1.Defence and Security
The Chief of Army Staff General, MM Naravane has been conferred with the honorary rank of General of the Nepali Army.
The honour was conferred by Nepal’s President Bidya Devi Bhandari.
The honour was conferred at a special ceremony at the President’s official residence ‘Shital Niwas’ in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The practice follows a seven-decade-old tradition of conferring Army Chiefs of each other’s country with the honorary title.
Quick Fact: The Prime minister of Nepal is KP Sharma Oli.
2.Person in News
AK Gupta appointed as the new MD and CEO of ONGC Videsh
AK Gupta, took charge as the Managing Director and CEO of ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL).
Prior to this, he was Director (Operations) of the company.
He has also been the Head of New businesses in Marketing in ONGC and Head Business development in ONGC Videsh, both for the domestic and international markets.
Quick Fact: OVL is the international petroleum company of India and the overseas arm of national oil and gas major Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited.
3.Miscellaneous
‘Till We Win’: Book on Covid-19
“Till We Win”, a book on Covid 19 by AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria and two other doctors has been released.
The book is published by Penguin Random House India.
The book gives a definitive account of India’s fight against Covid-19 and how to deal with the pandemic in the days to come.
The book is co-written by leading public policy and health systems expert Chandrakant Lahariya and renowned vaccine researcher and virologist Gagandeep Kang.
4.International Affairs
CARAT Bangladesh 2020 launched
Bangladesh and US navies launched the ‘Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Bangladesh 2020’.
CARAT Bangladesh 2020 will expand relationships and broaden maritime awareness between the two countries.
The sea phase of the exercise will take place in the Bay of Bengal with ships from both countries.
CARAT 2020 highlights the shared vision of the US and Bangladesh for a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and secure Indo-Pacific region.
5.National Affairs
“Tourist Facilitation Centre”inaugurated in Kerala
Union Minister of State (IC) for Tourism & Culture, Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurated the “Tourist Facilitation Centre” virtually.
The facility is located at Guruvayur, in Kerala.
The facility was constructed under the project “Development of Guruvayur, Kerala” under PRASHAD Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism.
The cost of the facility was Rs. 11.57 Crores.
Quick Fact: The ‘National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive’ (PRASHAD) were launched by the Ministry of Tourism in the year 2014-15.
6.Defence and Security
Enhanced version of PINAKA rocket system successfully test-fired
The enhanced version of the PINAKA rocket system was flight tested successfully.
The flight-testing was conducted by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The test-fire was conducted from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.
The enhanced version of the Pinaka rocket would replace the existing Pinaka Mk-I rockets.
Quick Fact: The design and development of Pinaka were done by DRDO laboratories based in Pune, namely Armament Research and Development Establishment, ARDE and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, HEMRL.
7.Miscellaneous
World Tsunami Awareness Day: 5 November
World Tsunami Awareness Day is observed worldwide on 5 November.
The day is observed to spread awareness among people across the world in matters related to the dangers of tsunami.
the UN General Assembly designated 5 November as World Tsunami Awareness Day in December 2015.
UN Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) facilitates the observance of World Tsunami Awareness Day in collaboration with the rest of the United Nations system.
Quick Fact: This year’s observance of World Tsunami Day promotes “Sendai Seven Campaign” target.
8.International Affairs
US officially withdraws from Paris agreement
The United States becomes the first nation in the world to officially withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.
The move to quit the Paris-Climate deal was announced by President Donald Trump, in June 2017.
The delay in the withdrawal is because of the complex rules that were made under the Paris agreement.
The Paris climate deal was drafted in 2015 in order to strengthen the global response towards the threat of climate change.
