1. *PM Modi is the new chairman of the Somnath temple trust.* The post had fallen vacant after the death of BJP leader and former chief minister of Gujarat, Keshubhai Patel.
2. *Subsidy To MPs For Food Served In Parliament Canteens Ends:* Food served in Parliament canteens for MPs and others will become more expensive as a subsidy given for it has been stopped, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said. Mr Birla also said the Parliament canteens will now be run by ITDC in place of Northern Railways.
3. *Next Parliament session, beginning January 29,* speaker requested all Members of Parliament will be undergo the COVID-19 test before the start of the Budget session. While Rajya Sabha will sit from 9 am to 2 pm, Lok Sabha will function in the second half from 4-8 pm.
4. *Punjab National Bank (PNB) has taken a big step to stop the increasing ATM fraud across the country.* If you also have an account with PNB, then it is important news for you. From February 1, 2021, PNB customers will not be able to withdraw money from non-EMV ATM machines. PNB has given information about this on its official Twitter handle. *non-EMV ATMs are those in which the card is not used during the transaction.* In this machine, the data is read through a magnetic strip. Apart from this, the card is locked for a few seconds at the EMV ATM.
5. *Arunachal Pradesh seeks Central fund to improve connectivity* , border area infrastructure
Arunachal Pradesh Chief minister Pema Khandu has sought the Centre’s assistance for improvement of road connectivity and development of border areas.
6. *PM Modi will release financial assistance of around Rs 2,691 crore to 6.1 lakh beneficiaries in Uttar Pradesh under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G)* on Wednesday via video conferencing.
7. *6.31 Lakh Vaccinations Against Covid So far* on the fourth day of the inoculation drive, the Union Health Ministry said.
8. *Government announces 23rd January to be celebrated as “PARAKRAM DIWAS’ every year* : the 125th Birth Anniversary year of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in a befitting manner at national and international level, beginning from 23rd January 2021.
9. *Red Fort Shut For Public Till Republic Day After Bird Flu Found In Dead Crow*: The sample of a dead crow from Delhi’s Red Fort has returned positive for bird flu and orders have been issued to restrict the entry of public into the monument.
10. *Employees of the Thiruvananthapuram international airport raised slogans and protested in front of the office of the Director* against the takeover of the airport by the Adani Group. the Centre had in February 2019 privatised the Lucknow, Ahmedabad and Mangaluru airports. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had written to PM Modi asking the Centre to reconsider its decision.
11. *Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar will take part in a protest to be staged in Mumbai in support of the farmers* agitating against Centre’s three new farm laws on the borders of New Delhi on 25 January.
12. *Sharad Pawar’s Party the NCP has won 3,276 gram panchayats, the highest by a party, across Maharashtra*
13. *Keylong In Himachal Pradesh Continues To Freeze At Minus 8.9 Degrees.* The minimum temperature in Manali, Kufri and Dalhousie was recorded at 0.4, 2.1 and 4.1 degrees Celsius, respectively.
14. *NITI Aayog will release the second edition of the India Innovation Index 2020 on 20 January in a virtual event.* : The India Innovation Index 2020 seeks to rank the states and union territories based on their relative performance of supporting innovation, and to empower them to improve their innovation polices by highlighting their strengths and weaknesses.
15. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held pre-budget consultations with the Finance Ministers of States and Union Territories .
16. *The syllabus of JEE and NEET will remain unchanged for the year 2021.* However, unlike previous years, this year the candidates will have options to answer the questions in JEE and NEET Examinations
17.. *The makers of Amazon Prime series Tandav have said they will make changes in the content* “to address concerns” The cast, crew offered an “unconditional apology” . Series triggered protests, FIRs for allegedly insulting Hindu gods.
18. *A Maoist was killed and a District Reserve Guard injured in an encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Tuesday* : The team included personnel from DRG, Special Task Force, CRPF’s Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) and District Force.
19. *Coronavirus Cases* :
10,595,061
Deaths: 152,723
Recovered: 10,242,847
*✈INTERNATIONAL NEWS*
1. *Russia is ‘China’s junior partner’:* BJP MP Subramanian Swamy has been a critic of the PM Modi government’s decision to buy the S-400 surface-to-air missile system from Russia. In 2018, the government signed a deal with Russia.
2. *The first group of Indian military specialists is set to travel to Russia for training in operating the S-400 air defence systems,* deliveries of which are set to start this year against the backdrop of possible US sanctions.
3 *. J&K: Suspected militants caught red-handed collecting arms smuggled into India by Pak dron* e from a spot along the India-Pakistan International Border.
4. *UK’s Invite PM To G7* India PM Modi has been invited by Boris Johnson, his British counterpart, to attend the G-7 annual summit to be held in the United Kingdom as his guest. This is, however, not the first time that Modi will be attending.
5. *India hopes for 2-state solution based on Palestinian aspirations & Israeli concerns* :India at the UN has welcomed the recently concluded Abraham accords that saw key West Asian states establishing ties with Israel and hoped that a two-state solution can be achieved “taking into account the legitimate aspirations of Palestinians for Statehood and Israel’s security concerns”.
6. *Indian Air Force to Host France’s Air And Space Force In Jodhpur For “Ex-Desert Knight 21” bilateral exercise*
7. *China’s PLA may ramp up military activity in Ladakh in 2 months* : With Indian Army and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) frozen in their positions in East Ladakh sector’s polar winter, national security planners expect China to ramp up military activity at the friction points when the snows melt in late March.
8. *External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Tuesday held talks with envoys of African countries,* including Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, Rwanda, Botswana, Burundi, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. Discusses Issues Including Covid.
9. *An Indian fishing boat allegedly trespassing the International Maritime Boundary Line sank in Sri Lankan waters after colliding with a Navy vessel of the island nation* and a search and rescue operation was underway for the missing fishermen.
10. *WhatsApp has been asked to withdraw proposed changes to its privacy and data-sharing policies* – changes the India government today decried as “discriminatory” and that have prompted outrage among large sections of the app’s 400 million users in the country.
11. *India will provide COVID-19 vaccines under grant assistance to Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles from Wednesday,* and that shipments will be sent to Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius as well on receipt of necessary regulatory clearances.
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