Daily Current Affairs and GK | 19 November 2020

1. Bengaluru Tech Summit 2020 to be inaugurated by Prime Minister.

• The Prime Minister will inaugurate Bengaluru Tech Summit, 2020 on 19^th November.
• The Bengaluru Tech Summit 2020 will be organised by Karnataka government along with Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society, Karnataka government’s Vision Group on Information Technology, Biotechnology and StartUp, Software Technology Parks of India and MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications.
• The theme of the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2020 is "Next is Now".
• It is scheduled to take place from November 19-21.
• Industry captains, technocrats, researchers, innovators, investors, policymakers and educators will also participate in the summit.
• The summit will hold deliberations on the impact of prominent innovations and technologies in Information Technology and Electronics and Biotechnology.

2. India and Kazakhstan reviewed their bilateral cooperation.

• India and Kazakhstan have reviewed their entire gamut of bilateral cooperation in the 7^th round of Foreign Office Consultations.
• Both sides have reviewed their bilateral cooperation on key areas such as energy, defence, trade, space, etc.
• An MoU was also signed between both countries on Indian Grant Assistance for Implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects in Kazakhstan.
• Both countries exchange their views on issues of mutual interest and affirmed cooperation in different fields.
• Kazakhstan:
  • It is located in Central Asia.
  • It shares a boundary with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea, Turkmenistan and the Caspian Sea.
  • It is the largest country in Central Asia.
  • Nur-Sultan is the capital and Tenge is the currency of Kazakhstan.
  • Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is the current President.

3. Union Health Minister addressed the Global Prevention Coalition (GPC) for HIV Prevention.

• A ministerial meeting of the Global Prevention Coalition (GPC) for HIV Prevention has been addressed by the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan. It was organised by UNAIDS and UNFPA.
• Global Prevention Coalition members have agreed to reduce new adult HIV infections by 75% at the end of 2020 from 2010 levels.
• The world has shown significant success in reducing new infections, prevention and treatment services of HIV, reducing transmission of HIV from mother to child, creating awareness among people about the AIDS, etc.
• India’s generic Anti-Retroviral drug and HIV prevention model based on the concept of ‘Social Contracting’ has played a vital role in controlling the HIV epidemic.
• The Government of India has enacted the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017 to provide a legal framework for protecting the human right of the infected and affected populations.
• This conference is important in the commitment of UNGA to end AIDS by 2030.
• The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched Mission SAMPARK in 2017 to bring back People Living with HIV who have left treatment after starting Anti Retro Viral Treatment (ART).

4. World Toilet Day: 19 November

• World Toilet Day is a United Nations observance day celebrated every year on 19 November.
• It is celebrated worldwide to raise awareness about the global sanitation crisis and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 6.
• World Toilet Day 2020 will focus on sustainable sanitation and climate change.
• Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) and Ministry of Jal Shakti is celebrating ‘World Toilet Day’ 2020 under ‘Swachh Bharat Mission – Grameen’ in India.
• It is celebrating to raise awareness about the benefits of Safe Sanitation and to felicitate districts/states for their contribution towards Swachhata.
• On the occasion, ‘Swachhata Puraskar’ will be given to the Districts/States for their work towards Swachhata.
• World Toilet Day was started on 19 November 2001 on the foundation of the World Toilet Organization.
• SDG 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030

5. India’s AI supercomputer Param Siddhi is 63^rd powerful supercomputer in the world.

• Param Siddhi supercomputer developed under the National Supercomputing Mission has bagged the 63^rd rank in the list of 500 most powerful supercomputers in the world. It has a speed of 5.267 petaflops.
• It will help in weather forecasting, geo-exploration of oil and gas, online courses for education, application development, aero design studies, etc.
• Param Siddhi is developed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Science and Technology. It is India’s largest High-Performance Computing and Artificial Intelligence (HPC-AI) supercomputer.
• It is built on the NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD reference architecture networking along with C-DAC’s indigenously developed HPC-AI engine, software frameworks.
• It will help in Research and development against COVID-19 through faster simulations, medical imaging, genome sequencing. It will also contribute to the MSME sector and startup firms.
• The AI system will help in flood forecasting, computational chemistry & astrophysics, drug design and health care system.
• PARAM 8000 is the first Indian supercomputer that was developed in 1991.
• Japan’s Fugaku supercomputer is the fastest in the world.
• National Supercomputing Mission:
  • This mission was announced in the year 2015.
  • It aims to empower national academic and R&D institutions spread across the country by establishing a huge supercomputing grid with over 70 high-performance computing facilities.
  • The first computer under this scheme was installed in Varanasi BHU named Param Shivay.

