HCS Yearly Current Affairs: Topic Wise 2020 Miscellaneous-I

HCS Last One Year Topic Wise Current Affairs: Miscellaneous Part-I

Haryana Civil Services Exam

CURRENT AFFAIRS YEARLY 2020

Last one-year Current Affairs For HCS Exam: Miscellaneous Part-I

1. Writer-director Keith Gomes’ short film titled 'Shameless', which released in April last year, is this year's entry from India at the 93rd Oscars in the ‘Live Action Short Film’ category. 

• It was picked from a list of five films that included ‘Natkhat’, ‘Sound Proof’, ‘Safar’ and ‘Trapped’.
• It raised some relevant questions on the issues of entitlement, humanity, and empathy toward the migrant class.

2. The famous Kartikai Deepam festival has recently been celebrated in Tamil Nadu.

• In the famous Thiruvannamalai Sri Arunachaleswarar temple, the Bharani dweep was lit up. 
• In the night, the Maha Dweep will be lit up after pujas at the summit of the mountain
• In view of the prevailing pandemic, devotees from other places have been barred entry though the major events are being live-streamed and telecast.
•  The famous temple at Tiruvannamalai is in honor of the five elements.

3. The Shri Jagannath Temple Administration in Puri, Odisha hosted the 21st century’s first ‘Nagarjuna Besha’ at the shrine on November 27. 

• The ‘Nagarjuna Besha’ will see deities Jagannath and Balabhadra take on the form of warriors.
• Although the sibling deities of the Jagannath Temple, which includes goddess Subhadra, present themselves to devotees in different forms or ‘beshas’ at different times of the year, the ‘Nagarjuna Besha’ is special since it occurs once in several years.
• This time, the occasion will be observed after 26 years. ‘Nagarjuna Besha’, which was last observed on November 16, 1994, commemorates the killing of Sahasrarjun by Parsuram.

4. The Bowring and Lady Curzon Medical College and Research Institute in Bengaluru has been named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

• The institute was set up in 2018-19 on the campus of Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital 
• Vajpayee was the first leader from the Bharatiya Janata Party to become the Prime Minister. 

5. The Malayalam film 'Jallikattu', directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery has been selected as India's official entry to the Oscars 2021.

• 'Jallikettu' is based on a short story, titled 'Maoist', written by Hareesh S.
•  The film was released in 2019 
• It will now be in the running to secure a nomination in the 'Best International Feature Film' category.
• Last year, Zoya Akhtar’s commercially successful 'Gully Boy', was sent as India’s official entry to the 92nd Academy Awards.

6. The Karnataka government has issued a notification, renaming Haveri Railway station as Mahadevappa Mailara Railway Station.

•  It has been a long-standing demand of the public and representatives from Haveri District.
• Mahadevappa Mailara was a freedom fighter from the district.
• He accompanied Mahatma Gandhi on the Dandi March. 
• He sacrificed his life for the service of society and the liberation of the country and his courage had inspired a large number of people.

7. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released its biannual ‘Worldwide Cost of Living (WCOL) report of the World’s Most Expensive Cities in 2020, based on their cost of living.

• Hong Kong (China), Paris (France), and Zurich (Switzerland) share the top spot as the most expensive cities in the list of 133 cities.
• Damascus (Syria), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Lusaka (Zambia) ranked the last three spots as the most cheapest cities in the list.
• From India, Delhi is at the 121st spot in the list. 
• Economist Intelligence Unit Headquarters: London, United Kingdom.

8. North Police Station (PS) Kohima has become the first police station and government office in the state to be accorded with ISO certification for quality management system.

• The Police station is located in the heart of Kohima town which was the first established police station under Naga Hills district by the British Regime in the year 1933.

9. India International Cherry Blossom Festival, the calendar event of Meghalaya which attracts a record number of tourists annually in Shillong, has been canceled this year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Every year the cherry blossom festival is hosted by Meghalaya at the starting of November. 
• The festival hosts live music, stalls showcasing the cuisine, beauty pageants, etc.
• Cherry blossom festival is a national festival in Michigan. It is celebrated in Japan as well.

