Current affairs 2020-21 (Quick revision)

 The Jammu and Kashmir Government recently sought GI tag for Gucchi mushroom.  The Forest Minister of Madhya Pradesh recently launched the first hot air balloon safari of in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve of India in MP.  The 40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica was flagged off on January 05, 2021, from Mormugao Port, Goa. The chartered ice-class vessel MV Vasiliy Golovnin has been chosen for the prestigious 40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (ISEA) mission journey and will reach Antarctica in 30 days.  In Dehradun, Uttarakhand, Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has approved the construction of the Song Dam (148 Meter) Drinking Water Projects worth Rs 1100 crore on the Song River.  The Bowring and Lady Curzon Medical College and Research Institute has been named after former Prime Minister . = Bengaluru  “Majerhat bridge” has been renamed as "Jai Hind" bridge to commemorate the 125th Birth Anniversary of Subash Chandra Bose. = Kolkata

 West Bengal State Government has approved the construction of a deep sea port in Tajpur.  In Nainital, Uttarakhand, first eco-bridge for smaller mammals has been built.  Union Cabinet has given its approval for Provision of Submarine Optical Fibre Cable Connectivity between Mainland (Kochi) and Lakshadweep Islands (KLI Project).  G Kishan Reddy inaugurated the National Centre for Divyang Empowerment (NCDE) at the CRPF Group Centre in Hakimpet, Medchal, .  At the 37th General Body meeting of Central Zoo Authority chaired by Prakash Javadekar two new zoos, the Rajgir Zoo Safari in Nalanda, Bihar and Shaheed Ashfaque Ullah Khan Prani Udyaan in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh were granted recognition.  In Jaipur, Rajasthan, RBI has decided to set up an Automated Banknote Processing Centre (ABPC) for receipt, storage and dispatch of currency notes.  In Kutch, Gujarat, Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the Hybrid Renewable Energy Park near Vighakot village the country's largest renewable energy Generation Park, fully automated milk processing and packing plant at Sarhad Dairy Anjar and Desalination Plant at Mandvi.  In Hosur, , Ola Electric has announced a Rs 2,400-crore ($320 million) investment plan to set up the world’s largest’ electric scooter (e-scooter) manufacturing plant.

 C-454 is the Name of Indian Coast Guard Interceptor Boat, built by Larsen and Toubro has been commissioned at Hazira in Gujarat.  Nehru Zoological Park has become the first in India to acquire ISO Quality Management Standards Certification. = Hyderabad  Union Minister of Minority Affairs has laid the foundation stone for “Sanskritik Sadbhav Mandap” (multi-purpose community centre) which is being constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK). = Rampur, Uttar Pradesh  International Zinc Association (IZA), in collaboration with Madhav KRG Group has launched Asia’s firstever Continuous Galvanized Rebar (CGR) manufacturing Plant = Punjab  The first-of-its-kind footwear training center to train the leather artisans has been inaugurated by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) =  Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal has inaugurated the Zoram Mega Food Park = Mizoram  Air Force Commanders’ Conference (AFCC) was held in New Delhi. = Theme: IAF in the Next Decade  2 mega watt power plant of the Western Naval Command at Naval Station Karanja in Uran Town =  India’s first public EV (Electric Vehicle) charging plaza has been inaugurated by the Minister for Power, New & Renewable Energy, R.K Singh = New Delhi  A Three MW Solar Power Plant was commissioned at the Indian Naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala.

 Narendra Singh Tomar has inaugurated the "World Class State of Art Honey Testing Laboratory“ = Anand, Gujarat  Union Home Minister laid the foundation stone of Utkal Upvan, an eco park as a tourist attraction = Jharsuguda, Odisha  Fourth edition of Khelo India Youth Games = Panchkula, Haryana  Defence Ministers’ Dialogue was held in New Delhi = Indonesia  Bijapur, Chhattisgarh has topped the list of aspirational districts ranked by government think-tank NITI Aayog for the February-June 2020 period.  Guwahati has got Northeast's first manhole cleaning robot "BANDICOOT“.  Kolkata Port Trust has been renamed as Syama Prasad Mukherjee Port Trust.  "Plant Health Clinic“ = Manipur  Gairsain has been formally declared as the summer capital of Uttarakhand.  Thaawarchand Gehlot and Arjun Munda inaugurated the “Composite Regional Centre (CRC) for Skill Development, Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) = Ranchi  The world’s first yoga university outside India has been launched. That has been named after Swami Vivekananda = Los Angeles, US  A compressed bio-gas (CBG) plant was inaugurated by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan = Namakkal, Tamil Nadu

