Weekly CA Quiz: November 2020 2nd week

The Elephant Rehabilitation Centre at Kottoor in Thiruvananthapuram is set to become the largest care and cure centre for elephants in the world. The first phase of the Elephant Rehabilitation Centre will be commissioned in February 2021.

The armed forces conducted a joint tri-service exercise ‘Bull Strike’ at the Teressa Island in the Nicobar group of islands located close to the strategic Strait of Malacca.

The Reserve Bank came out with a Co-Lending Model (CLM) scheme under which banks can provide loans along with NBFCs to priority sector borrowers based on a prior agreement
Under the CLM, banks will be permitted to co-lend with all registered NBFCs (including HFCs) based on a prior agreement, RBI said, adding that “the co-lending banks will take their share of the individual loans on a back-to-back basis in their books”.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) enhanced the foreign investment limit for mutual funds to $600 million from $300 million with immediate effect, while capping the overall industry limit at $7 billion.

The private lender Axis Bank has executed an agreement for subscribing to 57,743 equity shares of face value of Rs 1,000 each to be issued by CSC e-Governance Services India for Rs 6,300 each.

Former Chief Secretary of Delhi M M Kutty was appointed chairperson of the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas.

Manipur’s Gyanendro Ningombam has been elected as the Hockey India president, while former President Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad is back in the Hockey India Executive Board after being Elected Unopposed for the Senior Vice President post.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the 51st mission of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
The carrier vehicle PSLV C49 will deliver 10 satellites in all with EOS-01 as the primary one.

India’s first solar-based Integrated Multi-Village Water Supply Project (IMVWSP) was dedicated to the people of Arunachal Pradesh by Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
The solar-based lift water supply project for 39 villages in Lower Dibang Valley district in northeastern Arunachal Pradesh was commissioned at a cost of Rs 28.50 crore.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurated the 725-metre long Dobra-Chanthi suspension bridge in Tehri-Garhwal district.
This project is the longest motorable single lane suspension bridge in India.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat launched free high-speed WiFi service for all government colleges and universities in the state.
Uttarakhand is the first state in the country to provide free internet to all government colleges and universities.

The Government of Kerala launched a pioneering environmental program called ‘Parivartanam’ to improve the livelihood of the fishing community.

The Gujarat High Court became the first high court in the country to live-stream its court proceedings on Youtube in order to enhance access to courts, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The German state-owned development bank KfW has extended two loans totalling over €545 million (Rs 4,767 crore) to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for infrastructure projects in Mumbai.

World No.5 Daniil Medvedev of Russia has won the 2020 Rolex Paris Masters title by defeating World No.7 Alexander Zverev of Germany, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1. This is the maiden Paris Masters title of Medvedev.

Moustache, authored by Malayalam writer S. Hareesh and translated to English by Jayasree Kalathil, has won the 2020 JCB Prize for Literature.

The three-term former chief minister of Sikkim, Nar Bahadur Bhandari, passed away. The 77-year old Bhandari rose to become one of the longest-serving chief ministers of Sikkim.

The book, “Archaeology and the Public Purpose: Writings on and by M N Deshpande”, is written by history professor Nayanjot Lahiri has been released recently.

The International Day of Radiology (IDoR) is an annual event promoting the role of medical imaging in modern healthcare. It is celebrated on November 8 each year and coincides with the anniversary of the discovery of x-rays.
International Day of Radiology Theme 2020 is Radiologists and radiographers supporting patients during COVID-19.

Pakke Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Arunachal Pradesh has become the first in the eight-State northeast to provide insurance cover against COVID-19 for “green soldiers”.

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a notification making FASTags mandatory for all four wheel vehicles from 1st January 2021. This will apply to old vehicles as well as M and N category of motor vehicles sold before 1st December, 2017.

International bird festival will be organized in Gorakhpur in the month of February. It will attract international tourists at Ramgarhtal Lake for bird watching.