10. ‘World Fisheries Day 2020’ was celebrated on 21 November by the Department of Fisheries at NASC Complex in New Delhi.

• The Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying have given different awards to states: Uttar Pradesh has got the best performing award in the inland fisheries sector.
• Odisha has got the award for best-performing state among the Marine states.  
• Assam has been awarded the best-performing state among the Hilly and NE states.
• Tamil Nadu Fisheries Development Corporation Ltd has won the best Organisation award in the marine category.
• Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh has got the best Marine District of India award.
• Kalahandi district of Odisha has won the award of best Inland District of India.
• Nagaon, Assam has got the best Hilly and NE District of India award.

11. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has unveiled two books ‘The Republican Ethic Volume III’ and ‘Loktantra Ke Swar' which are collections of selected speeches of President Ram Nath Kovind during the third year of his presidency.

• Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar unveiled the e-book versions of the two books.
• President Kovind has given many inspiring speeches on various topics. 
• This book comprises speeches on the country's efforts to fight COVID19, where India is faring much better than other countries, to bravely defend its borders.

12. Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Shri Narendra Singh Tomar virtually inaugurated the capacity building component of the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises scheme (PM-FME Scheme) and launched the GIS One District One Product (ODOP) digital map of India.

• Under the PM-FME scheme, capacity building is an important component. 
• The scheme envisages imparting training to food processing entrepreneurs, various groups, viz., SHGs / FPOs / Co-operatives, workers, and other stakeholders associated with the implementation of the scheme”.
• The digital ODOP map provides detailed information about ODOP products to all states and facilitates the stakeholders.
• The digital map also has indicators for tribal, SC, ST, and aspirational districts.

13. The international bird festival will be organized in Gorakhpur in the month of February. 

• It will attract international tourists at Ramgarhtal Lake for bird watching.
• Gorakhpur is developing fast in the sphere of eco-tourism and in 2021 Gorakhpur will have a zoo. 

14. Actor Sonu Sood has been appointed as state icon of Punjab by the Election Commission of India (ECI). 

• The decision of honouring Sonu Sood with the title comes after he earned laurels for his humanitarian work during the lockdown.
• Sonu has been helping migrant workers reach their hometowns amid the coronavirus pandemic.

15. Collins Dictionary has declared “lockdown” as the word of the year, given the rise in the usage of the term in a pandemic-ridden world.

• Defining it as “a security measure in which those inside a building or area are required to remain confined in it for a time” and “the imposition of stringent restrictions on travel, social interaction, and access to public spaces”.
• The declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on March 11 set into motion global restrictions on movement, congregations, and travel. 

16. The Jharkhand assembly has unanimously passed a House resolution seeking a separate code for Adivasis and sent it to the Centre.

• The resolution, which demanded provisions for a separate ‘Adivasi/Sarna religious code’ from the Centre, for inclusion in the census register, was tabled by chief minister Hemant Soren.
• A religious code will present an exact number of tribal communities, help document their population, preserve tribal languages, culture, and history and help them avail their Constitutional rights (under the 5th schedule) and benefits under the tribal sub-plan.
• Upon analysis of the tribal population between 1931 and 2011, a drop to 26.02% from 38.03% has been noticed in the past 80 years.

17. Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari has released a special anthology on Mahatma Gandhi- 'My understanding about Gandhi' - during a ceremony at Kathmandu in the presence of Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra.

• The book has been brought out by the Embassy of India along with the BP Koirala India-Nepal Foundation to cherish the values of the Mahatma's universal teachings with Nepali friends.
• Indian Embassy said that the publication hopes to bring the youth of Nepal closer to Mahatma Gandhi, whose life and ideals remain timeless, universal, and relevant for today's world. 

