Daily Current Affairs 19th November, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 19 November 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

PM Modi unveils Swami Vivekananda statue on JNU campus
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a statue of Swami Vivekananda in the JNU campus in New Delhi through video conferencing. 

  • The statue is located about 300 metres from a statue of India’s first prime minister, the statue of Swami Vivekananda is about three feet taller than that of Jawaharlal Nehru. 
  • PM Modi asserted that people may have ideological differences but ideology should be seen supporting and not opposing the nation in matters of national interest.

MP govt to set up Gau Cabinet for protection & promotion of cows in state
Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that, the state government has decided to set up a Gau Cabinet for the protection and promotion of cows in the state.

  • The Ministers of the animal husbandry, forest, panchayat and rural development, revenue, home and farmers’ welfare departments will be included in this cabinet.
  • India’s first cow sanctuary, Kamdhenu Gau Abhyaranya in Agar Malwa was set up by the state government in September 2017. It was developed by the MP Gau Samvardhan Board by spending about Rs 32 crore. The sanctuary is spread across 472 hectares.

Arunachal records best sex ratio, Manipur the worst
Arunachal Pradesh recorded the best sex ratio in India with 1,085 females born per thousand males, followed by Kerala at 963 and Karnataka at 957.The report was released by the Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner. 

  • A 2018 report on the ‘vital statistics on India based on the Civil Registration System‘ has revealed this. 
  • Besides Arunachal Pradesh, two other Northeastern states topped the list. Nagaland (965) took the second spot and Mizoram (964), the third.
  • Manipur, which recorded the lowest sex ratio, was followed by Lakshadweep at 839 and Daman & Diu at 877, Punjab at 896 and Gujarat at 896.


INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Second phase of Malabar exercise begins in northern Arabian sea
The Indian Ministry of Defence has announced the start of the second phase of Exercise Malabar 2020 in the Northern Arabian Sea. 

  • The second phase is taking place from 17 to 20 November 2020. It is the 24th edition of the MALABAR series of maritime exercises.
  • This second phase involves participation from the US Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
  • This phase involves joint operations centred around the Indian Navy’s Vikramaditya Carrier Battle Group and the US Navy’s Nimitz Carrier Strike Group.

London tops list of World’s Best Cities 2021, Delhi ranked 62
Vancouver-based Resonance Consultancy Ltd., which deals in real estate, released its “World’s Best Cities for 2021” list, naming London as the best city.

  • London was followed by USA’s New York. Only one Indian city Delhi, made it to the list, taking the 62nd position. 
  • Paris (France), Moscow (Russia), Tokyo (Japan), Dubai (UAE), Singapore, Barcelona (Spain), Los Angeles (USA), and Madrid (Spain) took the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth rank respectively.The other cities that were named are Rome (Italy) and Toronto (Canada).

India’s AI supercomputer Param Siddhi 63rd among top 500 most powerful non-distributed computer systems in world
inIndia’s Artificial Intelligence supercomputer Param Siddhi has achieved 63rd rank among top 500 most powerful non-distributed computer systems in the world.

  • Param Siddhi, the high-performance computing-artificial intelligence (HPC-AI) supercomputer established under National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) at C-DAC. The supercomputer has a speed of 5.267 petaflops. It has now got the recognition of non-distributed super computer systems. Param Siddhi was built on NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD reference architecture networking.
  • Ministry of Science and Technology in a statement said that the AI system will strengthen application development of packages in areas such as advanced materials, computational chemistry and astrophysics.

Japan & Australia sign landmark defence deal to counter China’s growing influence in South China Sea
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison have signed a landmark defence deal in a bid to counter China’s growing influence in the South China Sea and over the Pacific island nations.

  • Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) comes weeks after foreign ministers of the Quad alliance, which includes the US and India, met in Tokyo. The pact allows Japanese and Australian troops to visit each other’s countries and conduct training and joint operations. 
  • The joint statement said, the two sides also agreed on the need for a framework to allow Japanese military to protect Australian forces if needed.


BANKING & FINANCE

14,34,000 loans sanctioned under PM SVANidhi scheme
The Centre has said that over 27 lakh 33 thousand applications have been received under Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor’s Atma-Nirbhar Nidhi- PM- SVANidhi Scheme. 
Out of the total applications received, over 14 lakh and 34 thousand have been sanctioned and about 7.88 lakh loans disbursed.

  • The provision of applying for the loan under the scheme has now become hassle-free as one can easily upload the application online on their own by going to a bank or at any common service centre.
  • Under the scheme, banks have also been reaching the doorsteps of the people for providing them loans to help them start their ventures.

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.

  • During this campaign the Bank intends to mobilize more than 4,10,000 current and savings accounts with an accretion of Rs650cr of business.
  • With this campaign, the Bank aims to introduce its attractive and superior line of digitally powered savings and current account products to its prospective customers. 


BUSINESS & ECONOMY

India’s GDP to contract 10.3% – in FY21: Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs, the global investment bank has revised India’s GDP forecast for the ongoing financial year and expects economic activity in Asia’s third-largest economy to normalize faster than estimated, provided an effective COVID-19 vaccine is available.

