NEWSMAKERS OF

2019-20
• 1. On February 3, 2018, which cricketer joined Mohammed Kaif, Virat
Kohli and Unmukt Chand in the record books and why?

• 2. This year, which Hindi film grossed an $124 million in China, thereby
ending up making over $150 million on an investment of less than three
million. The ROI of 6000 per cent is easily the highest in Indian film
history.

• 3. ‘This is America’ is a song by an American rapper that made waves

with its brutal indictment of the country’s gun culture. Name the singer.

• 4. The original list featured more than 238 towns and cities. The current
shortlist has 20 names, who are vying to attract the $5 billion investment
and 50,000 jobs if their city is chosen. Which company’s new
headquarters is the cynosure of all the bidding?

• 5.Mumbai-based Myna Mahila Foundation is the only Indian charity

which was a beneficiary of an event that took place on May 19, 2018.
Name the occasion.
•
• 6. On March 19 this year, which large mammal became
functionally extinct, with the last male dying in a reserve in
Kenya?
• 7. Why did 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg’s death in a traffic
accident on March 18 create shock waves in the US tech and
auto industry?
• 8. American sporting history was created on June 9 when the
same two teams clashed in the finals of a major sports league
for the fourth consecutive year. Name the sport and the two
teams in question.
• 9. In April this year, Miguel Díaz-Canel became the first person
sans a certain surname, since 1959, to be chosen to lead a
particular country. Name the country he is President of?
• 10.Who became the first Indian woman to bag an individual
table tennis gold medal in the Commonwealth Games in April
2018, beating Yu Mengyu of Singapore in the finals?
• 1. Prithvi Shaw; they are all India U-19 captains who led their team to
a World Cup triumph — Kaif in 2000, Kohli in 2008 and Unmukt
Chand in 2012
• 2. Secret Superstar, produced by and starring Aamir Khan
• 3. Donald Glover, better known as Childish Gambino
• 4. Amazon, who announced plans for their new headquarters last
year, and are expected to announce a winner in July
• 5. The Prince Harry-Meghan Markle wedding. The couple had
requested that instead of gifts, guests could make donations to one of
seven charitable organisations.
• 6. The northern white rhinoceros. Two females are still alive
• 7. She was killed by an Uber self-driving car. The investigation
revealed many issues with e self-driving technology, pushing back
plans for its adoption
• 8. NBA basketball. The Golden State Warriors swept the Cleveland
Cavaliers 4-0
• 9. Cuba; since 1959, the only leaders have been Fidel Castro and his
brother Raul
• 10. Manika Batra
Amit Shah
• A businessman-turned-politician, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
President Amit Shah was made the Union home minister in the
second term of the Narendra Modi-led central government. Also
referred to as the 'Chanakya' of modern Indian politics, Shah, a close
aide of Modi, is credited with leading the BJP to victory in several
elections as the party's president.
Shah put his political acumen to use on a pan-Indian basis even
before donning the mantle of the BJP president. Since Modi took
charge as the prime minister of India during his first term, no politician
in the country has been considered taller than Shah after the PM
himself. Since 1989, Amit Shah has fought 29 elections, including
various local body polls, and not lost any to this day. Shah was
elected as an MLA from Gujarat’s Sarkhej in four consecutive
elections — 1997 (by-election), 1998, 2002 and 2007.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Shah contested from Gandhinagar,
a seat previously held by BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani, and won it
comprehensively.
• Shah has been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
since childhood. He first met Narendra Modi in 1982 through
Ahmedabad RSS circles. During Narendra Modi's 12-year tenure as
the Gujarat CM, Shah emerged as one of the most powerful leaders
in the state. After winning the 2002 elections, he became the
youngest minister in the Modi-led Gujarat government, and was given
multiple portfolios. At one time, he held 12 portfolios — home, law and
justice, prison, border security, civil defence, excise, transport,
prohibition, home guards, gram rakshak dal, police housing, and
legislative and parliamentary affairs.

