1) World Antimicrobial Awareness Week: 18-24 November
•World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) is celebrated from 18-24 November every year. The World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) aims to increase awareness of global antimicrobial resistance and to encourage best practices among the general public, health workers and policymakers to avoid the further emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections.
•The 2021 theme, Spread Awareness, Stop Resistance, calls on One Health stakeholders, policymakers, health care providers, and the general public to be Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Awareness champions.
2) Indian Navy received 4th Scorpene Submarine ‘Vela’
•4th Scorpene submarine of the Project-75, Yard 11878 was delivered to the Indian Navy which will be commissioned as INS (Indian Naval Ship) Vela. Project-75 includes the construction of six submarines of Scorpene design by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) Mumbai (Maharashtra) in collaboration with M/s Naval Group, France. Currently, three submarines under Project-75 are functional with the Indian Navy viz. INS Karanj, INS Kalvari, and INS Khanderi.
3) Ministry of Home Affairs Padma Awards 2021 announced
•The Ministry of Home Affairs has announced a list of 119 personalities who will be conferred the Padma Awards by President Ram Nath Kovind this year. These awards cater to various disciplines including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports and civil service. While ‘Padma Shri’ is awarded for distinguished service in any field, ‘Padma Bhushan’ is awarded for distinguished service of a high order.
•On the other hand, ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service. Among the 2021 awardees, 29 are women, one is transgender,10 are foreigners/NRIs/OCI and 16 have passed away. There will be no recipient of the Bharat Ratna in 2021.
•Film producers Karan Johar, Ekta Kapoor, actor-filmmaker Kangana Ranaut, veteran actor Sarita Joshi, playback singer Suresh Wadkar and music composer Adnan Sami were among 61 Padma Shri awardees for the year 2020 who received the country’s fourth-highest civilian honour at a ceremony held in the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.
4) SN Pradhan appointed as Director-General of NCB
•Satya Narayan Pradhan has been appointed as the Director-General (DG) of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on a deputation till the date of his superannuation on 31st August 2024 or until further orders. He was holding the additional charge as the DG of NCB in addition to the responsibilities as the DG of NDRF. He took the additional charge as the DG of NCB succeeding Rakesh Asthana who was appointed as Delhi Police Commissioner.
5) Daniel Brühl named as Goodwill Ambassador of UN-World Food Programme
•Spanish-German Actor Daniel Brühl has been named the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations World Food Programme (UN-WFP). He has joined the WFP’s mission to reach a world with Zero Hunger. As the goodwill ambassador, he will inform about the main drivers of hunger and showcase the efforts of UN WFP to tackle both immediate needs and root causes of hunger.
•In his role as a Goodwill Ambassador, Bruhl will raise awareness for the millions of people going to bed hungry every night and engage his supporters in advocacy for a Zero Hunger world. The 43-year-old actor will also use his platforms to inform his supporters about the main drivers of hunger and to showcase WFP’s efforts to tackle both immediate needs and root causes of hunger.
6) Bhadrachalam added as a destination in IRCTC’s Ramayana Circuit train
•Bhadrachalam in Telangana has been added as a destination in the IRCTC’s Ramayana Circuit train. Union Minister for Culture and Tourism G. Kishan Reddy has expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the inclusion of Bhadarchalam as one of the destinations in the Ramayana Circuit of the Pilgrim Special Train. Bhadrachalam is home to Sree Sita Ramachandra Swamy temple.
•The aim of the Ramayana Yatra Train is to connect all the important locations of Lord Rama’s journey during his lifetime, the inclusion of Bhadrachalam Road Station will complete the Ramayana Circuit.
7) Annapurna idol stolen from UP back from Canada after 100 years
•An idol of Goddess Annapurna that was stolen from Varanasi about 100 years ago and later found in Canada recently is all set to be back at its rightful place and will be gracing the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi. It is 17 cm in height, 9 cm in breadth and 4 cm in thickness.
•The idol which has reached Delhi will be taken to Aligarh, from where it will be taken to Kanauj on November 12 and then a day later will go to Ayodhya on November 14. After that, the idol will be finally taken to Varanasi on November 15 to be taken to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The return of the Annapurna idol comes in the wake of many such antiquities being identified and returned to the country in the past couple of years.
8) President confers ‘General of Indian Army’ rank to Nepal Army Chief
•In continuation of a tradition that started in 1950, Nepal Army Chief Gen Prabhu Ram Sharma was conferred with the honorary rank of ‘General of the Indian Army’ by President Ram Nath Kovind. Nepal conferred the honorary rank of ‘General of Nepal Army’ to Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane during his visit to Kathmandu in November last year.
•Nepal is important for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old “Roti Beti” relationship. Land-locked Nepal relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services. Nepal’s access to the sea is through India, and it imports a predominant proportion of its requirements from and through India.
