Current Affairs
Select Date
Tags:

Articles

Discussions
12345Next
Hindi

Important Current Affairs 25th November 2020

                                                                                                         National

43 mobile apps banned by Indian Government for users

• The Union Electronics and Information Technology Ministry has banned 43 more mobile apps for the users. The Ministry issued an order on November 24, 2020, blocking access to 43 apps under section 69A of Information Technology Act.

• Earlier in September 2020, the Government had banned 118 mobile apps and banned 59 apps in June 2020.

IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launches International version of UMANG to mark 3 years of App

• On November 23, 2020, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Communications and Law & Justice launched the international version of the UMANG app, to mark the occasion of 3 years of UMANG and also celebrate over 2000 services milestone.

• The international app has been launched for select countries that include USA, UK, Canada, Australia, UAE, Netherlands, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

• The UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) was launched on 23 November 2017 by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the fifth edition of the Global Conference on Cyberspace in New Delhi.

First cow hospital of Northeast inaugurated in Assam’s Dibrugarh

• A cow shelter in Assam’s Dibrugarh inaugurated Northeast’s first-ever cow hospital, on the occasion of Gopashtami.

• The hospital, Surbhi Aarogyashala, is set up by Shree Gopal Gaushala at a cost of Rs 17 lakh.

• There are 368 cows in the shelter.The hospital will provide services in 30 km radius.

                                                                                         Banking and Economy

RBI imposes six-month ban on Manta Urban Cooperative Bank

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has banned the Manta Urban Cooperative Bank in Jalna district of Maharashtra for six months for payment of money and loan transactions.

• The central bank has given some instructions to this bank, which will be effective for six months since the bank closed on 17 November 2020.

                                                                                          Summits and Mou’s

SBI Signs Pact With Luxembourg Stock Exchange

• State Bank of India (SBI) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSe).

• The MoU will help SBI and LuxSE set up a long-term cooperation mechanism, and promote ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) and green finance.

• Through this MoU, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange would work towards creating a sustainable environment for issuers, asset managers, and investors in terms of ESG focused funds and bonds.

                                                                                                          Awards

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 48th 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.

Pilibhit Tiger Reserve gets global award ‘TX2’ for doubling tiger population

• The Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR), situated in the Pilibhit district and Shahjahanpur District of Uttar Pradesh has won the first-ever international award, TX2, along with the state Forest department, for doubling the number of tigers.

• *TX2 stands for ‘Tigers times two’, signalling the goal to double wild tigers.

ISRO Chairman K Sivan Conferred with Doctor of Science honorary doctorate by Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala

• The Visvesvaraya Technological University, of the Government of Karnataka, has conferred the Doctor of Science honorary doctorate upon ISRO Chairman K Sivan.

• The doctorate was presented to the ISRO Chief by Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala on 21 November 2020.

                                                                                 Science and Technology

India test-fires land-attack version of BrahMos missile

• India successfully test-fired a land-attack version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands territory at 10 am on November 24, 2020.

• The supersonic cruise missile successfully hit its target, which was on another island. The test-firing was conducted by the Indian Army.

• The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is the world's fastest operational system in its class and recently DRDO has extended the range of the missile system from the existing 298 km to around 450 km.

                                                                                                    Obituary

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.

Veteran TV actor Ashiesh Roy passes away

• Television actor Ashiesh Roy has passed away, suffering from kidney ailment during the C-19. He was 55.

• Some of his famous television shows includes Movers & Shakers, Yes Boss, Remix, Baa Bahoo Aur Baby, Chaldi Da Naam Gaddi, Burey Bhi Hum Bhale Bhi Hum, Sasural Simar Ka, Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi, Mere Angne Mein, Aarambh.

                                                                                                         Sports

Virat Kohli, R Ashwin nominated for ICC Player of the Decade Award

• India skipper Virat Kohli and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin have been nominated for the ICC Player of the Decade Award.

• Other cricketers nominated for the award include England’s Joe Root, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, Australia’s Steve Smith, South Africa’s AB de Villiers and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara.

• For the ODI Player of the Decade award, India’s MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga & Kumar Sangakkara, Australia’s Mitchell Starc and South Africa’s AB de Villiers have been nominated.

                                                                                                           Days

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.

• Purpose: to raise awareness of the fact that women around the world are subject to various forms of violence and true nature of the issue is often hidden.

• 2020 Theme “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!”.

Tags: SSC, RRB, SBI Clerk, RRB NTPC
Read More
Read Less
Write new comment.

Important Current Affairs 24th November 2020

                                                                                                         National

India to host G-20 Summit in 2023

• India will host the Summit of the G20 Group in 2023. India was earlier slated to host the summit in 2022.

• However, now the G20 Summit be be hosted by Italy in 2021, Indonesia in 2022, India in 2023 and Brazil in 2024.

• India and Indonesia have swapped their respective hosting year of G20 as Indonesia would also chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2023.

5th India International Cherry Blossom Festival cancelled

• The 5th India International Cherry Blossom Festival has been cancelled due to C-19 pandemic. The festival is held every year in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, to celebrate the unique autumn flowering of the Himalayan cherry blossoms and mark the beginning of India’s version of autumn.

• Every year, Shillong hosts a plethora of events like fitness art, fashion show, rock concerts and much more to mark the festival.

                                                                                                      International

Malaysia hosted 2020 APEC Summit

• The 2020 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Malaysian Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

• This was the first time that all 21 APEC Economic Leaders met virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The APEC 2020 ended with the adoption of the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 and the 2020 Kuala Lumpur Declaration. The APEC Summit 2021 will be hosted by New Zealand. This is the second time Malaysia hosted an APEC meeting, having hosted one in 1998.

• The theme of the APEC Malaysia 2020 was “Optimising Human Potential Towards a Resilient Future of Shared Prosperity: Pivot. Prioritise. Progress”.

