Current Affairs - January 1, 2020 Current Affairs

Noted social activist and former Rajya Sabha member from Odisha, Alajangi Viswanath Swamy, dies at 91. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha the Upper house of Indian Parliament from Odisha as an Independent candidate. From 2012 through 2018 he was in the parliament. Swamy was born in Nabarangpur, Odisha. Swamy died at his home of cardiac arrest on 31 December 2019 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha at the age of 91.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on December 31 approved the re-employment of V K Yadav as the Chairman of Railway Board for a period of one year. Yadav had taken over as Railway Board Chairman from Ashwani Lohani, who had retired from the post in December 2018.

The Railways has renamed its security force RPF (Railway Protection Force) as Indian Railway Protection Force Service. The ministry has accorded organized Group A status to RPF and renamed it according to an order issued.

Brazil's Ministry of Justice had found that data from 4,43,000 Facebook users was improperly made available to developers of an App called 'thisisyourdigitallife'. It fined U.S. tech giant Facebook Inc 6.6 million reais ($1.6 million) for improperly sharing user data.

India commences world's largest ever vaccination programme to control FMD & Brucellosis in 2019; Aims to provide unique Pashu Aadhar to 535 million animals . National Animal Disease Control Programme for FMD and Brucellosis The union Government launched a new scheme National Animal Disease Control Programme for FMD and Brucellosis with a financial outlay of Rs. 13,343.00 crore for five years (2019-20 to 2023-24) by vaccinating 100% cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, and pig population for FMD and 100% bovine female calves of 4-8 months of age for brucellosis to prevent loss of Rs. 50,000 crores.

The Hero Indian Women's League (IWL) will be held at the Bangalore Football Stadium in Bengaluru.The IWL is scheduled to commence on January 24.A total of 12 champion clubs from various state leagues will feature in the league-cum-knockout event.

Taiwan passed a controversial bill on December 31 aimed at countering China's influence on the self-ruled island, less than two weeks before it goes to the polls to elect a new President.It bans "hostile" foreign forces from activities such as campaigning, lobbying, making political donations, disrupting social order or spreading disinformation related to elections.

Visakhapatnam will host the prestigious three-day 14th Global Healthcare Summit from January 3, 2021.Being organised by American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), the conference will see the participation of over 500 doctors from the US, Australia, Britain and other countries.

Deswal will continue to head the force as an additional charge after retirement on the superannuation of RR Bhatnagar. Bhatnagar, 1983 UP cadre IPS officer, demitted the office on 31st December. He was appointed as CRPF DG in April 2017.

Magnus Carlsen again proved why he is the best chess player around by retaining the World blitz title, after winning a playoff against Hikaru Nakamura. Veteran Vladimir Kramnik won the bronze medal.

To discuss the future of photography in higher education, several educators will be gathering in Delhi for the South Asian Photography Educators Symposium to be held on January 6 and 7.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a National Infrastructure Pipeline coordination mechanism with an investment plan worth 102 trillion in the next five years. The economic affairs secretary Atanu Chakraborty submitted its first report after consultation with 70 different stakeholders for four months.

Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd. (LVB) has announced the resignation of its chief financial officer (CFO) S. Sundar.The resignation comes months before the expiry of his two-year tenure.The board of directors, at its meeting, accepted the resignation. Mr. Sundar took charge as CFO during April 2018.

Vice Chief of the Army Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane took charge as a new Army Chief. He will succeed Gen Bipin Rawat after a three-year stint as Army chief. He took charge as vice-chief of the Army staff in September, Lt Gen Naravane heading the Eastern Command of the Army takes care of India's nearly 4,000-km border with China.

Fausta, a female black rhino, who was believed to be the world's oldest rhino has died at the age of 57 in a Tanzanian conservation area. Fausta diedof natural causes in captivity in Ngorongoro Crater, which lies in Ngorongoro Conservation Area of Tanzania.

Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri announced the results of Swachh Survekshan League 2020 for first and second Quarters.In the 10 lakhs plus population category, Indore (MP) secured first place in both the quarters. In one lakh to 10 lakh population category, Jamshedpur.

National Institute of Technology (NIT), Trichy committed a sum of about $3 million for research activities at their alma mater and for the institute's scholarship programs. The Global Alumni Meet 2020 scheduled to be held in Chennai.

The Kerala Assembly on December 31 just about unanimously passed a resolution pressurising the Centre to withdraw the "patently anti-Muslim" Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

The Pragati Maidan metro station will now be known as Supreme Court metro station, while Mukarba Chowk in Jahangirpuri will be known as Shaheed Captain Vikram Batra Chowk. The Delhi government's naming committee approved the name changes in its meeting on December 31.