HCS Current Affairs 2020: Persons In News-I

HCS Last One Year Topic Wise Current Affairs: Persons In the News Part-I

Haryana Civil Services Exam

CURRENT AFFAIRS YEARLY 2020

Last one-year Current Affairs For HCS Exam: Persons In the News Part-I

1. The CAG of India, Girish Chandra Murmu, has been elected External Auditor of Inter-Parliamentary Union, Geneva, for a three

• Girish Chandra Murmu, Comptroller & Auditor General of India will assume this prestigious position
• He will take charge of this position from the Supreme Audit Institution of Switzerland. 
• The election took place at the virtual meeting of the 284th session of the IPU, which is a 179 countries Parliamentarians body, also having 13 Associate Members.
• The IPU has permanent observer status at the United Nations General Assembly
• The result of the election has been conveyed by Martin Chungong, Secretary-General of the IPU

2. US President-elect Joe Biden has appointed Indian-American Mala Adiga as the policy director of his wife Jill, choosing an experienced education policy hand as the incoming First Lady focuses on education and plans to continue teaching community college classes.

• Adiga was a senior adviser to Jill and senior policy adviser for Biden's 2020 campaign. 
• She previously worked for the Biden Foundation as director for higher education and military families.

3. Joe Biden has been declared the winner of the US Election, 2020. 

• He is to become 46th President of the United States beating Donald Trump.
• His Oath of Office as the 46th President of the US will be administered by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. 
• He is to assume office on January 20, 2021.
• The election results make Trump the first one-term president since 1990.

4. The US. Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris has become the first woman Vice President of the US.

• She will be the 49th Vice President of the United States and will replace Mike Pence.
• She is the first woman of Indian-American and African-American origin to be a member of the United States Senate.
• The Vice President of the US is the President of the senate.
• The Vice President is elected for a four-year term through the Electoral College.
• In the Indian constitution, the post of the Vice President has been borrowed from the US constitution.

5. Indian diplomat Vidisha Maitra has been elected to the UN’s Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ).

• The election was a tightly contested one but Maitra won with 126 UN members supporting her candidature for the only post for the Asia-Pacific group while 64 voted for the opposing candidate who was from Iraq.
• India’s permanent representative to the UN, TS Tirumurthy confirmed Maitra’s election to the post. 
• India has been a member of the committee since its inception in 1946. The committee is one of the most coveted in the United Nations system as it controls the financial and budgetary purse of the UN.

6. Army Chief General MM Naravane has been conferred the honorary rank of General of the Nepali Army by President Bidya Devi Bhandari in Kathmandu. 

• He was honoured at a special ceremony at the President's official residence 'Shital Niwas' in Kathmandu.
• He was also presented with a sword and scroll during the function.
• The ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister of Nepal K.P. Sharma Oli, Indian Ambassador Vinay M. Kwatra, and other senior officials of both countries.

7. National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) Chairman, Dilip Rath has been unanimously elected to the Board of International Dairy Federation (IDF) during the General Assembly of IDF.

• As Member Secretary of Indian National Committee and as a member of the Standing Committee on Dairy Policy and Economics, Rath has been associated with IDF for the last 10 years. 
• He played a key role in signing the Dairy Declaration at the IDF World Dairy Summit in Rotterdam in October 2016 between IDF and FAO. 
• The Declaration recognizes the contribution of the dairy sector to the achievement of key Sustainable Development Goals such as ending poverty and hunger and protecting the environment.

8. Priyanca Radhakrishnan has become the first Indian to be appointed as a minister in the New Zealand government led by Jacinda Ardern.

• Elected as MP for the second time representing the Labour Party, Priyanca has been given charge as the Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities, Minister for Youth, Minister of Community and Voluntary Sector, and Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment.
• Priyanca has been active in the Labour Party for the last 14 years. 
• She completed her education from Singapore and New Zealand.

9. Indian wrestler-turned-Mixed Martial Arts fighter Ritu Phogat won her third consecutive MMA championship title in Singapore.