                                                                                                Banking and Economy

LIC launches 1st digital app ‘ANANDA’

• Life Insurance Corporation of India has launched a digital application for agents for onboarding to get a life insurance policy. The Digital Application is called “ANANDA”, which is an acronym for Atma Nirbhar Agents NewBusiness Digital Application.

• The Digital application is a tool for the onboarding process to get the life insurance policy through a paperless module with the help of the agent or intermediary.

                                                                                      Acquisitions and Mergers

IBM to Acquire SAP Consulting Partner TruQua

• IBM said that it has acquired TruQua, an IT services and consulting company focused on SAP’s finance and analytics technologies.

• Big Blue said the deal will support its hybrid growth strategy and expand its breadth of consulting services.

• IBM said the deal is expected to close in Q4 2020. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

                                                                                         Science and Technology

Indian Navy gets 9th P-8I anti-submarine warfare aircraft

• Indian Navy has got its ninth Boeing P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft, part of the nearly $1 billion deal with the US for four additional planes signed in 2016.

• India, which had first signed a contract for eight such aircraft in 2009, is also negotiating a deal for six more P-8Is with the US under the government-to-government route. While the ninth aircraft was scheduled to be handed over to the Indian Navy in July this year, the C-19 pandemic delayed plans.

• The remaining three are scheduled to be handed over to India in 2021. Incidentally, the aircraft, the latest of which landed at INS Hansa in Goa.

                                                                                                            Obituary

Former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi passes away

• Three-time Assam Chief Minister from Congress party Tarun Gogoi, has passed away after been undergoing treatment for post-Covid complications. He was 84.

• Tarun Gogoi had served as the Chief Minister of Assam between 2001 and 2015.He was the longest serving chief minister of Assam.

• Apart from this, Gogoai had also served as the food and food processing industry minister in the Union Cabinet of India under Prime Minister Narasimha Rao between 1991 and 1996.

Sahitya Academy award winner Shaik Khaja Hussain passes away

• Noted Telugu poet, journalist, scriptwriter Shaik Khaja Hussain, has passed away after brief illness. He was 70.

• Popularly known as Devi Priya, the renowned poet bagged the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 2017, for his book Gaali Rangu.

                                                                                                             Sports

Daniil Medvedev beat Dominic Thiem to win ATP Tour Finals 2020

• In Tennis, Daniil Medvedev (Russia) beat Dominic Thiem (Austria) to win the 2020 ATP Tour Finals, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, held in London on 22 November 2020.

• This is the biggest title of his career. The 24-year-old will finish the year at fourth position in the world rankings.

• In the doubles final, Dutch-Croatian duo Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic claimed their first title together after surpassing Jurgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-2, 3-6, 10-5.

Tags: SSC, RRB, SBI Clerk, RRB NTPC
Read More
Read Less
Write new comment.

Important Current Affairs 23rd November 2020

                                                                                                                     National

India becomes 4th nation to have navigation satellite system as IRNSS Gets IMO Recognition

• 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.

• With this, India has become the only fourth country in the world to have its independent regional navigation satellite system recognised by IMO.

• The other three countries that have its navigation systems recognised by the IMO are the US [Global Position System (GPS)], Russia and China.

• The IRNSS will  now be officially used to provide accurate position information services to assist in the navigation of ships in Indian ocean waters within the area of approximately 1,500 km from the Indian boundary

PM Modi called for Spirit of trusteeship towards planet Earth at 15th G20 Summit

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the 15th G20 Leaders Summit on November 21, 2020. The two-day summit was convened by Saudi Arabia, chair of G20 for this year.

• The summit saw the participation of the heads of governments of 19 member countries, the European Union and other invited countries and international organizations. It was conducted virtually due to the C -19 pandemic.

• While speaking at the summit, PM Narendra Modi congratulated the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its leadership for its successful Presidency of the G20 in 2020 and for organizing the second virtual G20 Summit in 2020 despite the challenges posed by the C-19 outbreak.

Second Trilateral Maritime Exercise SITMEX-20 held in Andaman Sea

• The 2nd edition of India, Singapore and Thailand Trilateral Maritime Exercise SITMEX-20 was conducted from 21 to 22 November 20 in Andaman Sea.

• The 2020 edition of the exercise is being hosted by Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN).

• Indian Navy (IN) Ships including indigenously built ASW corvette Kamorta and missile corvette Karmuk participated in the exercise.

• The SITMEX series of exercises are conducted to enhance mutual inter-operability between IN, RSN and Royal Thai Navy (RTN) and also strengthen mutual confidence and develop common understanding and procedures towards enhancing the overall maritime security in the region. 

• The first edition of SITMEX was hosted by Indian Navy in 2019 off Port Blair.

                                                                                                             International

China to launch spacecraft to Moon to bring back lunar rocks, first attempt since 1970s

• China is all set to launch an unmanned spacecraft to the moon this week for bringing back the lunar rocks. It will be the first attempt by any nation in the world for retrieving the samples from the natural satellite of Earth since the 1970s.

• Named after the ancient Chinese Goddess of the moon, Chang’e-5 probe will seek on collecting the materials from the moon. It will help the scientists to understand more about its origin and surface.

• If China becomes successful in its mission, it will become the third country to retrieve moon samples, following the Soviet Union and the United States decades ago. The mission will also be testing China’s ability to remotely acquire the samples from space.

• China also plans on retrieving the samples from Mars by 2030. In July 2020, China had also launched an unmanned probe to Mars. It was its first independent mission to another planet.

                                                                                               Banking and Economy

Bank Credit Rises 5.67%, Deposits Up 10.63%, RBI Data Shows

• Bank credit grew by 5.67 per cent to Rs 104.04 lakh crore, while deposits increased by 10.63 per cent to Rs 143.80 lakh crore in the fortnight ended November 6, according to RBI data.

