Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2020

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:
The state government of Kerala has recently decided to withdraw the general consent accorded to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe cases in the state.
Kerala becomes the 5th in the list to withdraw the general consent after Maharashtra, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. From now on, CBI can make investigations of cases in necessary situations, only with the permission of the state government.

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 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has recently reported that it has recently observed a mix of X-ray and radio signals that were never observed before in the Milky Way.
It also announced that the first fast radio burst (FRB) was also observed within the galaxy. The detection of the phenomenon called FRB was recently published in the journal ‘Nature’.

Notes:
The Chief of Indian Army, General MM Naravane has been conferred with the Honorary rank of General of the Nepali Army, by the President Bidya Devi Bhandari during a special ceremony.
General KM Cariappa was the first Indian Army chief to be honoured with the title in 1950. Last year, Nepali Army chief General Purna Chandra Thapa was also made the honorary General of the Indian Army.

Notes:
John Magufuli has been sworn in as the President of Tanzania for the second 5 year term. His second term of office would run till 2025.
Tanzania is an East African nation known for its vast wilderness areas. The Serengeti National Park and Kilimanjaro National Park are located in this country. Dodoma is its capital and Tanzanian shilling is its currency.

Notes:
Russia’s SIRIUS and Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has recently launched ‘AIM–Sirius Innovation Programme 3.0’.
It is a 14-day virtual programme for Indian and Russian schoolchildren. It is also the first Indo-Russian bilateral youth innovation initiative, which envisages to develop technological solutions for both countries.

Notes:
Tata Medical and Diagnostics Ltd. (TataMD), the healthcare arm of the Tata Group, has recently launched ‘TataMD’s CHECK’.
It is the world’s first CRISPR Cas-9 based diagnostic tool. Tata has also collaborated with the CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) and other research bodies to develop the diagnostic solution.

Notes:
Shusha is a strategically important cultural city located near the Nagorno-Karabakh region, a mountainous enclave regarded as part of Azerbaijan but populated and controlled by ethnic Armenians.
The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has recently announced that his country’s forces had taken Shusha. It is also the second-largest city in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. Over 1,000 people have died in the fights around Nagorno-Karabakh.