 At Sulur Air Base, The has operationalised its new squadron “Number-18 - Flying Bullets” with the Light Combat Aircraft LCA Tejas.  In Port Blair, Landing Craft Utility Ship "INLCU L57" has been commissioned into Indian Navy.  In , Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Alumni Council has launched a “COVID-19 test bus  Foundation Stone for a Missile Park "Agneeprastha" was laid at at INS Kalinga.  International Conference on Nano Science and Technology 2020 (ICONSAT) = Kolkata  AIIMS set up India’s 1st remote health monitoring system = Rishikesh  Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurated Suryadhar Lake at Doiwala near Dehradun.  Pakistan's cultural capital Lahore has once again topped the list of world's most polluted cities according to air pollution data released by the US Air Quality Index. New Delhi was on top in India.  An AI & Robotics Technologies Park (ARTPARK) set up in Bengaluru.  The ninth edition of the Sustainable Mountain Development Summit (SMDS) was organised in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.  Gwalior and Orchha have been included in the list of UNESCOs world heritage cities under its urban landscape city programme.

 The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has set up a dedicated Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Control Centre at its ISTRAC campus at Peenya, Bengaluru. = NETRA  In West Bengal, an agro industrial park will be set up at Singur in Hooghly district to create employment opportunities in the agrarian area.  Chief Minister unveiled an 18 feet statue of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the historic Ridge Maidan in Shimla.  Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, announced a new world class Hockey stadium which would be the biggest stadium for Hockey in India with a sitting capacity of 20 thousand. = Rourkela, Odisha  51st Director General level border coordination conference between Border Security Force and Border Guard Bangladesh was held in Guwahati, Assam.  In Kolkata and Gwalior, Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda has inaugurated Tribes India showrooms.  Defence minister inaugurated the advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel test facility in Hyderabad, Telangana.  In Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Mega leather park to come up in Ramaipur village with an investment of Rs 5,850 crores.  In Jaipur, Rajasthan, first of its kind 'Organ Donor Memorial' in the country inaugurated.  Thaawarchand Gehlot e-launched a ‘National Portal for Transgender Persons’ and e-inaugurated a "Garima Greh: A Shelter Home for Transgender Persons" in Vadodara, Gujarat.

 First cow hospital , Surbhi Aarogyashala, of Northeast inaugurated in Dibrugarh, Assam.  Bhubaneswar has become the first city in the country to get ISO certification for its Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM) services.  Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Chairman Ajit Kumar has inaugurated "GST Bhawan" in Panchkula, Haryana.  Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh will host the International Bird Festival.  India’s first Sandalwood Museum is being established in Mysuru, .  Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA) in Jaipur, Rajasthan.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) in Jamnagar, Gujarat.  In Dehradun, the Municipal Corporation launched an initiative named Plastic Lao Mask Le Jao to fight against the menace of plastic waste and contain the spread of Covid-19.  Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju inaugurated Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) new Regional Centre in Zirakpur, Punjab.  Kolkata, West Bengal will soon feature India's first "Tyre Park" in which waste will be turn into art.  In Indore, Madhya Pradesh, On the lines of IPL cricket, a unique Plastic Premier League (PPL) tournament played to free the city from single use plastic.

 Telangana's first rescue and rehabilitation center for monkeys was launched in Nirmal.  Narendra Modi has inaugurated Jungle Safari project known as Sardar Patel Zoological Park at the Statue of Unity near Kevadia in Narmada district of Gujarat.  Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat dedicated India's first solar-based Integrated MultiVillage Water Supply Project (IMVWSP) in Lower Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh.  In Pali, Rajasthan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the ‚Statue of Peace‛ to mark the 151st birth anniversary celebrations of Jain monk Acharya Shree Vijay Vallabh Surishwer Ji Maharaj.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi, laid the foundation stone of rural drinking water supply projects in Mirzapur and Sonbhadra districts of Vindhyachal region of Uttar Pradesh  India's first moss garden has been developed at Nainital, Uttarakhand.  In Kapurthala, Punjab, Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Narendra Singh Tomar has inaugurated Mega Food Park (MFP).  5th India International Cherry Blossom Festival has been cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. = Shillong, Meghalaya  Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated ‚Ganga Avalokan‛, the first museum on Ganga at Haridwar, Uttarakhand.  The foundation stone of ‘Centre for Disability Sports was laid at Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.

