Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2020

Notes:
Tarun Gogoi, the former Chief Minister of Assam has recently passed away, at the age of 84. He had tested positive for Covid-19 in August.
He was also the longest serving chief minister of Assam. Being a veteran Congressman, Gogoi was elected the Chief minister of Assam in 2001 in the state elections, following which he led the party to a record three consecutive electoral victories in the state.

Notes:
Veteran Indian-American physician Ajay Lodha has passed away due to complications from Covid-19, at the age of 58, in the United States.
He is the former President of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI). The physician has received several honours including the Ellis Island Medal of Honour in 2016. He was known for his contribution to the diaspora in the U.S, especially the Rajasthani community.

Notes:
The tenth edition of the National Science film festival has been inaugurated in the state of Tripura. The festival will be held in virtual mode.
VigyanPrasar, an autonomous agency under the Department of Science and Technology, has been organizing this festival. This year, Vigyan Prasar is collaborating with the Tripura State Council of Science and Technology. As many as 372 films in different languages have been received.

Notes:
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Invest India has recently launched the SDG Investor Map for India.
UNDP highlighted 18 investment opportunities areas (IOAs), which are in 6 important SDG (sustainable development goals) enabling sectors including education, healthcare, agriculture among others. This is expected to bridge the SDG financing gap occurred due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Notes:
HDFC Bank became the first bank in the Indian history to cross the Rs 8-trillion market capitalisation milestone.
The stock price has also surpassed its previous lifetime high and stood at Rs 1464 apiece on the BSE. The private sector bank now stands at third position in the overall market-cap ranking of listed companies, after Reliance Industries and Tata Consultancy Services that have crossed Rs 10 trillion.

Notes:
India has recently announced the launch of Phase-IV of the High Impact Community Development Projects in Afghanistan.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced this during the 2020 Afghanistan Conference organized in Geneva, co-hosted by the United Nations, the Government of Afghanistan, and the Government of Finland. India would undertake over 100 projects worth 80 million dollars in Afghanistan.

Notes:
‘International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women’ is observed every year on November 25, led by the United Nations General Assembly.
This year, the theme for the International Day is “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!”, to focus on bridging the funding gaps to serve the survivors of violence. UN observed that violence against women and girls has increased during the pandemic, terming it ‘Shadow Pandemic’.

Notes:
The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 has been amended by the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019 to include the definition of the term ‘Aggregator’.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2020, to regulate shared mobility services. The ride hailing services require permission from the state governments to start operations, and states will follow the norms specified by the Centre.

Notes:
The Cabinet of Pakistan has approved two anti-rape ordinances which includes chemical castration of rapists, with the consent of the convict.
The ordinance also envisages setting up of Special Courts for rape trials and appointing Special prosecutors. The proposed laws include in-camera trials, witness protection, legal assistance to victims and speedy trials of rape cases. It also prohibits unscientific examination of survivors.

Notes:
The World Health Organisation has released ‘Guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour’.
As per the guidelines, at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity per week is recommended for all adults. It also highlights that one in four adults, and four out of five adolescents, do not get enough physical activity, which causes a significant loss in productivity.