20 Nov 2021 Current Affairs and GK Updates in English

Important Days

552nd Guru Nanak Jayanti is observed on 19 November 2021

Guru Nanak Jayanti is observed every year as the birth anniversary of the Sikh founder, Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

This year marks the 552nd birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, also known as Prakash Utsav or Guru Purab, as it marks an important festival for the Sikh community.

Guru Nanak is the first of the ten Sikh gurus who is considered as the one who brought enlightenment to the world. He was born in 1469 in a village named Talwandi, which is currently located in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan.

World Toilet Day is observed on 19 November

World Toilet Day is observed as an official United Nations international day across the world on 19th November 2021. The day is observed to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis.

The day is observed to inform, engage and inspire people to take action toward achieving the goal of improving sanitation and aims to “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. World Toilet Day 2021 theme: “valuing toilets”.

The World Toilet Day was firstly observed on 19th November 2012 established by the World Toilet Organization in 2001 also the inaugural World Toilet Summit was held on the same day and Twelve years later, in 2013, the UN General Assembly declared World Toilet Day an official UN day.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

• World Toilet Organization Headquarters: Singapore.
• World Toilet Organization Founder and Director: Jack Sim.
• World Toilet Organization Founded: 19 November 2001.

National Newborn Week 2021: 15-21 November

In India, the National Newborn Week is observed every year from 15 to 21 November. The main purpose of the week is to reinforce the importance of newborn health as a key priority area of the health sector and reduce the infant mortality rate by improving healthcare conditions for babies in the neonatal period. The theme of National Newborn Week 2021 is ‘Safety, quality and nurturing care – the birthright of every newborn’.

In 2014, India became the first country to launch the India Newborn Action Plan (INAP), in alignment with the Global Every Newborn Action Plan towards eliminating preventable deaths of newborns and stillbirths.

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week: 18-24 November

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) is celebrated every year from 18-24 November.

The purpose of the week is to increase awareness of global antimicrobial resistance, encourage best practices among the general public, health workers, and policymakers to avoid the further emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections.

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week Theme 2021 is Spread Awareness, Stop Resistance. The theme calls on One Health stakeholders, policymakers, health care providers, and the general public to be Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Awareness champions.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been declared as one of the top 10 global health threats by the World Health Organization (WHO)

National

Centre to roll back 3 farm laws

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that his government will repeal the three contentious agricultural laws and requested protesting farmers to go back to their fields and homes.

The announcement came on the Gurupurab/Prakash Utsav festival when Sikhism founder Guru Nanak’s birthday is celebrated in the country. Last year, in September, President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent for the three bills passed by the Parliament.

Since the three farm bills have already been passed into law, the government will have to formally bring three new bills to repeal them and get them passed in both Houses.

The three contentious bills are:

• The Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020,
• The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and
• The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill.

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurates Adarsh Village ‘Sui’ in Haryana

The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind visited Sui village in the Bhiwani district of Haryana, to inaugurate various public facilities in the village.

This village is being developed as Adarsh Gram (Model village) by Mahadevi Parameshwaridas Jindal Charitable Trust under the Swa-Prerit Adarsh Gram Yojana (SPAGY) scheme of the Haryana Government.

The President and his wife Savita Kovind planted a peepal tree at Sui village. The Jindal trust has undertaken developmental works of over Rs 25 crore to transform Sui into an ADARSH VILLAGE.

It must be noted that Bhiwani is the first district in India where two Presidents have visited. Prior to this President APJ Abdul Kalam visited Bhiwani in 2007.

The village is being developed as ‘Adarsh gram’ by the Mahadevi Parameshwaridas Jindal Charitable Trust under the Haryana government’s Swa-Prerit Adarsh Gram Yojana (SPAGY).

India re-elected to UNESCO Executive Board for 2021-25 term

India has been re-elected to the Executive Board of UNESCO for the term 2021-25. India received 164 votes to get re-elected to a four-year term of office. Apart from India, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, Cook Islands, and China have also been elected in Group IV Asian and Pacific States category. UNESCO Executive Board consists of 58 member-states each with a four-year term of office.

The executive board of the UN’s cultural and educational organization is one of three constitutional organs of the UN agency. The other two are the General Conference and the Secretariat.

The General Conference elects members of the executive board. The executive board consists of 58 member-states, each with a four-year term. It examines the program of work for the organization and corresponding budget estimates submitted to it by the director-general, according to the Unesco website.

The board represents exercises the power delegated to it by the General Conference and deals with the questions with which it is entrusted.

Uttar Pradesh’s first Anti-Air Pollution Tower inaugurated in Noida

The Union Minister of Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey has inaugurated the first air pollution control tower of the state of Uttar Pradesh in Noida. The Air Pollution Control Tower (APCT) prototype has been developed by state-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Bhel).

The indigenously developed APCT is set up between the DND flyway and the slip road to Noida Expressway. The tower will help to mitigate the rising air pollution problem in the city.

