Daily Current Affairs and GK | 28 November 2020

Topic: Art and Culture

1. Lok Virasat: a festival of films on folk art and painting started.

• The documentary films on folk art and painting- Lok Virasat will be showcased from November 27-29.
• It will begin with the film ‘Bastar - Rhythm of Progress’, in which the life of tribals and their folk art will be shown.
• Many other films will be telecasted, including The Kingdom of God, Bhavai - Fading Memories, Naman – Khele, The Fusion Cult, Therukoothu: Dancing For Life, Echoes of the Past, Folk Paintings of Orissa, Kalighat Paintings.
• It will also telecast film on different paintings such as Warli Paintings, Madhubani Paintings, Patachitra and Pichwai.
• It has been organized online by the film division of the Information & Broadcasting Ministry.
• Bhavai is a traditional folk dance of Rajasthan in which women balance pots on their head and dance on sharp edged plate.
• Therukoothu is a folk dance and drama of Tamil Nadu.
• Folk Paintings/ Traditional Paintings and States:
  • Warli Paintings- Maharashtra
  • Kalighat Paintings- West Bengal
  • Madhubani Paintings- Bihar
  • Patachitra or Pattachitra- Odisha and West Bengal
  • Pichwai- Rajasthan

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

2. Russia signed a pact with Hetero for producing Sputnik V COVID vaccine in India.

• The Russian Direct Investment Fund signed a pact with the pharmaceutical company Hetero for production of 100 million doses of Sputnik V COVID vaccine in India.
• As per the RDIF, Sputnik V has shown 95% efficacy after the first dose.
• RDIF and Hetero are the manufacturing partner for the production of Sputnik V COVID vaccine. The production will start from the beginning of 2021. 
• RDIF has also collaborated with other countries for the global production of Sputnik V vaccine.
• Sputnik V vaccine is safe for humans as it uses human adenoviral vectors that humans repeatedly face throughout life.
• RDIF had inked a pact with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories for cooperation on clinical trials and distribution of the Sputnik V vaccine in India.
• Adenoviral Vectors are non-enveloped, double stranded DNA viral vectors that are used for gene therapy, as vaccines and for cancer therapy.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

3. India Climate Change Knowledge Portal launched by Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

• India Climate Change Knowledge Portal has been launched by the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• India Climate Change Knowledge Portal will provide information on government’s steps at both national and international levels to address the climate change issues.
• It will be a single-point information resource for the actions taken by various ministries so that users have access to updated status on these initiatives.
• The portal includes eight major components- India’s Climate Profile, National Policy Framework, India’s NDC goals, Adaptation Actions, Mitigation Actions, Bilateral and Multilateral Cooperation, International Climate Negotiations and Reports & Publications.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Indian Economy

4. Union Government’s fiscal deficit increases to Rs 9.53 lakh crore.

• Union Government’s fiscal deficit has increased to Rs 9.53 lakh crore at the end of October of the current fiscal year due to poor revenue collection.
• The fiscal deficit of Rs 9.35 lakh crore is approximately 120% of annual budget estimate. In Budget 2020-21, government has announced annual budget estimate of fiscal deficit at Rs 7.96 lakh crore (3.5% of GDP).
• The revenue collection has remained poor due to the lockdown imposed to prevent COVID-19 spread. Controller General of Accounts has released the latest data on 27 November.
• At the end of September 2020, the fiscal deficit stood at 114.8% of the annual budget estimate. It breached the government’s annual target in July 2020.
• Fiscal deficit was 102.4% of the annual target in the first seven months of last fiscal year (2019-20).
• Fiscal deficit is the difference between the government’s total income and total expenditure.
• Controller General of Accounts (CGA) comes under the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. CGA is the principal advisor on accounting matters to the central government. Soma Roy Burman is the current CGA.

(Source: The Hindu)

5. UDIN generated from ICAI portal will be verified by CBDT while uploading Tax Audit Reports.

• The Ministry of Finance has announced that CBDT will confirm the Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) from the ICAI portal at the time of uploading of Tax Audit Reports.
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of India had made the generation of UDIN from ICAI portal compulsory for every kind of certificate or tax audit report from 2 August 2019.
• Income Tax Department has completed its integration with other agencies for validation of UDIN generated from the ICAI portal by the Chartered Accountants.  
• From 27 April 2020, the Income-tax e-filing portal had made the quoting of UDIN mandatory for the documents certified and attested by a Chartered Accountant. It will help in authenticating the Tax Audit Reports.
• Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN): It is an 18 digit unique number generated on the UDIN portal for every document that has been attested by a Chartered Accountant.
• Central Board of Direct Taxes:
  • It is a statutory body responsible for the administration of laws related to direct taxes.
  • It works under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
  • It functions under the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963.
  • It consists of one chairman and six members.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

6. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana has been launched by the India Post Payments Bank.

• India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has collaborated with the PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited to launch the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana.
• It will be optional for saving account holder of India Post Payments Bank.
• Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana:
  • It is a social security scheme launched in 2015.
  • The age limit for this scheme is from 18-50 years.
  • It provides life cover of Rs 2 lakhs in case of death of the insured, due to any reason.
  • The annual premium amount for this scheme is Rs 330. The timeline will be from 1 June to 31 May each year.
  • It is offered by the Life Insurance Corporation and all other life insurers companies.
  • The life cover of the member will end at the age of 55 years.
  • It also provides tax benefit under section Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.
• Features of Payment Bank:
  • The payments banks can accept deposits up to a maximum of Rs. 1 lakh from a customer.
  • It is authorized to open both savings and current accounts of their customers.
  • It can only issue ATM or debit cards to their customers.
  • It cannot provide loans or lending services to customers.

