Current Affairs: 1 November – 7 November, 2020
Rajasthan bans sale of firecrackers to combat COVID-19
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot announced the ban on sale of firecrackers in state on November 1, 2020 with an aim to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The ban is also aimed at protecting the COVID-19 infected patients and general public from the ill effects of firecrackers. The state government has also issued strict directions against the polluting vehicles.
Jio to be the Title Sponsor of Women’s T-20 Challenge
Reliance Jio is the the title sponsor for the Women’s T-20 Challenge that will be played from November 4 to November 9 in Sharjah. The announcement was made by the BCCI. Earlier, the BCCI President Saurav Ganguly confirmed the match in August 2020, washing away all the doubts regarding its cancellation amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
ArtHouse in India to be introduced by Twitter
Twitter India has announced to introduce the ArtHouse in India to enable brands in creating the Twitter-first content. The ArtHouse has been introduced by Twitter earlier in several other markets across and has prove out to be successful. The ArtHouse service will help strengthen brands’ position in the market.
Portugal MP Duarte Pacheco elected as Inter Parliamentary Union’s President
Portugal MP Duarte Pacheco has been elected as the new President of Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) for a period of 3 years (2020-2023). Moreover, Uruguay’s Beatriz Argimon and Switzerland’s Laurence Fehlmann Rielle were unanimously elected to IPU’s Executive committee.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; French: Union Interparlementaire [UIP]) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members. As of 2020, the national parliaments of 179 countries are members of the IPU, while 13 regional parliamentary assemblies are associate members.
UN adopts India-sponsored Nuclear disarmament resolutions
The First Committee of United Nations General Assembly, UNGA has adopted the two Nuclear disarmament resolutions, sponsored by India, on November 3, 2020. These resolutions are ‘Reducing Nuclear Danger’ and ‘Convention on Prohibition of the Use of Nuclear Weapons’.
Priyanca Radhakrishnan first-ever Minister of New Zealand of India-origin
Priyanca Radhakrishnan became the first ever New Zealand’s Minister of India-origin after her induction into the cabinet of New Zealand’s PM Jacinda Ardern on November 2, 2020. Radhakrishnan was born in India, did her schooling in Singapore and then completed her further studies in New Zealand.
India gets 2nd batch of 3 Rafale fighter jets
India received the second batch of three Rafale Fighter Jets on November 4, 2020. The jets flew from Istres-Le Tubé air base of France and reached the Jamnagar Air Base of Gujarat, India. These Rafale jets flew non-stop for over 8 hours and covered over 3700 nautical miles to land in India with 3 in-flight refuelings.
Delhi bans sale, purchase & bursting of firecrackers
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has imposed a ban on the sale, purchase & bursting of firecrackers during November 7 – November 30, 2020 in the national capital. The decision is aimed at tackling the air pollution and rising COVID-19 cases.
Deadly Terror Attack in Austria kills 3, around 15 severely injured
Gunmen armed with rifles opened fire in six different locations in central Vienna, capital city of Austria on November 2, 2020 killing three people and wounding several more. The deadly shooting took place just a night before the national lockdown was supposed to be enforced. One attacker was killed by the police.
Shane Watson retires from all forms of cricket, will not play for CSK anymore
Shane Watson, Australian opener for the Chennai Super Kings announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, including franchise cricket after his team CSK beat Kings XI Punjab by 9 wickets on November 1, 2020. The cricketer had already retired from international cricket when CSK bought him in the 2018 IPL auction. He had played a major role in the 2018 IPL final with his unbeaten century against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, which helped CSK grab its third IPL trophy.
Kerala withdraws general consent accorded to CBI to probe cases
Kerala state government has withdrawn the general consent accorded to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe cases without its prior permission. With this, the left-ruled state has joined a few other non-BJP states that have effected a similar move. Kerala has become the sixth state to withdraw consent accorded to the CBI under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act 1946 to probe cases after Maharashtra, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Mizoram and Chhattisgarh.
Jharkhand withdraws consent accorded to CBI to probe cases
Jharkhand has decided to withdraw the general consent accorded to CBI to probe cases. The state announced the decision on November 5th, a day after Kerala made the decision. The state has joined the league of non-BJP states revoking ‘general consent’ accorded to the CBI to conduct any new probe within its boundaries without prior permission from the state government. Jharkhand has become the seventh state to do so after West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Mizoram, Maharashtra and Kerala.
Australia, India, Japan and US commence the Malabar Naval Exercise in Bay of Bengal
The navies of Japan, India, the US, and Australia on November 3, 2020, started the first phase of four days long Malabar Naval Exercise in the Bay of Bengal. The 24th edition of the naval exercise has been scheduled in two phases in November 2020. The Malabar Naval Exercise will be displaying the high level of coordination between the navies of four powerful nations based on their commitment and shared values to an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific as well as international order which is rules-based. The first phase of the Malabar Exercise will continue till November 6, 2020. It will witness the complex and advanced naval exercises which include cross-deck flying, surface, anti-air warfare, and anti-submarine operations, weapon firing exercises, and seamanship evolutions.
Enhanced version of Pinaka rockets successfully test fired by DRDO
An advanced version of the Pinaka rocket system developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been successfully test-fired on November 4, 2020. The rocket was successfully flight tested from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha. A total of 6 rockets were launched in the series and as per the officials, all the tests met the complete mission objectives.
Tamil Nadu government announces 100% tax exemption for e-vehicles
The government of Tamil Nadu, in order to give a major boost to the adoption of electric vehicles in the state, has passed an order that allows the 100% exemption of motor vehicle tax for battery-operated vehicles (BOVs). As per the order dated November 2, 2020, by the state government, all BOVs, both non-transport and transport have been exempted from the payment of Motor Vehicles Tax from November 3, 2020, to December 31, 2022.
Haryana Government passes bill to provide 75% reservation in private sector jobs to local candidates
Haryana government on November 5, 2020 passed a bill to provide 75% reservation to local candidates applying for private-sector jobs in the state that pay less than Rs 50,000 per month. The Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Bill, 2020 was one of the primary promises that was made by the ruling alliance partner Jannayak Janta Party during the Assembly elections of 2019. The bill was tabled by Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala. Once this becomes a law, the bill will apply to all companies, societies, trusts, limited liability partnership firms and partnership firms located across the state.
Indian government backed COVAXIN can be launched in February 2021
A made in India COVID-19 vaccine can be launched as early as February 2021, months earlier than expected. Rajni Kant, a senior ICMR scientist, who is also a member of its COVID-19 task force while informing about COVAXIN stated that the vaccine has shown good efficacy. COVAXIN is being developed by a private company Bharat Biotech in association with the government-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Earlier, it was announced that the vaccine will only be launched in the second quarter of 2021. However, now it is expected by the beginning of 2021, February or March. A launch of COVAXIN in February 2021 will make it the first Indian vaccine to be rolled out.
WhatsApp Pay UPI launched in India
WhatsApp Pay has been launched in India with the United Payments Interface (UPI), after receiving the approval from National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). WhatsApp Pay UPI can be used by both Android and iOS users.
Government sets up committee to review guidelines on Television Rating agencies
The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has set up a committee to review guidelines on Television Rating agencies in India. The committee will be chaired by Prasar Bharti CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati. The committee will be required to revisit the existing Television Rating guidelines to further strengthen the procedures to make them more credible and transparent. The committee will also revisit the overall industry scenario, addressing the needs of the stakeholders and make recommendations for a credible, robust, transparent and accountable rating system through changes, if required, in the existing guidelines. The Committee will be required to submit its report to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry within the next two months.
