Current Affairs Monthly Capsule January 2020 578ae9d7

Current Affairs Monthly Capsule I
January 2020
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January 2020
Table of Contents
Awards &Honours ............................................................................................................................................. 3

Summits & Conferences .................................................................................................................................... 9
Mergers & Events............................................................................................................................................ 10
Days & Events ................................................................................................................................................. 11
MOU & Agreements ........................................................................................................................................ 13
Appointments ................................................................................................................................................. 20
Obituaries ....................................................................................................................................................... 29
International Affairs ........................................................................................................................................ 32
Personalities in News ...................................................................................................................................... 37
Government Policies & Schemes ..................................................................................................................... 41
Science & Technology ..................................................................................................................................... 44
Business & Economy ....................................................................................................................................... 49
Sports.............................................................................................................................................................. 58
Defence........................................................................................................................................................... 67
Committees & Recommendations ................................................................................................................... 71
National Affairs ............................................................................................................................................... 71
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January 2020
Awards &Honours
Theatre artist Sanjana Kapoor to be honoured
• Well-known theatre person Sanjana Kapoor received the prestigious French honour of ‘Chevalier dans
lOrdre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters).
• She was honoured for her outstanding contribution to the field of theatre.
• French Minister of Culture Franck Riester, conferred it on her on January 28, 2020 at the French embassy in
New Delhi.
Rani Rampal won Athlete of the Year' award
• Indian women's team captain Rani Rampal became the first-ever hockey player to win the prestigious
'World Games Athlete of the Year' award.
• In 2019, India won the FIH Series Finals, and Rani was named Player of the Tournament.
• Rani was also recently named among the Padma Shri awardees.
• The World Games announced the winner on 30 Jan 2020.
• She has won with 1,99,477 votes.
Pavan Sukhdev won 2020 Tyler Prize
• Renowned Indian environmental economist and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Goodwill Ambassador
Pavan Sukhdev has won the 2020 Tyler Prize.
• It is regarded as the "Nobel Prize for the Environment".
• He was awarded for his groundbreaking "green economy" work.
• Sukhdev will receive the award alongside conservation biologist Gretchen Daily on 1 May 2020.
Honorary D.Lit to Abhijit Bandyopadhyay
• The Calcutta University conferred Honorary D.Lit. Degree to Nobel Laureate Prof. Abhijit Binayak
Bandyopadhyay at its Annual Convocation on 28 Jan 2020.
• The Vice-Chancellor of the University Ms Sonali Chakraborty Banerjee presented the Degree to him.
• Mr Monoranjan Bapari received Rabindra Nath Tagore Memorial Medal for his outstanding contribution in
the field of Literature.
Dr. N Kumar honoured with Harit Ratna Award
• Dr N Kumar, Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, has been conferred 'Harit Ratna Award
2019'.
• It is organised by the All India Agricultural Students Association.
• He was awarded for the dissemination of Rs 30-crore entrepreneurship project in agri-business and also for
motivating students towards the agriculture sector in Tamil Nadu.
Assam tableau won first prize
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave away Best Tableaux awards for Republic Day Parade, 2020 in New
Delhi on 28 Jan 2020.
• Assam's tableau which portrayed the unique craftsmanship and culture of the state has been chosen as the
best tableau.
• The tableaux of National Disaster Relief Force and Jal Shakti Mission were chosen as the best among the
Ministries and Departments.
The Hindu Group chairman N. Ram honoured
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January 2020
• Eminent journalist and chairman of The Hindu Group of Publications N Ram has been selected for the Kerala
Media Academy's national media award for his outstanding contribution to journalism.
• The award carries a purse of Rs 1 lakh, a citation and a memento.
• Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would present the award during a media conclave in March 2020.
Sneha Pamneja won award
• Graphic designer Sneha Pamneja was awarded Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize at the ongoing Jaipur
Literature Festival for designing the cover of "Tiffin: Authentic Recipes Celebrating India's Regional Cuisine".
• She was felicitated with a trophy and a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.
• The book is written by Sonal Ved and published by Roli books.
Jagbir Rana awarded Police Medal for Gallantry
• Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Jagbir Rana was awarded Police Medal for Gallantry posthumously
by President Ram Nath Kovind on Republic Day.
• He saved three children from being run over by Hoshiarpur Express in April 2019.
• 2 RPF and Railway Protection Security Force (RPSF) men have also been awarded President''s Police Medal
for distinguished services.
62nd Annual Grammy Awards- I
• The 62nd annual Grammy Awards took place in Los Angeles on 26 Jan 2020.
• Album of the year was won by "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” by Billie Eilish.
• Record of the year was won by “Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish.
• Song of the year was won by “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish.
• Billie Eilish won in the new artist category.
62nd Annual Grammy Awards-II
• Pop Solo Performance was won by “Truth Hurts” by Lizzo.
• Pop Vocal Album was won by “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” by Billie Eilish.
• Comedy Album was won by “Sticks & Stones” by Dave Chappelle.
• “Social Cues” by Cage the Elephant won in the Rock Album category.
• “This Land” by Gary Clark Jr. won in the Rock Song category.
Two Bangladeshis get Padma awards
• Bangladeshi Career Diplomat late Syed Muazzem Ali and veteran museologist Enamul Haq have been
nominated for the Padma Awards by the government of India for 2020.
• Syed Muazzem Ali has been honoured with the Padma Bhushan award posthumously. He was the High
Commissioner of Bangladesh to India.
• Renowned Museologist from Bangladesh Enamul Haq has been nominated for the Padma Shri award.
Two Sri Lankan women receive Padma awards
• Among the Padma Shri award recipients for 2020 are two women from Sri Lanka for their pioneering
contributions in their individual fields and for strengthening India-Sri Lanka ties.
• The awards have been conferred on Dr. Vajira Chitrasena for her contribution to dance and Late Prof. Indra
Dassanayake for her contribution to Hindi literature.
Government announced 141 Padma Awards
• The government announced 141 Padma Awards for the year 2020 on the occasion of 71st Republic Day.
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January 2020
• The list comprises of 7 Padma Vibhushan, 16 Padma Bhusan and 118 Padma Shri awards.
• 34 awardees are women and 18 foreigners.
• 12 persons are awarded posthumously.
• Former Union Ministers George Fernandes, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley will be awarded Padma
Vibhushan posthumously.
104 personnel awarded Fire Service Medals
• A total of 104 personnel have been awarded Fire Service Medals on the occasion of the Republic Day 2020.
• Of these, President’s Fire Service Medal for Gallantry have been awarded to 13 personnel, Fire Service
Medal for Gallantry have been awarded to 29 personnel.
• 49 personnel have also been awarded Home Guard and Civil Defence Medals on this occasion.
Jeevan Raksha Padak Series of Awards
• President Ram Nath Kovind has approved the conferment of Jeevan Raksha Padak Series of Awards 2019 on
54 persons.
• This includes Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak to seven, Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak to eight and Jeevan
Raksha Padak to 39 persons.
• 5 awards are posthumous.
• Jeevan Raksha Padak series of awards are given to a person for meritorious act of human nature in saving
the life of a person.
DMMC and Munnan Singh jointly awarded
• Disaster Mitigation And Management Centre (DMMC), Uttarakhand and IPS officer Kumar Munnan
Singh have been named as the winners of Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabhandan Puruskar.
• The government has instituted the annual award in the year 2019.
• The awards are announced every year on January 23 on the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra
Bose.
HealthSetGo CEO Priya Prakash won award
• Priya Prakash, the founder and CEO of HealthSetGo, has won the Cisco Youth Leadership Award for 2019.
• She was awarded for her school health programme that aims at providing 360-degree healthcare support to
children.
• The prestigious award honours an individual aged 18 - 30 who is bringing about a positive change in the
world by solving some of its biggest global challenges.
Rashtriya Bal Puraskar awards conferred
• President Ram Nath Kovind presented the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, 2020 on 22 Jan 2020.
• The Bal Puraskar is given by the govt every year to recognize the exceptional achievements of children in
various fields.
• These fields are innovation, scholastic achievements, social service, arts and culture, sports and bravery.
26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards-I
• Winners of the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards have been announced.
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series was awarded to Jennifer Aniston.
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series was given to Peter Dinklage.
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series was given to Tony Shalhoub.
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January 2020
26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards-II

• The event was held on 19 Jan 2020 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, USA.
• The award honours the year’s biggest achievements in TV and film.
• The Screen Actors Guild Awards are presented by SAG-AFTRA, which made its debut in 1995.
• Sam Rockwell received Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries.
Ramnath Goenka Awards presented
• Ramnath Goenka Excellence Awards were presented on 20 Jan 2020.
• President Ram Nath Kovind gave away the awards in New Delhi.
• The Awards, instituted in 2006, honour journalists from print, broadcast and digital media, who have shown
extraordinary strength of character and integrity while reporting news accurately under dangerous
circumstances.
• It carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.
‘Castle of Dreams’ got Best Film Award
• The Iranian film ‘Castle of Dreams’ directed by Reza Mirakarimi won the Best Film Award in Asian
Competition section of the 18th Dhaka International Film Festival.
• The festival concluded on 19 Jan 2020.
• In the Asian Competition segment, Sri Lankan director Prasanna Vithanage’s film ‘Children of the Sun’ won
Special Jury Award.
• Best Actor Award went to Lousie Abuel fo film ‘Edward’.
Sakya Singha Sen awarded
• Sakya Singha Sen from National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL) Pune, has been awarded "Merck Young
Scientist Award 2019".
• Sen and his research team specializes in main group chemistry and involves in the synthesis of compounds
with main group element and their catalytic application.
• All the catalysts currently used mostly belong to precious metals platinum, palladium, iridium etc.
17th edition of Crossword Books Awards held
• The 17th Crossword Book Awards were held in Mumbai on 14 Jan 2020.
• The award is the only forum in India that gives a face to Indian authors and Indian literature.
• Twinkle Khanna won the popular Best Fiction Award for her novel ‘Pyjamas Are Forgiving’.
• Jayasree Kalathil and N Prabhakaran bagged the best book in the Indian Language Translation category for
Diary of a Malayali Madman.
Rukmini S. won award for an article
• Chennai-based journalist Rukmini S. has won the Likho Awards for Excellence in Media 2019 for an article
on attitudes towards homosexuality in India.
• The awards were instituted by the Humsafar Trust to recognize exemplary works by journalists who have a
fair representation of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer community (LGBTQ).
• Rukmini won in the print category.
Vasdev to be conferred with Saraswati Samman
• Eminent Sindhi writer Vasdev Mohi will be conferred with 29th Saraswati Samman.
• He has been selected for this prestigious literary award for his short stories collection- Chequebook.
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• Saraswati Samman carries a cash award of 15 lakh rupees, a citation and a plaque.
• Mr Mohi has authored 25 books of poetry, stories and translations.
• He has also received Sahitya Akademi Award.
ICC Awards 2019 announced
• The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the list of winners of its annual awards of 2019.
• Ben Stokes won the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Player of the Year after a stunning
2019.
• Indian opener Rohit Sharma was awarded the ODI player of the year.
• Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins has been named the Test Player of the Year.
President Kovind will present RNG award
• President Ram Nath Kovind will present the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in New Delhi
on 20 Jan 2020.
• The awards are administered by the Ramnath Goenka Memorial Foundation and are now in their
fourteenth year.
• This time, the awards have 11 categories covering critical areas in print, digital and electronic media,
including business and economics, political reportage, etc.
National Highway Excellence Awards 2019
• Road, Transport and Highway Minister, Nitin Gadkari presented the National Highway Excellence Awards
2019 in New Delhi on 14 Jan 2020.
• The award was instituted in the year 2018.
• It aims to recognize the well-performing companies in the field of construction, operations, maintenance,
toll collection and road safety on National Highways.
Jasprit Bumrah to receive Polly Umrigar Award
• Jasprit Bumrah will receive the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award for his super performance in international
cricket in the 2018-19 season.
• He made his Test debut during India's tour of South Africa in Jan 2018.
• Former India captains Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Anjum Chopra will be presented with the Col CK
Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award and the BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award for women.
Two Agricultural Scientists awarded
• Dr M S Swaminathan and Dr Gutta Muniratnam were chosen as the 1st recipients of Muppavarapu
Venkaiah Naidu National Award for Excellence and Muppavarapu National Award for Social Service,
respectively.
• Prof. M.S. Swaminathan was awarded for his contributions to the field of agriculture while Dr G
Muniratnam for his contribution in improving quality of people’s lives through social service.
Jasbinder bagged UK children's book award
• India-born author Jasbinder Bilan has bagged a coveted UK children's book award for her debut novel 'Asha
and the Spirit Bird'.
• Bilan will receive 5,000 pounds as the winner of the award.
• Bilan's book was shortlisted from 144 entries alongside 'Crossfire' by Malorie Blackman, 'In the Shadow of
Heroes' by Nicholas Bowling and 'Furious Thing' by Jenny Downham.
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January 2020
Innovation Awards Presentation Ceremony

• Innovation Awards Presentation Ceremony will be held on the 8th of January 2020.
• These awards will be conferred at the 12th edition of Global Intellectual Property Convention in New Delhi.
• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhu will be the chief guests at
the event.
• More than 500 delegates from about 25 countries will participate in 3 day conference.
Golden Globes Awards 2020
• The 77th annual Golden Globes Awards were held on 5 Jan 2020 in Beverly Hills, California.
• Best motion picture — Drama was won by '1917'.
• Best performance by an actress in a motion picture — Drama was won by Renee Zellweger for "Judy".
• Best performance by an actor in a motion picture — Drama was won by Joaquin Phoenix for "Joker".
• Best Director was won by Sam Mendes for '1917'.
Antarrashtriya Yoga Diwas Media Samman
• Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar will confer the 1st Antarrashtriya Yoga Diwas
Media Samman to 30 media houses in New Delhi on 7 Jan 2020.
• The awards will be conferred under 3 categories.
• The award will consist of a special medal, plaque, trophy and a citation.
• The awards were instituted in June 2019 to mark the contribution of media in spreading the message of
Yoga.
Ronaldo bagged best men’s player title
• Cristiano Ronaldo was named the year’s best men’s player at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards.
• Ronaldo has now earned the title for the sixth time of its nine years of existence.
• The ‘best agent’ award was won by Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes.
• England International Lucy Bronze was crowned the year’s best female player.
Sucheta won Global child prodigy award 2020
• A Dubai-based Indian girl, who can sing in 120 languages, has won the 'Global Child Prodigy Awards 2020'.
• Sucheta Satish, known as the Dubai Indian High School's nightingale, won in the singing category.
• The Global Child Prodigy Award is a platform to celebrate children's talent and power in different
categories.
• The award ceremony was in New Delhi on 3 Jan 2020.
Swarna Jayanti Fellowships awarded
• Swarna Jayanti Fellowships have been awarded to 14 Scientists associated with projects containing
innovative research idea and with the potential of making an impact on R&D in the respective disciplines.
• The Swarna Jayanti Fellowships scheme was instituted by Government of India to commemorate India's
fiftieth year of independence.
Krishi Karman Awards presented
• PM Narendra Modi distributed Krishi Karman Awards and Commendation Awards to states at a public
meeting in Tumkur Karnataka on 2 Jan 2020.
• He also gave away Agriculture Minister’s Krishi Karman Awards for Progressive Farmers.
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• The event also witnessed the release of the 3rd instalment of PM Kisan (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman
Nidhi) of Rs 2000 for the period December 2019-March 2020.
Sanjay Gupta to be honoured an award
• Sanjay Gupta, the editor-in-chief of ‘Jagran’ will be honored with “Lokmanya Tilak National Journalism
Award” for his great contribution in the field of Journalism.
• The award will be conferred on him in Pune on 4 Jan 2020, coinciding with the 139th Foundation Day of
'Kesari' -- the newspaper started by Lokmanya Tilak.
• The award consists a cash prize Rs 1 lakh and a memento.
Indore continues to top Swachh Survekshan
• Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri announced the results of Swachh
Survekshan League 2020, for first and second Quarters in New Delhi on 31 Dec 2019.
• In the 10 lakh plus population category, Indore secured first place in both the quarters.
• Madhya Pradesh Capital Bhopal got the second and Surat in Gujarat third spot in first Quarter.
Summits & Conferences

First ever JK Global Investors Summit
• The logo of the first-ever JK Global Investors Summit was unveiled.
• It was unveiled with the tagline 'Explore, Invest, Grow' at Udhyog Bhawan, Jammu.
• Global Investors Summit is one of the prestigious events to be held in J&K for the first time where senior
policymakers, development agencies, MNCs, BIG Corporate Houses and investors will participate to expand
their business in the region.
15th E-Summit at IIT Bombay from February 1
• IIT Bombay’s E-cell, is set to host its 15th E-Summit, a two-day event that will bring budding start-ups,
students, investors, and entrepreneurs together.
• E-Summit 2020: A Brio Breakthrough, will be held on February 1 and 2, 2020.
• Speakers, who will be delivering talks on a multitude of topics, include Wipro chairman Rishad Premji;
filmmaker and producer Anurag Kashyap, among others.
MSME-EPC held a summit
• The MSME Export Promotion Council (MSNE-EPC) held the first 3-day summit in Assam for aspiring
entrepreneurs in the North East here from 17 Jan 2020.
• It was organised to pave the way for development of entrepreneurship and businesses by women and
youths of the region.
• It focused on existing and aspiring start-ups in sectors like tea, Food processing, horticulture, organic
farming, etc.
Food Processing Summit held
• Ladakh is hosting the 1st ever Food Processing Summit to attract investors to the region.
• The region has a vast scope for investment in food Processing Industries in horticulture products like
Apricot, SeabuckThorn, and agricultural produce like buckwheat.
• The event is aimed at encouraging the entrepreneurs to begin a StartUp to tap the potential in the Food
Processing Industries in Ladakh.
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World Future Energy Summit began

• The World Future Energy Summit began in Abu Dhabi on 13 Jan 2020.
• The theme for the year 2020 is "Rethinking Global Consumption, Production, and Investment.
• The 2020 edition includes exhibition and forum programmes across five main pillars: energy, solar, water,
waste and smart cities, hosting an unrivalled gathering of top-level government and business leaders.
Kochi to host ASCEND 2020
• Kochi, Kerala will host the Global Investors Meet: ASCEND 2020.
• ASCEND 2020 will showcase 18 mega projects with over Rs 100 crore investment each and offering direct
employment to over 9,000 people.
• The meet will be organised by the Industries Department.
• The Invest Kerala Portal: “invest.kerala.gov.in” will also be showcased at the meet.
Mergers & Events

IndiGrid to acquire ENCIL for Rs 1,020 crore
• IndiGrid announced the acquisition of power transmission firm East North Interconnection Company Ltd
(ENICL) for Rs 1,020 crore.
• IndiGrid had signed an extension of Right of First Offer deed with Sterlite Power for ENICL as disclosed in
the Offer Document dated May 4, 2019.
• This acquisition will be funded by internal accruals, proceeds from the preference issue done in May 2019
and new debt.
Rupee Bank set to merge with MSC
• The 107-year-old, Rupee Co-operative Bank is set to merge with Maharashtra State Cooperative (MSC)
Bank, the apex cooperative bank of Maharashtra.
• Both the banks have submitted a joint proposal to the department of cooperation.
• Rupee Co-op Bank currently has 35 branches with 304 employees on the roll and the bank’s accumulated
losses stand at Rs 650.89 crore until December 31, 2019.
Zomato acquires Uber Eats
• Zomato has acquired the Indian operations of Uber Eats, the food delivery business run by Uber, for around
$350 million (Rs 2,485 crore).
• The all-stock transaction will give Uber Eats about 10% shareholding in Zomato.
• Uber Eats will cease to exist as a separate brand locally and users on its platform will be redirected to
Zomato’s app.
NEI acquired Slovakia-based Kinex Bearings
• National Engineering Industries Ltd (NEI), part of the CK Birla Group, has acquired Kinex bearings through its
wholly-owned European subsidiary.
• Kinex Bearings is an international bearing manufacturer headquartered in Slovakia with an annual turnover
of about 60 million euros.
• The acquisition includes two production plants in Slovakia (Bytca and Kysucke Nove Mesto).
PayU buys PaySense for $185 mn
• PayU has acquired a controlling stake in PaySense at a valuation of $185 million.
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• As part of the transaction, PayU will merge it with its credit business LazyPay to build a full-stack digital
lending platform in the country.
• As part of the deal, PaySense founder Prashanth Ranganathan will lead PayU’s credit business in India as
the CEO of the new entity.
Days & Events

72nd death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi
• Nation paid homage to the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi on his 72nd death anniversary on 30 Jan
2020.
• It was on this day in 1948, Mahatma Gandhi fell to the bullet of his assassin.
• The day is also observed as Martyrs Day.
• A Sarva Dharma Prarthana Sabha was organised at his Samadhi - Rajghat in New Delhi.
International Customs Day: 26 January
• International Customs Day is observed on 26 January every year.
• It recognizes the role of customs officials and agencies and focuses on the working conditions and
challenges that customs officers face in their jobs.
• The theme for the year 2020 is “Customs fostering Sustainability for People, Prosperity and the Planet”.
• The day was instituted by the World Customs Organization (WCO) in 1953.
71st Republic Day 2020
• India celebrated its 71st Republic Day on 26 January 2020.
• On this day in 1950, the Constitution of India came into force.
• The Republic Day parade, which is considered the main attraction of the day’s celebration, was held along
Rajpath.
• Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was the chief guest at the parade.
Himachal Pradesh celebrated 50th Statehood Day
• Himachal Pradesh celebrated its 50th Statehood Day with fanfare and enthusiasm throughout the state on
25 Jan 2020.
• It was on this day in 1971 when Himachal Pradesh was carved out as the 18th State of the country.
• Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur announced 5% dearness allowance (DA) for government
employees and pensioners on the occasion.
National Tourism Day: 25 January
• The National Tourism Day is celebrated on January 25 every year.
• It was established by the Indian government to raise awareness of the importance of tourism for the
country's economy.
• National Tourism Day was established to promote the tourism industry and recognize its contribution to the
growth and sustainability of tourist destinations and local communities.
National Girl Child Day: 24 January
• National Girl Child Day is celebrated every year on January 24 across the country.
• Its objective is to provide maximum support and facilities to the girls of the country in every respect.
• It was initiated in 2008 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Government of India.
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National Voters' Day: 25 January

• National Voters’ Day (NVD) is celebrated every year on 25 January.
• The theme for NVD-2020 is ‘Electoral Literacy for Stronger Democracy'.
• The day marks the Foundation day of Election Commission of India, which was established on 25th January
1950.
• The day was first celebrated in the year 2011 and is being celebrated since then.
International Day of Education: 24 January
• International Day of Education is celebrated globally on 24th January.
• The first-ever International Day of Education was celebrated on 24 January 2019 as per the resolution
passed by the United Nations General Assembly on December 3rd 2018 to celebrate the role of education
in development.
• International Day of Education 2020 theme is ‘Learning for people, planet, prosperity and peace’.
123rd birth anniversary of Subhas Chandra Bose
• Nation paid homage to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his 123rd birth anniversary on 23 Jan 2020.
• In West Bengal, Governor Jaghdeep Dhankhar paid floral tribute at the statue of Netaji in Kolkata.
• State Government is organizing Subhash Utsav in each block of the state.
• Netaji Research Bureau has also organized programmes in Kolkata on the occasion.
Meghalaya celebrated 48th statehood day
• Meghalaya celebrated the 48th anniversary of statehood day on 21 Jan 2020.
• The ‘Hill State Movement’ had led up to the declaration of Meghalaya as a separate state in the year 1972.
• Traditional songs and dances marked the celebration at U Soso Tham Auditorium, Shillong.
• Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma gave away Meghalaya Day award to State Government employees.
National Immunization Day: 19 Jan 2020
• The National immunization day was observed on 19 Jan 2020.
• With an aim to maintain the NO POLIO status, a nationwide programme to administer polio drops to
children below 5 years was organized throughout the country.
• President Ram Nath Kovind launched the Pulse Polio Programme for the year 2020.
• Puducherry CM Narayanasamy launched the Intensified Pulse Polio Immunization (IPPI) programme.
IMD celebrated 145th Foundation day
• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) celebrated its 145th Foundation Day on 15 Jan 2020
• It was formed in the year 1875 and is headquartered in New Delhi.
• It is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India.
• It is responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology.
72nd Army Day: 15 January 2020
• The 72nd Army Day was celebrated across the country on 15 Jan 2020.
• It is celebrated every year to commemorate the day when General (later Field Marshal) KM Carriappa took
over the command of Army from General Sir F R R Bucher, the last British Commander-in-Chief in 1949.
• He then became the first Commander-in-Chief of Indian Army post Independence.
Armed Forces Veterans Day: 14 January
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• Armed Forces Veterans Day is observed each year on 14th January.

• The day is being celebrated since 2017.
• The day was initially called Armistice Day.
• The day is observed as a mark of respect and recognition of the services rendered by Filed Marshal KM
Cariappa OBE - the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces who retired on 14 Jan 53.
National Youth Day: 12 January
• National Youth Day or Yuva Diwas is observed on 12 January across India.
• The day is celebrated every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
• It aims to create awareness and to provide knowledge to the youth about the rights in India.
• The theme of the National Youth Day 2020 is "Channelizing Youth Power for Nation Building". It aims to
inspire the youth generations.
World Hindi Day: 10 January
• World Hindi Day is celebrated every year on 10 January.
• The objective of the day is to promote the use of Hindi language abroad.
• On this day in 2006 the First World Hindi Conference was organized in Nagpur with the aim to promote the
language worldwide and since then every year 10th January is being observed as the World Hindi Day.
16th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas: 9 January
• Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated every year on 9 January to mark the contribution of the overseas
Indian community in the development of India.
• It also commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to India on 9 January 1915.
• Established in 2003, the celebratory event is organised by the Ministry of External Affairs every year on this
day.
World Braille Day: 4 January
• The world Braille Day is celebrated on 4 January every year.
• The day marks the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, the inventor of Braille - for people with visual
disabilities.
• Louis Braille was born on 4th January 1809.
• At the age of just 3, he lost both his eyes in an accident. This resulted in the invention of the language of 6
dots- which is popularly known as braille
MOU & Agreements

President Trump inked a trade deal
• President Donald Trump signed the new USMCA North American trade pact with Canada and Mexico into
law.
• The USMCA, crafted over years of negotiation between the three countries, replaces the 1994 North
American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.
• It makes changes to e-commerce, intellectual property protections and dispute settlement for investors.
BSE inked pact with Intercontinental Exchange
• BSE has signed a licensing agreement with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) to use its Brent index as the
settlement benchmark for the Indian bourse's rupee-denominated brent futures contracts.
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• This licensing agreement will help Indian market participants access rupee-denominated Brent benchmark
prices and deepen the commodity markets by providing cost-effective onshore hedging products.
BYPL, Schneider Electric signed MoU
• BSES Yamuna Power Ltd Limited (BYPL) and Schneider Electric have signed an agreement to offer safety and
home automation products.
• The partnership envisages to make electricity usage safer, smarter and sustainable using technology and
creating awareness.
• This will be accomplished through two programs.
• The first program will be to prevent electrical mishaps through electrician training.
Flipkart partnered with Gujarat State Handloom
• Flipkart has signed a MoU with Gujarat State Handloom and Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd
(GSHHDC) for promotion of local handicrafts.
• The agreement is part of Flipkart's Samarth initiative under which it is helping artisans set up their business
on the Flipkart Marketplace.
• GSHHDC and Flipkart will work together to enhance business and trade inclusion opportunities for artisans.
GeM signed MoU with UP govt
• Government eMarketplace (GeM) and Government of Uttar Pradesh signed a MoU to set up a GeM
Organizational Transformation Team (GOTT) Project Management Unit (PMU) in the State.
• The PMU to be setup under the MoU will make it easier for MSMEs of U.P. to onboard and transact on
GeM.
• The Government of Uttar Pradesh is the second State after Punjab to establish a GOTT-PMU.
APGCL to set up a waste-to-energy plant
• The Assam Power Generation Corporation Ltd (APGCL) is planning to set up a waste-to-energy plant in
Guwahati.
• This plan of the APGCL is the product of the MoA signed by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC)
with the APGCL.
• As per the MoA, the GMC shall store the waste in a scientific manner to prevent contamination and after
segregation of the waste.
Centre and Assam government signed an accord
• The Centre signed an accord with the Assam-based different insurgent groups and civil societies including
the National Democratic Front of Bodoland.
• The accord will provide political, economic, executive and land rights to Bodo tribals.
• The Centre and State Government will provide financial assistance of Rs1,500 cr for the economic
development of the community.
OPPO signed pact with IIT Hyderabad
• OPPO, the Chinese smartphone brand has signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Technology-
Hyderabad.
• It will promote collaborative research in the field of science and emerging technologies.
• The MoU will facilitate the exchange of ideas and carry out state-of-the-art research in the development of
advanced and emerging technologies.
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European Commission, Council signed agreement

• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles
Michel signed the agreement on the withdrawal of the U.K. from the EU.
• It will be placed before the European Parliament on 29 January 2020 for approval.
• This will ensure Britain’s separation from the European Union in the prescribed manner from midnight on
31 January 2020.
India and Brazil exchanged 11 agreements
• India and Brazil exchanged 11 agreements following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro in New Delhi on 25 Jan 2020.
• The agreements relate to several key areas including health, bio-energy cooperation, cultural exchange,
geology and mineral resources.
• President Bolsonaro is the chief guest of the Republic Day parade for the year 2020.
Govt of India and World Bank signed agreement
• The Govt of India, Govt of Maharashtra and the World Bank signed a loan agreement of USD 210 million on
24 Jan 2020.
• It has been signed to support smallholder farmers participate in competitive agriculture value chains,
facilitate agri-business investments, etc.
• The Maharashtra Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project will help build capacity of the nodal
departments and institutions.
India, Bangladesh signed agreement
• India and Bangladesh signed an agreement on 23 Jan 2020 to upgrade the 50.58-km long road between
Ashuganj river port and the Akhaura land port in Bangladesh into a 4-lane highway.
• The deal was signed between the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) of Bangladesh and Afcons
Infrastructure Ltd., of India.
• The project will boost connectivity between Bangladesh and North-eastern part of India.
MoRD signed MoU with Melinda Gates Foundation
• The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) signed a MoU with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)
on 22 Jan 2020.
• It was signed under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), for
furthering their mutual objectives of strengthening grassroots institutions of the rural poor.
India to help Ghana expand clean fuel network
• Indian Oil Corporation Ltd has signed a MoU with Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority for proper
execution of Ghana’s National LPG Promotion Policy.
• According to the MoU, Indian Oil will provide its technical expertise and assistance to Ghana’s National
Petroleum Authority.
• The MoU is expected to strengthen the ties between India and Ghana in the field of Petroleum.
Airtel partnered with Western Union
• Bharti Airtel has partnered with Western Union to shortly launch real-time cross-border money movement.
• Western Union has teamed up with 2 Bharti Airtel arms - Airtel Payments Bank and Airtel Africa Plc.
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• It will launch real-time payments shortly into millions of Airtel Payments Bank accounts in India and mobile
wallets across 14 countries in Africa.
MoneyGram partnered with Lulu Money
• MoneyGram International has entered into a strategic partnership with LuLu Money.
• LuLu Money will utilize the MoneyGram API-driven platform to gain access to leading consumer-centric
capabilities and further its global network.
• The new agreement will extend the MoneyGram and LuLu Money presence in the Asia-Pacific region and
Oman.
IIM to train Uttar Pradesh cops
• IIM Indore will teach lessons on crowd management and effective communication to Uttar Pradesh (UP)
police.
• An MoU for this project was signed in Lucknow on 21 Jan 2020.
• MoU will also include modules containing measures to strengthen beat policing in UP, as well as ways to
deal with stress.
• Under the agreement, police will be trained in traffic management, data analysis, use of AI, etc.
EC's of 2nations signed MoU with EC of India
• The Cabinet gave approval to Election Commission of India to enter into MoU with the Independent High
Authority for Elections of Tunisia and the Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission.
• The MoU is for elections for cooperation in the field of electoral management and administration.
• The Cabinet also gave its nod for the four agreements between India and Brazil in different fields.
Indian Navy signed MoU with GSI
• The Indian Navy has signed a MoU with the Geological Survey of India (GSI) for sharing seabed sediments
data, products and expertise regarding naval application in meteorology and oceanography.
• The GSI's marine and coastal survey division, based at Mangaluru, has mapped most of India's 2.1 million
square km of "exclusive economic zone" and has a vast repository of offshore data.
Zydus & CMS entered into a pact
• Zydus has entered into a licensing pact with China Medical System Holdings Ltd (CMS) for the development
of Desidustat.
• The agreement is for Desidustat, a novel oral HIF-PH inhibitor for the treatment of anemia in patients with
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) not-on-dialysis.
• CMS will pay Zydus an initial upfront payment, regulatory milestones, and sales milestones on net sales of
the product.
NITI Aayog and UT of Ladakh signed MoU
• In an important initiative to promote the development of key infrastructure sectors in Ladakh, NITI Aayog
entered into a MoU with Ladakh on 17 Jan 2020.
• Under this MoU, NITI Aayog will be supporting the UT's administration through its key initiative
'Development Support Services to States for Infrastructure Projects (D3S-i)'.
NDFB signed tripartite agreement
• In Assam, the militant outfit National Democratic Front of Bodoland under the leadership of B Saoraigwra
signed a tripartite Suspension of Operation Agreement with the Centre and the Assam Government.
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• The agreement was signed on 17 Jan 2020.

