Rewind 2020: A-Z of all big things that happened this year during coronavirus pandemic

New Delhi, Dec 07: The year 2020 was supposed to mark the end of one decade and the beginning of another. But this year had a couple of surprises hidden under its sleeves.

Some of the surprises were well received, while others left the world surprised. Here are the main events of the year that caught global attention:

January

January 27 - Agreement signed between the Government of India, the Assam Government and the Bodo groups to redraw and rename the Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD) in Assam.[1]

January 30 - The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to India on 30 January 2020 from China.The 1st case of COVID-19 was spotted in Kerala in India.

February

February 8 - Polling for the Delhi Legislative Assembly elections held.

February 11 - 2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly election's results announced with Aam Aadmi Party securing 62 of 70 seats to claim an absolute majority in the elections.

February 23 - 29 - At least 53 people are killed in communal riots in parts of Delhi.

February 24 - 25 - U.S. President Donald Trump visited India for a two-day state visit, addressed a "Namaste (Welcome) Trump" event with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad. Toured Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram and the Taj Mahal at Agra. Received a formal welcome from President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Presidential Palace in New Delhi. Conducted a series of meetings with Prime minister Modi and other government officials, as well as Indian business executives.

March

March 20 - Kamal Nath resigned from the post of the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, after a political crisis.

March 22 - Janata Curfew: India observed a 14-hour lockdown to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

March 23- Shivraj Singh Chouhan took oath as the Chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.
Prime Minister Modi announced a 21-day lockdown throughout India until 14 April to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

April

India remained under an extended lockdown throughout the month of April, to check the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

May

May 5 - Skirmishes began between India and China. Several Indian and Chinese soldiers are injured in a cross-border clash at the Nathu La crossing. About one hundred and fifty soldiers were involved in the face-off which included fistfights and stone-throwing.

May 6 - Wanted terrorist Riyaz Naikoo of the terror group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, killed in a gun battle with Indian security forces.

May 7 - 13 people were killed from a gas leak at a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

May 20 - Cyclone Amphan hit the eastern part of India and lead to flood like situation in many South-eastern states.

May 27 - A petroleum gas and oil leak occurred in Indian Oil's Baghjan Oilfield, in Assam.

June

June 2-4 - Cyclone Nisarga hit the western coast of India, causing damage in the state of Maharashtra.

June 5 - The President of India promulgates three ordinances related to agriculture, which would be later proposed as a bill and consequently passed as an act.

June 14 - Bollywood Star Sushant Singh Rajput found dead at his Bandra Residence in Mumbai.

June 15-16 - 20 personnel of the Indian army including a commanding officer, are killed in action in the ongoing Skirmishes between India and China at LAC in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh.

June 17 - India wins a two-year seat on the United Nations Security Council to begin January 1, 2021 during the 2020 Security Council Elections.

June 25 - Indian Railways suspends all passenger train service (except Rajdhani and Migrant Special Trains) till 12th August 2020.

June 29 - Indian Government bans 59 Chinese Apps including TikTok, CamScanner, SHAREit and UC Browser due to ongoing Sino-Indian Border tensions.

July

July 3- 8 Policemen of the Uttar Pradesh police are martyred in an encounter with the gang of the wanted criminal Vikas Dubey in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes a visit to Nimu Post near the Indo-China border in Ladakh along with Army Chief Manoj Mukund Naravane and CDS Bipin Rawat amid ongoing India-China border tensions.

July 5 - CRPF convoy is attacked by terrorist which results in martyr of 1 CRPF soldier in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir.

July 5 - Earthquake of magnitude 4.7 on richter scale hits Kargill in Ladakh.

July 10 - Wanted Criminal Vikas Dubey encountered.

July 17 - Number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 reach 1 million.

July 21 - ongoing - Floods in Brahmaputra River in the state of Assam.

July 29 - National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), a new policy on education in India approved by the Union Cabinet.

July 29 - 2020 Punjab alcohol poisoning. At least 121 people died after drinking toxic, illegally-made alcohol in Punjab.

August

August 5 - Narendra Modi performed Bhoomi Pujan and laid the foundation stone of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya.

August 7 - Air India Express Flight 1344 Crashed after overrunning the Runway at Calicut International Airport, Kerala. At least 19 people killed, including two pilots and 17 Passengers.

August 7 - Heavy Landslide in Munnar, Idukki District, Kerala: 24 killed, 40 trapped; NDRF teams carry out rescue ops

August 9 - Fire at a COVID-19 facility in the city of Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, killed 11 people and left 22 injured.

August 11 - 3 people are killed and many arrested following the riots in Bangalore over a Facebook post on Islam's prophet Muhammad by a nephew of Congress politician .

August 20 - A major fire broke out in an underground hydroelectric power plant in Srisailam in the state of Telangana killing 9 people.

August 31 - National Statistical Office releases data for the first quarter of Financial Year 2020-2021, with GDP in the given period contracting by 23.9% due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in India.

September

14 September - Three Bills on agriculture reforms are introduced in the Parliament to replace the ordinances issued during the lockdown on June 5.

30 September - The court acquitted all the 32 accused of the Demolition of the Babri Masjid including L.K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar and several others in the case on account of inconclusive evidence. The special court judge said ""The demolition was not pre-planned."