Daily GK Updates – 27th Nov, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Himachal Pradesh govt launches ‘Him Suraksha Abhiyan’: Himachal Pradesh government has launched ‘Him Suraksha Abhiyan’ to sensitize the people regarding Covid-19 pandemic and also to collect information regarding symptoms of diseases like TB, Leprosy, sugar and blood pressure by the door to door campaign throughout the State. Under this Abhiyan about 8000 teams comprising of Health, Ayurveda, Women and Child Development, Panchayati Raj Departments, District Administration and NGOs would be involved in this campaign. It would ensure door to door data collection of health parameters of the people.

While launching the program in Shimla, Chief Minister Jairam Thakur said that not only symptomatic patients with probable Covid-19 would be detected under this campaign but patients with other ailments would also be listed through the campaign. He urged the people of the State to provide wholehearted support to the health workers by providing them accurate information about their diseases and health parameters.

Note: Chief Minister of HP: Jairam Thakur; Governor of HP: Bandaru Dattatraya.

 

2. Bengaluru Tech Summit held digitally: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Karnataka’s flagship annual technology event- 23rd edition of the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2020 via video-conferencing. He shared the significance behind the Digital India mission launched by the Centre five years ago. The 3-day summit, to be held at a star hotel in the city centre, focus on innovation and growth in IT and biotechnology (BT), which drive the growth of this tech hub in the southern state. With “Next is Now” as the theme, the summit deliberate on challenges emerging in the post-pandemic world and focus on the impact of technologies and innovations in IT and BT. About 200 Indian tech firms are showcasing their products and technologies in the virtual exhibition.

 

3. “Nivar” in Bay of Bengal intensifies into severe cyclonic storm: The Deep Depression over the South West Bay of Bengal has intensified into the Cyclonic Storm “Nivar”. The cyclone is currently located 410 km east-southeast of Puducherry and 450 km southeast of Chennai. As per the India Meteorological Department, Cyclone Nivar is very likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm in the next 24-hours. The storm shall cross Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mamallapuram around Puducherry. The impact of the Cyclone shall be faced by the governments of Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. Maximum hazard will be caused to Tamil Nadu, which has been placed under ‘red’ (take action) alert. The NDRF has formed 30 teams to launch rescue and relief operations in these states in view of the cyclone “Nivar”.

 

4. Martyrdom Day of ‘Guru Tegh Bahadur’: Every year, November 24 is celebrated as Martyrdom Day of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru of Sikhs of Sikh religion. The day is celebrated as Shaheedi Divas of Guru Tegh Bahadur across the country. It was on 24 November 1675, Guru Tegh Bahadur sacrificed his life for the sake of people who did not even belong to his community. to protect religion, human values, ideals and principles.

About Guru Tegh Bahadur: Guru Tegh Bahadur’s term as Guru ran from 1665 to 1675. In the Guru Granth Sahib, there are one hundred and fifteen hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur. Guru Tegh Bahadur is remembered for his selfless service to people. He travelled across the country with the teachings of Guru Nanak – the first Sikh Guru. Guru Tegh Bahadur had set up community kitchens and wells for the local people wherever he went. Anandpur Sahib, the famous holy city and a global tourist attraction in the foothills of Himalayas, was founded by Guru Tegh Bahadur.

 

5. AAI observes Aviation Safety Awareness Week 2020: Airports Authority of India (AAI) is observing the Aviation Safety Awareness Week 2020 from 23 November to 27 November 2020. The week-long celebration is being observed at all airports and ANS locations managed by AAI across India. Airport Directors will be organizing awareness programme in school/colleges on the role of local residents in aviation safety to make people of the surrounding community aware of their role in ensuring the safety of aircraft operating in the local airport. The Ministry of Civil Aviation aims to achieve long term objective of Zero fatality by the year 2030 as envisaged by ICAO in its Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP-2020-22) through better managed safety systems of stakeholders.

Note: Minister of State (IC) of the Ministry of Civil Aviation: Hardeep Singh Puri.

Airports Authority of India Headquarters: New Delhi; Airports Authority of India Founded: 1 April 1995; Airports Authority of India Chairman: Arvind Singh.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India announces over 100 high-impact projects for Afghanistan: The 2020 Afghanistan Conference was organized in Geneva from 23-24 November 2020 virtually. The External Affairs Minister of India, Dr S. Jaishankar led the Indian delegation at the conference. The Conference was co-hosted by the United Nations, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and the Government of Finland.

India announced a slew of new development projects for Afghanistan during the conference, which includes: Construction of the Shatoot Dam, which would provide safe drinking water to 2 million residents of Kabul city. This dam will be built on the 202-kilometre Phul-e-Khumri transmission line, which was built by India in 2019 to provide electricity to Kabul city. India has introduced a brand new section of over 100 high-impact neighbourhood initiatives in Afghanistan value USD 80 million (Rs 592 crore) because the nation’s growth portfolio within the war-ravaged nation has reached over USD three billion (Rs 22,200 crore) to this point.

Note: Afghanistan Capital: Kabul; Afghanistan President: Ashraf Ghani; Afghanistan Currency: Afghan afghani; Afghanistan Official languages: Pashto, Dari.

 

2. China launches historic “Chang’e-5” mission to Collect Lunar Samples: China has launched a historic mission ‘Chang’e 5‘ to the moon to collect ‘first lunar samples’. The mission aims at the investigation of the landing area to obtain the on-site analysis data related to the lunar samples, as well as systematic and long-term laboratory analysis of the lunar samples. It is the world’s first moon-sample mission in more than 40 years. Till date, only two nations, the US and the Soviet Union have been able to collect the lunar sample. The last mission was undertaken by Soviet Union’s Luna 24 mission in 1976.