• In the fortnight ended November 8, 2019, bank credit stood at Rs 98.46 lakh crore and deposits at Rs 129.98 lakh crore.

• On a year-on-year basis, non-food bank credit growth decelerated to 5.8 per cent in September 2020 from 8.1 per cent in the same month of the previous year.

• Credit to industry recorded ‘nil’ growth in September 2020 as compared to 2.7 per cent rise in September 2019.

• Credit to agriculture and allied activities rose by 5.9 per cent during the reporting month, as against a growth of 7 per cent in the same month last year.

• Loan growth to the services sector accelerated to 9.1 per cent in September 2020 from 7.3 per cent in September 2019.

• Personal loans registered a growth of 9.2 per cent in the month compared to 16.6 per cent growth in September 2019.

RBI becomes world’s first central bank with a million Twitter followers

• Reserve Bank of India, in a first among Central Banks, has become the first monetary authority that has gained 1 million followers on its official Twitter Handle.

• Shaktikanda Das, RBI Governor congratulated his colleagues on this occasion. He also has a separate Twitter Handle with 1.37 lakh followers. He shared the news of achievement through Twitter and congratulated everyone for the new milestone.

• India’s monetary authority has beaten the European Central Bank and US Federal Reserve on Twitter by becoming the most popular central bank to be followed on the microblogging site. Currently, the Reserve Bank of India is followed by as many as 10,00,513 followers on Twitter.

                                                                                                             Awards

Department of Fisheries presents Fisheries Sector Awards for the first time on World Fisheries Day

• Department of Fisheries presents Fisheries Sector Awards for the first time on World Fisheries Day The Department of Fisheries under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying awarded best performing States for 2019-20 on 21 November 2020 on the occasion of the ‘World Fisheries Day’, to recognise their accomplishments in the field and their contribution into the growth of the sector. 

Top States

1. Marine states – Odisha

2. Inland states – Uttar Pradesh

3. Hilly and NE states – Assam

Top Organisations

1. Tamil Nadu Fisheries Development Corporation Ltd. (for Marine)

2. Telangana State Fishermen Cooperative societies Federation Ltd (for Inland)

3. Assam Apex Cooperative Fish Marketing and Processing Federation Ltd. (for Hilly region)

Top Districts

1. Best Marine District – Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh

2. Best Inland District – Kalahandi, Odisha

3. Best Hilly and NE District – Nagaon, Assam

Tags: SSC, RRB, SBI Clerk, RRB NTPC
Read More
Read Less
Write new comment.

Important Current Affairs 22nd November 2020

                                                                                                         National

PM lays the foundation stone of rural drinking water supply projects in Vindhyachal region of Uttar Pradesh

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of rural drinking water supply projects in Mirzapur and Sonbhadra districts of Vindhyachal region in Uttar Pradesh on 22 November 2020 via video conference.

• The total estimated cost of the projects is around Rs 5,555.38 Crore.

• The projects are planned to be completed in 24 months.

• It will provide household tap water connections in all rural households of 2,995 villages and will benefit about 42 lakh population of these districts.

                                                                                                          Banking and Economy

Indian students contributed over $7 billion to US economy in 2019-20

• According to the report “Opens Doors 2020“, Indian students contributed USD 7.6 billion to the US economy in the academic year 2019-20, even though there was a 4.4 per cent drop in the total number of Indian students.

• China remained the largest source of international students in the US, with the number of Chinese students in the country increasing for the 16th consecutive year. There were over 372,000 Chinese students in the U.S. during 2019-20 year.

• According to the report, released by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Institute of International Education (IIE), for the fifth consecutive year the United States hosted more than 1 million international students (1,075,496) in an academic year.

                                                                                                      Awards

Naseeruddin Shah honoured with Aditya Vikram Birla Kalashikhar Puraskar

• Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah has been honoured with the 2020 Aditya Vikram Birla Kalashikhar Puraskar at annual Sangit Kala Kendra Awards.

•  Alongside, two emerging stars, in the firmament of theatrics – Neel Choudhary and Irawati Karnik were awarded the Aditya Vikram Birla Kalakiran Puraskars. “Theatre” is the central theme, for this year’s awards.

                                                                                        Acquisitions and Mergers

RBL Bank selects Amazon Web Services to drive digital transformation

• RBL Bank has selected Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its preferred cloud service to drive digital transformation. At present, around 40 per cent of the bank’s mission-critical applications are on the cloud.

• The bank first migrated its corporate website to AWS cloud and with the experience gained initiated a 10-in-10 project (a complete migration of 10 applications in 10 days).

• The bank chose AWS for its commitment to security and highly reliable global infrastructure.

                                                                                                           Ranking

Hong Kong, Zurich, and Paris most expensive cities in EIU’s Worldwide Cost of Living (WCOL) Index

• The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released its biannual ‘Worldwide Cost of Living (WCOL)’ report of the World’s Most Expensive Cities in 2020, based on their cost of living.

• Hong Kong, Paris and Zurich shares the top spot as the most expensive cities in the list, which comprises of 133 cities.

• The report took into account the price of 138 items, used in every day for survival, and the falling or rising value of that country’s currency due to C-19 to rank the cities accordingly.

Tags: SSC, RRB, SBI Clerk, RRB NTPC
Read More
Read Less
Write new comment.

Important Current Affairs 21st November 2020

                                                                                                               NATIONAL

Mastercard & USAID Partners to launch “Project Kirana”

• Mastercard and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have collaborated under Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP) to launch ‘Project Kirana’ in India, to help women entrepreneurs grow and thrive.

• Project Kirana is a two-year programme, and initially, it will be rolled out in select cities of Uttar Pradesh, including Lucknow, Kanpur and Varanasi. The programme will be implemented by DAI Digital Frontiers and ACCESS Development Services.

