. Implementing agency to be Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO). .

1. Paperless licensing for petroleum service stations will benefit over 70000 pumps and oil marketing companies. It will benefit

in decreasing transit time of fuel as a greater number of vehicles can easily be employed in process.

19. Department of Telecommunications taken over process of issuing and managing IMEI (International Mobile Equipment

Identity), a special 15-digit serial number of mobile phones, from private body MSAI (Mobile Standard Alliance of India).

1. Government will change system operated by MSAI and develop a new system called “Indian Counterfeited Device Restriction

(ICDR)”, prepared by Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT).

20. East Coast Railways commissioned first waste-to-energy plant of Indian Railways, as 4th such plant in country. It has been set up

at with Polycrack technology, in Bhubaneswar. Plant can process 500 kg of waste per day and will earn Rs 17.5 lakh per annum.

1. First such plant was established by Infosys in 2011 at Bengaluru.

2. In Polycrack Technology, waste is processed and reformed in 24 hours.

21. Former PNB Chief Sunil Mehta took over as Chief Executive Officer of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), for 3 years term.

22. General Conferences (Jan 21 - 31, 2020) -

1. 3rd Apex Conference of the Smart Cities organized at Andhra University Convention Center in Visakhapatnam (Andhra

Pradesh).

2. 3rd Global Potato Conclave held at Gandhinagar (Gujarat).

3. Andhra CM YS Jaganmohan Reddy launched first Disha Police Station in Rajamahendravaram city., as model stations aimed

at rendering speedy justice for female victims of Sexual assault.

1. Andhra Pradesh government enacted Disha Act, after gruesome rape and murder of a veterinarian in Hyderabad in

November 2019. Disha act to ensure speedy investigation and trial of sexual assault cases. Under it, state government is

opening 13 special courts in each district for expeditious trial of such cases.

4. 1st edition of Ganga-Volga Dialogue of Civilizations 2020 based on the theme “Connectivity”, between India & Russia held

in New Delhi.

5. Arunachal Pradesh state council for science & Technology organised state's 1st Innovation festival at science centre IG Park

in Itanagar.

6. Government will set up India's First war memorial for animals in Meerut (Uttar Pradesh).

7. As a first such initiative, Telangana State Election Commission used facial recognition app in a bid to counter impersonation

by voters, during elections in Kompally Municipality.

8. Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated Classical Telugu Centre at Nellore (Andhra Pradesh), which has been shifted

to Nellore from Mysore.

9. India's first underwater Metro is being constructed at Hooghly river in Kolkata (West Bengal). The new under water enable

crossing the river in less than a minute. Currently it takes 20 minutes in the ferry to cross the river and an hour to cross the

Howrah bridge.

10. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched Composite Regional Centre (CRC) for skill development,

empowerment of persons and rehabilitation in Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands). CRCs are located in Kozhikode,

Bhopal, Lucknow, Patna, Guwahati, Srinagar, Ahmedabad, Mandi and Suraghi (Chhattisgarh).

11. Magh Bihu harvest festival celebrated in Assam. It is also called ‘Bhogali Bihu’ or ‘Maghor Bihu’ as it is celebrated with

community feasts after annual harvest takes place.

12. Nepal created a new Guinness World Record for organizing highest altitude Fashion Show on earth, at 5340 meters (17515

feet) elevation at Kala Patthar.

13. National Conclave on Emerging Opportunities in Natural Gas sector held in New Delhi. It was stated that present share of

gas in energy basket of India is 6.2%, targeted to be 15% by 2030. Global average is 24%.

14. ‘Women with wheels’ taxi service has been launched at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, to be only

available for female commuters and will be driven by women drivers only.

15. Indian Railways has taken up RFID project (radio-frequency identification) that aims to automatically and accurately track

and trace rolling stock as they move across India, as an attempt to fuel growth plans and improve operational efficiency.

16. PM Narendra Modi attended 3rd edition interaction programme with school students ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020‘ held in

New Delhi.

17. Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan today launched a scheme of SAIL to promote Voluntary

Philanthropist Activities (VPA) by its employees, called SERVICE - SAIL Employee Rendering Voluntarism and Initiatives

for Community Engagement.

18. Kochi (Kerala) hosted Global Investors Meet ASCEND 2020.

1. Kerala Govt unveiled masures to enhance ease of doing business in state, including a wage subsidy scheme for the first

five years for new ventures getting registered from April 1, 2020.

19. Maharashtra Govt organized Advantage Maharashtra expo 2020 industrial exhibition in Aurangabad.

1. Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray also inaugurated India’s first and biggest ‘walk-through’ aviary in Veermata

Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo also known as Byculla Zoo in Mumbai.

2. Aviary is spread over in 18,234 sq ft, is 44 feet tall and consists of 100 species of Indian and exotic birds.

20. E-Commerce Firm Amazon organized SMBhav, a first-of-its-kind mega summit for Small and Medium Businesses in New

Delhi.

21. National Crime Record Bureau Launched 2 online national level services related to Search of Missing Persons and to

Generate Vehicle NOC.

22. Lok sabha speaker Om Birla attended 25th conference of speakers and presiding officers (CSPOC) 2020 in Ottawa (Canada).

23. Odisha Government launched a virtual police station, enabling people to lodge complaints from their respective districts

regarding theft of their vehicles without visiting Police Station.

24. Iranian film ‘Castle of Dreams’ directed by Reza Mirakarimi won Best Film and Best Director Award at 18th Dhaka

International Film Festival (Bangladesh).

25. President Ram Nath Kovind laid foundation stone of UT of Lakshadweep’s 1st super specialty hospital at Kavaratti.

26. 1st session of India-Norway trade and investment dialogue held in New Delhi. India and Norway signed Dialogue of Trade

and Investment when Norway Prime Minister visited India in 2018.

27. American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) will organize 14th Global Healthcare Summit (GHS) in

Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) in January 2021.

28. 12th edition of South Asia Conference organized by Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA) in New Delhi, with

theme Neighbourhood First.

29. Tamil Nadu CM announced 'Direct CTO', to enable companies operating under 'green category industries' receive faster

clearances from government to commence operations. It was announced during event for marking 125 years of trade body

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

30. After Mumbai, e-commerce firm Amazon has set up its second pick up kiosk in Kolkata’s Sealdah Railway Station, in

partnership with Eastern Railways. Pick up kiosk allows the customers to pick up packages at railway stations.

23. Global smartphone brand OPPO signed MOU with IIT Hyderabad, to take up joint R & D projects in advanced and emerging

technologies.

24. Google announced a $1 million grant for global non-profit organization ‘Internews’ that will launch a new initiative to promote

news literacy in India, as part of $ 10 million Google’s commitment worldwide to media literacy.

1. Google also launched new application called “Tangi”, which focuses on Do It Yourself videos. Name is inspired from TeAch

aNd GIve.

25. Government eMarketplace (Ministry of Commerce & Industry) and Government of Uttar Pradesh signed MoU to set up a GeM

Organizational Transformation Team (GOTT) Project Management Unit (PMU) in State, to expedite harmonization of

procurement guidelines.

26. Government notified structure of National Startup Advisory Council, to advise Government on measures needed to build a strong

ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in country.

1. National Startup Advisory Council will be chaired by Minster for Commerce & Industry. It will consist of non-official

members, to be nominated by Government. Term of non-official members will be 2 years.

27. Government signed historic agreement with 9 factions of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).

1. Bodoland Territorial Area District will hold special rights for locals. Outsiders will have to obtain “permit” to work in

territory. It will provide political rights to Bodo Tribals living in Assam.

2. It is 3rd agreement signed in 27 years, with first being signed with All Bodo Students Union in 1993 and second was signed

with Bodo Liberation Tigers in 2003.

28. Govt announced to make Indian Railways to run 100% on electricity, by 2024. Also, Railways has planned to make the network

zero-emission network by 2030.

1. So far, till 2017-18, 4,087 km route has been electrified. Electric traction accounts to 57.91% of energy expenses of Indian

Railways.

