Current Affairs - January 26, 2020 Current Affairs

Government of India and the World Bank signed a $210 million loan agreement for the State of Maharashtra. The loan was aimed to support Agribusiness and Rural Transformation projects in the state. The loan amount from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a grace period of six years and a maturity period of 13.5 years.

Ghaznavi is a surface-to-surface ballistic missile, that ranges up to 290 km. The missile has a huge capacity to carry any sort of warheads, including nuclear, and hit the target swiftly. The test was carried out to check the preparedness of the Pakistan Army, in a bid to counter the Indian threat.

Swissmint mints the world's smallest gold coin. The 2.96-millimeter (0.12-inch) gold coin, weighing only 0.063 grams (1/500th of an ounce), is so small the viewer needs to squint closely to see world-famous physicist Albert Einstein sticking his tongue out. The coin has a nominal value of 1/4 of a Swiss franc ($0.26) and can be ordered online.

India's first e-waste clinic is to be inaugurated in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on 24 January. It was jointly set up by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The e-waste clinic will be started on the basis of a three-month pilot project.

International Day of Education is observed on 24 January every year. The day aims to celebrate the role of education for peace and development. The day aims to remind that without inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong opportunities for all. The day reminds the countries that it will not succeed in achieving gender equality and breaking the cycle of poverty without education. The theme for 2020 International Day is 'Learning for people, planet, prosperity, and peace'.

Every year on 25 January National Voter's Day or Rashtriya Matdata Diwas is celebrated to encourage young voters to take part in the political process. In 2011 first time this day was celebrated to mark Election Commission's Foundation Day.

NITI Aayog has announced that it is to develop the National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP) on 23 January. The platform aims to allow the stakeholders to access publicly available government data in a user-friendly manner. NDAP was released by Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog.

Government is to set up a war memorial for animals in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. The memorial will be set up at the Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC) Centre and College in Meerut. RVC is where the army breeds, rears, and trains dogs, mules and horses.

International Day of Education is observed on 24 January every year. The day aims to celebrate the role of education for peace and development. The day aims to remind that without inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong opportunities for all.

The government is has partnered with Infosys to improve the performance of the Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) filing portal on a permanent basis. Infosys is the managed service provider for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime in the country. GoI has worked several technological measures with Infosys. The measures will be announced by April 2020.

International Labour Organization (ILO) released the World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2020 (WESO). The report highlighted that more than 470 million people worldwide are unemployed or underemployed.

India ranked 80th in the global Corruption Perceptions Index 2019 (CPI-2019). In 2018, India ranked 78th in the index. The index was released by Transparency International.

Every year on 25 January National Tourism Day is celebrated in India to raise the awareness and educate people about the importance of tourism and the role it plays in the Indian economy.

The Chief Justice of India, Mr. Justice S.A. Bobde inaugurated the 79th Foundation Day Celebrations and All India Members' Conference of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on 24 January in New Delhi. The conference was held from 24-25 January.

An International Summit on Women in STEM - Visualizing the Future: New Skylines on 23-24 January 2020 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The Summit was organized with an aim to boost the participation of women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields for the development of scientific careers.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reopened the allotment of the investment limit under the revised Voluntary Retention Route (VRR) for debt investments by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) from 24 January. RBI has increased the investment limit under VRR to Rs. 1,50,000 crore from the Rs.75,000 crore, with a minimum retention period of three years.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) organized the 1st Sukumar Sen Memorial Lecture on 23 January. The lecture was organized as a tribute to the first Chief Election Commissioner of India. The memorial lecture was hosted to mark the 70th year of inception.

Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport & Highways and MSME along with General (Retd.) V. K. Singh, Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways conducted a review meeting on 23-24 January at Manesar near Gurugram, Haryana. The Ministers reviewed the projects of all National Highway development. They reviewed the project in a state-wise manner.

Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2020 was announced on the occasion of Subhash Chandra Bose birth anniversary which was celebrated on 23 January 2020.Under the Individual category, the former IPS Shri Kumar Munnan Singh received the award. The award recognized their commendable work in Disaster Management. Munnan Singh received a certificate and a cash prize of Rs.5 lakhs.

Storm Gloria claims 12 lives in Spain, four missing. A violent storm which wrought havoc across huge swathes of Spain's eastern and southern coastline this week claimed 12 lives and left four others missing, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on January 24, blaming climate change for the extreme weather.