• Build financial and digital literacy skills;

• Improve basic business management skills including inventory management, accounting, budget management and customer loyalty;

• Addressing cultural and other barriers to women becoming successful Kirana entrepreneurs;

• It will work to increase revenue streams, expand financial inclusion and digital payments adoption of Kirana shops that are owned or operated by women.

Ravi Shankar Prasad releases “My Stamp on Chhath Puja”

• Union Minister of Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Law and Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad has released a “My Stamp on Chhath Puja”. My Stamp is an innovative concept initiated by the Department of Posts. Any common person or corporate organisation can now book order and get a personalised photograph or an image of a Postage Stamp.

• My Stamp is one of the unique products being offered by India Post, which has gained its popularity in the customised gifting category. My Stamp on Chhath Puja is available in all Philatelic bureaus and major post offices across the country. A special cover on the theme “Chhath-A symbol of Simplicity and Cleanliness” was also released.

CBIC Chairman Ajit Kumar inaugurates GST Bhawan

• Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Chairman M. Ajit Kumar, along with members of the Board inaugurated the GST Bhawan, Panchkula,  Haryana. The state of the art building will house the offices of Central GST at Panchkula. It has been built at a cost of about 31 crores rupees.

• This is the first major infrastructure project of CBIC completed in these times of C-19. The building is a fully air-conditioned three-storied building built on a plot of about 1.4 acres with 7600 square metres covered area and seating capacity of about 200 persons.

                                                                                               IMPORTANT DAYS

World Television Day: 21 November

• World Television Day is observed on 21 November every year. The day is observed to acknowledge the role of broadcast media. On this day, the journalists, writers, bloggers, and others who are associated with the medium promote the role of television in communication and globalization.

• The 21 November was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1996, because the first World Television Forum was held in 1996.

World Fisheries Day: 21 November

• World Fisheries Day is celebrated on 21 November every year throughout the world by the fisherfolk communities. It highlights the importance of healthy oceans ecosystems and to ensure sustainable stocks of fisheries in the world. 2020 is the fourth World Fisheries Day.

• The World Fisheries Day helps in highlighting the critical importance to human lives, of water and the lives it sustains, both in and out of water. Water forms a continuum, whether contained in rivers, lakes, and ocean. Fishing communities worldwide celebrate this day through rallies, workshops, public meetings, cultural programs, dramas, exhibition, music show, and demonstrations to highlight the importance of maintaining the world’s fisheries.

Africa Industrialization Day: 20 November

• Africa Industrialization Day is celebrated on November 20 each year. It is a time when governments and other organizations in many African countries examine ways to stimulate Africa’s industrialization process. It is also an occasion to draw worldwide media attention to the problems and challenges of industrialization in Africa.

• Theme 2020: “Inclusive and sustainable industrialisation in the AfCFTA era”.

World Children’s Day is celebrated on 20 November

• World Children’s Day is observed globally on 20 November every year. The day is celebrated to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children’s welfare. November 20th is an important date as it is the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

• World Children’s Day was first established in 1954 as Universal Children’s Day and is celebrated on 20 November each year.  It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

                                                                                       SUMMITS AND MOU’S

World Bank Signs $120 Million Project to Improve Connectivity in Meghalaya

• The Government of India, the Government of Meghalaya and the World Bank has signed a $120-million project to improve and modernize the transport sector of Meghalaya. This will help Meghalaya to harness its vast growth potential for high-value agriculture and tourism. The $120 million loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a maturity of 14 years including a grace period of six years. The International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is a development bank administered by the World Bank.

• The Meghalaya Integrated Transport Project (MITP) will improve about 300 km of strategic road segments and stand-alone bridges by using innovative, climate-resilient, and nature-based solutions.

• The segments will serve major agriculture areas, important tourist destinations, small-scale industries, major towns and underserved populations by linking them to markets, health and education centres, and national and international corridors.

• It will also support innovative solutions such as precast bridges to reduce both time and cost of construction.

• This operation will also support the state’s government “Restart Meghalaya Mission” to revive and boost development activities affected due to C-19 pandemic.

• It will help restore transport services for the movement of agricultural produce, improve access to health facilities during C-19 type medical emergencies, benefit about 500,000 inhabitants, and generate direct employment of about 8 million person-days.

                                                                            AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Scottish Author Douglas Stuart wins 2020 Booker Prize

• Scottish writer Douglas Stuart has won the 2020 Booker Prize for Fiction. He has been awarded for his debut novel, “Shuggie Bain”. The 44-year-old Stuart is only the second Scot to have won the prestigious literary prize.

• The Booker Prize for Fiction, (formerly known as the Booker–McConnell Prize (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019)), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original novel written in the English language and published in the United Kingdom. It carries £50,000 prize ($66,000).

Dr Pokhriyal to be conferred with Vatayan Lifetime Achievement Award

• Union Education Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ will be conferred with the Vatayan Lifetime Achievement Award. This award will be conferred to the Minister for writing, poetry and other literary works. The Minister has penned more than 75 books on wide-ranging issues, which have also been translated into many national and foreign languages. Vatayan International Awards given by the Vatayan-UK organization in London honours poets, writers and artists for their exemplary work in their respective fields.

• Mr Pokhriyal has earlier received several awards in the field of literature and administration including Sahitya Bharati Award by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sahitya Gaurav Samman by Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Bharat Gaurav Samman, Good Governance Award by Dubai Government, outstanding Achievement Award by Global Organization of Person of Indian Origin by Mauritius, awarded in Ukraine in the area of environmental protection, among others. Mr Nishank is also honoured with “Himal Gaurav Samman” by Nepal.

                                                                                                RANKING

India Ranks 77 in TRACE Bribery Risk Matrix 2020

• India is placed at 77th position in the TRACE Bribery Risk Matrix 2020. India has achieved a score of 45 in a global list that measures business bribery risks of 2020. India’s rank stood 78 positions in 2019. It was a better performance than neighbouring nations such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and China. But, Bhutan scored better than India and got 48th place in the list.