29. ISRO launched Bhuvan Panchayat version 3.0, under which ISRO will collaborate with Gram panchayat members to understand

their data requirements. It will run for two years. The portal aims at helping village development planning process under the

Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

30. IT Firm Tech Mahindra has set up a Google Cloud Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Hyderabad, aimed at driving digital

transformation of enterprises globally.

31. India has achieved complete phase out of ozone depleting Hydro Chloro Fluoro Carbons (HCFC), under Montreal Protocol.

1. Ministry of EFoCC had prohibited import of HCFC-141b, under Ozone Depleting substances (Regulation and Control)

amendment rules 2019.

2. Use of HCFC-141b by foam manufacturing industries have been come to an end with the stoppage of import of HCFC-141b.

3. It will have great impact on ozone layer, as 50% of ozone depleting chemicals being used in country attribute to HCFC-141b.

32. Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) and Mangaluru Smart City Ltd signed MoU for giving a boost to green building movement

and sustainable development in Mangaluru.

33. Indian Navy signed MoU with Geological Survey of India (GSI), for Sharing of seabed sediments data, products and expertise

for Naval Application in Meteorology and Oceanography.

1. Data collected using GSI’s oceanic research vessels Samudra Manthan, Samudra Kaustubh, Samudra Shaudhikama and

Samudra Ratnakar will now be used by Navy’s growing blue water fleet for reliable oceanographic modeling.

34. Indian government announced to reward travellers who explore 15 domestic travel destinations in a year, out of their state.

Government will sponsor their travel expenses as an incentive, under campaign Dekho Apna Desh.

35. India’s 1st underwater metro project will be completed as East-West Project of Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation, by March 2022.

36. India’s first Super Fab Lab inaugurated in Kerala, to function in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA).

It is only Super Fab Lab that is being installed outside US.

1. Super Fab Lab is being installed in collaboration with Kerala Startup Mission. Fab Lab offers digital fabrication. It is an array

of computers that covers almost all materials, used in businesses to develop prototypes and also in education.

2. Vigyan Ashram (Pune) was first Fab Lab to be opened in India, established in 2002.

37. India’s first e-waste clinic opened in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), to enable segregation, processing and disposal of waste from

both household and commercial units.

38. IndusInd Bank launched asset management platform PIONEER, to provide services to high net-worth customers. PIONEER

customers will get several privileges.

39. Jan 27 - International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, Proclaimed by UN in 2005. 2020

marks 75th anniversary of the day.

1. The Holocaust was World War II genocide of European Jews. Between 1941 and 1945. Germany murdered over 60 lakh

Jews, around two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population.

40. Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh state Governments made reading of the Preamble of the Constitution mandatory for schools,

to be done after prayer in all primary and secondary schools in these states.

41. Maharashtra government launched Shiv Bhojan scheme, to provide a meal to the poor at subsidized rates of INR 10.

1. At least one 'Shiv Bhojan' canteen will be opened at the district headquarters.

42. Minister for Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi's new Hindi novel Balwa will be released soon. It is a fiction story based on

happenings in India in 1990s.

43. Ministry of Road Transport & Highways assigned a new motor vehicle Registration Mark “DD” to ‘Dadra & Nagar Haveli and

Daman and Diu’ for registration of vehicles. Note that a New UT was recently formed after merger of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and

Daman & Diu.

44. Ministry of Rural Development signed MoU with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana -

National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), for furthering their mutual objectives of strengthening grassroots institutions

of rural poor.

45. NITI Aayog released its vision for National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP), aiming to democratize access to publicly

available government data. It will host latest datasets from various government websites, present them coherently, and provide

tools for analytics and visualization.

1. NDAP will spearhead the standardization of formats in which data is presented across sectors and will cater to a wide

audience of policymakers, researchers, innovators, data scientists, journalists and citizens.

46. Nagoba Jatara tribal festival celebrated in Telangana.

47. National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) partnered with UNICEF Hyderabad field office to set up

‘Communication Resource Unit’ (CRU). CRU will function as mechanism for providing Social and Behavioural Change

Communications (SBCC) support to flagship programmes of State & central Government.

