November 2020 Monthly Current Affairs Online Test English

• The new indigenously designed and built ship named ICG C–452 has been commissioned into the Indian Coast Guard. The ship was commissioned by Additional Director General (Western Seaboard) of Indian Coast Guard. The ship was designed and built by Larsen & Toubro, Surat in lines with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat”.

• The 23rd edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS) is to be held virtually between November 19 and 21, this year. The summit will be organised by the Department of Electronics, Information Technology, Bio Technology and Science and Technology of the State Government of Karnataka. Several Technology Leaders are expected to participate in the summit.

• The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has launched the ‘Go Electric’ campaign in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The state government has nominated the Non–conventional Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Limited (NREDCAP), as the state nodal agency to set up charging stations. The state government has also planned to launch 400 charging stations in the state.

• Two secure and flexible services have been created by the Interpol to facilitate cybercrime related communication among law enforcement agencies. One of them is the Cybercrime Knowledge Exchange workspace and the other is Cybercrime Collaborative Platform–Operation. The former handles general, non–police information and is open to all relevant users whereas the latter is restricted to select few agencies only.

• WhatsApp has received the National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) approval to enter Unified Payment Interface (UPI) in phased manner. WhatsApp, owned by Facebook has over 400 million users in India. The UPI payments service is expected to be launched to 2 crore WhatsApp users initially.

• External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar recently virtually addressed the first India –Nordic – Baltic Conclave. The Nordic–Baltic Eight (NB8) co–operation framework includes eight countries namely Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has recently reported that it has recently observed a mix of X–ray and radio signals that were never observed before in the Milky Way. It also announced that the first fast radio burst (FRB) was also observed within the galaxy. The detection of the phenomenon called FRB was recently published in the journal ‘Nature’.

• The apex court of India, the Supreme Court has asked the Government of India to issue directions within a month regarding or regulating the use of disinfection on humans, in disinfection tunnels. The Supreme Court stated that though the Centre had issued advisory that spraying of disinfectant on human body is not recommended, no steps were not taken in this regard to prevent or regulate it.

• The 5th Joint Working Group on Coal between India and Indonesia was hosted by India, through video conference mode. It was co–chaired by Vinod Kumar Tiwari, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Coal and its counterpart of Indonesia. During the meeting, India’s Ministry of Coal made presentations on Indian Coal Policy reforms, Coking Coal Exploration and Commercial Mining which was followed by presentations by the Indonesian side.

• Uttar Pradesh has launched an awareness campaign regarding the burning of Crop remains in many parts of the state. The Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked the farmers of the state not to burn remains of their crops (known as Parali) but to make compost with it. Several volunteers are also involved in creating awareness about pollution.

• As per the recent statement from the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) is set to issue forecast for malaria outbreaks from next monsoon. India has also planned to increase the high–performance computing (HPC) facility from the current capacity of 10 petaflops to 40 petaflops. India is at fourth place after the US, the UK and Japan in HPC, at present.

• Kerala Tourism has been awarded the prestigious ‘Highly Commended’ Award by World Travel Mart London. The state has been awarded for its remarkable activities aimed to promote Responsible Tourism (RT) during COVID–19. Kerala’s Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission received the award in the category of ‘Meaningful Connections’.

• Tamil Nadu has won the first position under the ‘Best State’ category of National Water Awards (NWAs) 2019. The awards have been constituted by the Department of Water Resources, Union Ministry of Jal Shakti. Tamil Nadu is followed by Maharashtra and Rajasthan as the best states under the normal category.

• The Gov Tech Thon 2020 is a virtual hackathon that was organized by IEEE, National Informatics Centre (NIC) and Oracle, under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The team from Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Private Limited named “Fit for Future” has bagged the first position in the hackathon for demonstrating prototype for automating vehicle fitness checks.

• Vidisha Maitra, an Indian Diplomat has been elected to the UN’s Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ). She won the election contesting for the only post in Asia–Pacific group, with 126 UN members supporting her candidature. She is a 2008 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer.

