| The railway station in West Bengal at which Indian Railways has launched its first restaurant on wheels for railway passengers as well as for citizens of the city | Asansol |
| The theme of India's first National Protein Day observed on 27 February 2020 | #ProteinMeinKyaHai |
| The former President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011 who passed away on 25 February 2020 | Hosni Mubarak |
| The theme of National Science Day observed on 28 February 2020 | Women in Science |
| The station at which Indian Railways has launched first ever Fit India Squat machine which dispenses free platform tickets to those who perform 30 squats in 180 seconds | Anand Vihar |
| The theme of the One-day International Judicial Conference 2020 held in New Delhi with the topic "Judiciary and the Changing World" | Gender Just World |
| The air-launched nuclear capable missile which was test-fired by Pakistan is named | Ra'ad-II |
| The Indian cricketer who has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket with immediate effect | Pragyan Ojha |
| The American computer scientist and developer of copy and paste functionality who passed away on 16 Feb 2020 | Larry Tesler |
| The motto of 2020 Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo from 24 July to 09 August 2020 | United by Emotion |
| The theme of 13th Conference of Parties (COP) of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals held at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar | Migratory species connect the planet and we welcome them home |
| The venue of a unique exhibition on India’s ancient food history named “Historical Gastronomica - The Indus Dining Experience” held from 19th to 25th February | National Museum, Delhi |
| The Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi has been named after | Late Shri Manohar Parrikar |
| The former chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Chairman and Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) who passed away on 13 February 2020 | RK Pachauri |
| The well-known fashion designer and a Padma Shri award recipient who passed away on 12 February 2020 | Wendell Rodricks |
| The place at which 63 feet tall statue of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay was unveiled and dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi | Varanasi |
| The Indian hockey player who has been named the Player of the Year 2019 by International Hockey Federation | Manpreet Singh |
| The venue of 5th edition of joint military exercise Ajeya Warrior 2020 by India and United Kingdom which commenced on 13 Feb 2020 | Salisbury Plain, England |
| The Indian badminton coach who has been awarded an Honourable Mention in the male category of the 2019 IOC Coaches Lifetime Achievement Awards | Pullela Gopichand |
| The team which has won the 10th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2020 beating Sports Authority of India in the finals | Haryana |
| The 10 year-old Indian girl from Navy Children School, Mumbai who has become the youngest girl in the world to scale Mount Aconcagua, the highest mountain peak in South America | Kamya Karthikeyan |
| The Officer of the Indian Army who has developed first of its kind bullet proof helmet which can stop AK-47 bullets from a distance of 10 meters (He had earlier developed a bullet proof jacket, Sarvatra) | Major Anoop Mishra |
| The NASA astronaut who has returned to Earth from International Space Station after spending 328 days thus breaking the record for longest stay in ISS by a woman (Peggy Whitson - 289 days) | Christina Koch |
| The venue of 22nd edition of India International Seafood Show held from 07 to 09 February 20 with the theme Blue Revolution- Beyond Production to Value Addition | Kochi, Kerala |
| The noted Hindi poet and novelist who has been chosen for the first Mathrubhoomi Book of the Year Award 2020 for his work Blue is Like Blue | Vinod Kumar Shukla |
| The island nation which has rejoined the Commonwealth of Nations on 01 Feb 2020 about 3 years after it quit in 2016 (became the 54th nation of the Commonwealth) | Maldives |
| The station in Andhra Pradesh from where India's first fruit-train was flagged off with locally grown bananas | Tadipatri |
| The venue of Indo-Bangladesh joint military training exercise SAMPRITI-IX being conducted from 03 Feb to 16 Feb 2020 | Umroi, Meghalaya |
| The venue of DEFEXPO 2020 held from 05 to 09 February 2020 with the theme India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub | Lucknow |
| The theme State of the 34th Surajkund International Crafts Mela 2020 being held from 01 to 16 February 2020 at Surajkund, Faridabad | Himachal Pradesh |
| The partner nation of the 34th Surajkund International Crafts Mela 2020 being held from 01 to 16 February 2020 at Surajkund, Faridabad | Uzbekistan |
Best Picture- Parasite directed by Bong Joon-ho
Best Director - Bong Joon-ho for Parasite
Best Actor - Joaquin Phoenix for Joker
Best Actress - Renee Zellweger for Judy
Best Animated Film - Toy Story 4
Best International Feature Film - Parasite (Korean) directed by Bong Joon-ho
Most nominations - Joker (11)
Indian entry in the International Feature Film category - Gully Boy (Hindi) (Not nominated)
From this year Best Foreign Language Film category has been changed to Best International Feature Film.
The mandate of the Department of Military Affairs inter-alia includes “Facilitation of restructuring of Military Commands for optimal utilisation of resources by bringing about jointness in operations, including through establishment of joint/theatre commands”.
