1) National Education Day: 11 November
•In India, the National Education Day or Rashtriya Shiksha Diwas is celebrated on 11 November every year. The day is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first education minister of independent India.
•According to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, schools are the laboratories that produce future citizens of the country. He is the person behind IITs and various other institutes in India.
2) Digital/Online media now under govt regulation
•Digital/Online media has been brought under the purview of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Currently, there is no law or autonomous body governing digital content. The 2nd Schedule of the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules 1961 has been amended to include following entries viz. Films and Audio-Visual programmes, News and current affairs content. This means that digital content providers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hotstar will now be regulated by the Union ministry headed by Prakash Javadekar.
3) Nepal President releases Special Anthology on Mahatma Gandhi
•Nepal President, Bidya Devi Bhandari has released a special pictorial anthology on Mahatma Gandhi to mark the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. This anthology is written in the Nepali language. The book was launched at a special function held at in Kathmandu in the presence of Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Vinay Mohan Kwatra.
4) Rajnath Singh unveils model of Anti-Satellite Missile at DRDO Bhawan
•A model of Anti Satellite (A-SAT) Missile installed inside DRDO Bhawan was unveiled by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The installation of the A-SAT model will inspire the DRDO fraternity to take up many more such challenging missions in future.
5) Australia-India Water Centre inaugurated virtually
•Australia-India Water Centre (AIWC) has been inaugurated in a virtual event to promote water-related research, teaching, and training between the two countries. This Water Centre is led by IIT Guwahati from the Indian side and the University of Western Sydney from the Australian side. Along with this, the centre has 21 partners from India and Australia.
6) Rajnath Singh unveils model of Anti-Satellite Missile at DRDO Bhawan
•A model of Anti Satellite (A-SAT) Missile installed inside DRDO Bhawan was unveiled by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The installation of the A-SAT model will inspire the DRDO fraternity to take up many more such challenging missions in future.
7) China launches ‘world’s first 6G experiment satellite’
•China has sent into space the world’s first 6G experiment satellite. The 6G satellite was among three Chinese satellites successfully launched into orbit, along with 10 commercial remote sensing satellites developed by Argentinian company Satellogic. This was the 351st rocket of China’s Long March series.
•As per the reports, the technology is expected to be over 100 times faster than 5G. The 6G communications test satellite was launched into the orbit along with 12 other satellites. The satellite also carries technology which will be used for crop disaster monitoring and forest fire prevention.
8) India and Maldives sign four agreements
•India and the Maldives have signed four agreements, during the visit of Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla to the Maldives. Shringla is on a two-day visit to the Indian Ocean archipelago. These MOUs will help to improve the relations between the two countries. Maldives tourism industry has been greatly affected by COVID-19 and because of this India provided a loan of $250 million to the country in September 2020. The Indian foreign secretary appreciated the “India First” policy of Maldives and also said that it is strongly reciprocated by India through “Neighborhood First” policy.
9) PM Modi Leads Indian delegation at 20th SCO Council of Heads of State Summit
•The 20th Summit of SCO Council of Heads of State was held on November 10, 2020, in Video Conference Format. The Meeting was chaired by the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi led the Indian delegation.
10) Azim Premji tops Edelgive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2020
•The founder-chairman of Wipro Ltd, Azim Premji has topped the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2020. The 75-year-old made the highest contribution of Rs 7,904 crore between April 2019 and March 2020 towards philanthropic causes. It ranks individuals from India who donated Rs 5 crore and above between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, towards philanthropic contributions.
•Shiv Nadar, founder and chairman of HCL Technologies, ranked second (Rs 795 crore) on the list. He topped the list in 2019. India’s richest man and the chairman of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani stood at the third spot (Rs 458 crore). 7 women found a place in the list with Rohini Nilekani (donating Rs 47 crore) being India’s most generous woman; followed by Anu Aga & family of Thermax (Rs 36 crore), and Biocon’s Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (Rs 34 crore).
11) Ruskin Bond conferred with Tata Literature Lifetime Achievement Award
•Ruskin Bond, one of India’s most cherished authors was conferred Tata Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award for 2020. He has a substantial body of work, close to 100 books – across genres for children and adults.
•Bond writing has charmed both categories of readers into lifelong love and admiration. He has been recognised by the Indian Council of Child Education for his contribution to the growth of children’s literature in India. His famous works: Room on the roof, Blue Umbrella, etc. He was conferred the Padma Shri & Padma Bhushan.
12) Indian Astronomers collaborate with 2020 Nobel Physics Nobel Laureate
•Indian astronomers have collaborated with the 2020 Physics Nobel Laureate Prof. Andrea Ghez for the design of back-end instruments and possible science prospects of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project. The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is a proposed extremely large telescope (ELT) which is planned to be installed at Maunakea on the island of Hawaii.
13) Thavaasmi book launched by Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu
•Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu has launched the book titled “Thavaasmi: Life and Skills through the lens of Ramayana”. The book was authored by Rallabandi Srirama Chakradhar and co-author by Amara Sarada Deepthi.
•Thavaasmi is in 4 volumes prepared by a team of young professionals. The book presents the story of Ramayana as a dialogue between a father and daughter with a number of exercises making it an interesting learning experience.
