National:
- Railway Board chairman and CEO Vinod Kumar Yadav on 02nd November, 2020 said, Indian Railway will set up ‘Centre of Excellence in AI’ and ‘data analytics’, to do productive maintenance and operations Etc.
South Central Railway will be the host of the prestigious Indian Railways’ Centre of Excellence in artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics. It will be established in Secunderabad, in association with the Indian School of Business. - The Rajasthan Assembly on 02nd November, 2020 passed three bills to counter farm laws enacted by the Centre. The bills will become law after the Governor’s assent. Governor may withhold and decide to refer them to the President.
The Rajasthan bills mandate that crops will be bought or sold for not less than the minimum support price (MSP) and provide for imprisonment of three to seven years for harassing farmers. - Indian Railways has launched “Meri Saheli” initiative for focused action on security of women across all zones. This initiative aims to provide safety and security to lady passengers travelling by trains for their entire journey, from Source station to Destination station.
This initiative was started as a pilot project in South Eastern Railway in September 2020 and after getting encouraging response from lady passengers, it has been extended to all zones.
Defence:
- The Indian Army has introduced a software named the “Infrastructure Management System (IMS)”. The software was inaugurated by the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) on the sidelines of the Army Commanders Conference on 28 October 2020.
The scope of the software package developed includes:
- To automate works initiation, preparation of list and its approval by the MoD.
- To accord administrative approval and monitoring of execution by the CFA.
- Manage cantonment roads including emergency closure.
- Make land, works and quartering policies available on line. Etc.
Solar Technology:
- On 02nd November, 2020, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was inaugurated a solar energy-driven miniature train at the Veli Tourist Village in Thiruvananthapuram. This is India’s first of its kind eco-friendly solar-powered 2.5 km miniature railway.
International MoU:
- The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Cambodia on cooperation in the field of Health and Medicine.
The main areas of cooperation between the two Governments include:
Mother and child health; Family Planning; HIV/AIDS and TB; Drugs and Pharmaceuticals; Technology Transfer; Public Health and Epidemiology; Disease Control etc.
Sports:
- BCCI has inked the apparel and merchandise deal with MPL, replacing Nike. Fantasy gaming platform Mobile Premier League’s subsidiary arm “MPL Sports Apparel and Accessories” is the new kit sponsor of the Indian cricket (men, women, A and U19) team, for a period of three years till November, 2023. Apex Council member confirmed the development, on 02nd November, 2020.
Death:
- Veteran Kannada film and theatre actor HG Somashekar Rao died due to heart attack, on 03 November, 2020. He was 86.
- Violin maestro Tripunithura Narayanaiyer Krishnan died in Chennai on 02 November 2020. He was 92.