Current Affairs, January 2021

30th January, Current Affairs:

• The nation pays homage to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi on his 73rd death anniversary today. The day is also observed as Martyrs' Day.
• Bharti Airtel has announced that it has become the first telecom service provider in the country to successfully “demonstrate and orchestrate” live 5G service.
• The BCCI will not be conducting its premier first-class domestic tournament Ranji Trophy for the first time in 87 years as the parent body opted for the Vijay Hazare Trophy as per the wishes of majority of the State units.

29th January, Current Affairs:

• The Budget session of Parliament begins from today. President Ram Nath Kovind address the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament on the first day of Budget session.
• Economic Survey 2020-21 has projected GDP growth for the next financial year at 11 per cent. The Economic Survey 2020-21, tabled by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha today.
• Beating the Retreat ceremony, marking the culmination of four-day long Republic Day celebrations was held at the historic Vijay Chowk in New Delhi.

26th January, Current Affairs:

• India celebrated its 72nd Republic Day today.
• On the eve of 72nd Republic Day, the Government announced the Padma Awards this evening. Seven persons will get Padma Vibhushan. They include former Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, late S P Balasubramaniam, sculptor Sudarshan Sahoo and Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Ten persons will get Padma Bhushan and 102 persons will get Padma Shri.
• President has approved awards of 455 Gallantry and other Defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel and others. These include one Mahavir Chakra, 5 Kirti Chakras, 5 Vir Chakras and 7 Shaurya Chakras also. Colonel B Santosh Babu, the Commanding Officer of 16 Bihar Regiment, who lost his life during the Galwan Valley clash last year, will be posthumously awarded with Maha Vir Chakra.
• Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth, the first woman in India to qualify for combat mission in a fighter jet, today became the first woman fighter pilot to participate in the Republic Day fly-past.
• Elon Musk’s SpaceX created a new world record by launching 143 satellites on a single rocket. SpaceX has beaten the Indian space agency ISRO's record of deploying 104 satellites in a single launch in February 2017.

25th January, Current Affairs:

• President Ram Nath Kovind address the nation today on the eve of the 72nd Republic Day.
• National Voters Day is observed today in India.
• Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has been expelled from the ruling Communist Party over his decision to dissolve the Parliament.
• 32 children have been awarded the ‘Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar’ this year for their exceptional abilities and outstanding accomplishments in the fields of innovation, scholastics, sports, arts, culture, social service and bravery.
• Tata Consultancy Services surpassed Reliance Industries Ltd. to become the country’s most valued firm by market capitalisation.

24th January, Current Affairs:

• The National Girl Child Day is being observed today.
• Uttar Pradesh is celebrating its foundation day today.

23rd January, Current Affairs:

• The iconic TV and radio interviewer Larry King died today at the age of 87.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Parakram Diwas celebrations at Kolkata today to commemorate the125th birth anniversary year of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

21st January, Current Affairs:

• Meghalaya, Manipur & Tripura celebrate their statehood day today.
• Joe Biden took oath as the 46th President of the United States of America. His deputy Kamala Harris was also sworn in as 49th Vice-President of the country. Kamala Harris made history as America's first woman and first person with south Asian roots to take the office of the Vice President.
• Union Government has said that more than one crore one lakh houses have been approved under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) till date.
• In Ladakh, the Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju launched the first ever Khelo India Zanskar Winter Sports Festival at Padum in Zanskar of Kargil district.

20th January, Current Affairs:

• NITI Aayog today released the second edition of the India Innovation Index-2020. In the 2020 ranking, Karnataka retained its first position in the Major States category. Maharashtra moved one position higher and stood at 2nd spot while Tamil Nadu slid to 3rd position.
• The Maldives will become the first country to receive the Indian COVID-19 vaccine. The Indian Ocean Island country will receive Oxford Astrazeneca's Covishield vaccine produced by Serum Institute of India.
• India announced that it will supply COVID-19 vaccines under grant assistance to Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles from today.
• United States President-elect Joe Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris will be sworn in as the 46th President and 49th Vice-President of the United States today.

19th January, Current Affairs:

• Union Government has decided to celebrate the birthday of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose as 'Parakram Diwas' on 23rd of January every year.
• Indian cricket team wins the Border-Gavaskar trophy with a historic three-wicket win over Australia in the fourth and final Test in Brisbane. India successfully chase a 328-run target to seal the four-match series 2-1.

17th January, Current Affairs:

• 51st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) has announced Indian Personality of the Year Award for veteran actor and director Biswajit Chatterjee.
• Legendary Indian classical musician and Padma Vibhushan awardee Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan died at his residence in Mumbai. He was 89.
• The country's first Labour Movement Museum, showcasing the history of world labour movement, would be launched in Kerala's houseboat tourism hub, Alappuzha.

