Daily Current Affairs and GK | 30 October 2020

1. EU to allow participation of US and Britain in its joint defence pacts.

• EU will allow non-members such as US and Britain to participate in its joint defence projects.
• The permission to US and Britain will be given on an exceptional basis in individual projects.
• They will be allowed to participate in future projects for the development of aircraft, helicopters and weapons.
• In May 2020, the European Commission proposed that 8 billion euros ($9.5 billion) of EU’s next budget should be kept on a new, complementary EU defence fund.
• In December 2017, EU defence pact, known as Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) was launched. Its aim is to help the EU in funding, deploying and developing armed forces together. 
• European Union:
  • It is a political and economic union of 27 member states which are mainly located in Europe.
  • It was founded on 1 November 1993. It is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.
  • European Parliament is a legislative body of the European Union. Along with the Council of the European Union, it approves laws proposed by the European Commission

(Source: The Hindu)

2. National Program and Project Management Policy Framework (NPMPF) launched.

• National Program and Project Management Policy Framework (NPMPF) has been launched by the NITI Aayog and Quality Council of India (QCI).
• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Nitin Gadkari launched NPMPF along with Union Minister Piyush Goyal, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and QCI Chairman Adil Zainulbhai.
• While launching the NPMPF, Nitin Gadkari released the Indian Infrastructure Body of Knowledge (InBoK).
• InBoK is a book that deals with the practice of program and project management in India.
• NPMPF will bring radical reforms in the way of execution and management of infrastructure projects in India.
• NPMPF contains a certification system for project management professionals. It also provides for the comprehensive exam at each level.
• As per the Economic Survey 2018, India will need to invest nearly $4.5 trillion by 2040 to develop the infrastructure for sustaining its economic growth.
• Quality Council of India (QCI):
  • It was established in 1997 jointly by the government and the Indian industry represented by ASSOCHAM, CII and FICCI.
  • The nodal ministry for QCI is the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It has 38 members.
  • It is headquartered in New Delhi.
  • Its motto is Working for “National Well Being”.
  • Chairman: Adil Zainulbhai

3. Birth anniversary of Homi Jehangir Bhabha: 30 October

• Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha was an Indian nuclear physicist and founding director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.
• He is known as the ‘Father of the Indian nuclear programme’. He was born on 30 October 1909 and died on 24 January 1966.
• He envisioned India’s three-stage nuclear power programme and emphasized the use of India’s huge thorium reserve rather than its inadequate uranium reserves for power generation.
• He won the Adams Prize (1942) and Padma Bhushan (1954). He was nominated for Nobel Prize for Physics in 1951 and 1953-1956.

4. National Accreditation Board for Certification Body (NABCB) grants accreditation to National Productivity Council (NPC).

• The National Accreditation Board for Certification Body (NABCB) has granted accreditation to the National Productivity Council (NPC), which carries out inspections/audits for statutory bodies like WDRA and FSSAI.
• Accreditation granted by NABCB to NPC conforms to ISO 17020:2012, a standard for the competence of bodies doing inspections and impartiality and consistency of inspections done by them.
• The accreditation is for doing inspection and audit of Food Safety Audit and Scientific Storage of Agricultural Products. The accreditation (recognition) is valid for three years.
• NPC is empaneled with Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) as an accreditation and inspection agency since 2011 and with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) as an auditing agency.
• NABCB is a part of Quality Council of India (QCI). Its governing board has 18 members. Chairman of QCI nominates chairman of its governing board. It grants accreditation to Certification bodies and Inspection Bodies.
• National Productivity Council (NPC):
  • It comes under administrative control of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
  • It was formed in 1958.
  • It is an autonomous, tripartite (having three parties), non-profit organization.

5. Indian Army develops and launches Secure Application for Internet (SAI).

• Indian Army has developed and launched Secure Application for Internet (SAI), a simple and secure messaging application.
• SAI allows end to end secure voice, text and video calling services for Android platforms using the internet.   
• SAI is similar to messaging applications like Whatsapp, Telegram, SAMVAD and Government Instant Messaging System (GIMS).
• SAI uses end to end encryption messaging protocol. This means that messages exchanged between the two devices cannot be read by any third party.
• An auditor empaneled by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in) has assessed SAI.
• The Army will use SAI to facilitate secure messaging within the service. Col Sai Shankar has developed the application.
• SAMVAD is a calling and messaging application developed by Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT). 

6. “Bye Bye Corona”, World’s first Scientoon book, released in Uttar Pradesh.

• Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel launched World’s first scientoon book titled “Bye Bye Corona”.
• The ‘scientoonist’ Dr. Pradeep Srivastava, former senior principal scientist at CSIR-CDRI, has written this book.
• Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous agency under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), has published this book.
• The book contains information regarding the novel coronavirus, its symptoms and ways to prevent it. The book highlights the methods of dealing with the virus in day to day life.
• The book will soon be released in Brazil under the Brazil-India Network program.

