Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2020

Notes:
The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2020 was recently released, by conducting a phone survey of 60,000-odd students across rural India.
As per the report, only 11 per cent of the surveyed children had access to live online classes. Only one-third of the surveyed children had access to online learning. The report reveals the digital inequality prevalent in the country.

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:
The Central government has extended the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) till November 30.
As per the Finance Ministry, Loans amounting Rs 2.03 lakh crore have been sanctioned under the ECLGS to over 60 lakh borrowers, where the target was fixed at Rs 3 lakh core. Out of the loans, an amount of Rs. 1.48 lakh crore has been disbursed.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment has notified draft rules for the Industrial Relations Code, 2020. This is expected to enhance the flexibility to employers to retrench workers.
It also mandates that Labour Unions should give a prior notice before a strike. The Government has aimed to implement the labour codes from April 1, 2021.

Notes:
E-commerce giant Flipkart has recently acquired mobile gaming start-up Mech Mocha, which runs the first live-social gaming platform, ‘Hello Play’.
After the acquisition, the intellectual property from the start-up and the skilled gaming team will also join Flipkart. This is a part of the Walmart-owned company’s initiatives to engage with users on its platform.

Notes:
The state of Kerala has got the Accelerator for Electronics Technologies (ACE), which has been established as a joint initiative of Kerala Start-up Mission (KSUM) and Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC).
The ACE will develop and evolve itself as a leading accelerator in the electronics technologies sector of India. It will nurture the development of high-tech start-ups in electronics and allied disciplines.

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.

Notes:
Char-chaporis are shifting riverine islands of the Brahmaputra river and they are primarily inhabited by the Muslims of Bengali-origin referred to as ‘Miyas’.
Several people of Assam were requesting the government to fast-track the establishment of Miya museum reflecting the culture and heritage of the people living in char-chaporis. Recently, ahead of the Assembly elections, this was again in news.

Notes:
As per the Schmidt Ocean Institute, its research vessel ‘Falkor’ has discovered a massive coral reef in Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
The research vessel has been undertaking a 12-month exploration mission of the ocean surrounding Australia. The 500-meter-high reef has been discovered for the first time in 120 years. ‘SuBastian’, the underwater robot of the institute is deployed to explore the new reef.

Notes:
The One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme was launched to provide uniform pensions for Armed Forces Veterans, who are retiring in the same rank with the same length of service.
The Prime Minister has recently highlighted that the One Rank One Pension scheme has completed five years since its implementation. The pension is provided irrespective of the time they retire.