PM Inaugurated Hazir-Ghogha Ferry service in Gujarat

• Virtual inauguration of Ro-Pax Ferry service between Hazira in Surat district in south Gujarat and Ghogha in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat. The vessel Voyage Symphony will be used for this service.
• tripartite agreement involving the ferry operator. Deendayal Port Trust and Gujarat Maritime Board has been signed for the ferry operations.
• This ferry service will reduce nearly 370 km road distance between the two places to 90 km by sea route and travel timen from 10-12 hours to 3-4 hours. It has a load capacity of 30 trucks, 100 passenger cars, and 500 passengers plus 34 crew and hospitality staff,

• A 'Ro-Ro (roll on roll off) terminal, a liquid cargo terminal and a container terminal is being set up in Bhavnagar.

• India's first CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) terminal is going to be installed at Bhavnagar Port of Gujarat.

• Chief Minister (CM) of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani inaugurated recently the newly expanded Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) route from Kumbhariya to Kadodara, Surat virtually from Gandhinagar. With the opening of this BRTS corridor, Surat became the only city in the country to have Longest BRTS network with 108 kms.

Assam's Tezpur Litchi Gets GI Tag

• Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), under the Union ministry of commerce and industry, confirmed that Tezpur Litchi of Assam has received the Geographical Indication (GI)

• The Gl tag prevents the production of Tezpur Litchi from other places.

• The Tezpur Litchi has got the GI tag under Horticulture Products(Fruits).

• This registration is valid up to 28th August 2023.

Malabar Naval Exercise 2020 held in Bay of Bengal

• Phase 1 of the 24th Edition of the Four-nation Naval Exercise Malabar 2020 took place in the Bay of Bengal. Since 2007, all the QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) Group countries (India, United States, Japan, Australia) participated for the 1st time in the Malabar Naval Exercise.

• Australia is taking part in the exercise for the first time after 2007.

• The Indian Navy participation in phase one was led by Rear Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet.

• The Malabar is Annual Exercise started in 1992 as a Bilateral drill between Indian Navy and US Navy in the Indian Ocean.
• Japan joined the exercise as a Permanent Member of the Exercise in 2015.

About Indian Navy:

• Chief of the Naval Staff- Admiral Karambir Singh
• Headquarters- New Delhi

HIL signs MoU with DCPC to achieve revenue target of INR 451 Crore

• HIL (India) Limited (formerly known as Hindustan Insecticides Limited) a Public Sector Undertakings under Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals to achieve the revenue target of INR 451 Crore in the current Financial Year.

• The MoU was signed by SP Mohanty, HIL (India) Limited's Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) and Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi, Secretary of DCPC.

India-Nordic -Baltic Cll Conclave 2020 held Virtually

• The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) virtually organized an India Nordic-Baltic Conclave on the theme "An Innovation-driven Partnership for Growth in a New World". It was sponsored by Denmark's shipping company MAERSK. The Indian side was represented by Union Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

• 8 Main Sectors of the conclave & it's sub-sector are: Renewable Energy and Clean Technologies, Factories of the future, Artificial Intelligence & Blockchain in Health care, Supply chains & Logistics, Fintech; Data & Cyber Security; Digital Infrastructure; Digital Gaming; Engineering & Innovation: The Blue Economy.

• Apart from India the conclave has participants from Nordic & Baltic countries. Nordic countries are a group of five nations in Northern Europe-Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, while Baltic countries are three countries-Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania who share a coastline with Baltic sea.

About Confederation of Indian Industry (CII):

• Director General- Chandrajit Banerjee

• President- Uday Kotak

• Headquarter- New Delhi

Narendra Modi and Italy's Giuseppe Conte Co-Chaired virtual India-Italy Summit 2020

• India-Italy virtual summit was held which was co-chaired by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Italy Prof. Giuseppe Conte. Both leaders reviewed the framework of bilateral relationship and also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen cooperation against common global challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic.

• The leaders discussed a wide range of issues including political, economic, scientific & technological, space and defence cooperation and also adopted 'Action Plan for 2020-2024 along with inking of 15 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU).

• In order to expand bilateral and strategic partnership the two Prime Ministers adopted the "Action Plan for an enhanced Partnership" which represents a framework of setting up of new instruments of cooperation and the streamlining of the existing ones.