Known as a master strategist, Shah, along with Modi, assured BJP

victories in several state elections after the BJP’s landslide Lok Sabha
elections win in 2014. And, they topped up their success with a
thumping victory in Lok Sabha elections 2019, in which the BJP saw
its biggest individual seat tally ever, of 303
 Sushma Swaraj
• Sushma Swaraj's last tweet at 7.23 pm on August 6 said it
all - a lifelong wish finally fulfilled. Her dream was to see
the end of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that
accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir. She and
her party had dreamt and advocated this for long.
• It was a day to rejoice for the BJP, and Sushma Swaraj
was no exception. She thanked Prime Minister Narendra
Modi tweeting, "Thank you Prime Minister. Thank you very
much. I was waiting to see this day in my lifetime
• Just a few hours after tweeting her message to PM Modi about
her lifetime of wait, Sushma Swaraj breathed her last. She died
of a cardiac arrest in New Delhi at the age of 67.
• In her passing away, the BJP and Indian politics lost a leader
who was not just a powerful orator but also one who was
humane, sensitive and approachable to the common person. In
many ways, Sushma Swaraj's political journey is the journey of
a woman who broke glass ceilings, one by one, to exemplify
how women too can excel in politics -- an arena traditionally
dominated by men.

• Born in a middle-class family in Haryana (a state known for its

prejudice against women), Sushma Swaraj, at the age of 25,
became the youngest state cabinet minister in India. At 27, she
became the state president of her party (Janata Party). Later in
her career, she became the first woman chief minister of Delhi,
the second woman to become the Leader of opposition in the
Lok Sabha and the first full-time woman external affairs
minister of India.
• Nirav Modi, the man at the centre of the alleged $1.77
billion banking fraud at Punjab National Bank (PNB), is a
regular on the pages of some of the world’s leading
international financial dailies and fashion magazines,
advertising for stores on glamorous high streets.
• Since 2014, a year after he first appeared on the Forbes
billionaire list, Modi has been under the scanner of law
enforcement agencies—the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED)—as
well as the tax department for alleged illegal transactions
and frauds.

• In 2014, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI)

called him out for alleged diversion of imported, duty-free,
cut and polished diamonds and pearls to the domestic
market. The DRI called it a violation of import-export
norms. Currently, he is the focus of a CBI inquiry for
allegedly cheating PNB of Rs280 crore. The ED,
meanwhile, has registered a case against him for money
laundering, and is conducting multiple searches on
properties owned by him
• Born in India and raised in the Belgian city Antwerp, the
diamond capital of the world, Modi is a third-generation
diamantaire.

• Growing up in the thick of the diamond business, dinner

table conversations at home would often be about the
size and cut of the latest rock the family had acquired. Yet,
this was not his first choice of profession. Modi, described
as a soft-spoken and unassuming man by those who
know him, aspired to be a music conductor.
•
• He joined the family business of his maternal uncle at Gitanjali
Gems Ltd at 19 after dropping out the of University of
Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Uncle Mehul Choksi,
chairman, Gitanjali Gems, is one of the four accused in the
ongoing CBI investigation, although he has denied being
associated with any of Modi’s companies