18. The iconic Indian superhero, Chacha Chaudhary, whose brain works faster than a computer has now come forward to join hands with the Namami Gange Programme.

• Diamond Toons will conceptualize and publish this new ‘Talking Comics’ with Chacha Chaudhary spreading awareness on the cultural and spiritual significance of River Ganga and deploy the best available knowledge across the masses for Ganga rejuvenation. 
• The teaser was released during Ganga Utsav 2020.

19. World’s first scientoon book “Bye Bye Corona” on Coronavirus has been released by the Governor of UP, Ms. Anandi Ben Patel. 

• The book, published by Vigyan Prasar of DST, makes people aware of Covid-19. 
• It is further planned to make a 3D version of this book to facilitate its multilingual adaptation across India and abroad
• Post its launch in India, the book would soon be released in Brazil under the Brazil-India Network program and would possibly be translated into the Portuguese language. 
• The author is Dr. Pradeep Srivastava. 

20. Banni is certainly the weirdest and bloodiest Dussehra celebration anywhere in India. 

• Every year on Dasara, the Devaragattu Temple in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh witnesses controlled violence at an unimaginable scale.
• The district collector had announced a ban on the Devaragattu Banni festival this year citing Covid-19 guidelines. The Kurnool district police wing had clamped section 144 to prevent the congregation of the public. 
• Nearly 50 persons were injured and engaged in a fierce stick fight during the Banni festival in the Kurnool district.

21. Recently in the Mann ki Baat address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cited an example of Oaxaca village in Mexico to convey the importance and popularity of Khadi.

• There is a place in Mexico called Oaxaca (pronounced O-aa-ha-ka), there are many villages in this area where local villagers weave khadi. 
• The khadi of this place has gained popularity by the name Oaxaca Khaadi.
• Khadi Oaxaca is a farm-to-garment collective which comprises around 400 families, which live and work on traditional farms and homesteads in the Oaxaca region of southern Mexico.

22. India’s first sand dune park is set to be developed in Goa. 

• The World Bank has sanctioned around Rs.3 crore under the programme.
•  The Goa state biodiversity board has proposed the project, which will be implemented with financial assistance from the World Bank.
• The Sand Dune park project will have interpretation centers to educate locals and tourists on the importance of the sand dune ecosystem. Park would also have Bridges made of nature-friendly material to reduce trampling on sand dune vegetation. Besides this, nurseries of sand dune vegetation will also be set up, which will enable its replantation on beach stretches where vegetation has gone extinct.

23. On October 19; Mother Teresa Day is celebrated in Albania.

• The airport of Tirana, the capital of Albania, is the Tirana International Airport (Nënë Tereza), named after Mother Teresa in 2002.
• The second-largest square in Tirana, the Mother Teresa Square, is named after her.
• The biggest civil hospital in Tirana is named after her.
• In 1979 Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• October 19 is the anniversary of the beatification of Mother Teresa by Pope John Paul II in 2003.
• She was beatified on October 19, 2003, as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

24. Heeng(Ferula assafoetida) cultivation starts in India for the first time. First-plantation of Heeng was done in Lahaul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, by Dr. Sanjay Kumar Director CSIR-IHBT.

• Heeng (asafoetida) is one of the widely used spices in Indian cuisine since time immemorial. 
• There is no production of heeng in India and currently about 1,200 tons of raw heeng worth Rs 600 crore is being imported annually from Afghanistan, Iran, and Uzbekistan. The introduction of the crop will reduce imports.
• CSIR Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT) has introduced six accessions of heeng from Iran through the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi, and standardized its production protocols under Indian conditions.

25. Prime Minister has renamed the Pravara Rural Education Society as ‘Loknete Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil Pravara Rural Education Society’ and also released the autobiography of Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil.

• His autobiography ‘Deh Vechwa Karani’ means ‘dedicating one’s life for a noble cause.
• He dedicated his entire life to the welfare of society in various fields, including agriculture and cooperatives.