Current Affairs 27th & 28th November 2020| Current Affairs News

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

Railway launches completely digitized online Human Resource Management System

• Indian Railway has launched a completely digitized online Human Resource Management System (HRMS). HRMS is a high thrust project for Indian Railways to leverage improved productivity and employee satisfaction. It is a move to improve efficiency and productivity of the Railway system.
• Vinod Kumar Yadav, Chairman and CEO of Railway Board launched HRMS modules of Employee Self Service, PF Advance and Retirement Settlement. The modules will benefit over 27 lakh families of both serving and retired Railway employees. Several other modules of HRMS are already operational in the Indian Railways.

About Indian Railways:

• Headquarters: New Delhi, India
• Piyush Goyal (Minister of Railways)
• Vinod Kumar Yadav (Chairman, Railway Board)

Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot E-Launches ‘National Portal for Transgender Persons’ and E-Inaugurates Garima Greh: A Shelter Home for Transgender Persons in Gujarat

• Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot e-launched a ‘National Portal for Transgender Persons’ and e-inaugurated a ‘Garima Greh: A Shelter Home for Transgender Persons’ in Vadodara, Gujarat .
• Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot stated that this National Portal for Transgender Persons has been developed within 2 months of Notification of Transgender Persons (Protectionof Rights) Rules, 2020 on 29 September, 2020. This highly useful Portal would help a transgender person in applying for a Certificate and Identity card digitally from anywhere in the country.
• The most important benefit is that it helps the transgender person to get the I-Card without any physical interface and without having to visit any office, the Minister stated. Through the Portal, they can monitor the status of their application that ensures transparency in the process. The issuing authorities are also under strict timelines to process the applications and issue certificates and identity cards without any necessary delays.

About Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment:

• Thaawar Chand Gehlot, Cabinet Minister
• Constituency: Madhya Pradesh
• Krishan Pal Gurjar, Minister of State

Nitin Gadkari inaugurates Highway projects worth over Rs 7400 Cr in Uttar Pradesh

• Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of 16 National Highway projects worth 7477 crore rupees in Uttar Pradesh.
• These highway projects includes a road length of 505 kilometers and will provide better connectivity, convenience to the public as well as lead to economic growth in the state.
• Mr Gadkari stated that National Highways works worth two lakh crore rupees are being undertaken in UP.

About MoRTH:

• Minister for Road Transport & Highways andMSME: Nitin Jairam Gadkari
• Constituency: Nagpur, Maharashtra

APEDA holds Virtual Buyer Seller Meet with Germany

• Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, APEDA, continued its endeavour to promote export of agricultural products through the virtual medium. Several virtual buyer seller meets were organised with the importing countries in association with the Indian Missions abroad.
• A virtual networking meet with German importers was also organised to promote export of fresh fruits and vegetables from the country. The event was organised by APEDA in collaboration with Embassy of India, Berlin and German Agribusiness Alliance.
• The event comprised of presentations by the Indian side on the strength of Indian agricultural products in exports specifically grapes and fresh fruits and vegetables.
• From the German side, there were presentations on the requirements and expectations of the German market. The event provided a platform to showcase India’s strength in export of fresh fruits and vegetables to further strengthen the confidence of the German buyers in Indian agri products and facilitate exports.

About Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority:

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairman: Dr. M. Angamuthu
• Parent organization: Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India

About Germany:

• Capital: Berlin
• Currency: Euro

India has emerged as fourth largest producer of renewable energy in world: PM Modi

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated India’s renewable power capacity is the 4th largest in the world and it is growing at the fastest speed among all major countries. He stated, the renewable energy capacity in India is currently 136 Giga Watts, which is about 36 percent of the country’s total capacity.
• Inaugurating the virtual 3rd Global Renewable Energy Investment Meeting and Expo, RE-Invest 2020 Mr Modi stated, India is travelling on an unparalleled journey in the last 6 years. He stated, the country is expanding generation capacity and network to ensure every citizen has access to electricity to unlock their full potential.
• The Prime Minister stated, India’s annual renewable energy capacity addition has been exceeding that of coal based thermal power since 2017. In the last 6 years, India has increased installed renewable energy capacity by two and half times. The Prime Minister stated, India is showing to the world that sound environmental policies can also be sound economics.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