 In Ahmedabad, Sabarmati Central Jail has launched "Radio Prison" on the occasion of the 151st Birth Anniversary of the Father of the Nation.  In Gujarat, two over bridges of Ahmedabad city have been named after late Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj.  In Uttarkashi, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has inaugurated First Pirul Power Project for generating electricity using Pirul (dry pine needles) at Chakon Dhanari village in Dunda block.  Uttar Pradesh's first vulture conservation and breeding centre will be established at Bhari Baisi village in Maharajganj district.  Shripad Yesso Naik and Jitendra Singh jointly laid e-foundation of Post-Harvest Management Centre for Medicinal Plants at Bhaderwah, Doda, Jammu and Kashmir.  In Maharashtra's Sangli district, the police have launched a campaign, ‘No Mask, No Ride’ to contain the spread of Coronavirus.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Atal Tunnel in Himachal Pradesh’s Rohtang, which connects Solang Valley near Manali to Sissu in Lahaul and Spiti district.  Gujarat has announced the setting up of the world’s biggest Zinc Smelter project in Dosawada in Tapi district.  In Bongaigaon, Assam, Road Transport and Highways Minister virtually laid the foundation stone for the first-ever multi- modal logistic park of the country.  "Pratheeksha", the first marine ambulance has been inaugurated: Kerala ‚

 Kerala will set up India's first international women's trade centre (WTC) = Kochi  CSIR-CMERI has developed the World’s Largest Solar Tree = Durgapur, West Bengal  First-ever ‚seaplane services‛ = Gujarat  Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated Technology Centre = Bhiwadi, Rajasthan  "Cycling Summit" in 2021 = Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru  Men's National Rowing Championship = , Maharashtra  Tribal Affairs Ministry signed an agreement with the Indian Institute of Public Administration, IIPA for setting up of National Institute of Tribal Research = New Delhi  Tamil Nadu's Virudhunagar district has been selected by the Central Government as the state's first Fully Digital Economy district.  The trial run of the newly opened inland river route from Daudkandi in Bangladesh to Sonamura in Tripura was successfully completed.  Harsimrat Kaur Badal has inaugurated Organic Food Processing Unit = Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh  ’s 1st and country’s 2nd Kisan Rail = Anantapur and New Delhi  Karnataka unveiled the country's first integrated air ambulance service.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the establishment of "Fish Brood Bank" at Sitamarhi and "Aquatic Disease Referral Laboratory" at Kishanganj of Bihar.

 Hubli Railway Station will be renamed as Siddharoodha Swamiji Railway Station = Karnataka  13th edition of Aero India 2021 = Air Force Station, Yelahanka = Bengaluru  A Research lab of DRDO at a cost of 2 thousand crore rupees will be opened in Morena, Madhya Pradesh.  Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of a new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) = Darbhanga, Bihar .  Odisha will soon have an elephant rehabilitation centre at Kumarkhunti in Chandaka-Dampada sanctuary.  Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Kosi Rail Mega Bridge in Bihar.  Singapore has topped the Institute for Management Development's Smart City Index 2020. Hyderabad was placed at the 85th position.  A direct cargo ferry service between India and Maldives commenced. The Cargo Ferry Vessel MCP Linz operated by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) will connect Tuticorin Ports, Cochin Ports in India with Kulhudhuhfushi and Male ports in the Maldives.  Uttarakhand Government will set up a snow leopard conservation centre to give a boost to winter tourism.  Union Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank laid the foundation stone of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) = Sirmour, Himachal Pradesh  Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated "Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra‚ = Delhi

 Mumbai has become the first city in India to have women symbol on traffic signals and signage.  For Guwahati, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) have launched a "Flood Early Warning System (FEWS)‚.  Department of Biotechnology Secretary, Renu Swarup inaugurated the Center for Biopharma Analysis (CBA) = Pune  VSSUT became the first University in the country to set up a Space Innovation-cum-Incubation Centre with ISRO = Sambalpur, Odisha.  Indore has been ranked the cleanest city in the country, according to a Swachh Survekshan 2020 report released by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry  Poultry Research Institute will be set up in Namakkal, Tamil Nadu.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connecting and Port Blair. BSNL executed this project. GI Tags 2019-2020 Products Categories States/UTs Kashmir Saffron Agriculture Jammu & Kashmir Manipuri Black Rice Food Stuff Manipur Kandhamal Haladi Agricultural Odisha Rasagola Food Stuff Odisha Kodaikanal Malai Poondu Agricultural Tamil Nadu Pawndum Handicraft Mizoram Ngotekherh Handicraft Mizoram Hmaram Handicraft Mizoram Palani Panchamirtham Food Stuff Tamil Nadu

Tawlhlohpuan Handicraft Mizoram Mizo Puanchei Handicraft Mizoram Gulbarga Tur Dal Agricultural Karnataka Tirur Betel Leaf (Tirur Vettila) Agricultural Kerala Khola Chilli Agricultural Goa Idu Mishmi Textiles Handicraft Arunachal Pradesh Dindigul Locks Manufactured Tamil Nadu Kandangi Saree Handicraft Tamil Nadu Srivilliputtur Palkova Food Stuff Tamil Nadu Kaji Nemu Agricultural Assam

