January 2020 Current Affairs for SSB Interview - The Hindu

January 2020 Current Affairs- The Hindu Review :

Latest Current Affairs 2020 for competitive exams UPSC, AFCAT, TNPSC, IAS, RRB and Latest Affairs 2020 for banking exams IBPS PO Clerk, SBI, RBI and more. Read daily affairs, this beneficial Affairs 2020 resource yields the facts about the events of International affairs, National, Sports, Business, Banking Current Affairs of 2020 and more which are betterment for the Government & Private Job aspirants.

Current Affairs January 2020

National Current Affairs 2020 :

·         The 11-day long ‘Dhanu Jatra’ begins at Bargarh in western Odisha. Dhanu Jatra is considered as the largest open-air theatre of the world.

·         UPSRTC (Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation) has launched ‘Damini’ helpline service considering the safety of the women passengers.

·         In Tripura, Lai Haraoba, a ritualistic festival observed by Manipuri meitei communities began in Agartala.

·         Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani unveils the 2nd tallest statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in the world at Ahmedabad. 50 feet tall bronze statue with a weight of 70 thousand kilograms has been unveiled at the Sardardham campus near Vaishnodevi Circle in Ahmedabad.

·         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.

·         India’s first e-waste clinic is being opened in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

·         Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurates India’s 1st Super Fab Lab in Kochi, Kerala.

·         The State Government of Odisha has launched a virtual police station where people can lodge complaints from their respective districts without visiting Police Station.

·         The state government also launched the medico-legal opinion system and road accident case document module at Lok Seva Bhawan in the capital.

·         The Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray inaugurated 18.5 kilometre-long stretch of Nagpur Metro Aqua line of Maha Metro Rail Network. This Line will have six stations starting from Lokmanya Nagar to Sitabuldi Interchange Metro Station.

·         President Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate the 34th Surajkund International Crafts Fair on February 1, 2020. The partner country of the fair is Uzbekistan. The state of Himachal Pradesh has been chosen to be the Theme State.

·         Kolkata Police has started the 3rd edition of ‘Sukanya‘ project to provide self-defence training to girls studying in schools and colleges in the city. The initiative is funded by Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Department of the state government.

·         Journalists’ Day is celebrated on 6th of January every year in Maharashtra in the memory of late thespian journalist Balshashtri Jambhekar who is also known as ‘The Father of Marathi Journalism’.

·         The 2nd phase of Mission Indradhanush 2.0 rolled out at block level in 35 districts of Uttar Pradesh.

·         The Himachal Pradesh Government has introduced a portal “Himachal MyGov” to boost public participation in the governance process.

·         Himachal Pradesh Government launched “CM App” which is a platform through which people of the state can write directly to the Chief Minister regarding their complaints.

·         The 31st International Kite Festival has been launched in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

·         The 4th edition of ‘Buxa Bird Festival’ started in Buxa National Park in West Bengal’s district Alipurduar.

·         The Vikram Sarabhai Children Innovation Center (VSCIC) will be set up in Gujarat to identify, nurture and promote innovative abilities of children in the state.

·         The Children’s Innovation Festival (CIF) organized by Gujarat University Start-ups and Entrepreneurship Council (GUSEC) was held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Only School-going children up to 18 years old were allowed to participate in the festival.

·         “Advantage Maharashtra expo 2020” organised by the Marathwada Association of Small Scale Industries and Agriculture (MASSIA) in Aurangabad.

·         The famous chariot festival of the Suchindram Thanumalayan Temple in Tamil Nadu begins.

·         The Union Home Minister Amit Shah has launched the first Cyber Crime Prevention Unit of India “AASHVAST” in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The AASHVAST project will act as a helpline for the cyber-crime victims.

·         Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has launched the 7th Economic Census process in the state.

·         Arunachal Pradesh inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) to red-listing of orchids.

·         Uttarakhand has become the 1st state in the country to implement Agricultural land leasing policy.

·         Reading of the Preamble of the Constitution has been made mandatory by the government of Maharashtra in all primary and secondary schools in Maharashtra.

·         Uttar Pradesh Government has launched Mukhyamantri Krishak Durghatna Kalyan Yojana to provide financial assistance to the family of farmers who die or become handicapped while working in fields. The scheme will cover farmers and their family members in the age group of 18-70 years.