The tower will clean the polluted air around it and release purified air. Equipped with intake and exhaust fans, the tower will initially run with the help of electricity. The authority, however, plans to run the tower with the help of solar energy later.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

• UP Capital: Lucknow;
• UP Governor: Anandiben Patel;
• UP Chief minister: Yogi Adityanath.

BRO received Guinness World Record for world’s highest motorable road

The Border Roads Organisation has received the Guinness World Record for constructing & blacktopping the world’s highest motorable road passing through the 19,024 feet 0.73 inches (5798.251m) high Umlingla Pass in the Union Territory of Ladakh.

The 52-kilometer long Chisumle to Demchok tarmac road was developed under Project HIMANK (93RCC/753 BRTF) of BRO. Lieutenant General Rajeev Chaudhry, Director General Border Roads, received the Guinness World Records certificate.

Appointments

MC Mary Kom appointed brand ambassador of TRIFED Aadi Mahotsav

The Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda inaugurated TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation Ltd) Aadi Mahotsav at Dilli Haat in New Delhi, in the presence of Sukhram Munda, Grandson of Bhagwan Birsa Munda.

On the occasion, Olympic medallist and boxer Padma Vibhushan MC Mary Kom was declared as the brand ambassador of the TRIFED Aadi Mahotsav. It is a national tribal festival and a joint initiative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the TRIFED.

Summits and Conferences

PM Modi virtually delivers the keynote address at The Sydney Dialogue

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has delivered the keynote address at The Sydney Dialogue, via video conferencing. PM addressed the event on the theme ‘India’s technology evolution and revolution’.

The Sydney Dialogue has been organized from November 17-19, 2021 by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. The event will bring together political, business, and government leaders to debate, generate new ideas, and work towards common understandings of the opportunities and challenges posed by emerging and critical technologies.

The Sydney Dialogue is an annual summit of cyber and critical technologies to discuss the fallout of the digital domain on the law and order situation in the world.

Ranks and Reports

2021 TRACE global Bribery Risk Rankings: India ranked 82nd

India has slipped to 82nd position (drop by 5 slots from 2020) with a risk score of 44 in the global list of 2021 TRACE Bribery Risk Matrix (TRACE Matrix) that measures business bribery risks, which was released by TRACE International.

An anti-bribery standard-setting organization, known as TRACE, measures business bribery risk in 194 countries, territories, and autonomous and semi-autonomous regions.

2021 TRACE Bribery Risk Matrix:

Agreements

SBI signed an agreement with Jamshedpur Football Club to promote football

The State Bank of India has signed a strategic agreement with Jamshedpur Football Club, a fully owned subsidiary of Tata Steel, to promote and support football in India. This is the first of its kind of agreement by SBI in the game of football.

Through this agreement, the SBI will become one of the principal sponsors of the JFC, thereby having the SBI logo on Jersey.

The JRD Tata Sports Complex was set up in Jharkhand by Tata Steels, to conduct ISL (Indian Super League) and promote the sport of Football in India.

The two brands will also actively engage with fans via the first team and also during the broadcast of the Indian Super League (ISL). The interaction with fans will continue on the digital platforms of SBI and JFC as well.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

• SBI Founded: 1 July 1955;
• SBI Headquarters: Mumbai;
• SBI Chairman: Dinesh Kumar Khara.

Sports

ICC announces host nations of next 10 men’s tournaments

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the 14 host countries of the ICC men’s white-ball events from 2024-2031.

India is set to host the 2029 Champions Trophy and co-host the 2026 ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup with Sri Lanka and the 2031 ICC Men’s 50-over World Cup with Bangladesh.

The hosts were selected through a competitive bidding process overseen by an ICC Hosting Sub-Committee chaired by Martin Snedden along with Sourav Ganguly, President of Board of Control for Cricket in India, and Ricky Skerritt, President of Cricket West Indies.

Hosts of ICC Events:

Spain’s Garbine Muguruza wins 2021 WTA Finals

In tennis, Garbine Muguruza of Spain beat Anett Kontaveit of Estonia, 6-3, 7-5 in the final to claim her first WTA Final title. Muguruza is also the first Spaniard to win the WTA Finals.

Muguruza battled back from a breakdown in the second set, winning the last four games of the match to seal her 10th career title. In doubles, Czech’s Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková defeated Hsieh Su-wei (Chinese Taipei) and Elise Mertens (Belgium) 6–3, 6–4.

Alexander Zverev won Vienna Tennis Open 2021

Alexander “Sascha” Zverev, a German professional tennis player, won the fifth ATP title of the season (2021) and 18th overall at the Vienna Open 2021 or Erste Bank Open 2021 defeating Frances Tiafoe of the United States of America (USA). At present, Alexander Zverev is ranked 3rd in the ATP World Ranking.

Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal of Colombia have won the doubles competition at Erste Bank Open 2021 defeating Joe Salisbury of the United Kingdom (UK) and Rajeev Ram of the USA.

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