Focus Merit

Date	Day	Theme 2020
04 January	World Braille Day
06 January	Journalist day (in Maharashtra)
09 January	Pravasi Bhartiya Divas
10 January	World Hindi Day
11-17 January	National Road Safety Week	Sadak Suraksha - Jeevan Suraksha.
12 January	National Youth Day
14 January	Armed Forces Veterans Day
15 January	Indian Army Day
18 January	15th Raising day of NDRF
19 January	National Immunization day
24 January	National Girl Child Day
24 January	International day of education	Learning for people, planet, prosperity and peace.
25 January	National Voters' Day	Electoral Literacy for a Stronger Democracy
25 January	National Tourism Day
26 January	International Customs Day	Customs fostering Sustainability for people, prosperity and the planet.
26 January	World Leprosy Day	Leprosy isn't what you think
27 January	International day of the commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust	“75 years after Auschwitz – Holocaust Education and Remembrance for Global Justice”
30 January	World Neglected Tropical diseases day

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

3rd Global Potato Conclave 2020 begins in Gujarat

January 28, 2020

The 3rd edition of Global Potato Conclave-2020 begins today at Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the conclave through video conferencing. The Conclave will provide an opportunity to bring all stakeholders at one common platform. Last two Global Potato Conferences were organized during 1999, and 2008. Gujarat is one of the leading producers of Potato in the country.

Gujarat is holding the No. 1 position in India for last one decade, emerging as a major potato hub in the country. Hence, the Conclave is being held in Gujarat. The Conclave is being organized by Indian Potato Association (IPA) in collaboration with Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, and ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla and International Potato Center (CIP), Lima, Peru. This mega event has three major components; (i) The Potato Conference, (ii) The Agri Expo and (iii) Potato Field Day.

Anti-Submarine warfare corvette INS Kavaratti to be delivered to Indian Navy

January 28, 2020

Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) is set to deliver anti-submarine warfare stealth corvette INS Kavaratti to the Indian Navy. INS Kavaratti is 104th warship constructed by GRSE. Kavaratti is the last of the four Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) stealth corvettes built by the GRSE for the Indian Navy under Project P28.

Under Project P28, ASW stealth Corvettes delivered to Indian Navy are ‘INS Kamorta’ in July 2014, ‘INS Kadmatt’ in November 2015 and ‘INS Kiltan’ in October 2017.All these four corvettes are named after islands of Lakshadweep and Arabian Sea. Five warships have been delivered to Indian Navy by Defence PSU between March 2019 to December 2019

Eminent Assamese linguist Dr Golok Chandra Goswami passes away

January 28, 2020

Eminent Assamese scholar, linguist and litterateur Dr Golok Chandra Goswami passed away at his residence in Guwahati. He was 96. He was honoured with the Asam Sahitya Sabha’s ‘Sahityacharya’ title, ‘Bhashacharya’ title by Asom Bhasha Bikash Samiti and ‘Anundoram Borooah Award’ by the Anundoram Barooah Institute of Language, Art and Culture. Dr Goswami was the founder president of Assam Bhasha Bigyan Samiti.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day held on 27th January

January 28, 2020

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is held on 27th January to commemorate the tragedy of the Holocaust. The tragedy which occurred during the Second World War due to the genocide had resulted in the deaths of 6 million Jews and 11 million others, by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. The theme for 2020 was “75 years after Auschwitz – Holocaust Education and Remembrance for Global Justice”.

Chhattisgarh: Central Zonal Council meeting to be chaired by Amit Shah

January 28, 2020

Union home minister Amit Shah will chair the 22nd Central Zonal Council Meeting aimed to revisit the strategy on countering the left-wing extremism and the development in the affected region at Nava Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

The chief minister of four states — Chhattisgarh Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand will be attending the 22nd meeting of the Council. Besides the chief ministers who are members of the Council, at least two ministers from each of the four participating states would be accompanying them.

January 2020 Current Affairs

Maharashtra Government launches its ‘Shiv Bhojan’ scheme

Resolution to abolish Legislative Council adopted by Andhra Pradesh assembly

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

Sunil Mehta appointed as CEO of Indian Banks’ Association

Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Sarec announced his resignation

3rd Global Potato Conclave 2020 begins in Gujarat

Anti-Submarine warfare corvette INS Kavaratti to be delivered to Indian Navy

Eminent Assamese linguist Dr Golok Chandra Goswami passes away

International Holocaust Remembrance Day held on 27th January

Chhattisgarh: Central Zonal Council meeting to be chaired by Amit Shah

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