India’s Rank In Various Indexes 2020 Name of the index Published By India’s Top Rank Position Human Freedom Index American think tank 111 New 2020 Cato Institute and Zealand Fraser Institute in Canada Human Development UNDP (United Nations 131 Norway Index 2020 Development Programme) Asia Power Index 2020 Sydney based Lowy 4 United Institute States Global Hunger Index 2020 Concern Worldwide 94 – and Welthungerhilfe World Risk Index 2020 United Nations 89 Vanuatu University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and Bundnis Entwicklung Hilft and University of

Stuttgart, Germany Smart City Index 2020 Institute for 85 Singapore Management Development Hyderabad Economic Freedom Index Heritage Foundation 105 Hong Kong 2020 World Press Freedom Reporters Without 142 Norway Index 2020 Borders

Energy Transition Index World Economic 74 Sweden 2020 Forum Environmental Yale and Columbia 168 Denmark Performance Index 2020 University World Competitive Index Institute For 43 Singapore 2020 Management Development Startup Ecosystem Startup Blink 23 USA Ranking Report 2020 Sustainability Index 2020 – 77th Sweden Global Manufacturing Cushman & Wakefield 03 China Risk Index (MRI) 2020 Global Innovation Index World Intellectual 48 Switzerland 2020 Property Organization Economic Freedom Of Canada’s Fraser 105 Hong Kong The World 2020 Institute Human Capital Index World Bank 116 Singapore 2020 Smart City Index 2020 Institute For 85 Singapore Management Development Global Climate Risk Index Germanwatch 05 Japan 2020

World Happiness Report Sustainable 144 Finland 2020 Development Solutions Network Global Gender Gap Index World Economic 112 Iceland 2020 Forum Climate Change Germanwatch, New 9 Sweden Performance Index 2020 Climate Institute, CAN Social Mobility Index 2020 World Economic 76 Denmark Forum International Intellectual US Chamber Of 40 USA Property Index 2020 Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center Largest Military Spender Swedish Think Tank 03rd USA Country In The World SIPRI 2020 Henley Passport Index Henley 84th Japan 2020 Gender Gap Index 2020 World Economic 112th Iceland Forum Democracy Index 2019 Economist Intelligence 51st Norway Unit Human Development United Nations 129th Norway Index 2019 Development Programme Global Climate Risk Index Germanwatch 9th Swedan 2020 India Corruption Survey Transparency 78th — International India Global Competitiveness World Economic 72th Switzerland Index 2019 Forum Ease of Doing Business World Bank 63rd New Zealand

Global Hunger Index Welthungerhife 102nd — World Digital IMD 44th USA competitiveness Ranking International Smart City Institute for 67th Singapore Index 2019 Management (Hyderabad) Development Global Happiness Survey Ipsos 9th Australia & Canada Global Innovation Index Cornell University, 52nd Switzerland 2019 INSEAD, and WIPO End of Childhood Index UK based NGO save 113th Singapore 2019 the children Global Peace Index Institute for economics 139th Iceland and pace World Press Freedom Reporters without 140th Norway Index 2019 borders Index of Cancer Economist Intelligence 19th Australia Preparedness 2019 Unit’s World Happiness Report UN 144th Finland 2020 Inclusive Internet Index Economist Intelligence 46th — 2019 Unit’s World Talent Index 2020 INSEAD Business 59th Switzerland School Social Mobality Index World Economic 76th Denmark 2020 Forum World Talent Ranking — 59th Switzerland 2019 International Intellectual US Global Innovation 40th US Property Index 2020 Policy Center Global Terrorism Index Institute for Economics 7th Afghanistan 2019 and Peace (IEP)

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Book Name Authors Name  ‘The Shaurya Unbound-Tales of Valour of Lok Sabha Speaker, Om the Central Reserve Police Force’ (English Birla Version) and ‘Samundar Samawe Boond Mein’ ( version)  Dharma: Decoding the Epics for a Amish Tripathi and Bhavna Meaningful Life Roy  40 Years with Abdul Kalam-Untold Stories Dr. A. Sivathanu Pillai  Guru Nanak Dev Kirpal Singh Ji  Reporting India: My Seventy Year Journey Prem Prakash as a Journalist  Majhi Bhint (‘My Wall’) Rajendra Darda  I am No Messiah Meena Iyer  Your Best Day is Today!  Pandemonium: The Great Indian Banking Tamal Bandyopadhyay Tragedy  Bye Bye Corona Dr. Pradeep Kumar

