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- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the 3rd Global Potato Conclave that will be held at Gandhinagar, Gujarat from 28th to 30th January, 2020. The last two Global Potato Conferences were organized in 1999 and 2008. The conclave will provide an opportunity to bring all stakeholders at one common platform so that all the issues are discussed and future plans are made involving everyone related to the potato sector. Gujarat is one of the leading producers of Potato in the country.
- Maharashtra Government, on the occasion of republic day, launched the Shiv Bhojan scheme which aims to provide a meal to the poor at 10 rupees. Under the scheme, thalis or lunch plates would be available to people at designated centres/ canteens during a stipulated time in all the districts. Each canteen will serve at least 500 thalis per day. Tamil Nadu had set up the first such canteen in 2013.
- Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the country’s first Super Fab Lab based in Kochi that was set up in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It will give a major push to the hardware industry in the country and is the only such facility outside the US. It has been set up at the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) complex in Kalamassery near Kochi. KSUM is an entrepreneurship development programme that creates environment and infrastructure to support high-technologies.
- European Union named Portuguese diplomat Joao Vale de Almeida as its first ambassador to the post-Brexit United Kingdom after Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 24th January, 2020 signed the agreement to leave the bloc. Vale de has previously served as an ambassador for the European Union in Washington and the United Nations. He has worked as a journalist before joining the European Commission in 1982. He will take charge as the ambassador to UK on 1st February, 2020.
Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and George Fernandes - Government of India announced 141 Padma Awards for the year 2020 on the occasion of 71st Republic Day. It includes 7 Padma Vibhushan, 16 Padma Bhusan and 118 Padma Shri awards. Among the awardees 34 are women, 18 are foreigners and 12 persons are awarded posthumously. Former Union Ministers George Fernandes, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley will be awarded Padma Vibhushan posthumously. Boxer MC Mary Kom will also get Padma Vibhushan. Former Chief Minister of Goa Manohar Parrikar to be conferred Padma Bhushan posthumously. Footballer Oinem Bembem Devi, Film Director Karan Johar, Actress Kangna Ranaut are among Padma Shri awardees.
- Republic Day is celebrated every year on 26th January to commemorate the date on which the Constitution of India came into effect on 26th January, 1950 replacing the Government of India Act (1935) as the governing document of India and thus, turning the nation into a newly formed republic. The Constitution was adopted by the Indian Constituent Assembly on 26th November 1949 and came into effect on 26th January 1950. The day marks when India declared itself a Sovereign, Democratic and Republic state. Republic Day is a national holiday in India.
- International Customs Day (ICD) is celebrated every year on 26th January to recognize the role of custom officials and agencies in maintaining border security. The day commemorates the formation of the Customs Co-operation Council (CCC). WCO was earlier called as Customs Cooperation Council and was renamed in 1994. The day was instituted in 1953.
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