1) World Leprosy Day 2020
•In India, World Leprosy Day is observed on Jan 30 every year to commemorate the death of Mahatma Gandhi who was assassinated on this day in 1948. This day was chosen by the French humanitarian Raoul Follereau as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, who helped people affected with leprosy.
•World Leprosy Day is observed internationally every year on the last Sunday of January to increase public awareness of the Leprosy. This year theme of World Leprosy Day is “Leprosy isn’t what you think”.
2) SAMPRITI-IX: India-Bangladesh joint exercise to be held in Meghalaya
•The 9th edition of joint military training exercise between India-Bangladesh SAMPRITI-IX will be conducted at Umroi, Meghalaya. Exercise SAMPRITI is an important bilateral defence cooperation endeavour between India and Bangladesh which is hosted alternately by both countries. During the joint exercise, Command Post Exercise and Field Training Exercise is to be conducted according to the United Nations Charter. The troops of both the armies will also practice Counter-Terrorist operation.
3) President Trump inks USMCA North American trade deal
•US President Donald Trump has signed the new United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) North American trade pact with Canada and Mexico into law. The USMCA, crafted over years of negotiation between the three countries, replaces the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. It also makes changes to e-commerce, intellectual property protection and dispute settlement for investors, as well as imposing tougher labour provisions, requiring reforms to Mexico’s laws.
4) Eimear Noone set to become Oscars’ first female orchestra conductor
•Irish composer Eimear Noone will be the first woman to conduct an orchestra at the Oscars guest-segment. She will lead the 42-piece orchestra at the Academy Awards as it plays excerpts from five nominated scores. She’s widely hailed as the world’s leading composer of video game music and at 22 became the first woman to conduct at the National Concert Hall.
5) RBI Executive Director Janak Raj appoints as MPC Member
•The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed its Executive Director Janak Raj as member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). He will replace M D Patra, who was recently elevated as Deputy Governor of the RBI. The MPC is headed by the RBI Governor. The Monetary Policy Committee of India is responsible for fixing the benchmark interest rate in India. The meetings of the Monetary Policy Committee are held at least 4 times a year and it publishes its decisions after each such meeting.
6) Google announces $1-million grant to promote news literacy in India
•Google announced a 1-million USD grant to promote news literacy among Indians. According to Google, the grant will work towards building a strong network of senior reporters and journalists, who will counteract fake news in India. The funding support is part of Google’s broader, $10-million commitment to media literacy.
•Google’s initiative will focus on delivering news literacy, especially in non-metro cities. Under the programme, Internews will put together a team of 250 journalists, fact-checkers, academicians, and NGO workers, who will be trained by global and Indian experts in a curriculum adapted to local needs and available in seven Indian languages.
7) Theatre artiste Sanjana Kapoor will receive the prestigious French honour
•Well-known theatre person, Sanjana Kapoor received the prestigious French honour of ‘Chevalier dans lOrdre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) for her outstanding contribution to the field of theatre. She is the daughter of Late Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor.
•L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is a French government distinction instituted in 1957 by the Ministry of Culture and is conferred, regardless of nationality, on persons who have distinguished themselves by their creativity in the fields of art or literature, or for their contribution to promoting art and literature in France and throughout the world.
8) India hockey captain Rani Rampal named 2019 World Games Athlete of the Year
•Indian women’s team captain Rani Rampal became the 1st-ever hockey player worldwide to win the prestigious ‘World Games Athlete of the Year’ award 2019. The prize is given for outstanding performance, along with social commitment and fair behaviour. The 25-year-old Rani has been part of the Indian women’s hockey team since she was 15 years old and has made 240 appearances for the national team thus far. She was the player of the tournament in the FIH Women’s Series Finals in Hiroshima, Japan.
