Important Bullet Points for MICAT 2020

• Sashidhar Jagdishan takes over as MD and CEO of HDFC Bank replacing Aditya Puri.
HDFC Headquarters: Mumbai
Tagline: We Understand Your World

• Top Three Football Brand as per 2020 Brand Finance Football report
− Real Madrid
− Barcelona
− Manchester United

• Vice Chief of the Army Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane took charge as a new Army Chief.
He succeeded General Bipin Rawat after a three-year stint as Army chief.

• Sports Gaming Platform ‘WTF Sports’ has appointed Cricketer Suresh Raina and
Harmanpreet Kaur as its brand ambassadors. Both are cricketers.

• Indian Space Research Organisation establish a second launch port in Thoothukudi district in
Tamilnadu exclusively to launch small satellite launch vehicles. ISRO Chairman K Sivan
informed that this would come up in 2300 acres.

• FutureBrand Index 2020-

The FutureBrand Index is a global brand perception study based on the PwC Global Top 100
Companies by market capitalisation. Reliance Industries has been ranked second biggest
brand globally after Apple in FutureBrand Index 2020 by PwC.
Top Three
− Apple
− Reliance
− Samsung

• Singapore was the largest source of FDI for India in H1 of 2019-20, accounting for around $8
billion, followed by Mauritius with $6.3 billion, Netherlands ($2.3 billion), the United States
($2.1 billion) and Japan ($1.7 billion).

• 1917 wins Best Motion Picture-Drama at the Golden Globes 2020. It is an epic war film
directed, co-written and produced by Sam Mendes.

• Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI)-

India has been ranked 34th in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) of the
World Economic Forum for the year 2019. WEF analyzed 139 countries and scored each
according to three sub-indices: (1) Regulatory Framework (2) Business Environment and
Infrastructure (3) Human, Cultural, and Natural Resources.

• Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (NRI Day) is a celebratory day observed on 9 January by the
Republic of India to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community towards the
development of India. The day commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South
Africa to Ahmedabad on 9 January 1915.

• The birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda also called Swami Vivekananda Jayanti is
celebrated every year on 12 January. He was born on 12 January, 1863. The government had

Nov 10, 2020

 decided to observe it as National Youth Day because the philosophy of Swamiji and the
ideals for which he lived and worked could be a great source of inspiration for the Indian
Youth.

• The Union Minister of State Dr. Jitendra Singh announced that the training for Gaganyaan
space astronauts will start their training from the third week of January 2020.The training of
the Indian astronauts for India's first human space mission will take place in Russia.

• Paytm has launched India’s 1st Pocket Android POS Device. It is named as ‘Paytm All-in-One
Portable Android Smart POS’. Paytm founder: Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

• Sindhi writer Vasdev Mohi has conferred with 29th Saraswati Samman for his short stories
collection 'Chequebook'. The short stories collection talks about the agonies and sufferings
of marginalized sections of the society.

• Henley Passport Index 2020 was launched recently by Henley & Partners. India ranked 84th
in the index. Japan has the world's strongest passport. The index was based on the data
collected from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

• The 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting was held on 21-24 January 2020, in
Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. WEF annual meetings aim to engage world leaders in
collaborative activities to shape the global, regional, and industry agendas at the beginning
of each year.

• India slipped 10 places to 51st position in the 2019 Democracy Index's global ranking,
according to The Economist Intelligence Unit, which cited "erosion of civil liberties" in the
country as the primary cause for the downtrend. India's overall score fell from 7.23 in 2018
to 6.90 in the Index that provides a snapshot of the current state of democracy worldwide
for 165 independent states and two territories.

• National Girl Child Day is celebrated on 24 January. The day aims to create awareness about
the rights of the girl child in India. It aims to improve the condition of girls in society. The day
aims to provide support and facilities to the girls of the country in every respect. It also aims
to create awareness about the inequalities, discrimination, exploitation faced by the girls in
the society.