48. New snake eel species residing in Bay of Bengal has been discovered by Estuarine Biology Regional Centre (EBRC) of the

Zoological Survey of India (ZSI). It has been named as Ophichthus kailashchandrai , to honour vast contributions of ZSI Director

Kailash Chandra.

49. Oxford University Press (OUP) named Samvidhaan (Constitution) as Oxford Hindi Word of 2019. Oxford Said that 2019 saw the

values of democracy, secularism, justice, liberty, equality and fraternity being tested on the touchstone of the Constitution.

50. Paleontologists discovered new species of meat-eating dinosaur in Utah (US), that inhabited flood plains of western North

America during Late Jurassic Period, between 157-152 million years ago. It belongs to allosauroids.

1. Previously, paleontologists thought there was only 1 species of Allosaurus in Jurassic North America.

2. At 155 million years old, Allosaurus jimmadseni is geologically-oldest species of Allosaurus.

51. Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari launched an online web portal ‘GATI’, to be used to monitor around 500

projects worth Rs 3 Lakh Crores. Contractors and concessionaires can raise any project related issues on the portal.

52. Security app Very Good Morning (VGM) has been launched at IIT-BHU, as an attempt to check crime against women. It will

send location to police emergency number by pressing mobile's power button thrice.

53. Supreme Court ruled that African Cheetah shall be permitted to be introduced in India, on experimental basis. SC had put the

move on hold 10 years back, fearing the Cheetahs might become into conflict with project of reintroduction of lions in Kuno

sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.

54. Tribal Affairs Ministry proposed 6th Schedule Area status to UT of Ladakh, sending proposal to Home Ministry for the same.

1. 6th Schedule of Constitution makes separate arrangements for tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura.

Article 244A was added to the constitution through 22nd Constitutional Amendment Act 1969.

2. It provides power of enactment of autonomous district councils (ADCs) to protect rights of tribal populations.

3. People of Ladakh want to get tribal status so that people from other parts of the country do not come and settle there. It will

also protect their demographic recognition.

55. Uttar Pradesh Government launched Mukhyamantri Krishak Durghatna Kalyan Yojana, which will provide financial assistance of

INR 5 Lakhs to family of farmers who die or become handicapped while working in fields. Scheme will also include the Bataidars,

who work in field of other persons and share the crop after it is harvested. It will cover farmers in age group of 18-70 years.

56. Uttarakhand become first state to make a policy to lease agricultural land. In lieu of giving land on a 30-year lease, concerned

farmer will get the rent for the land. Now any institution can take farm land on lease in villages, leasing a maximum of 30 acres of

land on lease for 30 years.

57. West Bengal overtaken Uttar Pradesh as top State in vegetable production in 2018-19, as per Agriculture Ministry Data. West

Bengal produced 29.55 million tonnes (mt) of vegetables last year, vompared to 27.71 mt in UP.

1. Andhra Pradesh (AP) continued to hold top spot in fruits, with 17.61MT in 2018-19. It was followed by Maharashtra (10.82

mt) and UP (10.65 mt).

58. West Bengal passed resolution against CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), becoming 4th state to do so, After Kerala, Punjab and

Rajasthan. West Bengal govt stated that CAA does not stick to secularism.

59. World’s largest meditation centre inaugurated at Kanha Shanti Vanam in Hyderabad (Telangana), to mark 75th anniversary of

the formation of Shri Ram Chandra Mission (SRCM) and Heartfulness Institute. It can accommodate 1 lakh practitioners at a time.

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Persons

1. Obituaries (Jan 2020) -

1. Ratna Ojha - Noted Eminent Assamese dramatist, litterateur and social activist.

2. T N Chaturvedi - Former Governor of Karnataka.

3. Bhim Chandra Jana - Noted Freedom fighter.

4. Sharif Idu - Noted Folk Singer and sarangi maestro from Punjab. He was conferred with country’s highest honour for

performing arts — the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2006 in dhadi folk music category.

