Daily Current Affairs and GK | 11 November 2020

1. Daniil Medvedev beat Alexander Zverev to win Paris Masters 2020.

• Daniil Medvedev has defeated Alexander Zverev by 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, to clinch his maiden title of Paris Masters 2020.
• He becomes the fourth Russian to win this title after Marat Safin, Nikolay Davydenko and Karen Khachanov.
• Both players were first time playing against each other in the Rolex Paris Masters.
• It was Medvedev’s eighth career title and third at a Masters event.
• Rolex Paris Masters:
  • It is a tennis tournament held annually in Paris.
  • Novak Djokovic was the winner of Rolex Paris Masters 2019 in men’s singles.

(Source: News on AIR)

2. Defence Minister launches model of Anti-Satellite Missile.

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has launched the model of Anti-Satellite missile at DRDO Bhawan.
• The A-SAT missile has been successfully tested with an operation code called Mission Shakti from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island Launch Complex on 27 March 2019. It is India’s first anti-satellite (ASAT) missile.
• With this missile, India has become the fourth nation in the world after USA, Russia and China to have the capability to intercept a satellite in outer space.
• In this DRDO has used the modified ballistic missile Defence interceptor and Kinetic Kill, a space technology.
• India is a signatory of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits using weapons of mass destruction in outer space.
• Mission Shakti:
  • It is India’s first anti-satellite mission test.
  • On 27 March 2019, India has successfully conducted this mission and destroyed a low earth satellite in space.

(Source: Economic Times)

3. A pictorial anthology on Mahatma Gandhi titled ‘My understanding about Gandhi’ released by Nepal President.

• A pictorial anthology on Mahatma Gandhi titled ‘My understanding about Gandhi’ has been released by Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari.
• Embassy of India has produced the pictorial anthology on Mahatma Gandhi titled ‘My understanding about Gandhi’ in partnership with BP Koirala India-Nepal Foundation.
• Embassy of India has produced the anthology released by Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari to keep values of the Mahatma’s universal teachings with Nepali friends.
• As per the Indian Embassy, the anthology intends to bring the youth of Nepal closer to Mahatma Gandhi.
• The anthology has been made available to the public to celebrate the 151^st Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and to commemorate end of two years long celebrations of ‘150 years of Mahatma’.
• Anthology is a large collection of writings by different authors in similar form, from a similar time, or about a similar subject manner.

(Source: News on AIR)

4. National Education Day (Rashtriya Shiksha Diwas) programme organized by IIT Bombay and virtually inaugurated by Union Minister of Education.

• National Education Day (Rashtriya Shiksha Diwas) programme has been organized by IIT Bombay and virtually inaugurated by Union Minister of Education on 10 November.
• IIT Bombay organized programme to mark the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, who served as India’s First Education Minister and founded the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR).
• Union Minister of Education Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ was also Chief Guest in National Education Day (Rashtriya Shiksha Diwas) programme.
• Dr. K. Kasturirangan was the Guest of Honor for the event. He is former Chairman of ISRO and was the Chairman of the committee, which drafted the New Education Policy.
• The minister said that the New Education Policy has allowed Top 100 World Universities to set up a campus in India.
• Union Minister of Education gave Professor KrithiRamamritham Award for creative research-2019 to Prof.Jayakrishnan Nair.
• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s birth anniversary falls on 11 November. It is celebrated as the National Education Day every year since 2008.
• IIT Bombay Research Excellence Awards 2019 were given to recognize R&D efforts of IIT Bombay faculty. The winners are given below.

(Source: PIB)

5. Award Distribution Ceremony for 2^nd National Water Awards (NWAs) to be held on 11^th and 12^th November.

• Award Distribution Ceremony for 2^nd National Water Awards (NWAs) will be held on 11^th and 12^th November through a virtual platform.
• Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu will be the chief guest for 11^th November. Padma Awardee Environmentalist Anil Joshi will be special guest on both days.
• Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, will be the chief guest for 12^th November.
• The winners of the National Water Awards 2019 in 13 categories will get a citation, trophy and cash prize.
• The winners in three categories, i.e., ‘Best State’, ‘Best State’ and ‘Best Water Regulatory Authority’ will not get cash prizes.
• Total 98 winners have been selected for 16 different categories of 2^nd National Water Awards.

• 2^nd National Water Awards(NWAs) being organized by the Ministry of Jal Shakti’s Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR) are for the year 2019.
• The process for National Water Awards 2019 was started in September 2019 and total 1112 applications were received by the last date (31^st December 2019).
• Shashi Shekhar, Former Secretary of DoWR, RD & GR was the Chairman of the jury committee for the awards, which was assisted by two Screening Committees having members from Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and Central Water Commission (CWC).  
• National water Awards were launched in 2007 with Ground Water Augmentation Awards. The aims of National Water Awards are:
  • To motivate individuals/organization doing commendable work for water resources conservation and management.
  • To create public awareness about importance of water.
  • To motivate people to adopt the best water usage practices.

