HCS Exam 2020: Yearly Current Affairs Persons In News-II

HCS Exam 2020: Last One Year Topic Wise Current Affairs: Persons In the News Part-II

Haryana Civil Services Exam

HCS CURRENT AFFAIRS YEARLY 2020

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

1. In a first, two women officers have been selected to join as ‘Observers’ (Airborne Tacticians) in the Indian Navy’s helicopter stream that would ultimately pave the way for women being posted in frontline warships.

• Sub Lieutenant (SLt) Kumudini Tyagi and SLt Riti Singh would, in effect, be the first set of women airborne tacticians in India who would operate from the deck of warships.
• Earlier, entry of women was restricted to the fixed-wing aircraft that took off and landed ashore.
• The two are a part of a group of 17 officers of the Navy, including four women officers and three officers of the Indian Coast Guard, who were awarded ‘Wings’ on graduating as ‘Observers’ at a ceremony held at INS Garuda.

 2. Time Magazine has released the TIME 100 Most Influential People List 2020.

• Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi is the only politician on the list.
• He has been named in this for the fourth time since coming in power in 2014.
• The List has named people in five categories: Pioneers, Artists, Leaders, Titans, Icons.
• Professor Ravindra Gupta (Pioneer), is a Professor of Clinical Microbiology and has worked for the cure of HIV.
• Ayushmann Khurrana (Artists).
• Bilkis (Icons), the ‘Dadi from Shaheen Bagh’.
• Google CEO Sundar Pichai is also on the list. 

3. Udit Singhal, an 18-year-old youngster from India has been named by the United Nations to the 2020 class of young leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals.

• Singhal has been named to the 2020 Class of 17 Young Leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
•  He is the founder of Glass2Sand, a zero-waste ecosystem that addresses the growing menace of glass waste in Delhi.

4. Former Prime Minister of India, H D Deve Gowda took oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka.

• This is the first time that the JD(S) leader has become a member of the Upper House since 1996.
• Mr. Deve Gowda was the 11th Prime Minister of India from 1 June 1996 to 21 April 1997.
• He had also served as the 14th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1994 to 1996.

5. Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has been sworn-in as the President of the African Development Bank for a second term.

• He has been re-elected to serve a second five-year term as President of the African Development Bank. 
• He received the unanimous vote of all the Governors of the Bank on Thursday 27 August, the last day of the 2020 Annual Meetings.
• A globally-renowned development economist, World Food Prize Laureate, and Sunhak Peace Prize Laureate, Dr. Adesina has distinguished himself in driving a bold agenda to reform the Bank and accelerate Africa’s development.
• He was first elected as President of the Bank on May 28, 2015.

6. Kevin Pietersen a famous cricketer has collaborated with National Geographic for a document Web series “Save This Rhino: India” for creating awareness to protect One-horned Rhinos in India.

• India Rhino Vision 2020 is launched by the Assam government in partnership with International Rhino Foundation, and the World Wide Fund for Nature.
• It aims to attain a 3000 population of one-horned Rhino in Assam by 2020.
• Every year 22 September is celebrated as World Rhino Day.

7. IAS officer Hardik Satishchandra Shah has been appointed the Private Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

• He has been appointed as the Private Secretary to the Prime Minister on a co-terminus basis
• Before moving to the PMO last year, he worked as the Private Secretary to Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar.

8. Twenty-Year old Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash of Hyderabad has bagged the first-ever Gold Medal for India in Mental Calculations World Cup held on August 15, 2020, by Mind Sports Olympiad (MSO). 

• The MSO was held virtually with 30 participants, who were up to 57 years of age.
•  The participants were from 13 countries including the UK, Germany, UAE, France, Greece, and Lebanon.
• Bhanu Prakash had secured the gold medal with a score of  167, Lebanese contender Mohammed El Mir secured the Silver Medal with a score of 102 and Asmita Pal from the UAE  bagged the Bronze medal with a score of 100 points.
• He has created a new All-Time Record and has beaten the records of Math Maestros like Shakuntala Devi and Scott Flansburg. 

9. Archana Soreng, a climate activist from India has been named by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to his new advisory group comprising young leaders who will provide perspectives and solutions to tackle the worsening climate crisis,  as part of the Covid-19 recovery efforts.