5. Minati Mishra - Noted Odissi Danseuse and Padma Shri Awardee.

6. Hans Tilkowski - German footballer (Goalkeeper).

7. Akbar Padamsee- Noted painter and artist.

8. M. Chidananda Murthy - Noted Kannada writer, researcher and historian.

9. Qaboos bin Said Al Said - Ruler of Oman.

10. Thomas Antony - Noted Kerala Cartoonist.

11. Obaid Siddiqui - Noted Broadcaster and Urdu poet.

12. Gopinath Gajapati Narayan Deo - Odisha’s Gajapati dynasty head and former MP.

13. Manmohan Mahapatra - Noted Odia filmmaker. He won eight consecutive national film awards for his films.

14. Khagendra Thapa Magar - World’s shortest man, from Nepal. He was 2 ft and 2.41 tall.

15. Bapu Nadkarni - Former Indian Cricketer.

16. Ashwini Kumar Chopra - Noted journalist and former MP.

17. P.T. Ummer Koya - Former vice-president of world chess governing body FIDE (International Chess Federation).

18. Sunanda Patnaik - Noted Odia Hindustani vocalist.

19. Man Mohan Sood - Former Indian cricketer.

20. Saleha Sultan - Titular queen of Bhopal and wife of late Nawab Bashir Yar Jung of Paigah family.

21. Vinay Kumar Sinha - Noted Indian Film producer.

22. Sher Singh Kukkal - Noted artist and sculptor.

23. Kobe Bryant - American Basketball Player and Noted NBA Star. He died in a helicopter crash.

24. Golok Chandra Goswami - Noted Assamese linguist.

25. Melhupra Vero - First Rajya Sabha MP from Nagaland and Padma Shri Awardee.

26. Sunita Chandra - Former Hockey Player.

27. Jameela Malik - Noted South Indian actress.

28. Tushar Kanjilal - Noted social worker and Padma Shri Awardee.

29. Pieter Robert Rensenbrink - Former Netherlands' footballer.

30. Ajmal Sultanpuri - Noted Urdu poet.

31. Matthew Satya Babu - Former Noted Indian basketball player.

32. Sashi Sarma -Noted Assamese litterateur.

33. Vidya Bal - Noted Feminist and Social Activist.

2. Persons Resigned / Retired (Jan 2020) -

1. Indian female hockey Player Sunita Lakra announced her international retirement.

2. P R Seshadri resigned as MD and CEO of Karur Vysya Bank.

3. Cricketer Irfan Pathan announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

4. North Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev resigned from his position.

5. Italian footballer Daniele De Rossi announced his retirement.

6. Indian weightlifter Sarbjeet Kaur has been banned for four years by National Anti Doping Agency, after being found guilty of

a doping violation.

7. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev resigned, after President Putin proposed a series of constitutional changes.

8. Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Hafeez announced to retire from international cricket, after upcoming T-20 World Cup 2020

to be held in Australia.

9. Brazil Tennis Player Joao Olavo Soares de Souza has been banned for life and fined $200,000 by International Tennis

Federation after being found guilty of match-fixing and corruption.

10. Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Sarec resigned from his post.

11. Vineet Saxena -Noted Rajasthan domestic cricketer.

12. Sachin Bansal, co-founder of Flipkart resigned as independent director of Ujjivan Small Finance bank .

13. New Zealand Crickter Todd Astle announced his retirement from first-class cricket.

14. Abidali Neemuchwala resigned as CEO of IT Major Wipro.

3. Visits from India (Jan 21 - 31, 2020) -

1. External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited African Nations Niger & Tunisia.

1. India signed MoU with Tunisia, for the setting up of a ‘India- Tunisia centre for innovation in information and

communication technologies (ICT)’ in Tunisia.

2. He Inaugurated USD 56 million convention centre in Niger''s capital Niamey. It is first centre to be established in

Africa by India to honour M K Gandhi, whose 150th birth anniversary was observed in 2019. Out of cost of USD 56

million, assistance of USD 35.48 was provided by India and the rest USD 20.52 million funded by Niger government.

