CURRENT AFFAIRS 26 NOVEMBER 2020

BITA (Banking Institute & TNPSC Academy)

CURRENT AFFAIRS

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 delegatio 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. 
•  Construction of the Shatoot Dam, which would provide safe drinking water to 2million 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.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

            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.

3. 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.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

            Chief Minister of HP: Jairam Thakur;

             Governor of HP: Bandaru Dattatraya.

4. Narendra Singh Tomar virtually inaugurates Phagwara mega food park

• Union Food Processing Industries Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has virtually inaugurated the Rs 107.83 crore mega food park at Phagwara in Kapurthala district of Punjab.
• 37 mega food parks have been sanctioned across the country, of which 20 have started functioning.
•  The mega food park, spread over 55 acres of land and that will benefit 25,000 farmers, is equipped with warehouses in 3,944 square meters, silos with 20,000- tonne capacity, cold storage with 3,000-tonne capacity as well as individually quick-frozen and deep freezer units and other facilities.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

            Chief Minister of Punjab: Capt. Amarinder Singh;

             Governor: V.P. Singh Badnore.

5. Indian Army successfully testfires Land-attack version of BrahMos missile

•  Indian Army successfully test-fired a land-attack version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands territory.
• The supersonic cruise missile successfully hit its target, which was on another island.
•  The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is the world`s fastest operational system in its class.
• DRDO has recently extended the range of the missile system from the existing 298 km to around 450 km.
• Brahmos is a universal long-range supersonic cruise missile system that can be launched from land, sea and air.
•  The missile has been jointly developed by DRDO, India, and NPOM, Russia, through the joint venture BrahMos Aerospace.

6. Cabinet approves RBI’s proposal to merge Lakshmi Vilas Bank with DBS Bank

• Union Cabinet has approved the merger of capital-starved Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) with DBS Bank India.
• The Reserve Bank of India on 17 November proposed the merger of the lender with the Indian arm of Singapore’s DBS Bank.
•  The 94-year-old LVB will now cease to exist and its equity completely wiped out.
•  Its deposits will now be on the books of DBS India. Lakshmi Vilas is the second bank to need a rescue this year, and the third collapse of a major deposit-taking institution in 15 months and the first since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
• As part of the amalgamation, DBIL will infuse fresh capital of Rs 2,500 crores into LVB.
• This also marks the first instance when India has turned to a foreign entity to bail out a struggling domestic bank. 
• Under the deal, DBS got 563 branches, 974 ATMs and a $1.6 billion franchise in retail liabilities.Earlier, the RBI had placed LVB under a one-month moratorium till December 16, during which withdrawals for depositors have been capped at Rs 25,000.

7. 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. 
• 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.

8. Delhi Crime bags Best Drama Series at the International Emmy Awards

• The Netflix show, Delhi Crime has won the Best Drama Series award at the 48^th International Emmy Awards 2020.
•  Delhi Crime is the first web-series from India to win an International Emmy Award. The show is written and directed by Richie Mehta and features actress Shefali Shah as the main character.

9. MHA issues fresh guidelines for COVID-19 to be effective from December 1st

• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on November 25, 2020 issued new guidelines for COVID-19 Surveillance, Containment and Caution, which will come into effect from December 1 and remain upto December 31, 2020.
• The Home Ministry had earlier given guidelines for unlocking. However, now the states will play a bigger role in COVID-19 tracking.  
• The latest guidelines are focused on COVID-19 surveillance, containment and caution. The main focus is to consolidate the substantial gains that have been achieved against the COVID-19 outbreak. 
• The states and union territories may impose local restrictions based on their assessment of the situation to contain the spread of COVID-19. However, the states/ UTs cannot impose local lockdown without consultation with the centre. 

10. BJP MLA Vijay Sinha elected as Bihar Assembly Speaker

·         Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Vijay Sinha was elected as the Bihar Assembly Speaker through a voice vote on November 25, 2020.

·         The Mahagathbandhan had nominated RJD MLA Awadh Bihari Chaudhary as its candidate for the post of the Bihar Assembly Speaker.Vijay Kumar Sinha won 126 votes, while Mahagathbandhan candidate Awadh Bihari Choudhary got 114 votes.

·         The RJD MLAs opposed the voice vote in the Speaker election, citing the presence of members of the Legislative Council in the House.

