Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2020

Notes:
Ministry of Jal Shakti had constituted a multi-disciplinary Technical Committee to recommend innovative ‘field level solution’ technologies in Drinking Water and Sanitation for states and UTs.
The committee was chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India K Vijaya Raghavan. It also has other members from NITI Aayog, DST, CSIR, DRDO, IIT among others. The committee has recently recommended five technology solutions for states/UTs.

Notes:
Technology Giant Google has paid Rs 33,737 crore to Reliance Industries Limited’s (RIL) digital subsidiary, Jio Platforms Ltd.
Google will now hold 7.73% stake in Jio Platforms and has joined the list of global investors including Facebook, Silver Lake, General Atlantic among others. This is also the biggest-ever investment of Google in an Indian company.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Goa has launched an exclusive WhatsApp helpline number, to help women in distress in the state.
The dedicated WhatsApp number 7875756177 will be functional round the clock at the State Police Control Room, Panaji. Union Minister of State for Defence and AYUSH Shripad Naik handed over a medically well-equipped ambulance to Chief Minister for the use of Goa Police.

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:
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:
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has recently launched a portal that will enable transgender persons to apply online for certification of their self-perceived gender identity.
Transgender persons can upload declaration of their gender identity, which will be the basis for their identity certificates to be issued by the district magistrate. The Minister opened ‘Garima Greh: A Shelter Home for Transgender Persons’ in Gujarat. The Ministry will open such homes in all states.

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:
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:
India and Finland recently signed an MoU for developing cooperation in the field of Environment protection and biodiversity conservation.
The MoU also seeks to exchange best practices in areas like prevention of air and water pollution, waste management, and promotion of circular economy. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar signed the MoU virtually with his Finnish counterpart.

Notes:
As per International Air Transport Association’s (IATA), recent report, China’s Shanghai has become the world’s most connected city, replacing London from the top spot.
According to the IATA, London has witnessed a 67% fall in air connectivity due to the prevalent COVID 19 pandemic. With Shanghai added to the top list, world’s four most connected cities are now in China.