(Source: mygov.in)

6. Azim Premji tops the list of India’s most generous individuals.

• Azim Premji, the founder chairman of Wipro, has topped the list of India’s most generous individuals.
• Hurun India and EdelGive have released the list of India’s most generous individuals, EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2020 on 10 November 2020.
• Azim Premji donated Rs 7,904 crore during 2019-20. He donated Rs 453 crore last year. Shiv Nadar and Mukesh Ambani follow Azim Premji in EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2020.
• Shiv Nadar donated Rs 795 crore during April 2019 to March 2020. He had topped EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2019.
• While Azim Premji and Shiv Nadar mainly donated for education, Mukesh Ambani mainly donated for disaster relief.
• Kumar Mangalam Birla, Anil Agarwal (founder and Chairman of Vedanta), Ajay Piramal, Nandan Nilekani (co-founder and Chairman of Infosys), Hinduja brothers, Gautam Adani and Rahul Bajaj are also part of the top 10 in the list.
• The list includes individuals who have donated ₹5 crore or more. India’s top philanthropists mainly donated for education, followed by poverty alleviation.
• Donations for healthcare have increased by 111%. The donations for disaster relief and management have increased by 240%.
• The number of Indian philanthropists donating over Rs 10 crore has increased from 37 to 78 during the last two years.
• 28 philanthropists were newly added to the list. Shibulal is at the top among new entries. Amit Chandra and Archana Chandra are the first and only professional managers to enter the list.

(Source: The Hindu)

7. Mumbai Indians wins IPL 2020 final at Dubai International cricket stadium.

• Mumbai Indians has won IPL 2020 final by five wickets over Delhi Capitals at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai.
• Mumbai Indians was also the winner of IPL 2019. It has won IPL for the fifth time.
• Kannur Lokesh Rahul (K L Rahul), captain of Kings XI Punjab, is the player who scored the most runs (670 runs) in IPL 2020. He has been awarded Orange Cap.
• Shikhar Dhawan was the second top most run scorer in IPL 2020.  
• Kagiso Rabada of Delhi capitals has taken the most wickets (30) in IPL 2020 and he has been awarded Purple Cap for this.
• Ishan Kishan of Mumbai Indians is the player who hit maximum sixes in IPL 2020.
• Jofra Archer of Rajasthan Royals is the most valuable player of IPL 2020.
• IPL 2020: 
  • It is 13^th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). It was established by BCCI in 2007.  
  • It was originally scheduled for March 2020. It was started in September 2020.
  • Chinese mobile phone company Vivo was to sponsor it. But, it pulled out.
  • Indian fantasy sports platform Dream 11 was later announced as title sponsor for it.   

(Source: Wikipedia)

8. Armenia and Azerbaijan sign a peace deal.

• Armenia and Azerbaijan have signed peace deal to stop military conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region on 10 November 2020.
• Russia has arranged and negotiated the peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
• Azerbaijan’s forces and ethnic Armenian forces were involved in the heavy fight as Azerbaijan’s forces tried to take control over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
• Azerbaijan said that it had retaken the land in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. But, Armenia denied it. Russian peacekeepers left the region just after the ceasefire.
• The agreement has led to protests in Armenia. The protesters attacked government headquarters in its capital Yerevan and demanded Prime Minister Nikol Pashniyan’s resignation.    
• There were fears that conflict may lead to regional war as Turkey was supporting Azerbaijan and Russia was having a military base in Armenia.
• Nagorno-Karabakh region (also known as Artsakh) is part of South Caucasus region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. 
• Azerbaijan’s capital is Baku and its president is Ilham Aliyev. Yerevan is Armenia’s capital and Nikol Pashinyan is its Prime Minister.

9. Indian astronomers and Nobel winner Prof Andrea Ghez worked in collaboration for Thirty Meter Telescope.

• Indian astronomers and Nobel winner Prof Andrea Ghez has worked in collaboration for Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT).
• 2020 Physics Nobel winner Prof Andrea Ghez has worked on the design of backend instruments and possible science prospects of TMT.
• Professor Ghez has shared 2020 Physics Nobel with Prof. Roger Penrose and Prof. Reinhard Genzel. Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez won for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at Milky Way’s centre.
• Annapurni Subramanium and Shashi Bhushan Pandey are Indian astronomers who worked collaboratively with Professor Ghez.
• Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is being installed at Maunakea, a dormant volcano in Hawaii. CalTech, Universities of California, Canada, Japan, China, and India are part of TMT project.

(Source: LiveMint)