Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2020

Notes:
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ inaugurated 46 online AICTE Training and Learning (ATAL) Academy Faculty Development Programmes (FDPs), organised by AICTE.
The programmes would be conducted in 22 Indian states, to train teachers of higher education institutions. Book of World Records, London has acknowledged the training of over one lakh people in 1000 programs under ‘FDP’, as a world record.

Notes:
NITI Aayog has formed a high-level panel to explore the technological and commercial viability of the Virgin Hyperloop technology in India.
NITI Aayog member VK Saraswat has been named as the Chairman of the panel and Sudhendu Jyoti Sinha as its convener. The panel also includes Railway Board Chairman & CEO VK Yadav, DRDO Head, Director of IIT- Delhi among others.

Notes:
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) with the Tamil Nadu government to develop the ecosystem for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the state.
Under the MoU, Sidbi will deploy a project management unit (PMU) in the government of Tamil Nadu. It will undertake the process of designing the training and capacity-building programmes to be taken up by the state government in areas.

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:
New Zealand’s Greg Barclay has been elected as the new independent Ahairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
He is also the second independent chairman of the international body, after Shashank Manohar of India. Greg Barclay served as the Director of New Zealand Cricket Team since 2012. He had also been the Director of 2015 Men’s World Cup, held in Australia and New Zealand.

Notes:
The Uttar Pradesh government has approved the 594-km Ganga Expressway project worth Rs 36,402 crore.
The project will have Expressway running along the river Ganga from Haridwar to Allahabad. The state Cabinet also approved a district-wise alignment of the Expressway. The Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority will implement the project.

Notes:
The Fit India School week program was launched in November last year, to inculcate the awareness of physical activity and sports to school children.
The schools, after registering themselves on the Fit India website, will select a week in the month of December. It will then make the children follow the activities listed by the Sports Ministry for the program. Last year, over 15000 schools participated in the program.

Notes:
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports has restored the government recognition to Archery Association of India as a National Sports Federation.
In the year 2012, the Government recognition of AAI was withdrawn, on failure to conduct its elections in accordance with the National Sports Code. In 2020, AAI conducted elections again and elected Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda as President. AAI now has the recognition of Indian Olympic Association and the World Archery.

Notes:
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) had organised a virtual meeting with importers of Germany to promote export of fresh fruits and vegetables from India. The event was organised in collaboration with Indian Embassy in Germany and German Agribusiness Alliance.
APEDA is an apex body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry which regulates export of agricultural products in India.

Notes:
The promoter of the Sputnik V vaccine candidate – Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has entered into an agreement with Hyderabad based company named “Hetero Biopharma”.
Under the agreement, the Sputnik V vaccine candidate would be produced in India from beginning of 2021. The Sputnik V vaccine is recently claimed to have reached an efficiency of 91.4% in Phase 3 trials.