4. Visits to India (Jan 21 - 31, 2020) -

1. Luxembourg foreign minister Jean Asselborn visited India.

2. French Minister of Culture Franck Riester Visited India. He honored Sanjna Kapoor (Former British film actress of Indo-

British descent), with French honour of ‘Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and

Letters) for her outstanding contribution to the field of theater.

3. Brazil’s President Jair Messias Bolsonaro Visited India -

1. He was Chief Guest at 71st Republic Day Parade. This is the third time that a Brazilian President was chief guest at

Republic Day. Last time a Brazilian President was chief guest was in 2004 when Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attended.

2. Brazilian Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply Ms. Tereza Cristina Correa da Costa Dias also Visited.

3. 15 MOUs Were Signed -

1. Bioenergy Cooperation

2. Oil and Natural Gas

3. Investment Cooperation and Facilitation Treaty

4. Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.

5. Early Childhood

6. Health and Medicine

7. Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy.

8. Cultural Exchange Programme for period 2020-2024

9. Social Security

10. Cyber Security

11. Scientific and Technological Cooperation (2020-2023)

12. Geology and Mineral Resources

13. MoU between Invest India and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex Brazil)

14. Animal Husbandry and Dairying

15. Cooperation for establishing a nodal institution in India to carry out research on Bioenergy

4. India-Brazil have set target of USD 15 billion trade by 2022.

5. Brazilian gunmaker Taurus Armas SA signed agreement for setting up a joint Venture with Indian steelmaker Jindal

Group to manufacture and sell guns in India. Jindal will hold 51% stake in JV and remaining 49% will be held by

Taurus.

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Science

1. ISRO will to send a half-humanoid robot called Vyom Mitra as an experimental mission to Gaganyaan. The robot is to fly in two

unmanned mission that are planned in December 2020 and in June 2021.

1. Under Gaganyaan, ISRO's largely autonomous 3.7-tonne capsule will orbit Earth at 400 km altitude for up to seven days

with a two or three-person crew on board.

2. Rs 10000 crore project is expected to be launched in 2022, year of 75th anniversary of India's Independence.

3. Russia will train Potential Gaganyaan astronauts. Also, France will train Indian flight surgeons to enable them to monitor the

health of astronauts selected for Gaganyaan Mission.

2. Scientists at National Centre for Cell Science Pune discoverd a novel archael species named Natrialba swarupiae, in Rajasthan' s

Sambhar Lake (India’s largest inland salt lake). It is named after Dr. Renu Swarup (Secretary in Department of Biotechnology).

1. Archae are microorganisms which are similar to bacteria in size and simplicity of structure but radically different in

molecular organization.

3. Scientists of University of Vermont and Tufts University (US) created world’s first living and self-healing robots Xenobots, using

stem cells from frogs. It is named after the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis.

1. Xenobots are new class of artifact: a living, programmable organism, which don’t look like traditional robots. These are

marchines which are less than a millimeter (0.04 inches), small enough to travel inside human bodies.

4. World’s oldest mushroom has been discovered in Democratic Republic of Congo and dates back to around 810 million years ago.

Preserved in rock, the fossil fungi were found near the city of Mbuji-Mayi, smashing previous age record by 350 million years.

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Sports

1. 3rd edition of Khelo India Youth Games held in Guwahati (Assam). Maharashtra adjudged as champion with 256 medals,

including 78 gold. Medal Tally -

1. Rank State Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 Maharashtra 78 77 101 256

2 Haryana 68 60 72 200

3 Delhi 39 36 47 122

4 Karnataka 32 26 22 80

5 Uttar Pradesh 29 28 30 87

2. 71st edition of International Boxing Tournament Strandja 2020 held in Sofia (Bulgaria) -

1. India ranked 9th, with 3 medals (1 Silver, 2 Bronze). List was topped by Ukraine with 10 medals.

2. Indian Medals -

1. Mohammed Hussamuddin - Silver (57 KG)

2. Sonia Lather - Bronze (57 KG)

3. Shiva Thapa - Bronze (63 KG)

3. Canadian Female footballer Christine Sinclair became all-time top scorer in international soccer, with her 185th goal against St.

