Daily GK Updates – 18th Nov, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Nitish Kumar sworn-in as Chief Minister of Bihar for 7th term: The Chief of Janata Dal (United), Nitish Kumar has taken an oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar and he will begin his 7th term on 16th November 2020. Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr Kumar at Raj Bhavan in Patna. BJP legislature party leader Tarkishore Prasad and Deputy Leader Renu Devi have been made the new Deputy Chief Ministers. 14 other ministers were also sworn in along with Mr Kumar. Out of them, seven are from BJP, five from JD (U) and one each from Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM).

 

2. Centre Forms Inter-Ministerial Committee to strengthen capital goods sector; Head- Secretary of Department of Heavy Industries: The Central government has set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee to strengthen the capital goods sector, to help them in contributing more actively towards the national goal of achieving a USD 1 trillion manufacturing sector. The 21-member Inter-Ministerial Committee will be headed by Secretary of Department of Heavy Industries (Shri Arun Goel). The committee will work out ways and means to make the capital goods sector globally competitive and to become the manufacturing hub for the world.

Note:Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises: Prakash Javadekar

 

3. Centre mandates e-invoicing system for firms with turnover of Rs 100 cr or more from January 2021: The government has made it mandatory for companies with annual turnover of Rs 100 crore and above to go for e-invoicing for business to companies (B2C) transactions. This new rule will be applicable from 01 January 2021. Currently, e-invoicing is mandatory for companies with annual turnover of at least Rs 500 crore. Under the system, companies will have to raise e-invoices through a unique invoice reference portal and generate the IRN (invoice reference number). Otherwise the companies concerned will not be able to move goods for business-to-business (B2B) transactions.

 

4. Keetham Lake in Uttar Pradesh added to Ramsar sites: The Keetham Lake, also known as Sur Sarovar, in Agra of Uttar Pradesh has been added to the list of Ramsar sites. More than 106 species of migratory birds rest in Sur Sarovar Lake. The water of the lake is obtained from Agra Canal. The canal originates from Okhla barrage on River Yamuna in Delhi. The aim of the Ramsar list is to develop and maintain an international network of wetlands which are important for the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life through the maintenance of their ecosystem components, processes and benefits.

 

5. Lonar Lake in Maharashtra chosen as ‘Ramsar site’: The Lonar Lake in Buldhana district of Maharashtra has been chosen as a wetland site of international importance under the Ramsar conservation treaty. Lonar Lake was formed by the impact of a meteorite on basalt bedrock several thousand years ago. An area of 365 hectares around the lake, which itself is spread over 77.69 hectares, was declared a wildlife sanctuary in June 2000.

About Ramsar Site: A Ramsar Site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. The name Ramsar comes from the Ramsar City of Iran, where this treaty was signed.  The Convention on Wetlands is also known as the Ramsar Convention. It is an intergovernmental environmental treaty established in 1971 by UNESCO and came into force in 1975.

Note: Chief Minister of Maharashtra: Uddhav Thackeray; Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

 

6. National Epilepsy Day: 17th November: In India, November 17 is observed every year as National Epilepsy Day, to create awareness about epilepsy. The month of November is observed as ‘National Epilepsy Awareness Month’. This National Epilepsy Day is observed by the Epilepsy Foundation of India. The National Epilepsy Day is a national level campaign initiated by the Epilepsy Foundation of India to reduce the prevalence of Epilepsy in India. The Epilepsy Foundation of India in Mumbai, Maharashtra was established by Dr Nirmal Surya in 2009. Epilepsy Foundation of India is a non-profitable charitable organisation to help the people with seizures to have a fulfilling life and to change the view about epilepsy in the society.

About Epilepsy: Epilepsy is a varied set of persistent neurological disarray and causes sudden seizures and fits. The seizures of epilepsy result due to the unusual and extreme activities in the brain and the seizures also result from the hypersynchronous neuronal brain activity.

 

7. Naturopathy Day: 18th November: The National Naturopathy Day is observed in India on 18 November every year, to promote positive mental and physical health through a drugless system of medicine, called as Naturopathy. The 48-day program of webinars will continue till the third National Naturopathy Day, which falls on 18 November 2020. The day was declared by the Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy), Government of India, on November 18, 2018.

As a part of the occasion, National Institute of Naturopathy (NIN), Pune under Ministry of AYUSH has organised a series of webinars on ‘Gandhian philosophy of Self Reliance through Self Health Reliance’ on Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary celebrations from 2nd Oct 2020. It was on this day in 1945 when Mahatma Gandhi became lifetime Chairman of the All India Nature Cure Foundation Trust and signed the deed with the object of making the benefits of Nature Cure available to all classes of people.

Note: Minister of State (IC) of the Ministry of AYUSH: Shripad Yesso Naik

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. S. Jaishankar Represents India at 15th East Asia Summit 2020: The External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar has represented India at the 15th East Asia Summit (EAS) on behalf of PM Modi. The Summit was chaired by the Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc because Vietnam is ASEAN Chair in 2020 (ASEAN holds the central role and leadership in the forum). All the 18 EAS countries participated in the virtual Summit. Jaishankar underlined the key role played by the East Asia Summit (EAS) as a leading mechanism of the Indo-Pacific region and reiterated India’s support to make it stronger and more responsive. He also re-affirmed the importance of EAS as the Leaders-led forum to exchange views on strategic issues. On Covid-19, he briefed the EAS leaders about India’s response to the pandemic and highlighted India’s efforts to support the international community.