• The outfit has agreed to abjure violence, come overground and to join the peace process.
IIM-Indore signed MoU with TikTok
• IIM Indore on 16 Jan 2020 joined hands with Tik Tok to produce short video modules on management
courses for students and trained professionals.
• The institute has signed a MoU with Tik Tok to prepare short video modules on communication, strategy,
negotiation, marketing among other things.
• It will help in skill development for youngsters and in turn boost the country’s economy in the future.
CSIR partnered with DRDO
• The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) will collaborate with DRDO to produce an
indigenous engine for the Saras light passenger aircraft being developed by it.
• The prototype version of the Saras is powered by two Canadian Pratt and Whitney PT6A turboprop engines.
• The 14-passenger Saras plane will also have the capability to taxi in reverse.
World Bank and GoI signed a loan agreement
• The Govt of India, the Govt of Assam and the World Bank signed a loan agreement of $88 million on 16 Jan
2020.
• It was signed to help modernize Assam’s passenger ferry sector that runs on its rivers including the mighty
Brahmaputra.
• The Assam Inland Water Transport Project (AIWTP) will help Assam improve the passenger ferry
infrastructure and its services.
Agreement to settle Bru-Reang refugees
• The Govt signed an agreement with stakeholders from the State of Tripura, Mizoram and members of the
Bru community bringing an end to the 22-year old Bru refugee crisis.
• As per the agreement, over 30,000 Bru refugees will be settled in Tripura.
• Bru refugees will get a 40 x 30 feet plot along with a fixed deposit of Rs 4 lakh, cash assistance of Rs
5000 per month for 2 years and free ration.
Arunachal Pradesh signed MoU with IUCN
• Arunachal has become the first state in the country to initiate the International Union for Conservation of
Nature’s (IUCN) ‘red listing’ at the state level.
• It signed a MoU with the IUCN for the same on 13 Jan 2020.
• As per the MoU, the state government will collaborate with the IUCN in carrying out red-list assessment of
the orchids in the state.
India and Finland inked MoU
• India and Finland signed a MoU to enhance defence cooperation between India and Finland, on 15 Jan
2020.
• The MoU has been signed on co-operation in the field of Production, Procurement, Research and
Development of Defence related Equipment and Industrial cooperation.
• A draft MoU between the two countries was under discussion since the DefExpo 2018 and has now been
formalised.
Sun Pharma, Rockwell Medical signed a pact
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• Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has entered into a licensing agreement with US-based Rockwell Medical.
• The pact has been signed to commercialise Triferic, an iron replacement and haemoglobin maintenance
drug, in India.
• As per the agreement, Sun Pharma will be the exclusive development and commercialisation partner for
Triferic during the term of the agreement, subject to its approval in India.
MoU between SCR of Indian Railways and SBI
• A MoU was signed between South Central Zone of Indian Railways and SBI for Doorstep Banking for direct
pickup of earnings covering all 585 Railway stations over SCR Zone.
• This will enable a hassle-free collection of traffic earnings by SBI and remittance into Government account
avoiding delay in transmission of traffic cash earnings.
India, Bangladesh signed MoU
• India signed a MoU with Bangladesh on 14 Jan 2020 for content exchange programme between All India
Radio and Bangladesh Betar.
• A MoU between National Film Development Corporation, India and Film Development Corporation,
Bangladesh was also signed.
• These were signed in the presence of Info. and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar and Bangladesh
Information Minister Muhammad H Mahmud.
Infosys signed a deal with Gefco
• Infosys signed a 5-year deal with leading European automotive logistics firm Gefco to digitise its worldwide
operations.
• The 70-year-old Gefco has presence in 47 countries and serves about 300 destinations worldwide with
15,000 workforce.
• As a technology partner, Infosys will help transform Gefco's business application management services to
evolve into a digital native organisation.
IIFPT signed MoU with 8 Institutes in India
• The Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT) signed MoU with 8 different reputed institutes of
the region in the states of Punjab and Haryana.
• These MoU's are intended to facilitate a collaborative programme of research, skill development,
consultancy, institutional development, information dissemination, and student's in-plant training.
Indian Railways signs MoU with RailTel
• Indian Railways has signed MoU with RailTel, a Mini Ratna PSU under Ministry of Railways.
• After the successful completion of Phase 1 of execution of NIC e office for 50000 users in 58 units, the MoU
has been signed for phase 2 of the project.
• In phase 2, RailTel will register 39000 users over 34 Railway divisions on NIC e office platform by 30th June
2020.
MoU approved between India and UK
• The Union Cabinet approved an MoU signed with the UK's Department for International Development for
enabling energy self-sufficiency in Indian Railways.
• The parties agreed for energy planning for the railways in solar and wind energy sector, energy efficiency
practices, fuel efficiency, development of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and battery-operated
shunting locomotives.
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India-Mongolia agreement approved

• The Cabinet approved an agreement between India and Mongolia on Cooperation in the Exploration and
Uses of Outer Space for Peaceful and Civilian Purposes.
• The agreement was signed in New Delhi on 20 Sept 2019 during the visit of the President of Mongolia to
India.
• The signing of an MoU with the Dept for International Development Government of the UK for Indian
Railways was also approved.
Army to sign MoU for AK-203 assault rifles
• The Indian Army will sign an MoU in a month for the procurement of over 7.5 lakh AK-203 assault rifles,
which are to be manufactured by an India-Russia joint venture (JV).
• About 1 lakh rifles will come directly from Russia and the remaining will be manufactured by the JV in India.
• The rifles will be manufactured by the Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) at Korwa in Uttar Pradesh.
Amazon signed agreement with FRL
• Future Retail Ltd (FRL) has entered into an agreement with Amazon India to expand its reach online through
the global e-commerce platform.
• As part of the agreement, Amazon India will become the authorized online sales channel for FRL stores.
• FRL will also ensure the participation of relevant FRL stores on the Amazon India marketplace, and its
programmes.
CSC signed pact with Paytm Payments Bank
• CSC e-Governance Services India has signed a MoU with Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) for sale of
FASTags.
• The agreement will facilitate sale of PPBL FASTags through the last mile network of 3.6 lakh CSCs.
• As per the MoU, CSC and Paytm Payments Bank will jointly aim to sell FASTags.
• For this, CSC will integrate its platform with Paytm Payments Bank to carry out seamless transactions.
RevFin partnered with PNB MetLife
• RevFin has joined hands with PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited (PNB MetLife) to offer
protection to the customers via life insurance on their loans.
• This partnership supports financial inclusion by securing the families of the borrowers against loan
repayment burden in case of unfortunate demise of the borrower during the loan term.
Exim Bank grants $75 mn line of credit to Cuba
• India has extended a line of credit of USD 75 million to Cuba for financing solar parks.
• An agreement signed between Export-Import Bank of India and Banco Exterior De Cuba in July 2019 came
into effect from December 12, 2019.
• As per it, financing of export of eligible goods and services from India would be allowed subject to their
being eligible for export under the Foreign Trade Policy.
Bank of Baroda joined hands with JM Financial
• Bank of Baroda (BoB) signed a co-lending partnership agreement with JM Financial Home Loans Limited
(JMFHL) to provide retail loans to home buyers.
• This tie-up will boost credit delivery to customers and also promote home buying field in India.
• Bank of Baroda is headquartered in Vadodara, Gujarat, while JMFHL in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
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Government of India signed MoU with Flipkart

• The Govt of India signed MoU with Flipkart for selling the products made by women self help group under
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM).
• DAY-NULM consists of 44 lakh women across the country which aims to make women financially
independent.
• Government is likely to sign MoU with Amazon on January 7, 2020, for the same purpose.
Appointments
Akshay Kumar: Brand ambassador for CavinKare
• CavinKare Pvt Ltd announced the appointment of Bollywood actors Akshay Kumar and Ileana D’Cruz as the
brand ambassadors for its hair colour brand Indica.
• The brand was earlier being promoted by actor Irrfan Khan.
• Indica Herbal hair color was first launched in the year 1995 and later relaunched in the year 2009.
Ajay Gupte: CEO Wavemaker, South Asia
• Wavemaker announced the appointment of Ajay Gupte as chief executive officer for Wavemaker, South
Asia.
• Gupte who is currently COO of Wavemaker India, will take over from Kartik Sharma who will step down to
pursue other opportunities in the industry.
• He will continue to be based out of Wavemaker Gurugram and will report into Prasanth Kumar, CEO -
GroupM South Asia.
Essar Oil UK appointed Mark Wilson as CEO
• Essar Oil UK has appointed Mark Wilson as Chief Executive Officer.
• Wilson will succeed S. Thangapandian who informed the Board of his intention to return to India after
almost three years in the UK.
• He will be based at the Stanlow Manufacturing Complex.
• Wilson was previously with BP plc of the UK where he held a number of senior leadership positions.
Harsh Vardhan Shringla: New Foreign Secretary
• Harsh Vardhan Shringla took charge as new foreign secretary succeeding Vijay Gokhale, on 29 Jan 2020.
• In the headquarters of the Ministry of External Affairs, Shringla served as Joint Secretary.
• He has also headed the United Nations Political and SAARC divisions in the ministry.
• Earlier, he served as director of the northern division dealing with Nepal and Bhutan.
RBI appointed ED Janak Raj as member of MPC
• The RBI appointed its Executive Director Janak Raj as member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC),
the highest interest rate-setting body.
• The Monetary Policy Committee takes decisions based on majority vote.
• Each member has one vote but the RBI Governor gets a casting vote in case of a tie.
• Raj will replace M D Patra, who was recently elevated as Deputy Governor of the RBI.
Ola appointed new Senior Vice President
• Ola has hired Sanjiv Saddy as Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs.
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• In his previous role, he was working with Flipkart, leading its government relations and corporate affairs
mandate.
• He has also worked with Tata Communications, Emaar MGF Land Ltd and Freightwinds and Travels Ltd,
among other companies.
Taranjit Singh Sandhu: Ambassador to USA
• Taranjit Sandhu has been appointed as India’s ambassador to the United States (US).
• Sandhu, currently India’s high commissioner to Sri Lanka, will succeed Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who will
take charge as the country’s new foreign secretary.
• He was Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian embassy in Washington between July 2013 and January 2017.
Qatar got a new PM
• Qatar appointed a new Prime Minister on 28 Jan 2020 replacing Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al
Thani.
• Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdelaziz Al Thani has been named as the new Prime Minister.
• The earlier Prime Minister has submitted his resignation.
• No reason for the change has been specified.
Sanjeev Kaushik on board of Indian Bank
• The government has nominated additional secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Sanjeev Kaushik, as Director
on the board of Indian Bank.
• He will replace Amit Agrawal, joint secretary in the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.
• He served as Director capital market division of the Finance Ministry.
• He also served as CEO of Industrial Finance Company (IFCI).
CV Ramachandran: Independent director Zoomcar
• Zoomcar has appointed CV Ramachandran to its Board of Directors as an independent director.
• Ramachandran is the founder of CVR Partners, an advisory firm.
• He has also worked for over 30 years as a partner at Accenture, AlixPartners, ATKearney and Booz Allen.
• He has led the growth of businesses in NA, Europe and Asia and has had operating roles at Ford Motor and
Midland Ross.
IBA appointed Sunil Mehta as its new CEO
• One of the country’s top bankers and former MD and CEO of Punjab National Bank, Sunil Mehta, has taken
charge as the CEO of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).
• Mehta is the successor of VG Kannan, who demitted office as chief executive of IBA on December 31, 2019.
• Mehta recently retired as the Managing Director and CEO of Punjab National Bank.
EU appointed first ambassador to UK
• Portuguese diplomat Joao Vale de Almeida was appointed as the head of future EU diplomatic mission to
the UK after Brexit.
• EU delegation in London would also be responsible for Northern Ireland.
• Joao Vale de Almeida stands as an experienced EU diplomat with his experience as the union's U.S.
ambassador in 2010-2014.
• Prior to his appointment to London, he was the EU ambassador to the UN.
WEF appointed Patrice to board of trustees
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• The World Economic Forum announced the appointment of IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva and Patrice
Motsepe to its board of trustees.
• Georgieva has been IMF Managing Director since October 2019. Previously, she served as CEO at the World
Bank, and as Interim President of the World Bank Group.
• Motsepe is the Founder and Executive Chairman of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM).
Ken Kang to take over as MD of Samsung
• Ken Kang, who was heading the smartphone business for Samsung India till 2017, will soon take over as the
company’s MD.
• He will replace HC Hong who is moving to head the Latin America region for Samsung.
• Kang currently heads Samsung’s smartphone business in the Middle East region.
• Samsung is the country’s largest mobile phone maker by revenue.
LV Prabhakar appointed as MD of Canara Bank
• The government announced the appointment of L V Prabhakar as MD and CEO of Canara Bank.
• He will replace R A Sankara Narayanan who will resign on 31 Jan 2020.
• He is currently the executive director at Punjab National Bank.
• Prior to joining PNB in 2018, he served Allahabad Bank in various capacities.
Facebook named Avinash Pant as Marketing Head
• Facebook has appointed Avinash Pant as Marketing Director for its India operations.
• Prior to this appointment, he was working as the India Marketing Director at Red Bull.
• Pant will report to Ajit Mohan, Facebook's Vice President and Managing Director, India.
• Pant comes with 22 years of experience working with consumer brands such as Nike, Coca-Cola, and Red
Bull.
TikTok hired Erich Andersen as general counsel
• TikTok has hired attorney Erich Andersen from Microsoft to serve as the company's global general counsel.
• Andersen was most recently Microsoft's chief intellectual property counsel.
• TikTok, owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, allows users to create and share short videos that can
be set to snippets of songs from its music library.
Katerina became 1st woman President of Greece
• Katerina Sakellaropoulou, a high court judge and human rights activist, was elected Greece’s first female
President by the country’s Parliament.
• Sakellaropoulou, who is not a member of a political party, earned support from 261 members in the 300-
seat legislative body during the historic parliamentary vote.
• She will succeed current conservative President Prokopis Pavlopoulos.
Sunil Arora: Chairman of FEMBoSA for 2020
• Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora has assumed Chairmanship of the Forum of the Election
Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA) for the year 2020.
• The outgoing Chairman of FEMBoSA, KM Nurul Huda who is also CEC of Bangladesh, handed over the Logo
of FEMBoSA to Mr Arora on 25 Jan 2020.
• FEMBoSA was established at New Delhi in May 2012.
Yudvir Singh Malik appointed Unitech's CMD
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• Unitech's newly appointed chairman and managing director (CMD) Yudvir Singh Malik assumed office on 21
Jan 2020.
• He has been appointed in terms of the order of the Supreme Court of India, with immediate effect.
• Supreme Court had refused to appoint Unitech Group founder Ramesh Chandra, as a member of the new
board.
Challa Sreenivasulu Setty appointed MD of SBI
• The govt appointed Challa Sreenivasulu Setty as the managing director of the State Bank of India.
• He is currently serving as the deputy managing director of the SBI, in the key post.
• Setty has been appointed as the MD of the SBI for a period of three years with effect from the date of his
taking over the charge of the post or until further orders.
Atanu Das appointed MD-CEO of BOI
• Bank of India (BoI) informed that Atanu Kumar Das has been appointed as its MD and CEO for a period of
three years.
• Das was serving as an executive director at the bank since February 2017.
• His appointed was announced by the Personnel Ministry on 20 Jan 2020.
• Prior to BoI, he was heading Vijaya Bank's Lucknow Region for more than three years.
Yogeshwar and Deepa Malik inducted in AlCS
• Wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt and Paralympian Deepa Malik are among the new inductees in the government's
All India Council of Sports (AICS).
• It is an advisory body to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports which was formed in 2015 by the then
Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
• It will be led by veteran sports administrator V K Malhotra as President.
JP Nadda elected as National President of BJP
• BJP Working President J P Nadda was elected as the National President of Bharatiya Janata Party on 20 Jan
2020.
• Party's election in-charge of organization, Radha Mohan Singh gave him the certificate of his election on the
occasion.
• Mr. Nadda was appointed as the party's working president in July 2019.
• He was also the Cabinet Minister in the first tenure of the Narendra Modi Government.
Siemens appointed Navin Dewaji as India CEO
• Wind energy solution provider Siemens Gamesa announced the appointment of Navin Dewaji as India CEO.
• Dewaji will take over the CEO position from Ramesh Kymal who will step down.
• Kymal will stay in Siemens Gamesa until the end of April 2020.
• Dewaji will report to the Onshore Chief Regions Officer (CRO) Enrique Pedrosa.
Rajeev Singh appointed as Joint Secretary
• The Centre appointed Rajeev Singh Thakur and Shantanu as Joint Secretaries in the newly-created
Department of Military Affairs.
• Vishal Gagan will be Joint Secretary of Department of Defence for a tenure of five years.
• Ashutosh Agnihotri was appointed Joint Secretary in Home Ministry.
• Ashok Kumar Parmar will be Adviser in Inter-State Council Secretariat under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
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Merrill Pereyra named as Pizza Hut MD

• Pizza Hut International, a division of US-based Yum! Brands Inc has appointed Merrill Pereyra as managing
director of the Indian Subcontinent.
• Pereyra will be responsible for leading Pizza Hut into the next phase of long-term profitable growth across
Indian Subcontinent.
• With Merrill at the helm, Pizza Hut Indian Subcontinent plans to open over 100 new stores across the
market in 2020.
Dentsu Webchutney appointed new CEO
• Dentsu Webchutney, the digital agency of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN), announced Gautam Reghunath as
its new CEO.
• The announcement comes after Webchutney’s founder Sidharth Rao, who was serving as the CEO, was
elevated as chairman, Happy mcgarrybowen (HMB) India and Dentsu Webchutney.
• Prior to this, Reghunath was Executive Vice President (EVP) and branch head for Dentsu Webchutney,
Bengaluru.
Nripendra Misra: Chairman of NMML council
• Former principal secretary to the PM, Nripendra Misra, has been appointed chairperson of the executive
council of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML).
• According to a government order, the Executive Council of the NMML has been reconstituted and it will be
now chaired by Mr Misra.
• Dr A Surya Prakash, chairperson of the Prasar Bharti Board, will be the council's vice-chairperson.
Arjun Munda: President of suspended AAI
• Union Minister Arjun Munda was elected as President of the suspended Archery Association of India (AAI)
on 18 Jan 2020.
• The elections were held as per the Delhi High Court order.
• Mr Munda had a smooth sailing as he beat his rival B V P Rao by a margin of 34-18 votes.
• Munda's entire panel secured majority share of votes and were elected for a full tenure of four years.
A M Sapre: Head of road safety committee
• The Supreme Court would appoint Justice A M Sapre, as the chairman of its committee on road safety.
• The panel's current head is former apex court judge Justice K S P Radhakrishnan.
• S Sundar, former secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, will be relieved of his membership of
the committee.
• Sanjay Mitra, former Defence Secretary will be appointed in lieu of Sundar.
Mihir Shah appointed Chairman of a Committee
• Dr Mihir Shah has been appointed the Chairman of the Committee to draft the National Water Policy.
• The committee established by the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation, will outline the new National Water Policy (NWP) for the country.
• The committee, comprising of 11 members will submit this to the government within 6 months from the
date of its constitution.
Lt Gen SK Saini: Next Vice Chief of Army Staff
• Lieutenant General SK Saini will be the new Vice Chief of the Indian Army.
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• He will take charge on January 25, 2020.

• Lt Gen Saini is currently serving as the Southern Army Commander.
• The post of the Vice Chief of Army Staff fell vacant after Lt Gen MM Naravane, the then vice chief, became
the Chief of Army Staff.
Mikhail Mishustin to be the next PM of Russia
• Former tax official Mikhail Mishustin was announced as Russia's next Prime Minister.
• The announcement was made amid a proposal for sweeping constitutional changes from Russia's President
Vladimir Putin.
• Mishustin received 383 votes out of 424 in Russia's parliameent, with 41 abstentions and no votes against
him.
• He previously held the position of tax minister for five years until 2004.
Shalini Warrier: Additional ED Federal Bank
• Chief Operating Officer of Federal Bank Shalini Warrier has taken over as Additional Executive Director on
the board of directors for a period of three years.
• She has been serving as the COO since joining the bank in November 2015.
• In May 2019, she took additional charge as Business Head for Retail Products.
Harish Salve appointed Queen's Counsel
• Senior Advocate Harish Salve has been appointed the Queen's Counsel for the courts of England and Wales.
• This was announced by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Justice Department.
• The title of Queen's Counsel is usually awarded to lawyers possessing demonstrated skill and expertise in
the conduct of advocacy.
• The appointment is done by the Queen, on the advice of the Lord Chancellor.
Suresh Kishinchand: Deputy MD of IDBI Bank
• Suresh Kishinchand Khatanhar has taken charge as the Deputy Managing Director of IDBI Bank.
• He is presently working with IDBI Bank as Executive Director heading Mid Corporate Group and Trade
Finance.
• His appointment has been approved for a period of 3 years with effect from the date of his taking charge.
GE T&D India appoints Pitamber Shivnani as CEO
• GE Group company GE T&D India appointed Pitamber Shivnani as CEO and President of the company's grid
business in South Asia with immediate effect.
• He replaced Sunil Wadhwa, who left the company to pursue opportunities outside GE.
• As part of the GE leadership team, he will be responsible for spearheading GE's grid solutions markets for
India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar
Sujit Pandey: New Lucknow Police Commissioner
• Senior IPS officer Sujit Pandey took over as the first police commissioner of Lucknow on 15 Jan 2020.
• Senior IPS officer Alok Singh also took charge as the first commissioner of police of the newly-formed
Gautam Buddh Nagar commissionerate.
• UP government had approved the commissionerate system of policing in Lucknow and Noida, recently.
Alok Kansal took over as GM of Western Railway
• Alok Kansal has been appointed as the General Manager of the Western Railway (WR).
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• The post was earlier held by Anil Kumar Gupta, who retired in November 2019.
• Prior to his appointment as the GM, Kansal was working as the principal executive director, civil engineering
(Planning) at Railway Board.
• Kansal is a 1983-batch officer of the Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE).
Rajeev Bakshi joined Ola's food business
• Ola has appointed Rajeev Bakshi as an advisory member to the board of its food business, Ola Foods.
• Bakshi was most recently, the MD of Metro Cash & Carry India, where he was responsible for providing
strategic leadership for the overall operations and growth of the business.
• Pranay Jivrajka is the CEO of Ola Foods.
BC Tripathi joined Essar Exploration
• Bhuwan Chandra Tripathi, former CMD of GAIL India Ltd, has joined Essar Exploration & Production
Mauritius as the firm's Non-executive Chairman.
• He will chair the board but will not hold any executive position in the company.
• Tripathi will provide managerial and functional advice for overseas E&P assets of the Essar group.
A P Maheshwari appointed as the new DG of CRPF
• Senior IPS officer AP Maheshwari was appointed as Director-General of the Central Reserve Police Force
(CRPF) on 13 Jan 2020.
• AP Maheshwari, a 1984 batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, is at present Special Secretary (Internal
Security) in the Union Home Ministry.
• He has been appointed to the post up to February 28, 2021, i.e. the date of his superannuation.
Appointments
• The govt on 14 Jan 2020 appointed Michael Debaprata Patra as the deputy governor of the RBI. His
appointment comes nearly six months after former deputy governor Viral Acharya’s pre-mature
resignation.
• SA-DHAN, the largest micro-finance industry body, announced the joining of former RBI ED Deepali Pant
Joshi as an independent member of the governing body of the association.
Malta gets new PM
• Robert Abela is set to become Malta’s new PM after the downfall of previous leader Joseph Muscat over
the investigation into the murder of an investigative journalist.
• Robert Abela won the Labour Party leadership contest with 57.9% of the vote held on 11 Jan 2020.
• He defeated rival Chris Fearne, who was supported by several cabinet ministers.
GoI appointed officials to assist CDS
• The govt has appointed 2 joint secretaries, 13 deputy secretaries and 25 under secretary-rank officials in
the department of military affairs headed by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat.
• As CDS, Gen Rawat is also acting as the Principal Military Advisor to the Defence Minister on all tri-services
matters besides helming the Department of Military Affairs (DMA).
Lt Col Yuvraj Malik: Dir. National Book Trust
• Lt Col Yuvraj Malik has been appointed the Director of the National Book Trust (NBT).
• Malik, who has taken over from Sahitya Akademi-awardee writer Rita Chowdhury, joined the NBT on
deputation from the Indian Army on January 8, 2020.
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• The officer has served with the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, United Nation Missions in
Africa and several operational areas.
Haitham bin Tariq al-Said: Sultan of Oman
• Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, on 11 Jan 2020, took over as the Sultan of Oman after the death of long-time
ruler Qaboos.
• The new ruler is the cousin of late Sultan Qaboos.
• Sultan Qaboos died on 10 Jan 2020.
• Qaboos had ruled Oman since 1970 and was the eighth sultan of the House of Al Said.
• He was the longest-serving monarch among the recent Arab rulers.
Person in News
• M Nagaraj has been appointed the Chairman and Managing Director of State-owned Housing and Urban
Development Corporation (Hudco). The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has approved his
appointment.
• Grease star Edd Byrnes passed away in Jan 2020. Byrnes was best known for the role of Kookie in the TV
series 77 Sunset Strip, which ran from 1958 to 1964.
A Sakthivel took over as AEPC India Chairman
• A Sakthivel has been appointed as the new chairman of Apparel Export Promotion Council of India (AEPC)
for the period 2020-21.
• He will replace HKL Magu.
• He is also the first person in the history of AEPC, who is sworn-in for the fourth time as Chairman of the
AEPC.
• Sakthivel along with some exporters had founded Tirupur Exporters Association in 1990.
Appointment
• In Jharkhand, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislator Ravindra Nath Mahto from Nala constituency was
unanimously elected as the new Assembly Speaker.
• Protem Speaker Stephen Marandi administered the oath to the newly elected Speaker of the State
Assembly.
• A supplementary budget of 4,210 crore rupees was also tabled by the Hemant Soren government in the
Assembly session.
New Advisor to J&K LG appointed
• Former Director-General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar has been appointed as
Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
• With this, the Lieutenant Governor of J&K Union Territory will have three Advisors.
• The other two Advisors: KK Sharma and Farooq Khan were appointed on November 14, 2019.
SEBI's Executive Director: Babita Rayudu
• G Babita Rayudu took charge as the executive director of SEBI.
• Rayudu will handle the legal affairs department, enforcement department, and special enforcement cell.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India is the Regulator for the Securities market in India owned by the
Government of India.
• It was founded on 2 April 1992.
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Hillary Clinton appointed chancellor of QUB