• India was ranked 72nd (up 8 places) in 2020 Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI).
Switzerland topped the list of 132 countries, followed by the US and Singapore. Launched by
INSEAD, GTCI ranks countries on the basis of their ability to grow, attract and retain talent.

• Maharashtra retain Khelo India Youth Games champions trophy in Guwahati with 256
medals including 78 gold.

• India's first e-waste clinic was inaugurated in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on 24 January. It was
jointly set up by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Central Pollution Control
Board (CPCB). The e-waste clinic will be started on the basis of a three-month pilot project.

• India ranked 80th in the global Corruption Perceptions Index 2019 (CPI-2019). In 2018, India
ranked 78th in the index. The index was released by Transparency International.

Nov 10, 2020

• Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro was invited as chief guest on Republic Day 2020.

• The NBA (National Basketball Association) star Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash. He
retired from the game in 2016. He has won two gold medals in Olympics, one in 2008 and
the other in 2012. The star had won 5 championships so far.

• Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation will start soon its East-West project which runs partly under
the city's iconic Hooghly river, by March 2022 after a delay of several years doubled costs.

• Indian women captain Rani Rampal becomes the first-ever hockey player to win the
prestigious World Games Athlete of the Year award. The World Games announced the
winner after 20 days of polling in January this year by sports fans worldwide.

• Maldives officially re-joins Commonwealth more than three years after quitting over
criticism of its human rights record.
• IBM (International Business Machines Corp.) named Arvind Krishna as chief executive
officer, replacing long time CEO Virginia Rometty.

• Sandeep Mathrani an Indian-American now charged with the tough work of relaunching
WeWork, which had been one of America's most commended new businesses that put a
mammoth impression in the business land of significant urban communities around the
world. Its breakdown prompted Neumann's flight and cost the primary investor, wealthy
Japanese person Masayoshi Son, billions of dollars.

• World Cancer Day is observed on 4th February every year to create awareness about
cancer. The theme for the year 2020 is 'I am and I will'. Cancer occurs due to the
uncontrolled, abnormal growth of cells in the tissue or organ of the body.

• World War I drama 1917 has won the award for best film at the British Academy of Film and
Television Arts awards (BAFTAs), with director Sam Mendes picking up honors for best
director at glamorous ceremony in London.

• India ranked 40th on a global International Intellectual Property (IP) Index. It was released
by the Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) of the US Chambers of Commerce.

• "Toy Story 4" has won the Academy Award for best animated feature for Josh Cooley, Mark
Nielsen and Jonas Rivera - a decade after "Toy Story 3" took the prize. It's the 10th Pixar title
to take an Oscar since the category was created in 2001.

• Brad Pitt has won the best supporting actor Oscar for his role as Cliff Booth in Once Upon a
Time in Hollywood at the 92nd Academy Awards. Pitt saw off strong competition from Al
Pacino and Joe Pesci for The Irishman, Tom Hanks for A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood
and Anthony Hopkins for The Two Popes.

• South Korean film-maker Bong Joon-ho has become the second director of a foreign-
language film to win the best director Oscar at the 92nd Academy Awards. Bong follows
Alfonso Cuaron (who won for Roma in 2018) as a foreign-language winner with Parasite,
seeing off competition from the likes of Quentin Tarantino (for Once Upon a Time in
Hollywood), Todd Phillips for Joker and the pre-ceremony favourite Sam Mendes (for 1917).

Nov 10, 2020

• South Korean film Parasite has been named best picture at this year's Oscars, becoming the
first non-English language film to take the top prize. Renee Zellweger won best actress for
playing Judy Garland in Judy.

• Joker star Joaquin Phoenix has won the best actor Oscar at the 92nd Academy Awards, for
his performance as Batman's nemesis. Phoenix was the overwhelming favourite, seeing off
competition from the likes of Marriage Story's Adam Driver and Once Upon a Time in
Hollywood's Leonardo DiCaprio.

• Renee Zellweger was crowned best actress at the Oscars for her portrait of Hollywood
legend Judy Garland in "Judy," a biographical drama exploring the singer's personal and
professional turmoil at the end of her life.