Srivastava  The Fixer: Winning Has A Price. How Much Suman Dubey Will You Pay?  Portraits of Power: Half a Century of Being N K Singh at Ringside  The Battle of Belonging Shashi Tharoor  The Khalistan Conspiracy: A former R&AW GBS Sindhu Officer Unravels the Path to 1984  - the Unforgettable Manish Sisodia  Kitchens of Gratitude Chef Vikas Khanna  Voices of Dissent Romila Thapar  Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction Arundhati Roy  My Life in Design Gauri Khan  The Commonwealth of Cricket: A Lifelong Ramchandra Guha Love Affair with the Most Subtle and Sophisticated Game Known to Humankind  National Security Challenges: Young Chief, General Scholars Perspective M M Naravane  One Arranged Murder Chetan Bhagat  Full Spectrum: India’s Wars, 1972-2020 Arjun Subramaniam  Connecting, Communicating, Changing Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh  Our Only Home: A Climate Appeal to the Dalai Lama and Franz Alt World  Amazing Ayodhya Neena Rai  The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain Dr. S Jaishankar World  A Song of India Ruskin Bond  Overdraft: Saving the Indian Saver Urjit Patel  Miracle At Happy Bazaar Ruskin Bond  Good Economics for Hard Times: Better Abhijit V. Banerjee Answers to Our Biggest Problems  Chaturanga Anand Neelakantan  Think Like a Monk Jay Shetty

 The Dharma Forest Keerthik Sasidharan  The Death Script: Dreams And Delusions In Ashutosh Bhardwaj Naxal Country  Checkmate: How The BJP Won And Lost Sudhir Suryawanshi Maharashtra  Bad Money: Inside The NPA Mess And How Kaul It Threatens The Indian Banking System  Akbar: The Great Mughal Ira Mukhoty  Greenlights Matthew McConaughey  Midnight in Chernobyl Adam Higginbotham  The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Mary Jordan Melania Trump  Memoirs and Misinformation Jim Carrey  The Wizenard Series: Season One Kobe Bryant & Wesley King  Shuttling to the Top: The Story of P V Krishnaswamy V Sindhu  From the Trenches Abhishek Singhvi  How the Onion Got Its Layers Sudha Murthy  Shivaji in South Block: The Unwritten Girish Kuber History of a Proud People  The Room Where It Happened: A White John Bolton House Memoir  Vijayant at Kargil: The Life of a Kargil Neha Dwivedi War Hero  Fear of God Bommadevara Chandravadhan  Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Fang Fang Quarantined City  Hop-On: My Adventures on Boats, Trains, Ruskin Bond and Planes  The Ickabog J.K Rowling  Lockdown Liaisons: Leaving and Other Shobhaa De Stories

 A Burning Megha Majumdar  Naoroji: Pioneer of Indian Nationalism Dinyar Patel  Klara and the Sun Kazuo Ishiguro  Legend of Suheldev: The King Who Saved Amish Tripathi India  Burnt Sugar (Released as “Girl in White Avni Doshi Cotton” in India)  Too Much and Never Enough Mary Trump  The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain S Jaishankar World  Quest for Restoring Financial Stability in Viral V.Acharya India  36 Days Kamlesh Sutar  Overdraft: Saving the Indian Saver Urjit Patel  If It Bleeds Stephen King  His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama: An Tenzin Geyche Tethong Illustrated Biography  Suraj Kade Marda Nahi (Sun Never Dies) Baldev Singh Sadaknama  Getting Competitive: A Practitioner’s Guide RC Bhargava for India  The Pandemic Century Mark Honigsbaum  Future of Higher Education: Nine Mega V Pattabhi Ram Trends  The Endgame Hussain Zaidi  The Spirit of Cricket: India Steve Waugh  Mahaveer: The Soldier who never died Rupa Srikumar & A.K. Srikumar  A Song of India Ruskin Bond  A Commentary and Digest on The Air, Act Apoorva Kumar Singh 1981  The Bloomsbury Anthology of Great Indian Abhay K. Poems  Karmayoddha Granth Amit Shah