Kitts and Nevis. This is a record for both male ane female category. She got past mark held by American Abby Wambach.

4. Former England Cricketer Alastair Cook and ex-West Indies team manager Richard ‘Ricky’ Skerritt are appointed as members of

England's Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)'s World Cricket Committee.

5. Indian female footballer Ngangom Bala Devi became first Indian woman to earn a professional football contract abroad after

signing for Scottish giant Rangers FC. She is also Rangers’ first-ever Asian international footballer.

6. Indian shooters at Meyton Cup in Innsbruck (Austria) -

1. Divyansh Singh Pawar and Apurvi Chandela won gold, in men's 10m air rifle and 10m air rifle women's category.

2. Deepak Kumar and Anjum Moudgil won bronze in same events respectively.

7. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports de-recognised Rowing Federation of India (RFI) because of violating the Sports Code of

2011 in four areas during RFI elections.

8. Misc. Sports events (Jan 2020) -

1. Ladakh won 7th National Ice Hockey Championship Women trophy held at the Karzoo Ice Hockey Rink in Ladakh.

2. “Lawn bowls” and “cycling” events will be included in 3rd edition of Khelo India Games to be held in Guwahati (Assam) in

January 2020.

3. New Zealand Cricketer Leo Carter became 7th cricketer in world to score six sixes in an over, during New Zealand's

Twenty20 tournament Super Smash.

4. Australian Wade Ormsby won Hong Kong Open Golf Title.

5. International Hockey Federation unveiled a new world ranking system for 2020, as a match-based instead of tournament-

based calculation. It is expected to remove subjectivity surrounding continental weighing by creating a system which is fair to

all.

6. As per International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), India fnished Shooting Nation in World in 2019, with 21 gold, 6

silver, and 3 bronze. India secured first position in all Rifle-pistol World Cups and Finals in 2019.

7. Hyderabad's Aashman Taneja has set a Guinness World Record in sport of Taekwondo, for most number of full-contact knee

strikes in one hour., with over 1200 knee strikes in an hour.

8. Norwegian chess player Magnus Carlsen has set a world record of 111 unbeaten classical games.

9. Team of Indian Consulate won Diplomat Cup Cricket Championship of 2020 held in Sharjah (UAE), defeating Pakistan

Consulate.

10. Jacqueline Williams of Jamaica became first woman third umpire in men’s international cricket match, when she oversaw

T20 matches between West Indies and Ireland.

11. Australia will host 11th Indoor cricket World Cup in Oct 2020.

12. Dattu Bhokanal’s two-year suspension on charges of tanking a race during 2018 Asian Games, has been lifted by Rowing

Federation of India (RFI).

13. Indian cyclist Esow Alben won gold Medal in men’s Keirin individual event at Berlin Tournament in Germany.

14. Mizoram defeated Sikkim to win North East Dr T Ao Football Trophy 2020.

9. World Archery conditionally lifted suspension on India, after elections were held for India’s controversy-ridden Archery

Association and Arjun Munda was elected as new President.

1. World Archery had appointed Kazi Rajib Uddin Ahmed Chapol as observer for elections of Archery Association of India

(AAI).

2. Observer submitted his report and based on that, World Archery considered 'conditional lifting' of suspension on Indian

Archery Federation, which was put in July 2019.

10. Wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt and Paralympian Deepa Malik are among new inductees in government's All India Council of Sports

(AICS), from which Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and chess player Viswanathan Anand have been omitted for not being "active"

enough.

1. Tenure of AICS (formed in 2015) is extended by 3 years and it will continue to be led by sports administrator V K Malhotra.

2. Other Noted new entrants in Council are former shooter Anjali Bhagwat, footballer Renedy Singh, mountaineer Bachendri

Pal and Cricketer Harbhajan Singh.

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