Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2020

Notes:
The apex judicial body, Supreme Court of India has extended the time line till December 31,2020 for implementation of its judgement on grant of permanent commission to women SSC officers in Indian Navy.
On March 17, 2020 the Supreme Court had cleared permanent commission for women in the Navy and asked the Centre to implement the same within three months.

Notes:
Sean Connery, the Scottish movie legend, who was the first actor to play James Bond on the big screen, has recently passed away.
His films include Dr. No in 1962, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever. The actor, who dominated the silver screen for four decades, died at the age of 90.

Notes:
The Central Government is set to release the second tranche of Rs 6,000 crore to 16 states and 3 union territories.
As per the recent statement from the Finance Ministry, the total amount released to states to meet the compensation shortfall under goods and services tax (GST) under the special window is Rs 12,000 crore.

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 United Nations General Assembly designated 2 November as the ‘International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists’.
As per the United Nations, during the past fourteen years (2006-2019), around 1,200 journalists have been killed for reporting the news to the public. It also reveals that in nine out of ten cases the killers go unpunished.

Notes:
British Racing Driver Lewis Hamilton has recently won the Formula One Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix Tournament.
Mercedes officially clinched the 2020 constructors’ championship. Another Racing Driver Max Verstappen came second while Valtteri Bottas came at the third spot. Hamilton won his third straight race.

Notes:
As per the recent report released by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), 30 Indian cities will face increasing water risks in the next few decades.
According to the WWF Water Risk Filter report, 30 Indian cities, including Jaipur, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai among others, will face acute water risks. The report estimates that hundreds of millions of people in cities across the globe could face water risks.

Notes:
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been signed by Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA). The MoU sets key targets for IRDAI to be achieved in the year 2020-21.
IREDA is a “Mini Ratna” Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. It is categorized as a Public Financial Institution and NBFC by Reserve Bank of India.

Notes:
Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra has recently handed over a cheque of NPR 1 billion (around Rs 62 crore) to the Nepal government as reimbursement of Nepal Housing Reconstruction Project.
India has partnered with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), to provide funds to its neighbouring country.

Notes:
Saudi Arabia has recently announced a new plan to ease foreign workers’ contractual restrictions in the country. This would pave way to improvement of a sponsorship system known as Kafala, which is highly controversial.
The new plan is expected to take effect from March 2021 and would make Saudi Arabia more labour attractive.