Daily Current Affairs and GK | 1 and 2 November 2020

1. 206^th Session of Governing Council of IPU commences.

• 206^th Session of the Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is being held from 1 to 4 November 2020.
• The agenda of this session is to elect the new President of IPU.
• The new President will replace Ms. Gabriela Cuevas Barron (MP, Mexico), whose term ended on 19 October.
• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Lok Sabha MP Poonamben Maadam and Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta are participating from the Indian side.
• Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU):
  • It is the global organization of national parliaments.
  • It was formed in 1889 as the Inter-Parliamentary Congress.
  • Headquarters of IPU: Geneva, Switzerland
  • Members: 179 countries

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(Source: IPU)

2. Karnataka celebrated Kannada Rajyotsava: 1 November

• On 1 November 1956, Kannada speaking regions were merged to form the state of Karnataka.
• The princely state of Mysore was merged with Kannada speaking regions of Bombay and Madras presidencies.
• The newly formed state was named Mysore but was later renamed Karnataka in 1973.
• On the occasion of Rajyotsav, Rajyotsav awards are presented to prominent personalities for their contribution in 25 fields like music, dance, literature, education, science, social service, etc.
• Karnataka:
  • It is the largest state in South India.
  • Capital: Bengaluru
  • It shares its border with Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
  • Chief Minister of Karnataka: B S Yediyurappa
  • Governor of Karnataka: Vajubhai Vala
  • Karnataka’s Rajya Sabha seats: 12 seats
  • Karnataka’s Lok Sabha seats: 28 seats
  • Yakshagana, a classical dance drama, is one of the major theatre forms of Karnataka.
  • Jog Falls, the second-highest waterfall in India, is located in the Shimoga district of Karnataka.

3. 65^th Foundation Day of Madhya Pradesh: 1 November

• On 1 November 1956, Madhya Pradesh was formed by merging Central Provinces of CP and Berar, Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh and Bhopal.
• The first Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh was Pt. Ravishankar Shukla and the first Governor of Madhya Pradesh was Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramaiya.
• First Speaker of  Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly: Pandit Keylal Dubey
• Madhya Pradesh:
  • It is the second-largest state in India in terms of area.
  • Capital of Madhya Pradesh: Bhopal
  • Largest city of Madhya Pradesh: Indore
  • It shares its border with Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.
  • Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan
  • Governor of Madhya Pradesh: Anandiben Patel
  • Madhya Pradesh’s Lok Sabha seats: 29 seats
  • Madhya Pradesh’s Rajya Sabha seats: 11 seats

4. AYUSH Ministry and Invest India to establish Strategic Policy & Facilitation Bureau.

• AYUSH Ministry and Invest India will together establish a Strategic Policy & Facilitation Bureau.
• Strategic Policy & Facilitation Bureau will facilitate planned and systematic growth of the Ayush sector.
• Strategic Policy & Facilitation Bureau will help the Ministry of AYUSH in strategic and policy making initiatives to help the Ayush sector reach its full potential and increase growth and investment in the sector.
• In collaboration with AYUSH Ministry, Invest India will form a work plan and decide short and long-term targets of the Strategic Policy & Facilitation Bureau.
• Ministry of AYUSH was established in 2014. Shripad Yesso Naik currently heads it.
• Invest India is a National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency. It was established in 2009. It is a non-profit company. It comes under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

5. Minimum Requirements for Annual MBBS Admissions Regulations (2020) notified.

• Minimum Requirements for Annual MBBS Admissions Regulations (2020) has been notified by the National Medical Commission (NMC).
• NMC’s Minimum Requirements for Annual MBBS Admissions Regulations (2020) will replace “Minimum Standard Requirements for Medical Colleges (1999) notified by the former Medical Council of India (MCI).
• The new regulations will be applicable to the categories of medical colleges given below:
  • All new medical colleges, which are proposed to be established
  • Established medical colleges, which are proposing to increase their annual MBBS intake from 2021-22 academic session
• The new regulations have made well-equipped “Skills Laboratory” for training MBBS students essential.
• They also provide for a Medical Education Unit. It will train medical teachers in educational pedagogy.
• As per the new regulations, a fully functioning 300 bed multi-speciality hospital should be available at the time of application for setting up a new medical college.
• National Medical Commission (NMC):
  • NMC replaced the Medical Council of India in September 2020.
  • It is headquartered in New Delhi.
  • Chairman of NMC: Dr. Suresh Chandra Sharma
  • It has 33 members.

6. An MoU signed between IISc and IOCL for hydrogen-generation technology.

• IISc and IOCL have signed an MoU to develop and demonstrate biomass gasification based hydrogen generation technology for producing fuel cell-grade hydrogen at low cost.
• It will be very helpful for hydrogen-based fuel technology and will be very crucial for a hydrogen based economy.
• It will not only provide cleaner energy but will also help in addressing the challenge of biomass waste.
• It will help in meeting India’s de-carbonisation targets.
• This technology will be demonstrated at IndianOils R&D Centre at Faridabad.
• What are the benefits of Hydrogen as Fuel?
  • It is a rich source of energy and is abundant.
  • It is a clean energy source and can decarbonize many industrial sectors.
  • It has high energy content per unit mass- three times higher than gasoline.
  • It is environment friendly and can help to reduce global warming.