UNDP, Invest India launch SDGs Investor Map for India

• United Nations Development Programme, UNDP and Invest India have launched the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Investor Map for India. It laid out 18 Investment Opportunities Areas in six critical SDG enabling sectors, that can help the country push forward on the trajectory of Sustainable Development.
• Deepak Bagla, CEO of Invest India stated, India occupies a key role in determining the success of the SDGs, globally. Shoko Noda, Resident Representative of UNDP India stated, Investing in the SDGs is crucial to ‘Building Back Better’ and making the economy and our societies more resilient and sustainable.

About United Nations Development Programme:

• Headquarters: New York, United States
• Head: Achim Steiner

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

Mercedes-Benz joins hands with SBI to target HNI customers

• Mercedes-Benz has joined hands with State Bank of India (SBI) to offer financial benefits to the lender’s High Net Worth Individual (HNI) customers.
• This collaboration will give the luxury automobile manufacturer access to State Bank of India’s High Net Worth Individual (HNI) customer base, while the bank’s customers will enjoy exclusive benefits at the time of booking a Mercedes-Benz car.
• The collaboration with SBI gives an exciting opportunity to expand our customer base and reach out to the potential HNI customers of the bank with products and services.

About SBI:

• Chairperson: Rajnish Kumar
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: 1 July 1955

About Mercedes-Benz AG:

• Headquarters :Stuttgart,Germany
• Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management

CBDT will validate UDIN generated from ICAI portal at the time of upload of Tax Audit Reports: Finance Ministry

• Finance Ministry has stated, CBDT will validate Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) generated from ICAI portal at the time of upload of Tax Audit Reports.
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, in its gazette notification dated 2nd August, 2019, had made generation of UDIN from ICAI website icai.orgmandatory for every kind of certificate/tax audit report and other attests made by their members as required by various regulators. This was introduced to curb fake certifications by non-CAs misrepresenting themselves as Chartered Accountants.
• In line with the ongoing initiatives of the Income Tax Department for integrating with other Government agencies and bodies, Income-tax e-filing portal has completed its integration with ICAI portal for validation of UDIN generated from ICAI portal by the Chartered Accountants for documents certified or attested by them.
• Income-tax e-filing portal had already factored mandatory quoting of UDIN with effect from 27th April this year for documents certified and attested by a Chartered Accountant. With this system level integration, UDIN provided for the audit reports and certificates submitted by the Chartered Accountants in the e-filing portal shall be validated online with the ICAI.

About CBDT:

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairman:Pramod Chandra Mody

About The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India:

• Headquarters: New Delhi , India
• President: Atul Kumar Gupta

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Indian Oil successfully tests ‘zero-emission e-mobility’

• Indian Oil Corporation Ltd has successfully conducted a ‘Proof of Concept’ feasibility study on ‘zero-emission electric mobility’ at one of its fuel stations in Bengaluru.
• A company stated that Zero-Emission Electric Mobility is a concept that allows the electric vehicle (EV) to charge using solar power and ensuring zero emissions.
• The EV charging system has been designed by Hygge Energy, a start-up incubated by Tech Mahindra, and has three main features – EVs are charged using solar power, no upgrades are required in grid infrastructure, and grid resilience is improved by the system’s architecture, especially in remote areas,” the statement stated.
• The technology enables intelligent electric-vehicle charging using “hybrid microgrids”. Hybrid microgrids are created by integrating existing grid infrastructure with solar PV batteries, the statement added.