• The World Science Day for Peace and Development is observed every year on 10th of November to highlight the significant role of science in society and the need to engage the wider public in debates on emerging scientific issues. It also underlines the importance and relevance of science in our daily lives. The theme for 2020 is “Science for and with Society”.

• Russia’s SIRIUS and Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has recently launched ‘AIM–Sirius Innovation Programme 3.0’. It is a 14–day virtual programme for Indian and Russian schoolchildren. It is also the first Indo–Russian bilateral youth innovation initiative, which envisages to develop technological solutions for both countries.

• Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has recently inaugurated a model of the anti–satellite missile system. The model, which is seen as a symbol of national technological advancement, has been inaugurated at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) headquarters in New Delhi. In 2019, DRDO conducted an Anti–Satellite (A–SAT) missile test ‘Mission Shakti’.

• The Union Minister for Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan held a consultation with the Indian diaspora. This interaction was aimed at enabling them to make valuable contributions in India’s Science Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP) 2020. This interaction with Indian diaspora is seen as first of its kind.

• The Union Ministry of Finance has given an approval for creation of the first ever national database of migrant labour called the National Database of Unorganised Workers (NDUW), which would be seeded with Aadhaar. This database would provide a platform for the government to implement specific programmes for such labourers

• Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi is set to unveil a life size statue of Swami Vivekananda. The statue is being unveiled at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus at New Delhi on November 12th. The statue would be unveiled by the Prime Minister in a virtual mode. The statue has been installed in JNU campus with the support of the JNU alumni.

• Gold and silver coins in the name of the Vaishno Devi shrine have been released by the Lt. Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha. The coins have been released ahead of Diwali festival. The Vaishno Devi shrine board has decided to make the coin available in Jammu as well as in Delhi.

• As per the recent announcement of the Central Government, digital or online Media, films and audio–visual programmes, news and current affairs content would be brought under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. At present, there is no law or autonomous body governing the digital content in the country. The President is said to have signed the order.

• The World Cities Day is observed on October.31 to promote the international community’s interest in global urbanization, push forward cooperation among countries in meeting opportunities and addressing challenges of urbanization, and contributing to sustainable urban development around the world.

• The Internal Market Bill is designed to protect the trade between Britain’s four nations after the process of Brexit. Recently, the House of Lords voted against the clauses in the bill which would allow the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to breach Britain’s EU exit treaty. This is seen as a defeat to the ruling Conservative Party in the upper chamber.

• The Union Cabinet has recently approved Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme worth up to Rs 1.46 lakh crore for 10 key sectors. This move is expected to boost India’s manufacturing sector and exports. The ten sectors include white goods manufacturing, pharmaceutical, specialised steel, automobiles, telecom, textile, food products, solar photovoltaic and cell battery.

• The World Diabetes Day is observed every year on November 14 to raise awareness among families to discover, prevent and manage diabetes. It is the primary global awareness campaign focusing on diabetes mellitus. The theme for World Diabetes Day 2020 is “The Nurse and Diabetes”.

• India–Brazil–South Africa (IBSA) report titled ‘Deepening Cooperation in IBSA: Perspectives from Key Sectors’ has been launched recently. The report has been launched by the Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs Rahul Chhabra. The report has been prepared by the 2nd batch of Fellows under the IBSA Visiting Fellowship Program.

• Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia was named as the World Book Capital for the year 2020 by UNESCO. Every year, April 23 is celebrated as the World Book and Copyright Day across the world. UNESCO along with the international organizations associated with publishers, booksellers and libraries, select the World Book Capital for a year. This year, Kuala Lumpur has been named for 2020.

• India’s second largest oil producer Oil India Ltd has recently made a natural gas discovery at a well drilled in Tinsukia, Assam. As per the statement issued by the organisation, the Dinjan–1 well in Tinsukia in upper Assam basin found 10 meters of hydrocarbon–bearing sands. This discovery will help them explore new areas for further oil and gas exploration in Assam.