(Source: Livemint)

Topic: Miscellaneous

7. TRIFED and Goa Administration hold a virtual meeting on 26 November.

• A virtual meeting was held between Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) under Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Goa Administration on 26 November.
• The virtual meeting was held to implement Goa Tribal Development Plan to establish 25 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs), 1 Tribal food park, 2 showrooms in North and South Goa.
• The establishment of 25 procurement centres-cum-godowns is also proposed under the development plan.
• Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED):
  • It was established in 1987.
  • It works under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
  • Its objective is the socio-economic development of tribal people in the country by way of marketing development of tribal products.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Defence

8. India launched the first heavy-weight torpedo, Varunastra.

• DRDO has flagged off a heavy-weight torpedo, Varunastra.
• It has been designed by the Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam and manufactured by the Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).
• Torpedos are underwater weapons for naval platforms such as submarines, surface vessels, aircraft and helicopters.
• Varunastra (Torpedo): It is a heavy-weight, electrically-propelled anti-submarine torpedo capable of targeting quiet submarines.
• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO):
  • It works under the Ministry of Defence.
  • It was established in 1958 when the Defence Science Organisation (DSO) was combined with the Technical Developments Establishment of Indian Army and the Directorate of Technical Development & Production.
  • Chairman: G. Sateesh Reddy
  • Headquarters: New Delhi

Topic: National News

9. Prime Minister addressed the All India Presiding Officers Conference.

• Prime Minister has once again advocated to adopt 'One Nation, One Election' in the All India Presiding Officers Conference.
• He stated that there should be one voter list for all elections in the country. The continuous process of election in the country hampers the development work.
• He also emphasized on the Know Your Constitution (KYC) drive to highlight the importance of the Constitution.
• All India Presiding Officers Conference 2020:
  • It was started on 25 November by the President in Gujarat.
  • The theme of this conference is “Harmonious Coordination of Legislative, Executive and Judiciary - Key to a Vibrant Democracy”.
  • This year it was celebrated as the centenary year of the Presiding Officers Conference.
  • The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are the Presiding Officers of the Lok Sabha.
• Benefits of One Nation One Election:
  • It will reduce the cost and time for holding elections.
  • It will reduce the delay in the development work of the government.
  • It will create a single voter list for any election in the country.
• Lok Sabha and state legislature’s elections of India held together in 1952 and 1957.

Topic: Indian Economy

10. Office of Economic Adviser releases Index of Eight Core Industries for October 2020.

• Office of Economic Adviser releases Index of Eight Core Industries for October 2020 and combined Index of Eight Core Industries stood at 124.2 in October 2020.
• Index of Eight Core Industries in October 2020 declined by 2.5% in comparison with the index of October, 2019.
• In the data released for October 2020, final growth rate of Index of Eight Core Industries for July 2020 has been revised to (-) 7.6%.
• The index for November 2020 will be released on 31 December 2020. Eight core industries carry 40.27% weightage in the Index of Industrial Production. The data for Index of Eight Core Industries is summarized in the following table.

Topic: Important Days

11. Health Minister chairs multiple events to mark National Organ Day.

• Health Minister chaired multiple events to mark National Organ Day.
• The multiple events included an event to mark the end of CRPF’s voluntary campaign to bring awareness about organ donation among its jawans.
• CRPF had launched this campaign on 14 August 2020 in partnership with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi and Organ Retrieval Banking Organization (ORBO).
• The soldiers who filled pledge forms to donate their organs were called Angadan warriors by CRPF. 
• As per National Health Portal, nearly 5 lakh deaths are caused annually in India due to non-availability of organs.
• Persons of less than 18 years are allowed to donate organs only after the consent of their parents or guardians.
• National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) also celebrated 11th National Organ Donation Day.
• Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Act 2011 mandates NOTTO to promote organ donation, establish systems for organ donation and transplantation and train manpower required.
• Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has formed five Regional Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisations (ROTTO) at regional level in Chandigarh, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Guwahati and 12 State Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisations (SOTTO).
• 12,666 organs were transplanted in 2019. As per WHO Global Observatory on Donation and Transplantation (GODT) website, India was ranked third in organ transplantation in the world.
• ROTTO (West) was announced as the best ROTTO in India. The Tamil Nadu SOTTO was given the award of the best State SOTTO. PGIMER, Chandigarh was announced as the best hospital.
• Organ Donation day is celebrated every year on 13^th August.

(Source: News on AIR)

12. National Milk Day was celebrated on November 26.

• It is observed every year on November 26 in India.
• This day is celebrated to mark the anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien, who is known as the father of India’s White Revolution.
• It was started by the Indian Dairy Association (IDA) in 2014.
• Importance of Milk:
  • It is a rich source of calcium and nutrients.
  • It is important for increasing the immunity of the body.
  • It prevents osteoporosis and bone fractures.
• Milk production:
  • India is the highest milk producing country in the world. It is followed by the United States.
  • Uttar Pradesh is the highest milk-producing state in India.
  • Operation Flood is related to the White Revolution of India. It was launched in 1973 by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
• Dr. Verghese Kurien:
  • He is also known as the ‘Milkman of India’.
  • He had made a valuable contribution to the White Revolution in India.
  • White Revolution is related to increase India's dairy production.
  • He was awarded with many awards including Ramon Magsaysay Award, World Food Prize, Padma Shri, Padma Vibhushan, and Padma Bhushan.

(Source: Wikipedia)