About Indian Oil Corporation:

• Chairperson: Shrikant Madhav Vaidya
• Headquarters: New Delhi

SpiceJet launches dedicated freighter services to Leh in Ladakh

• Airline major SpiceJet launched dedicated freighter services connecting Leh with the rest of the country.
• Accordingly, the airline operated its first freighter flight from Delhi to Leh carrying 13 tonnes of cargo The flight was operated by SpiceXpress, the dedicated cargo arm of SpiceJet.
• In addition, the airline stated that the dedicated cargo flights will help transport fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, perishables, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and other general cargo. At present, SpiceJet operates a fleet of 17 cargo aircraft including three wide-body planes and is the only Indian carrier to operate long-haul non-stop cargo flights to Europe, Africa and CIS countries.

About SpiceJet:

• CEO: Ajay Singh
• Headquarters: Gurugram

Honey FPOs will help in achieving the goal of increasing income of small farmers: Narendra Singh Tomar

• The Honey FPO Programme of National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd was inaugurated by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. The inauguration programme was hosted online and attended by the new Honey FPOs, farmers and FPOs from various parts of the country.
• He assured that NAFED will address these issues by acting as an intermediary and filling up the gaps between the elements of the beekeeping supply chain and also ensure price remuneration to the beekeeping farmers.
• Through these Honey FPOs, NAFED will also work for promotion of beekeeping as an occupation for unemployed women and tribal populations and uplift their livelihood. Mr Tomar also stated that honey beekeeping will change the lifestyle of small and marginal farmers and help in achieving the goal of increasing farmer’s income.

About National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd:

• Founded: 2 October 1958
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairman: Bijendra Singh

Flipkart, GiveIndia Foundation provide 50,000 PPE kits to UP

• E-Commerce Company Flipkart in collaboration with GiveIndia Foundation provided 50,000 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits to the state government.
• As many as 50,000 PPE kits have been provided to the UP government in collaboration with GiveIndia Foundation which will help in protecting the health workers, patients, and other frontline warriors from coronavirus infection.
• Earlier, Flipkart had donated more than 50,000 PPE protective gear and N95 masks to the Uttar Pradesh administration to fight the epidemic, he stated.
• Till now, Flipkart has distributed over 1 million medical gowns and 6 lakh N-95 masks across the nation, he added

About Flipkart Private Limited:

• CEO: Kalyan Krishnamurthy
• Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

Uttarakhand wildlife board clears proposal to de-notify elephant reserve

• The Uttarakhand State Wildlife Advisory Board approved the de-notification of Shivalik Elephant Reserve as an elephant reserve to pave way for the expansion of the Dehradun airport project, stated forest officials.
• Harak Singh Rawat, state forest minister, stated, “The state wildlife board, during its 16th meeting, approved the de-notification of Shivalik Elephant Reserve as there is no law to define an elephant reserve. In the late 90s and early 2000, the state government had sent a proposal to the Centre seeking a clarification regarding the stated area, after which it was notified as an elephant reserve in 2002. But as per the norms of the central government, there is no law or Act yet under which the legal status of an elephant reserve is defined.”
• In September, the state government wrote to the union environment ministry for obtaining prior approval under Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 for non-forestry use of 87.0815 hectares of forest land for “expansion of the Jolly Grant Airport.” This land is within the Shivalik Elephant Reserve. Officials estimate that about 10,000 trees will be cut for the expansion.

About Uttarakhand:

• Governor: Baby Rani Maurya
• Capitals: Dehradun (Winter), Gairsain (Summer)
• Chief Minister: Trivendra Singh Rawat

West Bengal govt accepts expert panel’s recommendation to reduce syllabus for classes 10th and 12th for 2020-21

• The West Bengal government has accepted the recommendations of an expert panel to reduce the curriculum at secondary and higher secondary levels due to the pandemic, Education Minister Partha Chatterjee stated.
• The syllabus reforms committee, the secondary board and higher secondary councils have suggested changes in the Madhyamik (class 10) and Uchha Madhyamik (class 12) curriculum for the 2020-21 academic year due to the COVID-19 situation.
• An official of the syllabus reforms committee stated, there will be a 30-35 per cent cut in the course load at the secondary and higher secondary levels.