 Balwa Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi  Raater Kolkata Hemendra Kumar Roy  Death – An Inside Story Jaggi Vasudev  A Child of Destiny K. Ramakrishna Rao  Messages from Messengers Priti K Shrof  The Crossfire of Love Dhiren Tiwari  The Thin Mind Map Dharmendra Rai  How the Onion Got Its Layers Sudha Murty  Sayajirao Gaekwad III : The Maharaja of Uma Balasubramaniam Baroda  Shuttling to the Top: The Story of P.V. V. Krishnaswamy Sindhu  The Art of Her Deal : The Untold Story of Mary Jordan Melania Trump  New India : Selected Writings 2014-19 Arun Jaitley  The Winning Sixer: Leadership Lessons To WV Raman Master  Relentless Yashwant Sinha  Human Dignity -A purpose in perpetuity Ashwani Kumar  An Extraordinary Life: A biography of Sadguru Patil & Manohar Parrikar Mayabhushan Nagvenkar  : The Eternal Screen Goddess Satyarth Nayak  The Death of Jesus John Maxwell Coetzee  Legacy of Learning Savita Chhabra  Missing in Action : The Prisoners Who Chander Suta Dogra Never Came Back  Messiah Modi : A Tale of Great Tavleen Singh Expectations  My Encounters in Parliament Bhalchandra Mungekar  Invincible – A Tribute to Manohar Parrikar Tarun Vijay

List of Appointments 2020-21

Name of the Person Designation

Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan Lieutenant of Puducherry

Andy Jassy CEO of Amazon

Ajay Singh President of Boxing Federation of India (BFI)

Ayesha Aziz India’s Youngest Female Pilot

Mario Draghi Prime Minister of Italy

Marc Llistosella MD and CEO of Tata Motors Limited

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Jean Michel Sama Lukonde Prime Minister of Congo

Kyenge

Soma Mondal Chairman of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL)

Suneet Sharma Chairman and CEO of Railway Board

Umesh Sinha Deputy Election Commissioner in Election Commission of India

Sanjay Kapoor President of All India Chess Federation (AICF)

Arup Kumar Goswami Chief Justice of High Court

J K Maheshwari Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court

Hima Kohli Chief Justice of Telangana High Court

Raghvendra Singh Chauhan Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court

Sudhanshu Dhulia Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court

Dr Raj Iyer Chief Information Officer of the US Army

RS Sharma To head the 10 member panel which will look after the administration of COVID-19 vaccine

Jay Shah BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) for the ICC (International Cricket Council) board meetings

Japarov Sadyr Nurgojoevich President of Kyrgyzstan

Yoweri Museveni President of Uganda

Justice Bansi Lal Bhat Officiating Chairperson of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT)

Kiren Rijiju Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy)

Kaja Kallas First female Prime Minister of Estonia

Kuldeep Handoo Brand Ambassador for ‘Fit India Movement’ Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al- Prime Minister of Kuwait

Sabah

Nana Akufo Addo Presidential Election of Ghana

Neetal Narang First Female President of Softball Federation of India (SFI)

John Magufuli President of Tanzania Indian Army Chief General Honorary rank to be the General of Nepal Army

MM Naravane

Gyanendro Ningombam President of Hockey India

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. 46th President of the United States

Kamala Harris Vice-President of the United States

Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha Chief Information Commissioner of Central information Commission

Sanjay Kumar Mishra Director of Enforcement Directorate (ED)

Maia Sandu First Women President of Moldova

Dinesh Kumar Khara Chairman of State Bank of India (SBI)

Bishr Al-Khasawneh Prime Minster of Jordan

Jacinda Ardern Prime Minister of New Zealand

Luis Arce President of Bolivia

Wavel Ramkalawan President of Seychelles

Alpha Conde President of Guinea

Yashvardhan K Sinha Chief Information Commissioner of India

Rajiv Kumar Election Commissioner of India

Aveek Sarkar Chairman of Press Trust of India

Rajesh Khullar Executive Director of World Bank

Harivansh Narayan Singh Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha

Yoshihide Suga Prime Minister of Japan

Mohamed Hussein Roble Prime Minister of Somalia

Moctar Ouane Prime Minister of Mali

P D Vaghela Chairman of TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority

of India)

Shekhar Kapur President of FTII (Film and Television Institute of India)

Manoj Sinha Next Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir

Ajay Tyagi Chairman of SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India)

G C Murmu New Comptroller and Auditor General of India

P S Ranipse Inspector General (IG) in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)

Pradeep Kumar Joshi Chairman of UPSC (Union Public Service Commission)

Mahinda Rajapaksa Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

Soma Mondal Chairman of SAIL (Steel Authority of India Limited)

Rakesh Asthana Director General of Border Security Force (BSF)

Satya Pal Malik Governor of Meghalaya

Bhagat Singh Koshyari Governor of Goa

Mustapha Adib Prime Minister of Lebanon

KK Venugopal Attorney General of India

Tushar Mehta Solicitor General

Gudni Johannesson President of Iceland

Sukhbir Singh Chairman of National Highway Authority of India

K S Reddy Head an 11 member committee to assess COVID- 19 impacts on Human Rights

