Lonar lake in Maharashtra and Sur Sarovar in UP Added to Ramsar sites

• Sur Sarovar also known as Keetham Lake in Agra, Uttar Pradesh and Lonar Lake in Maharashtra, the only crater lake of Country has been added to the 'Ramsar Sites'. These 2 wetlands have been included in the 'List of Wetlands of International Importance established by Article 2.1 of the convention.
• Sur Sarovar is the 2440th site of Ramsar and Lonar lake the 2441st site.
• Sur Sarovar and Lonar lake are the 40th and 41st Ramsar Sites in India respectively.
• With the inclusion of these 2 wetlands, the total number of Ramsar Sites in India is 41, the highest in South Asia.

 PM Modi unveils 'Statue of Peace'

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually unveiled the 'Statue of Peace' to mark the 151st Birth Anniversary Celebrations of Jainacharya Shree Vijay Vallabh Surishwer Ji Maharaj at Vijay Vallabh Sadhana Kendra, Jetpura, in Pali, Rajasthan.
•  The statue is 151-inch tall and has been made from Ashtadhatu - 8 metals (Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Tin, Iron and Antimony or Mercury) with Copper being the major constituent.
•  Vijay Vallabh is a Jain Saint who lived from 1870-1954. He worked selflessly towards spreading the message of Lord Mahavira.
•  He worked for the spread of education, eradication of social evils, and wrote literature.
•  He gave active support to the Freedom Movement and the cause of Swadeshi.

 Asia's First Solar Power-Enabled Textile Mill

•  Jai Bhawani women's cooperative textile mill which is set to come up at Parbhani, Maharashtra will be the first Textile Mill in Asia which will operate on Solar Power.
•  It is being set up at a cost of INR 100 Crores

 First-Ever Global commits by WHO to eliminate cervical cancer globally

• During the 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA), World Health Organisation launched the first-ever "Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer".
• The governments of Australia, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria and Rwanda will co-sponsor the event.
• WHO implementing important steps which could possibly reduce new cases of cervical cancer by more than 40% and five million related deaths by 2050

About World Health Organisation (WHO):

•  Director-General- Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
•  Headquarters- Geneva, Switzerland

RBI Published first ever '"nowcast'" ; India is in first historic technical recession

• In accordance with the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) first ever estimation based on high frequency data namely "nowcast", India's Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 8.6% in the quarter ended September 2020 i.e. Quarter 2 in 2021.
• As per it, India also has entered a technical recession in the first half of financial year 2021 for the first time in its history as the economy had slumped about 24% in Quarter 1 in financial year 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• A recession is a period of declining economic performance that lasts for several months. It is defined as two successive quarters of decline.

Retail inflation rises to 7.61% in October from 7.27% in September, 2020:

• In accordance with the government data, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rises to 7.61% in October 2020 as compared to 7.27% in the previous month of September, 2020. It was 4.62% in October 2019. On the other hand, Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) rose to 11.07% in October, 2020 up from 10.68% in September, 2020.

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

• Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Governor- Shaktikant Das

Rohit Sharma Signed with Financepeer as Its Brand Ambassador

• Rohit Sharma signed with Financepeer, Google incubated education fee financing company, as its brand ambassador.
• Financepeer is the forerunner in the Educational fee financing segment in India, which aims to enable quality education accessible and affordable to all.

RBI Appoints Senapathy (Kris) Gopalakrishnan, as the first Chairperson of Reserve Bank Innovation Hub

• Reserve Bank of India(RBI) appointed Senapathy (Kris) Gopalakrishnan, co-founder, and former co-Chairman, Infosys as the first chairperson of Reserve Bank Innovation Hub(RBIH). He is currently the Chief Mentor of Start-up Village, an incubation hub for start-ups.
• The governing council has also 9 other members.
• 9 members of the governing council are, Chief Executive Officer - To be appointed: Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Institute Professor of IIT, Madras; Professor Krishnamurthy, Principal Research Scientist, IISc., Bengaluru Shri Gopal Srinivasan, CMD, TVS Capital Funds Shri A.P. Hota, Former CEO, National Payments Corporation of India; Shri Mrutyunjay Mahapatra, Former CMD, Syndicate Bank; Shri T Rabi Sankar, Executive Director, RBI(ex-officio) Shri Deepak Kumar, CGM, Department of Information Technology, RBI (ex-officio); Smt. K. Nikhila, Director, Institute for Development & Research in Banking Technology, Hyderabad (ex-officio).
• To promote innovation across the financial sector by leveraging the technology and creating an environment that facilitates and fosters innovation.

Nitish Kumar takes charge as Bihar Chief Minister for the 7th Time; Renu Devi becomes First Woman Deputy CM of Bihar

• Nitish Kumar sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Bihar for four Consecutive Terms.
• He is also taking charge as CM of Bihar for the seventh time in two decades.
• Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi were sworn-in as Deputy Chief Ministers.
• Renu Devi is the First Woman Deputy CM of Bihar

Maia Sandu First Woman President of Moldova

• Maia Sandu former Prime Minister of Moldova won the Presidential elections. She is set to become the first woman President of Moldova.
• Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe with more than 1.2 million peoples living abroad and the country is highly dependent on remittances.

