Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2020

Notes:
As per the recent statement from the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) is set to issue forecast for malaria outbreaks from next monsoon.
India has also planned to increase the high-performance computing (HPC) facility from the current capacity of 10 petaflops to 40 petaflops. India is at fourth place after the US, the UK and Japan in HPC, at present.

Notes:
Mangaluru-based Karnataka Bank has launched National Common Mobility Debit Card, with special features like ‘tap and go’ and ‘offline wallet’ payments.
It is a Rupay card and a contactless debit-cum-prepaid and interoperable transport card. As per the bank, users can make payments without inserting the card at PoS terminals.

Notes:
The Union Minister for Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan held a consultation with the Indian diaspora.
This interaction was aimed at enabling them to make valuable contributions in India’s Science Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP) 2020. This interaction with Indian diaspora is seen as first of its kind.

Notes:
The Ministry of Power has issued notification to cover all the Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOMs) under the preview of the Energy Conservation (EC) Act 2001.
The DISCOMs will be governed under the various provisions of EC Act, like Appointment of Energy Manager, Energy Accounting & Auditing, identification of Energy Losses etc.

Notes:
Nepal has recently released a pictorial anthology on Mahatma Gandhi titled Maile Bujheko Gandhi or the Gandhi as I understood. It has been released in Nepali language by the country’s President Bidya Devi Bhandari.
This special anthology was launched to mark Gandhi’s 151st birth anniversary. The book has been published by the Embassy of India along with the B P Koirala India-Nepal Foundation.

Notes:
The Ministry of Food Processing and Industries has approved 21 projects under the Scheme for Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition. The decision has been made by the Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee (IMAC) chaired by Narendra Singh Tomar.
This approval is expected to bring in investment worth Rs 443 crore in the food processing industry which is supported with a grant of Rs 189 crore.

Notes:
The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman represented India in the first BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting.
The meeting was held under the Russian Chairmanship. The meeting is expected to include discussions on the outcomes of the G20 Saudi Presidency in 2020, a digital platform for the New Development Bank and to expand membership of the New Development Bank.

Notes:
As per the recent announcement of the Central Government, digital or online Media, films and audio-visual programmes, news and current affairs content would be brought under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
At present, there is no law or autonomous body governing the digital content in the country. The President is said to have signed the order.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will co-chair the virtual 17th India-ASEAN summit, along with the Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
The leaders are expected to note the adoption of ASEAN-India Plan of Action (2021-2025). The Prime Minister attended the 16th ASEAN-India Summit in Bangkok in November last year.

Notes:
World Science Day for Peace and Development is celebrated on November 10 every year, across the world.
This year, the theme of the day is “Science for and with Society”, as per the United Nations. UNESCO is organizing an online roundtable on the theme of “Science for and with Society in dealing with COVID-19.”