Focus Merit

Category: All Current Affairs

Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Sarec announced his resignation

January 28, 2020

Prime Minister of Slovenian Marjan Sarec announced his resignation and called for new elections as the country’s coalition struggles with political deadlock. Mr Sarec, is Slovenia’s youngest-ever Prime Minister.

He was previously best known as a comedian and political satirist before he launched himself as an anti-establishment politician. President Borut Pahor will now have to start talks with political parties to see whether any of them can form a new coalition that commands a Parliamentary majority and thus avoid a fresh poll.

Sunil Mehta appointed as CEO of Indian Banks’ Association

January 28, 2020

Sunil Mehta took over as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). He will replace VG Kannan, who resigned from office as chief executive of IBA on December 31, 2019 after being at the helm for three years. Sunil Mehta was heading Punjab National Bank as an MD & CEO.

The term of the CEO of IBA is for the three years while the chairman term is for only one year. Currently, the managing committee of IBA has SBI chief Rajnish Kumar as Chairman year 2019-20 along with three deputy chairmen and honorary secretary.

Taranjit Singh Sandhu appointed as India’s next Ambassador to USA

January 28, 2020

Taranjit Singh Sandhu takes charge as the new Indian Ambassador to the United States. He will succeed Ambassador Harsh Vardhan Shringla. Sandhu is the current High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka since January 24, 2017. Sandhu’s appointment is also crucial as India is facing criticism from the US Congress over Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and Kashmir policy following abrogation of Article 370.

Sandhu, a 1988-batch IFS officer, has served twice before at the Indian mission in the US. He was Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian embassy in Washington between July 2013 and January 2017. Sandhu also held the position of First Secretary at Embassy of India, Washington responsible for liaison with the US Congress from 1997-2000. Between July 2005 and February 2009, Sandhu was posted at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.

Resolution to abolish Legislative Council adopted by Andhra Pradesh assembly

January 28, 2020

Andhra Pradesh cabinet chaired by the Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy, has adopted a resolution to abolish the legislative council, which the government feels is a major hurdle for passing crucial bills.

The statutory resolution was adopted with 133 members voting in favour of it. The Assembly passed the resolution on dissolution of the Council after a wide range of discussions. Later the Speaker, Tammineni Seetharam adjourned the House indefinitely.

The resolution will now be sent to the Centre for necessary follow-up action.The move came after the YSRC government failed to get two crucial bills on its plans to have three capitals cleared by the opposition TDP-dominated Upper House.

Maharashtra Government launches its ‘Shiv Bhojan’ scheme

January 28, 2020

Maharashtra government launched ‘Shiv Bhojan‘ scheme on the occasion of the 71st Republic Day. The scheme aims to provide a meal to the poor for just 10 rupees. The scheme has been launched on a pilot basis and under the scheme, thalis or lunch plates would be available to people at designated centres during a stipulated time in all the districts.

In Mumbai, district Guardian Minister Aslam Shaikh inaugurated the ‘Shiv Bhojan Thali’ canteen at the civic-run Nair Hospital. A similar centre was unveiled by Tourism Minister and Mumbai suburban district Guardian Minister Aaditya Thackeray at the Collector’s office in Bandra. Guardian ministers of Pune and Nashik, Ajit Pawar and Chhagan Bhujbal formally launched the scheme in their respective districts.

The thalis would be available for people between 12 noon and 2 pm and each canteen is going to serve at least 500 thalis (plates) per day. The state government is expected to incur an expenditure of Rs 6.4 crore for the pilot ‘Shiv Bhojan’ thali project that will run for three months. The decision on extending the scheme to other parts of the state would be dependent upon the response.

Chief Minister of Kerala inaugurates country’s first Super Fab Lab

January 28, 2020

Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurates India’s 1st Super Fab Lab in Kochi, Kerala. Fab Labs are fabrication laboratories that offer digital fabrication and computation. The Super Fab Lab is being installed in collaboration with KSUM (Kerala Startup Mission). The laboratory will break down barriers between the physical world and the digital world.

The lab is built in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is spread across an area of 10,000 sq ft. The Super Fab Lab will have state-of-the-art machines worth more than ₹7 crore, enabling researchers, innovators and developers to go beyond the scope of existing fab labs in the state. At present, Kerala has two electronic Fab Labs – one at Thiruvananthapuram and the other at Kochi.

Naveen Patnaik inaugurates National Handloom Expo 2020 in Bhubaneswar

January 28, 2020

Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the 17th National Handloom Expo 2020 being held at Exhibition Ground in Bhubaneswar to provide an opportunity to weavers to sell handloom products of different places under one umbrella. The expo is organised by the Odisha State Handloom Weavers Co-op Society Limited (Boyanika). All ranges of handwoven from different parts of the country are available in this fair.

OPPO signs pact with IIT Hyderabad to promote research

January 28, 2020

OPPO, Chinese smartphone brand, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad to promote research in the field of science and technology for multiple projects over a period of two years. The MoU will help to conduct research in core areas of software, hardware and internet services to ensure integrated user experience for the Indian audience.

TCS integrates two rural banks onto core banking solution ‘TCS BaNCS’

January 28, 2020

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization has successfully integrated the operations of two regional rural banks (RRBs), Pandyan Grama Bank and Pallavan Grama Bank, onto its core banking solution, TCS BaNCS, at the newly formed Tamil Nadu Grama Bank.

The merged entity, sponsored by Indian Bank, is headquartered in Salem. Despite the scale and complexity of the post-merger change management program, TCS completed the integration and roll-out ahead of schedule, within a short span of 6 months.

62nd Grammy Awards 2020 held in Los Angeles

January 27, 2020

The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards was announced on January 26, 2020. The Awards ceremony was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and the show was hosted by Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys. The awards were given to the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1 2018 to August 31 2019. The list of winners are as follows:

Sr. No.CategoryWinner
1.Album Of The YearWhen We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (Billie Eilish)
2.Record Of The YearBad Guy (Billie Eilish)
3.Best New ArtistBillie Eilish
4.Best Rap AlbumIgor (Tyler, The Creator)
5.Best R&B Album WinnerVentura (Anderson Paak)
6.Best Rap SongA Lot 
7.Best Country AlbumWhile I’m Livin’ (Tanya Tucker)
8.Song Of The YearBad Guy ( Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell)
9.Best Rock AlbumSocial Cues (Cage The Elephant)
10.Best Rock SongThis Land (Gary Clark Jr.)
11.Best Dance/Electronic AlbumNo Geography (The Chemical Brothers)
12.Producer Of The Year, ClassicalBlanton Alspaugh
13.Best Music VideoOld Town Road
14.Best Country SongBring My Flowers Now
15.Best Folk AlbumPatty Griffin
16.Best Comedy AlbumSticks & Stones (Dave Chappelle)