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20 NOVEMBER 2021 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

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Written by NDI EDITOR

Nov 20 2021

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20 NOVEMBER 2021 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB
1. THREE FARM LAWS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Government has decided to repeal all three farm laws.

About:

  • The laws will be repealed in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament. He said, the three laws were for farmers' benefit but the Government couldn't convince a section of farmers despite best efforts.

  • The journey of the three farm laws — The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 — began on June 5, 2020, when the President of India promulgated three ordinances­ that were the precursors to these Acts.

  • These three ordinances — The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020; The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020; and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020 — were replaced the aforementioned Acts that were passed by Parliament in September 2020.

  • The implementation of these laws was stayed by the Supreme Court on January 12, 2021. So, these laws were in effect for only 221 days.
Source: All India Radio

2. ZERO BUDGETING-BASED AGRICULTURE
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the formation of a committee to promote zero budgeting-based agriculture, to change crop patterns as per the changing needs of the country, and to make MSP more effective and transparent.

About:

  • The Committee will have representatives of the central government, state governments, farmers, agricultural scientists and agricultural economists.
Source: All India Radio

3. PFIZER AND MODERNA COVID VACCINE
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the authorization of the Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccine booster doses for all adults aged 18 and older.

About:

  • Earlier, booster shots were allowed for people aged over 65 or for those at high risk of severe disease.

  • The decision will help to provide continued protection against Covid-19, including the serious consequences that can occur, such as hospitalization and death.

  • The COVID-19 cases are on a surge in the United States with around 88 thousand new infections being reported per day on average as the country enters its fifth wave. America is officially the hardest-hit nation with the pandemic claiming over seven lakh sixty thousand lives.
Source: All India Radio

4. NATIONAL BRAIN RESEARCH CENTRE (NBRC)
Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh launched first of its kind, latest, world's most sophisticated MRI facility at the National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), Manesar in Haryana.

About:

  • It is India's premier institute dedicated to Neuroscience Research and Education. It is an autonomous institute and a nodal center under the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology.

  • With this facility, India embarks on new frontiers of human Neuroscience with a unique and powerful 3-T MRI platform of outstanding performance.

  • He informed that MRI Scanner Prisma from Siemens, Germany, is being used by several international initiatives, like Brain initiative of USA, the European human brain project.

  • Dr Singh said, this new facility can run intense scanning modalities very fast, which reduces the scanning time for patients by almost a quarter from earlier-generation machines.

  • This is being used to develop human cohort data for patients suffering from common brain and mental health disorders including Parkinson's Disease, Alziemer's Disease, anxiety and depression.
 
Source : All India Radio

5. RASHTRA RAKSHA SAMPARPAN PARV
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the concluding ceremony of the Rashtra Raksha Samparpan Parv which culminated in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh where he dedicated to the nation multiple initiatives in the Defence sector.

About:

  • PM Modi handed over indigenously designed and developed equipment to the Armed Forces.

  • These equipment include Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) designed and developed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH); drones/UAVs designed and developed by Indian start-ups; and DRDO designed and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) manufactured Advanced Electronic Warfare suite for naval ships.

  • The LCH incorporates advanced technologies and stealth features for effective combat roles.

  • The deployment of Indian UAVs by Indian Armed Forces is also a proof of the growing maturity of the Indian drone industry ecosystem.

  • The advanced EW suite will be used in different naval ships including destroyers and frigates.

  • During the event, Mr. Modi also laid the foundation stone of the 400-crore rupee project at Jhansi node of UP Defence Industrial Corridor. The project is being executed by Bharat Dynamics Ltd for setting up a plant to produce propulsion systems for Anti-Tank Guided Missiles.

  • NCC Alumni Association was also launched with the objective to provide a formal platform to enable NCC Alumni to reconnect with NCC. The Prime Minister was registered as the first member of the association.

  • The association will further the aims of NCC and assist in nation-building. It witnessed enrolling of the Prime Minister, a former NCC cadet, as the first member of the Association.

  • The Prime Minister started the National programme of Simulation Training for NCC cadets with the aim to scale up simulation training facilities for all the three wings of NCC.

  • It includes setting up of Rifle Firing Simulators for the Army Wing of NCC, Microlight flying simulators for Air Wing and Rowing simulators for Naval wing. Powered Electronic kiosks at the National War Memorial which will enable visitors to pay floral homage to martyrs through the simple click of the button.

