1) National Epilepsy Day 2020
•In India, November 17 is observed every year as National Epilepsy Day, to create awareness about epilepsy. The month of November is observed as ‘National Epilepsy Awareness Month’. This National Epilepsy Day is observed by the Epilepsy Foundation of India.
2) 3rd Naturopathy Day is celebrated on 18 November
•The National Naturopathy Day is observed in India on 18 November every year, to promote positive mental and physical health through a drugless system of medicine, called as Naturopathy. The 48-day program of webinars will continue till the third National Naturopathy Day, which falls on 18 November 2020. The day was declared by the Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy), Government of India, on November 18, 2018.
•As a part of the occasion, National Institute of Naturopathy (NIN), Pune under Ministry of AYUSH has organised a series of webinars on ‘Gandhian philosophy of Self Reliance through Self Health Reliance’ on Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary celebrations from 2nd Oct 2020. It was on this day in 1945 when Mahatma Gandhi became lifetime Chairman of the All India Nature Cure Foundation Trust and signed the deed with the object of making the benefits of Nature Cure available to all classes of people.
3) World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims 2020
•World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is marked every year on Third Sunday in the month of November. In 2020, World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims falls on 15 November 2020. The purpose of the day is to remember those killed and injured on the roads, together with their families, friends, and others affected.
•The theme of 2020 World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is “First Responders”. The day was started by the British road crash victim charity, RoadPeace, in 1993 and was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005.
4) PM Modi unveils ‘Statue of Peace’ in Rajasthan
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has virtually unveiled the ‘Statue of Peace’ dedicated to Jain Monk Acharya Shree Vijay Vallabh Surishwarji Maharaj. The 151-inch (12.6 ft) tall statue was inaugurated by PM Modi on the occasion of the 151st birth anniversary of Acharya Shree Vijay Vallabhsuri, at Vijay Vallabh Sadhana Kendra, Jetpura, in Pali, Rajasthan. The Statue of Peace has been made from Ashtadhatu, which means 8 metals, and includes Copper as the major constituent.
5) Asia’s 1st solar power-enabled Textile Mill to be unveiled in Maharashtra
•The first solar power-enabled Textile Mill in Asia is set to be set up in Parbhani district, Maharashtra. Spread across 30 acres of land, the Jai Bhawani women’s cooperative textile mill will be first in Asia that will operate entirely on solar power. The overall cost of setting up the project is around Rs. 100 crore.
•Once functional, the mill will process cotton to cloth and would provide jobs to many women in the district. Parbhani is the leading cotton-producing district in Maharashtra and with the operationalization of the mill, it will give momentum to the industrial sector in the district.
6) PM Modi Virtually Attends 12th BRICS Summit
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has virtually addressed the 12th (BRICS) Summit. The Summit was held under the Chairmanship of Russian President Vladimir Putin. India will be taking over the Chairmanship of the BRICS in 2021 and host the 13th BRICS Summit in 2021. It would be the third time that India will take over the BRICS Presidency since its inception. Previously India was the Chair in 2012 and 2016.
•The theme of the 12th edition of BRICS Summit was “Global stability, shared security and innovative growth”. The key issues discussed by the leaders included intra-BRICS cooperation and other key issues in the global context, like the reform of the multilateral system, measures to mitigate the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, cooperation in Counter-Terrorism, trade, health, energy and people to people exchanges.
7) PM Modi addresses 3rd Annual Bloomberg New Economy Forum
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the 3rd Annual Bloomberg New Economy Forum through video-conferencing. The forum witnessed discussions on refuelling the economy and charting a course for the future, as the world economy is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic.
•Some other Speakers of the forum included Director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, former US President Bill Clinton, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres.
8) 2nd Phase of Exercise Malabar 2020 begins in Arabian Sea
•The second phase of Exercise Malabar 2020 has been organised in the Northern Arabian Sea from 17 to 20 November 2020. The first Phase of Exercise Malabar 2020 was conducted in the Bay of Bengal from 03 to 06 November 2020. Exercise Malabar 2020 is the 24th edition of MALABAR.
•The second phase will witness joint operations, centred around the Vikramaditya Carrier Battle Group of the Indian Navy and Nimitz Carrier Strike Group of the US Navy. It would include cross-deck flying operations and advanced air defence exercises, advanced surface and anti-submarine warfare exercises, seamanship evolutions and weapon firings to further enhance interoperability and synergy between the four friendly navies.
9) Goldman Sachs Projects India’s GDP Forecast at -10.3% in FY21
•The Investment bank, Goldman Sachs has revised upwards the growth forecast for India in FY21 to -10.3% from its earlier projection of -14.8% in September 2020. For the financial year 2021-22 (FY22), the Goldman Sachs has projected India’s GDP at 13%.
10) RBI creates Reserve Bank Innovation Hub to boost financial inclusion
•The Reserve Bank of India has created a Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH). The aim of Innovation Hub is to promote innovation across the financial sector by leveraging on technology and creating an environment which would facilitate and foster innovation. RBIH will collaborate with financial sector institutions, technology industry and academic institutions and coordinate efforts for exchange of ideas and development of prototypes related to financial innovations.