• Modi’s tryst with jewellery design happened by chance, in 2009,

when he was persuaded to design a pair of earrings for a friend.
• Within a year he went on to become the first Indian to feature
on the cover of a Christie’s auction catalogue in 2010 for a
Golconda diamond necklace that fetched $3.56 million at its
auction in Hong Kong. In October 2012, his Riviere Diamond
Necklace was sold for $5.1 million at a Sotheby’s auction in
Hong Kong. In 2013, Modi entered the Forbes list of billionaires.
•
 Ranjan Gogoi
• Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has been accused of sexual
harassment by a Supreme Court staffer.
• According to the news website Scroll, a former Supreme Court
woman employee accused CJI Ranjan Gogoi of sexually harassing at
his residence office in October 2018.
• The 35-year-old woman explained her ordeal in a letter written to 22
Supreme Court judges on April 19.
• Chief Justice Gogoi, however, denied the allegations. He held an
unprecedented weekend hearing to discuss a "matter of great public
importance" regarding the independence of judiciary.
• CJI Ranjan Gogoi denied the allegations, saying that he did not deem
it appropriate to reply to them.
• "All I would like to say is this, undoubtedly every employees are
treated fairly and decently. This employee was there for a month and
half. Allegations came and I didn't deem it appropriate to reply to the
allegations" said CJI Gogoi at the weekend hearing.
• Justice Ranjan Gogoi was sworn in as the 46th Chief Justice of
India in October 2018.
• Appointed for a 13-month he took over the position from
Justice Dipak Mishra.
• Born in Assam in 1954, Justice Ranjan Gogoi became the first
person from the Northeast to be appointed as the Chief Justice
of India.
• His father Keshab Chandra Gogoi is a former chief minister of
Assam.
• Justice Ranjan Gogoi is known to be a tough judge. He has
heard several landmark cases, such as the National Register of
Citizen's case. It was by the orders of Justice Gogoi that the
controversial NRC for Assam is being prepared.
•
• He grabbed the nation's attention, when he alongwith
three other senior-most SC judges held a press
conference to protest the inner workings of the Supreme
Court.
• He even went on to hold former colleagues Justice CS
Karnan and Justice Markandey Katju in contempt for their
comments on the apex court.
• CJI Gogoi is one of only 11 out of 25 sitting judges in the
Supreme Court who have made public details of their
assets and financial holdings on the court website.
•
• India's #MeToo chorus is being heard from every corner of the
country. The campaign took India with a storm with women
naming out men who sexually harassed them.
• At least 11 allegations have emerged against journalist-turned-
politician MJ Akbar. Akbar's colleagues, including Smriti Irani
and Maneka Gandhi, have acknowledged the online
testimonies against him and have called for a probe.
• CASE 1:
• Akbar was first accused by journalist Priya Ramani, who had
written about him in an article she wrote for Vogue a year ago
without mentioning his name.
• As the #MeToo movement began to gain momentum, Priya
now made it clear that the article was about Akbar's
misconducts.
• Another UK-based journalist Ruth David recounted how
Akbar started calling her into his office which was a room
with a big wooden door which ensured no one could hear
or see what was going on inside
• CASE 3:
• A US-based journalist has come forward to accuse Akbar
of sexual harassment. CNN scribe Majlie de Puy
Kamp has revealed that she was sexually harassed by
Akbar in 2007 when she was an 18-year-old intern
• Journalist Saba Naqvi was another survivor who spoke
up. "Akbar often called me to his office, he also landed at
my apartment once," Saba shared
Floods In India
• The flood situation continues to worsen in southern and
western India in particular in the states
of Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Over 180
people have now died in flood and rain-related incidents
in these 4 states over the last few days
• Kerala
• In Kerala 76 people have died and 58 are reported missing
since this recent spate of flooding began around 08 August.
Seventeen fatalities were reported in Kozhikode district, 12 in
Wayanad and 24 in Malappuram. As many as 287,585 people
have taken shelter in 1,654 relief camps.
• Dozens died in massive landslides in Puthumala in Wayanad
district and Nilambur in Malappuram district on 08 August. It is
thought that 50 are still missing in Malappuram.
• Vatakara (also Vadakara) in Kozhikode district recorded
300mm of rain in 24 hours to 10 August and 210 mm the
following day. Further heavy rain is likely in the state and IMD
has issued a red alert for Kannur, Kasaragod and Wayanad.
• Karnataka
• Flooding in Karnataka has now left 40 people dead and
400,000 displaced since it began earlier this month.
• Further heavy rain has fallen over the last few days.
Humchadakatte in Shimoga Distric recorded 390mm of rain in
24 hours to 10 August, according to India Meteorological
Department (IMD) figures. Kammardi in Shivamogga District
recorded 230 mm of rain in 24 hours to 11 August, 2019.
• India’s Central Water Commission (CWC) said on 11 August
that the Tungabhadra river is at “Severe to Extreme Flood
Situation” in the districts of Shivamogga, Koppal, Davangere,
Ballari.
• The Dudhganga river at Sadalga in Belgaum dsitrict is at a
record high of 540.58 metres, beating the previous high of
538.9metres set in 2005.
• Maharashtra
• In Maharashtra, flooding has been reported in the districts
of Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Thane, Pune, Nashik,
Palghar, Ratnagiri, Raigad and Sindhudurg after heavy
rain that began last week. The flooding has affected 761
villages and displaced over 400,0000 people.
• At least 35 people have died in rain and flood-related
incidents in the state since last week. The death toll
includes including 17 who drowned after a rescue boat
capsized near in Sangli district on Thursday 08 August.
• According to CWC, the Warna river at Samdoli in Sangli,
the Krishna at Arjunwad in Sanglu and the Krishna at
Kurunwad in Kolhapu are all at record levels.
• Gujarat
• Flooding has affected Gijuarat since the start of this
month, when almost half a metre of rain fell in 24 hours in
the city of Vadodara.
• Further heavy rain fell in the state over the weekend 09 to
11 August. Barvala in Botad district recorded 380mm of
rain in 24 hours to 10 August, according to India
Meteorological Department (IMD) figures. Naliya in Kutch
District recorded 270mm the following day.
• The Press Trust of India reported on 12 August that 31
people have now died in flood- and rain-related incidents,
including 7 people who died in the flood waters of the
Falku river in Vavdi village in the district of Surendranagar
Citizenship (Amendment) bill vs NRC