(Source: PIB)

7. ISRO set to launch earth observation satellite EOS-01.

• ISRO will launch the earth observation satellite EOS-01 and nine international customer spacecraft through PSLV-C49 from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on 7 November.
• It will be the first launch after the COVID-19 lockdown.
• EOS-01, an earth observation satellite, will be utilized in the field of agriculture, forestry, and disaster management support.
• Customer satellites are launched under the commercial agreement between NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) and the Department of Space.
• It will be the 51^st mission of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
• Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV):
  • It is the third generation launch vehicle of India.
  • It is the first Indian launch vehicle to be equipped with liquid stages.
  • It is titled the ‘Workhorse of ISRO’.
  • It can take up to 1,750 kg of payload to Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbits of 600 km altitude.
  • It successfully launched two important missions of India- Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 and Mars Orbiter Spacecraft in 2013.
• Earth observation satellites: These are remote sensing satellites used for earth observation, which include weather monitoring, Environmental Monitoring, Mapping, etc. India’s earth observation satellites are Cartosat-3, RISAT-2B, SCATSAT-1, etc.
• Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO):
  • It is the space agency of the Indian government that was founded in 1969 by Vikram Sarabhai.
  • Headquarters: Bengaluru
  • Current Director: Kailasavadivoo Sivan

8. Indian Railways launches “Meri Saheli” initiative.

• Indian Railways has launched Operation Meri Saheli to provide safety and security to lady passengers travelling by trains.
• The purpose of “Meri Saheli” initiative is focused action on the security of women across all zones.
• Meri Saheli is an initiative of the Railway Protection Force (RPF).
• Under the “Meri Saheli” initiative, a team of young lady RPF personnel will interact with lady passengers, especially those travelling alone at the starting station.
• During the interaction as part of “Meri Saheli” initiative, the team of young lady RPF personnel will brief lady passengers about all precautions they should take during the journey.
• They will be told to dial 182 if there is any problem in the coach and informed about stoppages on the route. The team will take the seat numbers of the ladies.
• RPF teams will take feedback from the identified lady passengers at the destination station.
• The railways started “Meri Saheli” as a pilot project in South Eastern Railway in September 2020.
• The initiative was extended to all zones and Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) on 17 October 2020.
• Railway Protection Force (RPF):
  • Railway Police was formed in 1854 and was given the legal status under Police Act 1861.
  • It was established as RPF under Railway Protection Force Act 1957. The force has the task to ensure the protection of railway property and to protect against related crimes.
  • It has the power to search, arrest, investigate and prosecute.

9. “SERB-POWER (Promoting Opportunities for Women in Exploratory Research)” initiative launched.

• Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science & Technology, launched the “SERB-POWER (Promoting Opportunities for Women in Exploratory Research)” initiative.
• SERB-POWER initiative is planned exclusively (only) for women scientists.
• SERB-POWER is an initiative of the Department of Science and Technology (DST). Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) is a statutory body of DST. Ashutosh Sharma is chairman of SERB.
• SERB-POWER scheme has two components. They are SERB-POWER Fellowships and SERB-POWER Grants.
• The annual number of SERB-POWER Fellowships is planned to be 25 and the annual number of SERB-POWER Grants will be 50 in total for Level-1 and Level-2.

10. Former CM of Gujarat, Keshubhai Patel, passed away.

• Keshubhai Patel, former Chief Minister of Gujarat, died at the age of 92.
• He was the first BJP’s Chief Minister of Gujarat.
• He is also known as Keshubapa (father) in Gujarat.
• He became Chief Minister of Gujarat in 1995 and 1998.
• He was one of the founder members of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) and was its President from 1972-75.
• He won the Assembly election five times from Gondal (1980), Kalavad (1985), Tankara (1990) and Visavadar (1995 and 1998).
• He was also a former MP of Rajya Sabha from 2003 to 2009.
• The President and Prime Minister have expressed their grief on the death of Keshubhai Patel.

11. Union Cabinet has approved Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of ICTs between India and Japan.  

• The Union Cabinet has approved the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between India and Japan on cooperation in the field of Information and Communication Technologies.
• It aimed for cooperation in many fields like 5G network, Submarine cable, standard certification of communication equipment, utilization of latest Wireless Technologies and ICTs, ICTs capacity building, Artificial Intelligence (AI), etc.
• It will help India strengthen ICTs infrastructure in the country and help boost connectivity of mainland India to remote areas.
• India and Japan are important strategic partners, and this MoC will improve the ties in the field of communications.
• It will help India to get into the global standardization process. 
• India and Japan have also signed the Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of cybersecurity.
• Japan:
  • It is an island country in East Asia.
  • It shares its maritime border with Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, East China Sea and Taiwan.
  • Its capital and largest city is Tokyo.
  • Currency: Japanese Yen
  • Current Prime Minister: Yoshihide Suga

12. Union Cabinet approved MoU between India and Cambodia in the field of health.  

• The Union Cabinet has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Cambodia on cooperation in the field of Health and Medicine.
• The MoU will remain effective for five years.
• The MoU will enhance cooperation between India and Cambodia through joint efforts and technology development in the health sector.
• Some of the areas of cooperation between India and Cambodia include Mother and Child health, family planning, drugs and pharmaceuticals, disease control, medical education, etc.
• Cambodia:
  • It is located in Southeast Asia.
  • It is bordered by Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Gulf of Thailand.
  • Its capital and largest city is Phnom Penh.
  • Currency: Riel
  • King: Norodom Sihamoni
  • Prime Minister: Hun Sen
  • It is a member of ASEAN, NAM and United Nations.