Current Affairs January 2020

This is the new series in GK Student. Learn all the current affairs monthly. One post for each month easily gives you a good glimpse of all current events across the globe in 2020. This post is daily updated which means we do not wait until February to publish January's current affairs. So stay along and learn easily. (Jan 1 to Jan 7)

• General Bipin Rawat became the first CDS of India. CDS is the acronym for Chief of Defence Staff. He paid tribute at National War Memorial near India Gate in New Delhi. Manoj Mukund Naravane succeded Mr.Rawat as Chief of Army Staff. He wore an Olive Green Uniform with insignia of two crossed swords, eagle, anchor and Ashok symbol. CDS will integrate all the three defense services.
• PM Modi spoke over telephone to heads of India's neighboring nations except Pakistan's during the new year eve. The countries were Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal.
• In tackling an armored infiltrator group from PoK, two Indian soldiers lost their lives. The infiltrating group was attacked in the Khari Thrayat forest.
• As on January 2, the number of children born to Parsi couples who benefited from medical reimbursements given out under the Centre's 'Jiyo Parsi' scheme increased to 230. The scheme is intended to arrest the decline in the Parsi population. 2011 census data shows that Parsi community members were declined from 1,14,000 in 1941 to a meager 57,264 in India. Maharashtra hosts the most number of Parsis in the nation followed by Gujarat. The Jiyo Parsi scheme provides for a senior citizen honorarium of Rs 3000 for childcare per child per month up to the age of 10 years. Also, an amount of Rs 4,000 per month per person after the age of 60 years is also provided as assistance.
• India and Pakistan carried out the 29th consecutive exchange of list of nuclear installations and facilities covered under the agreement on the prohibition of attack against nuclear installations between the two countries. The agreement was formulated in 1988. The first exchange happened on January 1, 1992.
• As per UNICEF's data, India tops the list of highest newborn babies on January 1, 2020. 67000 babies were born on the day. India is followed by China with 46,299. Nigeria gets the third spot with 26,039. Pakistan gets 4th place with 16,787 followed by Indonesia(13,020) and USA (10,452) with others following. India contributes 17% of the estimated newborn population globally on New Year Day. The first baby on new year day 2020 was born in Fiji. The last baby on new year day 2020 was born in the USA
• Sreekumar Krishnan from India won first place in category "Sunset" in the 2019 IPPA Awards (iPhone Photography Awards) for snapping a statue of Lord Ram in the outskirts of Bengaluru, Karnataka in the evening sky marred by solitary clouds. The photo was shot with 4-year-old iPhone 6s. The picture was titled "Piercing the Sky". Gabriella Cigliano from Italy grabbed the Grand Prize for the Photographer of the Year. The photo was taken with iPhone X in Zanzibar, Africa. The picture was titled "Big Sister". Diogo Lage from Portugal won the First Prize for the Photographer of the Year. The picture was taken using the iPhoneSE and was titled "Sea Stripes".
  
• PM disbursed Rs.12000 crore to six crore beneficiary farmers in one-go under PMKSY(Pradhan Mantri Kissan Samman Yojana) at Tumakuru in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• Central Government has set up a dedicated group of officers to look after Ayodhya issues and matters related to therewith as per the verdict of the Supreme Court of India. There will be three officers in the group headed by Additional Secretary Gynesh Kumar. Gynesh Kumar is also the head of the Department of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh affairs in the home ministry.
• Internal Security-II division has been merged with the Internal Security-I division and Joint Secretary (Women Safety) Punya Salila Srivastava is in charge of the Internal Security-I division.
• Tanya Arora, a final year B Tech Computer Science & Engineering student of Lovely Professional University, got a Rs 42 lakh job offer from Microsoft which is reportedly the highest job offer ever received by an engineering fresher in the year 2019. Tanya would be donning the role of Software Engineer at Microsoft’s India R&D Centre in Hyderabad.
• The Turkish Parliament voted on whether t send military troops to Tripoli, Capital of the State of Libya to counter attacks by a self-styled group named Libyan National Army protesting against the ruling government by Prime Minister Fayes al Sarraj. The present government in Libya is supported by UN. President of Turkey Mr.Recep Tayyip Erdogan is keen to send the troops to Libya.
• Illinois, the US state became the latest to legalize recreational marijuana. The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act of the State allowed residents of 21 years of age and above to purchase marijuana. J.B.Pritzker, the Governor of Illinois granted pardons to thousands of Illinois people with low-level cannabis convictions. Illinois became the 11th State in US to legalize the same.
• USA killed Iran's General Qassem Soleimani who headed Iran's elite Quds Force in an airstrike at Baghdad's International Airport. The US accused him of actively developing plans to attack American diplomats.
• Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan wrote letters to 11 non-BJP CMs across the nation to stand united against Citizenship Amendment Act.
• UAE extended $200 million aid to Pakistan for developing its small and medium-sized enterprises.
• Iran named Esmail Qaani as a replacement for Qasem Soleimani who was killed by the US in an airstrike.
• 19-year-old Manav Thakkar has become World No:1 in the Under-21 Men's singles International Table Tennis as enlisted in ITTF rankings. Thakkar is the first Indian to be ranked in that category. Before two years, he was ranked No:1 in the Under -18 category.
• Irfan Pathan announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. He was the man-of-the-match in the final against Pakistan in the 2007 T20 World Cup.
• UP started collecting data on illegal migrants and people persecuted from other neighboring countries of India as a first move towards implementing CAA. UP thus became the first State in India to start the implementation process of CAA.
• Irfan Pathan announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. He was the man-of-the-match in the final against Pakistan in the 2007 T20 World Cup.
• UP started collecting data on illegal migrants and people persecuted from other neighboring countries of India as a first move towards implementing CAA. UP thus became the first State in India to start the implementation process of CAA.
• Foundation stone laid to the Delhi Cycle Walk project at Tughlakabad. The total network covers 220 kilometers.
• Guinea-Bissau elected Umaro Cissoko as its President in the recent election held for the post. He was the former Prime Minister and Military General. He will be the successor to José Mário Vaz.
• Shippping Corporation of India appoints Harjeet Kaur Joshi as its new Chairperson and Managing Director. She is the first woman to be appointed in the post.
• Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar today conferred the first Antarrashtriya Yoga Diwas Media Samman to 30 media houses in New Delhi today. The Ministry had instituted the award in June last year to mark the contribution of media in spreading the message of Yoga. It acknowledged the positive role and responsibility of the media in disseminating the outreach of Yoga in India and abroad.
• The RBI has granted "in-principle" approval to Shivalik Mercantile Co-operative Bank Limited to be transformed into a Small Finance Bank. The approval will be valid for 18 months.
• USA launched US Space force. It is the 6th independent military service branch that will undertake missions connected with the space domain. The US Space Force Hub is renamed SPOC(Space Operations Command). General Jay Raymond is appointed as the first chief of Space operations.
• SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation) a private American aerospace transporter has lauched 60 Starlink Satellites.
• CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2020 will be held in Las Vegas. This is the 53rd edition of the event. The event showcases countless categories of consumer electronic appliances. The event will host many technological innovations in the electronics field.
• Former Karnataka Governor Triloki Nath  Chaturvedi passed away. He was the previous Comptroller and Auditor General of India from 1984 to 1989. He also held the post of Governor of Kerala.
• Ministry of Labour has decided to launch a portal named Santusht for enabling employers and employees to get speedy redressal for their grievances.