Finance Ministry Approved the Creation of 1st ever National Database of Unorganised Labour

• The Ministry of Finance gave its nod for the creation of the first ever "National Database of Unorganised Workers (NDUW) with an expected outlay of Rs 650 crore.

About Ministry of Finance:

• Union Minister- Nirmala Sitharaman

• Minister of State (Mos)- Anurag Singh Thakur

L&T Emerges as Lowest Bidder for the India's Longest River Bridge in Northeast

• Larsen & Toubro(L&T) has emerged as the lowest bidder with Rs 3166 crores for the construction of the 20 kilometer 4 lane road bridge across River Brahmaputra connecting Dhubri of Assam to Phulbair of Meghalaya on National Highway 127B. This will be India's longest Bridge over a River in the northeast.

• This river bridge project is financed by JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency).

India, Nepal Launch construction of 3rd Integrated Check Post to boost Trade

• India and Nepal launched the construction of 3rd Integrated Check Post at Nepalgunj, Nepal which will bring customs and immigration facilities under one roof to smoothen cross-border movement of cargo trucks. The Portion on Indian side will be built at Rupaidiha (Uttar Pradesh).

• It is being constructed at a cost of INR 147.12 Crores.

• The Portion of ICP on Nepalese side will be built at Nepalgunj by Rajdeep Buildcon Pvt Ltd, a Pune-based company

• The Portion on Indian side will be built at Rupaidiha (Uttar Pradesh) by the Lands Ports Authority of India

• India has ICP on the India-Nepal border at Birgunj and Biratnagar, which were operationalised in April 2018 and January 2020.

17th ASEAN India Summit 2020

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi co-chaired the virtual 17th ASEAN-India Summit 2020 along with Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister of Vietnam, the current Chair of (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).

• During the summit India announced a contribution of USS 1 million to the COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund.

About ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations):

• Members - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

• Chairperson - Vietnam (2020)

• Headquarters - Jakarta, Indonesia

India's Renewable Energy Sector to see the Largest Growth after COVID-19:IEA

• According to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) report, Renewables 2020 - Analysis and Forecast to 2025, India's Renewable Energy sector will see the largest growth after COVID-19. India will double its green energy capacity addition in 2021 compared to 2020 levels.

• Driven by China and the United States, new additions of renewable power capacity worldwide are expected to a record level of almost 200 Gigawatts (GW) in 2020.

• Total Installed Wind and Solar PV capacity will surpass natural gas in 2023 and coal in 2024.

• Renewable will overtake coal to become the largest source of electricity generation worldwide in 2025 (one third of world's electricity supply). Hydropower will be the largest source of renewable electricity worldwide, followed by wind and solar PV.

• Global transport biofuel production in 2020 is expected to decline by 12%, which is the first reduction in annual production in two decades.

About International Energy Agency:

• Executive Director - Dr Fatih Birol
• Headquarters - Paris, France

44th Annual G-77 Foreign Ministers Meeting

• India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Ambassador T S Tirumurti virtually addressed the 44th Annual Meeting of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77.

• He stated that India is assisting in urgent health and medical supplies to more than 150 countries.

Group of 77 (G77):

• The Group of 77 (G77) at the UN is a coalition of 134 developing countries established in 1964.

• Chairmanship of G77 (2020) - Guyana

• Headquarters - New York

RBI to Evaluate Impact of 'RBI Kehta Hai' Campaign

• The Reserve Bank is all set to evaluate the impact of multi-media public awareness campaign RBI Kehta Hai', which was launched in 14 languages to educate public about good practices, regulations and initiatives in banking and financial sector.

• "RBI Kehta Hai' was the first even 360 degree campaign initiated by the central bank using all mass media, including media such as television, radio, newspapers, hoardings, web banners, gifs, social media and SMS.