• The 26-year-old Indian notched up a technical knockout win over Cambodia's Nou Srey Pov in the second round.
• Ritu Phogat is an Indian mixed martial artist currently signed to ONE Championship.
•  She is also a female wrestler who won a gold medal at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship.

10. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton has become the most successful driver in terms of victories in Formula 1 history. 

• He won the Portuguese Grand Prix and claimed his 92nd victory which is one more than -Michael Schumacher (the champion of all times) 
• He equalled Michael Schumacher’s all-time record 91 Formula One wins with an Eifel Grand Prix victory.

11. Shri Apurva Chandra, Secretary (Labour and Employment) has been elected as the Chairperson of the Governing Body of the International labour organization (ILO) for the period October 2020- June 2021.

• After 35 years, India has assumed the Chairmanship of the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization.
• Shri Apurva Chandra, Secretary (Labour and Employment) has been elected as the Chairperson of the Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for the period October 2020- June 2021. 
• The Chairperson of the Governing Body of ILO is a position of international repute.
• The Governing Body is the apex executive body of the ILO which decides policies, programs, agenda, budget and elects the Director-General. 
• At present, ILO has 187 members. 
• Shri Apurva Chandra will be presiding over the upcoming meeting of the Governing Body to be held in November 2020.

12. Minty Agarwal is the first woman to receive the Yudh Seva Medal.

• Three Indian Air Force (IAF) officers who took part in the Balakot operation last year received Yudh Seva Medal on the occasion of 88th Air Force Day on (8 October).
• The officers who received the Yudh Seva Medal are Squadron Leader Minty Agarwal, Group Captain Hansel Sequera, and Group Captain Hemant Kumar Vadsra.
• Yudh Seva Medal recognizes distinguished service of a high order during war, conflict or hostilities.
• Squadron Leader Minty Agarwal is a Fighter Controller with the Indian Air Force. She was part of the team that guided Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman during the 2019 Balakot airstrike carried out by the IAF.

13. The Supreme Court has appointed Justice (retd) Madan B Lokur, a former judge of the apex court, as a one-man monitoring committee to prevent stubble burning in the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, which is the main source of pollution in Delhi-national capital region (NCR).

• The new committee will monitor the stubble burning and take preventive steps. 
• It will get assistance from chief secretaries of all states as well as the National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme, and Bharat Scouts.
• The panel shall submit its report on stubble burning within 15 days to the apex court.

14. Dr. Jajini Varghese has been named an ‘Outstanding Young Person of the World 2020’.

• A UK-based Indian-origin surgeon and  Consultant in Oncoplastic Breast Surgery at Royal Free Hospital and University College London is one of 10 nominations from the UK for the international award, by a non-profit NGO for her “incredible” scientific contributions to diagnosing and treating breast cancer
• It honours outstanding young people under the age of 40 every year from across 110 countries for extraordinary accomplishments in various fields.

15. The documentary titled, “I RISE” based on the life of ace boxer Laishram Sarita Devi, has won the 'Best film on Woman, outstanding achievement award' in the Tagore International Film Festival, (TIFF) held at West Bengal. 

• The 52-minute documentary is directed by National Award-winning filmmaker and journalist Borun Thokchom. I RISE, is a Films Division, Mumbai production.
• TIFF is a monthly live screening international event.
• In each month, the world film industry specialists announce 20 Officially selected films in various categories and one of those films receives the 'Best of the Category' award. 
• In the 10th season of TIFF, 'I RISE' won the 'Best film on Woman, outstanding achievement award.

16. Rohan Jaitley, the son of former finance minister late Arun Jaitley, has been elected unopposed as the new president of Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). 

• Rohan is slated to remain in the post till June 30, 2021
• For the rest of the office bearers (treasurer and director), elections will be held on Late Arun Jaitley had also served as the president of DDCA between 1999 and 2013
• Rohan Jaitley was expected to be the unanimous choice of all warring factions at the DDCA. Sunil Kumar Goel, the only other candidate, had withdrawn after filing his nomination for the president’s post.