A new novel by an SPG officer involved in the prime minister”s security from 2000-07 looks at the lives, customs, rituals and struggle of transgenders.
“Rasaathi: The Other Side of a Transgender” is Sasindran Kallinkeel”s debut novel. The book is published by BookMitra.

World Science Day for Peace and Development is observed on November 10 every year to raise the importance and relevance of science in our daily lives.
The theme for World Science Day for Peace & Development 2020 is “Science for and with Society in dealing with Covid-19.”

With an aim to provide hassle-free services regarding irrigation to farmers in Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched ‘Secha Samadhan’ app so that they can bring the Water Resources Department’s notice about the issues.
The mobile app will help resolve the issues of farmers immediately and provide services in a transparent manner. Besides, the Water Resources department will be accountable to farmers who are the biggest stakeholders.

Karnataka Bank Ltd. launched the National Common Mobility Debit Card. This Rupay card is a contact-less debit-cum-prepaid and interoperable transport card. The Users can make payments without inserting the card at Point of Sale terminals.

MobiKwik has partnered with card network American Express (Amex) to launch its first prepaid payments card with flexible credit limit.
The homegrown fintech company becomes the first non-bank to issue cards in India.

Insurance sector regulator IRDAI has set up a working group to revisit product structures of engineering tariffs relevant for the retail category in the wake of continuous advancement in technology.
The group, headed by R Chandrasekaran, former secretary general of GI Council, has to submit report within three months.

Mumbai Indians (MI) clinched their record-extending fifth Indian Premier League (IPL) title after defeating Delhi Capitals (DC) by five wickets in the final.

Noted author Ruskin Bond was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 11th Times Lit Fest for his outstanding contribution in the field of literature.

China successfully launched the world’s first 6G experimental satellite. The satellite was launched into the orbit aboard a single rocket along with 12 other satellites using a single Long March 6 rocket that took off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi province.

Former India and Mohun Bagan defender Satyajit Ghosh died of cardiac arrest at his home town at Bandel. He was 62.

HarperCollins Children’s Books announces the release of Ruskin Bond’s new book “How To Be A Writer”, which is an exclusive glimpse into the writing credo of Ruskin Bond.

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari released the book ”Majhi Bhint” (My Wall) authored by former Maharashtra minister of education Rajendra Darda at Raj Bhavan.

World Pneumonia Day is observed on 12 November each year. This day was first established in 2009 to raise awareness about this condition.
The theme for World Pneumonia Day 2020 is “Every Breath Counts” which is apt given the added focus on the disease this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Boskiyana”, a new book in Hindi, brings out the personality of the veteran poet-lyricist through detailed conversations and opens up readers to his thoughts and vision of the world, its publisher Radhakrishna Prakashan said.
The 228-page book, which navigates Gulzar’s life through his films, poetry, philosophies, lifestyle, likes and dislikes, has been edited by Yashwant Vyas.

Union minister of state for defence, Shripad Naik launched the fifth Scorpene class submarine ‘Vagir’ of Project 75 in Arabian sea waters at Mazagon Dock, in Mumbai through video conferencing. Vagir is part of the six Kalvari-class submarines being built in India.

Markets regulator Sebi has set up an expert group to review the framework of share-based employee benefit and issue of sweat equity.
The seven-member expert group would be chaired by Sandip Bhagat Partner at S&R Associates.

The world’s largest pink diamond mine has shut its doors after exhausting its reserves of the expensive gems, global mining giant Rio Tinto said.
The Argyle mine, in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia, churned out more than 90% of the world’s pink diamonds – sought after for their incredible rarity.

The private sector lender, HDFC Bank announced the launch of SmartHub Merchant Solutions 3.0, India’s first comprehensive banking and payment solution for merchants.

Paytm has launched Payout Links for businesses, enabling them to instantly process payouts to customers, employees and vendors, without collecting their bank details.

