Latest Current Affairs For Tuesday 23rd November, 2021

Education Minister inaugurates CNT and CIKS at IIT Guwahati

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has inaugurated Centre for Nanotechnology (CNT) and Centre for Indian Knowledge System (CIKS) at IIT Guwahati.

CNT will host 25 advanced laboratories that will focus on advancements in multi-disciplinary, scientific and translational research and is equipped with a Class-100 clean room facilities. 

CIKS will focus on preserving, documenting and sustaining the knowledge that is unique to India. 

Tribal Affairs, CBSE jointly launched online certificate course

Ministry of Tribal Affairs and CBSE has jointly launched online certificate course on Experiential Learning for the 21st Century for Eklavya Model Residential School and CBSE teachers.

Experiential Learning for 21st Century Programme: It has been conceptualized as an online certificate course for educators to help them adapt classroom learning to real life experiences.

Out of 650 educators, who applied for this, 350 have been selected to learn new pedagogies.

IAF conducts 'Symphony orchestra' at Golconda Fort

Air Force Band of Indian Air Force (IAF) has conducted 'Symphony orchestra' at Golconda Fort as part of 'Swarnim Vijay Varsh' and ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrations.

Air Force Station Hakimpet conducted the mega event in a joyful and patriotic atmosphere.

It was attended by all personnel and families of the station and civilians.

It comprises 28 musicians who specialize in brass, wood-wind, reed string, electronic and percussion instruments.

India received $87 billion in remittances in 2021: World Bank

India has received $87 billion in remittances in 2021 as per the report titled ‘Migration and Development Brief 35’ released by World Bank and KNOMAD.

KNOMAD is supported by multi-donor trust fund established by World Bank.

India is also the top country in receiving remittances in 2021, followed by China, Mexico, Philippines, and Egypt.

As per the report, remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are projected to reach $589 billion in 2021. 

Foundation stone of Rani Gaidinliu Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum launched

Home Minister Amit Shah will lay foundation stone for setting up of Rani Gaidinliu Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum at Luangkao village in Tamenglong district of Manipur. 

This project has been sanctioned by Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs at an estimated cost of 15 crore rupees.

Luangkao Village in Tamenglong District is the birthplace of renowned freedom fighter Rani Gaidinliu and decided to name the Museum as Rani Gaidinliu Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum.

Know Your Vaccination Status feature enabled on CoWIN

CoWIN digital platform has now been enabled with a new feature ‘Know Your Vaccination Status’. 

The new feature will help to verify or retrieve a citizen’s vaccination status and details as per the authorized rights of the verifying entity by Co-WIN and Health Ministry.

It can be utilized by a service provider for facilitating service requested by the citizen.

It can also be utilized by travel agencies and help making travel safe for individuals.

Sarbananda Sonowal announces expansion of NEIAFMR in Arunachal Pradesh

Sarbananda Sonowal has announced expansion of North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda and Folk Medicine Research (NEIAFMR) in Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh by developing new infrastructure within the campus.

It is in line with the vision to develop the AYUSH sector in the state and the entire northeast region.

It will require an investment of around Rs 53.72 crores.

Under this, new Ayurveda College with 30 seats and new Ayurveda Hospital with 60 beds will be established.

Vinod Tawde appointed as National General Secretary of BJP

Maharashtra BJP leader Vinod Tawde has been appointed as the National General Secretary of BJP.

He is a prominent Maratha leader and has served in several organizational positions in Maharashtra.

He has a base in Konkan and Mumbai.

Apart from this, Rituraj Sinha and Asha Lakhra have been made National Secretary of BJP.

BJP also appointed two new spokespersons Bharti Ghosh and Shehzad Poonawalla.

President of BJP: J. P. Nadda.

India concludes with 7 medals at 2021 Asian Archery Championships

India archers bagged seven medals at 2021 Asian Archery Championships, that was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh from November 14, 2021, to November 19, 2021.

This included one gold, four silver and two bronze medals.

South Korea top the medal table with 15 medals, while Bangladesh settled at third place with 3 medals.

Indian winners:

Gold medal: Jyothi Surekha Vennam

Silver medal: Pravin Jadhav

Bronze medal: Ankita Bhakat, Kapil, Aman Saini, Abhishek Verma, Rishabh Yadav. 

Indore named India’s cleanest city for fifth consecutive year

Indore has been ranked as the cleanest city of India for the fifth year in a row by Swachh Survekshan 2021.

Surat and Vijaywada were ranked second and third cleanest city respectively with over 10 lakh population.

Among smaller cities with population between 1-10 lakh, New Delhi ranked first, followed by Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. 