  • The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of 600 MW Ultra-Mega Solar Power Park at Garautha in Jhansi.
Source : All India Radio
6. CCI MARKET STUDY ON PHARMA SECTOR
The Competition Commission of India (CC) has recommended the creation of a National Digital Drugs Databank and strict enforcement of drug quality standards to boost price competition among generic drugs in India.

About:

  • The CCI found that the market for generic drugs is driven by brand competition instead of price competition despite such drugs being functionally and chemically identical.

  • Pharmaceuticals including generic drugs account for about 43.2 per cent of out of pocket healthcare expenditure in India according to the CCI study and about 62.7 per cent of the total health spending in the country.

  • The report noted that other manufacturers focus on increasing sales volume bidding up trade margins for retailers thereby incentivising them to push for the sale of their brands.

  • The CCI noted while the share of online pharmacies stood at 2.8 per cent in 2018, the online pharmacy sector’s reach has expanded during the pandemic to 8.8 million households from 3.5 million households prior to the pandemic.
Source : Indian Express

7. WORLD TOILET DAY
World Toilet Day was observed on November 19, 2021.

About:

  • World Toilet Day (WTD) is an official United Nations international observance day on 19 November to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis.

  • The day highlights the importance of sanitation and hygiene in driving improvements in public health, gender equality, education, economic development and environmental protection.

  • This year's theme 'Valuing toilets' reminds people of the adverse impact of poor sanitation on health, environment, economy and dignity of individuals.

  • Sustainable Development Goal 6 aims to "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all". In particular, target 6.2 is to "End open defecation and provide access to sanitation and hygiene".

  • The UN General Assembly declared World Toilet Day an official UN day in 2013, after Singapore had tabled the resolution.Prior to that, World Toilet Day had been established unofficially by the World Toilet Organization (a Singapore-based NGO) in 2001.
Source : All India Radio

8. SUSTAINABLE URBAN SERVICES PROGRAM FOR CHENNAI METROPOLITAN AREA (CMA)
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved USD150 million loan to the Government of India for implementation of the Sustainable Urban services program for Chennai metropolitan area (CMA).

About:

  • India is the largest beneficiary of AIIB and the bank has so far approved 29 projects for India worth 6.8 billion USD. The energy and transport sectors have received the highest amount of AIIB’s financing.

  • The Chennai Metropolitan Area project is aimed at strengthening institutions and financing for improving the quality and sustainability of selected urban services in the CMA.

  • It will cover the core urban services, including water resource management, water supply and sewerage, urban mobility, solid waste management, and public health.

  • The total project cost is 701 million USD out of which AIIB and World Bank each will provide 150 million USD each. Rest of the cost will be borne by the Govt. of Tamil Nadu.

  • AIIB in September approved a USD356.67 million loan for the construction of a new corridor in Chennai’s metro network as part of Chennai Metro Rail Phase 2.

  • The Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) is home to around 11 million people and one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in Asia with its growing economic significance in India.
Source : All India Radio

9. MGNREGA
Ministry of Rural Development has reached an important milestone with the completion of Geographical Information System (GIS) plans for two lakh Gram Panchayats out of 2.69 lakh GPs.

About:

  • GIS-based planning under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, is an initiative of the Ministry which helps the Gram Panchayat to ensure a scientific and holistic approach for planning at the Gram Panchayat level. It is an important tool to ensure participatory planning at the implementation level.

  • Contributions of Mahatma Gandhi NREGS has enhanced significantly by using the GIS-Based Planning approach and impacts of which is visible at ground level.

  • The development of quality assets at the Gram Panchayat level has been taking place through proper planning and decision-making.
Source : All India Radio

10. NATIONAL BRAIN RESEARCH CENTRE (NBRC)
Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh launched first of its kind, latest, world's most sophisticated MRI facility at the National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), Manesar in Haryana.

About:

  • It is India's premier institute dedicated to Neuroscience Research and Education. It is an autonomous institute and a nodal center under the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology.

  • With this facility, India embarks on new frontiers of human Neuroscience with a unique and powerful 3-T MRI platform of outstanding performance.

  • He informed that MRI Scanner Prisma from Siemens, Germany, is being used by several international initiatives, like Brain initiative of USA, the European human brain project.

  • Dr Singh said, this new facility can run intense scanning modalities very fast, which reduces the scanning time for patients by almost a quarter from earlier-generation machines.

  • This is being used to develop human cohort data for patients suffering from common brain and mental health disorders including Parkinson's Disease, Alziemer's Disease, anxiety and depression.
Source : All India Radio
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Written by NDI EDITOR

National Defence Institute's Editor

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