Daily GK Updates – 16th Nov, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. MP govt launches ‘Roadmap to Aatma Nirbhar Madhya Pradesh’: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched a roadmap to “Aatma Nirbhar Madhya Pradesh 2023” through a virtual event. Under the roadmap, a special focus will be on health and education in the state.

About Aatma Nirbhar Madhya Pradesh 2023: Four seminars were conducted on physical infrastructure, good governance, health and education to prepare the roadmap of the state. On the basis of the inputs received by the experts in the seminar, the roadmap of Aatma Nirbhar Madhya Pradesh has been prepared. Economy and employment will also be major focus areas and small and cottage industries will be motivated. A network of hospitals will be established in the state focusing on the health sector.

Along with launching the roadmap to Aatma Nirbhar Madhya Pradesh, the chief minister also transferred the interest-free loan of 10 thousand rupees each into the accounts of rural street vendors under the Mukhya Mantri rural Street Vendor Loan Scheme. The scheme was launched by the state government to provide a loan up to Rs 10,000 to street vendors in rural areas. Under the scheme, the state government will bear 14% interest subsidy per loan beneficiary (for loans up to Rs 10,000).

Note: Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan; Governor: Anandiben Patel.

 

2. Haryana CM Launches ‘Project Air Care’ in Gurgaon: Haryana Chief Minister (CM), Manohar Lal Khattar has virtually unveiled ‘Project Air Care’ to combat rising Air Pollution in Gurgaon. 65 Wing Augmentation Air Purifying Units (WAYU) would be set up at areas with high Air Quality Indices (AQI) in Gurgaon to improve the air quality. The Air Purifiers have been developed by CSIR-NEERI (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute), IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Bombay. The project is a result of a public-private partnership between Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) Consumer Healthcare.

Note: Haryana Capital: Chandigarh; Haryana Governor: Satyadev Narayan Arya; Haryana Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar.

 

3. Karnataka’s Mysuru to Get India’s First Sandalwood Museum: India’s first Sandalwood Museum is being established in Aranya Bhavan in Ashokapuram, Mysuru, Karnataka. The museum is set up by the Regional Forest Department to educate farmers about the significance of cultivation of sandalwood. This will also provide technical support, information on the availability of saplings, marketing facilities, pest control measures, incentives and schemes provided for sandalwood growers by the government.

Note: Chief Minister of Karnataka: B.S. Yediyurappa; Governor: Vajubhai Vala.

 

4. Maharashtra Governor releases a book ‘Majhi Bhint’: Maharashtra Governor, Bhagat Singh Koshyari has released the book ‘Majhi Bhint’ (My Wall) authored by former Maharashtra Minister of Education Rajendra Darda at Raj Bhavan, Mumbai. The book is a compilation of selected Facebook posts of Rajendra Darda pertaining to a range of issues written over the last four years. Maharashtra’s Minister for Revenue Balasaheb Thorat, Minister of Public Works Ashok Chavan, Minister of Water Resources Jayant Patil, Chairman of Lokmat Media Group Vijay Darda, Rajendra Darda and invitees were present on the occasion.

 

5. Sonu Sood’s autobiography to be titled ‘I Am No Messiah’: An actor, producer and humanitarian, Sonu Sood is set to pen his autobiography titled “I Am No Messiah”. The book will be co-authored by Meena Iyer. The book will account the experience of Sonu Sood during the COVID-19 pandemic. The book is set to be published by Penguin Random House India and released in December 2020.

About the book: The book will feature the stories he heard and his interactions with the migrants and others. Sonu Sood will share the experiences which impacted his life and changed his outlook and his purpose of life. Sonu Sood narrates his emotional experiences and the challenges he faced along with the people he rescued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

6. National Press Day: 16th November: National Press Day is observed on 16th November every year to celebrate free and responsible press in India. On this day the Press Council of India started functioning as a moral watchdog to ensure that the press maintains high standards and is not constrained by any influence or threats. It also commemorates the day when the Press Council of India started functioning. In 1956, the First Press Commission was planned to form a Press Council to protect freedom of the press in India. On 4 July 1966, the Press Council was established in India. It came into effect from 16 November 1966. Therefore, 16 November is celebrated as National Press Day every year.

About Press Council of India: The Press Council of India was formed in 1966 under the Press Council Act of 1978. It exercises authority even over the instruments of the state in its duty to safeguard the independence of the press. It ensures that the Indian press is not affected by any external matter.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. US President-elect Joe Biden announces 12 member task force to deal with COVID-19; Indian-origin former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to co-chair group: US President-elect Joe Biden has formed a 12-member coronavirus task force to formulate a blueprint for containing the coronavirus disease that has infected millions and damaged the US economy. The task force will be headed by three co-chairs, which includes, former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler and Marcella Nunez-Smith, a professor of public health at Yale University.

About Vivek Murthy: Vivek Murthy is an Indian-American physician, whose family hails from Karnataka. The 43-year old received his Bachelor’s degree from Havard University and pursued MD and MBA from Yale University. He served as the 19th US Surgeon General under Batack Obama’s administration from 2014-17.

Awards

 

2. Indian Astronomers collaborate with 2020 Nobel Physics Nobel Laureate: Indian astronomers have collaborated with the 2020 Physics Nobel Laureate Prof. Andrea Ghez for the design of back-end instruments and possible science prospects of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project. The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is a proposed extremely large telescope (ELT) which is planned to be installed at Maunakea on the island of Hawaii.

