Current Affairs - January 20, 2020 Current Affairs

Prime Minister of Ukraine, Oleksiy Honcharuk tendered his resignation to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy after less than six months in the role.The resignation was still to be confirmed as the presidential office responded to the letter. An alleged recording emerged earlier this week where Honcharuk questioned Zelenskiy's ability to manage the economy and the Prime Minister felt this would undermine his position.

For the first time, Sikhs in the US will be counted as a separate ethnic group in the 2020 census, an organization of the minority community said, describing it as a milestone moment.

National Informatics Centre (NIC) set up the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Blockchain Technology in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The main aim is to provide Blockchain as a service and to allow all stakeholders to benefit from shared learning, experiences, and resources.

Ricky Brabec,28, secured his spot in the record books as the first American winner of the Dakar Rally, what many consider the most prestigious and grueling off-road race in the world.Cruising to a second-place finish in Stage 12, Brabec finished the overall race with a 16-minute lead.

Indu Jain, chairman, Bennett Coleman & Company Limited (BCCL), was conferred the prestigious ICSI Lifetime Achievement Award by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India on January 17. She won the award for "translating excellence in corporate governance into reality."

Senior IPS officer of Gujarat cadre Manoj Shashidhar was appointed as Joint Director in the country's premier investigating agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation. He is currently serving in his cadre State of Gujarat as additional DG, State Intelligence Bureau.

Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda launched the APNA UREA - Sona Ugle brand of Hindustan Urvarak and Rasayan Limited (HURL) at a function in New Delhi. HURL is a Joint Venture Company promoted by the three MahaRatna Companies - Coal India Limited, NTPC Limited, and Indian Oil Corporation Limited.

The 7th Conference of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association India Region is being organized in the legislative assembly building in Lucknow from 16-19 January 2020.

Amid fanfare the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Tejas Express, the second premium train to be run by Railway subsidiary IRCTC, was flagged off by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. Equipped with modern facilities, the train departed from Ahmedabad at 10.43am and will reach Mumbai after 6.30 hours, covering a distance of nearly 500km. This is the second premium train to be operated by IRCTC, the Railway firm that handles catering, tourism and online ticketing.

Veteran Spanish driver Carlos Sainz won the Dakar Rally for the third time, finishing with a comfortable winning margin in Saudi Arabia.The 57-year-old led from the third stage and crossed the finish line 6 min 21 sec ahead of nearest challenger and reigning champion Nasser al-Attiyah of Qatar, who had managed to cut Sainz's lead to just 24 seconds but fell back after navigation blunders.

It should come as no surprise that W.V. Raman has authored a book. The former India opener has always been one of the shrewdest voices on cricket, forthright and informed in his opinion and never shy of expressing it. In 'The Winning Sixer', released formally by Anil Kumble, Raman has drawn on his own experiences, and those of other athletes, to derive leadership lessons from sport.

India's VineshPhogat has won gold medal at the 2020 season's first Ranking Series event in Rome. She defeated Ecuador's Luisa Elizabeth Melendres 4-0 in the final (53 kg) of Rome Ranking series on January 17 to win her first gold medal of the 2 020 season.

Germany has agreed to compensation of about 40 billion euros ($45 billion) for affected regions, workers and companies as part of plans to end its use of brown coal in power plants by 2038.

Senior journalist and former Karnal MP Ashwini Kumar Chopra died on January 18 at a hospital in Gurugram after a prolonged illness. He was suffering from terminal cancer and had been admitted to Medanta Hospital about three weeks ago. He was the editor of Punjab Kesari, Delhi.

The global economy recorded its lowest growth of the decade in 2019, falling to 2.3% as a result of protracted trade disputes and a slowdown in domestic investment.The U.N.'s annual report, the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2020, forecast a modest acceleration in global growth, reaching 2.5% in 2020 and 2.7% in 2021.

Sania Mirza lifted the WTA Hobart International trophy with partner Nadiia Kichenok after edging out Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang in the final. The unseeded Indo-Ukrainian pair pipped the second seed Chinese team 6-4 6-4.

Former Indian all-rounder Bapu Nadkarni dies in Mumbai at 96. Nadkarni, a left-handed batsman and slow-left arm orthodox bowler, played 41 Tests in which he scored 1414 runs and grabbed 88 wickets with 6/43 as his best bowling figures. Nadkarni was a Mumbai stalwart having played 191 first-class matches and taken 500 wickets and scored 8880 runs.

Chinese automobile major Great Wall Motors (GWM) will acquire the Talegaon manufacturing facility of General Motors (GM). The factory will be used by GWM for an Indian debut. GWM VP (global strategy) Liu Xiangshang said the transaction would underpin the company's plan to enter and invest in India.

Mohun Bagan will be rechristened ATK-Mohun Bagan from next season after the iconic club merged with ATK FC by selling the majority stake to the owner of the two-time Indian Super League winners. The merged club will come into existence in June and will compete in the ISL 2020-21.

Mikhail Mishustin never had any political ambitions as a career bureaucrat and his name didn't come up as a top candidate to become Russia's next prime minister.But the 53-year-old Mishustin, the longtime chief of Russia's tax service, was tapped for the post by President Vladimir Putin. The lower house of Russia's parliament, the Duma, quickly appointed Mishustin as prime minister.