• Kamarajar Port located in Ennore, on the Coromandel Coast is the only corporatized major port of India. It is also the first port in India which is a public company. The Port was seen in news recently, as it has handled the largest ever container vessel – MSC Faith. As per the company, the new generation terminal is equipped with latest gantry cranes and sufficient backup yard.

• In India, the National Cancer Awareness Day is observed every year on 7th of November to remove all stops to lower the national cancer burden by generating awareness about early detection and avoiding leading cancer–causing lifestyles.

• The West Bengal government has planned to constitute anti–electrocution cells to protect wild elephants in the state. These multi–departmental cells will have members including those from the Forest Directorate, Electricity Department, District Administration and Police along with the Local Panchayat members. It was also decided to alter the high–tension lines and electric poles to avoid hurting the animals.

• The Jharkhand assembly has unanimously passed a resolution seeking to include Sarna as a separate religion in Census 2021. As per the Chief minister Hemant Soren, the resolution which was passed during a special one–day assembly session, will be sent to the Centre for approval. The followers of Sarna faith believe praying to nature with the principle of ‘Jal, Jungle, Zameen’.

• China has become the world’s first country to have successfully launched the 6G communications test satellite. It was launched using Long March 6 rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the Shanxi Province. The 6G technology is expected to be over 100 times faster than the 5G technology.

• The World Toilet Day is observed every year on 19th of November to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis. The 2020 theme is “Sustainable Sanitation and Climate Change”. The main aim of this day is to create awareness among the people about basic toilet facilities.

• The National Press Day is celebrated every year on 16th of November as symbolic of free and responsible press in India. This was the day on which the Press Council of India (PCI) started functioning as a moral watchdog.

• The Quick Reaction Surface–to–Air Missile (QRSAM) was indigenously developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Recently, the missile was seen in the news, it was tested by the Chandipur Test range, Odisha. It registered a significant milestone as it achieved a direct hit on a pilotless target aircraft (PTA), during the test.

• National Ayurveda Day is celebrated on the same day of Dhanwantri Jayanti since 2016. This year it was celebrated on November 13. National Ayurveda Day was celebrated across the country on the theme of ‘Ayurveda for COVID–19’. The day is observed to spread awareness on the importance of Ayurveda in our daily lives.

• The Group of 77 (G–77) was established on 15 June 1964 by 77 developing countries. At present, the members of the coalition have increased to 134 countries. Recently, the 44th Annual Meeting of the G–77 Foreign Ministers was held recently. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN T S Tirumurti attended the forum and reaffirmed India’s commitment towards G77 bloc.

• The 8th BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation Ministerial meeting was held virtually, which was organised by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia. Russia is the Chair of the 12th BRICS Summit. The Ministerial meeting unanimously adopted BRICS STI Declaration 2020. The Members applauded India’s ‘SERB–POWER’ (Promoting Opportunities for Women in Exploratory Research) scheme.

• The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment has recently notified draft rules under the Code on Social Security, 2020.
• As per the new rules, the unorganised workers, gig workers and platform workers can avail social security benefits by Aadhaar based registration including self–registration on the government portal. It also clarifies about payment of contribution by the aggregators.

A team of researchers from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur have developed environment safe food packaging material using cucumber peels. According to them, cucumber peels have greater cellulose content and the nanocrystals derived from the peels makes it suitable for making bio–degradable food packaging material.

The International Day of Tolerance observed every year on November 16th. It aims to promote tolerance among cultures and people and make them understand that tolerance is an integral part of society. “The UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non–Violence” has been awarded to the NGO named Résolution Conflits (Centre for Resolution of Conflicts) in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The United Nations (UN) has collaborated with the Vaccine Confidence Project at the University of London, to launch a new initiative named ‘Halo’. It aims to tackle the issue of misinformation around COVID–19 vaccines.
Over 100 scientists have come together to share authentic information on safety and effectiveness of vaccines via the social media. Over 22 scientists have joined Team Halo from India.

