Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2020

Notes:
NITI Aayog and Quality Council of India has recently launched the ‘National Program and Project Management Policy Framework’ (NPMPF).
The report aims to bring radical reforms in the way infrastructure projects are executed in India. Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari also released the Indian Infrastructure Body of Knowledge (InBoK).

Notes:
A scheme named SERB POWER (Promoting Opportunities for Women in Exploratory Research) has been launched by the Ministry of Science and Technology, designed exclusively to encourage Women Scientists to work in the field of science and technology.
The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India is implementing the scheme.

Notes:
Chris Gayle, who plays for Kings XI Punjab, has recently become the first batsman in history to hit 1000 sixes in T20 cricket.
Kieron Pollard has hit 690 sixes and ranks second in the list of maximum sixes in T20 cricket. In the ongoing edition of IPL 2020, Gayle has scored a total of 276 runs from six outings.

Notes:
The Indian Air Force has successfully test-fired an air launched version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a Sukhoi fighter aircraft in the Bay of Bengal.
The aircraft belongs to the Thanjavur-based Tigersharks squadron. India has recently test fired a new version of the surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile BrahMos and an anti-radiation missile named Rudram-1.

Notes:
The Government of India has proposed to import 10 lakh tonnes of potato, out of which 30,000 tonnes would be imported from Bhutan without license.
The import is being made in order to control the rise in prices of potato in India. The Centre has also planned to import 25,000 tonnes of onions before Diwali.

Notes:
Kerala aims to start providing free, high-speed Internet to schools, public offices, and poor households in the state by December, this year.
Kerala is the first among all states to launch such project, which is similar to the Centre’s BharatNet project. The Kerala Fibre Optic Network Project or KFON has awarded the contract to a consortium led by public-sector company Bharat Electronics Limited.

Notes:
The Panna Biosphere Reserve that is located in Madhya Pradesh, has been included in the UNESCO’s “World Network of Biosphere Reserves”. Additionally, Fuvahmulah and Addu Atoll of Maldives have also been included in the list.
Panna is a critical tiger habitat in India and it was accorded Biosphere Reserve status by Government of India in 2011.

Notes:
The Business Expectation Survey is conducted by National Council for Applied Economic Research (NACER). As per the report of the survey, the Business Confidence Index (BCI) in India rose to 65.5 in the second quarter of FY 20 after recording a sharp drop to 46.4 in the first quarter.
NCAER is a non-profit think tank of economics based at New Delhi. Nandan Nilekani is president of the governing body and Dr Shekhar Shah is current director general of NCAER.

Notes:
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has recently issued notice to seek response from Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and four State Governments regarding the ban on use of fire crackers from November 7 to 30 in the interest of public health and environment.
The NGT has also appointed a senior advocate Raj Panjwani and advocate Shibhani Ghosh to assist the tribunal as amicus curiae in the matter.

Notes:
Duarte Pacheco of Portugal has been elected as the new President of Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU). He would hold the office for the period from 2020 to 2023.
The Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) is an international organisation of various nations’ parliament. It was established in 1889 and is head quartered at Geneva, Switzerland.