About West Bengal:

• Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar
• Capital: Kolkata
• Chief Minister: Mamta Banerjee

UP Government Okays Ambitious Ganga Expressway Project Worth Rs. 36,402 Crore

• The Uttar Pradesh government has approved an ambitious 594-km Ganga Expressway project worth 36,402 crore running along the river from Haridwar to Allahabad.
• The decision to build the expressway between the two cities on the riverbank while running through Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao and Rae Bareli was taken in a UP Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
• The Cabinet also approved a district-wise alignment of the Expressway.The government also decided to monetise the Agra-Lucknow Expressway for funding the ambitious Ganga Expressway project and decided to set up a high-power committee to take procedural and operational decisions to monetise the Agra-Lucknow Expressway.
• For the implementation of the road project along the Ganga, it was decided that funds will be withdrawn from the treasury after the money raised from the monetisation of the Agra-Lucknow Expressway has been deposited.

About Uttar Pradesh:

• Governor: Anandiben Patel
• Capital: Lucknow
• Chief minister: Yogi Adityanath

Ladakh gets largest solar project at Leh IAF station

• The Union Territory of Ladakh has got the largest solar power project setup under the Centre’s ‘Make In India’ initiative at Leh IAF station to provide sustainable energy alternative to fossil fuel and traditional methods of energy generation.
• The project namely ‘Provision of Solar Photo Voltaic Powerplant 1.5 MW’ has been completed within 12 months well before the completion deadline of March 31, 2021, a defence spokesman stated.
• “The largest solar project at a high altitude in the entire Leh in the Union Territory of Ladakh has been established at IAF Station Leh,” he stated.
• It is the largest installed solar project till date out of the target of 300 MW in three phases for defence sectors and 14 MW for Leh region as set by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

About Ladakh:

• Lieutenant Governor, R K Mathur
• Capital: Leh, Kargil

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU

India, Finland sign MoU in the field of Environment protection and biodiversity conservation

• India and Finland signed an MoU for developing cooperation between two countries in the field of Environment protection and biodiversity conservation.
• The MoU is a platform to further advance Indian and Finnish partnership and support, exchange best practices in areas like prevention of air and water pollution, waste management, and promotion of circular economy.
• The MoU was signed virtually by Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar from the Indian side and his Finnish counterpart Krista Mikkonen.

About Finland:

• Capital: Helsinki
• Prime minister: Sanna Marin
• Currency: Euro
• President: Sauli Niinistö

Cabinet approves MoU between BRICS nations on sports and physical culture

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between BRICS countries on cooperation in the field of physical culture and sports.
• “Cooperation in the field of sports among the five countries will help in expanding knowledge and expertise in the area of sports science, sports medicine, coaching techniques etc, which would result in improvement in the performance of our sportspersons in international tournaments and strengthening of bilateral relations with BRICS member countries,” the government stated .
• “Benefits arising from cooperation in the field of sports among the five countries would be equally applicable to all sportspersons irrespective of their caste, creed, region, religion and gender,” it added.
• BRICS is the group consisting of five major emerging countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which together represent about 42 per cent of the population, 23 per cent of GDP, 30 per cent of the territory and 18 per cent of the global trade.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPS AND PORTALS

Tamil Nadu CM launches ‘Thee’ app

• The app is for the general public to reach the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services in cases of fires, floods, mishaps in wells, chemical or gas leaks and other accidents
• Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami launched ‘Thee’, a mobile phone-based application for the benefit of the general public to reach out to the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services when in need.
• The application has been designed to help the general public in case of fire accidents, floods, mishaps in deep wells, rescue of wildlife, chemical or gas leaks, among other accidents. Arrangements have been made to facilitate people in need getting help within 10 seconds of their using the app.