• President Ashraf Ghani won Afghanistan's presidential election. He has been elected for the
second term.

• Shree Cement to replace YES Bank in Nifty50 from Mar 27; surges 6% Shares of Shree
Cement surged 6 per cent to Rs 25,199.9 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on February
19 after the exchange announced its inclusion in the benchmark Nifty50 index with effect
from March 27.

• A senior agriculture scientist Govinda Rajulu Chintala has been named as next chairman of
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). Govinda Rajulu is presently
serving as deputy managing director of the Nabard based at Mumbai.

• The mega event Namaste Trump was held at cricket stadium Sardar Patel Stadium, also
known as Motera Stadium, in Ahmedabad on 24 February 2020.

• The Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2020 were held in Mumbai. Actor
Ravi Dubey served as the host of the evening and many celebrities attended the glamorous
event from the film and television industry. Best actor award was won by Hrithik Roshan for
'Super 30'.

• The 5th edition of joint military Exercise Ajeya Warrior 2020 concluded at West down Camp,
Salisbury Plains Training Area, UK. The exercise was held between India and the United
Kingdom.

• Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova retired from professional tennis at age 32.
Maria Sharapova quietly walked away from tennis at the age of 32, ending a career that
featured five Grand Slam titles, time at No. 1 in the WTA rankings and a 15-month doping
ban.

• National Science Day (NSD) is celebrated on 28 February in India. The day is celebrated
every year to commemorate the discovery of the 'Raman Effect' by the Indian physicist Sir
CV Raman.

• Free Public Transport in Luxembourg— Luxembourg in Europe has become the first country
to make all forms of public transport free. It is the second smallest country in the European
Union.

Nov 10, 2020

• New Finance Secretary— Revenue Secretary Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey has been designated
by the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) as the Finance Secretary on March 3.

• Gairsain New Capital of Uttarakhand— The announcement was made by Uttarakhand Chief
Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat at the assembly session convened in Gairsain. It partially
fulfilled an over two-decade demand by statehood. CM dedicated the announcement to the
people who sacrificed themselves for the formation of Uttarakhand state.

• World's 100 powerful women— Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and freedom fighter
Amrit Kaur have been named by the TIME magazine among world's 100 powerful women
who defined the last century in a new project that "spotlights influential women who were
often overshadowed." TIME named Kaur as 'Women of the Year' for 1947 and Gandhi for
1976 in special covers recreated by the publication.

• Chapchar Kut began in all parts of Mizoram on 5 March 2020. The festival will be held on 5-6
March. The festival is celebrated at the Assam Rifles Ground at Aizawl. Chapchar Kut is the
biggest and most joyous festival of the Mizos.

• The Indian-origin American author, Ruchika Tomar, who has been chosen to be awarded the
PEN/Hemingway Award 2020 for her first novel A Prayer for Travelers.

• International Women's Day: 08 March 2020

Theme: I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights

• World Tuberculosis Day: 24 March 2020

Theme: It's Time

• World Press Freedom Day: 03 May 2020

Theme: Journalism without Fear and Favour

• International Day for Biological Diversity: 22 May 2020

Theme: Our Solutions are in Nature

• World No Tobacco Day: 31 May 2020

• World Health Day: 07 April 2020

Theme: Support Nurses and Midwives

• International Mother Earth Day: 22 April 2020

Theme: Climate Action

• World Environment Day: 05 June 2020

Theme: Biodiversity

• International Day of Yoga: 21 June 2020

Theme: Yoga for Health-Yoga at Home

• World Happiness Index 2020

− India's rank: 144
− Top Country: Finland

Nov 10, 2020

• World Press Freedom Index 2020-
India's rank: 142nd
Top Country: Norway

• Abel Prize 2020

− Hillel Furstenberg (Israel-American)
− Gregory Margulis (Russian-American)

• 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

− Hosts: Australia
− Winners: Australia (record 5th title)
− Runners-up: India

• The well-known snooker player, Pankaj Advani, who has won the National Snooker
Championship defeating Ishpreet Singh in the finals in Ahmedabad.