The action plan is based on the following 4 pillars:

• PILLAR I (Political dialogue at bilateral level and coordination in multilateral fora)

• PILLAR II (economic engagement)

• PILLAR III (Partnership in the field of Science and Technology)

• PILLAR IV (Cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges)

• Implementation of various Science and Technology (S&T) activities India-Italy Executive Programme for Scientific and Technological Cooperation (2021-2023). Both leaders suggested that the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) implement their cooperation by expanding some areas of common interest.

• They welcomed the establishment of Thematic Working Groups as method of work between the two agencies as well as the creation of the first joint ASI-ISRO working group in heliophysics field involving experts and scientists from both countries.

About Italy:

• President - Sergio Mattarella

• Capital - Rome
• Currency - Euro

4th India - Philippines Joint Commission 2020 on Bilateral Cooperation held Virtually

• The 4th Meeting of the India-Philippines Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation was held virtually which was co-chaired by Union Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Teodoro Locsin Jr.,Duter Secretary Department of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Philippines.

• Indian side invited Filipino students, scholars and academicians to avail the ITEC (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation) and e-ITEC initiatives, and make use of integrated PhD fellowships offered to ASEAN students at IITs.

• Instituted in 1964, ITEC is a government aided bilateral assistance programme focused on addressing the needs of developing countries through innovative technological cooperation between India and the partnering nation.

About Philippines

• Capital-Manila Currency-Philippine peso

• President Rodrigo Roa Duterte

1st Virtual Indo-Africa Summit 2020 Held

• The first-ever virtual Indo-Africa Summit, organized by IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Indian Merchants' Chamber) and Africa Business News (CNBC Africa), was held

• To bring leaders from India and sub-Saharan Africa together while showcasing opportunities for collaboration within finance, geopolitics, infrastructure, pharma, technology and communication

• India's target is to enhance ties to 100*100 matrix by 2025, i.e. a target of USD 100 billion Bilateral Trade and USD 100 billion of Investment between India and Africa.

Army Chief General MM Naravane's Three-day visit to Nepal

• Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane visited Nepal from to strengthen overall ties including in areas defence and security between India and Nepal.

• General MM Naravane was accompanied by his wife Veena Naravane, who is the chairperson of the Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) of the Indian Army.

• India gifted medical equipment including X-ray machines, computed radiography systems, ICU (Intensive Care Unit) ventilators, video endoscopy units and anaesthesia machines, for two field hospitals of Nepali Army. Additional Ventilators were gifted to assist the Nepali Army in its fight against COVID-19 Pandemic.

• General MM Naravane was conferred the honorary rank of General of Nepali Army by Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari in a ceremony at the President's Official Residence 'Shital Niwas' in Kathmandu.

• General MM Naravane is the 18th Indian Army Chief to be conferred with the title

• In January 2019, Chief of Nepali Army, General Purna Chandra Thapa, was made the honorary General of Indian Army by Indian President Ram Nath Kovind.

• General MM Naravane handed over a welfare grant of INR 5 Lakhs to 70-year old Lance Havildar Dil Bahadur Chhettri (Retired), a winner of Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), the second highest Gallantry Award of India.

• He was awarded the MVC for his bravery during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war. He was part of Indian Army's Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) during the war.

About Nepal:

• Prime Minister - KP Sharma Oli
• President - Bidya Devi Bhandari
• Capital - Kathmandu
• Currency- Nepalese Rupee

US Elections 2020

• Joe Biden of Democratic Party claim victory in the 2020 United States Presidential election and Senator Kamala Harris of Democratic Party as Vice President-elect. Joe Biden defeated Incumbent U.S. President Donald Trump & Vice President, Mike Pence of Republican Party

• Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. is set to become the 46th President of the United States.

• Kamala Devi Harris will become the First Woman, The First Black American and the first American of Asian descent to serve as Vice President of the U.S. She will be the highest-ranking female elected official in the History of the United States.

• Vice-President elect Kamala Harris is set to become the 49th Vice President of the United States.

• Joe Biden & Kamala Harris will take charge as President & Vice-President on January 20, 2021.