About Moldova:

• Capital, Chişinău
• Currency- Moldovan leu

Equitas Small Finance Bank Launches 'Eva'

• Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited(ESFBL) launched 'Eva', a unique savings account for Indian women.
• It offers an interest rate of 7% in savings account.
• It offers Free Health Check-up and unlimited teleconsultation with women doctors, gynecologists and mental health experts.
• No non maintenance fees will be charged to the customers
• Smriti Mandhana Appointed as New Brand Ambassador of Equitas Small Finance Bank
• Smriti Mandhana becomes the new brand ambassador of Equitas Small Finance Bank She will feature in promoting 'Eva' across all media platforms shortly.

About Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited(ESFBL):

• MD and CEO- Vasudevan Pathangi Narasimhan
• Headquarters- Chennai
• Tagline- It's Fun Banking

HDFC Bank launches '"Mooh Band Rakho"' campaign

• HDFC Bank launched a campaign, 'Mooh Band Rakho' to increase awareness on cyber frauds and ways to prevent them. The campaign supports the International Fraud Awareness Week 2020 (November 15 - 21), a global movement to reduce the impact of fraud.
• The campaign was launched by Retd. Lt General Dr Rajesh Pant, National Cyber Security Coordinator, Government of India and Mr Jimmy Tata, Chief Risk Officer, HDFC Bank
• The bank for the second year participates in the International Fraud Awareness Week.

Navneet Munot Appointed as the MD & CEO of HDFC Mutual Funds

• The board of directors of HDFC Mutual Funds approved the appointment of Navneet Munot as its Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO). He will succeed Milind Barve, the current MD of HDFC Asset Management Company Limited.
• Navneet is currently serving as the Executive Director & Chief Investment Officer(CIO) of SBI Funds Management(FM).

About HDFC Mutual Funds:

• Headquarters, Mumbai, Maharashtra

World Diabetes Day 2020 - November 14

• United Nations(UN)'s World Diabetes Day is annually observed across the globe on 14th November to recognise the need to undertake multilateral efforts to promote and improve the health of the humans and to provide access to treatment and healthcare education.
• The theme of the World Diabetes Day 2020 is "The Nurse and Diabetes", which focuses on the vital role of the nurses in supporting the lives of the diabetic patients.
• November 14 was chosen to mark the birth anniversary of Sir Frederick Banting who discovered the insulin along with Charles Best in 1992.

Children's Day in India 2020: November 14

• Children's Day in India, also known as 'Bal Diwas' is celebrated annually across India on November 14 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, who is fondly called 'Chacha Nehru'(Uncle Nehru) by childrens. This year(2020) marks the 131st birth anniversary of Chacha Nehru.

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims 2020 - November 15

• United Nations (UN)'s World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims(WDR) is annually observed across the globe on the third Sunday of November. The day provides an opportunity to remember the victims who were killed or injured in road accidents.
• The day aims to spread awareness for the global efforts to reduce the casualties of road accidents. The WDOR 2020 falls on 15th November 2020.
• According to the World Health Organisation(WHO)'s regional office for Europe the theme of the 2020 WDOR is "First Responders", with a focus to recognise the men and women who rescue and support the victims of road trauma.
• The 2020 WDOR marks the 25th anniversary of the WDOR observation and the 15th anniversary of the World Day being adopted by the UN

Tribal Pride Day 2020 in Madhya Pradesh - November 15

• Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh has decided to celebrate the Tribal Pride Day in Madhya Pradesh on 15th November 2020 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Freedom fighter and martyr Birsa Munda. He also stated that starting from 2020 every year the 15th November will be celebrated as Tribal Pride Day.
• Birsa Munda was born on 15th November 1875 in Jharkhand.
• He challenged the British rule in India and mobilised the tribal communities against the British rule in India.
• Shivraj Singh Chouhan stated that the "Samras hostels" will be established across the state which will provide accommodation to the children of all the communities.

National Press Day 2020: November 16

• National Press Day is celebrated annually on November 16 across India to commemorate the establishment of the Press Council of India(PCI) in 1966. The day aims to raise public awareness of the role of a free, pluralistic and independent news media in the development of the democratic society. The day is the symbol of a free and responsible press in India.

National Epilepsy Day 2020 - November 17

• The National Epilepsy Day is annually celebrated across India on 17th November to create awareness about Epilepsy, its causes, risk factors, symptoms and treatments. This National Epilepsy Day is observed by the Epilepsy Foundation of India,
• The National Epilepsy Day is a national level campaign initiated by the Epilepsy Foundation of India to reduce the prevalence of Epilepsy in India.
• The Epilepsy Foundation of India in Mumbai, Maharashtra was established by Dr Nirmal Surya in 2009.

International Students' Day 2020: November 17

• International Students' Day is celebrated annually on November 17 across the globe. It is an international observance of the student community. The day aims to ensure every student has access to education around the world.
• The International Students Council in London declared November 17 as the International Students Day in 1941.
• During World War II on this day in 1939 Nazis attacked the University of Prague, where over 1,200 students were sent to the concentration camps, and many others were killed. Eventually all the Czech universities and colleges were closed.
• This was because, the students held a series anti-Nazi demonstrations in Prague, Czech on October 28, 1939 against the killing of Jan Opletal and worker Václav Sedláèek and against the occupation of Czechoslovakia.