About Tamil Nadu:

• Capital: Chennai
• Chief minister: Edappadi K. Palaniswami
• Governor: Banwarilal Purohit

Prakash Javadeker launches India Climate Change Knowledge Portal

• Minister of Environment,Forest and Climate Change  Prakash Javadekar launched the India Climate Change Knowledge Portal. The portal will have all the major steps the Government is taking at both national and international levels to address  the climate change issues.
• Mr Javadekar stated, it will be a single-point information resource that provides information on the different climate initiatives taken by various Line Ministries enabling users to access d status on these initiatives.
• With regard to climate actions after the Paris Agreement, Mr Javadekar stated, India has practically achieved  its  pre-2020 climate action He stated, though India is not  responsible for  climate change but  it is taking responsible action to mitigate the challenge. Mr Javadekar also demanded that other countries must commit to  the advance commitments of Kyoto Protocol which has not been followed by the countries that must be done.

About Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change:          

• Prakash Javadekar, Cabinet Minister
• Constituency: Madhya Pradesh
• Babul Supriyo, Minister of State

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITIONS AND MERGERS

CCI Approves Acquisition by Reliance Retail Ventures of Retail of Future Group

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves acquisition by Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (“RRVL”), Reliance Retail and Fashion Lifestyle Limited (“RRVL WOS”) of the retail and wholesale undertaking and the logistics and warehousing undertaking of the Future Group under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.
• The following Future Group entities will be reorganized by way of amalgamation with Future Enterprises Limited (FEL):
• Future Consumer Limited (FCL); Future Lifestyle Fashions Limited (FLFL);Future Retail Limited(FRL);Future Market Networks Limited (FMNL);Future Supply Chain Solutions Limited (FSCSL); and Futurebazaar India Limited (FIL) and its subsidiaries.
• The Transferor Companies consists of several listed and unlisted companies, primarily engaged in retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing businesses. These businesses operate on a pan-India basis, and include retail operations across segments such as food and grocery, apparel, footwear and accessories, other merchandise, etc.
• Post re-organisation of the Transferor Companies, RRVL and RRVL WOS will acquire retail and wholesale undertaking; and the logistics and warehousing undertaking of FEL.

About Competition Commission of India:

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Ashok Gupta, Chairman
• P K Singh , Secretary

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

Lt Gen Harpal Singh appointed new Engineer-in-Chief of Indian Army

• Lt Gen Harpal Singh has been appointed as the new Engineer-in-Chief of the Indian Army. He is presently the Director-General of Border Roads Organisation and would take over his new appointment on December 1.
• Lt Gen Harpal Singh, an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers on 24 December 1982.
• He later commanded a Border Roads Task Force in Jammu and Kashmir valley. He has also been the Chief Engineer of Project Dantak (BRO) at Bhutan, Chief Engineer (Navy), Mumbai and Chief Engineer HQ Eastern Command.
• Major Gen Rajeev Chaudhary has been appointed as the new Director-General of the Border Roads Organisation. The BRO is responsible for the construction and maintenance of roads along the borders with China and Pakistan.

About Indian Army:

• Chief of Defence Staff (CDS): General Bipin Rawat
• Chief of the Army Staff (COAS):General Manoj Mukund Naravane

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONORS

TN School Girl Wins Award For Designing Solar Powered Ironing Cart

• A 14-year-old class 9th student from Tamil Nadu has won the prestigious Children’s Climate Prize for designing a mobile ironing cart that uses solar panels to power a steam iron box instead of using conventional charcoal.
• Vinisha Umashankar would receive the prize amount of Rs.8.64 lakh and medal from the Sweden-based Children’s Climate Foundation at a digital event held by Isabella Lövin, Swedish Minister for Environment and Climate and Deputy Prime Minister. One of the world’s largest international climate awards for young innovators, this is the fifth edition of the Children’s Climate Prize.
• Her main aim behind the innovation was to make use of renewable energy. The simple design of the iron cart addresses the problem of air and water pollution. It is estimated that there may be 10 million ironing carts in India and each burn about over 5 kg of charcoal every day. That’s about 5 crore kg of charcoal burnt every day. Just imagine the resulting tree loss.
• Vinisha explained that designing a mobile ironing cart with solar panels as its roof, which is connected to a 100 Ah battery.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING

India tops bribery rate in Asia region; 46% people used personal connection to access public services

