NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. PM
Modi Unveils Shri Adi Shankaracharya Samadhi and Statue in Kedarnath: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi visited Kedarnath in Uttarakhand on November 05, 2021, to
inaugurate key infrastructure projects related to the redevelopment of
Kedarnath. PM inaugurated the reconstructed Shri Adi Shankaracharya Samadhi
(final resting place) at the premises of the Kedarnath Temple in Rudraprayag
district of Uttarakhand and unveiled the statue of Shri Adi Shankaracharya at
the Samadhi. The Samadhi was damaged in the 2013 Kedarnath flood.
About the Statue:
(1) The 12-feet long statue weighing around
35 tonnes (35,000kg) has been constructed by Mysore-based sculptor Arjun
Yogiraj.
(2) During the visit, PM Modi inaugurated
and laid the foundation stone of several reconstruction projects worth over Rs
400 crore at Kedarpuri.
(3) The unveiling programmes of the statute
was organized at the 12 Jyotirlingas and Jyotishpeeth across the country
including Char Dhams (Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameshwaram).
2. India
and World Bank sign USD 40 million agreement to strengthen health systems in
Meghalaya: The
Government of India and the World Bank have inked USD 40 million health project
agreement for the state of Meghalaya. The Meghalaya Health Systems
Strengthening Project will improve the quality of health services in the state
and strengthen the management and governance capabilities of the state to
handle future health emergencies including the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. Ministry
of Rural Development inks MoU with Flipkart to enhance rural livelihoods: The e-commerce
marketplace Flipkart has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the
Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) to support the ambitious Deendayal
Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) program. The
MoU will help to empower local businesses and self-help groups (SHGs) by
bringing them on the e-commerce platform to sell their products. SHGs led by
women would be given special focus. The MoU is a part of Flipkart’s Samarth
programme which aims to support skilled craftsmen, weavers and artisans of
under-served community by helping them to sell online through Flipkart marketplace.
Under the programme, e-commerce knowledge and training around onboarding,
cataloging, marketing, account management, business insights, and warehousing
are also imparted.
4. National
Cancer Awareness Day: 7th November: The National Cancer Awareness Day is
observed annually in India on November 7, to spread awareness on cancer, its
symptoms and treatment. According to the World Health Organization (WHO),
cancer is the second leading cause of death globally. In 2018, approximately 18
million cases were there globally, of which, 1.5 million were in India alone.
In 2018, there were around 0.8 million cancer deaths in India against 9.5
million globally.
National Cancer Awareness Day 2021
History:
On 7 November 2014, Former Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare Dr.
Harsh Vardhan announced that seventh November will be celebrated as national
Cancer awareness day every year to highlight the contributions of an eminent
scientist who is important and a role model for all those who are fighting
cancer.
5. “The
Sage with Two Horns: Unusual Tales from Mythology” authored by Sudha Murty: The chairperson of
the Infosys Foundation and a renowned author, Sudha Murty has published her new
book titled “The Sage with Two Horns: Unusual Tales from Mythology”, the 5th
and last book of the “Unusual Tales from Mythology” series. The series features
the stories of kings and queens, gods and goddesses, sages, and extraordinary
men and women of wisdom.
List of books of the “Unusual Tales
from Mythology” series:
(1) The Serpent’s Revenge: Unusual Tales
from the Mahabharata
(2) The Upside-Down King: Unusual Tales
about Rama and Krishna
(3) The Man from The Egg: Unusual Tales
About The Trinity
(4) The Daughter from a Wishing Tree:
Unusual Tales about Women in Mythology
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Britain
approves world’s first oral pill to treat Covid-19: Britain’s health
regulators have approved the world’s first pill to treat cases of symptomatic
COVID-19. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said, the
antiviral molnupiravir has been found to be safe and effective at reducing the
risk of hospitalisation and death in people with mild to moderate COVID-19, who
are at increased risk of developing the disease.
2. Yahoo
Inc. stops its services in China: Yahoo Inc. has announced that the company
has stopped providing service in mainland China with effect from November 01,
2021, due to the increasingly challenging business and legal environment in the
country. With this Yahoo has ended its 22-year presence in the Chinese market. This
means that services like Yahoo Weather, Yahoo Finance, and other websites run
by Yahoo such as AOL.com, TechCrunch and Engadget will not be accessible from
within China. Earlier, US tech platform LinkedIn also announced the closure of
its localized social media network in China on October 14.
