Current Affairs - January 2, 2020 Current Affairs

Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) launched a dedicated women helpline, 'Damini,' which is a calling and a WhatsApp service for the safety of women. The unique number "81142-77777" subscribed for the helpline is an extension of the 'Nirbhaya Yojana' aims to ensure the safety of women.

The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is to conduct Asiatic Lion Census in May 2020. The Institute will use 10,000 cameras to conduct the census.In 2015, the WII counted 523 lions in Gujarat. It is expected that the numbers have risen phenomenally and the population must have crossed 1,000.

Ajit Pawar was sworn in as the new deputy CM of Maharashtra on December 30. The ceremony also saw the oath-taking by 35 cabinet ministers including YuvaSena Chief Aaditya Thackeray. Overall 9 Shiv Sena MLAs, 14 NCP MLAs and 10 Congress MLAs took oath in the presence of Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and NCP Chief Ajit Pawar.

Kateryna Lagno of Russia and Norway's Magnus Carlsen defended their titles in the women's and men's blitz competition. Humpy, who had claimed the World Women's Rapid Chess Championship title after drawing the Armageddon game against Lei Tingjie of China, was placed second with seven points from nine rounds after the opening day of the blitz competition.

Assam Chief Minister SarbanandaSonowal launched the torch relay of the Third Khelo India Youth Games. The games will be held in Guwahati from 10th to 22nd January. The people of Assam to create a fantastic environment for athletes will be participating in the competitions. The opening ceremony of the third Khelo India Youth Games will take place at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Guwahati on January 10.

Chennai-based computer scientist R. Ramanujam will receive the Indira Gandhi prize for popularisation of science for the year 2020. The prize was instituted by Indian National Science Academy in 1986 and is given once in three years to either a career media professional or a career scientist who has made outstanding contributions to science popularization in English or in other languages.

The Reserve Bank of India bought 10,000 crore rupees of long-term government securities and sold 8,501 crore rupees of three short-term bonds. RBI announced to purchase and sell government securities simultaneously under Open Market Operations (OMO) for 10,000 crore rupees each.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has opened 28 Aadhaar SevaKendras (ASK) as part of its plan to start 114 standalone enrolments and update centres across the country.

Reliance Industries, India's biggest company by market value, has started its web portal Jiomart, harnessing the might of its two largest consumer-facing businesses to announce its entry into online food and grocery shopping by early 2020.

The deadline to link PAN card with Aadhaar has been extended till March 2020. The Income Tax Department had earlier announced December 31 as the final deadline.

According to a report released by UK based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), India will overtake Germany in 2026 to become the world's fourth largest economy. The report also said that by 2034, India will overtake Japan and become third largest economy in the world. Today, India is the fifth largest economy in the World after US (20.49 trillion USD), China (13.41 trillion USD), Japan (4.97 trillion USD) and Germany (4 trillion USD).

On January 1, 2020, India and Pakistan exchanged their nuclear installations under an agreement that prevents them from attacking each other's atomic facilities. The practice is being followed for 29 years for now.

NITI Aayog released Sustainable Development Goals Index 2019-20. According to the report, the overall composite score of India improved from 60 in 2018 to 57 in 2019. India succeeded in the areas of power and industry, water and sanitation, nutrition and gender equality. The index covered 16 out of 17 SDGs.

Britain's Prince William has announced "the most prestigious environmental prize in history" in a bid to galvanise a decade of action to repair the planet. The Earthshot Prize aims to encourage and inspire people across the world to find innovative new solutions to one of the gravest problems facing the Earth.

The 'India State of Forest Report 2019' ranked Karnataka (1,025 km), Andhra Pradesh (990 km) and Kerala (823 km) as the top three states with the highest growth in forest area.

Spain's Fernando Alonso is set to become the first Formula One champion to compete in the Dakar Rally, which starts in Saudi Arabia. Alonso, who won the F1 title in 2005 and 2006, entered the Dakar Rally, whose 2020 edition leaves behind South America for Saudi Arabia, as part of his quest to become a completer and more versatile driver.

Finance Ministry planned to organize the Arun Jaitley Memorial Lecture on March 20 next year to pay tribute to the former Finance Minister.

Veteran actor-comedian Eddie Murphy is set to receive the Lifetime Achievement honour at the 25th Critics' Choice Awards (CCA).The actor will be feted for his extraordinary roles over the years, most recently his portrayal of Rudy Ray Moore in Netflix's "Dolemite Is My Name", for which he is nominated for best actor at the CAA and the 77th Golden Globes.

Sonny Mehta, the visionary head of Alfred A. Knopf who guided one of the book world's most esteemed imprints to new heights through a blend of prize-winning literature by Toni Morrison and Cormac McCarthy among others and blockbusters such as Fifty Shades of Grey and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, has died at age 77.

US President's visit to Afghanistan played a positive role in peace talks as Taliban council agreed for a temporary ceasefire in the country. There are currently about 13,000 U.S. forces as well as thousands of other NATO troops in Afghanistan.