Current Affairs - January 7, 2020 Current Affairs

On January 5, 2020, Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) and LED Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) marked their fifth anniversary. The schemes were implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL). EESL is a joint venture of PSU operating under Ministry of Power.

Amazon India on January 6 has entered into long-term business agreements with Future Group to extend the reach of the latter's retail stores and consumer brands through its online marketplace. The development comes after Amazon had agreed to buy 49% stake in Future Coupons Ltd that in turn holds stake in Future Retail Ltd (FRL) last year.

Ross Taylor became New Zealand's highest run-scorer in the longest form of the game on January 6 when he hit three runs through mid-on after tea on the fourth day of the third test against Australia.

Pune is set to host the fifth edition of the Asia Pacific Drosophila Research Conference (APDRC5), which is being organised in the country for the first time by the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER).

First Antarrashtriya Yoga Diwas Media Samman to be conferred to 30 media houses. Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Shri Prakash Javadekar will confer the first 'Antarrashtriya Yoga Diwas Media Samman', in New Delhi on 07th of January, 2020.

The Indian Army will sign MoU with Russia to procure AK-203 assault rifles. According to the deal, around 1 lakh rifles are to be received directly from Russia and the rest will be manufactured in India.

The statue of Sardar Patel has also been designed by Padma Bhusan Ram V. Sutar, the same sculptor who had designed the Statue of Unity.

The Marine Ecosystems-Challenges and Opportunities (MECOS), the third international symposium is to be held in Kochi. The symposium is conducted by the Marine Biological association of India between January 7, 2020 and January 10, 2020.

Kenya's Felex Rop and India's K Suguna won the men's and women's full marathon respectively in the Chennai Marathon on January 5. In a competitive race, Felex Rop won in a time of 2 hours 29.03 minutes while Suguna from Rasipuram in Tamil Nadu finished on top with a time of 3:44:30.

IPS officer Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar, who recently retired as the CRPF DG, has been appointed as an advisor to the Lt Governor of Jammu-Kashmir. Bhatnagar is a 1983-batch officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre.

1917 wins Best Motion Picture - Drama at the Golden Globes 2020. It is an epic war film directed, co-written and produced by Sam Mendes. The film stars George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, with Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch.

India witnessed a 30% surplus in total rainfall during the Northeast monsoon in 2019. October to December is recognised as the period for Northeast monsoon by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Bharatnatyam dancer Priyadarshini Govind has been conferred with Nritya Kalanidhi Award. The award has been presented by the Madras Music Academy for her performance and efforts to propagate the art form.

On January 5, 2020, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) announced that eight states namely Maharashtra,Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Nagaland, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Karnataka finalised their action plan to boost agricultural exports.

Indonesian conservationists say they've spotted the biggest specimen ever of what's already been billed as one of the world's largest flowers. The giant Rafflesia tuan-mudae -- a fleshy red flower with white blister-like spots on its enormous petals -- came in at a whopping 111 centimetres (3.6 foot) in diameter. That's bigger than the previous record of 107 centimetres on a bloom also found in the jungles of West Sumatra several years ago.

Private sector lender Karur Vysya Bank Ltd. MD and chief executive officer P.R. Seshadri has resigned citing personal reasons. The board accepted his resignation on January 4. He will be relieved from the services on March 31, 2020, as per his request.

The ATP Cup is currently taking place between 3 and 12 January 2020, being played in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. Sydney will host the finals of the competition for the first three events between 2020 and 2022.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy inaugurated Dr YSR Aarogyasri scheme at Eluru in West Godavari district. This scheme aims at providing free medical treatment to the poor. This is the second welfare scheme that the government has launched in the New Year.

Joaquin Phoenix wins Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama for the film Joker.Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix. The film is a dark and disturbing take on the origins of the DC villain.