• Yes Bank Crisis— SBI to pick up a 49% stake in Yes Bank for Rs 2,450 crore and clarified that
all the deposits and liabilities of the reconstructed bank will continue in the "same manner".

• As per Government data, Gujarat has topped the list in the installations of solar rooftop
plants. It is followed by Maharashtra. The aim of the installations of solar rooftop plants is to
achieve renewable power generation goals. As of 2 March, a total of 79,950 systems have
been installed across the country with a combined capacity of 322 MW.

• The Two-Judge bench of High Court of Bangladesh has ordered that 'Joy Bangla' will be the
national slogan of Bangladesh. The court also directed the authorities to ensure that
teachers and students use the slogan after assembly. Joy Bangla was the main slogan during
the liberation war of Bangladesh fought against Pakistan in 1971.

• India secured 46th rank in the Inclusive Internet Index 2020 released by the Economist
Intelligence Unit (EIU). Pakistan got the 76th rank on the list. In this index, Sweden ranks
first, New Zealand is second and America is third.

• Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan was appointed as the first ever ambassador of the IDFC
FIRST Bank.

• Smartphone brand realme appointed Bollywood actor Salman Khan as its brand
ambassador. Khan will endorse realme 6 & realme 6 Pro. In 2019, realme was the world's
fastest-growing smartphone brand.

• The English cricketer, Ben Stokes, who has been named the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the
World 2019 by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

• The Yukti Web-Portal launched by Union Minister of HRD Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank to
cover the different dimensions of COVID-19 challenges in a very holistic and comprehensive
way.

• The financial years 2020-21 & 2021-22 for which the Union Cabinet has decided not to
operate the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds.

• Mergers of Public Sector Banks 2020

Nov 10, 2020

− Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India are merged with Punjab National Bank.
− Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank are merged with Union Bank of India.
− Indian Bank and Allahabad Bank are merged.
− Syndicate bank is merged with Canara Bank.

• Rongali Bihu is the Harvest Festival of Assam. It is celebrated on 14th April.

• Chess Master Viswanathan Anand has been appointed as the new Ambassador for World
Wide Fund (WWF) India's Environment Education program. The Environment Education
Program was formed in 1976.

• Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos tops Forbes annual world's billionaires list with a net
worth of $113 billion.

• World Book and Copyright Day celebrated by UNSECO on April 23. Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
has been named as World Book Capital for 2020.

• Pulitzer Prize 2020

− Category: Feature Photography
− Winners: Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin of Associated Press

• Toman is the new currency of Iran, which is equal to 10,000 rials, introduced by Iran after a
sharp fall in the value of the currency as a result of crippling U.S. sanctions.

• The agricultural product from Kashmir, Kashmiri Saffron has been granted GI (Geographical
Indication) tag by GI Registry.

• Mission SAGAR— The mission under which India has dispatched Food Items, COVID related
Medicines including HCQ
Tablets and Special Ayurvedic Medicines to Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and
Comoros.

• Cyclone Amphan— The super cyclonic storm which originated in Bay of Bengal near Sri
Lanka and made landfall in West Bengal causing large scale loss of lives and property.

• Sania Mirza— The Indian tennis player who has become the first from the country to win
International Tennis Federation's Fed Cup Heart Award for Asia/Oceania zone for her
successful return to the court post motherhood.

• Visakhapatnam— The city in which leakage of styrene gas from the LG Polymers chemical
plant killed 13 people and affected more than 1000 people.

• The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan has been elected as the
Chair of the Executive Board of World Health Organization for the year 2020-21.

• The Head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Roberto Azevedo has announced his
resignation, a year before his term expires. He will step down on 31 August 2020.

• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally swore in his new government on 17 May for the
fifth time. The ceremony of the swearing-in of Israel's new government, the Knesset, was
held in accordance with coronavirus social distancing directives. Netanyahu will be in power

Nov 10, 2020

 until 13 November 2021.