Lee Hsien Loong Prime Minister of Singapore

Andrzej Duda President of Poland

Hichem Mechichi Prime Minister of Tunisia

Pankaj Tripathi Brand Ambassador for Bihar Khadi

Kubatbek Boronov Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan

Anandiben Patel Governor of Madhya Pradesh

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament

Mustafa Al Kadhimi New Prime Minister of Iraq

R Sreerekha First woman Director General of Police in Kerala

BP Kanungo Deputy Governor of RBI

List of Awards and Honours 2020 Award Awardee Nobel Prize in Peace 2020 World Food Programme (WFP) Nobel Prize in Literature 2020 American poet Louise Glück “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal”. Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna “for the development of a method for genome editing”. Nobel Prize in Physics 2020 Roger Penrose for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity. The other half jointly to Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Harvey J. Alter(America), Charles M. 2020 Rice (America) and Michael Houghton (Britain) for the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus. All India Football Federations Men’s Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Goalkeeper) Footballer of the Year 2019-20 SDG Special Humanitarian Action Award Sonu Sood ‘Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Wing Commander Gajanand Yadava Award 2019 Rashtritya Khel Protsahan Puraskar 2020 Army Sports Institute, Pune

International Booker Prize 2020 for her Marieke Lucas Rijneveld debut novel ‘The Discomfort of Evening’ 2020 Dada Saheb Phalke Award Kezang D Thongdok e-Panchayat Puraskar-2020 Himachal Pradesh 2020 Pulitzer Prize in feature photography Indian journalist Dar Yasin, Mukhtar Khan, and Channi Anand ‘Hero to Animals Award’ by PETA India Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik Forbes billionaires list “The Richest in Jeff Bezos 2020” MS Swaminathan Award V Praveen Rao Chameli Devi Jain Award Arfa Sherwani & Rohini Mohan 1st Position for the Implementation of Madhya Pradesh Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana 1st Men’s section Khelo India Ice Hockey Ladakh Scouts Regimental Centre tournament 2020 (LSRC) Red ‘Central Banker of the Year 2020’ for the Shaktikanta Das Asia-Pacific region Lifetime Achievement Award by Pullela Gopichand International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Miss Diva Universe 2020 Adline Castelino National e-Governance Award RailMadad Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Lewis Hamilton and Lionel Messi Award Mystic Kalinga Literary Award Manoj das French honour for Theatre Artiste Sanjana Kapoor ‘World Games Athlete of the Year’ Rani Rampal Award Global Bihar Excellence Award 2019 Piyush Jaiswal Miss Teen International 2019 Aayushi Dholakia 29th Saraswati Samman Vasdev Mohi ‘Harit Ratna Award 2019’ Dr N Kumar

2020 Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Disaster Mitigation & Management Prabandhan Puraskar Award Centre (DMMC)

NATIONAL SPORTS AWARDS 2020

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Winners: S. No. Name of the Sportsperson Discipline 1 Shri Rohit Sharma Cricket 2 Shri Mariyappan T. Para Athletics 3 Ms. Manika Batra Table Tennis 4 Ms. Vinesh Wrestling 5 Ms. Rani Hockey

ARJUNA AWARD 2020 Winners: S. No. Name of the Sportsperson Discipline 1 Shri Atanu Das Archery 2 Ms. Dutee Chand Athletics 3 Shri Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy Badminton 4 Shri Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty Badminton 5 Shri Vishesh Bhriguvanshi Basketball 6 Subedar Manish Kaushik Boxing 7 Ms. Lovlina Borgohain Boxing 8 Shri Ishant Sharma Cricket 9 Ms. Deepti Sharma Cricket 10 Shri Sawant Ajay Anant Equestrian 11 Shri Sandesh Jhingan Football 12 Ms. Aditi Ashok Golf 13 Shri Akashdeep Singh Hockey 14 Ms. Deepika Hockey 15 Shri Deepak Kabaddi 16 Shri Kale Sarika Sudhakar Kho Kho 17 Shri Dattu Baban Bhokanal Rowing 18 Ms. Manu Bhaker Shooting 19 Shri Saurabh Chaudhary Shooting 20 Ms. Madhurika Suhas Patkar Table Tennis 21 Shri Divij Sharan Tennis 22 Shri Shiva Keshavan Winter Sports 23 Ms. Divya Kakran Wrestling

24 Shri Rahul Aware Wrestling 25 Shri Suyash Narayan Jadhav Para Swimming 26 Shri Sandeep Para Athletics 27 Shri Manish Narwal Para Shooting

