Current Affairs 2020
Cabinet approves Constitution of 22nd Law Commission of India for a term of three years
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved Twenty-second Law Commission of India for a period of three years from the date of publication of the Order of Constitution in the Official Gazette.
The Law Commission of India is a non-statutory body constituted by the Government of India from time to time. The Commission was originally constituted in 1955 and is re-constituted every three years. The tenure of twenty-first Law Commission of India was upto 31st August, 2018. The various Law Commission have been able to make important contribution towards the progressive development and codification of Law of the country. The Law Commission has so far submitted 277 reports.
New Central Vigilance Commissioner
Sanjay Kothari, the Secretary to the President, has been selected as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner by a high-powered committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw wins EY Entrepreneur of the year award
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairperson and managing director of Bengaluru based biopharmaceutical company Biocon, won EY Entrepreneur of the year award for innovation and has enabled affordable, life-saving medicines. Shaw, will now represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award (WEOY) in Monte Carlo in June where winners from across the world would join her.
New Chief Information Commissioner
Former Information and Broadcasting Secretary Bimal Julka, currently serving as an Information Commissioner, has been appointed as the new Chief Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission.
Bangladesh beat India in final to win first title
Bangladesh won the U19 World Cup for the first time after humbling heavy favourites India in the final in Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Waheeda Rehman conferred with Kishore Kumar Award
Veteran actor Waheeda Rehman was on conferred with Madhya Pradesh government's prestigious Kishore Kumar Award for 2018.
Novak Djokovic won Australian Open Men’s Singles title 2020
Novak Djokovic beat Dominic Thiem 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in an epic final match of Australian Open Tennis to win his 8th Australian Open Men’s Singles title and his 17th Grand Slam at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
Indian-origin Arvind Krishna elected new CEO of IBM
Indian-origin technology executive Arvind Krishna has been elected Chief Executive Officer of American IT giant International Business Machines(IBM). The IBM Board of Directors elected Krishna as company CEO and member of the Board of Directors effective April 6. Krishna is currently IBM Senior Vice President for Cloud and Cognitive Software. Krishna, 57, had joined IBM in 1990 and has an undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Rani Rampal first-ever hockey player to win ‘World Games 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. The World Games announced the winner after 20 days of polling by sports fans world-wide. Rani, who has been a member of the national team since she was a 15-years-old, currently has more than 240 caps for India. The International Hockey Federation also congratulated Rani on being named for the award.
Brazil president is Chief Guest at Republic Day
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is visiting India as Chief Guest at the 71st Republic Day celebrations on January 26 this year, the third by a head of state from that country.
Nripendra Mishra made chairman of NMML executive council
Nripendra Misra, has been appointed chairperson of the executive council of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML). With Misra’s appointment, the reconstitution of both the NMML society as well as the NMML executive council, which takes important decisions pertaining to the museum associated with India’s first prime minister, is now complete.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw conferred with Australia’s highest civilian honour
Australia has conferred its highest civilian honour, the Order of Australia honour, on Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw for her contribution towards advancing the country’s relationship with India. An alumnus of Federation University Australia, Mazumdar-Shaw is the founder of Biocon – one of India’s largest bio-pharmaceutical companies.
India’s first satellite of 2020 Gsat-30 successfully launched
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Denmark sources record 47 per cent of power from wind in 2019
Denmark sourced almost half its electricity consumption from wind power last year, a new record boosted by steep cost reductions and improved offshore technology. Wind accounted for 47% of Denmark’s power usage in 2019, the country’s grid operator Energinet said citing preliminary data, up from 41% in 2018 and topping the previous record of 43% in 2017.
General Manoj Mukund Naravane takes charge as 28th Army Chief
General Manoj Mukund Naravane took charge as the 28th Chief of Army Staff on Tuesday even as General Bipin Rawat retired after serving three years as the Army Chief. Before taking over as Chief of Army Staff, General Mukund Naravane was appointed as Vice-Chief of Army Staff on September 1. Prior to this, he was heading the Eastern Command of the Army which takes care of India's nearly 4,000-km border with China.
ILP Comes Into Effect in Manipur from January 1, 2020
The Inner Line Permit comes into effect in Manipur from January 1, 2020, making it the fourth northeastern state after Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh to come under the ILP regime. The state cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Sunday, gave its nod to implement ILP in Manipur. According to a gazette notification dated December 31, 2019, the Manipur Inner Line Permit Guidelines, 2019 shall apply to the entire state.
Sustainable Development Goals: Kerala retains No. 1 slot
Kerala retained the top slot while Bihar came out as the worst performer in NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index 2019, which assesses each state and Union Territory’s achievement regarding sustainable development goals (SDG) such as good health, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, reduction in hunger and poverty, among others. Kerala had the top rank among states with a score of 70, while Bihar has lowest score of 50.
General Bipin Rawat Appointed as Chief of Defence Staff
Government has decided to appoint General Bipin Rawat, as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) with effect from December 31, 2019 and until further orders and extension in service of General Bipin Rawat with December 31, 2019 and till such period he holds the office of CDS. General Bipin Rawat was commissioned into the Indian Army in December 1978 and is currently serving as Chief of the Army Staff since January 01, 2017.
Dada Saheb Phalke Award
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, presented Dada Saheb Phalke Award to Shri Amitabh Bachchan at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Cabinet approves Atal Bhujal Yojana
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for the implementation of the Atal Bhujal Yojana (ATAL JAL), a Central Sector Scheme with a total outlay of Rs.6000 crore to be implemented over a period of 5 years (2020-21 to 2024-25). The scheme aims to improve ground water management through community participation in identified priority areas in seven States, viz. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Implementation of the scheme is expected to benefit nearly 8350 Gram Panchayats in 78 districts in these States. ATAL JAL will promote panchayat led ground water management and behavioural change with primary focus on demand side management Out of the total outlay of Rs. 6000 crore, 50% shall be in the form of World Bank loan, and be repaid by the Central Government. The remaining 50% shall be through Central Assistance from regular budgetary support. The entire World Bank's loan component and Central Assistance shall be passed on to the States as Grants.
Cabinet approves conduct of Census of India 2021 and updation of National Population Register
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal for conducting Census of India 2021 at a cost of Rs. 8,754.23 crore and updation of National Population Register (NPR) at a cost of Rs. 3,941.35 crore. Census of India will cover the entire population in the country while NPR will also cover all the population except in the state of Assam.
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