• Hillary Clinton is appointed as the new chancellor of Queen's University, Belfast (QUB).
• The former US secretary of state is the university's 11th chancellor and the first woman to take up the post.
• She took her role immediately and will serve for a period of five years, succeeding Dr Tom Moran - who
died last year.
Suresh Chandra Sharma: First chief of NMC
• The chief of Delhi AIIMS' ENT head-neck surgery department, Professor Suresh Chandra Sharma,
was appointed as the first chairman of the National Medical Commission (NMC).
• NMC is the new medical education regulator which replaced the Medical Council of India.
• Rakesh Kumar Vats, the secretary-general in the board of governors of the MCI has been appointed as the
secretary of the Commission.
Appointments
• Air Marshal Vibhas Pande VSM has taken over as Air Officer-in-Charge Maintenance of Indian Air Force with
effect from 1 Jan 2020. He was commissioned as Aeronautical Engineer in IAF in Aug 1984.
• Air Marshal MSG Menon VSM took over as Air Officer-in-Charge Administration of Indian Air Force with
effect from 1 Jan 2020. He was commissioned in Administrative branch of IAF in Dec 1982.
Umaro Cissoko elected Guinea-Bissau President
• Former Guinea-Bissau PM Umaro Cissoko Embalo has been elected President.
• He beat rival Domingos Simoes Pereira by about 54% to 46%.
• He will replace the incumbent President Jose Mario Vaz.
• Jose Mario Vaz got just 12 per cent of the vote in the November first-round amid widespread allegations of
corruption and political infighting.
Person in News
• Vinod Kumar Yadav has assumed the charge of Chairman, Railway Board after being reappointed. The
Appointments Committee of Cabinet approved his reappointment. Prior to this, he had worked as General
Manager, South Central Railway.
• Director-General, All India Radio, F. Sheheryar has retired from service. He took the charge as DG in 2014.
He joined the Indian Broadcasting Service in 1981.
Appointments
• Ministry of Commerce and Industry appointed Rohan Shah as India’s Representative and Governor
on board of Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). He is a practicing counsel at the
Supreme Court.
• Senior IPS officer Arun Kumar Sinha was given one-year extension as the Director of Special Protection
Group (SPG). His tenure has been extended from March 19-July 30, 2021.
Appointments
• Jharkhand Mukti Morcha senior leader Stephen Marandi took oath as the Protem Speaker for the
5th Jharkhand Assembly on 31 Dec 2019. Governor Draupadi Murmu administered the oath of office and
secrecy to Mr Marandi.
• S S Deswal has been given the additional charge to head Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). He is
presently serving as the Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
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Obituaries
Padma Shri awardee Tushar Kanjilal passed away
• Eminent social worker, environmentalist, educationist and writer Tushar Kanjilal passed away in Jan 2020.
• Kanjilal is known for his contribution to education in remote Rangabelia in the Sundarbans in the 1970s and
his work for the uplift of the people in the area.
• Kanjilal was awarded the Padma Shri in 1996 and received the Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 2008.
Sunita Chandra passed away
• Former Indian women’s hockey team captain Sunita Chandra passed away in Jan 2020.
• Chandra is an Arjuna awardee.
• She had played for the Indian women’s hockey team between 1956 to 1966 and served as skipper from
1963 to 1966.
• The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath hailed her achievements by calling her ‘pride of the
country’.
Golok Chandra Goswami passed away
• Veteran academician, linguist and litterateur of Assam, Dr. Golok Chandra Goswami passed away in January
2020.
• He was a pioneer in the field of scientific study of Assamese language.
• His book titled ‘An Introduction to Assamese Phonology’ is regarded as the path-breaking contribution to
the linguistic study of Assamese language.
Jameela Malik passed away
• Veteran actress Jameela Malik, known for her critically acclaimed roles in movies in Malayalam, Tamil and
Telugu, besides television serials, passed away in Jan 2020.
• Jameela was the first Keralite woman to graduate from the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India
(FTII) in Pune.
• She essayed notable roles in around 50 films, including Pandavapuram, Adyathe Katha, and Rajahamsam.
Veteran film producer Vinay Sinha passed away
• Veteran film producer Vinay Sinha who contributed to films like 'Andaz Apna Apna' and 'Rafoo Chakkar',
passed away in Jan 2020.
• The veteran producer was known for producing films like ‘Andaz Apna Apna’ and ‘Rafoo Chakkar’, Chor
Police, Ameer Aadmi Gharib Aadmi and Naseeb, among others.
• He was also the vice president of Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association.
Noted artist Sher Singh Kukkal passed away
• Noted artist and sculptor Sher Singh Kukkal died in January 2020.
• He was awarded Senior Fellowship in Visual Art Photography by Union Ministry Of Culture during 2008-09.
• He won various national and international awards for photography and painting, including the Gold Medal
in Painting from Queens College, Lucknow and the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation Award.
NBA legend Kobe Bryant passed away
• National Basketball Association (NBA) legend Kobe Bryant passed away in a helicopter crash with his 13-
year-old daughter Gianna, in Jan 2020.
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• Bryant was a 5-time NBA champion and 2-time Olympic gold medallist.
• He is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players in history.
• He was the youngest player in NBA history at the time of his debut in 1996.
Melhupra Vero passed away
• The first Naga MP to the Rajya Sabha, Melhupra Vero (popularly known as M Vero) passed away in Jan
2020.
• He was the MP of Rajya Sabha for two consecutive terms from 1964-74.
• M. Vero also served as a Member of Indo-Naga Peace Mission during 1956-57.
• He went on to serve as Member of Parliamentary Committee for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
from 1966-69.
Jagannath Rout passed away
• Former Minister Jagannath Rout passed away in Bhubaneswar in Jan 2020.
• The former minister, who was elected thrice to the assembly from Dhamnagar assembly constituency won
all the three assembly elections he contested on a Congress ticket in 1980, 1985 and 1995.
• Rout served the state as Industry Minister from 1989 to 90, and Health and Family Minister from 1995 to
98.
Man Mohan Sood passed away
• Former Test batsman and National selector Man Mohan Sood passed away in Jan 2020.
• Sood made his first-class debut against Services at Ferozeshah Kotla in 1957 and played his final Ranji
Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir at Srinagar in 1964.
• Sood played one Test and 39 first-class matches with one century.
World's shortest man passed away
• The world's shortest man who could walk, as verified by Guinness World Records, passed away in Jan 2020.
• Khagendra Thapa Magar measured 67.08 cm.
• Magar was first declared the world's shortest man in 2010 after his 18th birthday.
• He lost the title after Nepal's Chandra Bahadur Dangi was named the world's shortest mobile man, but
regained the title after Chandra's death in 2015.
Shamsher Singh Surjewala passed away
• Veteran Congress leader Shamsher Singh Surjewala passed away in Jan 2020.
• Shamsher Surjewala remained a five-time MLA and one-time Rajya Sabha MP.
• He was also the former President of the Haryana Congress and a former minister.
• He was the President of the Haryana Krishak Samaj and fought for farmers rights.
Veteran chess administrator Ummer Koya died
• Former Vice-President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) P T Ummer Koya passed away in Jan
2020.
• Koya occupied the AICF office as Joint Secretary and General Secretary between 1985-89 and 1989-2005
respectively for a total of 20 years.
• He was also the treasurer of the Commonwealth Chess Association, England from 1994 to 2000.
China’s 1st female tractor driver passed away
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• Ms Liang Jun, who became China's 1st female tractor driver, and eventually a national icon passed away in
Jan 2020.
• In 1948, Ms Liang became the only woman in China to take up the job, when she enrolled in a class which
trained tractor drivers.
• She was among the first group of China's national model workers and has been hailed as one of the most
influential model workers in China since 1949.
WWE legend Rocky Johnson passed away
• Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's father, Rocky Johnson passed away in Jan 2020.
• Rocky Johnson’s sports-entertainment career began in the mid-1960s.
• He spent the bulk of his career in the National Wrestling Alliance and later joined the then-World Wrestling
Federation in the 1980s.
• He retired in the early 1990s but helped introduce his son Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson to officials at WWE.
Bapu Nadkarni passed away
• Former India all-rounder Bapu Nadkarni passed away in Jan 2020.
• He was best known for bowling a record 21 successive maiden overs in a Test match.
• He played 41 Tests in which he scored 1414 runs and grabbed 88 wickets with 6/43 as his best bowling
figures.
• The Nashik-born cricketer made his Test debut against New Zealand in Delhi in 1955.
Odia Filmmaker Manmohan Mohapatra passed away
• Veteran Odia filmmaker Manmohan Mohapatra passed away in January 2020.
• His first film Sita Rati as a director in 1976 won him the National Film Award for the Best Feature Film in
Odia.
• Mohapatra had won eight consecutive National Awards for his films Nisiddha Swapna, Majhi Pahacha,
Klanta Aparanha, Niraba Jhada, Sita Rati, Bhinna Samaya.
Obituaries
• Veteran broadcaster, poet and academician Obaid Siddiqui passed away in Jan 2020. He joined the All India
Radio at Srinagar station in 1988. He later moved to London to work with BBC Urdu service, where he
stayed till 1996.
• Canadian drummer and lyricist of rock band Rush, Neil Peart passed away in Jan 2020. The rock band Rush
was founded in 1968 and Peart retired from the band in 2015.
Person in News
• Former parliamentarian, Gopinath Gajapati Narayan Deo passed away in Jan 2020. Deo had represented
the Berhampur parliamentary constituency for two terms as a Congress member.
• Dr.Bipul Bihari Saha of Hyderabad has been elected as a bureau member of the IUPAC(International Union
of Pure and Applied Chemistry) for the period 2020-23.
Ruler of Oman passed away
• Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the King of Oman passed away in Jan 2020.
• Sultan Qaboos, supported by Britain came to power in 1970 in a bloodless coup against his father.
• During his rule, Oman often became the neutral mediator in the otherwise volatile region.
• Qaboos was born on 18th November 1940, in Salalah, southern Oman, according to his official biography.
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January 2020
Person in News
• M Nagaraj has been appointed the Chairman and Managing Director of State-owned Housing and Urban
Development Corporation (Hudco). The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has approved his
appointment.
• Grease star Edd Byrnes passed away in Jan 2020. Byrnes was best known for the role of Kookie in the TV
series 77 Sunset Strip, which ran from 1958 to 1964.
Odishi veteran Minati Mishra passes away
• Eminent Odishi dancer and Padma Shri awardee Minati Mishra passed away in Switzerland.
• A recipient of Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi award for 1975, Minati received the Padma award in 2012.
• Besides, Minati acted in five Odia films.
• She was also an A Grade artist at AIR and a recipient of the Sangeet Prabhakar title for Hindustani vocal
music.
Obituaries
• Veteran artist Akbar Padamsee passed away. The 91-year-old painter, sculptor, photographer, engraver,
and lithographer was one of India's biggest names on the art circuit.
• Former Western Army Commander Lieutenant general Prem Nath Hoon, who played an important role in
the war against Pakistan in 1984, passed away at the age of 90. Lt Gen Hoon was commissioned into the
Army in 1947.
Obituaries
• Former Tamil Nadu Assembly speaker and senior AIADMK leader PH Pandian passed away in Jan 2020.
He served as Speaker of Tamil Nadu Assembly between 1985 to 1987 when MG Ramachandran was the
Chief Minister.
• Centenarian freedom fighter Bhim Chandra Jana passed away. Jana was awarded by the Government of
India after Independence and was an avowed Gandhian all his life.
Ratna Ojha passed away
• Eminent Assamese dramatist, litterateur and social activist Ratna Ojha passed away recently.
• For his contribution to the field of theatre, he received the prestigious Natyasurya Award in 2005.
• Ojha had introduced street plays in Assam in 1971 with his skit 'Kokaideo' to revive the theatre movement
in the state.
Iranian, Iraqi commanders killed in air strike
• Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi
al-Muhandis were killed in an air strike, ordered by US President Donald Trump, on their convoy at Baghdad
International Airport.
• The rockets landed near air cargo terminal, burning two vehicles.
• The strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans.
International Affairs
Eímear Noone made history
• Irish composer Eímear Noone will be the first woman to conduct an orchestra at the Oscars.
• She will lead the 42-piece orchestra at the Academy Awards on 9 February 2020.
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January 2020
• She was invited to take charge by Oscars' Music Director Rickey Minor.
• Noone conducts as many as 50 concerts a year and was the first woman to conduct at Dublin's National
Concert Hall.
WHO declared International Emergency
• World Health Organization has declared an international emergency over the novel coronavirus from China.
• It is a rarely used designation that could lead to improved international coordination in tackling the disease.
• WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that their greatest concern is the potential for the virus to
spread to countries with weaker health systems.
Nepal created Guinness World Record
• Nepal has set a new Guinness World Record for the highest altitude fashion show event ever held.
• The Mount Everest Fashion Runway was held at 5340 metres elevation at Kala Patthar, near the Everest
base camp on 26 Jan 2020.
• The event was part of the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign of the Nepal Tourism Board.
• Models from various parts of the world participated in the show.
Britain unveiled 50 pence coin
• Britain has unveiled a new 50 pence coin minted to mark the country's departure from the European Union.
• The coin bears the inscription "Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations".
• About three million of the coins will be distributed from banks, post offices and shops from January 31,
2020, the day when BREXIT will be done.
• Britain will leave the EU on January 31, 2020.
China: Second-largest weapons manufacturer
• China is the world's second-largest arms producer, behind the US, a Swedish research institute announced
on 27 Jan 2020.
• New research from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) shows that four Chinese
arms groups generate sufficient sales to be ranked among the world's top 20 weapons sellers.
• The four groups have combined sales worth $54.1 billion in 2017.
WHO increased risk degree of coronavirus
• WHO has increased the global risk degree of the novel coronavirus strain 2019-nCoV from moderate to
high.
• The total number of 2019-nCoV confirmed cases globally till Sunday reached 2,014, including 1,985 in
China.
• WHO Chief arrived in Beijing on 27 Jan 2020 to discuss ways of containing the spread of the new
coronavirus, as the death toll has reached 106 and 4000 people are infected so far.
China to launch its Mars probe in July 2020
• China announced that it will launch its first Mars mission probe in July 2020.
• This is the first time the country disclosed the launch month of its Mars exploration program.
• The Mars probe will be sent by the Long March-5 Y4 carrier rocket.
• The Long March-5 Y4 rocket has recently completed a 100-second test for its high thrust hydrogen-oxygen
engine.
Pakistan may be out of FATF grey list
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• Pakistan may be out of the 'Grey List' of the FATF by Feb 2020 due to the active support of China and
tactical support of some Western countries.
• At a meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) held in Beijing, Islamabad submitted its compliance
report and got support from the FATF current chair and China and a few Western powers.
e-passport facility in Bangladesh launched
• Bangladesh launched the e-passport facility for its citizens.
• The facility of e-passport in Dhaka, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
• Bangladesh is the first country in South Asia and 119th country in the world to provide e-passport facility.
• According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), over 490 million e-Passports are in
circulation in the world.
Coronavirus: 1,300 infected worldwide
• 41 people have now died from a new coronavirus that has infected more than 1,300 people globally.
• The total number of confirmed cases in China now stands at 1,287.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the new coronavirus an "emergency in China".
• Symptoms include fever, difficulty breathing and coughing.
• Most of the fatalities have been in elderly patients.
Guyana took over G77 Chairmanship for 2020
• Guyana recently took over the chairmanship of the Group of 77 (G77) for the year 2020 from Palestine,
which chaired the group for 2019.
• The Foreign Minister of Palestine formally handed over the gavel to the Prime Minister of Guyana.
• The Group of 77(G77), which was established in 1964 in Geneva, is the largest inter-governmental
organization of developing countries in the United Nations.
Prince Harry, Meghan to exit from royal family
• Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have signed up to a formal exit
deal from the royal family.
• It will see them forsake their His and Her Royal Highness (HRH) titles and will no longer receive UK
taxpayers' funding for their duties.
• The deal means the couple will no longer be representing the Queen in an official capacity.
China reported SARS-like virus spreads
• China reported a mysterious SARS-like virus on 20 Jan 2020 that has spread across the country, including
Beijing.
• A third person was confirmed to have died and nearly 140 cases were announced.
• The new coronavirus strain has caused alarm because of its connection to Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome, which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003.
Microsoft vows to be ‘carbon negative’ by 2030
• Microsoft has promised that by 2030 it will be carbon negative, and by 2050 it will have removed all the
carbon it has emitted since its founding in 1975.
• Microsoft has also announced its investment of $1 billion in a “climate innovation fund” for technology for
carbon capture and removal.
• Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Microsoft: Satya Nadella
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Brazil opened new Antarctic research base

• Brazilian officials inaugurated the country's new Antarctica scientific base on King George Island on 15 Jan
2020, nearly eight years after a deadly fire destroyed most of the previous compound.
• It has seventeen laboratories which will support research in a range of fields, from environmental
microbiology to human physiology, paleontology, and climate change.
US signed 1st phase of trade deal with China
• The US signed the first phase of a trade deal with China, concluding more than a year of tough negotiations.
• The first phase of the trade deal includes Intellection Property (IP) Protection and Enforcement, ending
forced technology transfer, dramatic expansion of American agriculture, etc.
• The agreement was signed by President Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.
China operationalised largest telescope
• China operationalised the world’s largest radio telescope with a diameter of half-a-kilometre, recently.
• It is expected to make major scientific discoveries in the coming years.
• The “Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope” (FAST) is a single-dish telescope and is
located in Guiyang city, the capital of Guizhou province.
• It has a receiving area of around 30 football fields.
China removed from currency manipulator list
• The Treasury Department of the US has removed China from the designation as “currency manipulator“.
• The decision was taken just before the commencement of the first phase of the US-China trade agreement.
• In August 2019, China was labelled officially as “currency manipulator” by the US and was also accused of
using yuan to gain “unfair competitive advantage” in trade.
China launched driverless bullet train
• China recently launched a driverless smart bullet train.
• The new train which comes as a preparation for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, would connect the
Chinese capital to Zhangjiakou, another town that would host the sporting events.
• It would complete the 108-mile long journey in just 47 minutes from the earlier three hours, at a speed
of 350 km/h.
China reported the first case from Coronavirus
• Health authorities in a central Chinese city on 11 Jan 2020 reported the country’s first death from a new
type of coronavirus.
• The patient who died was a 61-year-old man who had been hospitalised after suffering shortness of breath
and severe pneumonia.
• Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some of which cause the common cold.
• Common symptoms include headache, cough and fever.
Dhaka International Film Festival began
• The 18th Dhaka International Film Festival was inaugurated on 11 Jan 2020 by the Foreign Minister of
Bangladesh Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen.
• During the festival, 220 films from 74 countries will be screened across various venues in Dhaka between
11-19 Jan 2020.
• The theme of the festival is ‘Better Film, Better Audience and Better Society’.
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World Future Energy Summit began

• The World Future Energy Summit began in Abu Dhabi on 13 Jan 2020.
• The theme for the year 2020 is "Rethinking Global Consumption, Production, and Investment.
• The 2020 edition includes exhibition and forum programmes across five main pillars: energy, solar, water,
waste and smart cities, hosting an unrivalled gathering of top-level government and business leaders.
Bishwa Ijtema began in Bangladesh
• 1st phase of the world’s 2nd largest Muslim congregation began on the outskirts of Dhaka on 10 Jan 2020.
• It is called the Bishwa Ijtema.
• The Ijtema began with the ‘aam bayan’ and will end on Jan 12 with the final prayers ‘Akheri Munajat’.
• The second phase of Bishwa Ijtema will take place between Jan 17-19, 2020.
• It has been taking place on the Turag riverbank in Tongi near Dhaka since 1967
Iran designates US forces as ‘terrorists’
• Iran's Parliament passed a bill designating all United States forces as terrorists.
• This came after the killing of a top Iranian military commander in a US strike.
• Qasem Soleimani, the popular Head of the Revolutionary Guards' foreign operations arm, was killed in a US
drone strike outside Baghdad airport.
Neutral pronoun 'they': Word of the Decade
• Neutral pronoun 'they' has been voted word of the decade by US language experts, beating out other
contenders.
• "They" is used in English by a growing number of non-binary individuals, people who do not identify as
either male or female.
• The recognition comes after US dictionary Merriam-Webster in December 2019 named "they" as word of
the year.
Nepal launches Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign
• President of Nepal Bidya Devi Bhandari launched Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign amidst a spectacular
ceremony held at historic Dasaratha Rangashala in Kathmandu.
• The ambitious campaign aims to promote tourism in Nepal and attract 2 million tourists during the year
2020.
• The government has made a goal of making tourism one of the critical pillars of the Nepali economy.
2020 designated as Year of Nurse and Midwife
• World Health Organization (WHO) designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.
• It is done to honor the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale.
• WHO is the collaborating partner in the three-year Nursing Now Campaign (2018–2020).
• The main objective of the campaign is to improve health globally by raising the status and profile of nursing.
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Palau:1st nation to ban ‘reef toxic’ sun cream

• The Pacific nation of Palau has become the 1st country to ban sun cream that is harmful to corals and sea
life.
• From 1 Jan 2020, sun cream that includes common ingredients, including oxybenzone, was not allowed to
be worn or sold in the country.
• A lagoon in Palau's Rock Islands is a Unesco World Heritage site.
• The country has a population of around 20,000 dotted across hundreds of islands.
Books & Authors

Sneha Pamneja won award
• Graphic designer Sneha Pamneja was awarded Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize at the ongoing Jaipur
Literature Festival for designing the cover of "Tiffin: Authentic Recipes Celebrating India's Regional Cuisine".
• She was felicitated with a trophy and a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.
• The book is written by Sonal Ved and published by Roli books.
Vasdev to be conferred with Saraswati Samman
• Eminent Sindhi writer Vasdev Mohi will be conferred with 29th Saraswati Samman.
• He has been selected for this prestigious literary award for his short stories collection- Chequebook.
• Saraswati Samman carries a cash award of 15 lakh rupees, a citation and a plaque.
• Mr Mohi has authored 25 books of poetry, stories and translations.
• He has also received Sahitya Akademi Award.
Book on selected writings of Arun Jaitely
• A new book, a compilation of selected writings by former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was announced by
publishing house Juggernaut Books.
• The book, "A New India: Selected Writings 2014-19", is an authoritative account of the policies and
decisions made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government during its first stint.
• It will hit the stands in February 2020.
Jasbinder bagged UK children's book award
• India-born author Jasbinder Bilan has bagged a coveted UK children's book award for her debut novel 'Asha
and the Spirit Bird'.
• Bilan will receive 5,000 pounds as the winner of the award.
• Bilan's book was shortlisted from 144 entries alongside 'Crossfire' by Malorie Blackman, 'In the Shadow of
Heroes' by Nicholas Bowling and 'Furious Thing' by Jenny Downham.
‘Karmayoddha Granth’ launched
• Union Home Minister released a book ‘Karmayoddha Granth’ on the life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• A ‘Karmayoddha’ is a man with a beating heart for people, a statesman, a hard taskmaster, an able
administrator and an ideal leader who leads by example.
• All these qualities have been personified by Narendra Modi.
Personalities in News
Eímear Noone made history
• Irish composer Eímear Noone will be the first woman to conduct an orchestra at the Oscars.
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• She will lead the 42-piece orchestra at the Academy Awards on 9 February 2020.
• She was invited to take charge by Oscars' Music Director Rickey Minor.
• Noone conducts as many as 50 concerts a year and was the first woman to conduct at Dublin's National
Concert Hall.
Jay Parikh quit Facebook
• Facebook’s Vice President of Engineering Jay Parikh announced his departure from the company.
• Parikh joined Facebook in 2009.
• David Mortenson will replace Parikh in leading Facebook’s infrastructure organization.
• Mortenson has been at Facebook since 2011.
• Headquarters of Facebook: California, US
• Founder of Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg
Sachin Bansal resigned from Ujjivan Bank
• Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal has resigned as an independent director from Ujjivan Small Finance Bank.
• This was in the interest of propriety and corporate governance as he has applied with the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) for a universal banking licence.
• Sachin Bansal joined the board of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank in May 2019.
Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Sarec resigned
• Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Sarec announced his resignation on 27 January 2020.
• Mr Sarec is Slovenia's youngest-ever Prime Minister.
• He was previously best known as a comedian and political satirist before he launched himself as an anti-
establishment politician.
• Finance Minister Andrej Bertoncelj has also announced his resignation.
Brazil President: Chief guest at Republic Day
• President of Brazil Jair Messias Bolsonaro will arrive in New Delhi on 24 Jan 2020 on a four-day state visit to
India.
• He will be the chief guest at the 71st Republic Day Parade at Raj Path in the national capital on 26 Jan 2020.
• He will be accompanied by a delegation comprising of seven Ministers.
• On 27 Jan 2020, he will address at the India-Brazil Business Forum.
Ukraine PM Oleksiy Honcharuk resigned
• In Ukraine, PM Oleksiy Honcharuk gave his resignation to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on 17 Jan 2020
after less than six months in the role.
• The former lawyer and deputy head of the Prime Minister's office became Ukraine's youngest-ever head of
government at the age of 35 when he took on the role in August 2019.
Mikhail Mishustin to be the next PM of Russia
• Former tax official Mikhail Mishustin was announced as Russia's next Prime Minister.
• The announcement was made amid a proposal for sweeping constitutional changes from Russia's President
Vladimir Putin.
• Mishustin received 383 votes out of 424 in Russia's parliameent, with 41 abstentions and no votes against
him.
• He previously held the position of tax minister for five years until 2004.
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Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev resigned
• Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has resigned.
• He submitted his resignation to President Vladimir Putin on 15 Jan 2020.
• Mr. Putin will name Mr. Medvedev as deputy of the presidential Security Council.
• President Putin has proposed the head of Russia's tax service Mikhail Mishustin for the post of Prime
Minister.
Person in News
• A 5-year-old boy Aashman Taneja has made a Guinness world record in Taekwondo for the most full
contact knee strikes in one-hour non-stop. He is a USA World Open Taekwondo Silver medalist and a proud
Guinness World Record holder now.
• Iran’s Olympic medalist, Kimia Alizadeh announced that she is leaving the country. Alizadeh is the only
woman from Iran to have won the Olympic medal.
Person in News
• Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen secured a victory in presidential elections. This will be her second term. As
per official results, she defeated Han Kuo-yu with 57.1% of the votes.
• WAT Consult announced that it has elevated Heeru Dingra as CEO of the agency, effective 1 February 2020.
Rajiv Dingra who is the current CEO shall move on to the role of chief mentor and advisor.
Person in News
• Former parliamentarian, Gopinath Gajapati Narayan Deo passed away in Jan 2020. Deo had represented
the Berhampur parliamentary constituency for two terms as a Congress member.
• Dr.Bipul Bihari Saha of Hyderabad has been elected as a bureau member of the IUPAC(International Union
of Pure and Applied Chemistry) for the period 2020-23.
Haitham bin Tariq al-Said: Sultan of Oman
• Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, on 11 Jan 2020, took over as the Sultan of Oman after the death of long-time
ruler Qaboos.
• The new ruler is the cousin of late Sultan Qaboos.
• Sultan Qaboos died on 10 Jan 2020.
• Qaboos had ruled Oman since 1970 and was the eighth sultan of the House of Al Said.
• He was the longest-serving monarch among the recent Arab rulers.
Person in News
• Weightlifter Sarbjeet Kaur has been slapped with a four-year ban for doping by the National Anti-Doping
Agency (NADA). According to NADA, her sample had the presence of prohibited substances like Di-hydroxy-
LGD-4033.
• Former Lok Sabha member from Vellore, R.P.Ulaganambi passed away in Jan 2020. He served as an MP in
the 5th Lok Sabha during 1971-76.
Person in News
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• The leader of the Socialist party in Spain, Pedro Sánchez, was approved as PM on 7 Jan 2020. He won 167
votes in the 350-seat Assembly compared to 165 votes against Catalan and Basque separatist MPs.
• 2 Indian-origin women attorneys have been appointed as judges to the criminal and civil courts by New
York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. They are Judge Archana Rao and Judge Deepa Ambekar.
Person in News
• Former Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic, who belongs to Social Democratic Party(SDP), won Croatia’s
presidential election. He defeated Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, who was the first female President of Croatia.
• Italian Veteran footballer Daniele De Rossi announced his retirement. He won the 2006 world cup title for
Italy after defeating France. He has played 117 games for Italy from 2004-17.
Person in News
• Former Governor of Karnataka T N Chaturvedi passed away in Jan 2020. T N Chaturvedi served as
the Comptroller and Auditor General of India from 1984 to 1989. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in
1991.
• Karur Vysya Bank's CEO and MD P R Seshadri has resigned, citing personal reasons. Seshadri will continue to
function till the end of this financial year 2019-20, i.e. March 2020.
Person in News
• David Stern, who masterminded the NBA's growth into a global sports powerhouse while serving as
commissioner from 1984 to 2014, passed away in Jan 2020.
• The Prime Minister of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev submitted his resignation on 3 Jan 2020. His resignation
has paved the way for a new caretaker Cabinet to be named in order to organise a snap election.
Malavath Poorna scaled Mt. Vinson Massif
• Indian mountaineer Malavath Poorna conquered Mt. Vinson Massif, Antarctica’s highest mountain peak
(4,987 meters).
• With this, she becomes the first and youngest tribal woman in the world to set foot on the six tallest
mountain peaks across six continents.
• She has already scaled Mt Everest (Asia, 2014), Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa, 2016), Mt. Elbrus (Europe, 2017),
Mt. Aconcagua, etc.
Person in News
• Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was named the Deputy Head of Esmail Qaani, the
Revolutionary Guards' foreign operations arm, to replace Qasem Soleimani as its commander.
• The Appointments Committee approved the extension of the deputation tenure of IPS Abhinav Kumar,
Inspector General, Border Security Force (BSF), up to June 27, 2021, in relaxation of IPS Tenure Policy.
Sai Deepak sets new Guinness World Records
• B Sai Deepak set a Guinness World Records for most side lunges in 60 seconds.
• Deepak scripted the record by making 59 side lunges in 60 seconds which is his fourth overall Guinness
World Records.
• The previous record was held by Pakistan national Irfan Mehsood.
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Government Policies & Schemes

