1. Haryana Govt  renamed Amin village on Abhimanyu  as Abhimanyupur

• The Central Government approved renaming the Amin village as Abhimanyupur in Kurukshetra district of Haryana as per the request of the State government. The decision has been taken by the Union Home Ministry after getting permission from a few central organisations.
• The Union Ministry will approve the change of name of any place after taking no-objections from the Ministry of Railways, Department of Posts and Surveys of India. These organisations have to confirm that there is no such city, town or village in their records with a name similar to the proposed one.
• In order to change the name of the village or a town or a city an executive order is needed and for renaming a state requires amendment of the constitution with a simple majority in the Parliament. The Central Government has approved renaming at least 25 towns, villages or districts across the country in the last 3 years, including Uttar Pradesh’s (UP) Faizabad as Ayodhya and Allahabad as Prayagraj.

Foot Notes:
About Haryana
Capital: Chandigarh.
Chief Minister (CM): Manohar Lal Khattar.
Governor: Satyadev Narayan Arya.

2. Microsoft India & NASSCOM Foundation launches “Innovate for accessible India campaign” to empower people with disabilities

• Microsoft India Private Limited, a subsidiary of American software company Microsoft Corporation & NASSCOM Foundation, the social arm of the Technology industry body- NASSCOM ( National Association of Software and Service Companies), have jointly launched the ‘Innovate for Accessible India campaign’, a nation-wide innovation challenge aimed at empowering people with disabilities with the new technologies required for better integration into society and access to equal opportunities.
• The campaign was launched in partnership with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Department of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology and  National Research and Education Network  (NREN).
• The key areas of focus that developers are technology solutions using Microsoft Cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI) among other that help meet the gaps faced by people with disabilities, especially in getting services and support in education, skill-building, employment, mobility, etc.
• The 10 best solutions that meet main challenges faced by them will be given mentoring support as well as the grants ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.

Foot Notes:
About Microsoft India Private Limited
Headquarters:Hyderabad, Telangana
President: Anant Maheshwari
Chairman: Bhaskar Pramanik
About NASSCOM Foundation
Headquarters: New Delhi
CEO: Ashok Pamidi   
Founded: 2001

3. ATK FC won ISL trophy for the 3rd time by defeating Chennaiyin FC

• ATK FC (Football Club) won the ISL (Indian Super League) trophy for the 3rd  time following a 3-1 win against Chennaiyin FC in the final match held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Margao, Goa.
• Javier Hernandez and Edu Garcia were the goal scorers for ATK FC in the final match.ATK (previously known as Atlético de Kolkata) is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal, that plays in the Indian Super League (ISL) under licence from the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
• The Hero I-League, formerly known as National Football League, is one among the two co-existing premier football leagues in India together with Indian Super League (ISL).
• Mohun Bagan Athletic Club has won the Hero I-League Champions 2019-20 by defeating Aizawl FC at Kalyani Stadium, West Bengal. Bagan Club lifted the title for the second time, even when four rounds are still to go in the season.

4. M Gopal Reddy appointed as Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh(MP)

• Madhya Pradesh(MP) Government appointed M Gopal Reddy as a Chief Secretary of the state replacing Sudhi Ranjan Mohanty with effect from April 1, 2020.
• M Gopal Reddy is a 1985 batch IAS officer is currently serving as an Officer on Special Duty(OSD) before he takes charge as the state’s new Chief Secretary. He worked as a vice-chairman of the Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) prior to the current position.
• Sudhi Ranjan Mohanty is to take charge as a Director-General of RCPV Academy of Administration.

Foot Notes:
About Madhya Pradesh
Capital: Bhopal
Chief Minister: Kamal Nath
Governor: Lalji Tandon

5. ECI appoints Hirdesh Kumar as New Chief Electoral Officer of Jammu and Kashmir

• A 1999 batch IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer Hirdesh Kumar appointed as the New Chief Electoral Officer of Jammu and Kashmir(J&K) by the Election Commission of India (ECI), soon he will replace Shailendra Kumar.
• Presently Hirdesh serves as the Commissioner Secretary in the School Education Department of J&K.