16th January, Current Affairs:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches World's largest COVID-19 vaccination drive in India. The COVID-19 vaccination drive began with a health worker from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) becoming the first person in the country to get the covid-19 vaccine.
• The 51st edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) gets underway in Goa.

15th January, Current Affairs:

• India's first Air Taxi service has been launched in Chandigarh which was inaugurated by Manohar Lal Khattar at the Chandigarh Airport launched under the UDAN scheme of the government.
• 73rd Army Day is celebrated today in India.

14th January, Current Affairs:

• Archaeologists have discovered the world's oldest known cave painting: a life-sized picture of a wild pig that was made at least 45,500 years ago in Indonesia.
• Makar Sankranti, Pongal and Bihu is celebrated in different parts of India.
• President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House for a historic second time. He is charged with “incitement of insurrection” over the deadly mob siege of the Capitol.
• A World Health Organization team of experts probing the origins of the pandemic has landed in Wuhan in central Hubei Province in India.

12th January, Current Affairs:

• National Youth Day is celebrated today in India on the occasion of birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
• Supreme Court has put a stay on the implementation of the three farm laws until further orders. It has also set up a committee of agricultural experts to facilitate talks between the Centre and farmers' unions.
• Manipur has become the 4th state in the country to successfully undertake Urban Local Bodies, ULB reforms stipulated by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. The three other States are Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana.

11th January, Current Affairs:

• The Union Government today placed a purchase order with Serum Institute of India for 11 million doses of Oxford COVID-19 vaccine, Covishield, each costing Rs 210, including the GST.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday interacted with chief ministers of all states to discuss the COVID-19 situation and the vaccination roll-out in the country.

9th January, Current Affairs:

• Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is observed today.
• An Indonesian budget airline plane with 62 people on board is suspected to have crashed into the sea shortly after the Boeing 737 took off from Jakarta airport.

8th January, Current Affairs:

• The second Covid 19 vaccination dry run in 736 districts across 33 States and Union Territories is being held throughout the country today.
• In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre has merged J&K cadre for all India Services with that of Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT).

7th January, Current Affairs:

• Four people died, including one woman who was shot by a police officer, amid protests and rioting on Capitol Hill by supporters of Donald Trump.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the world's first Double Stack Long Haul 1.5-Kilometre long Container Train hauled by electric traction from New Ateli -New Kishangarh through video conference.
• Justice Hima Kohli has become the first woman Chief Justice of Telangana High Court.

6th January, Current Affairs:

• Amid the outbreak of Avian Influenza which is also known as Bird Flu, the Centre has set up a Control Room in New Delhi to keep watch on the situation. Till now Bird Flu has been reported from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala.
• Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have become the first group of states to complete three out of the four citizen-centric reforms stipulated by the Ministry of Finance. The two states have completed the One Nation, One Ration Card Reforms, Ease of Doing Business Reforms and Urban Local Bodies Reforms.
• Alexander Ellis has been appointed as the new British High Commissioner to India in succession to Sir Philip Barton.

5th January, Current Affairs:

• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled his visit to India, hours after he announced a fresh lockdown in the United Kingdom over the new strain of coronavirus.
• Justice Vineet Kothari took oath as a Judge in Gujarat High Court. He was previously an Acting Chief Justice in Madras High Court.

4th January, Current Affairs:

• Prime Minister inaugurates National Metrology Conclave 2021 today through video conferencing. The Prime Minister dedicated the National Atomic Timescale and Bhartiya Nirdeshak Dravya to the nation and laid the foundation stone of the National Environmental Standards Laboratory.
• The world Braille Day is being celebrated today. The day is marked as the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, the inventor of Braille.

3rd January, Current Affairs:

• Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Buta Singh died at Delhi's AIIMS. He was 86 years old.
• Drugs Controller General of India, DCGI has given approval for restricted use in emergency situation of two Covid19 vaccines- Serum Institute of India's Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin.

1st January, Current Affairs:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi lays foundation stone of light house projects in 6 states. The Light House Projects will showcase the best forms of technology, used for public welfare and light house projects will help support urban housing needs. The Light House Projects will be undertaken at Rajkot in Gujarat, Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Indore in Madhya Pradesh, Ranchi in Jharkhand, Chennai in Tamil Nadu and Agartala in Tripura.
• The World Health Organization says it has cleared the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for emergency use.
• Countries around the world welcome New Year 2021 with fireworks.

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