Housing for All by 2022 under PMAY-G
• Union Government aims to achieve the objective of Housing for All by 2022 under Pradhan Mantri Awas
Yojana-Grameen.
• A total of over one crore 50 lakh rural houses have been completed in the last five years.
• The eligible beneficiaries will get one crore 95 lakh houses in the second phase of the scheme.
• Government has set a target of 60 lakh houses for the current financial year.
175 Giga Watt renewable energy by 2022
• The Govt has targeted to install 175 Giga Watt renewable energy by 2022 to build a healthy planet with less
carbon-intensive economy.
• Through Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthan Mahabhiyan, PM-KUSUM scheme, government
empowers the farmers to be the producer of energy.
• The scheme covers grid-connected renewable energy power plants, stand-alone solar powered agricultural
pumps, etc.
'Shiv Bhojan' scheme launched
• The Maharashtra government launched 'Shiv Bhojan' scheme on 26 Jan 2020.
• It is aimed at providing a meal to the poor for just 10 rupees.
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• Under the scheme, thalis or lunch plates would be available to people at designated centres/ canteens
during a stipulated time in all the districts.
• Under the pilot scheme, at least one 'Shiv Bhojan' canteen has been started at district headquarters.
Cabinet to consider Nirvik scheme
• The Union Cabinet is expected to consider approval of the Nirvik (Niryat Rin Vikas Yojana) scheme.
• It aims to ease lending process and enhance loan availability to exporters.
• Under the scheme, also called the Export Credit Insurance Scheme (ECIS), the insurance cover guaranteed
could cover up to 90 per cent of the principal and interest.
44 children got their 1st flight experience
• In a first, 44 Divyang children from Odisha experienced the joy of flying aboard in a special Alliance Air flight
from Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar on 22 Jan 2020.
• The initiative is a result of joint collaboration of Ministry of Civil Aviation, Airport Authority of India and
Alliance Air with Government of Odisha.
• The children included 21 girls and 23 boys.
Mukhyamantri Krishak Durghatna Kalyan Yojana
• UP Govt has launched Mukhyamantri Krishak Durghatna Kalyan Yojana.
• It will provide financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the family of farmers who die or become handicapped
while working in fields.
• It will cover farmers and their family members in the age group of 18-70 years.
• It will also include the Bataidars, who work in the field of other people and share the crop after it is
harvested.
Uttar Pradesh government came up with a scheme
• Uttar Pradesh government has come up with a unique scheme for the welfare of divyang citizens of the
state.
• The Government will provide stalls to the divyangs for opening of shops at the prime locations.
• The government will allot stalls to divyangs at 100 bus stops with the help of an NGO run by IIT alumni so
that they can become independent and live with dignity.
Fasal Bima Yojana being implemented
• The Centre is implementing Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
• The scheme was launched in February 2016.
• The scheme provides comprehensive insurance coverage against crop loss on account of non-preventable
natural risks, thus helping stabilise farmers income.
• Under it, there is a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops and 1.5% for all
Rabi crops.
Andhra government launched Amma Vodi scheme
• Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy on 9 Jan 2020 launched the Amma Vodi scheme in Chittoor.
• Under the scheme, mothers and guardians of school-going children from low-income families will receive
annual financial assistance of Rs 15,000.
• More than 42 lakh beneficiaries were identified this year, and Rs 6,318 crores in total will be deposited to
their accounts.
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Smriti Irani launched Yashaswini Scheme

• Union Minister for Women and Child Development and Textiles, Smriti Irani launched Yashaswini Scheme
for Women entrepreneurship in Goa on 11 Jan 2020.
• Swasthya Sakhi Project and breast cancer screening initiative were also inaugurated on the occasion.
• Under Yashaswini scheme, women self-help groups will be given interest-free loans of upto Rs 5 lakh for
business.
J&K Special Sugar Scheme sanctioned
• Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Council accorded sanction to J&K Special Sugar Scheme for Antyodaya
Anna Yojana (AAY) families.
• The families classified as AAY comprise poorest of the poor sections of the society.
• Under the scheme, 1 kg of sugar will be provided per AAY family per month through Point of Sale (PoS)
devices, at a subsidized rate of Rs 13.50 per kilogram.
SBI announced a scheme
• SBI has announced a 'residential builder finance with buyer guarantee' scheme.
• It aims at giving a push to residential sales and improve homebuyers' confidence.
• Under this, SBI will issue a guarantee for completion of select residential projects to customers who have
availed home loans from it.
• It will focus on affordable housing projects priced up to Rs 2.50 cr in 10 cities initially.
2nd round of Mission Indradhanush- 2
• The second phase of Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0 rolled out on 6 January 2020 at block level in 35
districts of Uttar Pradesh.
• The aim of the program launched by central government in 2017 is to achieve 90% vaccination coverage in
children of less than 2 years in state.
• Under the program around 66 thousand sessions will be organized for vaccination of more than 5.5 lakh
children.
Third edition of 'Sukanya' project began
• Kolkata Police started the 3rd edition of its 'Sukanya' project on 6 Jan 2020 to provide girls studying in
schools and colleges in the city with self-defence training.
• Girl students of VIII, IX, XI and girls studying in the first year at educational institutions will be part of it.
• The initiative is funded by Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Department of the state
government.
Govt's UJALA, SLNP completed five years
• UJALA and Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) of the central government completed five successful
years of illuminating the country on 5 Jan 2020.
• Over 36.13 crore LED bulbs have been distributed across the country through the UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by
Affordable LEDs for All) initiative.
• More than 1.03 crore smart LED streetlights have been installed till date under the SLNP.
YSR Aarogyasri scheme launched
• Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy inaugurated YSR Aarogyasri scheme at Eluru on 3 Jan 2020.
• The scheme is aimed at providing free medical treatment to the poor.
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• Over one crore individuals will be benefited under this new health scheme.
• A total of 2,059 medical ailments have been covered under the scheme.
• In all, 16,37,230 Aarogyasri cards will be distributed across the State.
Maharashtra launches ‘Cyber Safe Women’
• Maharashtra Government has launched a ‘Cyber Safe Women’ initiative under which awareness camps will
be held across all the districts of the state regarding cyber safety.
• The initiative will help in educating women about how the web is used by anti-social elements and child
predators to commit various types of crimes.
• Maharastra Chief Minister: Uddhav Thackeray.
Gold cards to be issued under Ayushman Bharat
• According to Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey, two to three crore
premium Gold cards will be issued under the Central Government’s flagship Ayushman Bharat scheme.
• Gold cardholders will be able to avail free medical services in hospitals anywhere in the country.
• Nine new medical colleges are being started in Tamilnadu.
Modi disburses 12,000 crore rupees to farmers
• In Karnataka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi electronically released 12,000 crore rupees under Pradhan
Mantri Samaan Yojana to six crore farmers in Tumakuru.
• Under the Scheme income support of Rs.6000 per year is provided to all farmer families.
• The fishermen of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were also given deep sea fishing boats and transponders that
will help them to navigate in the deep sea.
National Green Corps scheme revived in J&K
• The National Green Corps scheme, which was closed for over a decade, has been revived for Jammu and
Kashmir.
• Under this scheme, the Pollution Control Board (PCB) would provide financial assistance to 3,742 Eco Clubs
of registered schools in both the regions of the UT.
• The Environment and Forests Ministry has approved the release of Grant-in-Aid of 2.60 crore rupees to J&K
PCB.
Science & Technology
New species of Allosaurus in Utah
• A new species of meat-eating dinosaur has been unveiled at the Natural History Museum of Utah.
• Palaeontologists unearthed the first specimen in early 1990s in Dinosaur National Monument in
northeastern Utah.
• The dinosaur inhabited the flood plains of western North America during the Late Jurassic Period, between
157-152 million years ago.
2-day ‘Innovation Festival’ began
• In Arunachal Pradesh, the two-day ‘Innovation Festival’ kicked off at the Science Centre on 26 Jan 2020.
• It is being organized by the Arunachal Pradesh State Council for Science & Technology in collaboration with
the National Innovation Foundation.
• It is a first of its kind in the state, aimed to foster the culture of innovation among all people of the state.
New snake eel species found in Odisha
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• A new snake eel species residing in the Bay of Bengal has been discovered and documented by the
Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).
• The new marine species have been named Ophichthus kailashchandrai to honour the vast contributions of
Dr. Kailash Chandra (Director of Zoological Survey of India) to Indian animal taxonomy.
• It is the 8th species of the Ophichthus genus found in the Indian coast.
ISRO unveiled ‘Vyommitra’ half-humanoid robot
• ISRO unveiled ‘Vyommitra’ a half-humanoid robot for Gaganyaan Space Mission.
• The half-humanoid robot ‘Vyom Mitra’ will be placed in the first unmanned mission under ‘Gaganyaan’.
• It is capable of conversing with astronauts, recognising them, and responding to their queries.
• ISRO plans to send her to space as part of test flights that will be undertaken ahead of the mission.
Researchers identified a mechanism
• Researchers have identified for the first time the mechanism by which chronic stress causes hair colour loss.
• The scientists induced intense pain in black mice using a substance called resiniferatoxin that turned its fur
completely white.
• Earlier studies had found that pain-related stress was also involved in the development of hair and skin
pigment-producing cells called melanocytes.
Oldest ever mushroom fossil discovered
• Researchers have discovered the oldest ever mushroom fossil to be identified.
• According to the scientists, the oldest confirmed mushroom fossil until now was dated to 460 million years
ago.
• In the current study, published in the journal Science Advances, researchers found fossilised remains of
microscopic mushroom parts called mycelium in rocks whose age is between 715-810 million years.
Orbit raising manoeuvres of GSAT-30 completed
• ISRO has successfully completed the three orbit-raising manoeuvres of communication satellite GSAT-30
and succeeded in placing it in an orbit close to its operational orbit.
• All manoeuvers were completed successfully using the satellite's propulsion system.
• The satellite was launched on 17 Jan 2020 onboard Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana.
A new species of bone-eating worm discovered
• A new species of bone-eating worm has been discovered by scientists during a study.
• The worm, which has yet to be named, is the first of its kind found in the Gulf of Mexico.
• The species was discovered when it crawled on the corpse of an alligator on the ocean floor -- and
completely consumed its soft tissue within 51 days.
Vigyan Samagam in New Delhi from 21 January
• Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Department of Science and Technology (DST) have jointly
organised a multi-venue mega-science exhibition, VigyanSamagam.
• The exhibition will be held in New Delhi from 21 Jan-20 March 2020 at the National Science Centre (NSC),
Pragati Maidan.
• It will showcase India’s contribution to international collaborations on fundamental science and research
GSAT-30 launched successfully
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• India’s latest communication satellite GSAT-30 was successfully launched from the Spaceport in French
Guiana during on 17 Jan 2020.
• GSAT-30 derives its heritage from ISRO’s earlier INSAT/GSAT satellite series and will replace INSAT-4A in
orbit.
• With a lift-off mass of 3357 kg, GSAT-30 will provide continuity to operational services on some of the in-
orbit satellites.
Scientists found the oldest material on Earth
• Scientists analysing a meteorite have discovered the oldest material known to exist on Earth.
• They found dust grains within the space rock - which fell to Earth in the 1960s - that is as much as 7.5 billion
years old.
• The oldest of the dust grains were formed in stars that roared to life long before our Solar System was born.
World's oceans warmest in 2019: Study
• The world's oceans were the warmest in 2019 than any other time in recorded human history.
• This was disclosed by a study published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences.
• The researchers noted that the year 2019 broke the previous records set in prior years for global warming.
• The study also found that the past 10 years have been the warmest on record for global ocean
temperatures.
ISRO will launch GSAT-30 satellite
• ISRO would launch a communication satellite GSAT-30 onboard Ariane-5 launch vehicle (VA 251) from
French Guiana on 17 Jan 2020.
• GSAT-30 is to serve as a replacement to INSAT-4A spacecraft services with enhanced coverage.
• With a mission life of 15 years, GSAT-30 is an operational communication satellite for DTH, television uplink
and VSAT services.
A teenager discovered a planet
• A teenage intern on his summer internship at NASA discovered a previously unknown planet with two stars
1,300 light years from Earth away in the constellation Pictor.
• 17-year-old Wolf Cukier from New York, made the discovery while peering through the Transiting Exoplanet
Survey Satellite in 2019.
• The planet is nearly seven times large than Earth.
• The planet is now dubbed as TOI 1338 b.
Light Combat Aircraft made successful landing
• The naval version of indigenous Light Combat Aircraft, LCA, made its first successful landing on the aircraft
carrier INS Vikramaditya on 11 Jan 2020.
• This aircraft is developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization, DRDO.
• India has now entered into the club of selected nations having the capability to design a fighter jet which
can land on an aircraft carrier.
Ten new songbirds found in the Wallacea Island
• Recently, a joint research team from NUS and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) have found five bird
species and five subspecies new to science.
• The team found the birds in three small island groups off Sulawesi, Indonesia.
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• On Peleng, two new species, the Peleng Fantail and the Peleng Leaf-Warbler, and a new subspecies, the
Banggai Mountain Leaftoiler were discovered.
Local pollutants contribute to foul air
• Local sources of pollution such as traffic and construction contribute significantly to Delhi's high
concentrations of harmful air pollutants.
• This was revealed in a new comprehensive study from the University of Surrey in the UK.
• In India, around 600,000 deaths annually are attributed to air pollution, and some of the world's highest
levels can be found in Delhi city.
ISRO to Launch IDRSS Satellites
• ISRO has announced that it aims to launch its own satellite pair for space communication purposes, called
Indian Data Relay Satellite System (IDRSS).
• IDRSS will be pivotal in maintaining communication with the astronaut crew and ground mission control at
any given phase, during manned space missions.
• The two satellites, which will be deployed in phases, are already being worked on by ISRO.
Smallest galaxies with black holes found
• Astronomers have discovered some smallest galaxies known to host massive black holes.
• The study published in the Astrophysical Journal found 13 massive black holes, about 4,00,000 times as
heavy as the Sun, in dwarf galaxies which are 100 times smaller than our Milky Way.
• These galaxies are situated so far away that light from the Earth would take less than a billion years to reach
them.
Farthest galaxy group EGS77 found
• An international team of astronomers funded in part by NASA has found the farthest galaxy group identified
called “EGS77“.
• EGS77, the trio of galaxies dates to a time when the universe was only 680 million years old, or less than 5%
of its current age of 13.8 billion years.
• The team of astronomers was led by an Indian-origin Goa-born scientist, Vithal Tilvi.
Yoga Science meet organised
• A Yoga Science meet was organised on 5 Jan 2020 as part of the ongoing Indian Science Congress in
Bengaluru.
• The head of SVYASA Yoga deemed University Dr HR Nagendra spoke on the benefits of Yoga in busting
stress.
• The penultimate day of 107th Indian Science Congress in Bengaluru will focus on farming and rural
development, on 6 Jan 2020.
Pride of India-Science Expo-2020 held
• DRDO is participating in Pride of India-Science Expo-2020 being held at the 107th Indian Science Congress in
Bengaluru.
• 31 DRDO laboratories with more than 150 exhibits and models are participating in the expo.
• Attractions of outdoor exhibits at DRDO Pavilion include the Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM),
Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile system (QRSAM), ASTRA Missile, etc.
ISRO sets its fourth RAC-S in Karnataka
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• ISRO has set up a regional academic centre for space at the National Institute of Technology (NITK) at
Surathkal in Karnataka's southwest Dakshina Kannada district.
• ISRO will provide Rs 2 crore grant annually to NIT for the R&D projects and promotional activities through
the year.
• An agreement regarding this was signed between ISRO and NITK on 3 Jan 2020.
Ring of Hydrogen Gas Discovered in Galaxy
• A team of astronomers at the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) in Pune, India have discovered
a mysterious ring of hydrogen gas around a distant galaxy.
• Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) was used to discover it.
• The ring is much bigger than the galaxy it surrounds and has a diameter of about 380,000 light-years (about
4 times that of our Milky Way).
ISRO to set up second launch port
• ISRO will establish a second launch port in Thoothukodi district in Tamilnadu exclusively to launch small
satellite launch vehicles.
• This will come upon 2300 acres of land.
• The Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota is the first launch port of ISRO.
• The new centre will be initially meant for missions involving launching small satellites and small satellite
launch vehicles.
4 IAF personnel selected for Gaganyaan Mission
• 4 airmen from Indian Air Force have been identified for India's first manned mission to space, Gaganyan.
• They will undergo astronauts' training in Russia from the third week of January 2020.
• Gaganyan is planned to be launched in 2022 as announced by the Prime Minister.
• Chandrayan-3 mission has also been approved by the Government, which will be launched without an
orbiter.
Materials that can produce energy developed
• IIT Guwahati Researchers have developed materials that can produce energy from water, on a small scale.
• These new ways of producing energy can be employed in household environments to support the concept
of decentralization of energy sources.
• The decentralized energy model introduces a large number of small generation devices that can be
employed to generate in every household.
A new research published
• A research study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
• The researchers have found that children who drink whole milk may have 40 per cent lower odds of being
overweight or obese compared to those who consume reduced-fat milk.
• The researchers analysed 28 studies involving almost 21,000 children between one and 18 years of age.
ISRO launched successful missions in 2019
• ISRO has successfully accomplished 13 missions including 6 launch vehicle missions and satellite missions
during the year 2019.
• Besides, 50 foreign satellites from seven countries were launched on a commercial basis during this period.
• PSLV-C44 successfully launched Microsat-R and Kalamsat-V2 in January 2019 from Sriharikota.
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Business & Economy

IDBI Bank to raise Rs 1,500cr via bonds
• IDBI Bank has proposed to raise Rs 1,500 crore from bonds to fund growth.
• The bank has decided to issue Basel III Compliant Tier 2 Bonds for aggregate total issue size of Rs 1,500
crore, with a base size of Rs 500 crore and a green shoe option to retain oversubscription up to Rs 1,000
crore.
• The Parliament had approved Rs 9,300 crore capital infusion in IDBI Bank in December 2019.
IRDAI imposed ₹1 cr penalty on 2 insurers
• IRDAI has imposed a penalty of Rs 1 cr each on ICICI Lombard GIC and Tata AIG General Insurance Company
for violation of various norms.
• It has slapped the penalty on ICICI Lombard for violation of certain provisions related to health insurance
policies.
• IRDAI imposed the penalty on Tata AIG General Insurance Company for violation of provisions for
protection of policyholders' interests.
RBI fined HDFC Bank for KYC violations
• The RBI has imposed Rs 1 cr fine on HDFC Bank for violating KYC norms in 39 accounts, which were used for
bidding in initial public offering (IPO).
• Transactions carried out through these accounts were found to be disproportionate to the declared income
of the customers.
• Earlier in 2013, the RBI had imposed fines on Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank for violation of KYC
norms.
UK launched Innovation Challenge Fund in India
• The UK government has launched 4 million pound fund in India to support collaborative research into
emerging technologies.
• Innovation Challenge Fund will encourage industry and academia to collaborate and develop tech solutions
for social, economic and environmental challenges in India.
• The initiative is focused on two major tech clusters: AI in Karnataka and future mobility in Maharashtra.
30% funds of NE Council for new projects
• The Cabinet approved the allocation of 30% of funds of the North-Eastern Council for new projects.
• This will help in focused development of deprived areas, neglected sections of society and emerging priority
sectors.
• It has also approved extension of Productivity-Linked Reward Scheme for the employees and workers of the
Major Port Trust and Dock Labour Board for the period beyond 2017-18.
HDFC to invest Rs 100 cr in tech startups
• HDFC is mulling to invest up to Rs 100 crore per year in technology startups.
• It will install a dedicated team understanding the startup ecosystem to do the investments.
• The company will be creating an in-house team at the headquarters to take charge of investments and
exuded confidence that they will start operating in two months.
Burger King got approval to float IPO
• Burger King India Ltd has received Sebi's approval to float its initial public offering (IPO).
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• The company, which had filed its draft IPO papers with the markets watchdog in Nov 2019, obtained its
final observations on January 24, 2020.
• The regulator's observations are necessary for any company to launch public issues such as initial public
offer, follow-on public offer and rights issue.
NCML released first estimate of rabi crop
• National Collateral Management Services Limited (NCML) has released its first estimates for 2019-20 rabi
crop production.
• Rabi season which contributes to nearly 50% of the food grain production starts from November and lasts
till April of the following year.
• Wheat is the main crop of the Rabi season and staple food grain of the country.
IIT Gandhinagar to invest ₹100 crore
• IIT Gandhinagar is building a research park that will house 50 corporate R&D centres at an investment of
around Rs100 crore.
• A sizeable portion of this will be dedicated to micro and small enterprises sector.
• The facility has bagged a grant of ₹90 crore from the department of science and technology (DST).
• Nasscom has also signed an agreement for centre of excellence in Internet of Things.
FPIs infused Rs 1,624 crore in Indian markets
• Foreign portfolio investors have infused a net sum of 1,624 crore rupees into the domestic capital markets
in Jan 2020 so far.
• As per latest depositories data, Foreign portfolio investors put-in a net of 13,304 crore rupees, in equities
and withdrew a net 11,680 crore rupees from the debt segment between January 1 and 24, 2020
• This translates into a total net inflow of 1,624 crore rupees.
Fortis made a plea in Supreme Court
• Fortis Hospitals Ltd approached the Supreme Court urging it to allow IHH Healthcare to make an open offer
to shareholders for purchase of Fortis shares, in line with norms of SEBI.
• The open offer would have been triggered after IHH Healthcare bought a 31.1% stake in Fortis Healthcare
for Rs 4,000 crore on 13 Nov 2020.
• IHH had planned to buy an additional 26% stake from public shareholders.
MP garnered investments worth Rs 4,125 cr
• Madhya Pradesh gained significantly at Davos, with investors promising to invest Rs 4,125 crore in food and
renewable energy sectors.
• Daawat Food Ltd has got FDI worth Rs 125 crore from Saudi Arabia Agriculture and Livestock Investment
Company (SALIC).
• Besides, two central wind projects of capacity 325 MW each are now approved. One is by Soft Bank Energy
(Japan).
India's forex reserves touched life-time high
• The country's foreign exchange reserves rose USD 943 million to touch a life-time high of USD 462.16 billion
in the week ended on 17 Jan 2020, according to the latest data from the RBI.
• In the previous week, the reserves had increased by USD 58 million to USD 461.21 billion.
• The country's reserve position with the IMF rose by USD 3 million to USD 3.70 billion.
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Indusind bank launched a platform

• IndusInd Bank has launched its wealth management platform Pioneer Banking, which caters to high net-
worth customers.
• The new service merges wealth management solutions with an array of personal and commercial banking
products.
• With no charges on non-maintenance of minimum balance, customers can enjoy the benefits of their
Pioneer accounts without any worries
Reliance Jio launched UPI payments
• Reliance Jio has launched UPI-powered payments service and has started offering the feature to its
subscribers.
• The company has become the first telecom operator to enter the UPI payments space.
• Currently, Reliance Jio is India's largest telecom operator with over 370 million subscribers.
• Jio's UPI payments feature is only available for select users now.
RBI revoked PPI licence of Vodafone m-pesa
• The RBI has cancelled the Certificate of Authorisation (CoA) of digital payment wallet Vodafone m-pesa
Limited.
• The central bank announced the cancellation after the company voluntarily surrendered its CoA.
• Following the cancellation of the CoA, the company cannot transact the business of issuance and operation
of Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI).
Cholamandalam Financial to invest Rs 350 cr
• Cholamandalam Financial Holdings Ltd's, Board of Directors approved an investment of upto Rs 350 cr in
the proposed preferential issue of Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Limited (CIFCL).
• The investment would be in addition to the Company’s present holding of 46.5 per cent in CIFCL.
• It would be subject to SEBI(Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018.
India Ratings pegs GDP growth at 5.5 per cent
• India Ratings and Research estimated India’s GDP would grow at 5.5% in the fiscal year 2020-21 (FY21), on
22 Jan 2020.
• Ind-Ra expects private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) to grow at 6% in FY21 (FY20: 5.8 per cent).
• The agency expects retail and wholesale inflation to average 3.9 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively, in
FY21.
GAIL to invest over Rs 45,000 cr
• GAIL India Ltd plans to invest over Rs 45,000 crore over the next five years to expand the National Gas
Pipeline Grid and city gas distribution network.
• GAIL currently operates 12,160-km of pipeline network and markets two-thirds of all-natural gas sold in the
country.
• It is currently executing more than 5,500 kilometers of pipeline projects and a similar length is at the
planning stage.
Raising FDI in Bharti Airtel approved
• The Department of Telecom (DoT) has approved raising of foreign direct investment in Bharti Airtel to 100
per cent from 49 per cent allowed earlier.
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• The company also has the approval of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that allowed foreign investors to hold
up to 74 per cent stake in the company.
ICICI Bank launched a new facility
• ICICI Bank announced the launch of a ‘cardless cash withdrawal’ facility from its ATMs.
• This service allows the bank customers to withdraw cash from any ICICI Bank ATM without a debit card
24X7.
• There is no requirement to carry and use debit card or ATM PIN to withdraw cash for daily usage.
• The daily transaction limit as well as per transaction limit is set at ₹20,000.
New payments formula for creditors
• The government is considering a new formula for payments to creditors of distressed companies resolved
through the insolvency and bankruptcy law.
• There are two options under consideration.
• Under one of the plans, the resolution amount would be split into two parts – liquidation amount set by the
valuers before the resolution is started, and anything in excess of this amount.
Govt to announce Rs 10,000-crore 5-year plan
• The government will announce a five-year scheme in the upcoming Budget, entailing a total support of Rs
7,000-10,000 crore.
• This would be done to honour its pledge of creating 10,000 farmer producers’ organisations (FPOs) and help
boost their agricultural income.
• The direct budgetary aid would be in the form of a grant equivalent to the equity capital of each FPO.
BSNL secured Rs 3000 crore loan from SBI
• BSNL has secured a Rs 3,000-crore loan from State Bank of India, which will enable it to clear some vendor
dues and salaries.
• The loan was sanctioned a couple of weeks ago and Rs 2,500 crore has been utilised so far, of which Rs
1,700 crore went towards clearing dues of some of the vendors.
• The remaining Rs 500 crore can be used for paying salaries for December.
RBI released minutes of board meeting
• The RBI has taken a step in improving transparency of its business at the board meetings by releasing the
minutes of the meeting, for the first time.
• The RBI has integrated the supervision functions into a unified Department of Supervision, and regulatory
functions into a unified Department of Regulation from November 1, 2019.
IMF lowered 2019 India's growth forecast
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered India’s economic growth forecast to 4.8% for this fiscal
year owing to the crisis in the non-banking financial sector and weak rural demand.
• The IMF projected India’s economy to. grow by 5.8% next year, which is 1.2 percentage points less than its
earlier forecast.
• It also forecast the economy to grow by 6.5 per cent in 2021-22
Printing of Union Budget documents began
• The printing of Union Budget documents 2020-21 began on 20 Jan 2020 with the traditional Halwa
ceremony.
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• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presided over the ceremony in the presence of Minister of State for
Finance, Anurag Thakur.
• The Union Budget will be presented in Parliament on 1 February 2020.
• The Economic Survey will be presented on 31st January 2020.
RBI issued new debit and credit card rules
• RBI has issued new rules for credit and debit cards to improve user convenience and increase the security of
card transactions.
• These rules will be applicable for new cards from 16 March 2020.
• RBI asked banks to allow only domestic card transactions at ATMs and PoS terminals in India at the time of
issuance/reissuance of the card.
Mastercard to invest $1 bn in India
• Mastercard has planned to invest nearly $1 billion in India over the next five years towards the
development of new technologies and products.
• The proposed investment will be made in India operations, which includes an R&D facility at Pune and
another centre at Vadodara,
• Mastercard has also launched its Team Cashless India programme to engage with merchants and
consumers across the country.
India’s largest API Banking portal
• ICICI Bank will launch an API Banking portal, consisting the maximum number of virtual APIs (application
programming interfaces) put together by any Indian bank.
• It enables partner companies to co-create innovative customer solutions in a frictionless manner.
• APIs are a set of instructions, which enable third party applications to communicate with the Bank’s various
technology applications.
Norms for rights issues of REITs announced
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) announced guidelines pertaining to rights issue of units by
listed real estate investment trusts (REITs) and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs).
• In November 2019, Sebi had issued directives for preferential issue and institutional placements of units by
listed REITs.
• Sebi issued 2 separate guidelines – one each for REITs and InvITs.
PFC raised $750 million in overseas bonds
• Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC) has become the first public sector company to issue senior unsecured
US Dollar bonds with a tenure of more than 10 years.
• PFC has successfully carried out the issuance of 10.25 year, $750-million bonds on January 15, under Reg S
& 144 A route.
• The bonds have a fixed coupon of 3.95 per annum and a yield of 4.066 per cent.
Revenue dept set monthly GST target in Q4
• The revenue dept has set a target of Rs 1.18 lakh cr of average monthly GST collection in the remaining
3 months of the fiscal (Jan-Mar).
• It has asked the indirect tax dept to focus on fraudulent input tax credit (ITC) claims as revealed in data
analytics review.
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• In the first nine months of the fiscal (April-November), GST collection has averaged just a tad over Rs 1 lakh
crore per month.
Piramal Enterprises sold DRG business
• Piramal Enterprises has signed an agreement for the sale of its Decision Resources Group (DRG) business to
US-based Clarivate Analytics for $950 million (over Rs 6,745 crore).
• This divestment is expected to be completed by the end of February 2020.
• PEL DRG Dutch HoldCo BV has signed a definitive agreement for the sale of DRG to Clarivate Analytics plc
for a consideration of $950 million.
Forex reserves rose by USD 58 mn
• The country foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 58 million to reach a life-time high of USD 461.21 billion
in the week to 10 Jan 2020, according to the RBI data.
• In the previous week, the reserves had increased by USD 3.689 billion to USD 461.15 billion.
• FCA decreased by USD 367 million to USD 427.582 billion, the RBI data released on 17 Jan 2020 showed.
World economy to grow 2.5% in 2020
• It is possible for the world economy to grow 2.5% in 2020, according to the United Nations World Economic
Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2020 released on 16 Jan 2020.
• In a downside scenario, the world economic growth could slow to just 1.8% in 2020.
• The global economic growth slipped to 2.3% in 2019, due to uncertainties.
• The GDP growth in the US is forecast at 1.7% in 2020.
IBBI amended voluntary liquidation norms
• The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has notified changes to the voluntary liquidation
process regulations.
• A liquidator has to deposit unclaimed dividends and undistributed proceeds in a liquidation process along
with any income earned thereon into the Corporate Voluntary Liquidation Account (CVLA) before
submission of an application for dissolution of the corporate person.
UCO Bank to be chosen to pay Russia
• India is set to change the bank it uses to make payments for Russian arms and is likely to route the money
through UCO Bank, which is also being used to carry out trade with Iran.
• The payments, which are complicated due to the threat of US sanctions on purchase of military hardware
like the S-400 air defence systems from Russia, were earlier being routed through Syndicate Bank.
Exim Bank to raise up to $3 billion
• The Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) is looking to raise up to $3 billion from overseas borrowing in
the next financial year (2020-21).
• The bank has raised $1.7 billion of overseas borrowing through bond issuances and foreign loans in the
current financial year.
• In August 2019, it raised $300 million equivalent from issuance of Samurai bond and USD 50 million from
social impact bond.
Future Retail raised $500 million
• Future Retail has raised USD 500 million through dollar-denominated bonds.
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• The company has successfully priced a USD 500 million Fixed Rate Senior Secured 144A/Reg S Bond for a 5-
year (non-call 3-year) tenor at 5.600 per cent.
• As per the company, the bond transaction also marks the first international bond deal from the retail and
consumer sector space in India.
BoB and Kotak Mahindra Bank exit Equifax
• Bank of Baroda exited from credit information bureau Equifax Credit Information Services for a
consideration of Rs 91.03 crore.
• In a regulatory filing, BoB sold 1,35,00,000 shares of face value of Rs 10 for Rs 67.43 per unit.
• Kotak Mahindra Bank also existed from Equifax Credit Information Services.
• It sold 5.56% stake in the credit information bureau for a consideration of Rs 50.5 cr.
Mercedes-Benz India to cross 100 Mark In 2020
• Mercedes-Benz is in the No.1 position in India in the luxury car segment.
• The company will be growing its dealership network too and it will cross the 100 mark in 2020.
• The company currently has 95 dealers in the country and crossing the 100 mark will certainly be a
milestone.
• It has also announced the launch of the EQ electric sub-brand and the GLE SUV in India.
India plans cuts to imports from Malaysia
• India is planning to cut some imports from Turkey and widen curbs on palm oil from Malaysia to oil, gas and
other products.
• India, the world's biggest buyer of edible oils, has already effectively stopped importing palm oil from
Malaysia.
• New Delhi is now planning to restrict buying of petroleum, aluminium ingots, liquefied natural gas,
computer parts and microprocessors from Malaysia.
India to get USD 1 bn investment from Amazon
• Amazon.com Inc chief Jeff Bezos announced USD 1 billion investment in India.
• It will help in bringing small and medium businesses online.
• He also committed to export USD 10 billion worth of India-made goods by 2025.
• Bezos was on a 3-day visit to India from 14 Jan 2020 and spoke at the SMBhav summit - an Amazon India
gathering for small and medium businesses.
Government seeks Rs 19,000 crore dividend
• The government is seeking a record Rs 19,000 crore in dividend from state oil companies, about 5% more
than 2019, to shore up its finances.
• ONGC and Indian Oil, the biggest in the club, have been asked to pay about 60% of the total.
• While ONGC has been asked to pay a dividend of about Rs 6,500 cr, Indian Oil is expected to shell out Rs
5,500 crore, BPCL Rs 2,500 crore, and GAIL Rs 2,000 cr.
KKR infused $150 mn capital in India NBFC arm
• Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) is making a fresh equity commitment of $150 million, backing its wholesale
non-banking credit arm KKR India Financial Services (KIFSL).
• This is the second time the parent is infusing ‘confidence’ capital after putting in $100 million in 2009.
• KKR will fund its commitment to KIFSL through the firm’s balance sheet.
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SEBI extended deadline to split CMD post

