Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2020

Notes:
Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri has recently launched the Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge, to ensure no life of any sewer or septic tank cleaner is lost due to ‘hazardous’ cleaning.
The campaign is launched on the occasion of World Toilet Day, in 243 cities across the country. In the virtual event, representative of the 243 cities pledged to mechanize all sewer and septic tank cleaning operations by 30th April 2021.

Notes:
Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, National Capital Region Transport Corporation Limited and the New Development Bank signed a loan agreement for lending 500 million dollars for the ‘Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System Project’.
The Rapid Transit System will provide a fast, safe and comfortable public transport system in the National Capital Region.

Notes:
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan has signed an ordinance amending the Kerala Police Act. It is expected to empower the law enforcement to prosecute persons who exploit social media to target women and children.
In October, the State cabinet had decided to amend the Act to recommend five years of imprisonment and a fine of ₹10,000 for those convicted of producing, publishing or disseminating derogatory content to intimidate any person through social media.

Notes:
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is a statutory body working under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in New Deli.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) commenced Aviation Safety Awareness Week 2020 from 23rd November to 27th November 2020. It is being observed at all airports and Airport Navigation Service (ANS) locations managed by AAI across India.

Notes:
American messaging app Snapchat has recently rolled out a new short-video making feature called ‘Spotlight’.
It would allow users to share short-form videos publicly in its Snapchat app. By the launch of the new feature, Snap Inc. is expected to compete with ByteDance-owned TikTok and Instagram Reels launched by Facebook.

Notes:
University of Lucknow, a public University in Uttar Pradesh, became the third University in India to have a commemorative coin of Rs 100 issued on its centenary year.
Prior to this, only Mysore University and Banaras Hindu University had received the honour. Prime Minister attended the celebration of Centennial Foundation Day of the University virtually and released special stamp and Rs 100 coin

Notes:
NITI Aayog released a report titled ‘Mitigation and Management of Covid-19: Practices from India’s States & UTs’.
It is a compendium of practices from States and UTs with information about the initiatives implemented by states, districts, and cities in India for containing Covid-19 outbreak. The practices in the compendium have been divided under six sections.

Notes:
Odisha is set to celebrate International Sand Art Festival, at its Chandrabhaga Beach starting from December 1, 2020.
The five-day Sand Art Festival festival also coincides with the Konark Festival that is held in the backdrop of the Sun temple in Konark. On account of Covid-19 restrictions, only Indian sand artists will showcase their art using sand, bronze or wood.

Notes:
As per the recent study conducted by the Central Pollution control board and IIT- Delhi, Indo-Gangetic plains continue to be the most polluted region in the country, in terms of PM 2.5 levels.
The study also revealed that the rate of increase in pollution levels southern and eastern India is greater than the Indo-Gangetic plains, between 2000 and 2019. It also found that air pollution in rural areas of the country increased similar to that of urban areas.

Notes:
The Government of Madhya Pradesh has made a change in “Draft Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill 2020”. As per the revised draft, marriages for forcible religious conversions would be a punishable offence with a jail term of 10 years.
Earlier, the proposed bill contained that the term of jail would be 5 years. The Government is expecting to table the bill in the state assembly session to be held in December.