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first coronavirus diagnostic kit for self–testing at home. The Lucira COVID–19 All–In–One Test Kit is a molecular single–use test. It is also the first test that can be fully self–administered and provide results in 30 minutes or less. It can be self–administered for those who are above 14 years old.

The World Fisheries Day is observed every year on 21st of November throughout the world by fishing communities. This day is celebrated through rallies, workshops, public meetings, cultural programs, dramas, exhibition, music show, and demonstrations to highlight the importance of maintaining the world’s fisheries.

Union Minister of Culture Prahlad Singh Patel recently handed over the bronze idols of Lord Rama, Lakshmana and Goddess Sita to Idol Wing of Tamil Nadu Government. These Bronze idols were handed over to High Commission of India in London by the London Metropolitan Police, in September 2020. These idols belong to a temple in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu, from where they were stolen in 1978.

• The only known white giraffe, which was seen in the news, is found in Kenya. The giraffe has been fitted with a GPS tracking device to help protect it from poachers. Leucism, a genetic trait causes the white color in animals.
• The single male giraffe is in a dangerous state at the risk of poaching. The GPS tracking device, which is attached to one of the giraffe’s horns, will alert wildlife rangers about its location.

• The first direct flight operations from Kalaburagi, Karnataka to Hindon Airport, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh were flagged off under the RCS-UDAN scheme.
• Under the ‘Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik’ scheme, 295 routes and 53 airports including 5 heliports and 2 Water Aerodromes have been operationalized till date. Star Air airline was awarded this airline route last year.

• The regional organisation comprising of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, BRICS has recently adopted a new counter-terrorism strategy. During the virtual annual summit of BRICS held recently, the BRICS countries reaffirmed their commitment to counter international terrorism and its financing. Russia hosted the virtual summit.

• Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ will be conferred with the Vatayan Lifetime Achievement Award.
• The Minister had earlier received various awards for governance and literature. He holds an honorary doctoral degree in the field of literature and has also penned over 75 books. Vatayan International Awards are presented to poets & artists by the Vatayan-UK organization in London.

• World Philosophy Day was introduced by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO in 2002. The UNESCO General Conference proclaimed that World Philosophy Day would be celebrated on every third Thursday of November, in 2005. This year, the observance calls all countries to focus on the philosophical reflections of the current pandemic.

The Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PM–FME) Scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme, launched under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, under Food Processing Ministry. Recently, Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the capacity building component of the scheme.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has launched a website in the presence of senior defense officials, the first of which has been implemented by the Ministry of Defense to improve the overall management of defense lands.

A virtual ceremony for the joint launch of RuPay card Phase–II by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Bhutan Lyonchhen Dr. Lotay Tshering held on 20 November 2020. The implementation of Phase–I of RuPay cards in Bhutan has enabled visitors from India to access ATMs and Point of Sale (PoS) terminals across Bhutan.

The Tungabhadra Pushkaralu is a 12–day festival celebrated in the state of Andhra Pradesh, to honour the Tungabhadra river. It commenced on November 20, this year.

The 30th edition of India–Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo–Thai CORPAT) between the Indian Navy and the Royal Thai Navy is conducted from 18 – 20 November 2020. Indian Naval Ship (INS) Karmuk, an indigenously built Missile Corvette and His Majesty’s Thailand Ship (HTMS) Kraburi, a Chao Phraya Class Frigate along with Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft from both the navies are participating in the CORPAT.
As part of Government of India’s vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region), the Indian Navy has been involved in assisting countries in the Indian Ocean Region with EEZ Surveillance, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), and other capacity building and capability–enhancement activities, on their request. To reinforce maritime links, the two navies have been carrying out CORPAT along their International Maritime Boundary Line twice a year since 2005, with the aim of keeping this vital part of the Indian Ocean safe and secure for commercial shipping and international trade.