11. President inaugurated All India Presiding Officers Conference at Kevadia,

Gujarat

•  The Presiding Officers will provide a congenial atmosphere for a healthy debate to the people’s representatives in the House and to encourage courteous dialogue and discussion.
•  Two days All India Presiding Officers’ Conference has been organized at Kevadia, Gujarat. The conference was inaugurated by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind on 25th November.
•  The conference is held on the occasion of Constitution Day.The theme of the 2020 conference is “Harmonious coordination between Legislature, Executive and Judiciary-Key to a Vibrant Democracy”. 

12. PM Narendra Modi chaired 33rd PRAGATI interaction

• In 33rd PRAGATI meeting, multiple projects of the Ministry of Railways,MORTH, DPIIT and Power Ministry, grievances and programmes were reviewed.
•  Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the 33rd PRAGATI meeting. This is PM’s 33rd interaction through PRAGATI, the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) based multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, involving Central and State governments.

13. Flight operations at Chennai airport suspended for 12 hours 

•  All flight operations at Chennai airport have been suspended from November 25, 2020 till 7 am on November 26 in the view of Cyclone Nivar. This was announced by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). 
•  The decision was taken keeping in mind the safety of passengers and the severity of the approaching cyclone. Overall, 49 flights that were scheduled for Wednesday have been cancelled. 
•  The passengers of the cancelled flights will be accommodated on next available flights at no additional charges by waiving off cancellation fee and refunding the full ticket amount.

14. Sputnik V vaccine is 95 & effective, cheaper than others, says Russian

Developers

• Russia’s Sputnik V COVID vaccine developers announced on November 24, 2020 that the vaccine shows an efficacy rate or 95 percent, as per the second interim analysis of clinical data.
• The two-dose vaccine will cost about $20 in international markets and will be available for free for Russian citizens. 
•  Going by this, one dose of the Sputnik V is expected to be available in the international markets for less than USD 10. The vaccine does not also require extreme cold storage for distribution.
• The second interim analysis of clinical trial data of the vaccine showed 91.4 percent efficacy for the vaccine 28 days after the first dose and 95 percent vaccine efficacy 42 days after the first dose.
• This was informed by the state-run Gamaleya research centre and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

15. Best FIFA Men’s Player award: Kevin de Bruyne, Lewandowski shortlisted for award 

• Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne and Bayern Munich’s striker Robert Lewandowski have been shortlisted for Best FIFA Men’s Player award.
• FIFA revealed this on November 25, 2020. Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona striker Lionel Messi have also been nominated in the category.
•  The individual trophies will be presented at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony on December 17, 2020.

16. International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

•   The United Nations designated International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is celebrated worldwide on November 25.
• The day is celebrated to raise awareness of the fact that women around the world are subject to various forms of violence and the true nature of the issue is often hidden.This year’s theme for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!”.
• In 1981, activists at the Latin American and Caribbean Feminist Encuentros marked November 25 as a day to combat and raise awareness of violence against women more broadly; on December 17, 1999, the date received its official United Nations (UN) resolution.

17. 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.

18. “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”.

19. 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.

20. Constitution Day of India 2019

• Constitution Day or Samvidhan Divas is celebrated 26 November cross the country to mark the adopting of the Indian Constitution by the Constituent Assembly on this day in 1949.In 2019, it marks the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution.
•  It came into force on 26th January 1950, marking the beginning of a new era in the history of the Indian Republic.
•  It is aimed at reiterating and reorienting the citizens towards the values and principles expressed in the Constitution and encouraging all Indians to play their rightful role in strengthening the Indian Democracy.
•  It also aims to create awareness of Fundamental Duties as enshrined in the Constitution .India’s constitution is the longest written constitution in the world. It took around 2 years, 11 months and 17 days to complete the Constitution.

21. GOI launches Credit-linked Subsidy Services Awas Portal

• Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs has launched Credit-linked Subsidy Services Awas Portal, CLAP, in New Delhi.
• The portal provides a transparent and robust real-time web-based monitoring system for credit-linked Subsidy Services, CLSS, beneficiaries.
•  Using the portal, a beneficiary can track his application status in real-time.The initiative would also benefit other stakeholders to work in synergy to release subsidy to beneficiaries on time. Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs: Hardeep Singh Puri.