• North Korea, Turkmenistan, South Sudan, Venezuela and Eritrea had the highest commercial bribery risk. Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden and New Zealand showed the lowest bribery risk.

• The TRACE Matrix list is released by TRACE International, an anti-bribery standard-setting organisation, which measures business bribery risk in 194 countries, territories, and autonomous and semi-autonomous regions.

                                                                                         BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveils two books

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has unveiled two books ‘The Republican Ethic Volume III’ and ‘Loktantra Ke Swar’ which are a collection of selected speeches of President Ram Nath Kovind during the third year of his presidency. Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar unveiled the e-book versions of the two books.

• Mr Rajnath Singh stated that the President’s speeches depict his concern towards issues such as girls education, empowerment of women, and welfare of the weaker sections.  All the speeches in this book reflect on the self-confidence in this country. This book comprises speeches on the country’s efforts to fight C-19, where India is faring much better than other countries, to bravely defending its borders. This compilation of speeches of President Kovind presents a comprehensive picture of his work, personality and values.

Tags: SSC, RRB, SBI Clerk, RRB NTPC
Read More
Read Less
Write new comment.

Important Current Affairs 20th November 2020

                                                                                                     INTERNATIONAL

Maia Sandu Wins Moldova Presidential Election

• Maia Sandu has won Moldova’s presidential election after a run-off vote against the incumbent Igor Dodon. Ms Sandu has won 57.7% of the vote compared to Mr Dodon’s 42.2%.

• Sandu is a former World Bank economist who favours closer ties with the European Union. Mr Dodon, meanwhile, is openly backed by Russia.

                                                                                                      NATIONAL

Dr Harsh Vardhan addresses 33rd Stop TB Partnership Board meet

• The Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has addressed the 33rd Stop TB Partnership Board meeting in New Delhi through Video Conference. During the meet, the minister has stressed on the need to create a mass movement for the elimination of TB with strategized advocacy, thought leadership, disruptive social entrepreneurship, powerful, societal and political commitment.

• It must be noted that India is running the “TB Harega, Desh Jeetega” campaign that targets to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal target related to TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global target of 2030.

Vijayanagara becomes 31st District of Karnataka

• The world heritage site of Hampi, the erstwhile capital of the Vijayanagar empire, will soon be part of a new district. The Karnataka Government has approved to carve out Vijayanagara as a new district of the state.

• Vijayanagara will be the 31st district of the State. The new district would be carved out of Ballari and named after the Vijayanagara empire that ruled from this region.

Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates capacity building component of PM-FME

• Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, Narendra Singh Tomar has virtually inaugurated the capacity building component of the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises scheme (PM-FME Scheme). PM-FME Scheme has been launched with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore for a period of five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25. He also launched the GIS One District One Product (ODOP) digital map of India.

• The component envisages imparting training to food processing entrepreneurs, various groups, viz., self-help groups (SHGs), Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), Co-operatives, workers, and other stakeholders associated with the implementation of the PM-FME scheme.

• Training would be given to the master trainers through online mode, classroom lecture and demonstration, and self-paced online learning material.

• The master trainers will then train the district-level trainers, who will eventually train the beneficiaries.

                                                                                                       SPORTS

BCCI announces MPL Sports as Official Kit Sponsor

• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced its partnership with Mobile Premier League (MPL) Sports, the athleisure wear and sports merchandise brand from Mobile Premier League, India’s largest esports platform, as the new kit sponsor and official merchandise partner for the Indian Cricket Team.

• MPL Sports has entered into a three-year agreement from November 2020 to December 2023.

• MPL Sports’ association with the BCCI begins with upcoming India’s tour of Australia, 2020-21, which will see Team India sporting the new jerseys.

• The senior men and women and the Under-19 teams are also a part of the deal for the new kits.

• Apart from Team India jerseys, MPL Sports will also sell licensed Team India merchandise.

• MPL Sports will offer the jerseys and its wide range of Team India merchandise to fans at affordable prices.

FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup 2021 cancelled

• The 2021 U-17 Women’s World Cup, which was scheduled to be held in India, has been cancelled due to the C-19 pandemic. It has also been decided that India will host the 2022 edition of the World Cup. The tournament was supposed to be held in November 2020 initially, only for the pandemic to force a postponement.

• FIFA then revised the schedule and the tournament was to be held in February and March in 2021 in India. The 2020 U20 Women’s World Cup has also been cancelled along with the U17 edition. While Costa Rica will get the chance to host the 2022 U20 Women’s World Cup.

• Five venues had been selected as host cities for the tournament – the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) in Kolkata, Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati, EKA Arena in Ahmedabad and the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

                                                                                              SUMMITS AND MOU’S

DIPAM inks agreement with World Bank

• Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has signed an agreement with the World Bank, to provide advisory services to DIPAM for asset monetization. DIPAM is mandated with facilitating monetization of non-core assets of government CPSEs under strategic disinvestment or closure and enemy property of the value of 100 crore and above. DIPAM has a framework for monetizing non-core assets.

• The World Bank advisory project, approved by the Finance Minister, is aimed at analyzing public asset monetization in India and benchmarking its institutional and business models against international best practices as well as supporting the development of operational guidelines and capacity building for their implementation.

                                                                                                              RANKING

India’s Param Siddhi ranked 63rd in most powerful supercomputers

• According to the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Indian supercomputer, Param Siddhi has achieved 63rd rank in the list of 500 most powerful supercomputers in the world. Param Siddhi is the high-performance computing-artificial intelligence (HPC-AI) supercomputer established under National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) at C-DAC. The Top 500 project which ranks the top 500 non-distributed computer systems in the world is published twice a year.

• The first of these updates always coincides with the International Supercomputing Conference in June, and the second is presented at the ACM/IEEE Supercomputing Conference in November.