About the Mission: The spacecraft “Chang’e-5” was launched on China’s indigenous Long March-5 rocket from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the coast of the southern island province of Hainan province. This is China’s first attempt to retrieve samples from an extraterrestrial body. China’s spacecraft will collect and return samples from the moon. If successful, China will become the only third nation to have collected the lunar sample.

 

3. SpaceX, NASA, ESA launch Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich mission: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched an advanced ocean-mapping satellite into orbit for NASA and the European Space Agency in a stunning morning launch from California. The launch marked SpaceX’s SpaceX 22nd Falcon 9 this year. The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite is named for Michael Freilich, the former head of NASA’s Earth science division who died of cancer in August. This $97 million satellite is the first in what will be a pair of identical ocean-focused satellites; the next, Sentinel-6B, will launch in 2025. With the data collected by Sentinel-6, scientists around the world will be able to make higher-resolution observations of the ocean much closer to shore.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Kotak Mutual Fund launches Kotak ESG Opportunities Fund: Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company has launched Kotak ESG Opportunities Fund. The New Fund Offer (NFO) of the scheme will close for subscription on December 4. The fund will focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors and the Principles for Responsible Investing (PRI). KMAMC is the first asset management company to sign the United Nation’s Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI). Kotak ESG Opportunities Fund will be managed by Harsha Upadhyaya. The scheme will invest in companies based on financial parameters and non-financial factors such as Environmental, Social and Governance as a part of its research process to identify material risks and growth opportunities.

 

2. NABARD sanctions RS 74.31 crore for Meghalaya roads: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned over Rs 74 crore for the construction of 6 new roads and improvement of 24 existing roads in Meghalaya. Under this sanction, 22 village roads, 6 other district roads and 2 major district roads will be covered which are proposed to be completed within three years.

 

3. RBI panel recommends raising promoters cap to 26% in private banks: A Reserve Bank of India (RBI) panel has recommended raising the cap on promoter shareholding in private sector banks to 26 per cent of the paid up equity after 15 years of operation from 15 per cent. The panel has also proposed that large corporates may be permitted to promote banks after necessary amendments to the Banking Regulations Act. The committee, led by PK Mohanty, has also proposed converting of payments banks into a small finance bank. For this, the track record of 3 years of experience as payments bank may be considered as sufficient. As per the report, small finance banks and payments banks may be listed within ‘6 years from the date of reaching net worth equivalent to prevalent entry capital requirement prescribed for universal banks’ or ’10 years from the date of commencement of operations’, whichever is earlier.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Karnataka aims to become a $50-bn bio-economy by 2025: The Karnataka government announced that it has set a target to become a USD 50 billion biotechnology market by 2025, contributing to half of the national bio-economy projected to be achieved by then. The government released its first draft of the Bio-economy Report 2020 at the Bengaluru Tech Summit, highlighting achievements and earmarking targets for the next five years. The report also claims that the same has grown by 14-17 per cent in the previous two years and that the state contributes 10.3 per cent to the gross state domestic product (GSDP) of USD 221.82 billion. While the report estimates the bio-economy of the state at USD 22.6 billion (Rs 1,67,240 crores) and growing at present, it is projected to USD 42 billion by 2025.

 

2. FICCI FLO inks pact with IESC, IIM Shillong to mentor women entrepreneurs: FLO, the women wing of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), said it has signed an agreement with Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Shillong and Incubation and Enterprise Support Centre (IESC) to mentor entrepreneurs. Under this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), FICCI FLO, IESC and IIM Shillong will jointly provide guidance and mentor entrepreneurs by facilitating a nurturing, instructive and supportive environment during the initial and critical stages of starting a business, thus enabling them to reduce the initial startup costs and establish themselves in a shorter timeframe.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Pilibhit Tiger Reserve gets global award for doubling tiger population: The Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) and the Uttar Pradesh Forest department have bagged the first-ever international award, “TX2” for doubling the number of tigers in four years against a target of 10 years. TX2 stands for ‘Tigers times two’, signalling the goal to double wild tigers. In 2014, PTR had 25 tigers which went up to 65 in 2018. PTR is the first to receive the award among all the 13 tiger range countries. (India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.) It achieved the goal of doubling the tiger’s population in just four years, against the target of 10 years.  The award was virtually presented to the principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) of the state, Sunil Pandey, by UNDP’s (United Nations Development Program) head of ecosystems and biodiversity, Mindori Paxton.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Congress veteran Ahmed Patel passes away: Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Ahmed Patel passed away. He was Lok Sabha MP for three terms from 1977 to 1989 and Rajya Sabha MP since 1993 representing Gujarat. He also served as the political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and was one of the party’s top negotiators during the UPA regime.

 

2. Veteran TV actor Ashiesh Roy passes away: Television actor Ashiesh Roy has passed away. The actor had appeared in a number of TV shows and films in his long acting career which began in 1997. Some of his famous television shows include Movers & Shakers, Yes Boss, Remix, Baa Bahoo Aur Baby, Chaldi Da Naam Gaddi, Burey Bhi Hum Bhale Bhi Hum, Sasural Simar Ka, Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi, Mere Angne Mein, Aarambh. He was also a voice actor who has been dubbing for foreign films.