National New-born Week was observed by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare from Nov.15-21. This week is observed to emphasize the importance given to the health of young children and to take note of the fact that this is also one of the top priorities of the welfare sector. The theme of this year’s (2020) National New-born week is “Quality, Equity, Dignity for every newborn at every health facility and everywhere”.

The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) has been recognised by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as a part of the World-Wide Radio Navigation System (WWRNS) for operation in the Indian Ocean Region.
India has become the fourth country in the world to have its independent regional navigation satellite system recognised by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The other three countries that have its navigation systems recognised by the IMO are the US, Russia and China.

Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has launched the Oil India Ltd’s (OIL) seismic survey campaign worth Rs 220 crore. He said at the time, that oil and gas produced from the Mahanadi basin would play a key role in the socio-economic development of Odisha.

The Government of Karnataka issued a notification to rename the Haveri Railway station as Mahadevappa Mailara Railway Station, after Mahadevappa Mailara, a freedom fighter from Haveri district, Karnataka. Following the State Government’s request to rename, The Ministry of Home affairs issued the no objection for the name change of the Haveri Railway station as Mahadevappa Mailara Railway Station.

In accordance with the report titled “FDI in India: Now, Next and Beyond” by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Ernst & Young Global Limited (EY), India may attract foreign direct investment (FDI) of $120-160 billion per year by 2025. States-wise Maharashtra remains the most attractive destination (28%), followed by Karnataka (19%), Delhi (16%) and Gujarat (10%). These four alone received 75% of the FDI between October 2019 and June 2020.

The Union Government has recently approved 28 Food Processing Projects worth more than 320 crore rupees. They are supported with a grant of over Rs 107 crore by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries. They are approved under the Scheme for Creation and Expansion of Food Processing and Preservation Capacities (CEFPPC). The aim of the scheme is to create processing and preservation capacities and expansion of existing food processing units.

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India today issued an order under section 69A of the Information Technology Act blocking access to 43 mobile apps.
This action was taken based on the inputs regarding these apps for engaging in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued the order based on the comprehensive reports received from Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center, Ministry of Home Affairs. Earlier on June, 2020 the Govt., of India had blocked access to 59 mobile apps and on Sep, 2020 118 more apps were banned under section 69A of the Information Technology Act.

China recently launched the Change–5 Lunar Mission. The mission is the first probe in four decades to bring back rock samples from the moon from its previously unexplored portions. Change–5 is the first probe to land on the far side of the moon. As the rotation and revolution time period of the moon is same, only one side of the moon is constantly visible to the earth. The other side of the moon till date remains unexplored and is called the far side of the moon.

The Martyrdom Day of Guru Tegh Bahadur is observed across the country as Shaheed Diwas every year on November 24. In the year 1675, Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth of the ten Gurus of the Sikhism was executed. He was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind. He had also contributed many hymns to the Guru Granth Sahib.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is a statutory body working under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in New Deli. Airports Authority of India (AAI) commenced Aviation Safety Awareness Week 2020 from 23rd – 27th November, 2020. It is being observed at all airports and Airport Navigation Service locations managed by AAI across India.

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has launched ‘Sahakar Pragya’, the 45 new training modules developed by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC). The modules will impart training to primary cooperative societies in rural areas of the country. The National Cooperative Development Corporation is a statutory Corporation, under the aegis of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

The 10th edition of the National Science film festival has been inaugurated in the state of Tripura. The festival will be held in virtual mode. Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous agency under the Department of Science and Technology, has been organizing this festival. This year, Vigyan Prasar is collaborating with the Tripura State Council of Science and Technology. As many as 372 films in different languages have been received.

The Chief Minister of Goa has launched an exclusive WhatsApp helpline number, to help women in distress in the state. The dedicated WhatsApp number 7875756177 will be functional round the clock at the State Police Control Room, Panaji.
Union Minister of State for Defence and AYUSH Shripad Naik handed over a medically well–equipped ambulance to Chief Minister for the use of Goa Police.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with the Tamil Nadu government to develop the ecosystem for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the state. Under the MoU, SIDBI will deploy a project management unit in the government of Tamil Nadu. It will undertake the process of designing the training and capacity–building programmes to be taken up by the state government in areas.

The Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has recently flagged off the first heavy weight torpedo, Varunastra. The torpedo was delivered to the Indian Navy at a ceremony held at Bharat Dynamics Limited, Visakhapatnam Unit. It has been designed and developed by Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam.

Malayalam film Jallikattu, directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery, has been selected as India’s official entry for the 93rd Academy Awards, 2021. It is also the third Malayalam film to be shortlisted for the Oscar Award. This film is based on writer S. Hareesh’s acclaimed story titled ‘Maoist’. As of now, only three Indian films Lagaan, Mother India and Salaam Bombay! have won the coveted award.

University of Lucknow, a public University in Uttar Pradesh, became the third University in India to have a commemorative coin of Rs 100 issued on its centenary year. Prior to this, only Mysore University and Banaras Hindu University had received the honour.
Prime Minister attended the celebration of Centennial Foundation Day of the University virtually and released special stamp and Rs 100 coin.

The Uttar Pradesh government has approved the 594–km Ganga Expressway project worth Rs 36,402 crore. The project will have Expressway running along the river Ganga from Haridwar to Allahabad. The state Cabinet also approved a district–wise alignment of the Expressway. The Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority will implement the project.

The Honey FPO Programme of National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) has been inaugurated by Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar. Beekeeping will be promoted as an occupation for unemployed women and tribal populations, through these Honey FPOs. A new Central Sector Scheme for Formation & Promotion of new 10,000 FPOs was launched and 2200 FPO clusters for 2020–21 are already allocated.

Uttar Pradesh Cabinet led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, cleared the proposal to rename the Ayodhya airport as Maryada Purushottam Sri Ram Airport, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.
The proposal for the same will be sent to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt of India after it is passed by the state Assembly.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched ‘Har Ghar Nal Yojana’ in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The scheme aims to provide piped water supply to over 4.1 million people in the two districts of Sonbhadra and Mirzapur. The outlay of the project is Rs 5,555 crore. The scheme will also benefit over 3,000 villages to access piped water supply.

• According to the Action Plan for Vulture Conservation 2020–2025, 5 states namely Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will get a vulture conservation and breeding centre each. The plan has also suggested that new veterinary non–steroidal anti–inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) to be tested on vultures before their commercial release. The action plan was approved by the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL).

• The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) constituent labs– CSIR–Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi and CSIR–Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad carried out a study regarding Indian genomes. As per the study published in the scientific journal, Nucleic Acid Research, 32.23% of the global variants were unique and found only in the samples sequenced from India.

• India–based Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE) has been named as one among the winners of the 2020 UN Global Climate Action Award. GHE is an Indian organisation that uses tourism and technology to help remote communities get access to solar energy. This was announced in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) website.

• Pakistan has recently inaugurated the first transport project under the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Lahore. The project has been completed in six years at the cost of over USD 2.2 billion. This overhead Lahore Orange Line Metro Train is expected as a symbol of China– Pakistan ties. Over 250,000 people will be able to commute using the train.

• The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has recently released the next edition of its consolidated foreign direct investment (FDI) policy document. The document has incorporated all changes made over the past year. As per the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the new circular has come into effect from October 15.

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) Phase II & Phase III. The project is being developed with the financial assistance of the World Bank (WB), and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The project aims to improve the safety and operational performance of selected dams across the whole country.

• The President of India Ram Nath Kovind has suspended Vice Chancellor of Delhi University Yogesh Tyagi. The suspension has been made under the provisions of Delhi University Act, on grounds of rave misconduct, dereliction of duties, abuse of power and lack of commitment. Mr. Tyagi had been appointed Vice–Chancellor in March 2016

• Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has stated that southwest monsoon has completely withdrawn from India on 28th October, 2020. The IMD has also stated that the northeast monsoon has commenced.
• Under the influence of North East Monsoon (also known as retreating monsoon), there would be ample rainfall over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, parts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala.