10. Kala Narayanasamy was among the five nurses that were conferred with the prestigious President's Award for Nurses for serving on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Each recipient was awarded a trophy, a certificate signed by President Halimah Yacob, and SGD 10,000 (USD 7,228).
• Narayanasamy, who is the Deputy Director of Nursing at Woodlands Health Campus, was awarded for using infection control practices, which she learned during the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, in the current pandemic.

11. Akash Ganesan has become the 66th Chess GrandMaster of India. 

• Akash’s maiden GM norm came during the National Championships held in Kolkata back in 2012. That event saw Akash become the youngest-ever to win the senior Nationals at 16-years and 14 days. 

12. Prof Rattan Lal of Ohio State University and Dr. Uma Lele of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) have been named to the Scientific Group for the 2021 Food Summit by UN President Guterres.

• Lal, a pre-eminent Indian-American soil scientist, was named last month as the 2020 World Food Prize Laureate for developing and mainstreaming a soil-centric approach to increasing food production that conserves natural resources and mitigates climate change.
• Lele, the first woman to be awarded a Ph.D. in agricultural economics by Cornell University, was elected President-Elect of the International Association of Agricultural Economists in July 2018.

13. 13-year-old Mumbai-based racer Aashi Hanspal has achieved a historic milestone in the Indian motorsport fraternity as she is officially one of only 20 female racers shortlisted from across the globe for the ambitious FIA Girls on Track - Rising Stars Project.

• She will be taking part in the ‘Shoot Out’ at the Paul Ricard Circuit in France on October 12 and 13. The final four will participate in a 'Ferrari Driver Academy Training Camp (F4)' between November 9 and 13 in Maranello, Italy. 

Sita Raina- Chairperson of FMSCI

14. Jyoti Kumari has been honored by a delegation from Nirmali Nagar, as she brought her father on a bicycle from Gurgaon to Sirhulli in Darbhanga district amid the lockdown over the global pandemic Corona.

• She was awarded the title of 'Maithil Veerangana' from the delegation city. 
• Those in the delegation gave Kumari Jyoti a letter, citation, and cash prize. 

15. M.Nethra Mohandas; a 13-year-old girl, has been appointed a ‘Goodwill Ambassador for the Poor’ for the United Nations Association for Development and Peace (UNADAP).

• She had convinced her father to use that money, amounting to ?5 lakh, to help the poor. Mohan had agreed and donated essentials, including groceries and vegetables, to around 600 families. The money had been saved for Nethra’s education and for her to pursue her goal of entering the civil service. 
• Nethra will be given the opportunity to speak at the UN Civil Society Organisation conferences in New York and in Geneva
• The UNADAP stated that the Dixon Scholarship has awarded Nethra a scholarship amount of ?1,00,000 as a gesture of appreciation.

16. The United Nations honored Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja by inviting her on panel discussion on World Public Service Day, which was on June 23, 2020. 

• She was the honored speaker from India to speak about the strategies that were adopted by the state to combat the pandemic.
• Kerala's strategy of contact tracing, aggressive testing, and quarantining had slowed the spread of the virus in the state. She was even consulted by the states like Maharashtra to control the spread of the pandemic. 

17. The US Senate has confirmed eminent Indian-American scientist Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan as the Director of the National Science Foundation, a top American body supporting fundamental research in non-medical fields of science and engineering.

18. Kathy Sullivan, who was the first American woman to walk in space in 1984, became the first woman and the fifth person in history to descend to the deepest known spot in the world’s oceans, called the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench.

• This also makes Dr. Sullivan the first and the only person to both walk-in space and to descend to the deepest point in the ocean. 
• She made her descent in the two-person submersible ‘Limiting Factor’ as part of Caladan Oceanic’s Ring of Fire Expedition.
• Challenger Deep is the deepest part which is located below the surface of the western Pacific Ocean. It is approximately 36,200 feet deep.

19. The United Nations Environment Programme extended the term of actress Dia Mirza as the Goodwill Ambassador of India till 2022. 

• The actress is also a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Advocate.
• A Goodwill Ambassador in general is a person who supports global issues or specific causes.
• UNICEF has the largest number of ambassadors which is 300.
• Goodwill Ambassadors at the request of the United Nations will raise funds, engage in public advocacy (like creating awareness, etc.). Their term of service is for 2 years.

20. A 17-year old Indian-origin girl Vaneeza Rupani has named the 1st helicopter to be built for Mars as ‘Ingenuity’ after she submitted her essay in NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) ‘Name the Rover’ competition.