• The AI system will strengthen application development of packages in areas such as advanced materials, computational chemistry & astrophysics, and several packages being developed under the mission on the platform for drug design and preventive health care system, flood forecasting package for flood-prone metro cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Patna and Guwahati.

                                                                                         BANKING AND ECONOMY

Barclays Projects India’s GDP at -6.4% in FY21

• Barclays has revised down its GDP forecast for India in the current fiscal year 2020-21 (FY21) to – 6.4% from its earlier estimate of – 6%.

• However, Barclays has raised its FY22 (2021-22) growth forecast to 8.5 per cent from 7 per cent.

Karnataka Bank launches CASA campaign

• Karnataka Bank launched CASA (current account, savings account) mobilisation campaign which will run from November 17 to March 4, 2021. The bank stated that it intends to mobilise over 4.10 lakh current and savings accounts with an accretion of 650 crores of business. With this campaign, the bank intends to introduce its attractive and superior line of digitally powered savings and current account products to its customers.

• To enable the basic banking services to the unbanked(not use banks or banking institutions) sections of the society.

• To popularize bank’s digitally powered CASA products to the next level of customers on the basis of their requirements.

Tags: SSC, RRB, SBI Clerk, RRB NTPC
Read More
Read Less
Write new comment.

Important Current Affairs 5th October 2020

National

PM to inaugurate Summit RAISE 2020- ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020’

• Prime Minister will inaugurate a mega virtual summit on Artificial Intelligence RAISE 2020- ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020’ on October 5, 2020, at 7 PM.

• According to an official release from PMO, the mega virtual summit will be organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and NITI Aayog on October 5-9, 2020.

• The release also informed that PM plans on leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) for inclusive development, representing India’s ‘AI for ALL’ strategy in the spirit for Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas.

Banking and Economy

NABARD launches refinance scheme for WASH programme, earmarks Rs 800 cr for FY’21

• In a bid to promote sustainable and healthy lifestyle in rural areas, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) announced a special refinance facility to support the government”s Water, Sanitisation and Hygiene (WASH) programme.

• An amount of Rs 800 crore has been earmarked for this purpose for the financial year 2020-21.

• NABARD will provide concessional refinance to all eligible financial institutions, including commercial banks, regional rural banks and cooperative banks, with a repayment period of up to 36 months.

Awards

Robert Lewandowski wins UEFA Player of the Year award

• The Polish forward scored 15 goals on the way to Bayern Munich’s sixth Champions League title, hitting the target in every match before the final except a group game against Tottenham Hotspur when he was rested.

• Other players in consideration were Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

• He also fired 34 goals in 31 Bundesliga matches and six in five German Cup games, helping Bayern win both competitions

• The German champions’ manager Hansi Flick won UEFA’s coach of the year of the award.

Acquisitions and Mergers

Warburg Pincus invests Rs 700 cr to acquire stake in Home First Finance

• Home First Finance, True North-backed affordable housing finance firm, said it has entered into an agreement with Warburg Pincus-affiliate Orange Clove Investments BV for an investment of Rs 700 cr.

• The investment is a combination of primary fund raise and secondary sales by existing shareholders.

• As of March 31, 2020, Home First had an asset under management (AUM) of Rs 3,618 crore with a net worth of Rs 933 crore and a gross non-performing asset of 0.87 per cent.

Science and Technology

Reliance develops RT-PCR kit that gives C-19 results in 2 hours

• Reliance Life Sciences has developed an RT-PCR (real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) kit that will be able to diagnose C-19 infection in just about 2 hours.

• The computational biologists as Reliance Life Sciences, which is a subsidiary of billionaire Mukesh Ambani- run Reliance Industries Ltd., had analyzed more than 100 genomes of SARS-CoV-2 sequenced in the country and had designed unique RT-PCR primers for developing the qualitative RT-PCR kit for C-19 detection.

• Currently, the test for the qualitative detection of nucleic acid from SARS-CoV-2 takes up to 24 hours for the results.

Sports

India’s Visnu wins gold in International Online Shooting Championship

• In Shooting, India’s Visnu Shivaraj Pandian has won the 10m air rifle event at the fifth edition of the International Online Shooting Championship held on 3rd October 2020.

• The 16-year-old Visnu shot 251.4 to win the title by a clear margin of two points.

• The world No. 27 Etienne Germond of France came second followed by Martin Strempfl of Austria at third place.

Days

World Teachers’ Day

• World Teachers’ Day is observed globally on 5th October since 1994. The day provides the occasion to celebrate the teaching profession worldwide, take stock of achievements, and draw attention to the voices of teachers, who are at the heart of efforts to attain the global education target of leaving no one behind.

• In 2020, World Teachers’ Day will celebrate teachers with the theme “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future”.

Tags: Railway (NTPC), SSC, SBI Clerk, RRB NTPC
Read More
Read Less
Write new comment.

Important Current Affairs 4th October 2020

National

Kerala’s first Mega Food Park inaugurated virtually

• Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare inaugurated Kerala’s first and nation’s twentieth mega food park in Palakkad district. The inauguration was conducted virtually through video conferencing.

• The Park will also provide direct and indirect employment to 5,000 persons and benefit about 25,000 farmers. This Mega Food Park has been set up in 79.42 acres of land at a project cost of Rs. 102.13 crore.

Tamil Nadu & Arunachal Pradesh integrated under One Nation One Ration Card Scheme

• Two more States, Tamil Nadu and Arunachal Pradesh have been integrated with existing national portability cluster of 26 States and UTs under One Nation One Ration Card.

• With this, a total of 28 States and UTs are now seamlessly connected with each other under the ‘ One Nation One Ration Card plan’, which aims to provide an option to all NFSA beneficiaries.

• The beneficiaries of these states can lift their entitled foodgrains under NFSA from any ePoS enabled Fair Price Shop of their choice anywhere in the country, by using their existing/same ration card with Aadhaar authentication on ePoS device.