·         Uttar Pradesh government will implement Mukhyamantri Paryatan Samvardhan Yojana to boost tourism in the state.

·         Meghalaya celebrated its 48th anniversary of statehood day on 21 January.

·         Government of Mizoram will celebrate Chapchar Kut festival on March 6, 2020. The festival is celebrated after completion of the Jhum cultivation also known as the slash and burn agriculture.

·         National Stock Exchange (NSE) Knowledge Hub inaugurated in New Delhi. The Hub will assist the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector.

·         The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its ‘in principle’ approval for strategic disinvestment of 4 Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) namely Minerals & Metals Trading Corporation (MMTC), MECON, Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) and National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) & 2 Odisha State PSUs namely Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha (IPICOL) and Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) in Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL).

·         The union cabinet has granted the approval of giving the status of Institution of National Importance to a cluster of Ayurvedic institutions at Gujarat Ayurved University in Jamnagar. Jamnagar Ayurveda University will become the 1st Ayurveda institute to join the ranks of the IIT’s and AIIMS.

·         The Union Government has authorized the amount of Rs 5559 crore as Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for 1656 Km long Indradhanush Natural Gas Pipeline Grid project. The project will connect 8 North Eastern states: Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.

·         Indian Railways is in the process of installing Internet Protocol (IP) based Video Surveillance System (VSS) at stations to enhance security.

·         Census exercise India-2021 to begin on 1st April 2020 and will end on 30th of September 2020. It will be conducted through a mobile phone application.

·         The “Paperless Licensing Process” has been launched by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), for Petroleum Road Tankers. The process has been launched through Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) & launched under the Petroleum Rules, 2002.

·         The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP) and Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) was inaugurated in New Delhi. NCCRP enables people to report cyber crimes online. I4C will manage all kinds of cyber crimes comprehensively in coordinated manner.

·         India has extended a line of credit of USD 75 million (over Rs 500 crore) to Cuba to finance solar parks in Cuba.

·         The Kolkata Port has been renamed as Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Port on the occasion of 150th years celebration of Kolkata Port Trust.

·         Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan will be inaugurated “Saksham” campaign. “Saksham” is a fuel conservation mega campaign of Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA).

·         Union minister for women and child development and Member of Parliament from Amethi, Smriti Irani has launched 3 welfare schemes for women in Goa. The schemes are Yashaswini Scheme for Women Entrepreneurship, Swasthya Sahayak Project and breast cancer screening initiative handheld device facilitating detection of cancer.

·         Union Minister of Steel launched mission PURVODAYA for the development of eastern India through integrated steel hub in Kolkata, West Bengal.

·         The Income-Tax Department has launched a 24×7 control room to monitor black money and illegal inducements in poll-bound Delhi.

·         India’s Statue of Unity has become the part of ‘8 Wonders of SCO’ list. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has included the Statue of Unity in its ‘8 Wonders of SCO’ list.

·         Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu to inaugurate a new Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Telugu on January 21 in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh.

·         Indian Army Officer Captain Tania Shergill, an officer with Army’s Corps of Signals, will be the first woman parade adjutant for the Republic Day parade.

·         Parshuram Kund Mela begins in Arunachal Pradesh. Parshuram Kund is a Hindu pilgrimage centre situated on the Brahmaputra plateau in the lower reaches of the Lohit River.

·         Super Senior Citizens (over 80 years of age) and PwDs now vote through Postal Ballot in Delhi Assembly Election.

·         Union Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel launched an exhibition titled “Indian Heritage in Digital Space” at National Museum, New Delhi.

·         Union Minister for Heavy Industries Prakash Javadekar inaugurated ELECRAMA 2020 in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

·         12th National Tribal Youth Exchange Programme was jointly organized by the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and Puducherry Government in Puducherry.

·         The Integrated Check-Post (ICP) in Biratnagar has been inaugurated at India-Nepal border with modern facilities like electronic weighbridges, fire safety, warehousing facilities and 24×7 monitoring through CCTV.

·         President of Brazil Jair Messias Bolsonaro will be the chief guest at the 71st Republic Day Parade at Raj Path, New Delhi on 26 January.

·         The Government of India has created “National Startup Advisory Council“ to advise the central government to create a strong ecosystem to nurture innovation and start-ups in India. Commerce Minister will be the chairman of the Council.