• Joe Biden had also served as the 47th Vice President of the United States with President Barack Obama

• Kamala Devi Harris has authored several books - Superheroes Are Everywhere! Her Memoir The Truths We Hold: An American Journey and 'Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor's Plan to Make Us Safer', a children's book by her niece Meena Harris called Kamala and Maya's Big Idea' and Nikki Grimes' illustrated 'Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice'.

Joe Biden announces 12-Member Coronavirus task force:

• US President-elect Joe Biden announced a 12-member coronavirus task force to mount an effective response to the Pandemic in his victory speech.

• The task force will be co-chaired by Indian-American Physician Dr. Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler and Marcella Nunez-Smith, a professor of public health at Yale University and Ezekiel Emanuel, a former Obama administration health adviser.

OPEC-India Dialogue

• OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) Secretariat hosted the 4th High-Level Meeting of the OPEC India Dialogue through video conference. The meeting was co-chaired by Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel and Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, Secretary General of OPEC.

• This is the first meeting of this Institutional Dialogue since the start of COVID-19 pandemic

• The next High-Level Meeting of the OPEC-India Dialogue will be held in 2021. in New Delhi

OPEC's World Oil Outlook 2020: India accounts for 16% of the global economy

• OPEC in its recent World Oil Outlook 2020, has projected that India will account for 16% of the global economy by 2045, double that of 2020.

• The oil demand of India is forecasted to increase to 10.7 million bpd (barrels per day) by 2045 from 4.7 million barrels per day in 2019.

• With this the global share will rise from 5.2% to 10.8% by 2045.

• About Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC):

• Member Countries-13

• Headquarters- Vienna, Austria (Since September 1, 1965; Originally established in 1961 in Geneva, Switzerland)

• Secretary General- Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo

INTERPOL Created Two Cybercrime-related Communication Services

• The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) has created two secure and flexible services to facilitate cybercrime related communication among law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders to ensure more effective and coordinated action based on timely intelligence.

• Cybercrime Knowledge Exchange (CKE) workspace: It handles general, non-police information and is open to all relevant users globally. It enables these users to discuss the latest cybercrime trends, prevention strategies, detection technologies and investigation techniques.

• Cybercrime Collaborative Platform-Operation: The first of its kind, it assists in the law enforcement operations, with access restricted to the operational stakeholders only.

• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the nodal agency in the Interpol for India.

About International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL):

• Secretary General, Jurgen Stock Headquarter-Lyon, France

• Member Countries, 194

Book Titled "Thavaasmi: Life and Skills Through the Lens of Ramayana"

• Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India launched the book titled "Thavaasmi: Life and Skills through the lens of Ramayana" over a virtual platform. Rallabandi Srirama Chakradhar authored the book along with the co-author Amara Sarada Deepthi.

• The book - "Thavaasmi: Life and Skills Through the Lens of Ramayana" portrays the story of Ramayana as a conversation between a father and daughter

Anupam Kher Unveiled the Cover of his new book "Your Best Day Is Today!"

• Veteran Bollywood Actor Anupam Kher unveiled the cover of his new book titled "Your Best Day Is Today!".

• Your Best Day is Today is the 3rd book of Anupam Kher.

• The book presents the encounters and experiences of Anupam Kher during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The book covers the period during which his mother Dulari and brother Raju Kher were tested for coronavirus pandemic

• He published the book titled "The Best Things About You is You!" in 2011.

• His 2nd book was an autobiography titled "Lessons Life Taught Me Unknowingly" published in 2019.

"Archaeology and the Public Purpose: Writings on and by M N Deshpande"

• The Book titled "Archaeology and the Public Purpose: Writings on and by M N Deshpande" authored by Nayanjot Lahiri, Professor of History at Ashoka University was published by Oxford University Press (OUP).

• The book inter links the history of post-Independence archaeology in India with the life of M N Deshpande (1920-2008), a leading Indian archaeologist who became the director-general of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)

German Bank KfW extends 545 Million Euros funding to MMRDA Infrastructure Projects

• Frankfurt-based German state-owned development bank KfW (formerly KfW Bankengruppe) extended two loans totaling 545 Million Euros to the Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for infrastructure projects in Mumbai.

• The package consists of a development loan of 345 million Euros and a promotional loan of 200 million Euros

• The funds will be disbursed through an agreement with the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

• The fund will support two key mass transit projects in Mumbai. The projects are Metro Line 4 from Wadala in Central Mumbai to Kasarvadavli in Thane, and Metro line 4A that extends to connectivity from Kasarvadavli to Gaimukh in Thane.