  • According to a report, GDP growth is estimated at 13% in FY22 compared with 15.7% projected earlier. India’s gross domestic product is to contract 10.3% in 2020-21 against a contraction of 14.8% forecast in September.

L&T delivers India’s first launch hardware for human space programme
Larsen & Toubro has delivered the first hardware, a booster segment, for the Gaganyaan Launch Vehicle to the Indian Space Research Organisation ahead of schedule, in a virtual flag-off ceremony presided by Isro chairman K Sivan.

  • The segment was produced at L&T’s Powai Aerospace Manufacturing Facility and meets the enhanced quality and timeline requirements for India’s maiden manned mission. 
  • The critical booster segment, with a diameter of 3.2 metres, length of 8.5 metres and weighing 5.5 tonnes. 


SPORTS

Sudeep Tyagi announces retirement from all forms of cricket
Sudeep Tyagi, who played for the Indian national cricket team in four ODIs and a lone T20I as a fast bowler, announced his retirement from all forms of the game. 

  • Tyagi played 41 first-class matches and picked up 109 wickets. In List-A, he featured in 23 matches and picked up 31 wickets.
  • Apart from this, the right-arm medium-fast bowler had also featured in 14 games in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).


AQUISITIONS & MERGERS

Flipkart Acquires AR Startup Scapic to Enhance Immersive Shopping Experience
Flipkart Group has announced acquisition of Augmented Reality (AR) startup called Scapic for an undisclosed sum. 

  • The move is part of the company’s efforts to provide “deeper camera experiences, virtual storefronts and new opportunities for brand advertising” on its platform. It has also been investing in online technology to engage first-time users on its platform.


AWARDS

CSIR-CDRI Scientist, Dr Susanta Kar, honoured with “Prof. A N Bhaduri Memorial Lecture Award-2020″
To recognize the significant contributions towards defining the survival tactics of Leishmania donovani, Society of Biological Chemists (India) has chosen Dr Susanta Kar, Senior Scientist, Molecular Parasitology and Immunology, CSIR-CDRI, Lucknow for this year’s Prof. A N Bhaduri Memorial Lecture Award. 

  • The award is conferred in every two years. Recipient of the award should be below 50 years of age. 
  • Award is given for Biological Chemistry and Allied sciences, preferably related to parasitic infections. Awardee has to deliver an award oration at the Annual Meeting of SBC(I).


OBITUARIES

Mridula Sinha, first woman Governor of Goa, passes away
Mridula Sinha, a prolific writer, senior BJP leader and the first woman Governor of Goa, passed away. She was 78.

  • Sinha went on to become a name to reckon with in Hindi literature. Though, she has been the wife of Ram Kripal Sinha, a former Union minister and herself a senior functionary of the BJP; her identity revolves around her contribution in the field of writing.
  • The former Goa Governor wrote more than 46 books on various issues.‘Jyon mehandi ko ranga’, ‘Nayi Devyani’ and ‘Gharwaas’ are some of the many novels she wrote.
  • She had also penned the biography on late Rajmata Vijayraje Scindia, a co-founder of the BJP.

Former Himachal Pradesh Speaker Tulsi Ram passes away
Former Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Speaker Tulsi Ram, 76, passed away at a Kangra hospital in Kangra, after a brief illness. 

  • Ram, was first elected to the state assembly in 1990 and was re-elected in 1998 and 2007. Ram, who represented tribal Bharmour constituency thrice, was elected Speaker on January 11, 2008.
  • The party denied him the ticket in the 2012 assembly elections and replaced him with Jia Lal. He left the BJP in 2015.


IMPORTANT DAYS

World COPD Day 
World COPD Day is observed on every third Wednesday of November. This year the day falls on 18 November 2020. 

  • This day aims to create awareness about COPD and ways to reduce the burden. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a term used to define a group of progressive lung diseases.
  • The 2020 theme for World COPD Day will be “Living Well with COPD – Everybody, Everywhere”.

World Toilet Day
World Toilet Day is observed every year on November 19 to create awareness about sanitation and encourage people to use toilets. 

  • World Toilet Day 2020 was celebrated with the theme of ‘Sustainable sanitation and climate change’ aims to bring attention to the impact of climate change on safe and sustainable sanitation.

World Philosophy Day
World Philosophy Day is observed on the third Thursday of November every year to strengthen people’s commitment to philosophy by fostering philosophical analysis, research, and studies on major contemporary issues. It also raises awareness about the importance of philosophy. 

  • The 2020 edition of World Philosophy Day, to be celebrated this year on November 19 and November 20.
  • The theme of World Philosophy Day 2020 is the importance of philosophy in times of crisis.

3rd Naturopathy Day 
The AYUSH Ministry was celebrated 3rd National Naturopathy Day on 18th November, 2020. 

  • The main objective of it is to encourage positive mental and physical health via a drugless system of medicine. 
  • The 48-day program of webinars will continue till the third National Naturopathy Day, which falls on 18 November 2020.


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