Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2020

Notes:
India-Japan Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) cooperation has won the OECD MAP 2019 award for highest agreement ratio.
The award has been announced for a pair of jurisdictions for transfer pricing cases, which demonstrates the commitment of India to provide tax certainty and an effective dispute resolution mechanism for the Japanese companies.

Notes:
The Agreement establishing an African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was signed in 2018, in Kigali, Rwanda.
The AfCFTA is expected to become operational on 1 January 2021, which will be the world’s largest free trade area by number of countries. It will also create a single African market for goods and services. Africa Industrialization Day is celebrated on November 20 every year.

Notes:
Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has recently launched ‘Abhayam’ mobile phone application.
The app has bene launched with an aim to help women and children to raise alarm in case of any emergency, while travelling in taxis and auto-rickshaws. As a pilot project, as many as 1000 auto-rickshaws fitted with Internet-of -Things (IoT)-enabled GPS devices will be launched.

Notes:
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras have developed a solar-powered Unmanned Autonomous Survey Craft for Indian ports and inland waterways.
It would help to conduct autonomous hydrographic and oceanographic surveys and provide real-time data transmission over long distances. It had a successful field-test recently off the Chennai coast at Kamarajar port.

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:
The Asian Development Bank has approved a USD 50 million loan to improve resource planning and operational efficiencies in West Bengal.
This loan will be supplemented by a USD 350,000 technical assistance grant for other reforms including monitoring of IFMS (Integrated Financial Management System) reforms.

Notes:
Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad launched the UMANG’s international version in coordination with Ministry of External Affairs for select countries including USA, UK, Canada, Australia, UAE, Netherlands, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.
An online conference was organized to mark the occasion of 3 years of UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) and a milestone of 2000 plus services. The app will help Indian international students, NRIs and Indian tourists to avail the services of the Government.

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:
A cow shelter based in Assam’s Dibrugarh named Shree Gopal Gaushala inaugurated Northeast’s first-ever cow hospital.
The hospital is called Surbhi Aarogyashala, is set up at a cost of Rs 17 lakhs. It is expected to provide services in a radius of 30 kilometers. Presently, there are over 350 cows in the shelter.

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.