• Facebook had acquired the animated graphics startup GIPHY and would integrate the
company in its Instagram visual social network. GIPHY is a platform and search engine for
"stickers" and other products using the graphics interchange format or GIFs.

• Kotak Mahindra Bank becomes 1st bank in India to allow video Know your customer (KYC)
facility for customers opening savings accounts on Kotak 811 - the banks digital banking
platform.

• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the implementation
of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) on 20 May 2020. The scheme
aims to boost investments in the fisheries sector and increase of competitiveness of fish and
fisheries products. The total estimated investment for the scheme is Rs.20,050 crore
comprising of the Central government share of Rs.9,407 crore, State government share of
Rs.4,880 crore, and Beneficiaries' share of Rs.5,763 crore.

• KKR invests in Reliance Jio Platform— KKR invests Rs 11367 crore in Reliance Jio Platforms
to buy a stake of 2.32 percent in a fully diluted basis. The deal is subject to regulatory and
customary approvals. This is fifth global investment deal in last one month. Earlier,
Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity and General Atlantic invested in the Jio Platforms.

• Popular author Ruskin Bond has authored a book titled 'Hop On: My Adventures on Boats,
Trains and Planes'. The e-book format was released on the occasion of his 86th birthday.
The illustration has been done by Samrat Halder and published by Speaking Tiger's children's
imprint Talking Cub.

• Former Supreme Court Judge D K Jain has been reappointed as the Ethics Officer and
Ombudsman of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
D K Jain was appointed as the first ever Ombudsman and was later appointed as the Ethics
Officer in addition. His term had ended on February 29 this year, but his appointment has
been renewed for one more year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ombudsman will be
conducting hearings virtually.

• Kushinagar Airport— The airport in Uttar Pradesh for which Union Cabinet has given its
approval to be declared an International Airport

• Reliance Industries has become the first Indian company to touch $150 billion in market
capitalisation in stock market

• Dr. Rattan Lal— The leading soil scientist from Ohio State University, who has been chosen
for 2020 World Food Prize for developing and mainstreaming a soil-centric approach to
increasing food production that conserves natural resources and mitigates climate change

• PM SVANidhi Scheme— The special micro-credit facility scheme for providing affordable
loan upto Rs. 10,000/- to street vendors launched by the Central Govt is named

• Virat Kohli is only one from India to figure in 2020 Forbes' list of world's highest-paid
athletes, the list is topped by Roger Federer, Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Nov 10, 2020

• IIT Mumbai is top ranked from India in QS World University Rankings 2021. IIT Mumbai is
ranked at 172nd Position, IISc Bangalore at 185th & IIT Delhi at 193rd Position. The List is
topped by Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT].

• The Actor, Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead at his Mumbai Residence on 14th June. His
Debut Film was Kai Po Che. His Most notable film was M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016).

• The Indian writer, Kritika Pandey has been chosen for The Commonwealth Short Story Prize
2020 for Asia region by Commonwealth Foundation for her work The Great Indian Tee and
Snakes.

• According to the FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) world Ranking

released on June 11, 2020, India has retained the 108th spot with 1187 points as
international football has been suspended since March due to the Covid- 19. Belgium tops
the ranking followed by France and Brazil. Qatar is the host country of FIFA World Cup 2022.

• Odisha became the first State in India to receive prestigious ISO 9001:2015 certification for
its 44 tribal hostels of Keonjhar (32 hostels) and Sambalpur (12 hostels) districts improving
their overall infrastructure and standards under Mission Suvidya.

• Nepal's New Map— Nepal's lower house of parliament, Pratinidhi Sabha, passes bill to
include India's territories of Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh in Pithoragarh district of
Uttarakhand in its new map.

• On July 22, 2020, PM Modi congratulated Kakrapur Atomic Plant of Gujarat to reach its
criticality. Criticality is reaching normal operating condition. The Kakrapar Atomic Plant
produces power from indigenously built reactors and is a major step of GoI in promoting
Make in India campaign. The reactor generates 700 MW of power.

