Indian-American health policy consultant Seema Verma has been selected as one of the key members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force constituted by US President Donald Trump. This task force is constituted to combat Coronavirus that has claimed six lives in the country and infected over 90 others.
India and the United States signed defence deals worth 3 billion dollars. India has agreed to purchase USD 3 billion worth upgraded American military equipment including Apache and MH-60 Romeo helicopters, which are the finest in the world.
The United States has crossed over China to be India’s top trading partner. The bilateral trade between the US and India stood at nearly 88 billion dollars in 2018-19 fiscal. During the period, India’s trade with China was at 87.1 billion dollars.
The President of the United States (POTUS) Donald Trump is coming on a two-days visit to India on 24th February 2020. He will be accompanied by the First Lady of the United States Melania Trump along with other US delegates.
America is India’s preferred trade and business partner in its journey to become a USD 5 trillion economy by 2024, the country’s new envoy to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu has announced.
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.
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. | Category | Winner |
| 1. | Album Of The Year | When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (Billie Eilish) |
| 2. | Record Of The Year | Bad Guy (Billie Eilish) |
| 3. | Best New Artist | Billie Eilish |
| 4. | Best Rap Album | Igor (Tyler, The Creator) |
| 5. | Best R&B Album Winner | Ventura (Anderson Paak) |
| 6. | Best Rap Song | A Lot |
| 7. | Best Country Album | While I’m Livin’ (Tanya Tucker) |
| 8. | Song Of The Year | Bad Guy ( Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell) |
| 9. | Best Rock Album | Social Cues (Cage The Elephant) |
| 10. | Best Rock Song | This Land (Gary Clark Jr.) |
| 11. | Best Dance/Electronic Album | No Geography (The Chemical Brothers) |
| 12. | Producer Of The Year, Classical | Blanton Alspaugh |
| 13. | Best Music Video | Old Town Road |
| 14. | Best Country Song | Bring My Flowers Now |
| 15. | Best Folk Album | Patty Griffin |
| 16. | Best Comedy Album | Sticks & Stones (Dave Chappelle) |
United States President Donald Trump has signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. With the signing of the act, US has authorised the establishment of US Space Force. The US Space Force will become the 6th branch of the armed forces.
The Space Force would become the youngest US military branch, and the first new service since the establishment of the US Air Force back in 1947. It would be a part of the Department of the Air Force and will be funded by an initial $40m for its first year. It will be led by Air Force General Jay Raymond.