About the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project: The TMT project is an international partnership between CalTech, Universities of California, Canada, Japan, China, and India, to revolutionize the understanding of the universe and the enigmas in it. Some of the Indian astronomers like Dr Annapurni Subramanium, Director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) and Dr Shashi Bhushan Pandey, a scientist at Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) along with many others collaborated with Prof. Ghez in the ongoing research and developmental activities of the TMT project. The Thirty Meter Telescope, which seeks to advance scientific knowledge while fostering connection among the partner countries and their citizens, and in which Indian astronomers worked closely with Prof. Andrez Ghez, is expected to provide facilities with even greater capabilities to gather the observations needed to answer new and emerging questions in astronomy and physics in general.

 

3. Nepal President releases Special Anthology on Mahatma Gandhi: Nepal President, Bidya Devi Bhandari has released a special pictorial anthology on Mahatma Gandhi to mark the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. This anthology is written in the Nepali language. The book was launched at a special function held at in Kathmandu in the presence of Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Vinay Mohan Kwatra.

About the Pictorial Anthology on Mahatma Gandhi: This anthology on Gandhi is titled as “Maile Bujheko Gandhi” or “the Gandhi as I understood”. The book has been released to mark the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and the culmination of the 2 year-long celebrations of ‘150 years of Mahatma’. This anthology has been published by the Indian Embassy together with the BP Koirala India-Nepal Foundation. The publishers hope that the teachings, ideas of Mahatma Gandhi will bring Nepalese youth closer to the global icon. The book aims to bring to the youth of Nepal closer to Mahatma Gandhi. The book also brings together the perspectives of 25 eminent Nepali personalities about Mahatma Gandhi.

Note: Prime minister of Nepal: KP Sharma Oli; President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari; Capital of Nepal: Kathmandu; Currency: Nepalese rupee.

 

4. International Day for Tolerance: 16th November: The United Nations observes “International Day for Tolerance” on 16th November every year. The United Nations is committed to strengthening tolerance by fostering mutual understanding among cultures and peoples.

In 1994, UNESCO marked the 125th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth paving the way for the proclamation of 16 November as the International Day for Tolerance by the UN. This day pays tribute to the values of the Mahatma of peace, non-violence and equality. The UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence rewards significant activities in the scientific, artistic, cultural or communication fields aimed at the promotion of a spirit of tolerance and non-violence. The prize is awarded every two years on the International Day for Tolerance, 16 November.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Paytm launches “Payout Links” for small businesses: Paytm has launched “Payout Links” for businesses, enabling them to instantly process payouts to customers, employees and vendors, without collecting their bank details. It is aimed at helping small businesses in sectors like gaming, retail, export, manufacturing and e-commerce.

About Payout Links: Payout Links will allow businesses to send ‘incentives’ or refunds to the customers’ bank accounts or wallet accounts. It can be used for salary payments, vendor payments, commissions and incentive transfers to be done instantly. Paytm Payout Links can be easily created and shared with customers, vendors and employees in one go. The receiver needs to simply open the link and is automatically provided with a list of saved accounts such as Paytm Wallet, Paytm UPI and connected bank accounts, which can be chosen to receive money instantly. This service helps businesses reduce cash transactions, maintain better records, avoid errors and delays. Paytm Payout Links is extremely user friendly, intuitive and is easy to integrate with the present operations of a company.

Note: Paytm founder: Vijay Shekhar Sharma; Paytm Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh; Paytm founded: 2010.

 

2. Moody’s projects India GDP for 2020 at -8.9%: Rating Agency Moody’s has projected the GDP of India at -8.9% for the calendar year 2020. Earlier this was projected at -9.6%. Apart from this, India’s GDP growth for Calendar year 2021 is projected at 8.6% by Moody’s from 8.1% earlier.

Note: Headquarters of Moody’s: NewYork, United States; President & CEO of Moody’s: Raymond W. McDaniel, Jr.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. Indian Navy launches 5th Scorpene Submarine “Vagir”: The Indian Navy has launched the fifth Scorpene submarine “Vagir” at Mazagon Dock of south Mumbai. The submarine is capable of taking missions such as anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, mine laying, intelligence gathering and area surveillance.

About Vagir: Vagir is a part of six Kalvari class submarine that is being built in India. These submarines were designed by the French Navy and an energy company DCNS. The six submarines were built under Project-75 of Indian Navy. Vagir has been named after Sand Fish. It is a deep-sea predator in the Indian Ocean. The first Vagir was commissioned in 1973. The first Vagir submarine was from Russia.

Note: Chief of Naval Staff: Admiral Karambir Singh.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Bollywood actor Asif Basra passes away: Bollywood actor Asif Basra, who was known for his role in the recent thriller series Paatal Lok, has passed away. Apart from this, Basra had appeared in a number of Bollywood films, including a movie on the 1993 Mumbai blasts Black Friday, the 2002 Gujarat riots Parzania and Kai Po Che. He had also starred in several plays in India and abroad, performing in English, Hindi and Urdu theatre productions.

 

2. Former CM of Sikkim Sanchaman Limboo passes away: Former Sikkim chief minister Sanchaman Limboo passed away. He was 73. He was the fourth Chief Minister of Sikkim from 17 June 1994 – 12 December 1994 from Sikkim Sangram Parishad Party. He became the CM for nearly six months after toppling down the Late Nar Bahadur Bhandari’s Government of Sikkim Sangram Parishad while he was in the cabinet minister in the same government in the year 1994.