DRONACHARYA AWARD 2020 Winners: Life- Time Category S. No. Name of the Coach Discipline 1 Shri Dharmendra Tiwary Archery 2 Shri Purushotham Rai Athletics 3 Shri Shiv Singh Boxing 4 Shri Romesh Pathania Hockey 5 Shri Krishan Kumar Hooda Kabaddi 6 Shri Vijay Bhalchandra Munishwar Para Powerlifting 7 Shri Naresh Kumar Tennis 8 Shri Om Parkash Dahiya Wrestling

Regular Category S. No. Name of the Coach Discipline 1 Shri Jude Felix Sebastian Hockey 2 Shri Yogesh Malviya Mallakhamb 3 Shri Jaspal Rana Shooting 4 Shri Kuldeep Kumar Handoo Wushu 5 Shri Gaurav Khanna Para Badminton

DHYAN CHAND AWARD 2020 Winners: S. No. Name of the Sportsperson Discipline 1 Shri Kuldip Singh Bhullar Athletics 2 Ms. Jincy Philips Athletics 3 Shri Pradeep Shrikrishna Gandhe Badminton 4 Ms. Trupti Murgunde Badminton 5 Ms. N. Usha Boxing 6 Shri Lakha Singh Boxing

7 Shri Sukhvinder Singh Sandhu Football 8 Shri Ajit Singh Hockey 9 Shri Manpreet Singh Kabaddi 10 Shri J. Ranjith Kumar Para Athletics 11 Shri Satyaprakash Tiwari Para Badminton 12 Shri Manjeet Singh Rowing 13 Late Shri Sachin Nag Swimming 14 Shri Nandan P Bal Tennis 15 Shri Netarpal Hooda Wrestling

MAULANA ABUL KALAM AZAD (MAKA) TROPHY 2020:  Panjab University, Chandigarh

Obituaries 2020-21 Name of the Personality Field

John Fulton Reid New Zealand Cricket Player

Madhavsinh Solanki Former CM of Gujarat

Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan Indian Classical Musician

Mata Prasad Former Governor of Arunachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh

Narendra Chanchal Indian Bhajan Singer

Prasanta Dora Former Indian National Football Team Goalkeeper

Paul Crutzen Noble Prize Winner in Chemistry

Dharampal Gulati Owner of MDH Masala

Zafarullah Khan Jameli Former Prime Minister of Pakistan

Manglesh Dabral Journalist and Hindi Poet

Vidyavachaspati B Govindaachrya Renowned Sanskrit Scholar

Sripati Khanchanale Indian Wrestler

Keshubhai Savdasbhai Patel Former Chief Minister of Gujarat

Satish Prasad Singh Former CM and Socialist of Bihar

Asif Basra Actor

Sanchaman Limboo Former CM of Sikkim

Arun Prajapati Renowned Sculpture Artist

Mridula Sinha Former Governor of Goa

Tarun Gogoi Former CM of Assam

Mishti Mukherjee Bollywood Actress

Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah King of Kuwait

Vishal Anand Veteran Bollywood Actor

Shobha Naidu Dancer

Bhanu Athaiya First Indian to win Oscar Wing Commander (retd) First Women Officer of Indian Air Force

Dr.Vijayalakshmi Ramanan

Former President Pranab Mukherjee Former India’s President

Dr S Padmavati India’s First Female Cardiologist

Govind Swarup Father of India’s Radio Astronomy

Kapila Vatsyayan Indian Classical Dancer

Amitabha Ghosh Former shortest-serving RBI Governor

Sekhar Basu Padmashri awardee, veteran atomic scientist and former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)

Dr Isher Judge Ahluwalia Economist

Syeda Anwara Taimur Assam’s first and only Chief Minister

Lee Teng Hiu Former Taiwan President

Everton Weekes Former West Indies Cricketer

Ram Pradhan Former Governor of Arunachal Pradesh

Shivajirao Patil Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra

Manitombi Singh Former Indian Football Player

Pandit Indian Classical Vocalist

Bhaskar Maity Former Indian Goalkeeper

Gopalswamy Kasturirangan Former Indian Cricketer

Archana Mahanta Folk singer of Assam

Saroj Khan Dance Choreographer

C S Seshadri Mathematician

Lalji Tandon Governor of Madhya Pradesh

Wajid Khan Singer and Music Composer

Jayantilal Nanoma Archery Coach

Basu Chatterjee Film Maker

Riaz Sheikh Former Pakistani Cricketer

Sushant Singh Rajput Bollywood Actor

Heera Singh Rana Folk Singer from Uttarakhand

Pournima Zanane Former Indian Shooter

Balbir Singh Former Indian Hockey Player

Irrfan khan Bollywood’s Most Beloved Star

Rishi Kapoor Veteran Bollywood Actor

Maria Teresa Spain’s Princess