·         India’s first Mahatma Gandhi convention centre opens in Niger to honour the memory of Mahatma Gandhi.

·         The Election Commission of India has received the approval from the Union Cabinet to sign MoU with Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission and Independent High Authority for Elections of Tunisia to enhance the cooperation in the field of electoral management and administration.

·         The Union Cabinet has approved the agreements in the field of mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, cooperation in the field of early childhood care, oil and natural gas, and Geology and Mineral Resources between India and Brazil.

·         A festival to celebrate the spirit of India “Bharat Parv 2020” has begun at Red Fort Ground in New Delhi. 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 of this year’s Bharat Parv is ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ and ‘Celebrating 150 Years of Mahatma Gandhi.

·         Union Minister of State for PMO Jitendra Singh launched the Bhuvan Panchayat V3 web Portal in Anthariksh Bhavan, ISRO Head Quarters in Bengaluru. This web Portal will enhance network application of gram panchayats. The Portal will function with the help of satellite technology developby ISRO.

·         Indian Railways has commissioned India’s 1st governmental waste-to-energy plant in Mancheswar Carriage Repair workshop at Bhubaneswar under the East Coast Railway zone.

·         World’s largest meditation centre was inaugurated at Kanha Shanti Vanam in Hyderabad, Telangana.

·         Minister of State (I/C) for Civil Aviation launched the Biometric enabled Centralised Access Control System (CACS) and ‘e-BCAS Project Training Module’. The two projects aims to enhance security and ease of doing business at airports.

·         NITI Aayog has released the 2nd edition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index. According to the SDG India Index, India’s composite score has improved from 57 in 2018 to 60 in 2019.

·         Bengaluru will host the 107th edition of the Indian Science Congress. It will be the ninth time the city will host the annual convention. University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bengaluru will host the event.

·         The Election Commission of India has launched a Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System (PPRTMS). The system enables the applicants to track the status of the applications for the party registration.

·         The ISRO Chairman announced that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will establish a 2nd launch port in Thoothukodi district in Tamil Nadu.

·         Kerala became the 1st state in the country to pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

·         The Indian Railways has renamed its security force RPF (Railway Protection Force) as Indian Railway Protection Force Service.

International Current Affairs 2020 :

·         The UAE Cabinet has validated the Multi-entry Tourist Visa which would be valid for 5 years for all nationalities visiting the UAE.

·         The Iranian parliament has designated US Armed Forces & Pentagon as ‘Terrorist Entities’ with a motion passed at an open parliament session. It also seeks the allocation of 200 Million Euros to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.

·         Zoran Milanovic has won Croatia’s presidential election.

·         The Ukrainian aircraft “Boeing 737” boarding 176 people crashed in Tehran, Iran shortly after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport located in Tehran, Iran.

·         The United Nations has declared Pakistani education activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai as “Most Famous Teenager of The Decade” in its ‘Decade in Review’ report.

·         United States President Donald Trump has signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act and hence authorised the establishment of US Space Force which will become the 6th branch of the armed forces and would be the part of the Department of the Air Force.

·         The 18th Dhaka International Film Festival begins at Dhaka, Bangladesh. The theme of the festival is ‘Better Film, Better Audience and Better Society’.

·         Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq al Said has took over as Sultan of Oman. He will succeed Sultan Qaboos bin Said who passed away recently.

·         First phase of “Bishwa Ijtema” has commenced in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the second largest congregation of Muslim community after Hajj.

·         Tsai Ing-wen has won the Taiwan presidential election. She wins the second term as Taiwan president.

·         The World Future Energy Summit commences in Abu Dhabi with the theme “Rethinking Global Consumption, Production, and Investment”.

·         The Treasury Department of United States has removed China from the designation as “currency manipulator“. The decision was taken just before the commencement of first phase of US-China trade agreement.

·         Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has resigned. They submit their resignation to President Vladimir Putin.

·         Labour Party candidate Robert Abela elected as 14th prime minister of Malta with 57.9% of the vote. He defeated his closest rival Chris Fearne.

·         Union Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) Mansukh Mandaviya participated in the High-level roundtable of United Nations AIDS (UNAIDS) programme at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland with theme “Access for all: Leveraging Innovations, Investments and Partnerships for Health”.