• SEBI has deferred by two years to April 2022 its directive for listed companies to split the roles of chairman
and managing director.
• Under the SEBI norms, the top 500 listed entities by market capitalisation were mandated to comply with
the requirement of separation of the roles of chairperson and managing director (MD) or chief executive
officer (CEO) with effect from April 1, 2020.
Retail inflation hits 5 year high of 7.35%
• Retail inflation surged to an over 5-year high in Dec 2019.
• Inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI) rose to 7.35% in December 2019, against 2.18 per cent in
December 2018.
• December inflation was the highest since July 2014, when it stood at 7.39 per cent.
• Food inflation shot up to 14.12% in Dec 2019 from 10.01% in Nov 2019 on account of rising prices of
vegetables and pulses.
931 cases of fraudulent GST refund claims
• Revenue Department has identified 931 cases of fraudulent GST refund claims through Data Analytics.
• Refunds of over 28,000 cr rupees have been filed by over 27,000 taxpayers so far in the current year.
• Dept has booked 6,641 cases involving 7,164 entities till November 2019.
• The maximum number of GST frauds cases has been booked in Kolkata zone followed by Delhi and Jaipur.
India to double the US crude oil imports
• India plans to double crude oil imports from the US as part of its effort to reduce dependence on the
volatile West Asia region.
• Oil purchases from the US, which started in 2017-18, have already crossed about 6 million tonnes a year.
• India is heavily dependant on oil imports from West Asia.
• Its top 3 suppliers in 2018-19 were Iraq, followed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE
RBI released a report
• The Reserve Bank of India has released a report “National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI): 2019-
2024“.
• The National Strategy for Financial Inclusion for the period 2019-2024 has been formulated by RBI under
the aegis of Financial Inclusion Advisory Committee (FIAC).
• The report has been ratified by the Financial Stability Development Council (FSDC).
RBI amended KYC norms
• The RBI has amended the KYC norms allowing banks and other lending institutions regulated by it to use
Video-based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP).
• The V-CIP will be a consent-based method.
• The regulated entities will have to ensure that the video recording is stored in a safe and secure manner
and bears the date and time stamp.
Union Budget to be presented on Feb 1
• Union Budget will be presented on 1 Feb 2020 and the Economic Survey on 31 Jan 2020.
• The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs met on 8 Jan 2020 in New Delhi and recommended that
Budget session to be convened in two phases.
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• The first phase of Budget Session will be from 31st January to 11th February 2020 while the second part of
the session is expected to be from 2 March- 3 April 2020.
CCEA approved strategic disinvestment
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA has given in-principle approval for the sale of equity held
by four Central Public Sector Enterprises and two-state PSUs in Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited-NINL.
• It has approved strategic disinvestment of 49.78% equity shareholding of Minerals and Metals Trading
Corporation Limited and 10.10 per cent of National Mineral Development Corporation.
RBI revises supervisory framework for UCBs
• The Reserve Bank of India has revised its supervisory framework for Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs).
• A UCB may be placed under the supervisory action framework under the following conditions:
When its Net Non-Performing Asset (NPA) exceeds 6% of its net advances.
When its Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio (CRAR) falls below 9%.
India's GDP growth for 2019-20 estimated at 5%
• The Indian economy is estimated to grow at 5% in 2019-20 as against 6.8% in the previous fiscal.
• It is according to the first advanced estimates of the national income released by National Statistical Office
(NSO).
• The decline has been mainly on account of deceleration in manufacturing sector growth, which is expected
to come down to 2% in 2019-20 from 6.2% in the year-ago fiscal.
Shivalik Mercantile Co-op. Bank to become SFB
• The RBI has granted “in-principle” approval to Shivalik Mercantile Co-operative Bank Limited for the
transition into a Small Finance Bank (SFB).
• The transition into an SFB will be under the “Scheme on the voluntary transition of Urban Co-operative
Bank into a Small Finance Bank”.
• The RBI had come with a scheme on the voluntary transition of UCBs into SFB on September 27, 2018.
Uber ties up with Hyundai
• Uber Technologies Inc and automaker Hyundai Motor have teamed up to develop electric air taxis.
• The partnership aims to make small self-flying cars to ease urban congestion.
• The team is heading towards a goal of launching Uber Air by 2023 and urban air mobility service in 2028.
• Hyundai is the first carmaker to join Uber’s air taxi project.
RBI buys & sells bonds worth ₹10k crore each
• In the third special open market operation (OMO), the RBI bought ₹10,000 crores of three long-term
securities and sold the same amount of three short-term bonds.
• Earlier RBI had announced to simultaneous purchase and sale of G-Secs under OMOs for ₹10,000 crores
each.
• OMO is an activity by a central bank to give (or take) liquidity in its currency to (or from) a bank or a group
of banks.
India exports 3.2 million bales of cotton
• India exported 3.2 million bales of cotton during the first quarter of the cotton year that began on October
1.
• It is according to the trade body Cotton Association of India (CAI).
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• CAI is engaged in providing a wide range of services to the entire cotton value chain since its incorporation
in 1921.
RBI allows 24x7 forex market options
• The Reserve Bank of India said select banks in India can offer forex rates to Indian clients beyond the inter-
bank market hours.
• These banks currently run from 9 am to 5 pm.
• In effect, this opens up the forex market in India round the clock, allowing Indians to hedge their foreign
exchange risks at any time of the day.
• RBI governor - Shaktikanta Das.
Adani Ports to buy stake in Krishnapatnam Port
• Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) announced the acquisition of 75% stake in Andhra Pradesh-
based Krishnapatnam Port Company for an enterprise value of Rs 13,572 crore.
• The proposed acquisition is the largest by APSEZ so far and would be funded through internal accruals and
existing cash balance.
• This acquisition will increase Adani's market share to 27% (from the current 22%).
GST revenue crossed Rs1 Lakh cr in Dec 2019
• The GST revenue collection has crossed one lakh crore rupees in December 2019, which is a growth of 16
per cent over the revenue collected in the same month in 2018.
• The total GST collected during Dec 2019 was one lakh three thousand and 184 crore rupees.
• Finance Ministry said, a total of over 81 lakh GSTR 3B returns were filed for the month of November up to
31st December 2019.
RBI bought 10,00 cr in 2nd special OMO
• In the 2nd special open market operation (OMO), the RBI bought Rs10,000 cr of long-term government
securities and sold Rs 8,501 crore of three short-term bonds.
• It had announced to purchase and sell simultaneously government securities under OMO for 10,000 crore
rupees each.
• Though RBI offered to sell four securities in the auction, it accepted bids for three bids only.
SBI cut external rate by 25 bps
• SBI announced a reduction in its external benchmark-based rate by 25 basis points to 7.80% from 8.05%.
• The Reserve Bank of India has adopted the Repo rate to be the External Benchmark rate.
• Repo rate is the interest rate, at which the RBI lends funds to the banks.
• The new rates will be applicable from January 1, 2020.
Sports
Ayonika Paul won women's 10m Air Rifle event
• Olympian Ayonika Paul has won the women's 10m Air Rifle T1 event while Vijayveer Sidhu won the men's
25m Pistol T2 event in the National Shooting trials at Thiruvananthapuram on 30 Jan 2020.
• Apurvi Chandela came third with a score of 229.8.
• Zeena also won the junior women's trials in the same event.
65th National School Football tournament begun
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• In Tripura, CM Biplab Kumar Deb inaugurated the 65th National School Games Under-17 boys at Umakanta
Academy Mini Stadium in Agartala on 29 Jan 2020.
• 38 football teams coming from different parts of the country are taking part in the games.
• The first match was played between Assam and Gujarat.
• The tournament will end on February 2, 2020.
Neeraj Chopra qualified for Tokyo Olympics
• Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a throw of 87.86 metres at
the Athletics Central North East meeting in South Africa.
• He breached the Olympic qualification mark of 85 metres in his fourth attempt at Potchefstroom.
• His last major international competition was the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games where he won gold with a
national record of 88.06 metres.
Dr T Ao Trophy: Mizoram defeated Sikkim
• Mizoram defeated Sikkim by a solitary goal to emerge as the champion of the Northeast Dr. T Ao Football
Trophy 2020 at Indira Gandhi Stadium in Kohima on 28 Jan 2020.
• While the champion team received a cash prize of 10 lakh rupees, the runners up got six 6 lakhs.
• Rhitsho Mero received the golden boot for his 10 goals.
• Nagaland defeated Arunachal Pradesh by 4-2 to claim the third position.
Esow Alben bagged gold
• In Cycling, India's Esow Alben bagged a gold in the men's Keirin individual event of the Six-Day Berlin
Tournament.
• He finished on top of the podium, earning 20 classification points on 28 Jan 2020.
• Czech Republic's Tomas Babek came in second while Maximilian Lev of Germany took home the bronze.
• The event is a 6-day track cycling race.
• Each cyclist competes on every day of the competition.
R. Praggnanandhaa beat Veselin Topalov
• R. Praggnanandhaa beat former world champion Veselin Topalov in the sixth round of the 18th Gibraltar
Chess Festival to record his fifth straight win.
• He needed just 33 moves to win over Veselin Topalov.
• Praggnanandhaa is in second spot on five points with six other players and will take on Chinese GM Wang
Hao in the seventh round.
Kiran Ankush Jadhav won 10m air rifle T1 trial
• In Shooting, Kiran Ankush Jadhav of the Indian Navy won the men's 10 metres air rifle T1 trial.
• Maharashtra's Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil clinched both the junior and youth trials in Thiruvananthapuram
on 26 Jan 2020.
• Rudrankksh came second in the men's final as well with a score of 252.0 while Nitish Kumar of Haryana
came third with 229.9.
RFI lifted Dattu Bhokanal's ban
• Indian Rower Dattu Bhokanal's two-year suspension on charges of tanking a race during the 2018 Asian
Games was lifted on 23 Jan 2020.
• Bhokanal was one of the Indian quartets that won gold in the men's quadruple sculls event in the Asian
Games but later left the single sculls race midway.
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• He was banned by the Rowing Federation of India in March 2019.

World Archery lifted suspension on India
• The World Archery conditionally lifted the suspension on India on 24 Jan 2020.
• The Indian archers, who had to compete as neutral athletes at the Asian Championships because of the
suspension, can now represent the country under the Tricolour.
• Union Minister Arjun Munda was elected President of the Archery Association of India (AAI) recently.
Incentives for winners in Khelo India Games
• The players of MP who performed well in 'Khelo India' Youth Games will be given incentives.
• The state government has announced an incentive of Rs 1 lakh to the gold medal winner, 75,000 to the
silver medalist and Rs 50,000 to the bronze medalist of the Khelo India Youth Games.
• Madhya Pradesh players have won a total of 46 medals including 15 gold and 11 silver medals.
Nandhidhaa won over Praggnanandhaa in chess
• India's P V Nandhidhaa defeated R Praggnanandhaa in the opening round of the Masters category in the
18th Gibraltar Chess Festival.
• Nandhidhaa outplayed Praggnanandhaa in 67 moves in a Classical Sicilian game in the tournament that
began on 21 Jan 2020 at Gibraltar.
• Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France also secured wins.
Qatar and FIFA published planning strategy
• Qatar and FIFA published the first jointly issued legacy planning strategy ahead of the football World Cup in
2022, on 21 Jan 2020.
• It contains pledges on labour and LGBT rights alongside protections for activists and journalists.
• The 112-page "Sustainability Strategy" also sets out commitments on making the tournament inclusive for
groups including the disabled.
Yogeshwar and Deepa Malik inducted in AlCS
• Wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt and Paralympian Deepa Malik are among the new inductees in the government's
All India Council of Sports (AICS).
• It is an advisory body to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports which was formed in 2015 by the then
Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
• It will be led by veteran sports administrator V K Malhotra as President.
Divyansh, Apurvi clinched Gold in Meyton Cup
• Indian shooters Divyansh Singh Pawar and Apurvi Chandela have clinched a gold medal each in Meyton Cup
in Innsbruck, Austria.
• The Meyton Cup is a private tournament where shooters go on their own to participate to gain experience
before international events.
• Divyansh won the gold in the men's 10m air rifle event and Auprvi bagged the gold in the 10m air rifle
women's category.
Khelo India Youth Games to conclude on 22 Jan
• The third Khelo India Youth Games will conclude on 22 Jan 2020 evening with gala closing ceremony at
Sarusajai Stadium in Guwahati.
• The final matches of boxing, football and tennis were held on 22 Jan 2020.
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• In medal tally, Maharashtra continues on top with 234 medals including 74 gold medals.
• Haryana is on the second spot with 57 golds while Delhi is on the third spot with 35 gold medals.
India won Diplomat Cup Cricket Championship
• The team of the Indian Consulate in Dubai on 18 Jan 2020 defeated the team of the Pakistan Consulate to
lift the Diplomat Cup Cricket Championship of 2020.
• The Championship was organized by Skyline University College in Sharjah.
• This is the third time in succession that India has won the Diplomat Cup Championship.
• The first tournament was won by Bangladesh in January 2017.
Khelo India Youth Games Updates
• In the Khelo India Youth Games in Guwahati, Maharashtra dominated the Kho Kho events by winning all the
4 Gold medals in under-17 and under-21 boys and girls categories.
• Maharashtra is leading the overall medal tally with 60 gold followed by Haryana with 45 gold.
• In swimming, Assam's Shivangi Sarma, on 19 Jan 2020, won gold in 100-meter freestyle taking her personal
gold tally to 4.
Ethiopian national Derrara Hurisa broke record
• In the 7th Mumbai marathon, Ethiopian national Derrara Hurisa has broken the event record for the full
marathon elite category.
• Ayele Abshero and Birhanu Teshome came in second and third in the category.
• Srinu Bugatha and Sudha Singh have won the Indian Elite Full Marathon Men's and Women's category
respectively.
• In the half marathon category, UP's Parul Choudhary emerged victorious.
India bagged 7 medals in Rome Ranking Series
• In wrestling, India has returned with seven medals from the Rome Ranking Series.
• Bajrang Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya claimed Gold medals in the tournament on 18 Jan 2020.
• Bajrang secured a 4-3 win against USA's Jordan Michael Oliver in the summit showdown of the 65kg
freestyle category.
• Earlier, Vinesh Phogat won a Gold and Anshu Malik a Silver in the women's competition.
2-day SQAY competition began in MP
• The two-day SQAY competition is being organized from 19 Jan 2020 at Sports Authority of India (SAI) in
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
• The under-21 category tournament is being organized under 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat' campaign.
• SQAY is a martial art form of Central Asia, in which the players show the skills of fencing.
• This martial art form originated in Kashmir.
Ratchanok lifted Indonesia Masters 2020 title
• Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon lifted the Indonesia Badminton Masters 2020 women's singles title after
defeating Carolina Marin on 19 Jan 2020.
• Intanon defeated Marin 21-19, 11-21, 21-18 in 1 hour and 20 minutes long match.
• The clash went into three-games and both the shuttlers tried their 100 per cent to turn things in their
favour.
• She won the match by claiming the 3rd game by 21-18.
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Sania Mirza won women's doubles title

• In Tennis, Sania Mirza and her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok have won the women's doubles title of
the WTA International trophy at Hobart in Australia.
• In the final, they beat Shaui Peng and Shuai Zhang of China 6-4,6-4.
• It is Sania's 42nd WTA doubles title and first since Brisbane International trophy in 2007 with American
partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
• Haryana continued its dominance in wrestling at 3rd Khelo India Youth Games in Guwahati.
• On day eight, Haryana won six of the 11 gold.
• Maharashtra got three gold medals in wrestling and reached 150 marks on the medals tally with 42 golds
overall.
• Karnataka won 5 gold in the swimming followed by Maharashtra with 3 gold.
• Assam girl Shivangi Sarma clinched 2 gold in swimming.
Kuldeep: Claimed 100 wickets in ODIs
• In Cricket, Kuldeep Yadav became the fastest Indian spinner to claim 100 wickets in ODI during the second
match against Australia in Rajkot on 17 Jan 2020.
• Among spinners, the earlier fastest to 100 wickets was Harbhajan Singh in 76 matches.
• Kuldeep is now also the third-fastest Indian bowler to take 100 ODI wickets behind Mohammed
Shami Jasprit Bumrah.
Anshu Malik won silver in 57 kg
• In Wrestling, Anshu Malik won silver in the 57 kg competition in Rome on 17 Jan 2020.
• He lost to Nigeria's Odunayo Adekuoroye.
• Vinesh Phogat also downed two tough Chinese rivals on her way to the 53kg final of the Rome Ranking
Series event.
• She won against Khrystyna Bereza and Lannuan Luo, before getting the better of Qianyu Pang.
• Boxing, Wrestling and Basketball began at the 3rd Khelo India youth games in Guwahati on 16 Jan 2020.
• On day six, Maharashtra is still leading the medal tally followed by Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Kerala,
Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Manipur and West Bengal.
• Gujarat won the volleyball title in under 21 boys category while Kerala bagged the girls title on 15 Jan 2020.
Mbappé named as the most valuable player
• International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) Football Observatory has released a list of the most valuable
football players in the world.
• Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe topped the list with €265 million.
• Raheem Sterling from Manchester City listed second with €223.7 million and Mohammed Salah from
Liverpool was at third position with €175.1 million.
Khelo India Games Updates
• Maharashtra is leading the medal tally in the ongoing third Khelo India youth games with 26 gold, 31 silver
and 50 bronze so far.
• In athletics, Harayana girl Sneha bagged gold in 1500 meter race in under 17.
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• Rajasthan's Divyanshu Puri won gold in 81-kilogram judo.

• Uttam Yadav From UP won gold in 1500 meter race under-17 category.
• In the on-going Khelo India Youth Games, Maharashtra is leading the medal tally with 19 gold and 24 silver
medals on the fifth day on 14 Jan 2020.
• Haryana is following with 18 gold and an equal number of silvers.
• Maharastra girl Aditee Dankekar won gold in rhythmic gymnastics in Under-21 category.
• Mumbai girl Kirti Bhoite clinched gold in girls 200 metres race.
Person in News
• A 5-year-old boy Aashman Taneja has made a Guinness world record in Taekwondo for the most full
contact knee strikes in one-hour non-stop. He is a USA World Open Taekwondo Silver medalist and a proud
Guinness World Record holder now.
• Iran’s Olympic medalist, Kimia Alizadeh announced that she is leaving the country. Alizadeh is the only
woman from Iran to have won the Olympic medal.
Sports News
• Novak Djokovic overpowered Rafael Nadal and led Serbia to victory in the inaugural ATP Cup at Sydney on
12 Jan 2020. The world number 10 Roberto Bautista Agut defeated Serbia's Dusan Lajovic 7-5, 6-1 in the
other singles.
• Rashid Khan was the best-placed Indian with a tied sixth-place finish while three of his compatriots slipped
on the back nine at the Hong Kong Open Golf tournament.
India: Number one shooting nation in world
• India finished 2019 as the top shooting nation in the world, leaving behind China and the USA.
• In terms of overall medals, the tally stood at 21 gold, six silver and three bronze as India topped all the Rifle-
Pistol World Cups and Finals.
• China is second with 11 gold, 15 silver and 18 bronze for a total of 44 podium finishes.
• The USA is placed third with 15 medals.
Rani Rampal nominated for Athlete of the Year
• India women's hockey captain Rani Rampal has been nominated for the World Games Athlete of the Year
2019 award.
• The 25 athletes nominated for this award from 25 sports have been recommended by their international
federations.
• Rani has been recommended for the award for her outstanding performance and her ability to lead by
example.
Khelo India Youth Games updates
• In the third Khelo India Youth Games in Guwahati, Maharashtra is leading the medal tally with 25 medals
including 7 gold, 7 silver and 11 bronze medals.
• Uttar Pradesh is holding the second position with 6 gold medals.
• Delhi won 4 gold and 1 silver and reached in the third position in the medal tally.
• Madhya Pradesh won 7 medals including 2 golds in athletics.
ICC Ranking: Virat Kohli moved up to ninth
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• K L Rahul retained his 6th position while captain Virat Kohli moved up a place to 9th in the batting chart of
the T20 International players rankings released by ICC on 11 Jan 2020.
• Rahul, the highest-ranked India batsman, has gained 26 points and is now on 760 rating points.
• Left-handed opener Shikhar Dhawan has climbed a rung to be placed 15th.
• India remained static in 5th position.
Khelo India Youth Games began
• The third Khelo India Youth Games began in Guwahati on 10 Jan 2020.
• In all, 6,500 athletes are taking part in the Khelo India at 20 disciplines.
• Priyanka Dasgupta from Tripura, on Day 1 of the gymnastics competition, clinched the Girls Under-17 All-
round crown.
• Jatin Kumar Kanojia carried the flame for Uttar Pradesh, claiming the Boys Under-17 All-Around gold.
Real Madrid defeated Valencia
• Real Madrid defeated Valencia 3-1 to book a Spanish Super Cup final berth at Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
• Toni Kroos helped Real Madrid took the lead on 1-0 with a corner kick in the 15th minute.
• This is the first year the Super Cup was played with four teams with league second and third-placed teams
included.
• It used to feature only the Spanish La Liga winners and the Copa del Rey champions.
Leo Carter:7th cricketer to hit six 6s
• New Zealand‘s batsman Leo Carter has become the 7th batsman in the history of cricket to smash six 6s in
an over.
• He achieved the feat in New Zealand’s domestic T20 tournament Super Smash.
• Other 6 players who have achieved the feat are Gary Sobers, Ravi Shastri, Herschelle Gibbs, Yuvraj Singh,
Ross Whiteley and Hazratullah Zazai.
• In T20 cricket, he is the 4th batsman to achieve the feat.
Kohli creates new record
• Virat Kohli broke another batting record, as he became the fastest to reach 1000 runs in T20I cricket as
captain and only the sixth overall to achieve the feat.
• He is only the second Indian after MS Dhoni (1112 runs from 62 games) to achieve this feat.
• He achieved it in 30th innings.
• Virat Kohli has also overtaken his teammate Rohit Sharma on the list of most runs scored in T20I cricket.
Charity match for Australian bushfire
• Tennis greats Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal will headline an exhibition match ahead of
the Australian Open.
• The exhibition match at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena will raise money for bushfire relief.
• Tennis Australia announced that the match is slated for January 15, the week before the first Grand Slam of
the year.
• Vast wildfires continue to burn across eastern Australia.
5th IHAI National Ice Hockey Championship 2020
• In Leh-Ladakh, the home teams won the 5th Ice Hockey Association of India (IHAI) National Ice Hockey
Championship-2020 in both Boys and Girls categories.
• Ladakh Scouts Regiment Centre (LSRC) won the bronze medal, in Under-20 Boys category.
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• Maharashtra girls stood 3rd in the championship.

• The Under-20 boys will be playing Asia Challenge Cup between 10th and 15th of next month in Thailand.
Bhubaneswar to host Khelo India Univ Games
• The 1st edition of Khelo India University Games will be held at the KIIT University in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
• They will be held from February 22 to March 1, 2020.
• These Games will be held in 17 different disciplines namely archery, athletics, boxing, fencing, judo,
swimming, weight-lifting, wrestling, badminton, basketball, football, hockey, table tennis, tennis, volleyball,
rugby and kabaddi.
Magesh Chandran won 95th Hastings Chess title
• India’s P Magesh Chandran won the title in the 95th edition of the prestigious Hastings International Chess
Congress at Hastings in England.
• France’s Romain Edouard, who was the only player to end the tournament, took the second spot.
• Magesh, the 36-year old Grand Master with a FIDE rating of 2479, remained unbeaten and finished first
with 7.5 points from 9 games.
Sports News
• The Indian government approved in principle the Indian Olympic Association’s proposal to host the
Commonwealth shooting championships and archery events - which are not part of the 2022
Commonwealth Games roster - in March 2022.
• In Football, Mohun Bagan registered a 2-0 win over Real Kashmir FC (RKFC) to climb to the top of the Hero I-
League table in Srinagar, on 5 Jan 2020.
Saurabh Chaudhary won a gold
• Saurabh Chaudhary won the men's 10 metres air pistol gold at the 63rd National Shooting Championship in
Bhopal on 4 Jan 2020.
• Second-placed Sarabjot Singh of Haryana was well behind with a score of 243.9, while world number two
Abhishek Verma settled for bronze in a high-quality final.
• Abhishek and Sarabjot together won the team gold for Haryana.
• Sarabjot also won the junior men's gold.
Sports News
• Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan announced his retirement from all forms of Cricket. He last played for India
in Oct 2012. He played 29 Tests, 120 ODIs and 24 T20Is.
• In Wrestling, two-time World Cadet champion Sonam Malik and junior Anshu Malik sealed their places in
the Indian team for the Asian Championship, in Lucknow on 4 Jan 2020. Vinesh Phogat and Divya
Kakran easily won their bouts.
IBSA to organize sports events
• Indian Blind Sports Association (IBSA) is organizing sports events for the blind from 6-11 Jan 2020 in New
Delhi.
• Over 400 participants, including 85 female blind sports persons from 7 states will be taking part in the
following events.
• Established in 1986, IBSA, is one of the oldest national-level sports organization working for the promotion
of sports among the visually challenged.
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Mirabai: 8th in Olympic qualification rankings