17. Vishal V Sharma has been appointed as the next permanent representative of India to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

• Sharma has succeeded Jawed Ashraf.
• "Vishal V Sharma appointed as the next permanent representative of India to the permanent delegation of India to UNESCO, Paris, in succession to Jawed Ashraf," MEA said in a release.
• Sharma is expected to take up the assignment shortly.

18. Gurdeep Singh-will become the longest serving chief at India’s largest power generation utility. (NTPC)

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has extended the tenure of state-run NTPC Ltd chairman and managing director, Gurdeep Singh till 31 July 2025
• This comes in the backdrop of NTPC's pivot towards green energy.
• With an installed capacity of 62.91 gigawatts (GW), the NTPC group has 70 power stations across the country.
• Singh had first assumed the charge of utility's chairman and managing director in February 2016. 

19. National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah has been appointed as the president of the Gupkar Declaration and PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti as vice president.

• CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami is the convenor of the alliance while Sajad Lone of the People's Conference was named as a spokesperson.
• Hasnain Masoodi, an NC MP from Anantnag, will be the coordinator.
• The decision was taken after a two-hour-long meeting of the alliance leaders at Mufti’s residence in Srinagar.
• The meeting took place a day after Mufti, in her first press conference after her release from detention, vowed not to contest any election unless J&K’s special status and Constitution are restored.

20. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi will release a commemorative coin of Rs 100 in honour of Smt Vijaya Raje Scindia on 12th October, 2020 through a virtual ceremony. 

• Smt Vijaya Raje Scindia is popularly known as the Rajmata of Gwalior. 
• The coin is being released in  celebration of the birth centenary of Vijaya Raje Scindia. 
• The special commemorative coin was minted by the Finance Ministry as a part of these  celebrations. 
• Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia was a Jana Sangh leader and one of the founding members of the BJP.

21. English poet and novelist Sarah Hall has become the first writer to win the BBC National Short Story Award for the second time.

• She won the top honour for the story,The Grotesques.
• Hall has been nominated four times in the past and last won in 2013 for her story, Mrs Fox.
• The BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University was founded in 2005, and the recipient of this prize receives £15,000.

22. Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh has become India’s first woman fighter pilot to fly the Rafale aircraft 

• She will soon join the Ambala-based No. 17 squadron, also known as “Golden Arrows.”
• The officer, who is one of IAF’s 10 women fighter pilots, joined the air force in 2017. 
• She was earlier fully operational on MiG 21 Bison.

23. 1st Women Director General (DG) of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security

• Usha Padhee, Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of 1996 batch from Odisha Cadre became the first Women and the third IAS officer to be appointed as the Director General(DG) of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security
• Bureau of Civil Aviation Security is a security regulator of the civil aviation industry in India under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. 
• She succeeds Rakesh Asthana(IPS) who was appointed as the Director-General of Border Security Force(BSF) on 17th August 2020.
• She is currently serving as the joint secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

24. 1st ever CEO of the restructured Indian Railway board

• The Union Cabinet has approved the organizational restructuring of the Indian Railways, which includes the merger of eight Group A services. 
• Vinod Kumar(VK) Yadav, the current chairman of the Railway Board is appointed as the Chief Executive Officer(CEO), which makes him the 1st ever to hold such a post in IR.  Along with the CEO post he also holds the chairman post.
• The 8 Group A services will be consolidated into a central service called the Indian Railway Management Service. 
• The Indian Railway Medical Service (IRMS) will be renamed the Indian Railway Health Service.

25. Teenager Khushi Chindaliya from Surat, Gujarat, was recently appointed as the Regional Ambassador for India by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 

• An avid nature lover and passionate environmentalist, she will work with the Tunza Eco-Generation on various environmental awareness programmes till February 2021
• Chindaliya’s appointment as India’s green ambassador will allow her to raise awareness about the need to safeguard environmental treasures.