India has been ranked 196th among 200 countries with respect to Body Mass Index (BMI) as per a global analysis of data spanning 34 years, according to the review published in the international medical journal ‘The Lancet’ led by Imperial College London.
Nineteen-year-old Indian boys and girls have a BMI of 20.1, whereas China that ranks 88th for its boys who have a BMI of 23 and 119th for its girls at 22.2. A normal BMI range is between 20 and 25.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) at Jamnagar and National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA) at Jaipur on 5th Ayurveda Day via video conferencing.

An additional Rs 3,000 crore that will be released to EXIM Bank for the project exports through IDEAS scheme.About 811 export contracts amounting to $10.50 billion being financed under LoCs.
The Modi government has also allocated Rs 10,200 crore additionally to give impetus to capital and industrial expenditure.The amount will be spent towards domestic defence equipment, industrial incentives, industrial infrastructure, and green energy.
Finally, to fight the coronavirus pandemic, the centre has announced Rs 900 crore fund for Covid Suraksha Mission for Research and Development to the Department of Biotechnology.

The country’s very first sandalwood museum is likely to come up later this month in Mysuru in Karnataka.

Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched a roadmap to Aatma Nirbhar Madhya Pradesh.
The Mukhya Mantri Rural Street Vendor Scheme has been launched by the state government, on the line of Pradhanmantri street vendor scheme. Its objective is to make available an amount up to 10 thousand rupees as working capital loan through banks to the street vendors in rural areas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced $1 million aid to ASEAN Covid-19 Response Fund at the 17th ASEAN-India Summit which was held virtually.

Fitch Solutions has revised its estimate for India’s fiscal deficit to 7.8% of GDP for 2020-21 from 8.2% projected earlier. This was mainly driven by a strong recovery in tax revenues during Q2FY21.

Rating agency Moody’s Investors Service has raised India’s GDP forecast for the calendar year 2020 upwards to -8.9 per cent contraction from -9.6 per cent contraction forecast earlier.

Actor Sonu Sood, is often dubbed as the ‘Messiah of migrants’ for his philanthropic work during the on-going Covid-19 pandemic, is all set to pen his autobiography titled ‘I Am No Messiah.’
The book is set to be published by Penguin Random House India and released in December 2020.The book will be co-written by Meena Iyer.

National Ayurveda Day 2020 is observed on 13 November. The day is being celebrated every year from 2016 on the day of Dhanwantri Jayanti or Dhanteras.
The theme of the 5th National Ayurveda Day is — Ayurveda for COVID-19 pandemic.

World Diabetes Day happens on the 14th November every year all around the world. It aims to promote global awareness and how can people live the way they want while managing diabetes in an efficient way.
The theme for World Diabetes Day 2020 is The Nurse and Diabetes.

Guadalajara (Mexico) was named World Book Capital for the year 2022 by the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, on the recommendation of the World Book Capital Advisory Committee.
Tbilisi (Georgia) was named as the World Book Capital 2021 and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) for 2020.

SBM Bank India, which is the wholly-owned subsidiary of State Bank of Mauritius, is focussing on technology to reach out to customers and is set to launch a neo banking platform.

TCS, India’s largest information technology (IT) services company, will acquire the shares of Postbank Systems AG, the technology services unit of Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank AG and absorb its 1,500 employees.

Trailblazers beat Supernovas by 16 runs to win clinch the Jio Women’s T20 Challenge title. Smriti Mandhana starred with the bat while Salma Khatun picked three wickets as Trailblazers beat Supernovas by 16 runs to clinch the Jio Women’s T20 Challenge title at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh launched “Scheme for Chief Minister’s Award for Good Governance” to recognise and reward progressive and extraordinary work executed by authorities officers that promotes good governance.

The Emporis Skyscraper Award, one of the world’s most renowned prizes for high-rise architecture, has been given to a 462-metre-high Lakhta Center in St Petersburg this year.

Journalist-writer Ravi Belagere, who worked at the intersection of Kannada literature and journalism besides giving crime reporting a racy narrative both in print and on TV, passed away in Bengaluru following a heart attack. He was 62.