·         The Parliament of Greece has elected Katerina Sakellaropoulou as the country’s first female president.

·         Britain has unveiled a new 50 pence coin minted to mark Brexit (British exit). Brexit is the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). The coin bears the inscription “Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations”.

·         Qatar’s emir has appointed Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdelaziz Al Thani as new Prime Minister.

·         The European Union parliament has approved United Kingdom Brexit deal.

·         US President Donald Trump has signed the new United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) North American trade pact with Canada and Mexico into law.

·         World Health Organization has declared an international emergency over the novel coronavirus from China. The organization has declared an emergency as the disease has spread to 18 other countries apart from China where it originated.

·         NASA Astronaut Christina Koch has created a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. She has surpassed the earlier record of 288 days in space which was previously established by NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson in 2017.

·         President of Nepal launched the “Visit Nepal Year 2020” during the ceremony held at historic Dasaratha Rangashala in Kathmandu. Mythical creature Yeti has been selected as mascot of the campaign.

·         The Pacific nation of Palau has become the first country to ban sun cream which is harmful to corals and sea life. The ban prohibits sun cream containing any of the 10 ingredients which includes oxybenzone and octinoxate, that absorbs ultraviolet light.

·         Umaro Cissoko Embalo has won the Guinea-Bissau‘s presidential election. According to the National Electoral Commission of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro won the presidential election with 53.55% of votes. He will replace the incumbent President Jose Mario Vaz.

·         Iran’s top commander General Qassim Soleimani has been killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad.

·         Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei named the Deputy Head of the Revolutionary Guards’ foreign operations arm Esmail Qaani to replace Qasem Soleimani as its commander.

Defense Current Affairs 2020 :

·         The Central Industrial Security Force will observe 2020 as the ‘year of mobility’ that will have a special focus on the creation of more residential units and implementation of various welfare measures for the troops.

·         India and Oman will conduct 12th edition of bilateral maritime exercise ‘Naseem Al Bahr’ in Mormugao Port, Goa. Indian Navy ships Beas and Subhadra and Oman Navy ships RNOV Al Rasikh and RNOV Khassab are participating in the exercise.

·         Indian Navy starts 1st Maha-Navy Connect 2020 Tri-Dimensional Expedition from Mumbai, Maharashtra.

·         Visakhapatnam will host naval exercise "MILAN 2020" with the theme ‘Synergy Across the Seas’.

·         India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant will be commissioned by early 2021 into Indian Navy and will be fully operated by 2022.

·         India has deployed its aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya in Arabian Sea amid the Pakistan-China naval exercise “Sea Guardians” taking place in North Arabian Sea.

·         Defence Minister Rajnath Singh dedicates the 51st K9 Vajra-T guns to the nation. This gun is self-propelled Howitzer gun made by L&T’s Armoured System Complex at Hazira in Gujarat.

·         Russia has started production of S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile systems for India. All five units will be delivered to India by 2025.

·         The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh, has approved the procurement of Indigenous Equipments valued at Rs 5100 crore.

·         The Indian Air Force has inducted its 1st squadron of Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft carrying the BrahMos missiles, in the South at its Thanjavur based in Tamil Nadu.

·         India has successfully test-fired nuclear-capable K-4 ballistic missile at Vizag coast in Andhra Pradesh. The missile was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) with a range of 3,500-kilometre.

·         Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) is set to deliver anti-submarine warfare stealth corvette INS Kavaratti to the Indian Navy.

·         Indian Navy has launched “Operation Vanilla” to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief at Madagascar. 

·         The Assam Rifles has constructed a combined war memorial in Nagaland. The memorial has been built for the 357 Army and Assam Rifles personnel killed while fighting insurgency in the northeastern state.

·         Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has commissioned a high-speed interceptor boat C-448 in Mangaluru, Karnataka.

·         The 9th edition of joint military training exercise between India-Bangladesh SAMPRITI-IX will be conducted at Umroi, Meghalaya.

·         The AN-32 aircraft of Indian Air Force powered with 10% blend of bio-jet fuel took off and landed successfully in Leh airport.

·         Union Home Minister laid the foundation stone of Directorate General Building of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in New Delhi. The Home Minister also launched a new logo “Garud” for those engaged in providing security to the common man and VIPs.