Daily Current Affairs and GK | 26 and 27 January 2020

1. Ganga Yatra under Namami Gange begins from today

• The five days Ganga Yatra, to promote biodiversity and to make villages on the bank of Ganga more prosperous, started from Bijnor and Ballia in Uttar Pradesh.
• Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Uttrakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat along with Minister of State for Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Sanjeev Balyan launched the yatra from Bijnor.
• Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Union Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey and Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Sushil Modi launched it from Ballia, from where Ganga enters into Bihar.

2. Squash player of India Saurav Ghosal enters into the final of Pittsburgh Open Squash tournament

• After defeating Omar Mossad of Egypt in Pittsburgh Open Squash tournament in U.S.A, the Indian player Saurav Ghoshal made his way into the finals.
• In finals he will compete with Egyptian Player Fares Dessouky.
• Pittsburgh Open Squash Tournament:

• It is an annual open squash tournament.
• It is a part of the Professional Squash Association's World tours.

3. 141 Padma Awards announced on 71^st Republic Day

• The government has announced 141 Padma Awards for the year 2020 on 71^st Republic Day.
• Out of 141 Padma Awards, there are 7 Padma Vibhushan, 16 Padma Bhushan and 118 Padma Shri awards.
• There are 33 women awardees, 18 foreigner awardees and 12 persons will be awarded posthumously.
• Former Prime Minister of Mauritius Anerood Jugnauth will be awarded with Padma Vibhushan.
• Former Bangladesh’s envoy to India Syed Muazzem Ali will be conferred with the Padma Bhushan award posthumously.
• Padma Awards:

• These are the civilian awards instituted in 1954 as Pahela Varg, Dusra Varg, and Tisra Varg.
• Later the awards were renamed as Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (for distinguished service of a high order) and Padma Shri (for distinguished services).
• The awards are given by the President of India.

To read in detail about the Padma Awards and Awardees for the year 2020, click here.

4. Bharat Parv 2020 celebrations begin at Red Fort in Delhi

• Bharat Parv 2020 celebrations started at Red Fort in New Delhi.
• The objective is to promote people to visit different states and thus inculcate the spirit of Dekho Apna Desh.
• The theme of 2020 Bharat Parv is “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” and “Celebrating 150 Years of Mahatma Gandhi.”

5. 62^nd Annual Grammy award took place in Los Angeles

• 62^nd Annual Grammy Award were held in Los Angeles on January 26, 2020.
• It is also called music’s biggest night.
• The list of the winners are as follows:

• Best rap album: IGOR, by Tyler the creator
• Best R&B song: Say so
• Best urban contemporary album: “Cuz I Love You”
• Best pop solo performance: Truth Hurts
• Best traditional pop vocal album: Look Now by Elvis Costello and Imposters
• Best Rock Song: “This Land”, by Gary Clark Jr.
• Best alternative music album by “Father of the Bride,” by Vampire Weekend
• Best country song: “Bring my flowers now” by Tanya Tucker
• Best dance recording: “Got to Keep On,” by The Chemical Brothers
• Best metal performance: “7empest,” by Tool
• Best New Age Album: “Wings,” by Peter Kater
• Best Music Film: " Homecoming" by Beyonce
• Best classical producer of the year: Blanton Alspaugh
• Best non- classical producer of the year: Finneas
• Best children’s album: “Ageless Songs for the Child Archetype,” by Jon Samson
• Best world music album: Celia by Angelique Kidjo
• Best gospel album: “Long Live Love,” by Kirk Franklin
• Best spoken word album: Becoming by Michelle Obama

6. India’s first Super Fabrication Lab inaugurated in Kerala

• The first super fabrication laboratory of India inaugurated in Kerala.
• It was launched at the integrated start-up complex of Kerala Startup Mission.
• It is the only laboratory to be installed outside the U.S.A and will work in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, U.S.A.
• Super Fabrication Laboratory: It offers the facility of digital fabrication i.e it acts as a small workshop that offers tools to produce anything (technology products, hardware, etc.) with the help of flexible tools.

7. International Summit on Women in STEM

• An International Summit on Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) held in New Delhi.
• The theme of the summit is “Visualizing the Future: New Skylines”.
• The summit aims to boost women’s participation in making career in STEM field.
• The summit was organized by the Department of Biotechnology under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

8. Indo- Russian Track 1.5 dialogue held in New Delhi

• 1^st Ganga-Volga dialogue (Track 1.5) was launched in New Delhi.
• The dialogue was conceptualized in the Indo-Russian summit held in 2018.
• The dominant theme of the dialogue is connectivity, in which INSTC (International North-South Transport Corridor) was discussed.
• Along with this, the topics of education, culture, economy, etc was also discussed.
• INSTC:

• International North-South Transport Corridor is a proposed multimodal transport corridor that started in 2000 by India, Iran, and Russia.
• Currently, 13 countries are part of this project.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Ganga Yatra will start from which of the following cities in Uttar Pradesh?

A. Ballia

B. Lucknow

C. Meerut

D. Ghaziabad

2. Saurav Ghoshal belongs to which of the following sports?

A. Table Tennis

B. Badminton

C. Squash

D. Shooting

3. Padma Vibhushan award is given in which of the following categories?

A. For exceptional and distinguished services

B. For distinguished service of high order

C. For distinguished service

D. None of the above

4. Bharat Parv 2020 celebrations are held in which of the following places?

A. Gujarat

B. New Delhi

C. Uttarakhand

D. Uttar Pradesh

5. Who among the following won the Grammy Award for the best classical producer of the year award?

A. Tyler

B. Tanya Tucker

C. Blanton Alspaugh

D. Kirk Franklin

6. India’s 1^st super fabrication lab has been inaugurated in which of the following states?

A. Karnataka

B. Kerala

C. Uttarakhand

D. Uttar Pradesh

7. International Summit on Women in STEM was held in which of the following places?

A. Kathmandu, Nepal

B. Beijing, China

C. Kyiv, Ukraine

D. New Delhi, India

8. India has launched Ganga-Volga dialogue with which of the following countries?

A. U.S.A

B. Brazil

C. Thailand

D. Russia

Solution:

1. A

2. C

3. A

4. B

5. C

6. B

7. D

8. D