• National Education Policy, 2020

The Union Cabinet recently cleared a new National Education Policy, 2020. The main aim of
the policy is to make India a Global Knowledge Superpower. Along with the policy, the
cabinet also approved renaming of Ministry of Human Resource Development to Ministry of
Education.
In the history of independent India, the education policy was brought in 1968 and 1986.
The new National Education Policy introduces “5+3+3+4” design that covers children in the
age group between 3 and 18 years.
The policy has brought in minimum degree qualification for teachers as four-year integrated
B.Ed.
The policy has made it mandatory to use the child’s mother tongue as medium of
instruction till Class 5.
It also aims to universalize education from pre-school to secondary school by 2030. Also, by
2030, the Gross Enrolment Ratio of Secondary level is to be brought to 100%.

• BRICS Virtual Meet 2020— On 30th July 2020, the Environment Ministers of 6th BRICS
countries took part in the 6th BRICS Environment meeting. It was held online via video
conferencing under the presidency of Russia.
Five BRICS Member States: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Nov 10, 2020

• The Climate Activist Greta Thunberg was awarded the Gulbenkian Prize 2020 for Humanity.
She was awarded with prize money of 1 million Euros. The Climate Activist is to donate the
prize money to organizations focused on environment and climate change. Miss Thunberg is
the first person to receive the prize.

• The United Nations recently released the Multidimensional Poverty Index, 2020. According
to the index, India recorded the largest reduction in number of people living in poverty
between the period 2015-19. The data were obtained from United Nations Department of
Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). Around 273 million people have moved out of
multidimensional poverty over 10 years.

• On July 15, 2020, Ashok Lavasa was appointed as the vice president of Asian Development
Bank.
He was serving as the Election Commissioner and is next in line to become Chief Election
Commissioner. He has now been appointed as Vice President of ADB for Public-Private
Partnerships and Private Sector Operations.

• As per the data from the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the United States
remains the top trading partner of India during the Financial Year 2019-20. This is the
second consecutive Financial Year that the United States has become the top trading partner
of India (in Financial Year 2018-19 United States surpassed the People’s Republic of China to
become the top trading partner of India), indicating the continuously increasing economic
ties between both the countries.

• The statistics for the number of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects in the Financial
Year 2019-20 in the United Kingdom was released on 10th July 2020 by the United Kingdom
Government’s Department for International Trade (DIT). As per the Figures provided by DIT,
the second-largest source of FDI in the United Kingdom is now from India.

• Through video conferencing, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 750
MW Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Plant on 10th July 2020. To date, the 750 MW Rewa Ultra Mega
Solar Power Project is the largest single-site solar power project in Central India to date. The
Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Project is located in Gurh Tehsil of Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa
district. It is spread over 1,590 acres of land.

• KKR to buy 54% Stake in JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals— The United States-based
global investment firm- Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) & Co. Inc. will buy the majority of 54
percent stake in JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals. 54 percent stake of Mumbai based JB
Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals is worth Rs 3,109 crore.

• New prime minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, has committed to his country on October 27,
2020 to reach a target of zero emissions of greenhouse gases. He also committed to achieve
a carbon-neutral society by 2050 by a fundamental shift in policy on coal use.

• The Global hunger index was launched on October 16 2020. This year, India has been
ranked 94th Out of 107 countries. In 2018 was India ranked 103 while in 2019 India was
ranked 102.

Nov 10, 2020

• Kerala has become the first state in the country that have made the public education
completely digital. Kerala achieved this milestone within two years of the launch of the
initiative. Total expenditure on the initiative was Rs. 42.36 crores. The project was
implemented by Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Atal Tunnel which is the world longest high-
altitude tunnel at Rohtang. It has been named after late former PM shree Atal Bihari
Vajpayee. The tunnel is located above the altitude of 10,000 feet (3,000 feet).