Foot Notes:
About Jammu and Kashmir
Governor: Lt. Governor Girish Chandra Murmu

6. After Maharashtra & Odisha, Jharkhand becomes the 3rd state in India to launch ‘Star Rating program’ for industries

• The state government of Jharkhand will launch its “Star Rating Program” on June 5, 2020, to rate industries based on the amount of pollutants generated by them. With this, it became the 3rd state in India to launch this system for industries after Maharashtra & Odisha.
• The program will be implemented by the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB) in association with the University of Chicago Trust (UC Trust).
• The rating ranging on one to five scale, with the most polluting industry getting 1 star while the industry with the highest compliance rate with pollution control norms will get 5 stars.

Foot Notes:
About Jharkhand
Capital: Ranchi
Chief Minister: Hemant Soren
Governor: Draupadi Murmu

7. Ministry of Culture established institute to promote Buddhist studies, art, and Culture

• Ministry of Culture has established an institute named Central Institute of Himalayan Culture Studies (CIHCS) at Dahung, Arunachal Pradesh.
• The main objective of CIHCS is to preserve ancient Buddhist manuscripts, to promote research in different aspects of Buddhism, digitize ancient Buddhist text preserved in the languages of Pali, Sanskrit, Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian languages through the system of a modern university.

Foot Notes:
Minister of Culture: Prahlad Singh Patel

8. The  Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020 passed by Lok Sabha through a voice vote

• The Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was passed by the Lok Sabha. The bill seeks to covert three regulatory bodies under the Civil Aviation Ministry including the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) into statutory bodies.
• The Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was tabled in the lower house of the Parliament by Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. The Minister said that the amendments would fulfill the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
• The bill proposes to amend the Aircraft Act, 1934, which regulates the manufacture, possession, use, operation, sale, import and export of civil aircraft and licensing of aerodromes.

Foot Notes:
About Lok Sabha
Seats: 543
Founded: 17 April 1952
Leader of the House: Narendra Modi, BJP

9. Tejas successfully completed maiden flight after Final oprerational clearance (FOC)

• Tejas, the made in India Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), completed its maiden test. The Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) tweeted, "The first light combat aircraft in FOC standard (SP-21) took to the skies for a maiden flight.” DRDO also tweeted that this flight signifies teamwork between various stakeholders.
• This first flight of LCA Tejas was held in Bangalore. The aircraft took to the skies by Air Commodore, A. Muthana, he is also the Chief Test Pilot of HAL. On this occasion, HAL Chairman R Madhavan said that this test flight showed that there was amazing coordination among various stakeholders of LCA, HAL, Air Force, Aeronautical Development Agency, CEMILAC, etc. HAL completed the test flight within a record 12 months of the issuance of the Drawing Applicability List (DAL).

Foot Notes:
About DRDO
Headquarters: New Delhi
Motto: बलस्य मूलं विज्ञानम्; (Sanskrit) "Strength's Origin is in Science"
Founded: 1958
Governor: G. Satheesh Reddy

10. US-Africa Command canceled African Lion  military exercise due to  Coronavirus pandemic

• This military exercise has become the latest victim of Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) as it has been cancelled for this year. As per the directives of US-Africa Command (AFRICOM), the international body has decided to cancel the exercise because of international travel restrictions related to the Coronavirus.
• AFRICOM said that it doesn’t want to maximize the risk of Coronavirus therefore it has been cancelled for this year. This decision will also minimize the risk of exposure to deadly COVID-19.
• Earlier, African Lion was scheduled to take place from March 23 to April 04 in Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are more than 1,50,000 cases of Coronavirus around the world, and more than 5,000 deaths have been registered.

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Current Affairs 17 March 2020

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Current Affairs 14-15 March 2020