• The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman represented India in the 10th India–UK Economic and Financial Dialogue on Global Responses to COVID–19. The meeting was held in a virtual mode through video conferencing. The conference aimed at sharing of experiences on COVID–19 response and to implement policies for economic recovery during the pandemic.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently inaugurated Sardar Patel Zoological Park known as Jungle Safari, in Kevadia, Narmada district of Gujarat. The Zoological Park, also known as Jungle Safari, has been set up near the Statue of Unity. The Prime Minister also inaugurated Arogya Van at Kevadia in Narmada district of Gujarat. It has around 400 species of plants and trees with rich medicinal values.

• NITI Aayog and Quality Council of India has recently launched the ‘National Program and Project Management Policy Framework’ (NPMPF). The report aims to bring radical reforms in the way infrastructure projects are executed in India. Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari also released the Indian Infrastructure Body of Knowledge (InBoK).

• The Government of India has notified that that no leather footwear can be produced, sold, traded, imported or even stocked, unless they bear the BIS mark. The notification has been issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). This move is aimed to contain import of cheaper leather products in India.

• A scheme named SERB POWER (Promoting Opportunities for Women in Exploratory Research) has been launched by the Ministry of Science and Technology, designed exclusively to encourage Women Scientists to work in the field of science and technology.
• The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India is implementing the scheme.

• Chris Gayle, who plays for Kings XI Punjab, has recently become the first batsman in history to hit 1000 sixes in T20 cricket. Kieron Pollard has hit 690 sixes and ranks second in the list of maximum sixes in T20 cricket. In the ongoing edition of IPL 2020, Gayle has scored a total of 276 runs from six outings.

• The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2020 was recently released, by conducting a phone survey of 60,000–odd students across rural India. As per the report, only 11 percent of the surveyed children had access to live online classes. Only one–third of the surveyed children had access to online learning. The report reveals the digital inequality prevalent in the country.

• As per the Public Affairs Index–2020 released by the Public Affairs Centre, Kerala was adjudged the best governed State in the large States category. States were ranked on governance performance based on a composite index in sustainable development. Kerala is followed by Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Uttar Pradesh is ranked at the bottom of the list.

• An integrated foundation course for the Officer Trainees (OTs) of the Indian Civil Services named ‘AARAMBH’ was launched for the first time in 2019. The Prime Minister has recently interacted with the Officer Trainees (OTs) of the Indian Civil Services at LBSNAA Mussoorie through a Video conference. This is a part of the AARAMBH course.

• Kerala aims to start providing free, high–speed Internet to schools, public offices, and poor households in the state by December, this year. Kerala is the first among all states to launch such project, which is similar to the Centre’s BharatNet project.
• The Kerala Fibre Optic Network Project or KFON has awarded the contract to a consortium led by public–sector company Bharat Electronics Limited.

• Indian boxer Sanjeet won gold in the Alexis Vastine international boxing tournament in Nantes in 91 kg category. World silver–medallist Amit Panghal also won gold in 52 kg category. Ashish Kumar also won gold in the 75 kg category opponent pulled out due to injury. Kavinder Singh Bisht won silver while India earned three bronze medals.

• BRICS Business Forum, which is an important annual event of the BRICS Business Council was hosted by Russia from October 20 to 28, 2020. President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia is the current Chairman of the BRICS Business Council. BRICS Business Forum was held in via Video Conferencing under the title “BRICS Business Partnership: Common Vision for Sustainable Inclusive Development”.

• As per the recent report released by the World–Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), 30 Indian cities will face increasing water risks in the next few decades. According to the WWF Water Risk Filter report, 30 Indian cities, including Jaipur, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai among others, will face acute water risks. The report estimates that hundreds of millions of people in cities across the globe could face water risks.