CURRENT AFFAIRS 29 NOVEMBER 2020

                   

BITA (Banking Institute & TNPSC Academy)

CURRENT AFFAIRS

PM Modi’s telephonic talk with UK’s PM

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephonic talk with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. During the conversation, the two leaders reviewed the cooperation between the countries in the area of coronavirus vaccine development and manufacturing.

Prakash Javadeker launches India Climate Change Knowledge Portal

• Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar has launched the “India Climate Change Knowledge Portal”.
•  According to Prakash Javadekar, India has practically achieved its pre-2020 climate action targets. He said, though India is not responsible for climate change it is taking responsible action to mitigate the challenge.
• The portal will have all the major steps the Government is taking at both national and international levels to address the climate change issues.
• Portal will be a single-point information resource that provides information on the different climate initiatives taken by various Line Ministries enabling users to access d status on these initiatives.

Indian Navy’s MiG-29K trainer crashes over Arabian Sea

• MiG-29K fighter trainer jet of the Indian Navy crashed at Arabian Sea. One of the two pilots is missing.

India’s GDP contracts 7.5% in second quarter

• As per estimates released by the National Statistical Office, India’s GDP contracted 7.5% in the second quarter of 2020-21.
•  In the first quarter, India had recorded 23.9% decline. 
• India has now entered a technical recession with two successive quarters of negative growth.
• Agriculture, which was the only sector to record growth between April and June this year, grew at the same pace of 3.4% in the second quarter.
•  Manufacturing gross value-added (GVA) showed a sharp recovery to record 0.6% growth between July and September after collapsing 39.3% in the first quarter.
• Electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services also recorded 4.4% growth in the second quarter, recovering from a 7% contraction in Q1.
•   But it remained a weak quarter for several sectors, including mining, services such as retail trade and hotels, construction and financial services.
• While the 7.5% contraction in GDP came as a positive surprise, there are concerns about a decline in government spending and the worsening fate of two key sectors compared to the first quarter.

Russia test-fired Tsirkon hypersonic missile in the Arctic

•  Russia successfully test-fired a Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile in the Arctic. the frigate Admiral Gorshkov in the White Sea fired a Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile, hitting a naval target 450 km away in the Barents Sea at a speed of over Mach 8.
• In early January, the same frigate test-fired a Tsirkon missile for the first time, striking a ground target over 500 km away.
• Last month, the warship deployed in the White Sea destroyed a naval target in the Barents Sea with a Tsirkon missile.

Indian Army launches cycling expedition in Gujarat & Rajasthan

·         Konark Corps of Indian Army has launched a 1971 kilometres cycling expedition in Gujarat and Rajasthan to commemorate the commencement of the Golden Jubilee Victory Celebrations of Indian Armed Forces in the Indo-Pak War of 1971 .

  1971 Kilometers ‘Swarnim Vijay Varsh Cyclothon’ across Gujarat & Rajasthan has been joined by the relay teams of 20 participants each of the various Army Formations across the two states.

Economy & Corporate

• Covid 19: SC directs govt. to implement its decision to forego interest on loans
•  The Supreme Court directed the GoI to ensure if all steps are taken to implement its decision to forego interest on eight specified categories of loans.
• These are loans that are paid upto ₹2 crore in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

 L&T bags Rs 7,000-cr order to construct part of Bullet Train project

•  Infrastructure major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has bagged an order worth over Rs 7,000 crore to construct a part of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR), also known as the Bullet Train Project.
• The scope of the order includes the construction of viaducts, one station, major river bridges, maintenance depots, and other auxiliary works.
• The approximately 508 km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project will cover Maharashtra, Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Gujarat, with 12 stations along the route.
• Upon completion, the high-speed rail will operate at a speed of 320 kmph, covering the entire distance in approximately 2 hours with limited stops and in 3 hours with all stops.

 India rise four spots to 104th in latest FIFA rankings

• The Indian national teams have moved up a spot to 104 in the latest FIFA Rankings. The Indian team were ranked 108th in the October 2020 rankings.
•  In two months, India has climbed 5 spots after being 109th in September.
• Meanwhile, on the global scene, the top six remain unchanged. Belgium continues to lead the rankings followed by France, Brazil, England, Portugal and Spain. Argentina is seventh, having interchanged spots with eighth-placed Uruguay. Mexico and Italy complete the top 10.

NSA Ajit Doval calls on Sri Lankan PM Rajapaksa in Colombo

• National Security Advisor Ajit Doval spoke to the Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo.
• Sri Lanka will host the fourth national security advisor trilateral meeting on maritime security cooperation with India and Maldives on November 27-28.

SCO Secretary General praises “Self-Reliant India” initiative

• Secretary General of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Vladimir Norov has praised the “Self-Reliant India” initiative by Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that it deserves high attention.