Daily Current Affairs and GK | 3 November 2020

1. Malabar 20: Phase I commences off Vishakhapatnam from 3 November to 6 November

• The 2020 Malabar Exercise is scheduled to be held in two phases. The 1^st phase of the exercise has begun.
• Indian Navy (IN), United States Navy (USN), Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF), and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) are the participants of Malabar 20.
• This year it is the 24^th edition of the Malabar exercise.
• Malabar Exercise is a naval exercise that started as a bilateral exercise in 1992 between the navies of India and US. Later, Japan joined the exercise in 2015.
• For the first time, QUAD countries will together conduct naval exercise as the Royal Australian Navy is also part of Malabar 20.
• The exercise is being conducted as a non-contact, at sea only exercise.
• Phase II will be conducted in the Arabian Sea in mid-November 2020.

(Source: PIB)

2. Duarte Pacheco of Portugal: New President of Inter Parliamentary Union.

• During the 206^th session of Governing Council of IPU, Duarte Pacheco of Portugal has been elected as new President of Inter Parliamentary Union.
• Duarte Pacheco will serve as the President of IPU for the period 2020-2023.
• The Governing Council is the administrative and policy-making body of IPU.
• Inter-Parliamentary Union:
  • It is the global organization of national parliaments that was established in 1889 as a small group of parliamentarians.
  • Members: 179 Member Parliaments
  • Slogan: “For democracy. For everyone”
  • Its headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland.

3. Reliance Jio becomes title sponsor of Women’s T20 Challenge 2020.  

• Reliance Jio has been announced as the title sponsor of the Women’s T20 Challenge 2020.
• It is the first time when a sponsor is partnering with the BCCI exclusively for Women’s T20.
• Women’s T20 Challenge 2020 is scheduled to be held from 4 November to 9 November 2020 in Sharjah, UAE.
• Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI):
  • It is India’s governing body for cricket.
  • It was established in December 1928.
  • Headquarters: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
  • First President of BCCI: Grant Govan
  • First Secretary of BCCI: Anthony De Mello
  • Current President of BCCI: Sourav Ganguly
  • Current Secretary of BCCI: Jay Shah

4. Prakash Purab of Sri Guru Ramdas Ji

• Guru Ram Das was the fourth Sikh Guru. He was born on 24 September 1534.
• His birth name was Jetha. He became the Sikh Guru in 1574.
• He founded the sacred city of Amritsar. He brought people of 52 different trades together at the place, which was an uninhabited forest at that time, and began by constructing the lake, which today surrounds the Golden Temple.
• He extended the manji system of the religious organization, introduced by Guru Amar Das, along with masand institution.  
• The masand were Sikh community leaders who lived far from the Guru, but acted to lead the distant congregations, their mutual interactions and collect revenue for Sikh activities and temple building.
• He appointed his own son as his successor. Guru Arjan Dev was the fifth Sikh Guru.

5. Special cover has been released to commemorate Golden Jubilee of DST.

• Union Science and Technology Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan has released the special cover to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Department of Science and Technology.
• Many events were organized to commemorate the Golden Jubilee year.
• Department of Science & Technology is celebrating its 50^th anniversary from May 03, 2020, to May 03, 2021.
• DST has played a vital role in India’s scientific achievement.
• Department of Science & Technology:
  • It was established in 1971.
  • It plays a pivotal role in the promotion of science & technology in the country.
  • It formulates policies relating to Science and Technology, promotes science and technology application for the overall development and security of the nation and provides aid to scientific research institutions.
  • It also promotes the development of cutting-edge technologies.
  • It works under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

(Source: News on AIR)

6. An MoU signed between IREDA and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

• Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy have signed an MoU for setting targets for the year 2020-21.
• IRDEA has financed more than 2700 renewable energy projects in India till 2 November.
• The government has set a revenue target of Rs. 2406 crore under ‘Excellent’ rating along with various performance-related parameters.
• IREDA: It is a Mini Ratna Company under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). It provides financial support to specific projects and schemes for generating electricity energy through new and renewable sources.
• Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE):
  • It is the nodal agency for all matters related to new and renewable energy.
  • It aims to develop new and renewable energy for supplementing the energy requirements of India.
  • Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is currently headed by Anand Kumar.

7. Sports Authority of India’s Regional Centre inaugurated in Zirakpur, Punjab.

• The new regional centre of Sports Authority of India was inaugurated in Zirakpur, Punjab by the Union Minister of Youth and Sports Shri Kiren Rijiju.
• The new centre will act as one of the main SAI centres for the northern belt of India. It is 11^th regional centre in India.
• The new regional centre has been built by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD).
• Zirakpur is a satellite town in Punjab. It is located on the foothills of Shivalik hills.
• Sports Authority of India (SAI):
  • It is a successor organization of the 9^th Asian Games held in 1982 in New Delhi.
  • Headquarters: JLN Stadium, New Delhi
  • It is responsible for the promotion and development of Sports in India.
  • Director General: Sandip Pradhan

(Source: PIB)

8. INS Airavat reached Sudan with food aid under ‘Mission Sagar-II’.

• INS Airavat has reached Sudan for providing food assistance as part of Mission Sagar-II. It will help the Sudan government in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and natural calamities.
• INS Airavat carried a consignment of 100 Tonnes of food to Sudan.
• Under Mission Sagar-II, INS Airavat will provide food assistance to Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea.
• India had provided food and medicines to Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros under Mission Sagar-II in May 2020.
• Mission Sagar is inspired by the Prime Minister’s vision of SAGAR- Security and Growth for All in the Region. It was launched on 10 May 2020 to deliver Covid-19 related assistance to the countries in the Indian Ocean region.

(Source: India Today)

9. Asia’s strongest storm of 2020, Goni, hits the Philippines.

• Typhoon Goni, Asia’s most powerful storm of 2020, has hit the eastern Philippines. It is the 18^th typhoon to hit the country this year.
• It has brought violent winds and rainfall in the region of Camarines Sur, Marinduque, the central and southern portions of Quezon, Laguna, the eastern portion of Batangas, and Cavite.
• The weather bureau of the Philippines has downgraded this tropical storm from a Super Typhoon to a typhoon.
• Tropical cyclones are mainly of various categories depending upon the speed of the wind. It includes tropical storm, tropical cyclone or a hurricane, etc.
• Tropical cyclones are violent storms that originate over oceans in tropical areas and move over to the coastal areas. It develops mainly due to the differential heating over land and sea.
• Typhoons can bring terrible damage to trees, buildings, crops, human life and livelihood.

(Source: Indian Express)

10. US and UK call Belarus to release political prisoners.

• The United States and the United Kingdom urged Belarus to release political prisoners and protesters detained for participation in the anti-government demonstrations.
• The United Kingdom has also urged to lift the restriction on freedom of speech and independent media.
• The protest was started after the victory of Alexander Lukashenko’s in the presidential election, as the election was widely seen as rigged.
• Belarus:
  • It is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe.
  • It is bordered by Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
  • Its capital is Minsk and currency is Belarusian ruble.
  • Alexander Lukashenko is the current President.