• Mirabai Chanu maintained her eighth spot in the Olympic qualifiers ranking list released by the
International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) on 2 Jan 2020.
• She has gathered 2966.6406 ranking points till now.
• To qualify, a weightlifter must compete in at least one event in each of the three periods of six months, at
least six events overall and in at least one gold and silver level event.
Manav Thakkar: No.1 in latest ITTF rankings
• Manav Thakkar became world no.1 in the latest International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings in the
Under-21 men's singles category.
• With this, Thakkar became the fourth Indian to achieve the feat after Harmeet Desai, G Sathiyan and
Soumyajit Ghosh.
• Among other Indians, G. Sathiyan has managed to retain his 30th spot in the senior category.
• Achanta Sharath Kamal is at 33rd position.
ATP Tennis Cup kicked off
• The inaugural edition of the revamped ATP Tennis Cup team event kicked off in Australia 3 Jan 2020.
• A total of 24 nations, split into six groups, will be contesting in Perth, Brisbane and Sydney for over 10 days
for the first time.
• In Group F, Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas met Denis Shapovalov of Canada in Brisbane's day session, on the
opening day.
5th IHAI National Ice Hockey Championship
• The 5th Ice Hockey Association of India (IHAI) National Ice Hockey Championship - 2020 begun in Leh on 3rd
January 2020.
• The tournament will continue till 7th January in Karzoo Ice Hockey Rink in Leh.
• The Army, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra and home team Ladakh are fighting in the boys'
category.
• Similarly, in Girls category Ladakh, Maharashtra, Delhi and Chandigarh are playing.
MS Dhoni picked captain of ESPN Cricinfo's ODI
• MS Dhoni was picked as captain of ESPN Cricinfo's ODI and T20 teams of the decade, while Virat Kohli was
named the leader in Tests, on 1 Jan 2020.
• Mithali Raj and fast bowler Jhulan Goswami were named in the same women's team picked for both the
ODIs and T20s.
• Kuldeep Yadav, and Yuzvendra Chahal, were the only other Indians to make the Test XI, which also featured
England's, Alastair Cook.
IOA withdrew boycott call
• Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has withdrawn its threat to boycott the 2022 Commonwealth Games in
Birmingham over Shooting's exclusion.
• It also announced that the country will bid to host either the 2026 or the 2030 edition.
• IOA also decided to submit a formal proposal to host a Commonwealth Shooting Championships before the
main Games.
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Defence
Assam Rifles built war memorial in Nagaland
• The Assam Rifles has constructed a combined war memorial in Nagaland for the 357 Army and Assam Rifles
personnel killed while fighting insurgency in the northeastern state.
• The memorial has been built at Mokokchung, which is also the cultural and intellectual centre of Nagaland.
• This memorial is the first of its kind in Nagaland, which also has the famous Second World War Cemetery at
Kohima.
'SAMPRITI-IX' exercise from Feb 3
• The ninth edition of joint military training exercise between India-Bangladesh, SAMPRITI-IX will be
conducted at Umroi, Meghalaya from February 3-16, 2020.
• During the exercise, a Command Post Exercise (CPX) and a Field Training Exercise (FTX) will be conducted.
• Exercise SAMPRITI is an important bilateral defence cooperation endeavour between India and Bangladesh.
ICG commissioned interceptor boat C-448
• The third Indian Coast Guard Interceptor Boat of Coast Guard Headquarters (Karnataka), C 448, was
officially commissioned at New Mangalore Port on 29 Jan 2020.
• The interceptor boat has been built by Larsen and Toubro Shipyard Limited in Surat.
• The boat is equipped with an infrared system for night surveillance and can perform high-speed
interception, low-intensity maritime operations.
Indian Navy launched operation 'Vanilla'
• Indian Navy has launched operation Vanilla to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief at
Madagascar.
• Operation Vanilla has been launched to provide assistance to the affected population of Madagascar post
devastation caused by Cyclone Diane.
• The Indian Navy Ship is geared to set up medical camp and provide food, water and other necessary relief
material.
GRSE to deliver INS Kavaratti to Navy soon
• Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) is set to deliver anti-submarine warfare stealth corvette
INS Kavaratti to the Navy soon.
• 'Kavaratti' is the last of the four Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) stealth corvettes built by the GRSE for the
Indian Navy under Project P28.
• 'Kavaratti' will be the 104th ship to be constructed and delivered by the GRSE.
Ship 'Annie Besant' reached base harbour
• The recently inducted Indian Coast Guard Ship Annie Besant has reached its base harbour at Chennai on 27
Jan 2020.
• The ship Annie Besant is the third Fast Patrol Vessel of the ‘Priyadarshini’ class.
• The ship has been indigenously designed and built and was commissioned at Khidderpore Dock, Kolkata
recently.
• It is 48.9 m long and has a beam of 7.5 m with a displacement of 308 tonnes.
Procurement of defence equipment approved
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• Defence Acquisition Council has approved procurement of equipment worth over Rs 5,000 cr from
indigenous sources to promote indigenization.
• They include sophisticated Electronic Warfare Systems for the Army designed by DRDO and manufactured
locally by the Indian industry.
• The DAC also approved shortlisting of Indian Strategic Partners (SP) and the potential Original Equipment
Manufacturers.
IAF inducted Sukhoi-30 MKI with BrahMos
• The Indian Air Force inducted its first squadron of Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft carrying the BrahMos missiles in
Tamil Nadu, on 20 Jan 2020.
• The Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar
Bhadauria inducted the squadron.
• The newly reinstated 222-squadron, also known as the Tigersharks, would serve as a lethal weapons
platform.
K-4 ballistic missile successfully test fired
• India successfully test-fired a 3,500 km range nuclear capable missile that can be launched from a
submarine on 19 Jan 2020.
• The missile was developed by DRDO.
• The three-metre-tall missile carries a nuclear warhead of over one tonne with a circular error probability.
• Only the US, Russia and China have submarine-launched ballistic missiles of 3,500-kilometre range.
Indian Army conducted Exercise ‘Winged Raider’
• The Indian Army conducted its biggest airborne exercise called the ‘Winged Raider’ comprising of more
than 500 special forces troops in the North-Eastern theatre.
• The exercise conducted on January 10 had over 500 soldiers of the Special Forces parachuting from C-130
Hercules and C-17 globemaster transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force, besides Dhruv helicopters during
the day and night.
Exercise Sahyog Kaijin began in Chennai port
• Coast Guards of India and Japan took part in a joint exercise 'Sahyog-Kaijin' off the Chennai coast on 16 Jan
2020 as part of strengthening the bond of the two countries.
• One ship of the Japanese Coast Guard, and four ships and an aircraft of the Indian Coast Guard took part in
the exercise.
• The exercise marked demonstrations of search and rescue and external fire-fighting.
51st K9 Vajra-T guns dedicated to nation
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh dedicated to the nation the 51st K9 Vajra self-propelled Howitzer gun made
by L&T at Hazira in Gujarat, on 16 Jan 2020.
• The gun weighs 50 tonnes and can fire 47-kg bombs at targets up to a distance of 43 kilometres.
• It can also turn around at zero radius.
• They meet the requirement of 21st-century warfare including deep fire support to the longer firing range.
Army Ocean Sailing Expedition flagged off
• The Indian Army Ocean Sailing Expedition from Mumbai to Okha in Gujarat was flagged off in Mumbai on
15 Jan 2020.
• The team will be sailing in the Arabian Sea and will return to Mumbai on 27 Jan 2020.
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• The 13-day exercise will test the skill of sailors on high seas.
• The team comprises of 43 members.
• The team will sail in 4 non-motorised Seabird class boats, supported by a ground support team
Capt Tania Shergill: 1st woman parade adjutant
• Captain Tania Shergill, an officer with Army's Corps of Signals, will be the first woman parade adjutant for
the Republic Day parade.
• A parade adjutant is responsible for the parade.
• In the 2019 Republic Day parade, Captain Bhavna Kasturi was the first woman officer to lead an all-men
contingent.
• Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will be the chief guest at the parade for the year 2020.
NATO class diesel launched for Indian Navy
• Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has developed a special class diesel conforming to NATO grade for use in ships of
Indian Navy.
• Vice Admiral G S Pabby launched the Upgraded High Flash High-Speed Diesel (HFHSD- IN 512) in presence of
IOC Directors SSV Ramakumar and S M Vaidya.
• The fuel has lesser environmental impact due to low Sulphur content and would result in the better
performance of engines.
Japan's Ship ‘Echigo’ arrived in Chennai
• The Japan Coast Guard Ship ‘Echigo’ arrived Chennai on 13 Jan 2020 on a five-day goodwill visit.
• It will be participating in the Annual Joint Exercise ‘Sahyog-Kaijin’ with the Indian Coast Guard off Chennai
on 16 Jan 2020.
• This is the 19th edition of the exercise.
• It is aimed at further strengthening bilateral ties and mutual understanding between the two Coast Guards.
India to acquire 200 fighter jets for IAF
• The government is in the process of acquiring around 200 aircraft to cope with the depleting aerial
inventories of the Indian Air Force.
• The contract for HAL-manufactured 83 LCA Tejas Mark 1 A advanced fighter jets are in the final stages.
• The Indian Air Force has Sukhoi 30 MKIs, Mirage 2000s, Mig 29s and the ageing Jaguars and Mig 21 Bisons
in its inventory of fighter jets at present.
Light Combat Aircraft made successful landing
• The naval version of indigenous Light Combat Aircraft, LCA, made its first successful landing on the aircraft
carrier INS Vikramaditya on 11 Jan 2020.
• This aircraft is developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization, DRDO.
• India has now entered into the club of selected nations having the capability to design a fighter jet which
can land on an aircraft carrier.
Vikrant carrier to be commissioned by 2021
• The manufacturing of India's first indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant is currently under phase three.
• It is likely to be commissioned by early 2021.
• The nearly 40,000-tonne carrier is being built at the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in Kochi.
• Vikrant will be fully operational by 2022 and it will have a fleet of MiG-29K aircraft.
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Visakhapatnam to host MILAN 2020 in March

• After successfully hosting the International Fleet Review (IFR) in Feb 2016, Visakhapatnam will host another
International Naval event 'MILAN' in March 2020.
• MILAN 2020 is a multilateral naval exercise aimed to enhance professional interaction between friendly
foreign navies and learn from each other's strengths in the maritime domain.
• The theme of the exercise is 'Synergy Across the Seas'.
Lt Gen Ranbir Singh visits Xinjiang, China
• A high-level military delegation led by Lt. General Ranbir Singh, Commander of Indian Army’s Northern
Command visited Xinjiang, on 9 Jan 2020.
• He held talks with senior Chinese Military leaders in province’s capital Urumqi on issue of mutual interest.
• The delegation has also met the Commander of Western Theatre Command, General Zhao Zongqi at
Chengdu and discussed issues of joint training.
India & Oman conduct bilateral naval exercise
• India and Oman will conduct 12th edition of bilateral maritime exercise ‘Naseem Al Bahr’ in Mormugao
Port, Goa.
• ‘Naseem-Al-Bahr’ (or sea breeze) is a naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the RNO, being
conducted since 1993.
• Indian Navy ships Beas and Subhadra and Oman Navy ships RNOV Al Rasikh and RNOV Khassab are
participating in this exercise.
Indian Navy start 1st Maha-Navy Connect 2020
• Indian Navy's 1st Maha-Navy Connect 2020 Tri-Dimensional Expedition started from Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• The aim of the expedition is to promote the maritime heritage of India and spread awareness about Coastal
Security amongst the coastal communities in Maharashtra.
• The tri-dimensional expedition consisting of yachting, running and cycling teams of 50 naval personnel.
Army to sign MoU for AK-203 assault rifles
• The Indian Army will sign an MoU in a month for the procurement of over 7.5 lakh AK-203 assault rifles,
which are to be manufactured by an India-Russia joint venture (JV).
• About 1 lakh rifles will come directly from Russia and the remaining will be manufactured by the JV in India.
• The rifles will be manufactured by the Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) at Korwa in Uttar Pradesh.
Defence Expo 2020 to be held in Lucknow
• The Defence Expo 2020 will be held for the first time in Lucknow from February 5 to 9, 2020.
• It will be the biggest ever defence exhibition in the country in terms of participation of exhibitors, the area
of the exhibition and the revenue to be earned.
• The Defence Ministers and Army chiefs of 25 countries are expected to participate in the programme.
4 IAF personnel selected for Gaganyaan Mission
• 4 airmen from Indian Air Force have been identified for India's first manned mission to space, Gaganyan.
• They will undergo astronauts' training in Russia from the third week of January 2020.
• Gaganyan is planned to be launched in 2022 as announced by the Prime Minister.
• Chandrayan-3 mission has also been approved by the Government, which will be launched without an
orbiter.
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January 2020
Committees & Recommendations

Chhattisgarh CM constituted panels
• Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel has set up a committee under agriculture minister Ravindra Choubey.
• It will ensure the payment of Rs 2500 per quintal to farmers against procurement of paddy on minimum
support price.
• The committee will examine the schemes of central and state governments for provisions of financial aids
for farmers and submit recommendation within a month.
National Affairs
Special edition of Khadi watches launched
• Union minister Nitin Gadkari has launched the limited edition of Khadi wristwatches manufactured as part
of a joint initiative by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission and Titan.
• Priced at Rs 5,000, the watch sports a silver dial displaying the Charkha.
• 1 sq m of Khadi fabric will be used for manufacturing 10 Titan watches and 1,000 such watches are
proposed to be sold for now.
World’s largest meditation centre in Telangana
• A one lakh capacity meditation centre, claimed to be the world's largest such facility, was inaugurated in
Telangana.
• It has come up at the global headquarters of the Heartfulness Institute and the Shri Ram Chandra Mission
(SRCM) in Hyderabad, which impart training in Raja Yoga system of meditation.
• The centre with a central hall and 8 peripheral halls will offer free meditation training.
Google announced $1-million grant to India
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• In an effort to counter fake news and misinformation in India, Google News Initiative (GNI) has announced a
$1 million grant for Internews, a news literacy organisation.
• The funding support is part of Google's broader, $10-million commitment to media literacy.
• The grant will work towards building a strong network of senior reporters and journalists, who will
counteract fake news in India.
Govt to augment Lab facilities
• The government has decided to augment the lab facilities in the country for a screening of Novel
Coronavirus.
• Six more labs have started functioning from 30 Jan 2020.
• These are NIV Bengaluru Unit, Victoria Hospital Campus, KR Road, Fort, Bengaluru, AIIMS, New Delhi, NCDC,
Delhi, Kasturba Hospital for infectious diseases, Mumbai and NIV - Kerala Unit.
India's first confirmed case of coronavirus
• A positive case of Novel coronavirus has been detected in Kerala's Thrissur district and the patient has been
kept in an isolation ward.
• The patient is a student studying in Wuhan University, China and had recently returned to India.
• The 2019-novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) epidemic started in China's Wuhan city early December 2019 and
has so far claimed more than 170 lives.
Reliance Industries launching new project
• Reliance Industries is launching a project to use plastics in road construction.
• India, which uses about 14 million tonnes of plastic annually, lacks an organised system for management of
plastic waste.
• The company will seek to work with India's highway authority and individual states to potentially supply a
plastics-infused mix to make some of the thousands of kilometres of roads.
Honorary D.Lit to Abhijit Bandyopadhyay
• The Calcutta University conferred Honorary D.Lit. Degree to Nobel Laureate Prof. Abhijit Binayak
Bandyopadhyay at its Annual Convocation on 28 Jan 2020.
• The Vice-Chancellor of the University Ms Sonali Chakraborty Banerjee presented the Degree to him.
• Mr Monoranjan Bapari received Rabindra Nath Tagore Memorial Medal for his outstanding contribution in
the field of Literature.
Tamil Nadu got approval for Medical Colleges
• Tamil Nadu has got the approval for two more Government Medical Colleges from the Centre.
• The two districts of Ariyalur and the newly formed Kallakurichi will get the new institutions.
• With this, the number of approvals by the Centre to establish new medical colleges on a cost-sharing basis
has gone up to eleven, which is considered a record.
Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill
• Union Cabinet has approved the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
• The bill will amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.
• For Medical termination of pregnancy, permission will be needed, from two doctors and one of them must
be a government doctor.
• The limit of termination of pregnancy has been increased from 20 weeks to 24 weeks.
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30% funds of NE Council for new projects

• The Cabinet approved the allocation of 30% of funds of the North-Eastern Council for new projects.
• This will help in focused development of deprived areas, neglected sections of society and emerging priority
sectors.
• It has also approved extension of Productivity-Linked Reward Scheme for the employees and workers of the
Major Port Trust and Dock Labour Board for the period beyond 2017-18.
NHRC organised a meeting
• The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) organised a meeting of a Statutory Full Commission in New
Delhi on 30 Jan 2020.
• NHRC Chairperson Justice HL Dattu chaired the meeting.
• The meeting was called for the discharge of functions towards promotion and protection of human rights as
specified in the statutory clauses (b) to (j) of Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights (PHR) Act.
Isalak: 1st to pass resolution against CAA
• Isalak became the first village in Maharashtra to pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act
(CAA) and the National Register of Citizens.
• The proposal was placed before the annual gram sabha of the village on 26 January 2020.
• The villagers unanimously passed the resolution after discussing the provisions of the Act.
10 more Indian wetlands got Ramsar site tag
• Ramsar has declared 10 more wetlands from India as sites of international importance.
• Maharashtra got its first Ramsar site, Nandur Madhameshwar.
• With this, the numbers of Ramsar sites in India are now 37 and the surface area covered by these sites is
now 1,067,939 hectares.
• Uttar Pradesh with one Ramsar site has added 6 more—Nawabganj, Parvati Agra, Saman, Samaspur, Sandi
and SarsaiNawar.
Birth Anniversary of Lala Lajpat Rai: Jan 28
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to one of the key leaders of the freedom struggle Lala Lajpat
Rai on his birth anniversary on 28 Jan 2020.
• Popularly called Punjab Kesari, Rai was born in Punjab’s Moga in 1865.
• He founded several institutions and organizations such as Hisar Bar Council, Hisar Arya Samaj, Hisar
Congress, National DAV Managing Committee.
Google Cloud Centre of Excellence in Hyderabad
• Tech Mahindra has set up a Google Cloud Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Hyderabad to drive the digital
transformation of enterprises globally.
• The CoE will help enterprises to move critical workloads to Google Cloud, develop their Artificial Intelligence
(AI) and data analytics solutions, and improve workplace productivity.
Samvidhaan: Oxford Hindi Word of the Year 2019
• Oxford University Press (OUP) named "Samvidhaan'' (Constitution) the Oxford Hindi Word of 2019.
• Samvidhaan means a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state
or other organisation is acknowledged to be governed.
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• The word first received widespread attention on 5 Aug 2019 which effectively removed the special status
granted to Jammu and Kashmir.
African cheetah to get suitable habitat
• The Supreme Court allowed the Centre to introduce the African cheetah to suitable habitat in India.
• A petition was filed by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) seeking permission for the
introduction of the African cheetah from Namibia as rare Indian cheetah is almost extinct in the country.
• The Court also set up a three-member committee to guide the NTCA.
Nagpur Metro Aqua line inaugurated
• Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray inaugurated 18.5 kilometre-long stretch of Nagpur Metro Aqua line of
Maha Metro Rail Network on 28 Jan 2020.
• The Phase-I of Nagpur Metro is completed in record time.
• The newly inaugurated Nagpur Metro Aqua line passing over the Ambazari lake in city will connect the east
and west parts of the city.
• Nagpur Metro network is now operational up to 24.5 kms.
Odisha launched virtual police station
• The Odisha Govt has launched a virtual police station where people can lodge complaints from their
respective districts regarding theft of their vehicles without visiting Police Station.
• The e-police station will function from State Crime Records Bureau in Bhubaneswar.
• CM Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the facility along with road accident case documents module.
Centre plans to set up Food Parks
• Centre has planned to set up Food Parks in all states of North East Region.
• A number of food parks have already been completed and started functioning.
• This was announced by Union Minister of State for Ministry of Food Processing Industries Rameswar Teli.
• The Minister said this while addressing a workshop on Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) at
Aizawl.
175 Giga Watt renewable energy by 2022
• The Govt has targeted to install 175 Giga Watt renewable energy by 2022 to build a healthy planet with less
carbon-intensive economy.
• Through Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthan Mahabhiyan, PM-KUSUM scheme, government
empowers the farmers to be the producer of energy.
• The scheme covers grid-connected renewable energy power plants, stand-alone solar powered agricultural
pumps, etc.
Bhuvan Panchayat V3 web Portal launched
• Union Minister of State for PMO Dr Jitendra Singh launched the Bhuvan Panchayat V3 web Portal.
• It will enhance network application of gram panchayats.
• The Portal will function with the help of satellite technology developed by ISRO.
• The targeted audience for this portal are Public, PRIs and different stakeholders belonging to the gram
panchayats.
'Beating the Retreat Ceremony' to be held
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• Beating the Retreat ceremony, marking the culmination of 4-day long Republic Day celebrations, will be
held at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi on 29 Jan 2020.
• It marks a centuries old military tradition, when the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms and
withdrew from the battlefield and returned to the camps at sunset at the sounding of the Retreat.
• It traces its origins to the early 1950s.
India's first Super Fab Lab inaugurated
• The country's first Super Fab Lab was launched at the Integrated Startup Complex of the Kerala Startup
Mission (KSUM) recently.
• Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the facility through remote control from Palakkad.
• The Super Fab Lab will function in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
APGCL to set up a waste-to-energy plant
• The Assam Power Generation Corporation Ltd (APGCL) is planning to set up a waste-to-energy plant in
Guwahati.
• This plan of the APGCL is the product of the MoA signed by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC)
with the APGCL.
• As per the MoA, the GMC shall store the waste in a scientific manner to prevent contamination and after
segregation of the waste.
India's first underwater metro to start soon
• Kolkata Metro Rail Corp. expects to complete its East-West project, which runs partly under the city’s iconic
Hooghly river, by March 2022.
• The authority is awaiting a final installment of 200 million rupees over the next two years from the Indian
Railway Board.
• The new line is expected to carry about 900,000 people daily, roughly 20% of the city’s population.
Govt invited bids to sell Air India
• The government has announced the sale of 100% stake in debt-laden Air India.
• As part of the strategic disinvestment, Air India would also sell 100 per cent stake in low-cost airline Air
India Express and 50 per cent shareholding in joint venture AISATS.
• Management control of the airline would also be transferred to the successful bidder.
UP govt to set up isolation wards in hospitals
• UP government has decided to set up isolation wards of 10 beds in each and every district hospital in view
of the possible threat of Corona virus.
• A suspected case of Coronavirus has been reported in Bihar's Chapra.
• A patient suspected to be affected by Coronavirus is admitted in Mumbai also. The patient had visited China
during 3 and 11 January.
3rd Global Potato Conclave-2020 held
• PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the 3rd Global Potato Conclave-2020 at Gandhinagar in Gujarat through
video conferencing on 28 Jan 2020.
• The four day Conclave will provide an opportunity to bring all stakeholders at one common platform.
• Gujarat is one of the leading producers of Potato in the country.
• Netherland is the partner country of this conclave.
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Central Zonal Council meeting held

• Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the 22nd meeting of the Central Zonal Council at Raipur, in Chhattisgarh,
on 28 Jan 2020.
• There are five Zonal Councils in the country which were set up in the year 1957.
• Central Zonal Council comprises of four states- Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and
Chhattisgarh.
• Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh was the Vice Chairman of the meeting.
IIT Gandhinagar to invest ₹100 crore
• IIT Gandhinagar is building a research park that will house 50 corporate R&D centres at an investment of
around Rs100 crore.
• A sizeable portion of this will be dedicated to micro and small enterprises sector.
• The facility has bagged a grant of ₹90 crore from the department of science and technology (DST).
• Nasscom has also signed an agreement for centre of excellence in Internet of Things.
Delhi-Mumbai Expressway to be ready by 2023
• January 26, 2023, has been set as the deadline for the Delhi-Mumbai expressway.
• With its construction, one would be able to drive from Delhi to Mumbai in just 12 hours.
• The expressway will have eight lanes, and provision has been made for its expansion to 12 lanes to meet
future traffic growth.
• Those driving from Delhi to Jaipur on the expressway will save nearly 1.6 hours.
India's first 'walk-through' aviary
• Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray inaugurated the country's first and biggest 'walk-through' aviary at the
Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo, Mumbai on 26 Jan 2020.
• Spread over 18,200 sq.feet and 44 feet high, the aviary will house over 100 species of rare, exotic and
common birds, living their natural environs.
• It also has India's first air-conditioned enclosure for Humboldt Penguins.
Mumbai got second all-women post office
• Mumbai's second 'mahila dakghar' - post offices operated by women staffers was inaugurated on 25 Jan
2020 at Mahim Bazaar.
• All the official positions at the post office, from postmaster in-charge to counter persons, will be managed
by women.
• They will manage and supervise all types of work including, Savings Bank Counters, Aadhaar Centre, India
Posts Payment Bank and Treasury work.
Ganga Yatra under Namami Gange mission began
• The 5-day Ganga Yatra under Namami Gange mission began on 27 Jan 2020 from Bijnor and Ballia in Uttar
Pradesh.
• UP CM Yogi Adityanath and Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat launched the yatra from Bijnor, a place
where Ganga enters Uttar Pradesh.
• The aim of the yatra is to promote bio-diversity and to make the villages situated on the banks of the holy
river more developed and prosperous.
Nitin Gadkari launched ‘GATI’ web portal
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• The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has launched an online portal ‘GATI’.
• The new portal created by NHAI on the lines of PRAGATI portal used by PMO can be accessed from NHAI
website and contractors, concessionaires can raise any project related issues on it.
• All the issues brought to the notice through the new portal will be immediately taken up by the top NHAI
officials.
NIRDPR tied up with UNICEF
• National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) has joined hands with UNICEF.
• It will establish a ‘Communication Resource Unit’ (CRU) to act as an institutional mechanism for providing
strategic communication support to national flagship programmes.
• CRU is equipped with a skilled team to support rollout plans, capacity building, among others.
International summit on women in STEM
• The Department of Biotechnology organized an International Summit on Women in STEM–"Visualizing the
Future: New Skylines" on 23-24 Jan 2020 in New Delhi.
• The aim was to boost the participation of women in the STEM field for the development of scientific
careers.
• Different sessions of the summit included mechanisms of leadership building, empowering women through
networking, etc.
Bharat Parv 2020 to be held from 26-31 Jan
• Bharat Parv 2020 will begin from 26 Jan 2020 at Red Fort ground in New Delhi and will be on till 31 Jan
2020.
• The objective of Bharat Parv is to encourage people to visit different tourist places of the country and to
inculcate the spirit of ‘Dekho Apna Desh’.
• The theme for the year 2020 is Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat and Celebrating 150 Years of Mahatma Gandhi.
Corona Virus: Centre launched 24X7 call centre
• Seven central teams visited states and designated airports on 26 Jan 2020 to review the end-to-end
preparedness for management and control of Novel Coronavirus in India.
• The states are New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi.
• A 24x7 National Centre for Disease Control Call Centre - 011 -23978046 has been made operational.
2-Day NH review concluded in Haryana
• Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Rood Transport & Highways and MSME reviewed projects of all National
Highway development, on 23-24 Jan 2020 at Manesar, Haryana.
• The review was done state wise.
• Every ongoing project was reviewed with a 360-degree view from all stakeholders.
• About 740 National Highway Projects of 16 States were reviewed.
India’s first war memorial of animals
• Meerut in Uttar Pradesh will be host to India’s first war memorial for service animals including dogs, horses
and mules.
• This place will dedicate itself to the contributions of animals who have helped the army in counter-
insurgency operations in Kashmir and in the battlefield during the Kargil War.
• The memorial will come up at the Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC) Centre and College.
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Andhra Pradesh assembly passed bills

• The Andhra Pradesh State Legislative assembly passed the Capital Region Development Authority Repeal
Bill 2020 and the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of all Regions Bill 2020.
• The bills were aimed to decentralize the state's capital between Amaravati, Visakhapatnam, and Kurnool.
• Decentralization Bill provides the provision to divided the state into various zones.
Complete phase out of Hydrochlorofluorocarbon
• India has successfully achieved the complete phase-out of Hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-141 b.
• It is a chemical used by foam manufacturing enterprises and one of the most potent ozone-depleting
chemical after Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
• (HCFC)-141 b is used mainly as a blowing agent in the production of rigid polyurethane (PU) foams.
‘Women with Wheels’ service launched
• 'Women with wheels,' taxi service was launched at the Indira Gandhi International Airport and is unique as
it is operated by women drivers, for women.
• The service, an initiative by 'Sakha cabs' was launched from the international airport in a bid to make
women feel safer.
• The cabs are driven by women drivers and the services are also provided to only female commuters.
Reading of Preamble mandatory in schools
• Madhya Pradesh government has made the reading of Preamble of the Constitution mandatory in schools
on every Saturday from 25 January 2020.
• The Preamble to the Constitution will be read out by the headmaster or teacher in all the schools after
prayer on every Saturday.
• The same will be read out by the students later.
10 chairs to be set up in various universities
• The Ministry of Women and Child Development announced to set up 10 Chairs in different fields with an
aim to carry out research activities to encourage women.
• The initiative called the Establishment of Chairs in the Universities in the name of eminent women is being
launched.
• The main objective is to inspire women to pursue higher education and to achieve excellence in their area
of work.
Punjab banned Autos older than 15 years
• The Punjab government announced a ban on three-wheelers that are older than 15 years and run on fossil
fuel.
• They will be replaced with electric or compressed natural gas (CNG) engines.
• Punjab Pollution Control Board has already banned the registration of new diesel or petrol three-wheelers
in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib and Mohali districts.
NITI Aayog to develop a platform
• Niti Aayog will develop a National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP) to make all government data
accessible to stakeholders in a user-friendly manner.
• NDAP will strive to ensure that the data is assured, consistent, coherent and credible.
• The NDAP will host multiple datasets, present them coherently and provide visualisation and analytics tools.
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Uttarakhand to implement a policy