Among the states with over 100 urban local bodies, Chattisgarh was ranked on top. 

Geoff Allardice appointed as permanent CEO of International Cricket Council

Geoff Allardice has been appointed as the permanent CEO of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Prior to this, he was serving as the interim CEO of ICC since last eight months. 

He is a former Australian first-class cricketer.

He succeeded Manu Sawhney who officially resigned from his position in July 2021.

ICC is the world governing body of cricket with headquarters at Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 

India-US launched ‘Operation Broader Sword’

India and the USA, jointly conducted an ‘Operation Broader Sword’ to stop the illegal shipment of drugs through the International Mail System.

It targeted shipments of illicit, potentially dangerous, unapproved prescription drugs, combination medical devices, and synthetic drug precursors shipped through International Mail Facilities.

The operation resulted in the interception of over 500 shipments of illicit and unapproved prescription drugs bound for US consumers.

NLU Delhi launches research affiliate program ‘Eklavya’

The National Law University (NLU), Delhi launched Eklavya, a ‘Research Affiliate’ program, for those who do not have a traditional law degree.

Aim: To emphasize its commitment to actively seek partnerships outside the varsity and draw from their experiences and perspectives to develop quality legal scholarship. 

It is open to those who have at least three years of demonstrable experience working on issues that have a significant interface with the law.

CarTrade Tech to acquire OLX India's auto business for Rs 537 cr

Mumbai-based used cars platform CarTrade Tech Ltd will acquire online marketplace OLX India's auto sales business for Rs 537 crore.

CarTrade will acquire a 100% stake in Sobek Auto India Pvt Ltd, the entity that houses OLX India’s Automotive business, in an all-cash deal.

The acquisition will likely to be completed in 21-30 days.

Sobek is a company incorporated under the Companies Act, of 2013.

It is engaged in the business of running an automotive digital platform.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance wins Insurer Innovation Award 2023

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has won the Insurer Innovation Award 2023 for the APAC region at the 8th World Digital Insurance Awards, hosted by TDI - The Digital Insurer.

Recognition: Bajaj Allianz Life's ground-breaking WhatsApp Conversational Platform - empowering customers to digitally services their policies seamlessly. 

The award entries were shortlisted by industry experts and the winner was selected by the community through pre-voting and live event voting.

OCA elects Sheikh Talal as the new President

Kuwait’s Sheikh Talal Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah has been elected as the new President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

He replaced his older brother Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, who led the OCA for 30 years until 2021.

The OCA was founded in 1982 by his father Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who led it until 1990.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees.

Gujarat CM launches pilot project of ‘Antyodaya Shramik Suraksha Yojana’

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel launched the Antyodaya Shram Suraksha Accident Insurance Scheme from Kheda

All those registered under the e-Shram portal from Nadiad will benefit from the scheme.

It is being implemented through the Indian Postal Department, the IPPB, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Under this scheme, insurance with a premium of Rs. 289 and Rs. 499 per year will be a big support to workers in the event of death or partial disability.

MoHUA conducts SBM-U 2.0 Planning & Implementation Review-cum-Workshop

The Housing Ministry organized a review-cum-workshop to evaluate and accelerate the planning and implementation of the SBM-Urban 2.0.

PM Modi launched the 2.0 versions of SBM-U and AMRUT on October 1, 2021.

SBM-U 2.0: Achieving 100% waste segregation in all households and premises and 100% door-to-door collection of segregated waste from each. 

AMRUT 2.0: To provide complete coverage of water supply to all households and sewerage and septage in 500 AMRUT cities. 

World Population Day 2023: 11 July

World Population Day is observed every year on July 11 in order to raise awareness about global population issues, including population control.

2023 theme: Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities. 

It was established by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989, after the day the world approximately reached a population of five billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987.

India overtakes China as most attractive emerging market for investing

According to a study by Invesco Global Sovereign Asset Management, India has overtaken China to become the most attractive emerging market for investing in sovereign wealth funds this year.

Reason: This is due to its solid demographics, political stability, and proactive regulation. 

Positives for the nation also include the rapidly expanding demography, strong regulatory actions, and a welcoming climate for sovereign investors.

L&T and Spain's Navantia sign agreement for submarine project

L&T has signed a teaming agreement with Spanish-based Navantia for the submission of a techno-commercial bid for the Indian Navy’s prestigious P75 (India) submarine program.

P75 (India) Submarine Project is expected to be valued at €4.8 billion.

Navantia would carry out the design of P75(I) submarines based on its S80 class of submarines.

The first S80 class submarine was launched in 2021 and is undergoing sea trials prior to its delivery to Spanish Navy.