• India has got the dubious distinction of having the highest bribery rate in the Asia region, with a survey showing the bribery rate of the country at 39 percent. Nearly half of the people, who paid bribes, stated they were asked to do so, it revealed.
• The survey, conducted by international anti-graft rights group Transparency International, also showed that India has the highest rate of people – 46 percent — who used the personal connection to access public services,
• In the survey, titled ‘Global Corruption Barometer – Asia’, the agency surveyed 20,000 people across 17 Asian countries in between June and September. As per the report, 42 percent of people had paid bribes to police, while 39 percent people stated they used personal connections in dealings with the police.
• India was followed by Cambodia at 37 percent and Indonesia stood at third position with bribery rate of 30 percent. India’s neighbouring nation Nepal was much lower on the list at 12 percent.

About Transparency International:

• Headquarters: Berlin, Germany
• Chairperson: Delia Ferreira Rubio

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE

Indian Army launches cycling expedition in Gujarat & Rajasthan to commemorate 1971 Indo-Pak War victory

• Konark Corps of Indian Army has launched a 1971 kilometers cycling expedition in Gujarat and Rajasthan to commemorate the commencement of the Golden Jubilee Victory Celebrations of Indian Armed Forces in the Indo-Pak War of 1971.
• December 3 will mark the commencement of the 50th year of the decisive victory of Indian Armed Forces in war. The cycle expedition was flagged off from an outpost near Lakhpat in Kutch by Honorary Captain Gumansinh Jhala, an 87 year old War Veteran who had participated in both Indo-Pak wars of 1965 & 1971 then serving with 7 Grenadiers.
• 1971 Kilometers ‘Swarnim Vijay Varsh Cyclothon’ across Gujarat & Rajasthan has been joined by the relay teams of 20 participants each of the various Army Formations across the two states.

Indian Navy inducts two American Predator drones on lease

• The Indian Navy has leased two Predator drones from an American firm for carrying out surveillance in the Indian Ocean Region, a person familiar with the matter stated– in a sign of closer defence and security cooperation between India and the US.
• The drones that can stay airborne for about 36 hours and can cruise upto a height of 40,000 feet could also be used for surveillance along India’s land borders including in Ladakh where Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged in an eyeball to eyeball confrontation since May. The drones would be on lease to India for a year, the person cited above stated.

About Indian Navy:

• Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS): Admiral Karambir Singh
• Founded: 26 January 1950
• Headquarters: Integrated Defence Headquarters, New Delhi

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

Kiren Rijiju launches 2nd edition of ‘Fit India School Week’ program

• Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has launched the second edition of Fit India School Week program. To participate in the program the schools have to register themselves on www.fitindia.gov.in/fit-india-school-week.
• Mr Rijiju spoke about the importance of fitness in school life and stated students are the driving force behind making India fit. The Fit India School week program was launched in November last year and saw participation from over 15 thousand schools across the country.

About MoYA&S:

• Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Minister of State in the Ministry of Minority Affairs of India: ShriKirenRijiju
• Constituency: Arunachal West

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY

FC Kohli, founder of TCS and father of India’s IT industry passes away at 96

• Padma Bhushan awardee, Faqir Chand Kohli, who was the founder and first CEO of Tata Consultancy Services, has passed away after reportedly suffering from a heart attack. He was 96.
• Popularly known as FC Kohli, the industrialist was born in Peshawar on March 19, 1924 and completed his primary and college-level education in Pakistan.
• Kohli joined Tata Electric Companies and rose to become its Director in 1970. During this tenure he was responsible for the use of digital computers for power system design and control.

James Wolfensohn, former World Bank president, passes away

• James Wolfensohn, who served as the president of the World Bank for 10 years and was a guiding force for a couple of the most well-known cultural institutions in the US, has died. He was 86.
• Wolfensohn, born in Australia, worked on Wall Street for many years before taking over as the head of the World Bank, a loan-offering global development organisation, in 1995. He was nominated by then-President Bill Clinton.

