Daily Important News will speed up the preparation for the Civil Services Examination and it also plays a crucial role to grasp the current affairs topic comprehensively. Here we have covered most of the topics related to various categories including National, International, Sports, Science and Technology, and so on.
1. COVID-19 RT-PCR Lab
– The Union Home Minister, Amit Shah today inaugurated a mobile COVID-19 RT-PCR Lab at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in New Delhi, jointly launched by SpiceHealth and the ICMR.
– The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan also participated in the inauguration function.
– The Secretary DHR and Director General of the ICMR, Dr.Balram Bhargava, the Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet, Shri Ajay Singh and the CEO of SpiceHealth, Ms. Avani Singh also took part in the inauguration ceremony.
– This testing lab and more such labs which are planned to be set up, shall help in adding more capacity to COVID-19 testing. The lab is accredited by NABL and approved by the ICMR.
– RT-PCR tests are the most decisive and crucial for COVID-19 testing. These tests will cost Rs. 499/- and the cost of testing will be borne by the ICMR.
– The people of Delhi will not have to bear any cost. This initiative is a step in making COVID-19 testing affordable and more accessible to the common person.
– The test report would be available within 6 to 8 hours from the time of sample collection compared to the average 24 to 48 hours taken by similar test reports.
– SpiceHealth has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the ICMR for setting up testing facilities (laboratories)and collection centres across the country. To begin with, the first testing facility has been set up in Delhi.
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2. ‘Martyrdom Day’ of Guru Teg Bahadur
– The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind in his message on the eve of ‘Martyrdom Day’ of Guru Teg Bahadur on 23 November, 2020 has said:-
“On the sacred occasion of Guru Teg Bahadur Ji’s Martyrdom Day, I pay him my humble tribute.”
– The ninth Guru of the Sikh community, Shri Teg Bahadur Ji, made supreme sacrifice to protect the faith, belief and rights of the people. Therefore, the fellow citizens call him ‘Hind di Chaadar’ with love and respect.
– Guru Teg Bahadur’s teachings and his work will continue to spread the spirit of love and patriotism among all of us.
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3. Aviation Safety Awareness Week 2020
– Airports Authority of India (AAI) commenced Aviation Safety Awareness Week 2020 from 23rd November to 27th November 2020.
– The week-long celebration is being observed at all airports and ANS locations managed by AAI across India.
– Shri Arvind Singh, Chairman, AAI, requested all Regional Executive Directors & Airport Directors to be proactive and to devote time personally for monitoring the safety performance of their respective region/station.
– To raise awareness on Aviation Safety, AAI will undertake various employee engagement programs at the airports and ANS stations like reviewing documents and facilities, Mock exercises, preventive maintenance etc.
– Various social campaigns too will be rolled out to raise awareness on the issue. Banners and posters are being displayed across AAI offices and operational centres to educate both external and internal stakeholders on the significance of the Safety Awareness Week.
– Shri Maneesh Kumar DDG, DGCA has emphasized to achieve long term objective of Zero fatality by the year 2030 as envisaged by ICAO in its Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP-2020-22) through better managed safety systems of stakeholders.
Daily Gist of ‘The Hindu’, ‘PIB’, ‘Indian Express’ and Other Newspapers: 23 November, 2020
4. National Crisis Management Committee Meeting
– Union Cabinet Secretary, Shri Rajiv Gauba chaired a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) to review the status of impending Cyclone through video conferencing with the Chief Secretaries of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
– The Chief Secretaries of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry briefed the NCMC about their preparedness and mentioned that the authorities are fully prepared to meet any eventuality.
– They also informed about the coordination with the NDRF and other agencies to meet this challenge.
– DG, India Meteorological Department made a presentation on the present situation and mentioned that the status is being shared with the concerned State Governments. He mentioned that the impending Cyclone is going to affect coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry between 24th to 26th November, 2020.
Daily Gist of ‘The Hindu’, ‘PIB’, ‘Indian Express’ and Other Newspapers: 21 November, 2020
5. ATAL Faculty Development Programmes (FDPs)
– Union Education Minister, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ inaugurated 46 online AICTE Training and Learning (ATAL) Academy Faculty Development Programmes (FDPs) to train teachers of higher education institutions associated with All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) in thrust and emerging areas in technology.
– The FDPs will be conducted in 22 Indian states.
– On the occasion, the Shri Pokhriyal said that it is a matter of pride for the ATAL Academy to be included in the Book of World Records. He informed that the London-based organization has recognized the FDPs as a world record, under which 1,000 online FDPs in over 100 emerging areas will benefit one lakh faculty members across premier institutions like IITs, NITs, and IIITs
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6. India-China on the Brahmaputra
– Several dams have been constructed along the Brahmaputra River (known as Yarlung in China) on the Chinese side. This has become a repeated cause of concern for India.
– India and China continue to grow demographically as well as economically. Both amid at increasing consumption among its citizens. And also both nations face water constraints and in a race to develop new projects in order to overcome them.
7. National Commission for Minorities (NCM)
– It has been highlighted, recently that the seven-member National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has only one member left after the retirement of its vice-chairperson while the other 5 posts have been vacant since May 2020.
– Due to Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry for Minority Affairs clarified that the process is underway and there has been a delay in filling the vacancies.
– However, it is not the first time that vacancies have not been filled in the NCM. All seven posts remained empty for over two months in 2017.
– In 2004, the standing committee on social justice and empowerment was headed by Sumitra Mahajan. The committee made specific recommendations to strengthen the NCM, highlighting its insufficient investigative powers.
– However, these recommendations were never implemented by the then government. The reports tabled by the NCM are hardly taken up or debated irrespective of the government in power.
– The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act, 1992 Section 13 mandates that the annual report, together with the memorandum of action taken on the recommendations contained therein, as well as the reasons for non-acceptance of the recommendations, if any, be tabled before Parliament annually. Since 2010, these reports have not been tabled in Parliament.
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