Current Affairs

"Congress chief whip in the Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh moved a privilege motion against Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy over the appointment of former MP Tarun Vijay as the Chairperson of the National Monuments Authority, a post for which, Mr. Ramesh said, Mr. Vijay was not qualified" All Members of Parliament (MPs) enjoy rights and immunities, individually and collectively, so that they can discharge their duties and functions effectively. Any instance when these rights and immunities are disregarded by any member of Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha is an offence, called ‘breach of privilege’, which is punishable under the Laws of Parliament.

Partial Eclipse of the Moon on 19 November

Geography

"A partial eclipse of the Moon will occur on 19 November, 2021 (28 Kartika, 1943 Saka Era)" From India, just after moonrise, ending of partial phase of the eclipse will be visible for a very short span of time from extreme north eastern parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. According to IMD sources, the Eclipse will be visible in the region covering western Africa, western Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Australia, the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. The partial phase of the eclipse will begin at 12h 48m IST. The partial phase will end at 16h 17 m IST. The next lunar eclipse will be visible from India on 8 November, 2022. It will be a total lunar eclipse.

BRO Motorcycle Expedition Team

National Importance

"[email protected] BRO Motorcycle Expedition team received a rousing welcome in Arunachal Pradesh" Border Roads Organisation(BRO) is conducting [email protected] BRO Motorcycle expedition from 14 Oct 2021 to 27 Dec 2021 touching all corners of the country to spread awareness of contribution of BRO in nation building as part of the celebrations of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. Expedition is being conducted in seven legs. State of Arunachal Pradesh is being covered in Leg 3 which commenced at Siliguri on 05 November 2021 and will finish at Doomdooma on 14 November 2021. First of its kind, this expedition will cover 20,000 kms over 75 days with more than 75 Riders from BRO.

e-Governance in Directorate General of Civil Aviation

Polity & Governance

"Union Minster of Civil Aviation dedicated eGCA, the e-governance platform in Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to the nation" The project has been aimed at automation of the processes and functions of DGCA, with 99 services covering about 70% of the DGCA work being implemented in the initial phases, and 198 services to be covered in other phases. This Single window platform will bring in bring in monumental change- eliminating operational inefficiencies, minimizing personal interaction, improving regulatory reporting, enhancing transparency and increasing productivity. The e-platform provides an end-to-end solution including various software applications, connectivity with all the regional offices, a ‘portal’ for dissemination of information and for providing online and speedy service delivery in a secure environment.

Kisan Bhawan and Beekeeper Conference in Nagaland

Schemes & Policies

"Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar virtually inaugurated the Kisan Bhawan and Beekeeper Conference at the Central Institute of Horticulture, Nagaland" Bringing a change in the lives of small and medium farmers is a major goal of the Central Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The area is ideal for the cultivation of horticultural crops especially fruits and vegetables, flowers and spices. The Central Institute of Horticulture, Nagaland was established under the Central Sector Scheme of the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and this institute was established for the development of horticulture and upliftment of the farmers

E-Amrit Portal

Ecology & Environment

"India launched ‘E-Amrit’, a web portal on electric vehicles (EVs), at the ongoing COP26 Summit in Glasgow, UK" E-Amrit is a one-stop destination for all information on electric vehicles—busting myths around the adoption of EVs, their purchase, investment opportunities, policies, subsidies, etc. The portal has been developed and hosted by NITI Aayog under a collaborative knowledge exchange programme with the UK government and as part of the UK–India Joint Roadmap 2030, signed by the Prime Ministers of the two countries. E-Amrit intends to complement initiatives of the government on raising awareness on EVs and sensitizing consumers on the benefits of switching to electric vehicles.

Cabinet approves Restoration and continuation MPLADS

Schemes & Policies

"The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today has approved the restoration and continuation of Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS)" The MPLADS is a Central Sector Scheme fully funded by Government of India. The objective of the scheme is to enable MPs to recommend works of developmental nature with emphasis on the creation of durable community assets in the areas of drinking water, primary education, public health, sanitation and roads, etc. primarily in their Constituencies. The annual MPLADS fund entitlement per Member of Parliament (MP) constituency is Rs.5 crore, released in two instalments of Rs.2.5 crore each, subject to the fulfilment of conditions as per the MPLADS Guidelines.

USA becomes the 101st member country ISA

I.R.

"The United States of America becomes the 101st member country of the International Solar Alliance" This move will strengthen the ISA and propel future action on providing a clean source of energy to the world. The framework emphasizes delivering global relevance and local benefit to all countries through collaborations, with ISA’s key interventions focusing on readiness & enabling activities, risk mitigation & innovative financing instruments to facilitate the promotion and deployment of solar technologies in target markets. The approach detailed in this framework will culminate in a vision for interconnected global grids, which was formalized and jointly launched as the ‘Green Grids Initiative – One Sun One World One Grid’

Digital Payment Gateway

National Importance

National Internet Exchange of India launches ‘Digital Payment Gateway' National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) is a not-for-profit Company under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) with the mission to make the internet accessible to everyone. To facilitate its customers and partners, NIXI has gone digital by enabling digital payments across its three business units by integrating payment gateways on all its customer-facing websites for ease of use. PayU is enabling payment digitisation for crucial initiatives across the three key domains of NIXI. It has designed a customised flow for digital payment acceptance both from customers and vendors and has also made refund & reconciliation absolutely seamless for NIXI.

11th Defence Technology & Trade Initiative Group meeting virtually

Defence & Security

"The 11thDefence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) Group meeting between India and the United States (US) was held virtually on November 09, 2021" The DTTI Group meetings are normally held twice a year, alternating between India and the US. The aim of the DTTI Group is to bring sustained leadership focus to the bilateral defence trade relationship and create opportunities for co-production and co-development of defence equipment. Four Joint Working Groups focused on land, naval, air and aircraft carrier technologies have been established under DTTI to promote mutually agreed projects within their domains. The groups reported to the co-chairs on ongoing activities and collaborative opportunities, including a number of near-term projects targeted for completion on priority.