Female Sportsperson of the Year 2019: P V Sindhu (Badminton)
Male Sportsperson of the Year: Saurabh Chaudhary (Shooting)
Courage Award: Dutee Chand (Sprinting)
Comeback of the Year: Koneru Humpy (Chess)
Emerging Sportsperson of the Year: Deepak Punia (Wrestling)
Coach of the Year: Pullela Gopichand
Differently-abled athlete of the Year: Manasi Joshi (Para-Badminton)
Lifetime Achievement: Balbir Singh (Hockey)
Designated by: Ramsar Convention Secretariat
Theme: Wetlands and Biodiversity
First Observed in: 1997
Designated by: Union for International Cancer Control (UICC)
Theme: I am and I Will (for 2020-21)
First Observed in: 2000
Designated by: U.N.O.
First Observed in: 2013
Theme: Unleashing Youth Power
Designated by: U.N.O.
First Observed in: 2020
Designated by: European Union
Theme: Together for a better internet
First Observed in: 2004
Designated by: U.N.O.
First Observed in: 2016
Designated by: UNESCO
Theme: Radio and Diversity
First Observed in: 2013
Designated by: UN General Assembly
Theme: Closing the Inequalities Gap to Achieve Social Justice
First Observed in: 2008
Designated by: UN General Assembly
Theme: Languages without Borders
First Observed in: 2008
Designated by: European Organisation for Rare Diseases (EURORDIS)
Theme: Reframe Rare for Rare Disease
First Observed in: 2008
Chief Vigilance Commissioner: Shri Sanjay Kothari
Chief Information Commissioenr: Shri Bimal Julka
Host country: South Africa
Held from: 17 Jan 20 to 09 Feb 20
No. of countries: 16
Winners: Bangladesh
Runner-up: India
Player of the series: Yashasvi Jaiswal (India)
Most runs: Yashasvi Jaiswal
Most wickets: Ravi Bishnoi
Individual category: Dr. NS Dharmashaktu
Institutional category: Leprosy Mission Trust
| Title | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| Men's Singles | Novak Djokovic (Serbia) | Dominic Thiem (Austria) |
| Women's Singles | Sofia Kenin (USA) | Garbine Muguruza (Spain) |
| Mens's Doubles | Rajeev Ram (USA) and Joe Salisbury (UK) | Max Purcell and Luke Saville (Australia) |
| Women's Doubles | Timea Babos (Hungary) and Kristina Mladenovic (France) | Hsieh Su-wei (Taiwan) and Barbora Strýcová (Czech Republic) |
| Mixed Doubles | Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic) and Rajeev Ram (USA) | Astra Sharma and John-Patrick Smith (Australia) |
Three prominent themes of the Budget
Kisan Rail to be setup by Indian Railways through PPP.
Krishi Udaan to be launched by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Jaivik Kheti Portal – online national organic products market to be strengthened.
Zero-Budget Natural Farming (mentioned in July 2019 Budget) to be included.
Doubling of milk processing capacity to 108 million MT from 53.5 million MT by 2025.
TB Harega Desh Jeetega campaign launched - commitment to end Tuberculosis by 2025.
National Police University and National Forensic Science University proposed for policing science, forensic science, and cyber-forensics.
Five new smart cities proposed to be developed.
Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and two other packages to be completed by 2023.
Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway to be started.
Four station re-development projects and operation of 150 passenger trains through PPP.
An Indian Institute of Heritage and Conservation under Ministry of Culture proposed; with the status of a deemed University.
5 archaeological sites to be developed as iconic sites with on-site Museums: 1. Rakhigarhi (Haryana); 2. Hastinapur (Uttar Pradesh); 3. Shivsagar (Assam); 4. Dholavira (Gujarat); 5. Adichanallur (Tamil Nadu)
Government to sell a part of its holding in LIC by way of Initial Public Offer (IPO).
New and simplified personal income tax regime proposed:
| Taxable Income Slab (Rs.) | Existing Tax Rates | New Tax Rates |
|---|---|---|
| 0 - 2.5 Lakh | Exempt | Exempt |
| 2.5 - 5 Lakh | 5% | 5% |
| 5 - 7.5 Lakh | 20% | 10% |
| 7.5 - 10 Lakh | 20% | 15% |
| 10 - 12.5 Lakh | 30% | 20% |
| 12.5 - 15 Lakh | 30% | 25% |
| Above 15 Lakh | 30% | 30% |
New tax regime to be optional - an individual may continue to pay tax as per the old regime and avail deductions and exemptions.
Dividend Distribution Tax removed making India a more attractive investment destination.
Start-ups with turnover up to Rs. 100 crore to enjoy 100% deduction for 3 consecutive assessment years out of 10 years.
‘Vivad Se Vishwas’ scheme, with a deadline of 30th June, 2020, to reduce litigations in direct taxes.
Death-An Inside Story by Jaggi Vasudev