GOI allocates third Stimulus package of Rs 900 Crore to Mission COVID Suraksha

• Government of India has allocated Rs 900 crore to Department of Biotechnology (DBT) for research and development of COVID-19 vaccines under Mission COVID Suraksha. This is the third stimulus package, already a stimulus of Rs 900 crore for a period of 12 months has been allocated for phase 1 trials. The Department has supported 10 vaccines so far, 5 are in human trials including the Russian Vaccine Sputnik-V of which 3 are in an advanced stage.

• National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization(NTAGI), approved Mission COVID Suraksha to focus on the development of vaccines to combat the spread of COVID-19 infection in mission mode.

• Rs 3000 crore in a timeline of 12 to 18 months

• The Mission is led by the Department of Biotechnology(DBT) and Implemented by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council(BIRAC)

Key Vaccine Candidates under Phase-3 in India:

• Sputnik V Vaccine of Russia is at Phase 3 human trials in India, by Hyderabad based Hetero Biopharma. Sputnik V is the world's first COVID19 vaccine.

• "Covaxin", an indigenously developed Corona vaccine candidate from India is produced and tested by Bharat Biotech in partnership with Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR).

• Pune-based Serum Institute of India(SII) is in phase 3 trial with Oxford university vaccine candidate, "Covishield".

About Drug Controller General of India(DCGI):

• Under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, DCGI is the central organization of the Government of India to provide licenses to drugs and also set standards for manufacturing, sales, imports, and distribution of drugs in India.

About Ministry of Health and Family Welfare:

• Union Minister-Dr. Harsh Vardhan Minister of State- Ashwini Kumar Choubey Founded in 1946

About Department of Biotechnology(DBT):

• Formed in 1986 under the Ministry of Science and Technology Secretary, Dr Renu Swarup

India tops the list of sending Most Number of Educated Migrants to OECD Countries: OECD Data

• According to the data released by OECD "Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development" in the Most Common birth countries of Highly Educated Migrants residing in OECD Nations, India came at the top with around 3.12 Million Highly Educated Migrants living in the OECD Nations as of 2015-16 data. The Data reveals that around 120 Million Migrant People live in the OECD Member Countries.

• For India, the share of individuals in Migrants who have High Education Status is 65% i.e high education means having received vocational or academic training.

• China with 2.25 Million (48.6 % Highly Educated Migrants) came next to India in the list followed by Philippines 1.89 Million Migrants (shared of Highly Educated Migrants 53.3 %).

• Out of 120 Million Migrants living in OECD member countries 30-35% of the migrants are highly educated.

• The International Labor Organization (ILO) stated that Most of the High Skilled Migrants belonged to the fields of health care, nurses.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD):

• Founded in 1961, There are 37 Members in the International Organization.

• OECD Members are mostly high-income economies with high Human Development Index (HDI) and are regarded as Developed countries.

• The member countries of OECD comprise 62.2% of Global Nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Members -

• Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.

About Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD):

• Secretary General - Angel Gurria Headquarters - Paris, France

FAO's Report SOFA 2020

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has published a flagship report titled "The State of Food and Agriculture(SOFA) 2020' with theme "Overcoming Water Challenges in Agriculture". The report states that around 1.2 billion people across the globe are under high levels of water stress, which means that one out of every 6 people in the world are facing a severe water stress or scarcity in agriculture with more than 15% of the rural population at risk.

• The report presents new estimates on the extensiveness of water shortage in irrigated agriculture and agriculture based on rain water.

• The report also stated that the annual amount of the available freshwater resources per person has declined by more than 20% in the past 20 years.

SOFA presents three major entry points for action that depend on each other:

• technical and management options;
• the institutions and legal frameworks needed; and
• the overall policy environment to promote sustainable water use.

• Around 520 million people of the 1.2 billion people lived in rural areas and around 660 million people lived in small urban centres amid agricultural areas.

• Around 50% of the 1.2 billion people lived in South Asia and 460 million people lived in east and southeast Asia. More than 20% of the population of Central Asia, west Asia and North Africa lived in agricultural areas with very high water shortage or scarcity.

