Current Affairs - November 6, 2020 Current Affairs

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved USD 132.8 million loan to Meghalaya, to improve and upgrade the power distribution network in the state. The fund will help in improving the distribution system & financial sustainability of the Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited (MePDCL).

The West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a number of initiatives for the refugees, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe population on November 4, 2020 . The schemes include land pattas and setting up of cultural and development boardsin the state.

The incumbent President of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, has won a third 5-year term in a landslide victory, gaining more than 94 per cent of the votes polled. The 78-year-old, Mr Ouattara was first sworn in as the president in 2010 and then re-elected in 2015. Apart from this, he has also served as the Prime Minister of Cote d'Ivoire from November 1990 to December 1993.

A new book titled "Till We Win" by AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria and two other doctors will give a definitive account of India's fight against Covid-19 and how to deal with the pandemic in the days to come. The book has been co-written by leading public policy and health systems expert Chandrakant Lahariya and renowned vaccine researcher and virologist Gagandeep Kang.

The Chief of Army Staff General, MM Naravane was conferred the honorary rank of General of the Nepali Army by President Bidya Devi Bhandari. He was honoured at a special ceremony at the President's official residence 'Shital Niwas' in Kathmandu, Nepal. The ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister of Nepal K.P. Sharma Oli, Indian Ambassador Vinay M. Kwatra and other senior officials of both the countries.

Union Minister of State (IC) for Tourism & Culture, Prahlad Singh Patel virtually inaugurated the "Tourist Facilitation Centre" facility at Guruvayur, in Kerala. The facility has been constructed under the project "Development of Guruvayur, Kerala" under PRASHAD Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism, at the cost of Rs. 11.57 Crores.

The eighth meeting of the India-UAE High Level Joint Task Force on Investments was hosted by India today in virtual format due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting was co-chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi.

Bangladesh and US navies launched the 'Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Bangladesh 2020' to expand relationships and broaden maritime awareness between the two countries.

"For every rupee spent by the government on the National Monsoon Mission and High-performance Computing programs of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the country would gain economic benefits worth fifty rupees". This has been affirmed by a report Estimating the economic benefits of Investment in Monsoon Mission and High Performance Computing Facilities" by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). The report was released by Dr. Harsh Vardhan.

The Left-ruled Kerala State has decided to withdraw the general consent given to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe cases on November 4, 2020. With this decision the state joined a list of non-BJP ruled states such as Maharashtra and West Bengal to have similar move.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Monday unveiled discounts up to 65 per cent on purchase of various branded items using RuPay card. The 'RuPay Festive Carnival' will provide compelling benefits and attractive discounts to RuPay users, aimed at encouraging safe, contactless and cashless payments, NPCI said in a release.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra handed over a cheque of NPR 1 billion to the Nepal government as reimbursement of Nepal Housing Reconstruction Project.

In a bid to improve operational efficiency, Piyush Goyal-led Indian Railways is set to go big with artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics! To analyze the data generated by Indian Railways, the national transporter has tied up with the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. Railway Board Chairman V K Yadav was quoted in a PTI report saying that a Centre for Excellence will be set up by Indian Railways in this regard in the next three months. A decision has been taken by the Railway Board to appoint a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in every zone of Indian Railways. The CTO's mandate will be to keep a track of emerging technologies in AI and analytics as well as use it in the rail system, Yadav said.

AK Gupta, the new Managing Director and CEO of ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) took charge. Before this, he was Director (Operations) of the company. Gupta was also the Head of New businesses in Marketing in ONGC and Head Business development in ONGC Videsh, both for the domestic and international markets. He has handled commercial negotiations with alliance partners, regulators, customers and National Oil Companies.

World Tsunami Awareness Day was observed across the world on 5 November. The day is celebrated to spread awareness among people across the world in matters related to the dangers of tsunami. In 2020, World Tsunami Awareness Day encourages the development of national and community-level, local disaster risk reduction strategies to save more lives against disasters. This year's observance promotes "Sendai Seven Campaign," target.

The enhanced version of PINAKA rocket system was successfully flight tested by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha. This enhanced version of the Pinaka rocket would replace the existing Pinaka Mk-I rockets. While Mk-1 had a range of 40 km, the new variant can hit a target 45 to 60 km away.

VISA, the global leader in payments technology, today announced the first successful live deployment of a PCI certified Tap to Phone card acceptance solution, in partnership with Digit Secure and HDFC Bank. Delivery Plus is the first merchant to go live with HDFC Bank as an acquirer. This solution enables merchants to securely accept contactless card payments in seconds through an app on their NFC-enabled Android smartphones, and without having dedicated card acceptance devices. In line with the 'Make in India' goal of local innovation, Digit Secure is the first company based in Asia Pacific to receive PCI security certification for deploying this technology.

The Prasar Bharati and Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on November 4, 2020. As per the MoU, all the 51 DTH education channels will be available to all DD Fresh Dish viewers as DD co-branded channels.

While stepping up efforts to set up electric vehicle infrastructure by setting up 400 charging stations across the State in the first phase, the Andhra Pradesh Government plans to attract investments in the electric mobility space. In its efforts to boost clean energy and energy efficiency objectives, Andhra Pradesh is seeking to woo electric vehicle manufacturers and encourage the establishment of a testing track for electric vehicles, which is likely to see an investment of about ?250 crore.

Bollywood actor Faraaz Khan passed away. He had acted in several popular Bollywood films in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Some of them include Mehndi (1998), Fareb (1996), Dulhan Banoo Main Teri (1999) and Chand Bujh Gaya (2005) among others.