6. Exploration & Production blocks awarded under OALP bid round-V.

• The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel has awarded E&P blocks under Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP).
• A total of 11 blocks in 8 sedimentary basins has been awarded under OALP Bid Round 5. ONGC got 7 blocks while OIL gets 4 blocks.
• OLAP regime has increased the exploration area and removed the red-tapism in the Exploration & Production sector.
• Digitisation of the bidding process has aided in the transparent process of allocation of blocks.
• Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas is Dharmendra Pradhan.
• Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP):
  • It was started in 2017.
  • It is a new policy of the government of India for oil and gas exploration.
  • It provides a uniform license for the exploration and production of all forms of hydrocarbons.
  • In this policy, blocks are offered under a revenue-sharing model.

7. PM Modi and Xavier Bettel to chair India-Luxembourg virtual summit.

• PM Modi and Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, will chair India-Luxembourg virtual summit today evening.
• The summit will be the first stand-alone Summit meeting between India and Luxembourg in the past two decades.
• Two leaders will discuss international and global issues of mutual interest and bilateral issues including making India-Luxembourg cooperation in the post-COVID world strong.
• Luxembourg:
  • It is a landlocked country. It is located in Western Europe.
  • Belgium lies to the west and north of it. Germany is located to its east. France is located to its south.
  • Its capital (Luxembourg City) is one of the four official capitals of EU (European Union). Other three are Brussels, Frankfurt, and Strasbourg.

(Source: News on AIR)

8. International Men’s Day: 19 November

• International Men’s Day (IMD) is celebrated annually on 19 November and “Better health for men and boys” is the theme for International Men’s Day 2020.
• It was started in 1992 by Thomas Oaster. It is celebrated in more than 70 countries across the world and also celebrated in India.
• Uma Challa, an Indian woman, is remembered for her pioneering work on IMD celebration in 2007.
• She also founded the Bangalore-based non-profit organization ‘Save the Indian Family Foundation’.
• The theme for International Men’s Day 2019 was Making a Difference for Men and Boys.
• IMD aims to promote positive role models, celebrate men’s positive contributions to society, highlight discrimination against males, promote gender equality, focus on health and wellbeing of men and create a better, safer world.

9. Cipla signed licensing agreement with MultiG for distribution of Covi-G.

• Indian pharmaceutical company Cipla has signed a licensing agreement with MultiG for the distribution of Covi-G.
• Covi-G is a COVID-19 rapid antibody test kit of Belgium-based MultiG. It has more than 92% sensitivity and specificity.
• Covi-G has been already commercialized in more than 20 countries. The licensing agreement is has been signed for its distribution across most emerging markets and Europe.
• Cipla is a Mumbai based Indian pharmaceutical company.

10. Defence Minister inaugurated NCC’s month-long nationwide Constitution Day Youth Club activities programme.

• Defence Minister has inaugurated NCC’s month-long nationwide Constitution Day Youth Club activities programme through a Video Conferencing.
• It aims to mobilize youth to spread awareness about the Indian Constitution among people all over India.
• National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS), Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), Bharat Scouts and Guides, Hindustan Scouts and Guides Association and Red Cross are organizations that will carry out this campaign programme from 18 November to 13 December 2020.
• During the campaign, a nationwide blood donation camp will be held by youth for period of two days.

11. Capacity building component of Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises scheme (PM-FME Scheme) inaugurated. 

• Capacity building component of Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises scheme (PM-FME Scheme) has been inaugurated by Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Narendra Singh Tomar.
• He has also launched GIS One District One Product (ODOP) digital map of India. It provides details of ODOP products of all the states to facilitate the stakeholders.
• The PM-FME scheme aims to train food processing entrepreneurs, various groups, viz., SHGs / FPOs / Co-operatives, workers, and other stakeholders of its implementation.
• Under the capacity building component of PM-FME scheme, Master Trainers will be trained online. They will train District Level Trainers, who will train the beneficiaries.
• Not-for-Profit Organization, Food Industry Capacity & Skill Initiative (FICSI) will assess and certify training programme under the capacity building component of PM-FME. FICSI is also known as Food Processing Sector Skill Council.
• PM FME scheme:
  • It was launched to provide different kinds of support (financial, technical and business) for upgradation of existing micro food processing enterprises.
  • It was launched by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) together with the States. It was launched under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
  • It is an All India Centrally Sponsored Scheme. Under the scheme, the government will spend Rs. 10,000 crore and cover 2 lakh enterprises over 5 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25.