India, France Joint Committee Launches Bilateral Fast track mechanism in Investment

• Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri and French Minister delegate for foreign trade and Economic Attractiveness Franck Riester launched "Bilateral Fastrack Mechanism" to increase investments in the 18th session of India France Joint Committee.

• Joint committee meetings between Indian and French delegates are conducted regularly to improve the bilateral trade and investment between the countries in the post pandemic world.

Singapore & USA Become the Biggest FDI Sources for India During April-September 2020: DPIIT's FDI Statistics

• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade DPIIT)'s in its Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) data has listed out the top investing countries FDI(Foreign Direct Investment) equity inflows in India during April- September 2020. Singapore has invested Rs 62,084 crore(USD 8.30 billion) into India, which makes it the biggest source of FDI into India. The USA(United States of America) becomes the second biggest source of FDI into India by investing Rs 53,266 crore(USD 7.12 billion)

• USA overtakes Mauritius which was in the 2nd rank during the first half of the current financial year(2020-21).

• Cayman Island is ranked in 3rd position with the investment of Rs 15,672 crore, followed by Mauritius(Rs 15,019 crore).

• The other top investors include, Netherlands(Rs 11,306 crore), United Kingdom(UK)-Rs 10,155 crore, France(Rs 8,494 crore), Japan(Rs 4,932 crore), Germany (Rs 1,498 crore), Cyprus (Rs 355 crore),

Computer software and hardware sector has received Rs 131,169 crore investment and has become the most FDI equity inflows.

• This followed by Rs 16,995 crore worth inflows into the services sector, and then trading with Rs 7,140 crore worth inflows.

• Among states, the highest recipient of FDI inflows so far FY21 has been Gujarat with Rs 1.19 lakh crore worth inflows. Karnataka received 27,458 crore and Maharashtra received Rs 27,143 crore of FDI inflows while Delhi clocked in at Rs 19,863 crore.

• Gujarat has been the major beneficiary state of the FDI Equity inflows, during October, 2019 to September, 2020, on receiving Rs 1,38,530 crore

• The list is followed by Maharashtra(Rs 79,216 crore) and Karnataka(Rs 58,204 crore).

• During April-September 2020, India has attracted Rs 224,613 crore(USD30,004 million) FDI, which is 23% more than the FDI during April-September 2019. In case of US terms, it is 15% more than last year.

• During the second quarter of financial year 2020-21 (July, 2020 to September, 2020), the total FDI inflows into India have been USD 28,102 million, out of which FDI equity inflows were USD 23,441 million or Rs 174,793 crore

Cambridge Dictionary Named "Quarantine" as Word of the Year 2020

• The Cambridge Dictionary has named "Quarantine" as the Word of the Year 2020 based on its data which showed that the word 'quarantine' is one of the most searched words on the Cambridge Dictionary in 2020.

• The word 'quarantine' ranks among the top five words for both search spikes and overall views more than 183000 views by early November

• The largest search spike was observed from 18th to 24th March 2020, during which many countries across the globe went into lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic.

• The Cambridge editors have added a new sense of quarantine to the Cambridge dictionary "a general period of time in which people are not allowed to leave their homes or travel freely, so that they do not catch or spread a disease"

• Runners-up for Word of the year 2020 are, Lockdown and Pandemic.

• Cambridge's word of the year 2019 was "Upcycling".

• Collins Dictionary named Lockdown as the Word of the year 2020.

• For the first time, The Oxford Dictionary has decided not to select a single word for word of the year for 2020 stating that many words for "unprecedented" the year 2020.

AR Rahman Appointed as the Ambassador for BAFTA Breakthrough India 2020-21

• Music Composer AR Rahman was appointed as the Ambassador for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)'s Breakthrough initiative in India 2020-21". This initiative is supported by Netflix.

• He debuted as the Music Director in 1991 for the film "Roja" directed by Mani Ratnam.

• He secured the National award for best music composer for Roja, first time for a debutant to receive the honours.

• AR Rahman won 2 Academy Awards for Original score and original song in 2009 for the film "Slumdog Millionaire".

