Top 5 Current Affairs: 19 January 2022

New COVID treatment guidelines announced

The Health Ministry in its revised ‘Clinical Guidance for Management of Adult COVID-19 Patients’ has advised testing for Tuberculosis if cough persists. It has also directed to avoid the use of the steroid. The ministry has added active tuberculosis as a high-risk factor that can potentially cause severe disease and even mortality in COVID-19 patients. 

No foreign chief guest at Republic Day Parade

There will be no foreign chief guest on India's Republic Day 2022. The decision has been taken in the wake of the current surge in COVID-19 infections across the country due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19. The Government of India had invited the heads of all five Central Asian nations to be the Chief Guests at the Republic Day celebrations on January 26.

Roberta Metsola is new President of European Parliament

Roberta Metsola has been chosen to head the European Union Parliament. Metsola has become the only third woman to hold the position. She is also viewed as a political moderate despite the controversy over her anti-abortion stance. Metsola, elected on the same day she turned 43, is the politician from the European Union’s smallest nation.

What to expect from Union Budget 2022?

The Union Budget 2022-23 will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during the budget session of the Parliament on February 1, 2022. This time, individuals especially the salaried class are waiting to see which new reforms or announcements will be made especially in relation to the income tax. 

First India-Central Asia Summit on January 27

PM Modi will host the first India-Central Asia Summit on January 27, 2022. The summit will be held with the participation of the Presidents of the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan. The upcoming summit will also be the first kind of engagement of its kind between India and the Central Asian countries at the level of leaders.