• Uttarakhand has become the first state in the country where the government has made a policy to lease
agricultural land.
• In lieu of giving land on a 30-year lease, the concerned farmer will get the rent for the land.
• In the hilly areas of the state, the obstacles of leasing land for farming, agriculture, horticulture, milk
production, tea plantation, etc. has been removed with this step.
Russia: Theme country for IKBF 2020
• The 44th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF) will be held from 29th January to 9th February 2020.
• Twenty countries will participate in the 2020 edition of Kolkata International Book Fair.
• Russia is the theme country for IKBF 2020.
• The theme gate will be a replica of the iconic Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
• IKBF is the world’s largest non-trade book fair, and Asia’s largest book fair.
India's first e-waste clinic opened in Bhopal
• The country’s first e-waste clinic was opened in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on 24 Jan 2020.
• It will enable segregation, processing and disposal of waste from both household and commercial units.
• The e-waste clinic is jointly set up by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Bhopal Municipal
Corporation (BMC).
• It has been started on the basis of a three-month pilot project.
Sukumar Sen Memorial Lecture held
• Election Commission of India hosted the first Sukumar Sen Memorial Lecture on 23 Jan 2020.
• The Annual Lecture Series is envisaged as a tribute to Sukumar Sen, the first Chief Election Commissioner of
India credited with commendably conducting the first two General Elections to the Lok Sabha.
• The speaker for the first Sukumar Sen Memorial Lecture for 2020 was Pranab Mukherjee.
Hyderabad Metro partnered with redBus
• Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited launched redBus Carpool services for Metro rail commuters on 21 Jan 2020.
• The facility would enable last-mile connectivity for daily commuters.
• The service would be provided through rPool, an in-app ride-sharing service from redBus.
• Users can download the redBus app and the cost of travel starts from ₹2 per kilometre for the ride taker.
Wildlife census began in Tamil Nadu
• The annual wildlife census started in the Kalakkadu - Mundanthurai tiger sanctuary in Tamil Nadu on 22 Jan
2020.
• The survey will continue till 27 Jan 2020 and will cover 60,000-hectare area.
• The first part of the survey will be devoted to taking count of carnivores like tiger, jackals etc, while the
second phase will involve the enumeration of herbivores like elephants, deer etc.
Closure of HFL plant in Telangana approved
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA approved shutting down the operations of the plant and
unit of Hindustan Fluorocarbons Limited, HFL and closure of the company.
• HFL is a Central Public Sector Enterprise under Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals.
• HFL has only one plant located at Rudraram, District Sangareddy in Telangana.
Comprehensive Industrial Policy for J&K
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• Centre will soon announce a comprehensive Industrial Policy for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir
to attract huge investment in the region.
• This was disclosed by Union Minister Som Prakash.
• The Central government will extend all help to local industrialists to enable them to flourish and compete
with others by providing them level field.
16 States & UTs participating in R-Day Parade
• 16 States and UTs and 6 Central Ministries will participate in the Republic Day Parade 2020 in New Delhi.
• The Tableau of Gujarat is on the theme Rani ki Vav - Jal Mandir.
• Punjab's Tableau is on the theme '550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji'.
• Odisha will showcase the famous Rukuna Rath Yatra of Lord Lingaraj.
• Meghalaya's Tableau will showcase the Double Decker Living Root Bridge.
Permanent campuses for new NITs approved
• Union Cabinet approved revised cost estimates for the establishment of permanent campuses of new
National Institutes of Technology, NITs, at a total cost of Rs 4371.90 cr for the period till 2021-2022.
• NITs were established in the year 2009 and started functioning from academic year 2010-2011 in their
temporary campus.
• These will be functional from their permanent campuses by 31st Mar 2022.
Cabinet to consider Nirvik scheme
• The Union Cabinet is expected to consider approval of the Nirvik (Niryat Rin Vikas Yojana) scheme.
• It aims to ease lending process and enhance loan availability to exporters.
• Under the scheme, also called the Export Credit Insurance Scheme (ECIS), the insurance cover guaranteed
could cover up to 90 per cent of the principal and interest.
ICICI Bank launched a new facility
• ICICI Bank announced the launch of a ‘cardless cash withdrawal’ facility from its ATMs.
• This service allows the bank customers to withdraw cash from any ICICI Bank ATM without a debit card
24X7.
• There is no requirement to carry and use debit card or ATM PIN to withdraw cash for daily usage.
• The daily transaction limit as well as per transaction limit is set at ₹20,000.
National consultative workshop organised
• The Ministry for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare organized the first National consultative workshop on
Strengthening Agri- Logistics in e-National Agriculture Market (e-Nam) in New Delhi on 21 Jan 2020.
• More than 200 prominent professionals, practitioners of Agri-Logistics, productivity analysis, quality
management, warehousing and transportation and logistics start-ups participated.
National Startup Advisory Council set up
• The government has set up a National Startup Advisory Council to advise the Centre on measures needed to
build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and start-ups in the country.
• The Council will suggest measures to foster a culture of innovation among students and others.
• The Council will be chaired by the Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.
Manufacturing of the battle tanks doubled
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• The engine manufacturing capacity for the battle tanks in the Indian Ordnance Board’s Engines Factory near
Chennai has been more than doubled to 750 per annum.
• The new Flexible Manufacturing System-FMS was inaugurated in the factory on 21 Jan 2020.
• The new system is the first to be installed in any of the Ordnance Factories in the country to help increase
productivity.
Marathi mandatory in all schools: Maha Govt
• Maharashtra Govt will enact a law during the next session of the State Legislature, making it mandatory to
teach Marathi language from Class 1 to Class 10 in all schools in the state.
• This was announced by Maharashtra Industries Minister Subhash Desai.
• The government intends to carry out all its business in Marathi and files without notings in the state
language will not be accepted.
44 children got their 1st flight experience
• In a first, 44 Divyang children from Odisha experienced the joy of flying aboard in a special Alliance Air flight
from Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar on 22 Jan 2020.
• The initiative is a result of joint collaboration of Ministry of Civil Aviation, Airport Authority of India and
Alliance Air with Government of Odisha.
• The children included 21 girls and 23 boys.
32nd interaction through PRAGATI platform
• PM Narendra Modi will chair the 32nd interaction through PRAGATI- the ICT-based, multi-modal platform
for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation in New Delhi on 22 Jan 2020.
• Prime Minister had launched the multi-purpose and multi-modal governance platform PRAGATI on 25th
March 2015.
• PRAGATI is an integrating and interactive platform aimed at addressing the common man’s grievances.
STEP joined govt.’s NEAT initiative
• The Hindu Group’s STEP, an online certification course, has been selected by the Ministry of HRD and
AICTE to be a part of the government’s National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT) programme.
• STEP Train, STEP’s flagship product, will be featured as a certification course on the portal and will be
accessible to over 2,500 AICTE-approved institutions across the country.
Printing of Union Budget documents began
• The printing of Union Budget documents 2020-21 began on 20 Jan 2020 with the traditional Halwa
ceremony.
• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presided over the ceremony in the presence of Minister of State for
Finance, Anurag Thakur.
• The Union Budget will be presented in Parliament on 1 February 2020.
• The Economic Survey will be presented on 31st January 2020.
Telangana EC to use face recognition app
• In a first in India, the Telangana State Election Commission will be using facial recognition app to counter
impersonation by voters.
• This will be done on a pilot basis in 10 selected polling stations in Kompally Municipality of Medchal
Malkajgiri district.
• A negative result, however, would not deprive the voter from exercising his franchise.
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Mumbai Police to get horse-mounted unit

• Mumbai Police will get a horse-mounted unit for traffic and crowd control after 88 years.
• The unit will be taking part in this year’s Republic Day parade at Shivaji Park.
• The mounted unit was disbanded in 1932 due to growing vehicular traffic.
• The government has approved 30 horses, a sub-inspector, one assistant PSI, four havaldars and 32
constables for the unit.
12th National Tribal Youth Exchange Programme
• Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Dr Kiran Bedi inaugurated the 12th National Tribal Youth Exchange
Programme in Puducherry on 20 Jan 2020.
• 200 youths from Naxal-affected districts of Chattisgarh are taking part in this week-long programme.
• The programme has been jointly organized by the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and Puducherry
Government.
ICP Biratnagar inaugurated
• PM Narendra Modi and his Nepali counterpart K P Sharma Oli inaugurated Integrated Check Post (ICP)
Biratnagar on 21 Jan 2020.
• ICP Biratnagar has been built on 260 acres of land at a cost of around 140 crore rupees.
• It has the facilities for immigration clearance of foreign passengers, export and import cargo handling.
• It is designed to handle around 500 trucks per day.
NIC Tech Conclave-2020 inaugurated
• Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurated the 2nd edition
of NIC Tech Conclave-2020 in New Delhi on 21 Jan 2020.
• The two-day event is being organized by the National Informatics Centre.
• The theme for the year 2020 is Technologies for Next-Gen Governance.
• It will contribute to the capacity building of Government officers across the country.
Supreme Court set up a panel
• The Supreme Court has set up a panel to firm up a draft legislation to give legal sanctity to disputes settled
through mediation.
• It would then be sent to the government as a suggestion from the apex court.
• The panel, to be headed by mediator Niranjan Bhat, will recommend a code of conduct for mediators, who
are legal experts.
Samsung to set up mobile display plant
• Samsung is setting up India's 1st smartphone display manufacturing unit on the outskirts of Delhi.
• It is investing more than Rs 3,500 cr in this facility in Noida, as per a regulatory filing with the Registrar of
Companies (RoC).
• It could later be expanded to manufacture displays of other devices as well.
• It has recently started the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturing unit in India.
Goa to get another airport at Mopa
• Aviation consultancy firm CAPA expects the second international airport in Goa to be ready for operations
in next three years.
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• The Supreme Court recently cleared the decks for construction of an international airport by the GMR
Group at Mopa in North Goa.
• The new airport would have a capacity to handle 30 million passengers annually once fully operational.
14th Foundation day of DFCCIL celebrated
• The 14th Foundation Day of Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) was celebrated at a
function in New Delhi on 18 Jan 2020.
• Union Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal participated in the event.
• In the awards ceremony, 28 individual awards and 4 Group awards were given.
• DFCCIL has completed 500 km of Dedicated Freight Corridor.
Fit India Cyclothon flagged off
• The Fit India Mission under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, organized the inaugural event of ‘Fit
India Cyclothon’ event in Panaji on 18 Jan 2020.
• The Cyclothon was flagged off by Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju and Goa CM
Pramod Sawant.
• The Cyclothon event witnessed participation by over 500 cycling enthusiasts.
ELECRAMA 2020 inaugurated
• Union Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises Prakash Javadekar inaugurated ELECRAMA 2020, at
India Expo Mart in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh on 18 Jan 2020.
• ELECRAMA is the flagship showcase of the Indian electrical industry and a platform to connect the world
with the Indian industry in respect of technology, new trends and innovation for the future energy
transition.
CM Bhupesh Baghel launched a mobile app
• Chhattisgarh CM, Bhupesh Baghel has launched an employment-oriented mobile app,‘Rojgar Sangi’.
• It is developed by the Chhattisgarh State Skill Development Authority (CSSDA).
• The app was designed to provide employment to trained youths under their skill development programme.
• It is expected that through this app, lakhs of unemployed youth of the state will be able to get employment.
Bahadurpur: India’s first model sports village
• Bahadurpur and Kheri Viran are set to become India’s first ‘Model Sports Villages’ as part of Institute of
Management Technology (IMT) Ghaziabad’s plan to evolve a sports culture in the country.
• Under the ‘Adarsh Khel Gram’ program, IMT in association with NGO ‘Sports: A Way of Life’, will evolve
sports culture and increase sports literacy in the twin villages.
Indian Postal Dept honoured Chuni Goswami
• Chuni Goswami, the Indian Football stalwart who led India to win the gold medal in the 1962 Asian Games
in Bangkok was honoured by the Indian Postal Department.
• The Dept issued a postal stamp on his 82nd birthday (January 15, 2020).
• Chuni-da is the third Indian footballer after the late Gostho Paul (1998), and late Dr Talimeren Ao (2018) on
whose name a postal stamp has been issued.
Aviation Ministry announced to register drones
• The Aviation Ministry announced a scheme asking operators to voluntarily register their drones by 31 Jan
2020.
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• Those who fail to register will face action under the Indian Penal Code and Aircraft Act.
• The number of illegal drones in India is likely to be between 50,000 and 60,000.
• This notification comes days after Iranian commander General Qassem Soleimani was killed in a US drone
attack.
Govt mandated hallmarking of gold jewellery
• It has now become mandatory for all jewellers to hallmark gold jewellery.
• The purpose of making hallmarking mandatory is to ensure that consumers are not cheated while buying
gold ornaments and get the purity as marked on the ornaments.
• From January 15, 2021, no jeweller will be allowed to sell any kind of gold ornaments without hallmarking.
Transport ministry to help states
• The transport ministry will extend support to state governments to help them set up monitoring centres
that will track public service vehicles.
• These will include buses and cab operators like Ola and Uber and ensure safety of passengers using public
transport in the country.
• The estimated cost of the project is Rs 463 cr, of which the Centre will bear Rs 332 crore.
NIC set up Centre of Excellence
• National Informatics Centre (NIC) has set up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Blockchain Technology in
Bengaluru.
• It will provide Blockchain as a service and allow stakeholders to benefit from shared learning, experiences
and resources.
• Union Minister for law and justice, communications and electronics and information technology Ravi
Shankar Prasad inaugurated the centre on 18 Jan 2020.
Govt to provide assistance for rare diseases
• The government will provide a one-time financial assistance of Rs 15 lakh to patients suffering from rare
diseases.
• According to the government, so far only about 450 diseases have been recorded in India from tertiary care
hospitals that are globally considered as rare diseases.
• The most commonly reported diseases include Haemophilia, Thalassemia, Sickle-cell Anaemia, etc.
Delhi placed under National Security Act
• In the wake of protests against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Lieutenant Governor of Delhi passed the
order authorising police to place the city under the National Security Act (NSA) for 3 months.
• The Act allows police to detain a person for months if it feels that he/ she is a threat to national security.
• The individual also need not be informed of the charges for 10 days.
New species of frogs discovered in Arunachal
• Scientists have discovered 3 new species of frogs in Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh.
• These 3 species of tiny frogs were discovered by scientists of Zoological Survey of India.
• The new species discovered from Talle Valley Wildlife Sanctuary have been named as ‘Liurana himalayana’,
‘Liurana indica’ and ‘Liurana minuta’.
Conference on Census 2021 held
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• A Conference of the Chief Secretaries and Administrator State and Union Territories on Census 2021 and
updating of National Population Register, NPR was held in New Delhi on 17 Jan 2020.
• Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai inaugurated the event.
• He also inaugurated the Official Mascot for Census 2021.
36 Union Ministers to visit Jammu and Kashmir
• 36 Union Ministers will visit Jammu and Kashmir beginning 18 Jan 2020.
• The Ministers will visit different districts on different days in both the Divisions of the Union Territory till
24th Jan 2020.
• The objective of the visit is to disseminate information about the importance of the Centre's policies for the
overall development of the UT and its people, along with steps taken by the govt.
North Zone Conference of Media Units
• The 3rd edition of North Zone Conference of Media Units of Information and Broadcasting Ministry, is being
held in Jammu.
• The Conference is being organised by Regional Outreach Bureau, Jammu and Kashmir region.
• Director-General, Bureau of Outreach and Communication, Satyendra Prakash made a detailed
presentation on Zero Budget Publicity and People-Centric Publicity.
APNA UREA – SonaUgle brand of HURL launched
• Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda on 17 Jan 2020 launched the APNA UREA - Sona
Ugle brand of Hindustan Urvarak and Rasayan Limited (HURL) in New Delhi.
• HURL is Joint Venture Company promoted by the three Maha Ratna Companies - Coal India Limited, NTPC
Limited and Indian Oil Corporation Limited.
Rs 2000 cr for completing Z Morh tunnel
• A Concession Agreement for completing the 6.5-kilometre long Z-Morh tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir was
signed on 17 Jan 2020 in New Delhi.
• Under the agreement, the two-lane bi-directional tunnel with parallel escape tunnel will be completed in
3.5 years at a cost of 2379 Crore rupees.
• Z-Morh Tunnel will provide all-weather road connectivity to Sonmarg tourist spot in Jammu and Kashmir.
Reliance Jio is India’s largest telco
• Reliance Jio has become the largest telecom operator in terms of subscribers with 369.93 million
customers.
• Vodafone Idea reported a drop of 36.41 million users in November 2019, which led its base to decline to
336.25 million.
• Bharti Airtel remained the third-largest player with 327.30 million customers with the addition of 1.65
million customers in November 2019.
UP Police to retire 303 rifles
• After over 70 years of service, the Uttar Pradesh Police is finally retiring the 303 rifles on Republic Day of
2020.
• The rifles are being replaced by modern rifles like Insas (Indian Small Arms System) and SLRs (Self-Loading
Rifles).
• Almost a century old, the 303 rifles were introduced in the year 1914 during the First World War and the
Uttar Pradesh Police received these rifles in 1945.
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Govt formed a society to run farmer schemes

• The government has formed a society to run all Centre-sponsored farmer welfare schemes including PM-
KISAN to improve monitoring and targeting.
• The Farmers’ Welfare Programmes Implementation Society has been registered under the Societies
Registration Act.
• It will run as an independent unit with agriculture secretary as the chairman.
PM addressed an international conclave
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi unveiled a life size statue of Swami Vivekananda at IIM Kozhikode
through video conference on 16 Jan 2020.
• He participated in the international conclave on “Global Indian Thought” that is being organised by IIM
Kozhikode.
• He spoke on various issues including welfare for women, increasing forest cover, protecting the tiger
population, etc.
5th Science Film festival began in Goa
• The fifth edition of Science Film Festival of India, SCI-FFI 2020, began on 15 Jan 2020 in Goa's capital city
Panaji.
• The festival aims at instilling the knowledge of science among the youth with the help of exhibitions,
masterclasses, workshops, and other activities.
• Films that have been selected to be screened at the event are 'Mission Mangal', 'Antariksham 9000 KMPH',
'Everest', etc.
India to host SCO Heads of Govt meeting
• The 19th council of heads of government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will be hosted by
India later in 2020.
• The meeting is held annually and it discusses the SCO’s programme and multilateral economic and trade co-
operation.
• All 8 members and 4 observer states and other international dialogue partners will be invited to the
meeting.
Eco-friendly bags made by Kolkata jail inmates
• In an effort to make the Gangasagar Mela in West Bengal plastic-free, around 150 inmates of two
correctional homes have made eco-friendly bags for distribution among the pilgrims.
• More than 50,000 bags made of cotton and jute had been stitched by the inmates of Dum Dum Central
Correctional Home and Presidency Correctional Home.
• The inmates had been trained by an NGO, Rakshak Foundation.
First edition of Krishi Manthan began
• In Gujarat, the first edition of Krishi Manthan began on 16 Jan 2020.
• It is the largest Food, Agri-business and Rural Development Summit of Asia organized by IIM, Ahmedabad.
• More than 1,500 delegates including students and academicians are participating in the two-day event
organized by the Food and Agribusiness Committee of IIMA.
7th Economic Census process in Gujarat
• Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani has launched the 7th Economic Census process in the state.
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• Economic Census process is being carried out by Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation with the help of Common Service Centres.
• Nearly 40,000 enumerators will use mobile application for the first time to gather information under the
guidance of 6,500 supervisors.
PMC Bank scam: HC set up a panel
• The Bombay High Court ordered the appointment of a 3-member committee to oversee the sale of assets
of Housing Development Infrastructure (HDIL) to pay the depositors of Punjab and Maharashtra Co-
operative Bank.
• Justice S Radhakrishnan, a retired judge of the high court, would head the committee.
• HDIL promoters Rakesh and Sarang Wadhawan are accused of committing a fraud on PMC Bank.
Culture Minister inaugurated an exhibition
• The Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism, Prahlad Singh Patel launched a month-long special
exhibition titled Indian Heritage in Digital Space and a two-day-long first international heritage symposium
on 15 Jan 2020 in New Delhi.
• The exhibition was organized in collaboration with IIT Delhi.
• The exhibition will remain open for public till 15 Feb 2020.
CARA celebrated 5th Annual Day
• Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) celebrated its 5th Annual Day in New Delhi on 15 Jan 2020.
• It is an apex body of Govt of India and is the designated Central Authority for regulating Inter-country
Adoption.
• It was designated as a Statutory Body on 15 Jan 2016, under the provisions of Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
Maharashtra Police to organize Int. marathon
• In a first in the country, Maharashtra Police would be organising an international marathon in Mumbai on 9
Feb 2020.
• The theme of the marathon would be "Health Run".
• In the run-up to the marathon, a bicycle ride would be organised on February 2, 2020.
• Also, the police in every district would organise Mahila Daud' (women's run) to promote women
empowerment and safety, on 31 Jan 2020.
Budget Session to begin from 31 Jan
• The Budget Session of Parliament will commence on 31 Jan 2020 and conclude on 3 April 2020 with a recess
in between.
• The first phase of the session will be held from 31 Jan-11 Feb 2020 and the second phase from 2 March-3
April 2020.
• President Ram Nath Kovind will address a joint sitting of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in the central hall
of Parliament on 31 January 2020.
7th Conference of CPA began
• The 7th Conference of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region began on 16 Jan 2020
at the legislative assembly building in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
• Governor Anandiben Patel will address the Valedictory Session on 17 Jan 2020.
• The main theme of the conference is ROLE OF LEGISLATORS.
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• Om Birla inaugurated the Conference in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
FASTag norms relaxed for 65 toll plazas
• FASTag norms for 65 toll plazas with high cash transactions have been relaxed to allow them to convert up
to 25% of FASTag lane of Fee Plaza into hybrid lanes for 30 days.
• It has been done on the request of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
• The government had rolled out FASTag-based electronic toll collection mechanism from 15 Dec 2019 across
all toll plazas of the NHAI.
Postal Ballot now for PwDs
• Person with disabilities(PwDs) and people over 80 years of age can now cast their vote in Delhi Assembly
Election through postal ballot.
• For the first time, Delhi Metro, Northern Railway Employees and media persons covering polling can also
use postal ballot facility to cast their votes.
• Till now, voting through postal ballot was available to armed forces and those assigned in poll duties.
Flipkart opened two new fulfilment centres
• Flipkart has opened two of its largest fulfilment centres (FCs) in Haryana, spread across nine lakh square
feet.
• The expansion of the FCs will help Flipkart to scale up its supply chain infrastructure in north India.
• Flipkart has also partnered with the National Skill Development Corporation’s Logistics Skill Sector Council
to provide training on the nuances of supply chain and delivery.
1st girder for the MTHL launched
• Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray launched the first girder for the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL)
megaproject on 15 Jan 2020 in Sewri.
• The MTHL is expected to be completed by 2022.
• The bridge will be 22 km long with 15.5 km running in the sea, with interchanges on both sides, making it
the longest sea bridge in India, and second after the Rajiv Gandhi Bandra Worli Sea Link.
IMD celebrated 145th Foundation day
• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) celebrated its 145th Foundation Day on 15 Jan 2020
• It was formed in the year 1875 and is headquartered in New Delhi.
• It is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India.
• It is responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology.
Dharmendra Pradhan to launch ‘Saksham’
• ‘Saksham’, an annual one-month long, people-centric fuel conservation mega campaign of Petroleum
Conservation Research Association (PCRA) will be launched on 16 Jan 2020.
• It will be launched by Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan in Delhi.
• PCRA and Oil & Gas companies shall carry out various interactive programs during this month-long
campaign.
Housing Ministry launched a platform
• Housing Ministry launched an e-commerce platform to facilitate homebuyers in identifying genuine
properties.
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• The online platform is for projects that have received occupancy certificates (OCs) and is expected to create
a seamless, safe and transparent home-buying experience for home buyers.
• Its objective is to bring transparency in the sector and offer only certified projects.
'The Last Game' of Ice Hockey held
• Ladakh witnessed a unique game event termed as 'The Last Game' of Ice Hockey on 15 Jan 2020.
• This game is to raise awareness on the impact of climate change on fragile environment of the region.
• In collaboration with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and
Randstad, the event is hosted by the Hockey Foundation and Ladakh Winter Sports Club.
NATO class diesel launched for Indian Navy
• Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has developed a special class diesel conforming to NATO grade for use in ships of
Indian Navy.
• Vice Admiral G S Pabby launched the Upgraded High Flash High-Speed Diesel (HFHSD- IN 512) in presence of
IOC Directors SSV Ramakumar and S M Vaidya.
• The fuel has lesser environmental impact due to low Sulphur content and would result in the better
performance of engines.
National Vendor Development Program
• Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan participated in the Special
National Vendor Development Program on Petroleum & Steel sectors for SC/ST Entrepreneurs, organised by
Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI)
• He also flagged off 3121st Bulk LPG Tanker Truck on 13 Jan 2020.
• DICCI is the apex body of SC/ST Entrepreneurs in the country.
Statue of Unity in ‘8 Wonders of SCO’
• The 182-meter tall Statue of Unity in Gujarat has been included in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's
'8 Wonders of SCO' list,
• This was announced by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on 13 Jan 2020.
• Statue of Unity, the world's tallest statue, is a monumental tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
• It was inaugurated in October 2018 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Classical Telugu Centre in Andhra Pradesh
• Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will inaugurate a new Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Telugu
(CESCT) in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh on 21 Jan 2020.
• The establishment of this Centre would facilitate to focus its activities for the development of this rich
classical Telugu through Research, seminars, debates and various activities.
• CESCT was earlier functioning from Mysore.
Investment proposals approved in Tamil Nadu
• In Tamil Nadu, fresh investment proposals worth Rs 6608 crore have been approved.
• They have been cleared by the higher-level committee on industrial guidance and single window system,
led by CM Edappadi K Palaniswamy.
• Many industries are coming up in districts like Tuticorin, Trichy, Perambalur, Krishnagiri and Vellore, besides
the traditional industrial hubs of Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur.
Road and highways Ministry proposed a plan
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• World Bank and Asian Development Bank have approved Rs 7000 cr each to remove black spots and
enhance road safety.
• Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced this while addressing the Road Safety
Stakeholders' Meet in New Delhi on 13 Jan 2020.
• Around 4,50,000 road accidents take place every year, in which over 1.5 lakh people lose their lives.
26 islands identified for holistic development
• The Centre has identified 16 islands in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and 10 in Lakshadweep for holistic
development by promoting tourism.
• This was disclosed at the 6th meeting of the Island Development Agency chaired by Home Minister Amit
Shah in New Delhi.
• For the first time in the country, an initiative of sustainable development in the identified Islands has been
taken-up.
Raisina Dialogue began
• India's flagship global conference on geopolitics and geo-economics Raisina Dialogue began on 14 Jan 2020.
• The fifth edition of the Raisina Dialogue is being jointly organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and the
Observer Research Foundation.
• The three-day conference will see the participation of 12 foreign ministers, including from Russia, Iran,
Australia, etc.
Noida, Lucknow to have police commissioners
• The UP cabinet has approved the proposal to set up police commissioner system in the cities of Lucknow
and Noida.
• This was announced by CM Yogi Adityanath on 13 Jan 2020.
• 2 women officers of Superintendent of Police (SP) and Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) ranks each
is being deployed to curb crimes against women in the new police commissionerates.
Kaziranga recorded 96 species of wetland birds
• Assam’s Kaziranga National Park has recorded a total of 19,225 birds from 80 families belonging to 96
species of wetland birds.
• This is one of the highest for any wildlife preserve in India as per the second wetland bird count conducted
by the Karizanga National Park on 9-10 Jan 2020.
• The survey covered four ranges of the park namely Agoratoli, Kohora, Bagori, and Burapahar.
Workshop on Bamboo concluded
• The deliberations of the two-day workshop-cum-exhibition on Bamboo concluded on 12 Jan 2020 at
Jammu.
• During the two-day workshop-cum-exhibition, various technical sessions were held on Bamboo Wood
Making and its products.
• The aim was to promote Bamboo cultivation which will ensure greater opportunities for sustainable
development in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Kolkata Port renamed
• The Kolkata Port has been renamed as Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Port.
• PM Narendra Modi announced this in Kolkata on the occasion of 150th years celebrations of the Kolkata
Port Trust on 12 Jan 2020.
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• He also launched several Port led development projects worth Rs 600 cr rupees to mark the day.
• He released a commemorative stamp on 150th years of the Kolkata Port Trust.
Mission Purvodaya unveiled
• Union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched Mission Purvodaya in Kolkata on 11 Jan 2020.
• The programme is aimed at accelerated development of eastern India through the establishment of an
integrated steel hub.
• Through this programme, the government aims to transform logistics and utilities infrastructure which
would change the socio-economic landscape in the eastern India.
Odisha approved Rs 8000 cr project
• The High-Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) approved a new greenfield alumina refinery unit, proposed by
Aditya Birla Group-owned Hindalco Industries.
• It is estimated to cost Rs 8,000 crore, is proposed to come up at Kansariguda near Rayagada in Odisha.
• With an envisaged nameplate capacity of two million tonnes per annum, the project is expected to spawn
employment for 4,250 people.
23rd National Youth Festival 2020 began
• The 23rd National Youth Festival 2020 began at Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh on 12 Jan 2020.
• Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju and CM Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the 5-
day event.
• It is being organized since 1995 with an objective to provide a platform to the youth of the country and
provide them with an opportunity to showcase their talents in various activities.
Zoo to be named after Ashfaqullah Khan
• The Uttar Pradesh cabinet has decided to set aside a budget of Rs 234 crore to build a zoological garden in
Gorakhpur, which would be named after freedom fighter Ashfaqullah Khan.
• As of now, there are two zoological gardens in Uttar Pradesh -- one in Lucknow, the other in Kanpur.
• Shaheed Ashfaqullah Khan was a noted freedom fighter born in Uttar Pradesh in the year 1900.
Arunachal assembly adopted new logo
• Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly has adopted a new logo, reflecting the distinct identity and culture
of the state.
• The new logo consists of the national emblem and foxtail orchid (Rhynchostylis Retusa), the state flower.
• The symbol of national emblem signifies the federal system of the Indian Constitution while the foxtail
orchid represents the state, its people, culture as a whole.
Miscellaneous News
• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated second CNG station in Nagpur
on 11 Jan 2020. It will be supplying the CNG to Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s buses and will have the
facility to convert diesel buses on CNG.
• He also inaugurated 31st Road Safety Campaign organised by Regional Transport Office,Traffic Police and
District Road Safety Committee in Nagpur.
Cyber Crime Prevention Unit launched
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated various projects of Gujarat Police and Indian Postal
Department in Gandhinagar on 11 Jan 2020.
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• The two projects VISWAS and AASHVAST will play a key role in preventing crimes in the state.
• He also inaugurated six different postal memory cards depicting various folk dances of Gujarat.
• He dedicated free Wi Fi system at Gandhinagar Railway Station.
Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020 to be held on 20 Jan
• PM Narendra Modi's interactive programme 'Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020' will be held on 20 Jan 2020.
• The HRD Ministry in partnership with MyGov has launched a ‘short essay’ competition for students of
classes 9 to 12.
• The students whose entries are judged the best on the basis of their online responses are invited to take
part in the programme to be held in Delhi at Talkatora Stadium.
Pulses Conclave 2020 to be held in Maharashtra
• India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) announced that the 5th edition 'The Pulses Conclave' will be held
from 12-14 Feb 2020 at Amby Valley City in Lonavala, Maharashtra.
• 1500 trade stakeholders from India and key pulses exporting countries will participate in the conclave.
• The Pulses Conclave 2020, as a part of its agenda, will discuss increasing domestic production and
consumption
Water-soluble fertilizers launched in Gujarat
• The Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation (GAIC) has launched imported water-soluble fertilisers in
Ahmedabad.
• The state agency, which promotes agro-based industries in Gujarat, has already imported 300 tonnes of
water-soluble fertilizers from China.
• The water-soluble fertilisers that were launched include, AGRO MKP, AGRO NOP, AGRO MAP, AGRO NPK,
AGRO CN, AGRO SOP.
Wings India 2020 to be held in Hyderabad
• Wings India 2020 will be held at Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad from 12-15 March 2020.
• It is an international exhibition and conference on the civil aviation sector.
• The event will provide a fillip to the aviation and restructured focused forums will be instrumental in
attaining the objective of connecting the buyers, sellers, investors and other stakeholders at a common
forum.
17 projects approved in Jammu and Kashmir
• In Jammu and Kashmir, the Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation has approved 17 projects
worth over 110 crore rupees.
• These include Jambu Zoo project of Rs 49 crore, 8 projects of Higher Education department amounting to
nearly Rs 34 crore, 3 projects of Horticulture department, and 4 projects of Youth Services and Sports
Department and one of PHE.
24x7 control room to monitor black money
• The Income Tax Dept has launched a 24x7 control room to monitor black money and illegal inducements in
poll-bound Delhi.
• The facility will also host a toll-free number- 1800117574 - where people can inform the department about
any activity of use of money power.
• The Election Commission (EC) has also appointed 22 IRS officers of the I-T Department as expenditure
observers for these polls.
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J&K registered increase in forest cover