About KfW Bank:

• Chief Executive Officer (CEO) - Gunther Braunig
• Headquarters - Frankfurt, Germany

SEBI Introduce 'Flexi Cap Fund' as a New Category under Equity Schemes

• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) introduced 'Flexi Cap Fund' as a New Category under Equity Schemes.

• SEBI has made it mandatory for all open-ended debt mutual fund schemes(with exception) to hold at least 10% of their net assets in liquid assets.

• With this Flexi Cap Fund the Schemes should have minimum investment of 65% of total assets in the equity & equity related instruments.

• For this purpose, the 'liquid assets' will include Cash, Government Securities, T-bills and Repo on Government Securities.

IFFCO Bazar Partners with SBI YONO Krishi App to Boost accessibility of Quality Agri-products in India

• IFFCO Bazar e-commerce wing of IFFCO (Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative) has entered into partnership with SBI YONO (You Only Need One) Krishi App.

• The collaboration enables the farmers to avail best quality agri-inputs at their doorstep. The 2 critical inputs for the farmers are Finance and Fertilisers.

• It also helps IFFCO BAZAR to reach out to more than 3 crore registered customers of YONO, a major part of which are farmers.

• A strong brand equity can be leveraged in rural India through the partnership. This will create an ecosystem that will finally help in the reduction of the input cost for the farmers.

• The Portal is available in 12 Indian Languages & the products will be delivered throughout India
• It operates more than 1200 stores in 26 states across India.
• A wide range of products namely, speciality fertilisers, organic agri-inputs, seeds, agrochemicals, agri machinery, etc., are available on the portal.

• It also provides answers to the queries of the farmers through a farmers' forum and a dedicated helpline.

About IFFCO (Indian Farmers Advisory):

• Headquarters, New Delhi, India

• Established, 1967

• Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) - Uday Shankar Awasthi

Vidisha Maitra Elected to UN'S ACABQ Committee

• UN Indian diplomat Vidisha Maitra was elected to the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), a key (5th Committee) UN(United Nations) committee.

• She was appointed to the ACABQ committee for a period of three Years starting from January 1, 2021.

• It is to be noted that India has been a member of the committee since its inception in 1946.

• Currently she is posted as first secretary in the permanent mission of India to the UN in New York.

• ACABQ is a subsidiary of the General Assembly that consists of 16 members.

• Based on the broad geographical representation, personal qualifications and experience, the members of ACABQ are elected by the 193 member states in the General Assembly. They serve for a period of 3 years.

• ACABQ performs several functions which include examining the budget submitted by the UN Secretary General to the General Assembly and advise the Assembly on administrative and budgetary matters referred to it among others.

International Day of Radiology 2020 - November 8

• The International Day of Radiology is annually celebrated by radiologists, radiographers, radiological technologists and professionals across the globe on 8th November. The day is celebrated to create awareness on the importance and value of the contribution of Radiology in the safe patient care.

• The day was first launched in 2012.

• The theme of 2020 IDOR is "Radiologists and radiographers supporting patients during COVID 19".

• The International Day of Radiology was a joint initiative of the European Society of Radiology (ESR), the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and the American College of Radiology (ACR) with the involvement of the International Society of Radiology (ISR).

National Legal Services Day 2020: November 9

• National Legal Services Day is observed annually on November 9 across India to commemorate the enactment of Indian Legal Services Authorities Act 1987. The Supreme Court of India started to observe the 1st National Legal Services Day in 1995.

• The primary aim of the day is to spread legal awareness among people, ie., about various provisions under the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 and the rights of the litigants.

• In order to ensure justice for all the day also aims to provide free legal aid and advice to the people of poor and weaker sections.

National Legal Services Authority (NALSA):

• The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) was constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. It is headquartered in New Delhi, India.

• Patron-in-Chief & Executive Chairman of the authority

• The Chief Justice of India serves as the Patron-in-Chief of NALSA. The position of Executive Chairman of the authority will be served by the second senior most Judge of the Supreme of India

• Patron-in-Chief of NALSA- Mr. Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde, the Chief Justice of India
• inExecutive Chairman-Mr. Justice N. V. Ramana, Judge, Supreme Court of India