National Institute Of Naturopathy’s Tribal Unit set up in Pune

• A 20-bed tribal unit of the National Institute of Naturopathy was inaugurated in Pune’s Ambegaon tehsil by Union AYUSH minister Shripad Naik. It would provide free clinical services to the tribal population in the area.

• A research unit on tribal practices for health maintenance had also been set up and it will be a “repository of knowledge and will work in areas of education, nutrition and health problems of the tribal population”.

Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2020 comes into force

• As per the Ministry of Home Affairs, the amended Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act came into force on 29 September 2020.

• The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2020 amends the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.

• As per the amended law, furnishing of Aadhaar numbers by office-bearers of NGOs has become mandatory for registration. The Act also provides for reduction in administrative expenses of any NGO receiving foreign funding, from 50 per cent to 20 per cent of annual funds to ensure spending on their main objectives.

International

US commits USD 1.9 mn to India to support informal sector workers

• The United States has announced a financial aid of USD 1.9 million for India to support vulnerable populations like informal sector workers whose livelihoods have been disrupted due to C-19.

• The fund will be extended by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), to support efforts to rebuild local economies and improve the livelihoods of Indians who have been hit hardest by this pandemic.

Summits and Mou’s

India signs USD 90 million defence deal with US to buy spares for C-130J Super Hercules aircraft

• India and the United States have entered into a defence deal worth $90-million, wherein US would provide equipment, spare parts and logistical support for India’s fleet of C-130J Super Hercules cargo aircraft.

• As per the deal, the US will repair the C-130J Super Hercules to India, as well as supply spare part and ground support.

• India has also ordered an AN/ALR-56M advanced radar warning system, 10 lightweight night vision binoculars, 10-night vision glasses, GPS and electronic warfare to the US.

Awards

Founder of Sari Recycling Project Wins Goldman Sachs And Fortune Global Women Leaders Award

• Rayana Edwards, the South African who started a project to empower women to recycle saris into internationally-acclaimed fashion garments, has been named as a joint winner of this year’s Goldman Sachs and Fortune Global Women Leaders award(USD 25,000).

• The other winner was Emma Dicks, founder of CodeSpace Academy, a coding school.

Science and Technology

ICMR develops “Purified Antisera” as treatment

• The Indian Council of Medical Research has developed “Purified Antisera”. The antiserum has been obtained from animals. This is to be used as a prophylaxis and treatment for C-19.

• The new therapy works just like that of plasma therapy. But here the plasma is obtained from animals. Antiserum is blood-based serum that holds antibodies against viruses.

• In this new therapy, the serum is raised from horses that have recovered from viral infection and found to hold antibodies against the virus in their system.

Days

World Animal Day

• The World Animal Day is observed annually on October 4 since 1929.The day aims to raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards around the globe.

• It was originated by Heinrich Zimmermann and he organized the first World Animal Day on 24 March 1925 at the Sport Palace in Berlin, Germany.

Tags: SSC, IBPS RRB, SBI Clerk, RRB NTPC
Read More
Read Less
Write new comment.

Important Current Affairs 30th August 2020

National

Assam Government to set up Skill University worth Rs 900 Crore at Darrang district

• The Assam Cabinet has approved the Assam Skill Development University Bill which allows for setting up a state-of-the-art skill University at Mangaldoi in Darrang district of Assam.

• The University at Mangaldoi will be the Centre of Excellence and first ever Skill University in north eastern states of the country. It will be spread over 100-bigha plot.

• The total cost of setting up the University is estimated at Rs 900 crore with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank.

Kerala to set up India’s First International Women’s Trade Centre

• Biju Prabhakar, IAS, Secretary, Department of Social Justice, Women & Child Development announced that Kerala will set up India’s First International Women Trade Centre(IWTC) in accord with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations(UN) at Angamaly, Kochi, Kerala.

• This announcement was made during the webinar on “Scaling up Opportunities for MSME women Entrepreneurs in Kerala” organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry(FICCI) Kerala State Council.

International

World War II Spy Becomes First Indian-origin Woman to Get Memorial Plaque in London

• Britain’s World War II spy, Noor Inayat Khan, became the first Indian-origin woman to be honoured with a memorial Blue Plaque at her former family home in central London.

• The Blue Plaque scheme, run by the English Heritage charity, honours notable people and organisations who were connected with particular buildings across London.

Banking and Economy

SBI gets global recognition for HR initiative ‘Nayi Disha’

• State Bank of India (SBI) has got global recognition for its HR initiative ”Nayi Disha” which over the course of 1.5 years has touched more than 2.40 lakh employees.

• The bank has won three Brandon Hall Excellence Awards, also known as the Academy Awards of Learning & Development in three categories viz. Best Learning Program supporting a Change Transformation Business Strategy, Best Use of Blended Learning and Best Unique or Innovative Learning and Development Program.

• It recognizes the best organizations that have successfully deployed programs, strategies, modalities, processes, systems, and tools to achieve measurable results.

Awards

Punjab University wins prestigious Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy for second consecutive year

• The Panjab University has been conferred with the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad(MAKA) Trophy for the year 2019.

• This is the second consecutive year in a row that Panjab University has won this coveted trophy, which is given to overall top performing University in Inter-University Tournaments.

Obituary

Veteran Athletics coach Purshottam Rai passes away at 79

• The veteran athletics coach Purshottam Rai has passed away due to a cardiac arrest on 28 August 2020. He was 79.

• Rai was to be conferred the prestigious Dronacharya Award in the lifetime category on 29 August 2020, on the ocassion of the National Sports Day.

• Rai is known for providing coaching top athletes such as Olympian quarter miler Vandana Rao, hept athlete Pramila Aiyappa, Ashwini Nachappa, Murali Kuttan, MK Asha, EB Shyla, Rosa Kutty and GG Pramila.

