India’s first satellite of 2020 Gsat-30 successfully launched [17 Jan 2020]

In the first mission of the year for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), India’s forty-first communication satellite – GSAT 30 was launched by the European commercial launcher Arianespace. The satellite will enhance television broadcasting, satellite-based news gathering, and direct-to-home services.

Poet, writer Mohi selected for Saraswati Samman ’19 [17 Jan 2020]

Acclaimed Sindhi poet and writer Vasdev Mohi has been selected for the prestigious Saraswati Samman, a literary recognition given annually by the KK Birla Foundation. The award is for his work ‘Chequebook’, a collection of short stories in Sindhi, published in 2012. Born in 1944 in Mirpur Khas of undivided India, Mohi’s repertoire includes 25 books of poetry, translated works, critical pieces and short stories. His critical essays and papers have appeared in national and international literary seminars. He is the recipient of several awards, including the Sahitya Akademi Award, Sindhi Sahitya Academy Award, Gangadhar Mehar National Award and Lifetime Achievement Award of Sindhi Academy.

Rohit Sharma named ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year 2019 [15 Jan 2020]

Rohit Sharma has been named the 'ODI Cricketer of the Year' for 2019 by the ICC. He was awarded for his incredible form throughout the year. Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who stopped fans from booing Australia's Steve Smith during their World Cup match at the Oval, won the 'Spirit of Cricket' award for the same.

Taranjit Sandhu headed for US as ambassador [14 Jan 2020]

Taranjit Singh Sandhu, a veteran of India-US ties with decades of on-and-off experience dealing with it, is expected to be named shortly as Indian ambassador to Washington DC, succeeding Harsh Vardhan Shringla.

A P Maheshwari appointed new CRPF chief [14 Jan 2020]

The Govt. of India appointed 1984-batch IPS officer of the UP cadre, A P Maheshwari, as the new chief of the CRPF. Maheshwari, who was Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), will replace UP-cadre IPS officer R R Bhatnagar, who retired on December 31. Bhatnagar has been appointed as advisor to the lieutenant governor of Kashmir.

PM renames Kolkata Port Trust after Syama Prasad [13 Jan 2020]

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 12th January renamed Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) after Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee.

Prof. MS Swaminathan & Dr. G Muniratnam chosen for Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu National Awards [09 Jan 2020]

Eminent Agricultural Scientist Dr M S Swaminathan and well-known social worker, Dr. Gutta Muniratnam were respectively chosen as the first recipients of "Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu National Award for Excellence" and "Muppavarapu National Award for Social Service". The National Award for Excellence was instituted by the Muppavarapu Foundation, while the one for Social Service was launched by the Swarna Bharat Trust, in Hyderabad. Prof. M.S. Swaminathan was awarded for his distinguished contributions to the field of agriculture while Dr G Muniratnam, was awarded for his extraordinary contribution in improving quality of people’s lives through social service.

PM inaugurates the 107th Indian Science Congress [03 Jan 2020]

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the 107th Indian Science Congress (ISC) at University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru. The Science Congress which will continue till January 07, 2020 consists of 28 Plenary Sessions on areas ranging from Climate Smart Agriculture for Food Security, Crop Improvement Towards Food & Nutrition Security, Materials Science And Technology For Rural Development, Challenges and Opportunities In Cancer Drug Discovery, Artificial Intelligence And Medical Technology, Advances In Basic Medical And Clinical Interactions, Non-Communicable Diseases In Rural Population as well as Cancer Research - Therapeutic Applications. The areas also include Nano Materials for Energy, Environment and Health Care, Novel Solutions for Oil and Gas Industry Problems and so on in which senior scientists and officials will discuss on the status, challenges, opportunities and scope in these research areas. The Nobel Laureates who are participating in this Indian Science Congress include German physicist Professor Stefan Hell who is one of the directors of the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany and Professor Ada E. Yonath from Israel.

PM dedicates 5 DRDO Young Scientists Laboratories to the Nation [02 Jan 2020]

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation 5 Young Scientists Laboratories of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in Bengaluru. DRDO Young Scientist Laboratories (DYSLs) are located in five cities viz, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. Each lab will work on a key advanced technology of importance to the development of futuristic defence systems viz, Artificial intelligence, Quantum technologies, Cognitive technologies, Asymmetric technologies and Smart materials.

Manipur bags Krishi Karman Award [02 Jan 2020]

Manipur was selected for the prestigious award as the best-performing state in Overall Food-grain Production Category-III (production less than 1 million tone) for the year 2017-18. The award carried a trophy, a citation and an amount of Rs. 5 crore.