Test: November 2020 Weekly Current Affair - 4 - UPSC MCQ

The coveted Aditya Vikram Birla Kalashikhar Puraskar was conferred on veteran film actor and theatre personality Naseeruddin Shah at the Sangit Kala Kendra Awards virtual function.

Government think-tank NITI Aayog has formed a high-level panel to explore the technological and commercial viability of the Virgin Hyperloop technology for ultrahigh speed travel in India, weeks after its first test was completed with humans on board.
The committee has NITI Aayog member V.K. Saraswat as its Chairman and Adviser (Infrastructure Connectivity, NITI Aayog) Sudhendu Jyoti Sinha as its convener.

The cabinet approved DBS India’s plan to take over capital-starved Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB), paving the way for the first such rescue by a foreign lender.

The United Nations has been observing 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women since 1981.
The theme for International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women this year is “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!”.

The Kandhamal MP and KIIT & KISS Founder Achyuta Samanta has been honoured to be elected as the President of Volleyball Federation of India.

Football legend Diego Maradona passed away due to a heart attack. He was 60.

The 2020 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Malaysian Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.The theme of the APEC Malaysia 2020 was “Optimising Human Potential Towards a Resilient Future of Shared Prosperity: Pivot. Prioritise. Progress”.

State run Punjab National Bank said the RBI has imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on it for contravention of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act.
RBI has observed that the Bank was operating a bilateral ATM sharing arrangement with Druk PNB Bank Ltd, Bhutan, (international subsidiary of the Bank), since April, 2010 without the prior approval / authorisation from RBI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 15th G-20 Leaders Summit at the invitation of the King of Saudi Arabia.
The summit is chaired by Saudi Arabia in a virtual format under the theme – Realising the Opportunities of the 21st Century for All.

Insurance Regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) gave in-principle approval to proposed arrangement between ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd. and Bharti AXA General Insurance Co. Ltd., according to an exchange filing.

Noted Telugu poet, journalist, scriptwriter, and Kendra Sahitya Academy award winner Shaik Khaja Hussain popularly known as Devi Priya, passed away in Hyderabad. He was 70.

Indian Navy Ships including indigenously built ASW corvette Kamorta and missile corvette Karmuk are participating in the 2nd edition of India, Singapore and Thailand Trilateral Maritime Exercise SITMEX-20 in Andaman Sea.

The National pharmacy week is celebrated every year during the 3rd week of November.
59th Pharmacy week, 2020 from 18-20 November, 2020 on the theme “Pharmacist: Frontline Health Professionals”.

A Reserve Bank of India (RBI) panel has recommended raising the cap on promoter shareholding in private sector banks to 26 per cent of the paid up equity after 15 years of operation from 15 per cent.
The committee, led by PK Mohanty, has also proposed converting of payments banks into a small finance bank. For this, the track record of 3 years of experience as payments bank may be considered as sufficient.

Indian cricket team skipper Virat Kohli scripted another record in the game.The 32-year-old batsman has become the fastest to 22,000 international runs. He surpassed Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, and Ricky Ponting who took 493, 511, and 514 innings respectively to record the same feat.

The Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) and the Uttar Pradeash Forest department have bagged the first-ever international award, TX2, for doubling the number of tigers in four years against a target of 10 years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Karnataka’s flagship annual technology event- 23rd edition of the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2020 via video-conferencing. He shared the significance behind the Digital India mission launched by the Centre five years ago.
With “Next is Now” as the theme, the summit deliberate on challenges emerging in the post-pandemic world and focus on the impact of technologies and innovations in IT and BT.

According to Global Employability Ranking and Survey (GEURS) 2020 results, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has been ranked as the best institute in India and 27th globally, in terms of employability of its students.The GEURS 2020 was released by the Times Higher Education and French HR Consultancy group ‘Emerging’.

Himachal Pradesh, the state government launched ‘Him Suraksha Abhiyan’ to sensitize the people regarding Covid-19 pandemic and also to collect information regarding symptoms of diseases like TB, Leprosy, sugar and blood pressure by door to door campaign throughout the State. This campaign will continue till coming 27th December, across the State.

The World Heritage Week is celebrated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) every year from November 19 to November 25.
The theme for 2020 is ‘Shared Cultures, Thread Heritage, Shared Responsibility’, the aim of which is to raise awareness about the values and conservation of our heritage sites.

New Zealand’s Greg Barclay has been elected as the new Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

A Letter of Understanding (LoU) has been signed between the Rajasthan government and United Nation”s World Food Programme (WFP) for proposed participation to achieve food and nutritional security goals.

The UBS has projected India’s real GDP to contract 10.5% in FY21, in its Global Economics & Markets Outlook 2021-2022 report.

India’s first moss garden has been developed at Khurpatal in Nainital district, Uttarakhand. The main aim behind developing the garden was to conserve the various species of moss and other bryophytes.

The elite football body, FIFA, has released the international rankings for November 2020, India has moved up to 104, a significant rise of four spots, in the recent FIFA rankings.
Nonetheless, the top six spots remain unchanged in the rankings. Belgium have kept their place on the top, followed by France, Brazil, England, and Portugal.