IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JANUARY 29th, 2020

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JANUARY 29th, 2020

Oxford declares 'Samvidhaan' the Hindi word of 2019
Oxford University Press (OUP) named ‘Samvidhaan' (Constitution) the Oxford Hindi Word of 2019.

1)      OUP said that it received widespread attention in the year which was witness to the spirit of the Indian Constitution being embraced across segments of the society.

2)      The Oxford Hindi Word of the Year is a word or expression that has attracted a great deal of attention and reflects the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the past year.

3)      In November 2019, Oxford Dictionaries has named “climate emergency” as its 2019 Word of the Year.

Coast Guard Ship 'Annie Besant' reaches base harbour at Chennai
The recently inducted Indian Coast Guard Ship Annie Besant has reached its base harbour at Chennai.

1)      It was received with pomp and splendour by the staff and their family members of the Coast Guard Chennai office.

2)      The ship Annie Besant is the third Fast Patrol Vessel of the ‘Priyadarshini’ class.

3)      The ship has been indigenously designed and built and was commissioned at Khidderpore Dock, Kolkata. 

4)      The ship ICGS Annie Besant is fitted with modern navigational and communication equipment and sensors.

5)      It is capable of undertaking multi-faceted maritime operations such as Surveillance, Search and Rescue and Interdiction.

SC allows centre to introduce African cheetah to suitable habitat in India
The Supreme Court allowed the Centre to introduce the African cheetah to suitable habitat in India.

1)      The apex Court's decision followed a petition filed by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) seeking permission for the introduction of the African cheetah as rare Indian cheetah is almost extinct in the country.

2)      The government's plan is to import the Cheetah from African countries like Namibia and reintroduce them in India.

3)      In 2013, the top court had declined the plea seeking relocation of African Cheetah at Kuno National Park.

10 more wetlands from India get the Ramsar site tag
Ramsar has declared 10 more wetland sites from India as sites of international importance.

1)      The Ramsar Convention signed on February 2, 1971, is one of the oldest inter-governmental accord signed by members countries to preserve the ecological character of their wetlands of international importance.

2)      Wetlands declared as Ramsar sites are protected under strict guidelines of the convention.

3)      With this, the numbers of Ramsar sites in India are now 37 and the surface area covered by these sites is now 1,067,939 hectares.

4)      Maharashtra gets its first Ramsar site (Nandur Madhameshwar), Punjab which already had 3 Ramsar sites adds 3 more (Keshopur-Miani, Beas Conservation Reserve, Nangal) and UP with 1 Ramsar site has added 6 more (Nawabganj, Parvati Agra, Saman, Samaspur, Sandi and SarsaiNawar).

Jitendra Singh launches Bhuvan Panchayat V3 web Portal
Union Minister of State for PMO Dr Jitendra Singh launched the Bhuvan Panchayat V3 web Portal that will enhance network application of gram panchayats.

1)      The Portal will function with the help of satellite technology developed by ISRO.

2)      The Web Geo portal is an easy to use Geo portal developed for database visualization, data analytics, generation of automatic reports, model based products and services for the benefit of Gram Panchayat members and other stakeholders.

3)      The targeted audience for this portal are Public, PRIs and different stakeholders belonging to the gram panchayats.

Govt targets to install 175 GigaWatt renewable energy by 2022
The Government has targeted to install 175 GigaWatt renewable energy by 2022 to build a healthy planet with a less carbon intensive economy.

1)      Through Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Surkasha Evam Utthan Mahabhiyan, PM-KUSUM scheme, the government empowers the farmers to be the producer of energy.   

2)      The PM-KUSUM scheme covers grid connected renewable energy power plants, stand alone solar powered agricultural pumps and solarization of existing grid connected agriculture pumps.

3)      The Scheme has substantial environmental impact in terms of savings of CO2 emissions and all three components of the Scheme combined together are likely to result in saving of about 27 million tonnes of CO2 emission per annum.

Qatar names Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdelaziz Al Thani new PM
Qatar appointed Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdelaziz Al Thani as the new Prime Minister.

1)      He will replace Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani.

2)      The earlier Prime Minister has submitted his resignation.

3)      The state-run Qatar News Agency reported that no reason for the change has been specified.

Points to Remember

1)      Capital: Doha

2)      Currency: Qatari riyal

Taranjit Singh Sandhu appointed India's ambassador to US
Senior diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu has been appointed as India's Ambassador to the US.

1)      Sandhu, a 1988-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is currently posted as High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka.

2)      He replaces Harsh Vardhan Shringla as India's envoy in Washington.

3)      Shringla has been named as India's next foreign secretary.

Assam tableau wins first prize at 71st Republic Day parade
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave away Best Tableaux awards for Republic Day Parade, 2020 in New Delhi.

1)      Assam's tableau which portrayed the unique craftsmanship and culture of the state has been chosen as the best tableau, followed by Odisha and Uttar Pradesh.

2)      The tableaux of National Disaster Relief Force and Jal Shakti Mission were chosen as the best among the Ministries and Departments.

3)      The Central Public Works Department got the Special Prize for their tableau which was based on the theme - Kashmir se Kanyakumari.

CISF contingent adjudged Best Marching Contingent in Republic Day parade
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) contingent has been adjudged the “Best Marching Contingent” amongst Para-Military Forces and other Auxiliary Marching Contingents in 2020 Republic Day parade.

1)      This is the sixth time that CISF Contingent has won the Best Marching Contingent award.

2)      Earlier CISF Contingent was adjudged Best Marching Contingent in the year 2007, 2008, 2013, 2015 & 2017.

3)      Also, The marching contingent of the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been adjudged the first among the marching contingents of the three services.

North East Dr T Ao Trophy: Mizoram defeats Sikkim
Two times champion Mizoram defeated Sikkim by a solitary goal to emerge as the champion of the Northeast Dr. T Ao Football Trophy 2020 at Indira Gandhi Stadium in Kohima. 

1)      The first half saw a goalless draw.  Mizoram midfielder David Lalrinmuana scored the lone goal in the 74th minute to secure the title for the team.

2)      While the champion team received a cash prize of 10 lakh rupees, the runners up got six 6 lakhs.

3)      Rhitsho Mero received the golden boot for his 10 goals.

4)      Nagaland defeated Arunachal Pradesh by 4-2 to claim the third position.

India's Esow Alben bags gold in men's Keirin individual event of Six Day Berlin Tournament
In Cycling, India's Esow Alben has bagged a gold in the men's Keirin individual event of the Six Day Berlin Tournament.

1)      Czech Republic's Tomas Babek, who won a silver in the 2017 World Championship, came in second while Maximilian Lev of Germany took home the bronze.

2)      Keirin event is a six-day track cycling race. Each cyclist competes on every day of the competition.