Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2020

Notes:
A virtual counter-terrorism dialogue was recently held between India and the Belgium-headquartered European Union.
As per the joint statement, both India and the EU condemned terrorism in all forms, including the “Use of terrorist proxies for cross-border terrorism”. The dialogue also called on all countries to ensure no region under their control is used for terrorist attacks on other countries.

Notes:
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Girish Chandra Murmu, has been elected External Auditor of Inter Parliamentary Union, Geneva.
He has been elected for the post for a three-year term. The CAG has held many significant posts in the recent pasts including the External Auditor of World Food Programme, WIPO, IAEA, UN WTO, IMO among others.

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:
Union Food Processing Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has recently inaugurated a mega food park (MFP) at Phagwara of Kapurthala district in the state of Punjab.
The Mega Food park has been built at a cost of Rs 107.83 crores and spread over 55 acres of land. It is expected to benefit over 25000 farmers and create employment opportunities for more than 5000 people. 37 MFPs have been sanctioned in our country as on date, and 20 of them are functioning.

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:
India and the United States of America has recently extended the Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation on nuclear energy for 10 more years.
In a joint statement issued by the two countries, this is the tenth year of cooperation between them at the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP). The MoU was signed at New Delhi in the year 2010.

Notes:
The Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has recently flagged off the first heavy weight torpedo, Varunastra.
The torpedo was delivered to the Indian Navy at a ceremony held at Bharat Dynamics Limited, Visakhapatnam Unit. It has been designed and developed by Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam.

Notes:
UMANG App has completed three years since its launch. On the occasion, Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad launched the newly instituted UMANG Awards.
The awards will be presented for Departments of Centre and States, based on average transactions in the past six months. Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has been conferred with Platinum Partner Award for registering more than 25 lakh transactions on UMANG App.

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:
India and Vietnam recently signed an agreement for cooperation in the field of hydrography. The agreement is signed during the virtual conference held between India’s Defence minister Rajnath Singh and his Vietnamese counterpart.
The agreement also enables sharing of data between the countries and assist in production of navigational charts. Hydrography includes measurement of physical features of oceans and seas.