22. Madhya Pradesh govt to give 5% reservation to sportspersons in jobs

•  Madhya Pradesh government has announced 5% reservation to national and international medallists sportspersons in state government jobs.
• The announcement in this regard was made by Madhya Pradesh Minister of Sports and Youth Welfare Jitu Patwari while inaugurating the Regional Olympic Games at Kampoo sports complex in Gwalior. Madhya Pradesh CM: Kamal Nath; Governor: Lal Ji Tandon.

23. Etawah Lion Safari inaugurated in Uttar Pradesh

• The Etawah Lion Safari, formally known as Etawah Safari Park was thrown open for public in Uttar Pradesh without the lion segment. It is a drive-through safari park located in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh and is one of the biggest safari parks in Asia with an area of 350 hectares (860 acres).
• It has been developed as an educative tourist destination for children as well as youths.The safari is expected to attract tourist and make Etawah a major tourist centre in the country.

                        UP Present CM: Yogi Adityanath, 

                        Governor: Anandiben Patel.

24. Indian Army to get drones from Israel, America for surveillance in Eastern Ladakh

•  The Indian Army will soon acquire drones from Israel and America to upgrade its surveillance capabilities in Eastern Ladakh and other areas along the India-China border.
• The drones will provide a major boost to the capabilities of the Indian Army.  The Israeli Herons will be deployed in the Ladakh sector and they are expected tobe more advanced than the existing fleet of the Indian Army. 
• The deals for the acquisition of these drones are in the final stages and expected to be signed in December. The acquisition of these drones is being done under the emergency 29.Indian-Origin MP creates history by taking oath in Sanskrit in New Zealand 

25. BCCI president to negotiate quarantine terms for Rohit Sharma with Cricket Australia

•  Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly will be negotiating quarantine terms with Cricket Australia for Indian opener Rohit Sharma and pacer Ishant Sharma.
• The cricketers will require a relaxation in rules if they are to take part in the India- Australia Test Series that is scheduled to start from December 17.
•  For the same, the BCCI president will be holding a meeting with his Cricket Australia counterpart. 
•  Under the current quarantine guidelines, it might be impossible for the two to reach Australia and be a part of the Test series, as, under existing rules, they will need to completely isolate themselves and will not be allowed to train in the quarantine period.

26. SEBI slaps Rs 40.5 lakh fine on 7 firms for fraudulent trading

• Markets regulator SEBI imposed a total fine of Rs 40.5 lakh on 7 companies for indulging in fraudulent trading in the illiquid stock options segment on the BSE.
• The total fine levied on the firms, Rs 10.5 lakh was levied on Green Venture Securities Management Pvt Ltd while Morgan Financial Services, Niranjan Housing, Navrang Tradelinks, Niranjan Metallic, Nishu Leasing and Finance and Midpoint Tradelink faced a fine of Rs 5 lakh each.
•  The reversal trades executed by the Notice were non-genuine in nature and createdan impression of genuine trading volumes in respective contracts.

27. Global prosperity index 2019

·         The first-ever Prosperity & Inclusion City Seal and Awards (PICSA) Index, released in the Basque Country capital of Bilbao in northern Spain.

·         The Index is designed to showcase not only the quantity of economic growth of a city but also its quality and distribution across populations. Bengaluru emerged as India’s highest-ranked city at No. 83 in a new index of the world’s 113 cities in terms of economic and social inclusivity, topped by Zurich in Switzerland.

·          Delhi at 101 and Mumbai at 107 are the other Indian cities to make at the index, with the top 20 awarded a PICSA Seal as the world’s highest-ranked cities building inclusive prosperity.Vienna, the Austrian capital in second place, scores close to top marks onhealthcare.Copenhagen, Luxembourg and Helsinki complete the top five.

28. Sangram Dahiya, Varsha Varman win double trap national titles

·         Sangram Dahiya and Varsha Varman clinched double trap titles, winning gold at the 63rd National Shotgun Shooting Championship in New Delhi.

·         In men’s category, Sangram shot 142 out of 150 targets to leave behind former world champion Ankur Mittal, who managed 137 hits over the five rounds of 30 targets each to win a silver. Varsha, in the women’s category of 120 targets each, had 97 to her name to clinch the gold ahead of state-mate Manisha Keer, who had 93 hits winning Silver.

29. Indian archers bag recurve bronze at Asian Championships

•  Indian archers Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das won a bronze medal in the recurve and compound mixed event at the Asian Archery Championships in Kolkata.
• They defeated China by 6-2 to clinch the medal in the championships.