India Grid Trust Signs Share purchase Agreement to Acquire 74% Stake in PKTCL from Reliance Infrastructure

• India Grid Trust (IndiGrid) signed share purchase agreement to acquire 74% stake in Parbati Koldam Transmission Company Ltd (PKTCL) from Reliance Infrastructure Ltd(Rinfra)

• The remaining 26 per cent of PKTCL held by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL).

Parbati Koldam Transmission Company Ltd(PKTCL):

• Incorporated- September 2, 2002 under the Companies Act, 1956

• Joint Venture (JV)- Reliance Infrastructure Limited (74%) and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited(26%).

• HeadQuarters-Gurgaon, Haryana

Indi Grid Trust:

• Established- October 21, 2016,

• It is India's first listed power sector infrastructure investment trust (InviT), sponsored by KKR and Sterlite Power Grid Ventures Limited (SPGVL)

• CEO & Whole Time Director- Harsh Shah
• HeadQuarters- New Delhi, India

Lewis Hamilton wins Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2020

• British Driver Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) won the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix (officially known as Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix) held at Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. The race was the fifteen round of the 2020 Formula One World Championship.

• The Championships are organized by Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).

• Netherlands Driver Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) finished Second while Thailand's Alexander Albon (Red Bull Racing) finished Third in the race.

• This is Hamilton's 11th Win of the 2020 season.

About Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA):

• President - Jean Todt
• Headquarters - Paris, France

Veteran Actor, Weightlifter of England Dave Prowse dies at 85

• Dave Prowse, the weightlifter who represented England in the Commonwealth Games in 1962 and later played the role of Darth Vader in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, died at the age of 85.

• Born on first July, 1935 at Bristol, England, Dave Prowse started his career as a bouncer at a dance hall then weightlifter and finally excelled his career as an actor.

• Won British Weightlifting Championship in 1962

• Represented England in Commonwealth Games in 1962 at Perth, Australia

• He had a long career in filmography from 1967 to 2017

• Famously known for his role as Darth Vader in the original "Star Wars" trilogy. Prowse played the role of Frankenstein's monster in three movies.

• Appointed as Member of the Order of the British Empire(MBE) for services to charity and Road Safety in the 2000 New year Honors.

New Book Titled 'Future of Regional Cooperation in Asia and the Pacific

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) released a new book titled, 'Future of Regional Cooperation in Asia and the Pacific'. The book reviews the progress with regional cooperation and integration in Asia and the Pacific. It explores ways for economies in the region to work combinedly to recover and rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic, so as to achieve a more flexible, sustainable, and inclusive future.

• The book consists of papers that are contributed by renowned scholars and staff of ADB.

• As per the book, India was the 4th major host of Greenfield Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) projects and 8th major host of cross-border Merger and Acquisition(M&A) deals, during 2004-2015

Punjab Government and I-DAIR Signs MoU for Developing Digital Technologies in Health Sector

• Punjab Government has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with International Digital Health & Artificial Intelligence Research Collaborative (I-DAIR) hosted at the Graduate Institute of International &Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland to develop and deploy digital technologies in the health sector.

• Punjab is the first govt partner of I-DAIR to develop models of people-centric digital infrastructures for health

BHEL sets new record of manufacturing India's highest-rated auto transformer '500 MVA 400/220/33 kV

• Bharat Heavy Electronics Limited(BHEL) has set a new record for successfully manufacturing and testing India's highest-rated auto transformer 500 MVA 400/220/33 kV (It is BHEL's 21 400 kV class transformer) at the National High Power Test Laboratory (NHPTL) at Bina, Madhya Pradesh.

Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare 2020 - November 30

• The United Nations(UN)'s Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare is annually celebrated across the globe on 30th November to pay tribute to the victims of chemical warfare and to reaffirm the commitment of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to the elimination of the threat of chemical weapons and promote world peace, security and multilateralism.

• The day was first observed on 30th November 2016.

International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2020 - November 29

• The United Nations(UN)'s International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is annually observed across the globe on 29th November to mark the day when the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution in 1947 for partitioning Palestine into an Arab State and a Jewish State.

• The day encourages the member states of the UN to support and promote the observance of the Day of Solidarity. The first International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People was observed on 29th November 1978.