3. New
Zealand names critically endangered native long-tailed bat as Bird of the Year:
The
critically endangered New Zealand long-tailed bat has been named as the New
Zealand Bird of the Year 2021. The long-tailed bat is the only land mammal of
New Zealand. It is also known as the long-tailed wattled bat or
pekapeka-tou-roa. The Bird of the Year competition is organised annually by New
Zealand based independent conservation organisation Forest & Bird to raise
awareness among the citizens about the native birds of the country.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Akash
Kumar settles for bronze in 2021 AIBA Men’s World Championships: Indian boxer Akash
Kumar managed to clinch the bronze medal at the 2021 AIBA Men’s World Boxing
Championships on November 05, 2021 at Belgrade in Serbia. The 21-year-old Akash
lost 0-5 in the 54 kg category to Makhmud Sabyrkhan of Kazakhstan. Akash is the
seventh Indian male boxer to win a medal at the world championships.
2. Rahul
Dravid appointed head coach of Indian men’s cricket team till 2023 ODI World
Cup: Former
captain Rahul Dravid has been appointed as the head coach of the Indian men’s
cricket team by the BCCI. The former right-handed batsman has been appointed
for a period of two years till the 2023 50-over World Cup. Dravid will begin
his tenure as full-time coach from the T20I series against New Zealand starting
November 17, 2021 in Jaipur.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. Finance
Ministry issues uniform staff accountability framework for NPA accounts up to
Rs 50 crore: Department
of Financial Services (DFS), under the finance ministry, has issued guidelines
to be adopted by all public sector banks (PSBs) on Staff Accountability
Framework for NPA Accounts up to Rs. 50 crore’. These guidelines will be
applicable on loans that are turning into non-performing assets (NPAs) on or
after April 1, 2022. Thses shall not be applicable on fraud cases. Banks with
the approval of their Board may decide on a threshold of Rs 10 lacs or Rs 20
lacs depending on their business size for examining the aspect of staff
accountability.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1. Barclays’
new chief is India-born CS Venkatakrishnan: Barclays new CEO is CS
Venkatakrishnan, an Indian-American and the first person of color to hold that
position. Venkatakrishnan, who was most recently Barclays’ co-president and
head of global markets, is stepping in as CEO after Jes Staley resigned over
his ties with late financier Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died
by suicide in prison three years ago. As chief risk officer, Venkatakrishnan
put in place processes that proved instrumental in helping Barclays steer clear
of the Archegos Capital Management implosion; more recently, he was put in
charge of the bank’s markets division.
2. CCI
approves acquisition of 100% shareholding in Exide Life by HDFC Life: The Competition
Commission of India (CCI) has approved the accquisition of 100% shareholding in
Exide Life Insurance Company Limited by HDFC Life Insurance Company. The
acquisition has been approved under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.
After the acquisition Exide Life will become wholly owned subsidiary of HDFC
Life. It is proposed to merge Exide Life with HDFC Life.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. Priyanka
Mohite to Receive 2020’s Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award: Maharashtra-based,
28-year old mountaineer Priyanka Mohite was selected by the Ministry of Youth
Affairs and Sports for the prestigious ‘Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award
2020’ for outstanding contribution in the field of land adventure. She scaled
the world’s highest peak Mt Everest, Mt Lhotse and Mt.Makalu. She is the 1st
Indian woman to climb Mt Annapurna, the 10th highest mountain peak in the
world.
Tenzing Norgay National Award 2020: Priyanka
is one among the 7-recipients of the ‘2020 Tenzing Norgay National Award’ &
will receive the award from President Ram Nath Kovind in during the 2021
National Sports Award.
|
Awardee |
Category |
|
Priyanka Mangesh
Mohite |
Land Adventure |
|
Jay Prakash Kumar |
Land Adventure |
|
Col. Amit Bisht |
Land Adventure |
|
Sheetal |
Land Adventure |
|
Srikaanth Viswanathan |
Water Adventure |
|
Lt. Col. Servesh
Dhadwal |
Air Adventure |
|
Jai Kishan |
Life Time Achievement |
About Tenzing Norgay National Award: Established in 1994 as ‘National Adventure Award’, later renamed as ‘Tenzing Norgay National Award’ in 2002. Tenzing Norgay is regarded as the 1st person to scale Mount Everest. It is the highest National Award in the field of adventure on land, sea and air, which is equivalent to the Arjuna Award.