• Assam is in the throes of violence yet again over

citizenship. In the past couple of days, life in the
northeastern state has come to a standstill as the BJP-led
government at the Centre brought in an amendment that
will, effectively, grant citizenship to Hindu migrants from
Bangladesh.
• Citizenship has been the biggest pain point of Assam's
political and social life during the past several decades.
Last year, the first draft of the National Register of
Citizens (NRC) kicked up a storm as over 3 million people
were said to have been left out of the roster.
• The Citizenship bill and NRC are not one and the same
thing. Much of the discourse has been seen to have
confused one with the other.
Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019
• The Bill seeks to facilitate acquisition of citizenship by six identified minority communities
namely Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis from Afghanistan, Pakistan
and Bangladesh who came to India before December 31,, 2014.

• Migrants from these communities were earlier given protection against legal action in the
years 2015 & 2016 and long term visa provision was made for them.
Citizenship will be given to them only after due scrutiny and recommendation of district
authorities and the State Government.

• The minimum residency period for citizenship is being reduced from existing 12 years under
the present law to 7 years.

• The law will not be confined to the state of Assam but will also provide relief to persecuted
migrants who have come through western borders of the country to states like Gujarat,
Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh.

• The beneficiaries of Citizenship Amendment Bill can reside in any state of the country and
the burden of those persecuted migrants will be shared by the whole country.
National Register of Citizens

• NRC is a roster of all those who settled in Assam up to the

midnight of March 24, 1971.

• In 1978-79, several local leaders spotted a rapid increase

in the number of Muslims in electoral rolls. A six year long
agitation followed against illegal migrants from
Bangladesh, which culminated with the signing of an
agreement called the Assam Accord.
• The Assam Accord mandated that those who settled in the
state after the cut off date of March 24, 1971 would be
weeded out and stripped of citizenship rights.

• Over the next few decades the NRC was remained stalled
until the Supreme Court intervened. The apex court
ordered the state government to update the NRC by a
deadline and monitored its progress. Subsequently, the
first draft of the roster was published on 30 July, 2018.
Bone of contention

• The general sentiment in Assam with respect to the bill

has been that it will defeat the purpose of the NRC.

• The Sentinel, a leading local daily, noted in its editorial on

January 5 what the Assamese people think of the
citizenship bill: The perverse decision of the Centre to ram
through the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 against
the wishes of the people of Assam will result in the
migration of millions of Bangladeshi Hindus to Assam.
• AGP (Asom Gana Parishad), which was formed by
leaders of the Assam Agitation, walked out of the BJP-led
government in Assam after the Cabinet green-lighted the
amendment.

• According to Samujjal Bhattacharya, a leader at the

forefront of the fight against illegal migration, the Centre is
adopting double standards with respect to its pre-poll
promise of making "Bangladeshis pack their bags and
leave.". He told the Shillong Times, "The bill violates the
Assam Accord" and is "anti-indigenous people legislation