National
NTPC Power Units at BARAUNI and BARH
⇒ Shri R.K Singh Union Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy and Shri Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar dedicated Stage -II 500MW of NTPC Barauni Thermal Power Station and Unit 1 (660 MW) of NTPC Barh Super Thermal Power project to the nation.
Key Points:
- NTPC Group has an installed capacity of 7970 MW in the state of Bihar and another 1980 MW is under construction.
- Barh has total installed capacity of 3300 MW out of which 1320 MW is already under commercial operation since Mar’ 16.
- NTPC, a MAHARATNA Company of Govt of India, presently has an installed capacity of 67907 MW (including JVs/subsidiaries) and plans to become a 130 GW company by 2032.
Model Retail Outlet Scheme
⇒ Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited have announced the launch of Model Retail Outlet Scheme and a Digital Customer Feedback Program called Darpan@petrolpump.
- Three oil PSUs have joined hands to launch Model Retail Outlets to enhance service standards and amenities, across their networks, which serve over 6 Crore consumers every day.
key Points:
- The scheme involves an intense 5 Level evaluation process of over 70000 retail outlets in the country on a set of core service and facility parameters as well as standard of customer amenities e.g., clean and hygienic washrooms, customer centric innovative offerings etc.
- The Retail Outlets have been divided into 4 categories based on sales performance, facilities offered and their percentage of digital transactions at the point of sale in keeping with the Digital India imperative.
- Top performers will be awarded the “Shresth” and “Uttam”, Awards by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the “Rajya Sarv Pratham” awards by the respective Oil Companies.
International
Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) Focused Operation
⇒ Maiden ‘Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) Focused Operation’ was conducted between the lead Maritime Security Agencies of India, Maldives and Sri Lanka on 27 and 28 November 2021.
Participation:
Ships and aircraft of Indian Navy (IN), Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and Sri Lankan Navy (SLN) participated and operated over a vast area in the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of the three countries in Southern Arabian Sea.
Aim:
‘CSC Focused Operation’ was conducted with an aim of keeping this vital part of the Indian Ocean Region safe and secure for commercial shipping, international trade and conduct of legitimate maritime activities.
President of INTERPOL
⇒ INTERPOL’s current President is Major General Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi, of the United Arab Emirates.
Mr Al-Raisi was elected at the 89th General Assembly in Istanbul in November 2021 and will serve as President until 2025.
Maj. Gen. Ahmed Naser al-Raisi, inspector general at the United Arab Emirates’ interior ministry, was elected for one four-year term.
New Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
⇒ Petr Fiala, 57, a former political science professor, has been sworn in as the 13th Prime Minister of the Czech Republic.
The Czech Republic president, Milos Zeman, has appointed the leader of a centre-right alliance, Petr Fiala as prime minister on 28 November 2021.
Sports
Permanent CEO of the International Cricket Council
⇒ Australian Geoff Allardice has been appointed as permanent CEO of the International Cricket Council after serving the role on an interim basis for more than eight months. The ICC made this announcement on 21 November 2021.
Allardice thus replaced Manu Sawhney, who had resigned from his position in July 2021.
Allardice, a former first-class cricketer, was the ICC General Manager, Cricket for eight years having previously held a similar role at Cricket Australia.
Important Day
National Organ Donation Day
⇒ National Organ Donation Day is celebrated every year on November 27 in India.
- The main objective of the national organ donation day is to spread awareness among people and to recognize the selfless efforts made towards mankind, and reestablish our belief in humanity.
Background:
- Since the year 2010, Indian Organ Donation Day is being celebrated every year to commemorate the contributions made to society by deceased donors and their families.
- It is organized by National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya Chaired the 12th Indian Organ Donation Day Celebrations.
On the achievements of the network of organ Donation, Collection and Replacement the Minister said:
- India now ranks third in the world only behind USA and China as per the data available on the Global Observatory on Donation and Transplantation (GODT) website.
The Ministers gave away awards to encourage the exemplary performance by transplant professionals in India:
The State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (SOTTO) of Maharashtra won the award for the highest number of deceased donors transplantations while Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (ROTTO) for the Western Region was recognised for best performance.