Current Affairs in Short: 20 January 2021

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju given additional charge of AYUSH Ministry

• Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has been given the additional charge of the AYUSH Ministry. This was informed through a press communique by the President’s Secretariat. 
• This follows the hospitalization and treatment of AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik following a severe road accident.
• The President has directed that this arrangement will continue till Naik resumes his work related to the Ministry of AYUSH.

Gujarat Government renames dragon fruit as 'Kamalam'

• The Gujarat state government has decided to rename dragon fruit as "Kamalam". The renaming has been done as the outer shape of the fruit resembles a lotus. 
• Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani informed on January 19, 2021 that state government has decided to rename Dragon Fruit. Kamalam means Lotus in Sanskrit.
• He added saying that the name of dragon fruit is associated with China and hence, the state has changed it. Dragon Fruit is a tropical fruit with a unique look and taste. 

National Mall illuminated with pillars of light, for Americans who can't attend Biden's inauguration day

• The National Mall in the United States was illuminated with thousands of US flags in honour of the nearly 200,000 Americans who cannot be present for the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on January 20, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  
• The display called the 'Field of Flags' is made up of 56 pillars of light and 191,500 US flags. The flags will be illuminated on both January 19 and January 20th. 
• As per the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC), the flags represent the Americans who cannot travel to Washington, DC to attend the inauguration ceremony in person due to the pandemic.

Outgoing US President Donald Trump amends order to deal with malicious cyber-enabled activities

• The outgoing US President Donald Trump on January 19, 2021 amended an executive order to deal with national emergency related to significant malicious cyber-enabled activities.
• The official statement released by the White House read that foreign malicious cyber activities aim to harm the US economy and threaten national security through the theft of intellectual property and sensitive data.
• This order provides authority to impose record-keeping obligations with respect to foreign transactions. 
• Under the order, the US must ensure that providers offering United States Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) products verify the identity of persons obtaining an IaaS account for the provision of these products and maintain records of those transactions.
• As per the order, foreign actors with malicious intent use United States IaaS products for a variety of tasks in carrying out malicious cyber-enabled activities, which makes it difficult for US officials to track and obtain information through the legal process before these foreign actors transition to replacement infrastructure and destroy evidence of their prior activities.

Cancer Institute founder V Shanta passes away

• Adyar Cancer Institute Chairperson Dr. V Shanta passed away on January 19, 2021. She was 93.
• The senior oncologist was admitted to a private hospital after she complained of chest pain.
• Dr. V Shanta was honoured with the prestigious Padma Shri in 1986 and Padma Bhushan in 2006 for her efforts towards making quality and affordable cancer treatment accessible to all patients.
• She was also later awarded the Padma Vibhushan and the Ramon Magsaysay award.

Rafale to be showstopper at Republic Day 2021

• Rafale fighter jets will be the showstopper at the Republic Day Parade 2021. Overall, a total of 42 Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft and four Indian Army helicopters will participate in the flypast at the Republic Day parade this year. 
• The flypast will include 15 fighter jets, five transport aircraft, one vintage aircraft and 17 helicopters. 
• The formations that will be seen during the occasion will include 'Brahmastra', 'Rakshak', 'Eklavya', 'Sudharshan'and 'Rudra'. 
• The flypast would be flown in two blocks, first has been planned along with the parade between 10:04 am to 10:20 am and the second block is planned after the parade between 11:20 am to 11:45 am.