Daily Current Affairs- 20th January 2025

Daily Current Affairs- 20th January 2025

NATIONAL

Union Minister Amit Shah lays the foundation stone of Shooting range in Hyderabad

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah laid the foundation for the state-of-the-art Composite Shooting Range at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad. The Union Minister who was in Vijayawada of Andhra Pradesh, has virtually laid the stone. 

Om Birla inaugurates All India Presiding Officers' Conference in Patna

• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla inaugurated the 85th All India Presiding Officers' Conference (AIPOC) in Patna on Monday (January 20).
• The two-day conference is being held on '75th Anniversary of Constitution: Contribution of Parliament and State legislative bodies in strengthening constitutional values'. 

SPORTS

India clinch inaugural Kho Kho World Cup

• India made a splash by claiming men’s and women’s titles in the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup 2025 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, defeating Nepal 54-36 and 78-40 respectively on Sunday (January 19). 

Mumbai marathon: Eritrea & Kenya win Men’s & Women’s elite race respectively

• The 20th edition of the Tata Mumbai Marathon was held today (January 19) with over 65,000 runners taking part in the event, Eritrea’s Berhane Tesfay won the men’s and Kenya’s Joyce Chepkemoi Tele clinched the women’s elite race. 

SCIENCE & TEHNOLOGY   

ISRO conducted CROPS experiment to study plant growth in space

• A batch of cowpea seeds has been successfully sprouted in space as part of the Compact Research Module for Orbital Plant Studies (CROPS) experiment, It was sent through PSLV-C60 POEM-4. 

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Gyanendra Pratap Singh Appointed as CRPF Director General

• The Indian government appointed Gyanendra Pratap Singh, a 1991-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, as the Director General (DG) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Singh, who was serving as the Director General of Police (DGP) of Assam, will assume his new role immediately, with his tenure extending until his superannuation on November 30, 2027, or until further orders. 

SUMMITS & MOUs

International Seminar on Formalization and Social Security Coverage

• Union Minister of Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated a two-day international seminar on “Formalization and Social Security Coverage for Workers in the Informal Sector: Challenges and Innovations” on 20-21 January 2025 at New Delhi. 

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Urbasi Sinha Wins Gates-Cambridge Impact Prize 2025

• Professor Urbasi Sinha, a distinguished faculty member in the Light and Matter Physics theme at the Raman Research Institute (RRI), has been awarded the prestigious Gates-Cambridge Impact Prize 2025 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation at Cambridge, UK.