DAILY CA NOV 26th  

• Constitution Day is being celebrated across the country to mark the adoption of the Indian Constitution by the Constituent Assembly. On 26th November in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of the country formally adopted the Constitution of India which came into force on 26th January 1950.
• National Milk Day is celebrated across the country on November 26 every year on the birthday of Dr Verghese Kurien
• Union Cabinet has approved equity infusion by Government of 6000 crore rupees in NIIF Debt Platform sponsored by National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, comprising Aseem Infrastructure Finance Limited and NIIF Infrastructure Finance Limited.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the PRAGATI meeting. It marked Prime Minister’s thirty-third interaction through PRAGATI – the ICT based multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, involving Central and State governments.
• Communications Ministry has stated all Fixed to Mobile calls will be dialed with prefix ‘0’ from 15th January next year. There will be no change in dialing plan from fixed to fixed, mobile to fixed and mobile to mobile calls.
• Government think-tank NITI Aayog has formed a high-level panel to explore the technological and commercial viability of the Virgin Hyperloop technology for ultrahigh speed travel in India, weeks after its first test was completed with humans on board.
• Union Food Processing Industries Minister Narendra Singh Tomar virtually inaugurated the Rs 107.83 crore mega food park at Phagwara in Kapurthala district of Punjab which is likely to generate 5,000 jobs.
• The United Nations humanitarian chief has released 25 million US dollars from its emergency fund to support women-led organisations that prevent and respond to gender-based violence.
• India Post Payments bank (IPPB) has tied-up with PNB MetLife India Insurance, for its customers availing the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY).
• HDFC Life Insurance and HDFC Ergo Health Insurance have partnered to launch a combi product that aims to provide a complete financial protection package in the current Covid-19 pandemic.
• Uttar Pradesh government has passed an ordinance to ban unlawful religious conversions for marriage.
• The Bowring and Lady Curzon Medical College and Research Institute in Bengaluru has been named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
• Uttar Pradesh Cabinet led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has cleared the proposal to rename the Ayodhya airport as Maryada Purushottam Sri Ram Airport, Ayodhya.
• In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council enters into MOU with Cricketer Suresh Raina’s Cricket Academy to develop budding Cricketers in the Union Territory.
• ICCI will evaluate and recommend potential start-ups /SMEs /MSMEs for investments.ICCI (Inventivepreneur Chamber of Commerce and Industries), in its endeavour to support SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and start-ups, has signed an MoU with HDFC Bank.
• Senior BJP leader and NDA nominee Vijay Kumar Sinha was elected as the new speaker of Bihar Assembly.
• New Zealand’s Greg Barclay has been elected as the new independent chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
• Chandrasekaran also chairs the boards of several group operating companies, including Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, and TCS.
• Cambridge Dictionary has named ‘quarantine’ as Word of the Year 2020. The word has been named the word of the year based on data that showed that it was one of the most highly searched words on the Cambridge Dictionary this year.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a book on the life and ideals of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism and first of its ten gurus.
• Satheesh Reddy, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO flagged off the first Varunastra, the heavy weight torpedo that was delivered to the Indian Navy at a ceremony held at BDL, Visakhapatnam Unit.
• Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has granted the annual recognition to Archery Association of India as a National Sports Federation (NSF), validating its elections held for new office-bearers earlier this year.
• Diego Maradona, one of the greatest footballers of all time, died at the age of 60, plunging his sport and his native Argentina.
• Prominent Islamic scholar, reformer, educationalist and vice-president of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) Maulana Kalbe Sadiq, 83.
• Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, who was the political secretary to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, has passed away, after testing positive for Covid-19. He was 71.