 

2. India Extends USD1 Million Aid For Covid-19 ASEAN Response Fund: India has extended financial contribution of USD 1 million to the COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund. This was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 17th ASEAN-India Summit, which was held virtually. Leaders from the 10 ASEAN countries welcomed the adoption of the new ASEAN-India Plan of Action for 2021-2025, at the conclusion of the Summit. PM Modi, participated in the 17th ASEAN-India Summit at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is the current chair of ASEAN.

 

3. World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims: 15th November : World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is marked every year on Third Sunday in the month of November. In 2020, World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims falls on 15 November 2020. Purpose – to remember those killed and injured on the roads, together with their families, friends, and others affected. Theme 2020: “First Responders”. The day was started by the British road crash victim charity, RoadPeace, in 1993 and was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005.

 

4. World COPD Day 2020: 18th November: World COPD Day is observed on the third Wednesday of November every year to raise awareness about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and improve COPD care throughout the world. World COPD Day 2020 falls on 18 November 2020. The 2020 theme: Living Well with COPD-Everybody, Everywhere. The day is organized by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) in collaboration with health care professionals and COPD patient groups throughout the world. The first World COPD Day was held in 2002. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a lung disease that blocks airflow and makes it difficult to breathe.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Novak Djokovic lifts ATP Year-end No. 1 Trophy for 6th time: Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic has given the ATP Tour No. 1 trophy on 15 November 2020, for finishing 2020 as the year-end No. 1 (world number one). With this, he has become the only second player in tennis history, after Pete Sampras, to receive the trophy sixth time. Earlier Djokovic had finished as world number one in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2018. Before this, only Pete Sampras has managed to finish six years on top of the rankings which he did between 1993 and 1998.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. IFSCA approves draft banking regulations at IFSC: International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has conducted a meeting in New Delhi. The IFSC Authority approved the International Financial Services Centres Authority (Banking) Regulations, 2020 in the meeting. The draft banking regulations approved at the meeting opens the way for making rules for the various aspects of banking operations that would be permissible at the IFSC. As banking plays an important role at IFSC, banking regulations will help it in reaching its desired potential. Features of Banking Regulations:

(1) To lay down the obligations for setting up IFSC Banking Units (IBUs).

(2) To Permit the persons residing outside India (with net worth not less than USD 1 Million) to open foreign currency accounts in any freely convertible currency at IFSC Banking Units (IBUs).

(3) To permit persons residing in India (with net worth not less than USD 1 Million) to open foreign currency accounts in any freely convertible currency at IBUs in order to undertake any permissible current account or capital account transaction or any combination thereof under RBI’s Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS).

(4) To lay down the activities of IBUs that are permissible including credit insurance and sale, credit enhancement, engage in factoring and forfeiting of export receivables, purchase of portfolios, and undertake equipment leasing.

(5) To permit the authority for determining business that an IBU may be permitted to conduct in INR with persons residing in India and persons residing outside India, subject to the settlement of the financial transaction related to such business in freely convertible foreign currency.

Note: Chairman of the IFSCA: Injeti Srinivas; Headquarters of IFSCA: Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. HDFC Bank, IndusInd in ‘red flag’ list on nearing foreign investment cap: HDFC Bank & IndusInd Bank have been put in the ‘red flag’ list, a system used for monitoring foreign portfolio investor (FPI) limits. A listed company enters the list when the available legroom for overseas investment is less than 3% of the permissible limit. FPIs can invest up to 74% in both HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank. The current FPI shareholding in case of HDFC Bank is 71.3 per cent, while that of IndusInd Bank is 73.1 per cent. Besides these two, Novartis India and Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care are the only other companies in the red-flag list.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. 2nd Phase of Exercise Malabar 2020 begins in Arabian Sea: The second phase of Exercise Malabar 2020 has been organised in the Northern Arabian Sea from 17 to 20 November 2020. The first Phase of Exercise Malabar 2020 was conducted in the Bay of Bengal from 03 to 06 November 2020. Exercise Malabar 2020 is the 24th edition of MALABAR. The second phase will witness joint operations, centred around the Vikramaditya Carrier Battle Group of the Indian Navy and Nimitz Carrier Strike Group of the US Navy. It would include cross-deck flying operations and advanced air defence exercises, advanced surface and anti-submarine warfare exercises, seamanship evolutions and weapon firings to further enhance interoperability and synergy between the four friendly navies.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Noted journalist and writer Ravi Belagere passes away: Noted journalist and writer Ravi Belagere passed away. He was from Karnataka. He was famous for writings on the crime world and his column ‘Paapigala Lokadalli’ was very popular. Belagere was honoured with many awards, including the Karnataka Sahitya Academy award, Kannada Rajyotsava awar, Karnataka Media Academy award and many more. Also an educationist, Belagere started Prarthana School, where his mortal remains were kept for the public to view, before being taken to the crematorium. He penned a book on the real-life story of the gangsters, titled Bheema Theerada Hanthakaru, which was published in 2001, and turned into a bestseller.