Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2020

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:
A first of its kind in the country, a solar energy-driven miniature train has been inaugurated at the Veli Tourist Village in Thiruvananthapuram.
The miniature rail has all the features of a fully-equipped rail system like a tunnel, a station and a ticket office. The train has three compartments that can accommodate around 45 people at a time. This children attraction train was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan.

Notes:
The Indian Naval Ship Airavat carrying 100 tonnes of food aid has reached Sudan. This is a part of the “Mission Sagar-II” under which Indian Navy would deliver food aid to Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea.
Earlier in May – June 2020, Mission Sagar was undertaken by the Indian Navy to provide food and medicines to Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros.

Notes:
Election Commission of India is organizing a three-day International Virtual Election Visitors Programme.
In the context of the ongoing Bihar Legislative Assembly Elections, the programme is being organised for Foreign Election Management Bodies and Organizations. Delegates from over 40 countries across the world are invited.

Notes:
The 23rd edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS) is to be held virtually between November 19 and 21, this year.
The summit will be organised by the Department of Electronics, Information Technology, Bio Technology and Science and Technology of the State Government of Karnataka. Several Technology Leaders are expected to participate in the summit.

Notes:
India’s leading private sector bank ICICI Bank has recently announced the launch of India’s first comprehensive banking programme for millennials.
The programme is named as ‘ICICI Bank Mine’ and it offered an instant savings account. As per the bank, any millennial aged up to 35 years can apply digitally for an ‘ICICI Bank Mine’ account. The package also offers investment guidance, customised credit and debit card and many features.

Notes:
As per the recent statement from the Earth Sciences Ministry, the Economic benefits from the use of weather forecasting services to farmers and fishermen since 2015 amounted to Rs 19,000 crore.
The Ministry cited a study it had commissioned from the research firm National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). The Ministry also stated that this can record Rs 5000 crore, when extrapolated to the next five years.

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.

Notes:
Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has recently launched a challenge named “Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge”. It aims to develop and implement initiatives that would improve the quality of life of young children, caregivers and families.
It is a 3-year challenge that would be open for 100 Smart Cities, cities with population of more than 5 lakh and State/Union Territory capitals.

Notes:
The Fifteenth Finance Commission (XVFC) led by the Chairman N K Singh has recently submitted its Report to President of India Ram Nath Kovind.
Last year, the Commission submitted its report with recommendations for the year 2020-21 and it was accepted and tabled in the Parliament. Now, the Commission has submitted recommendations for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26.