DAILY CA NOV 27th & 28th

• Indian Railway has launched a completely digitized online Human Resource Management System (HRMS).
• Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot e-launched a ‘National Portal for Transgender Persons’ and e-inaugurated a ‘Garima Greh: A Shelter Home for Transgender Persons’ in Vadodara, Gujarat .
• Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of 16 National Highway projects worth 7477 crore rupees in Uttar Pradesh.
• Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, APEDA, continued its endeavour to promote export of agricultural products through the virtual medium. The event was organised by APEDA in collaboration with Embassy of India, Berlin and German Agribusiness Alliance.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated India’s renewable power capacity is the 4th largest in the world and it is growing at the fastest speed among all major countries. He stated, the renewable energy capacity in India is currently 136 Giga Watts, which is about 36 percent of the country’s total capacity.
• United Nations Development Programme, UNDP and Invest India have launched the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Investor Map for India.
• Mercedes-Benz has joined hands with State Bank of India (SBI) to offer financial benefits to the lender’s High Net Worth Individual (HNI) customers.
• CBDT will validate Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) generated from ICAI portal at the time of upload of Tax Audit Reports.
• Indian Oil Corporation Ltd has successfully conducted a ‘Proof of Concept’ feasibility study on ‘zero-emission electric mobility’ at one of its fuel stations in Bengaluru.
• Airline major SpiceJet launched dedicated freighter services connecting Leh with the rest of the country.
• The Honey FPO Programme of National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd was inaugurated by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar
• E-Commerce Company Flipkart in collaboration with GiveIndia Foundation provided 50,000 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits to the state government.
• The Uttarakhand State Wildlife Advisory Board approved the de-notification of Shivalik Elephant Reserve as an elephant reserve to pave way for the expansion of the Dehradun airport project.
• The West Bengal government has accepted the recommendations of an expert panel to reduce the curriculum at secondary and higher secondary levels due to the pandemic.
• The Uttar Pradesh government has approved an ambitious 594-km Ganga Expressway project worth Rs. 36,402 crore running along the river from Haridwar to Allahabad.
• The Union Territory of Ladakh has got the largest solar power project setup under the Centre’s ‘Make In India’ initiative at Leh IAF station to provide sustainable energy alternative to fossil fuel and traditional methods of energy generation.
• India and Finland signed an MoU for developing cooperation between two countries in the field of Environment protection and biodiversity conservation.
• The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between BRICS countries on cooperation in the field of physical culture and sports.
• The Thee’, app is for the general public to reach the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services in cases of fires, floods, mishaps in wells, chemical or gas leaks and other accidents
• Minister of Environment,Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar launched the India Climate Change Knowledge Portal.
• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves acquisition by Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (“RRVL”), Reliance Retail and Fashion Lifestyle Limited (“RRVL WOS”) of the retail and wholesale undertaking and the logistics and warehousing undertaking of the Future Group under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.
• Lt Gen Harpal Singh has been appointed as the new Engineer-in-Chief of the Indian Army. He is presently the Director-General of Border Roads Organisation and would take over his new appointment on December 1.
• A 14-year-old class 9th student from Tamil Nadu has won the prestigious Children’s Climate Prize for designing a mobile ironing cart that uses solar panels to power a steam iron box instead of using conventional charcoal.
• India has got the dubious distinction of having the highest bribery rate in the Asia region, with a survey showing the bribery rate of the country at 39 percent. India was followed by Cambodia at 37 percent and Indonesia stood at third position with bribery rate of 30 percent.
• Konark Corps of Indian Army has launched a 1971 kilometers cycling expedition in Gujarat and Rajasthan to commemorate the commencement of the Golden Jubilee Victory Celebrations of Indian Armed Forces in the Indo-Pak War of 1971.
• The Indian Navy has leased two Predator drones from an American firm for carrying out surveillance in the Indian Ocean Region, a person familiar with the matter stated– in a sign of closer defence and security cooperation between India and the US.
• Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has launched the second edition of Fit India School Week program. To participate in the program the schools have to register themselves on www.fitindia.gov.in/fit-india-school-week.
• Padma Bhushan awardee, Faqir Chand Kohli, who was the founder and first CEO of Tata Consultancy Services, has passed away after reportedly suffering from a heart attack. He was 96.
• James Wolfensohn, who served as the president of the World Bank for 10 years and was a guiding force for a couple of the most well-known cultural institutions in the US, has died. He was 86.