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):

• Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra

• Governor- Shaktikanta Das

2020 UN Population Award

• HelpAge India won the 2020 United Nations(UN) Population Award as the institutional laureate. Her Majesty Gyalyum Sangay Choden Wangchuck, Queen Mother of Bhutan won the award as the individual laureatue.

• HelpAge India won the award for its contribution towards the disadvantaged elderly people in India and raising awareness on the cause of the elderly

• Her Majesty Gyalyum Sangay Choden Wangchuck won this award for her active involvement to promote social causes in Bhutan, including health, education and family issues.

About HelpAge India:

• HelpAge India, working in 20 states across India has been working towards the disadvantaged elderly people in India for 4 decades

• The organization enables the elderly people to live a active, dignified and healthy lives.

• The organisation provides employment opportunities to older people, advocates for their rights in the community and helps local organizations to support them.

• HeadQuarters- New Delhi, India Chief Executive Officer(CEO) Mr Rohit Prasad

IRDAI gives Final Approval for Merger of HDFC ERGO Health with HDFC ERGO General Insurance

• Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India gave its final approval for the merger of HDFC ERGO Health Insurance with HDFC ERGO General Insurance Co Ltd.

• HDFC ERGO and HDFC ERGO Health approved the share exchange ratio of 100:385 that is for every 385 shares of Rs 10 each held in HDFC ERGO Health as on the record date, 100 shares of Rs 10 each of HDFC ERGO would be allocated

• HDFC will hold 50.58% stake in HDFC ERGO, after the completion of the merger.

Jerry Rawlings, Former President of Ghana Passed Away

• Jerry John Rawlings, former president of Ghana passed away at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana due to short illness. He is the first president of the 4th republic of Ghana. He is the founder of National Democratic Congress (NDC).

• He became president of Ghana in 1993 and served till 2001, i.e., he served for 2 elected 4 year terms.

About Ghana(Officially the Republic of Ghana);

• Capital- Accra

• President-Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo

• Currency- Ghanaian cedi

Padma Shri Awardee & Renowned Sculptor Arjun Prajapati Passed Away

• Arjun Prajapati, the renowned Sculptor and Padma shri awardee from Rajasthan passed away at the age of 64 in a hospital at Jaipur,Rajasthan

• He was popularly known as the "Maharathi of Cloning- master of cloning, since he has cloned celebrities like Prince Charles of Britain, former US President Bill Clinton, Padmashree Pandit Vishwamohan Bhatt

About Arjun Prajapati:

• Arjun Prajapati gave a new identity to the traditional Bani-Thani" form of art and established a different identity for it in the country and abroad, this art is known as "Arjuna's Bani-thani".

• He was skilled in making sculptures in marble, terracotta, bronze, plaster of Paris and fiberglass.

• The Mati Manasa, built by Prajapati is the first Sculpture museum of Rajasthan

• His sculpture has been placed in the Royal Albert Palace, London and the Indian Cultural Society of the United States of America.

Awards & honours:

• He received a National Award in 2004

• He received the Padma Shri award, one of the highest civilian awards for arts in 2010

• Bill Clinton honored him with the title "Magician of Sculpture when he showed his clone in 20 minutes,

Ayurveda Day 2020 – November 13

• Ayurveda Day is annually celebrated across the globe on the day of Dhanwantri Jayanti, as a global initiative to promote and preserve the health science of Ayurveda

• The 2020 Ayurveda Day falls on 13th November 2020

• The initiative is supported by The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy Government of India and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations

• The Ministry of AYUSH announced its decision to annually observe the Dhanvantari Jayanthi, also known as Dhanteras, as the National Ayurveda Day and the day was first celebrated in India on 28th October 2016

• Theme - "Ayurveda for Covid-19"

PM Modi Dedicated 2 Ayurveda Institutes to the nation:

• Institute of Teaching & Research in Ayurveda (ITRA), Jamnagar has been given the status of an Institution of National Importance (INI).

• The National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA), Jaipur is Deemed to be University (De novo Category) by the University Grants Commission.