• Jammu and Kashmir has registered a phenomenal increase in forest cover during the last 2 years and
figured at 4th position in the country.
• As per the latest India State of Forest Report 2019, the forests of J&K have recorded the highest growing
stock of wood per unit area, which is 144.16 cubic meter per hectare.
• It has also recorded the highest diversity of herbs in the country.
BRO inducted hi-tech equipment in J&K
• Border Roads Organization (BRO) has inducted hi-tech snow clearance and cutting machines in Jammu and
Kashmir.
• These are state of the art snow clearance equipment that clear one kilometre of snow in just three hours.
• These machines can operate at an altitude of even 18,500 feet and above and have the capability of
clearing 5,000 tonnes of snow per hour.
DPIIT launched paperless licensing process
• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has launched a paperless licensing
process for road tankers for transportation of petroleum.
• This move will provide a simpler mechanism, ease of living and business to the petroleum road tanker
owners.
• The process will include filing the applications online.
• Applicants, at each stage, will be intimated via SMS and email.
National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and also
dedicated the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal to the nation on 11 Jan 2020.
• It is located in New Delhi.
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• The scheme to set up I4C was approved in October 2018 at an estimated cost of around 416 crore rupees to
deal with all types of cyber-crimes in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.
Miscellaneous News
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be on 2-day visit to Gujarat from 12 Jan 2020. He will inaugurate
several projects of Gujarat Police in Gandhinagar. He will then inaugurate various facilities at Gandhinagar
Railway Station.
• PM Narendra Modi is on a two-day official visit to Kolkata from 11 Jan 2020. He dedicated to the Nation
Four Refurbished Heritage Buildings in the city.
Work on laying of submarine cables inaugurated
• Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad
inaugurated the works on laying of submarine cables from Chennai to Andaman Nicobar Islands in Chennai,
on 9 Jan 2020.
• The submarine cables will be initially laid from Chennai to Port Blair covering a distance of 1,450 kilometres.
• The works are expected to be completed by June 2020.
RBI amended KYC norms
• The RBI has amended the KYC norms allowing banks and other lending institutions regulated by it to use
Video-based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP).
• The V-CIP will be a consent-based method.
• The regulated entities will have to ensure that the video recording is stored in a safe and secure manner
and bears the date and time stamp.
J&K Tourism Dept launched publicity campaign
• J&K Tourism Department launched a massive publicity campaign at the ongoing South Asian Trade and
Travel Exchange Expo (SATTE), 2020, to showcase diverse tourism attractions of the twin regions.
• The three-day expo was organized in New Delhi from 8 Jan 2020.
• The 27th Edition of SATTE witnessed participation of over 1,000 delegates from over 50 countries and 28
Indian states.
1,100 Gram Sevaks to be recruited in Tripura
• Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb announced that around 1,100 Gram Sevaks will be recruited in the state
soon.
• He made the announcement while commencing of Police Week Parade at Manoranjan Debbarman Stadium
at Agartala on 9 Jan 2020.
• He inaugurated the Police Gallery at Tripura State Museum which has been set up by Tripura Police.
• It has been set up to showcase the sacrifice of police martyrs.
VP M Venkaiah Naidu on a 2-day visit to Trichy
• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu is on a two-day visit to Trichy and Thanjavoor in Tamil Nadu on 10 Jan
2020.
• He will inaugurate the world-renowned Saint Thayagaraja Aradahana Music Festival at Thiruvaiyaru on 11
Jan 2020.
• The music festival is famous for the devotional rendering of innumerable songs composed by Saint
Thyagaraja by well known and little known artists.
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1000 Fast Track Special Courts to be set up

• Over 1000 Fast Track Special Courts will be set up for speedy disposal of cases relating to rape and
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
• 24 States and UTs have joined this scheme for setting up 792 Fast Track Special Courts.
• These include 354 exclusive courts for trial of POCSO offences.
• These will be set up as a part of the National Mission for Safety of Women.
13th tranche of electoral bonds sale
• The 13th tranche of electoral bonds sale will take place from 13-22 Jan 2020.
• Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of
efforts to bring transparency in political funding.
• According to provisions of the scheme, electoral bonds can be purchased by a person who is a citizen of
India or incorporated or established in India.
Census India-2021 to begin on 1st April 2020
• Census India-2021 will begin on 1 April 2020 and will end on 30 September 2020.
• It will be conducted through a mobile phone app, moving away from the traditional pen and paper.
• Enumerators of the census will seek the information of the mobile number of the head of the family,
information related to toilets, TV, Internet, vehicles owned, source of drinking water, etc.
New certificate design for CBFC
• The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has announced the implementation of its new certificate
design in all its 9 regional offices across India.
• The new certificate will provide all the information and basic certification data about the film from cast
credits details to synopsis, plot, trailer and promo.
• The new certificate and the logo of CBFC were showcased on August 31, 2019.
Scientists converge in NIOT Chennai
• Over hundred global scientists in the field of ocean studies converged in the National Institute of Ocean
Technology (NIOT) in Chennai.
• They are participating in the Central Indian Ocean Leadership Workshop at the Union Government-run
research institution, with the support of the UN.
• The scientists represent fifteen Indian Ocean Rim countries.
Advantage Maharashtra expo 2020 inaugurated
• Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray inaugurated Advantage Maharashtra expo 2020 in Aurangabad on 9
Jan 2020.
• The four-day mega industrial exhibition has been organised by the Marathwada Association of Small Scale
Industries and Agriculture (MASSIA).
• Over 450 exhibitors from within the state as well as outside the state are participating in this exhibition.
ITTF executive committee meeting to be held
• New Delhi will host the 2-day Executive Committee meeting of the International Table Tennis Federation
(ITTF) beginning 10 Jan 2020.
• This will be the second time the country will be hosting such a meeting.
• The previous EC meeting of the ITTF was held in New Delhi way back in 1987.
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• It will be chaired by ITTF President Thomas Weikert and will discuss the development of table tennis in
India.
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister visits India
• Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena reached New Delhi on 8 Jan 2020 on a two-day official
visit to India.
• He had a delegation-level meeting with External affairs minister Dr S. Jaishankar on 9 Jan 2020.
• Cooperation in economic projects, investment by Indian companies, issue of fishermen and stability in the
Indian Ocean region were the main issues discussed by the two leaders.
Project for natural gas supplies approved
• The Govt has approved the Viability Gap Funding, VGF of 5559 crore rupees to Indradhanush Gas Grid
Limited to build Natural Gas Pipeline Grid covering 8 North-Eastern states.
• The 1,656-km pipeline will connect Guwahati in Assam to major cities in the region such as Itanagar,
Dimapur, Kohima, Imphal, Aizawl and Agartala.
• The total cost of the grid is 9 thousand 256 crore rupees.
New Wetland Conservation Rules
• Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified the new Wetland Conservation Rules.
• These rules prohibit setting up or expansion of industries and disposal of construction and demolition waste
within the wetlands.
• A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, and it takes on the
characteristics of a distinct ecosystem.
Special status to Ayurvedic institutions
• The Cabinet approved conferring the status of Institution of National Importance to a cluster of Ayurvedic
institutions at Gujarat Ayurved University campus in Jamnagar.
• This elevation of the status of the institution will provide it with the autonomy to upgrade the standard of
Ayurveda education, frame various courses in Ayurveda as per national and international demand.
West Bengal to soon get 2 new districts
• West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that Sundarbans and Basirhat will be made new
administrative districts in the state.
• Banerjee said the formation of the new districts will help the locals as they would not have to travel long
distances to avail government services.
• Currently, Sunderbans and Basirhat are police districts.
J&K registers highest Inpatient Dept care
• Jammu and Kashmir registered the highest Inpatient Department care in the country.
• According to the state-wise fact sheets released by National Health Systems Resource Centre, New Delhi,
overall all women in J&K are availing Antenatal Care services.
• In 2016, Jammu & Kashmir surpassed Kerala as the state with the highest life expectancy in India for all
ages, barring life expectancy at birth.
4th ‘Buxa Bird Festival’ kicks off
• The 4th edition of ‘Buxa Bird Festival’ has started in Buxa National Park in West Bengal’s, district Alipurduar.
• More than 50 birdwatchers from pan India and abroad have registered in the festival.
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• Over 300 rare species including the Sultan Tit, Greater Spotted Eagle and Great Hornbill visit the national
park during this festival.
Vikram Sarabhai Children Innovation Center
• Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has announced the setting up of the Vikram Sarabhai Children
Innovation Center (VSCIC) in the state.
• It will identify, nurture and promote children’s innovation in the state.
• He was speaking during the felicitation ceremony of Children’s Innovation Festival (CIF) held at Swarnim
Sankul in Gandhinagar.
Booth App to be used in Delhi Elections
• Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh has said that booth app will be used in 11 Assembly Constituencies
in the national capital during the Assembly polls.
• Photo Voter Slips will be issued after scanning the QR code at the polling booth.
• The polling for 70-member Delhi Assembly will be held on 8th of February and the counting of votes will be
taken up on 11 th of February.
Dept of Justice participates in Book Fair
• To create awareness on the Citizens Duties, the Department of Justice is participating in New Delhi World
Book Fair, 2020 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
• A Stall on Constitution and Citizens’ Duties has been set up.
• The Stall displays Digital Exhibition that includes facts relating to Constitution, Constituent Assembly,
excerpts of speeches of the founding members of the Constituent Assembly
Lakshadweep's first Super Specialty Hospital
• President Ram Nath Kovind laid the foundation stone of Lakshadweep's first Super Specialty Hospital at
Kavaratti.
• President is on two days visit to the union territory.
• At the event in Kavaratti, President congratulated Rahmath Begum, the only woman who won Padmashri
from Lakshadweep.
• President reached Bangaram island of Lakshadweep.
National Affairs
• In Gujarat, the 31st International Kite Festival has been launched at Sabarmati river front in
Ahmedabad. More than 140 kite flying experts from 40 countries are participating in this event.
• The Himachal Pradesh Government has launched Himachal MyGov portal in Shimla. With this, Himachal
Pradesh has become the 11th state in the country to have this facility.
Indo-Iranian Writers' Meet in New Delhi
• Sahitya Akademi in collaboration with Embassy of Iran on 7 January 2020 organized an Indo-Iranian Writers'
Meet in New Delhi.
• The objective of the meet is to further deepen cultural ties between the two nations and heighten literary
awareness among the readers on both sides.
• The meet was also aimed at providing a platform for meaningful-dialogue between writers of both
countries.
3-day National Traders Convention in Delhi
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• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the three-day National Traders Convention at Ramlila Maidan
in New Delhi on 6th January.
• The convention has been organised by Confederation of All India Traders and will deliberate upon various
issues concerning traders.
• It will deliberate upon various trade-related issues and the future strategy will be decided for their solution.
CISF to observe 2020 as ‘year of mobility’
• The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) will observe 2020 as the ‘year of mobility’.
• It will have a special focus on the creation of more residential units and the implementation of various
welfare measures for the troops.
• In 2020, the CISF will aim at creating an infrastructure for their families.
• It will also aim at focusing on sports and physical fitness leveraging modern gadgetry.
Foundation stone of Delhi Cycle Walk laid
• Union Home Minister, Amit Shah has laid the foundation stone of Delhi Cycle Walk project.
• The project will be installed at Tughlakabad in the National Capital New Delhi.
• The project aims to make the city most walkable and environment-friendly.
• Delhi Cycle Walk will have a network of over 220 km.
NSE Knowledge Hub inaugurated
• The Union Minister of Commerce and Industries inaugurated the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Knowledge
Hub in New Delhi.
• The NSE Knowledge Hub is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered learning ecosystem that will assist the
banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector.
• The Knowledge Hub will fill in these gaps and help the financial sector to move into the future.
Kochi is hosting MECOS-3
• Kochi is hosting the global meet on the marine ecosystem, MECOS-3.
• The 3rd international symposium on marine ecosystems - challenges and opportunities (MECOS-3) is being
held from 7-10 January 2020.
• It is organized by the Marine Biological Association of India.
• It will serve as a platform to hold discussions on various topics, including the impact of the climate crisis on
marine ecosystems.
Gujarat Government hiked DA by 5%
• The Gujarat government has hiked the dearness allowance (DA) by five per cent for over nine lakh state
government employees and pensioners.
• With this, the DA would be 17 per cent, on par with Central government employees.
• The hike will come into effect retrospectively from July 1, 2019.
• It will benefit 5.11 lakh employees and 4.5 lakh pensioners.
31st Road Safety Week from 11th-17th Jan
• Maharashtra government's transport department will observe the 31st edition of Road Safety Week from
January 11-17, 2020.
• Several activities like women's two-wheeler rally and road safety programmes in schools will be conducted
for advocacy and promotion of road safety.
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• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has assured financial help of Rs10 cr to conduct mass safety
campaigns.
Yoga Science meet organised
• A Yoga Science meet was organised on 5 Jan 2020 as part of the ongoing Indian Science Congress in
Bengaluru.
• The head of SVYASA Yoga deemed University Dr HR Nagendra spoke on the benefits of Yoga in busting
stress.
• The penultimate day of 107th Indian Science Congress in Bengaluru will focus on farming and rural
development, on 6 Jan 2020.
Defence Expo 2020 to be held in Lucknow
• The Defence Expo 2020 will be held for the first time in Lucknow from February 5 to 9, 2020.
• It will be the biggest ever defence exhibition in the country in terms of participation of exhibitors, the area
of the exhibition and the revenue to be earned.
• The Defence Ministers and Army chiefs of 25 countries are expected to participate in the programme.
Pride of India-Science Expo-2020 held
• DRDO is participating in Pride of India-Science Expo-2020 being held at the 107th Indian Science Congress in
Bengaluru.
• 31 DRDO laboratories with more than 150 exhibits and models are participating in the expo.
• Attractions of outdoor exhibits at DRDO Pavilion include the Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM),
Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile system (QRSAM), ASTRA Missile, etc.
Women Science Congress began in Bengaluru
• The Women Science Congress was inaugurated at the ongoing Indian Science Congress in Bengaluru on 5
Jan 2020.
• DRDO Aeronautical Systems Director General Dr.Tessy Thomas who is known as Missile Woman of India
graced the occasion as the Chief Guest.
• The strides taken by India in the field of Science and Technology, have established it in the elite club of
nations, she said.
ISRO sets its fourth RAC-S in Karnataka
• ISRO has set up a regional academic centre for space at the National Institute of Technology (NITK) at
Surathkal in Karnataka's southwest Dakshina Kannada district.
• ISRO will provide Rs 2 crore grant annually to NIT for the R&D projects and promotional activities through
the year.
• An agreement regarding this was signed between ISRO and NITK on 3 Jan 2020.
Turtle rehab centre comes up in Bihar
• A first-of-its-kind rehabilitation centre for freshwater turtles will be inaugurated in Bihar's Bhagalpur forest
division in January 2020.
• The rehab centre, spread over half a hectare, will be able to shelter 500 turtles at a time.
• According to a recent study conducted by Traffic India, around 11,000 turtles are being smuggled in India
every year.
Odisha govt launches online platform
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• As a part of Odisha's '5T initiatives', the state government launched an online platform to digitalise the
publication of Odisha Gazette and move forward as a paperless mode of publication.
• e-Gazette, the online system will expedite the process of Gazette Publication and will make it error-free and
paperless.
• This will save trees as well as the cost of the paper and printing materials.
DMRC awards first civil contract
• The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) awarded the first civil contract for the Tughlakabad-Aerocity
corridor of its Phase 4 project.
• This contract involves the construction of Metro viaduct from Sangam Vihar to Saket - G including four
elevated Metro stations.
• On March 8, 2019, the Union Cabinet had approved three out of the six proposed corridors of Delhi Metro's
Phase 4 project.
Kerala CM launches K-RERA
• Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched the Kerala Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-RERA) on 1
Jan 2020.
• Its aim is to boost the confidence of customers and bring in more transparency in the real estate sector.
• The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, had directed the state governments to establish
RERA for effective regulation of the real estate sector.
1st capacity building programme inaugurated
• Union Minister of State Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated the
first Capacity Building Programme on General Financial Rules-2017, e-Procurement and Government e-
Marketplace (GeM) at Convention Centre, Jammu on 3 Jan 2020.
• It was conducted by the Dept of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances for 385 officials of the Govt.
of Jammu and Kashmir.
171 hospitals de-empanelled and fined
• A total 171 hospitals have been de-empanelled and penalties of ₹4.5 crore have been imposed on hospitals
for allegedly committing fraud under the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme.
• FIRs have been lodged against six hospitals in Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.
• The cases were detected in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab in May, August, and October 2019
respectively.
MEA sets up NEST division
• The External Affairs Ministry announced the setting up of new emerging and strategic technologies (NEST)
division.
• The division will work to increase investment coordination among the states of the country and also with
the foreign countries.
• NEST will act as the nodal division within the ministry for issues pertaining to new and emerging
technologies.
2,636 EV charging stations sanctioned
• The govt has approved setting up 2,636 electric vehicle charging stations across 62 cities in 24 states and
UTs of India under the second phase of FAME India scheme.
• The move is meant to encourage manufacturers to launch new electric vehicles models.
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• 72 EV charging stations will be set up in Delhi, 70 in Chandigarh, 50 in Haryana, 40 in Meghalaya, 37 in

Bihar, 29 in Sikkim, etc.
4th All India Police Judo Cluster Championship
• Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai inaugurated the 4th All India Police Judo Cluster
Championship 2019, in New Delhi today on 3 Jan 2020.
• The five-day sporting event will be held till 7 Jan 2020.
• It is being organized by CRPF and will be attended by 34 participating teams.
• Earlier, it was organized by West Bengal Police in 2017 and Odisha Police in 2018.
Delhi's first fully automated car park tower
• The South Delhi Municipal Corporation inaugurated the city’s first fully-automated car-parking tower facility
at Green Park on 2 Jan 2020.
• Each tower at the facility can accommodate at least 34 cars.
• It is most appropriate for congested markets and populated colonies as it requires just 1.50 square metre
space to park a car, in comparison to 30 square metres required in conventional parking.
First silk processing plant in Gujarat

• Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) inaugurated the first silk processing plant at Surendranagar
in Gujarat on 3 Jan 2020.
• This would help cut down the cost of production of silk yarn drastically and increase the sale and availability
of raw material for Gujarati 'Patola' sarees locally.
• It has been set up by a khadi institution at a cost of Rs 75 lakh.
Kerala: 1st to pass resolution against CAA
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• Kerala became the 1st state in the country to pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
• The resolution was moved by Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayee Vijayan and was seconded by the Leader of
Opposition Ramesh Chennithala.
• Several other chief ministers of West Bengal, Punjab, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi have also announced
for not implementing CAA in their states.
Andhra Govt appointed ‘Disha Special Officers’
• The Andhra Pradesh govt appointed IAS official Dr Kritika Shukla and IPS official M Deepika, as Special
Officers for implementing the Andhra Pradesh Disha Act 2019.
• The Act is intended for speedy trial and faster execution in cases of sexual offences against women in the
state.
• To ensure a speedy trial, the state will set up exclusive special courts in all the 13 districts.
Nutrition deficiency coming down in India
• The WHO Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan informed that in India and several other developing
countries, the incidence of nutrition deficiency is coming down and obesity going up.
• Two-thirds of the deaths among children under five years of age is attributed to the twin challenges of
nutrition deficiency and obesity.
• The nutrition situation in India varies from state to state.
Assam state zoo first to breed Hargila
• The Assam State Zoo has attained a landmark achievement by successfully hatching a pair of Greater
Adjutant chicks in an artificial platform within the zoo enclosure, in the first-ever experiment of its kind.
• This rarest of storks, the Hargila is currently on the brink of extinction due to habitat loss stemming from
indiscriminate felling of big trees and dwindling wetlands.
Only 3 rhino poaching reported in Kaziranga
• In Assam, only 3 rhino poaching has been reported in the Kaziranga national park in 2019 which is lowest in
the last 10 years.
• Two rhinos were killed under Golaghat district and one at Biswanath district.
• No rhino poaching has been reported in Nagaon, Sonitpur and Karbi Anglong districts.
• As per 2018 estimation, there are 2413 rhinos in the Kaziranga National Park.
‘Study in Gujarat’ campaign launched
• Education department of Gujarat government has launched ‘Study in Gujarat’ campaign in order to make
Gujarat State an educational hub at national and international level.
• As a part of this campaign, a high-level delegation will hold road shows in western Asian countries during
15-22 January 2020.
• A high-level delegation will also hold roadshows in 10 cities of India including Shrinagar.
2nd tallest statue of Vallabhbhai Patel
• Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani unveiled the second tallest statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in the world at
Ahmedabad on 3 Jan 2020.
• It has become the second-highest statue of him after the Statue of Unity situated at Kevadiya in Narmada
district of Central Gujarat.
• The 50 feet tall statue has been designed by Padma Bhusan Ram V. Sutar, the same sculptor who had
designed the Statue of Unity.
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‘Meri Dilli, Mera Sujhav’ Campaign launched

• Union Minister and Senior BJP leader Smriti Irani launched a Meri Dilli, Mera Sujhav Campaign on 3 Jan
2020.
• It aims to gather suggestions from the people of the national capital for the formulation of the party's
manifesto for the forthcoming Assembly polls in Delhi.
• The campaign will be run for the next 14 days in all 70 Assembly Constituencies for this purpose.
New Delhi World Book Fair 2019
• Human Resources Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal will inaugurate the 28th edition of annual New
Delhi World Book Fair at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
• The book fair organised by National Book Trust will be held from January 4 to 12 in the national capital.
• As part of Mahatma Gandhiji's 150 birth anniversary celebrations, the theme of this year is 'Gandhi: The
Writers' Writer'.
'One Nation One Ration Card' scheme
• Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has said that ''One Nation One Ration Card'' scheme has been
implemented in 12 states.
• The 12 states are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Kerala,
Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, and Jharkhand.
• Under this scheme, beneficiaries can buy subsidised food grains from ration shops in any of these 12 states.
Manipur implements Inner Line Permit in state
• Manipur state government implemented the Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime from January 1 in the entire
state and the authorities have begun issuing the document.
• Any non-indigenous or non-permanent resident of Manipur will have to obtain ILP, which is an official travel
document, to visit the state.
• Outside travellers to Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh are also required to obtain ILP.
PM lays foundation stone for memorial museum
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for a memorial museum of Shri Shri
Shivakumar Swamiji in Tumkuru.
• This was done during his visit to the Shri Siddhaganga Mutt in Tumkuru, Karnataka.
• Shivakumar Swamiji was an Indian supercentenarian, humanitarian, spiritual leader and educator who
joined the Siddaganga Matha in 1930 Karnataka and became head seer from 1941.
PM dedicates DRDO Scientists Labs to Nation
• Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation 5 Young Scientists Laboratories of DRDO, in
Bengaluru.
• DRDO Young Scientist Laboratories are located in five cities viz, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and
Hyderabad.
• Each lab will work on key advanced technology of importance to the development of futuristic defence
systems.
Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020 rescheduled
• PM Narendra Modi's interaction programme Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020 has been rescheduled to 20 Jan
2020.
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• The programme was earlier scheduled for 16th Jan 2020.

• The HRD Ministry in partnership with MyGov has launched a ‘short essay’ competition for students of
classes 9 to 12 for the 3rd edition of the programme.
• The first edition was held on 16 Feb 2018, while the 2nd on 29 Jan 2019.
Delhi Metro trains got free Wi-Fi
• Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) launched free Wi-Fi facility on Airport Express Line on 2 Jan 2020.
• This is the first time Delhi Metro is providing WiFi services in moving trains.
• The Delhi airport metro line was launched in 2011, through a partnership with Reliance Infrastructure.
• Delhi Metro first launched ‘Free Wi-Fi’ facilities at six metro stations on Airport Express Line in 2016.
Amit Shah dedicated campus of NFSC in Nagpur
• In Maharashtra, Union Home Minister Amit Shah dedicated the new campus of National Fire Service College
(NFSC) in Nagpur on 2 Jan 2020.
• He also laid the foundation stone of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) academy.
• In the same function organised at National Fire Service College, he conferred the 15 President's fire service
medal for gallantry.
UIDAI opened 28 new Aadhaar Seva Kendras
• The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has opened 28 Aadhaar Seva Kendras as part of its plan
to open 114 Aadhaar Enrolments and Update Centres across the country.
• These are in addition to about 38,000 Aadhaar enrolment centres run by Banks, Post Offices and State
Governments.
• These Aadhaar Seva Kendras have a capacity to handle up to 1,000 enrollments and requests per day.
TRAI amended new regulatory framework
• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, TRAI has made amendments to the new regulatory framework for
cable and broadcasting services with a view to protect the consumer interests.
• Under it, cable TV users will be able to access more channels at lower subion price.
• The Authority has also capped at 160 rupees the amount consumers will have to pay monthly for all free to
air channels.
RBI launched a mobile app
• RBI has launched a mobile app, MANI, Mobile Aided Note Identifier, to help visually challenged people to
identify the denomination of currency notes.
• The app, which is available both on Android and iOS operating systems, was launched by RBI Governor
Shaktikanta Das in Mumbai on 1 Jan 2020.
• The app can also work offline once it is installed.
EC launched a System
• The Election Commission has launched a Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System to
enable applicants to track the status of the applications.
• The new norms have come into force from 1 Jan 2020.
• Under it, applicants, applying for the party registration from 1 Jan 2020 will be able to track the progress of
applications and will get the status through SMS and e-mail.
Gujarat Govt formed a Samiti
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• Gujarat Govt has formed Akhil Bharatiya Gujarati Samaj Sankalan Samiti with CM Vijay Rupani as chief
patron.
• It is formed with an aim to include Gujaratis living outside the state in the state’s development process.
• It will meet twice a year - once in Gujarat and next time in another state - to discuss with the State Govt the
preservation and promotion of the heritage of Gujarat.
PM Modi on a 2-day visit to Karnataka
• PM Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit to Karnataka on January 2-3, 2020.
• On the first day of his tour, he took part in the Krishi award function in Tumkuru Junior College grounds.
• He handed over the Krishi Karman Award to 21 states.
• He will inaugurate the 107th National Science Congress in the University of Agricultural Sciences in
Bengaluru on 3 Jan 2020.
Atal Canteen in Karnal launched
• Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar inaugurated the state’s first Atal Kisan-Mazdoor canteens at the Karnal
grain market on 29 Dec 2019.
• At this canteen, farmers and labourers coming to the mandi will get a Veg-thali comprising four chapatis,
rice, dal and seasonal vegetable, all for Rs 10.
• Ten women from a self-help group (SHG) have been appointed to prepare the food.
NIT Trichy alumni commit $3 mn for research
• Former students of National Institute of Technology (NIT), Trichy have committed a sum of about $3 million
for research activities at their alma mater and for the institute's scholarships programmes.
• The effort is to create several PhD scholars from the institute, in technologies like Artificial Intelligence,
Machine Learning and Internet of Things, and creating intellectual property rights.
WhatsApp service launched for women
• The UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has launched a dedicated women helpline, 'Damini', a
calling and a WhatsApp service for the safety of women.
• The unique number "81142-77777" has been subscribed for the helpline, which is an extension of the
'Nirbhaya Yojana'.
• The service will be functional from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day and will be exclusively handled by women
officers.
Miscellaneous News
• The Ministry of Railway has accorded Organised Group 'A' status to Railway Protection Force (RPF) and
renamed it Indian Railway Protection Force Service.
• Delhi government's naming committee has decided to rename Pragati Maidan Metro station as Supreme
Court Metro Station. Mukarba Chowk will also be renamed after Kargil war martyr Captain Vikram Batra.
National Infra Pipeline plan launched
• Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a National Infrastructure Pipeline coordination mechanism
with an investment plan worth ₹102 trillion in the next 5 years.
• The projects will be spread across 21 ministries and 18 states and Union Territories.
• The projects belong to sectors such as power, urban development, irrigation, mobility, education, health,
water and digital sector.
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Plan for mega infrastructure push unveiled

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled infrastructure projects worth 102 lakh crore rupees.
• These will be implemented in the next five years as a part of the government's spending push to the
infrastructure sector.
• The Finance Minister informed this while releasing the Report of the Task Force on National Infrastructure
Pipeline, NIP for 2019-2025, on 31 Dec 2019.
Rabi crops sowing area increased
• Rabi crops sowing area increased by around 36 lakh hectares as on 27 Dec 2019.
• The total area sown under Rabi crops stands at over 571 lakh hectares as compared to 536 lakh hectare for
the corresponding period of 2018.
• The progress in Rabi sowing has picked up significantly with the improvement of soil moisture in almost all
Rabi growing states.
• Wheat has been sown in over 297 lakh hectare.
Over one crore FASTags issued for vehicles
• Over one crore FASTags have been issued for the vehicles with more than one lakh being issued every day.
• FASTag provides smooth journey to commuters who pass through toll plazas on National Highways.
• The Electronic Toll Collection through FASTag was implemented from 15 Dec 2019.
• In order to simplify the recharge of FASTag, government has recently included BHIM (UPI) App payment
mechanism.
106 | P a g e

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Current Affairs Monthly Capsule I

Awards &Honours ............................................................................................................................................. 3

26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards-II

Innovation Awards Presentation Ceremony

Summits & Conferences

World Future Energy Summit began

Mergers & Events

Days & Events

National Voters' Day: 25 January

• Armed Forces Veterans Day is observed each year on 14th January.

MOU & Agreements

European Commission, Council signed agreement

• The agreement was signed on 17 Jan 2020.

India-Mongolia agreement approved

Government of India signed MoU with Flipkart

Merrill Pereyra named as Pizza Hut MD

• He will take charge on January 25, 2020.

Hillary Clinton appointed chancellor of QUB

Brazil opened new Antarctic research base

World Future Energy Summit began

Palau:1st nation to ban ‘reef toxic’ sun cream

Books & Authors

Found Our GA Notes Informative?Click Here!

Government Policies & Schemes

Smriti Irani launched Yashaswini Scheme

Business & Economy

Indusind bank launched a platform

SEBI extended deadline to split CMD post

• He was banned by the Rowing Federation of India in March 2019.

Sania Mirza won women's doubles title

• Rajasthan's Divyanshu Puri won gold in 81-kilogram judo.

• Maharashtra girls stood 3rd in the championship.

Mirabai: 8th in Olympic qualification rankings

Visakhapatnam to host MILAN 2020 in March

Committees & Recommendations

30% funds of NE Council for new projects

Central Zonal Council meeting held

Andhra Pradesh assembly passed bills

Uttarakhand to implement a policy

Mumbai Police to get horse-mounted unit

Govt formed a society to run farmer schemes

J&K registered increase in forest cover

National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal

1000 Fast Track Special Courts to be set up

• 72 EV charging stations will be set up in Delhi, 70 in Chandigarh, 50 in Haryana, 40 in Meghalaya, 37 in

First silk processing plant in Gujarat

‘Meri Dilli, Mera Sujhav’ Campaign launched

• The programme was earlier scheduled for 16th Jan 2020.

Plan for mega infrastructure push unveiled

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