NASA in March 2020 announced that its next rover would be named ‘Perseverance’, based on an essay by seventh-grade student Alexander Mather. 

21. Five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand has joined WWF (World Wide Fund) India as its ambassador for the environmental education program.

• WWF India is celebrating its 50 years of conservation in India and it is delighted to see Anand lend his support to conservation and protection of the environment.
• WWF India is celebrating its 50 years of conservation in India 

22. Nupur Kulshrestha has become the 1st woman to be promoted as Deputy Inspector General(DIG )of the Indian Coast Guard.

• She joined Indian Coast Guard in 1999.
• Indian Coast Guard was established by the Coast Guard Act, 1978 of the Parliament of India as an independent Armed force of India &  is operated under the Ministry of defense.
• It is an armed force &  multi-mission organization, which conducts real-life operations at sea around the year. 
• Maritime zones of India are divided into 5 coast guard regions, namely; North- West, West, East, North-East & Andman & Nicobar & are headquartered in Gandhinagar, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolakata& Port Blair.

23. Indian Mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya has successfully scaled Mount Kosciuszko [2, 228 meters], the highest mountain peak in Australia.

• Dehariya had scaled Mount Kilimanjaro [5, 895 meters] on the occasion of Diwali in the year 2019.
• Madhya Pradesh girl Dehariya also thanked Chief Minister Kamal Nath for supporting and motivating her to climb the summit.

24. Distinguished Non-Resident Indian businessman, Mr. Rajesh Chaplot has been honored with the Highest Civilian Award (Golden Jubilee Medal-Civilians) of Uganda.

• The award was presented by none other than His Excellency Hon’ble President of Uganda, Mr. Yoweri Museveni in a ceremony in Kampala recently.
• The accolade was bestowed upon Mr. Chaplot for his excellence in the field of Business & Commerce, Social Service, and for fostering better India – Uganda ties.
• Mr. Chaplot has been also a proud recipient of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, the highest award for overseas Indians. Shri. Ramnath Kovind, the Hon’ble President of India had conferred him this recognition in Varanasi last year.

25. IAS officer Hirdesh Kumar has been appointed the new chief electoral officer of Jammu and Kashmir.

• The Election Commission appointed Kumar as the new CEO replacing Shailendra Kumar.
• Hirdesh Kumar, a 1999-batch IAS officer of the Jammu and Kashmir cadre, was selected from a panel of names sent by the J-K administration to the EC.

26. Former State Bank of India chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya will lead the India operations of Salesforce.

• Bhattacharya retired from India’s biggest bank in October 2017, will join on April 20 as chairperson and CEO for India.
• Bhattacharya served SBI for 40 years, after joining the bank as a probationary officer. 
• In 2016, she was listed as the 25th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

27. Indian umpires Janani Narayanan and Vrinda Rathi were inducted into the International Panel of ICC Development Umpires

• Narayanan, 34, and Rathi, 31, who hail from Chennai and Mumbai respectively, have officiated in domestic matches in India since 2018.
• The other women match officials across the ICC panels include GS Lakshmi, Shandre Fritz (International Panel Match Referees); Lauren Agenbag, Kim Cotton, Shivani Mishra, Claire Polosak, Sue Redfern, Eloise Sheridan, Mary Waldron, Jacquline Williams (all International Panel of ICC Development Umpires).

28. Indian mountaineer Satyarup Siddhanta has entered the ‘Limca Book of Records’ for his extraordinary achievements, as the first Indian to climb the highest volcanoes of each of the 7 continents.

• He also holds the record as the youngest mountaineer in the world to climb both 7 peaks and 7 volcanic summits.
• His Seven volcanic summits are Ojos del Salado (6,893 m) - Chile - South America, Mt Kilimanjaro (5,895 m) - Tanzania - Africa, Mount Elbrus (5,642 m) - Russia - Europe, Mount Pico de Orizaba (5,636 m) - Mexico - North America, Mt Damavand (5,610 m) - Iran - Asia, Mt Giluwe (4,368 m) - Papua New Guinea - Australia and Mt Sidley (4,285 m) - Antarctica.