7. Haryana Statehood Day: 1 November

• Haryana was formed on 1 November 1966 as a separate state with seven districts from the parts of East Punjab.
• It was formed on the recommendations of the Sardar Hukam Singh Parliamentary Committee.
• This year 54^th Haryana day has been celebrated across the state.
• Haryana:
  • It is located in the northern region of India.
  • It is bounded by Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.
  • It has 22 districts and its Capital is Chandigarh.
  • Current Chief Minister of Haryana: Manohar Lal Khattar
  • Current Governor of Haryana: Satyadev Narayan Arya
  • Lok Sabha seats of Haryana: 10 seats
  • Raja Sabha seats of Haryana: 5 seats
  • Surajkund Crafts Mela is held every year to promote the art and culture in the state.

8. Andhra Pradesh Formation Day: 1 November

• Andhra Pradesh was created on 1 November 1956 from the States of Hyderabad and Madras.
• It was the first state to be formed on the linguistic basis on the recommendation of States Reorganisation Commission.
• Sri Potti Sriramulu had played a vital role by sacrificing his life for the formation of Andhra Pradesh.
• Many cultural programmes have been organised across the state to celebrate the occasion.
• In 2014, the northwestern portion of Andhra Pradesh was carved out to form the state of Telangana. It was proposed that Hyderabad will be the joint capital for both states for 10 years.
• Andhra Pradesh:
  • It is an Indian state located in the south-eastern coastal region.
  • It shares its border with states like Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana.
  • It is also known as the Rice Bowl of India.
  • Capital of Andhra Pradesh: Amravati
  • Governor of Andhra Pradesh: Bishwabhushan Harichandan
  • Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh: Y S Jaganmohan Reddy
  • Lok Sabha seats of Andhra Pradesh: 25 seats
  • Rajya Sabha seats of Andhra Pradesh: 11 seats
  • The Indian classical dance Kuchipudi originated in a village named Kuchipudi in Andhra Pradesh.

9. Chhattisgarh Foundation Day: 1 November

• The state was formed on 1 November 2000 by dividing ten Chhattisgarhi and six Gondi-speaking southeastern districts of Madhya Pradesh.
• This year 21^st Foundation day has been celebrated across the state.
• The ‘Rajyotsav programme’ was organized and various schemes were launched, including Swami Atmanand English Medium School Scheme that aims to provide education in the English language to students.
• Chief Minister has also dedicated mobile hospital-cum-laboratories in urban slum areas under the Chief Minister Urban Slum Health Scheme.
• Government has also transferred 1500 cr in the accounts of farmers as the installment of Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana.
• Various awards have been conferred to individuals and organizations for their outstanding contribution in their respective fields.
• Chhattisgarh:
  • The state is ranked 9^th in terms of area in the country. It has 27 districts.
  • Capital of Chhattisgarh: Raipur
  • Governor of Chhattisgarh: Anusuiya Uike
  • Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh: Bhupesh Baghel.
  • Lok Sabha Seats of Chhattisgarh – 11 seats
  • Rajya Sabha Seats of Chhattisgarh – 5 seats
  • Folk dances of Chhattisgarh: Saila Dance, Karma, Sua Nacha, Panthi Dance, Raut Nacha, etc.
  • It has a major reserve of coal, iron ore, limestone, bauxite, and dolomite.

(Source: News on AIR)

10. Fifteenth Finance Commission to submit its report on 9 November.

• Fifteenth Finance Commission will submit its report for financial years 2021-22 to 2025-26 on 9 November.
• Fifteenth Finance Commission headed by N.K.Singh has concluded deliberations for the report.
• The report will be submitted to President on 9 November and its copy will be given to Prime Minister later next month.
• Union Finance Minister will table the report and Action Taken Report of the Government in Parliament.
• 15^th Finance Commission:
  • The 15^th Finance Commission was constituted on 27 November 2017.
  • The commission had already submitted its report for the financial year 2020-21 on 5 December 2019.
  • Nand Kishore Singh (N. K. Singh) is the chairman of the Fifteenth Finance Commission.
  • Ajay Narayan Jha, Prof. Anoop Singh, Dr. Ashok Lahiri and Dr. Ramesh Chand are its four other members.
• Finance Commission:
  • It is a constitutional body, which is created every 5 years under Article 280 of the Constitution of India.
  • It recommends the transfer of financial resources from the Center to the states.

11. Delhi Book Fair 2020 organised virtually.

• Delhi Book Fair 2020 was organised virtually by the Federation of Indian Publishers (FIP) in a two-day online event on 30 October and 31 October.
• Delhi Book Fair 2020 was the 26^th edition of Delhi Book Fair and was organized in partnership with PragatiE, which is an Online Virtual Exhibition Platform for organizing events digitally.
• Publications Division of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has kept three virtual stalls in the book fair.

(Source: News on AIR)