Writer-journalist Gail Sheehy, author of bestselling book ‘Passages,’ passes away

• Gail Sheehy, the journalist, commentator and pop sociologist whose best-selling Passages helped millions navigate their lives from early adulthood to middle age and beyond, has died in Southampton, New York. She was 83.

• She has written nearly 17 books, the most prominent and influential was “Passages” (1976), which examined the predictable crises of adult life and how to use them as opportunities for creative change.

Former Supreme Court Judge Justice A.R. Lakshmanan passes away

• Former Supreme Court judge Justice, A.R. Lakshmanan passed away. He was born in Devakottai in Sivaganga district, Tamil Nadu on March 22, 1942.

• He was appointed as the supreme court judge on December 20, 2002 and retired on March 22, 2007.

•  Currently he was the sitting representative of Tamil Nadu in the Mullai Periyar Panel headed by Justice A.S.Anand.

Sports

Sri Lankan cricketer Tharanga Paranavitana retire from International Cricket

• Sri Lankan Opening batsman Nishad Tharanga Paranavitana announced retirement from all forms of International Cricket at the age of 38.

• He has represented Sri Lanka in 32 Test Matches scoring 1792 runs including two hundreds and 11 fifties.

Days

International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances : 30 August

• The International Day of the Disappeared is held on August 30 each year to draw attention towards increase in enforced or involuntary disappearances of individuals in various regions of the world, including arrest, detention and abduction unknown to their relatives and/or legal representatives.

• The day was adopted by UN General Assembly on 21 December 2010 and was first observed in 2011.

Tags: Railway (NTPC), SSC, RRB, RRB NTPC
Read More
Read Less
Write new comment.

Important Current Affairs 18th August 2020

National

Ministry of Tribal Affairs launches Tribal Health & Nutrition Portal – ‘Swasthya’

  • Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched the e-portal on tribal health and nutrition named ‘Swasthya’. It is a first of its kind e-portal, providing all health and nutrition-related information of the tribal population of India in a single platform.
  • Apart from this, an e-newsletter on health and nutrition ALEKH was also announced. It is a quarterly newsletter.
  • Opening of National Overseas Portal and National Tribal Fellowship Portal (for inviting online applications for the academic year 2020-21) was another important announcement that was made.

Ministry of AYUSH launches campaign “Ayush for Immunity”

  • The Ministry of AYUSH launched a campaign on “Ayush for Immunity”. It is a three-month campaign and aims to promote Ayush solutions in the entire world for a healthier and happier life.
  • The theme of the event is: accessible and affordable health for all, through Ayush solutions
  • The campaign was rolled out during a webinar that featured the participation of More than 50 thousand people. The webinar was streamed by the Ministry of AYUSH on its new digital communication platform Ayush Virtual Convention Centre (AVCC).

Banking and Economy

MCX to launch India’s first bullion index named “Bulldex”

  • Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX), India’s largest commodity derivatives exchange, will launch India’s first bullion index named “Bulldex”, on August 24, 2020. Bullions, viz. gold and silver are already being traded as individual commodities on the country’s premier commodity exchange. 
  • With gold and silver as underlying, Bulldex will have a market lot size of 50 and be a cash-settled futures contract. MCX had tested bullion index futures trade in mock trading exercises in July.

HDFC Bank launches Shaurya KGC Card

  • The largest private sector bank in the country, HDFC Bank, launched ‘Shaurya KGC (Kisan Gold Credit) Card, a loan product for the armed forces.
  • This is the first-of-its-kind scheme meant for the army personnel in the country and is based on the Kisan Credit Card guidelines of the government. This credit card comes with a life cover of Rs 10 lakhs.

Obituary

Renowned classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj passes away

  • Indian classical vocalist, Pandit Jasraj passed away. He was born in Haryana in 1930, his musical career spanned eight decades. His performances of classical and semi-classical vocals have become albums and film soundtracks.
  •  Jasraj has taught music in India, Canada, and the US. Pandit Jasraj was an Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the Mewati Gharana. His musical career spanned for more than eight decades. Many of his performances of classical and semi-classical vocals have now become albums and film soundtracks.
  •  Pandit Jasraj was a recipient of India’s fourth-highest civilian award, Padma Shri in 1975; Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987 and Padma Bhushan in 1999. In the year 2000, the government of India conferred him with Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian honor in the country. 
  • In 2019, the International Astronomical Union had named a minor planet after Pandit Jasraj. The minor planet is located between Mars and Jupiter.

Filmmaker Nishikant Kamat passes away

  • Director-actor Nishikant Kamat passed away. He made his directorial debut in 2005 with Marathi movie Dombivali Fast, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi. 
  • Nishikant had directed some popular Bollywood movies like Force, Drishyam, and Madaari. He made his silver screen debut in 2004 with the Hindi movie Hava Aney Dey. In 2008, Kamat helmed his first Bollywood film Mumbai Meri Jaan. 
  • As an actor, he was known for his performances in Daddy, Rocky Handsome, Julie 2, and Bhavesh Joshi.

Appointments and Resignations

Rakesh Asthana becomes new DG of BSF

  • The government of India has appointed Rakesh Asthana as the new director-general of the Border Security Force (BSF). Currently, DG Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP) chief S S Deswal was holding the additional charge of BSF since March this year.
  • Asthana is currently heading the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) with an additional charge of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

The central bank of India appoints Ashwini Kumar Shukla as Chief Risk Officer

  • The central bank of India has appointed Mr. Ashwini Kumar Shukla as Chief Risk Officer.
  • As part of the reform agenda announced by the Ministry of Finance last year in August 2019, the Central bank of India is the first one to appoint a CRO from the market.
Tags: Railway (NTPC), SSC, RRB, RRB NTPC
Read More
Read Less
Write new comment.
12345Next