29. Gita Sabharwal of India has been appointed as the United Nations Resident Coordinator of Thailand by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

• The UN Resident Coordinator is the highest-ranking representative of the UN development system at a country level and representatives of the UN Secretary-General.
• Sabharwal has 25 years of experience in development, peacebuilding, governance & social policy across 5 Asian countries, including the Maldives.
• Gita Sabharwal recently served in UN, Sri Lanka as the Peacebuilding and Development Adviser for 7 years.

30. Kaamya Karthikeyan has become the youngest girl in the world to summit Mt. Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America and outside of Asia. 

• She summited the mountain peak of 6962 m height on 01 Feb 2020 and unfurled the Indian tricolor.
• Years of physical and mental preparation along with regular participation in adventure sports combined with strong character helped the young girl in overcoming many administrative hurdles and extreme climbing conditions to achieve this rare feat.

31. Indian-origin politician Rishi Sunak was appointed as the U.K.’s new Finance Minister by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a Cabinet reshuffle.

• Mr. Sunak, the son-in-law of Infosys Co-founder Narayana Murthy, will join Home secretary Priti Patel on the top government bench as the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
• Earlier, Pakistani-origin Sajid Javid resigned as Chancellor in a shock move in one of the biggest shakeups since Johnson won a thumping majority in the December 2019 general election.He is replaced by Mr. Sunak, who was until now Mr. Javid’s junior as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and seen as a rising star within the Cabinet.
• The 39-year-old is set to move into No. 11 Downing Street, next door to the Prime Minister’s Office as he takes charge of the second most important government position as the Finance Minister.
• “The Queen has been graciously pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon Rishi Sunak as Chancellor of the Exchequer

32. New Zealand has inducted an Artificial Intelligence (AI) cop called Ella to the forces.

• Ella is the abbreviation for Electronic Lifelike Assistant, it is a digital person that is powered by AI and uses real-time animation to emulate face-to-face interactions.
• Ella will be stationed in the lobby of New Zealand Police’s National Headquarters in Wellington.

33. Indian-origin Alok Sharma, the UK Minister, will lead the UN Climate Summit ‘COP26'.

• The climate summit will be hosted by Britain.
• Sharma is the Secretary of State of the United Kingdom for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
• Agra-born Sharma has been promoted to the post of Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Cabinet reshuffle.
• Claire Perry O'Neill, a former energy Minister, had openly criticized Mr. Johnson soon after her sacking.

34. Army Chief General Bipin Rawat has been named the country's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

• CDS will function as a single-point advisor to the government on matters related to the military and will focus on the better synergy between the Army, Air Force, and the Navy. 
• The Chief of Defence Staff, apart from being the head of the Department of Military Affairs, will also be the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.
•  He will act as the Principal Military Adviser to Defence Minister on all tri-Services matters.

35. The chief of Delhi AIIMS' ENT head-neck surgery department, Professor Suresh Chandra Sharma, was appointed the chairman of the National Medical Commission

• NMC is the new medical education regulator to replace scam-tainted Medical Council of India, according to a Personnel Ministry order.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Sharma for a period of three years or till the age of 70 years.
• Rakesh Kumar Vats, the secretary-general in the board of governors of the Medical Council of India, has been appointed as the secretary of the Commission for the similar term.

36. Hajeet Kaur Joshi has been appointed as Chairperson & Managing Director of Shipping Corporation of India. 

• The company holds the additional charge of the post of Director (Finance) of the company for three months with effect from 19 December 2019. 
• Shipping Corporation of India Shipping Corporation of India is a Government of India Public Sector Enterprise with its headquarters in Mumbai.

37. The first and youngest tribal women in the World to scale six mountain peaks in six continents.

• 18-years-old Malavath Poorna from Telangana scaled Mt Vinson Massif, the highest mountain peak in Antarctica at 4,892 meters, and become the first and youngest tribal woman in the World to scale six mountain peaks in six continents.
• She is the daughter of an agriculturist of Pakala tribal hamlet of Nizamabad district in Telangana.
• Sekhar Babu Bachinepally is her coach.

38. Hillary Rodham Clinton appointed as the first female Chancellor of the United Kingdom’s Queen’s University.

• She succeeds Tom Moran. Clinton is the 11th Chancellor of the University and will serve for a period of five years from January 1, 2020.
• She will act as an advisor to the vice-chancellor Prof Ian Greer and senior management.
• Queen’s University was opened in 1849 in Belfast, UK. It is one of the leading universities in the UK and Ireland with a distinguished heritage and history.