• Armenia and Azerbaijan have involved in fighting again and a fresh clash have erupted on
the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. It is threatening to push for a war again 26 years after a
ceasefire was reached. Armenia is a Christian majority country and Azerbaijan is a Muslim
majority country. Both of them are a part of South Caucasia. The border dispute between
them have erupted over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

• The Japanese Former World Champion Nozomi Okuhara has won the Denmark Open title
2020 in Badminton. She got the title by beating three-time world champion Carolina Marin
in women’s singles.

• The government of India recently announced that there will be no Question Hour, Zero
Hour and introduction of private member bill during the monsoon session. This is being
done in the view of COVID-19 pandemic. The first hour of every parliamentary sitting was
slotted for Question Hour. This was shifted to 11 AM to 12 noon in Rajya Sabha in 2014.
During this time period, the Members of the Parliament ask questions to the ministers. The
questions can also be asked by the private members as well.

• Byte Dance a Chinese Company which owns a popular video-sharing app called TikTok in its
recent merger deals choose Oracle a US-based firm. Byte Dance was instructed by Trump's
administration to either close its operation in the US or sell the company to a US-based
company.

• Yoshihide Suga was elected as the new prime minister of Japan after Shinzo Abe resigned.
The longest serving Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe resigned in August 2020 due to
health reasons. He was first elected to the Diet of Japan in 1996.

• India and Russia held bilateral naval exercise INDRA 2020 in Andaman Sea, close to strategic
Strait of Malacca. The exercise is being conducted while the Indian Navy is on high
operational alert due to the standoff with China in Ladakh. Three Russian Naval ships took
part in the exercise on September 4 and 5.

• The union Government of India have approved Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of 74% under
the automatic route in defence sector. This will attract more overseas investors in the
defence industry. This announcement was made by the Department for Promotion of
Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

• Kerala Tourism’s internationally-acclaimed 'Human by Nature' campaign won the

prestigious PATA (Pacific- Asia Travel Association) Grand Award 2020 for Marketing. This
gives a huge stimulus to tourism industry in the state, which has been severely affected due
to COVID-19 pandemic.

Nov 10, 2020

• David Attenborough was conferred with the prestigious Indira Gandhi Peace Prize for the
year 2019. He is an English broadcaster and a historian. He is popular for writing and
presenting BBC Natural History unit. He worked to make aware to preserve and protect
biodiversity of the planet.

• The Red Bull racer Max Verstappen has won the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix. Max Emilian
Verstappen is a Belgian-Dutch racing driver who competes under the Dutch flag in Formula
One with Red Bull Racing.

• eBikeGO has roped in cricketer Harbhajan Singh as its brand ambassador. Harbhajan Singh is
an Indian international cricketer, who plays all forms of the game cricket. A specialist spin
bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri
Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan.

• Forbes’ Highest-Paid Actors List 2020

Top Three
− Dwayne Johnson
− Ryan Reynolds
− Mark Wahlberg
Akshay Kumar at 6th position, is the only Bollywood Actor in Top 10.

• Dream 11 is the title sponsorship rights of IPL 2020.

Dream11 is a fantasy sports platform based in India that allows users to play fantasy cricket,
hockey, football, kabaddi and basketball. In April 2019, Dream11 became the first Indian
gaming company to enter the ‘Unicorn Club’.

• Knight Frank Prime Global Cities Index— A valuation-based index tracking the movement in
prime residential prices
Top Three
− Philippines
− Tokyo
− Stockholm
Bengaluru at 26th, New Delhi at 27th and Mumbai is at 32nd position.

• Sports eyewear brand ‘Oakley’ has appointed Cricketer Rohit Sharma as its brand
ambassador. Oakley, based in Lake Forest, California, and a subsidiary of Italian corporate
giant Luxottica based in Milan, designs, develops and manufactures sports performance
equipment and lifestyle pieces including sunglasses, sports visors, ski/snowboard goggles,
watches, apparel, backpacks, shoes, optical frames, and other accessories.

• Kormo App by Google— Google has launched ‘Kormo Jobs’ App in India to help people find
jobs.

• New President of USA: Joe Biden (Democratic Party)

New Vice President of USA: Kamala Harris (The first Black and Indian American woman as
Vice President)

Nov 10, 2020