TODAY’S TOP NEWS, 19 NOVEMBER, 2020 (GPN):

NATIONAL NEWS:

1. The four-day long auspicious celebrations of Chhath Puja began today in different parts of the country with the traditional Nahay Khay ceremony . This festival is dedicated to the worship of the Sun god and is a symbol of faith for crores of people across the world. During the festival, religious ceremonies and rituals are performed at the banks of rivers, ponds and other water bodies.
2. Today Kharna will be observed which mark beginning of 36 hours long fast. Devotees will offer their obeisance, the Sandhya Arghya to the setting Sun on Friday. The festival will conclude with Pratah Arghya on Saturday morning where obeisance will be paid to the rising Sun.

3 Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that the State Government is to constitute ‘Cow Cabinet’ to conserve and promote cow cattle in the state. The first meeting of the cabinet is to be held on November 22, 2020. The meeting is to be held at Gau Sanctuary Salaria Agar Malwa.

4. Energy Efficiency Services Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of New and Renewable Energy, Goa. According to the agreement, the first convergence project of India to generate Green Energy for agriculture and rural areas is to be set up in Goa.
5. The Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa condemned the comments made by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar over the border dispute between the two states. Pawar mentioned the dispute as an attempt to incite fire. The border dispute between the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka is also called the “Belgaum border dispute” or the Belagavi dispute.
6. Belgaum is now a part of Karnataka and earlier was a part of Bombay Presidency of British India. During British rule, the Bombay Presidency encompassed Maharashtra, Gujarat and certain areas of North Karnataka.
7. When the states were divided based on linguistic and administrative lines under the State Reorganization Act in 1956 Belgaum district was included under Mysore state (now Karnataka). This was done in spite of the fact that Belgaum had majority of Marathi-speaking population. Hence, the dispute. However, according to 1881 census, Belgaum had 64.39% of Kannada speaking individuals and 26.04% of Marathi speaking individuals. The Mahajan Committee was formed in 1966 by the Central Government with representatives from both the states. The committee recommended in 1967 that 264 villages shall be transferred to Maharashtra. This included some village in Haliyal, Karwar and Suparna Taluks as well. On the other hand, Belgaum and 247 villages were to remain with Karnataka.
8. Assam won four awards in fisheries sector from the National Fisheries Development Board operating under the Ministry of Fisheries The Nagaon district of Assam was selected the best hilly and North Eastern district category.
9. The Himachal Pradesh Government will soon issue a new protocol for scaled down social and political gatherings in view of the sudden spike in Covid cases and the high fatality rate. Senior bureaucrats confirmed that the attendance at social gatherings, including weddings, will again be restricted to 100 instead of the present 200.
10. Former Governor of Goa and vetern BJP leader Mridula Sinha passed away in a hospital in Delhi today. She was 77. Born on November 27, 1942, at a village in Chhapra in Bihar,
11. A major hurdle has been crossed in securing the expelled AIADMK leader VK Sasikala’s timely release by January 2021 from the Parappana Agrahara prison in Karnataka, said her legal counsel. This comes after a court in Bengaluru is said to have accepted a fine amount of Rs 10 crore and passed an order.
12. The distance between Dhubri to Phulbari will soon be just 18 km . The distance between the two neighboring states of Assam and Meghalaya will be reduced by 203 km, as India’s longest bridge will be built across the River Brahmaputra by construction giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T).
13. The Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘Jhund’ will not be released for the time being after the Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to lift the stay granted by the civil court and Telangana High Court against the release of the movie. movie about the life of Akhilesh Paul. He had appeared on the television show Satyameva Jayate, hosted by Bollywood actor Aamir Khan.
14. The National Investigation Agency conducted searches in Bengaluru on Wednesday , including at offices of the Social Democratic Party of India, the political wing of the Popular Front of India, in connection with the rioting and violent attacks on police stations in the city in August,
15. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will dedicate the Rs 380 crore Thervoy Kandigai reservoir in neighbouring Tiruvallur district , and lay the foundation stones for a slew of infrastructure projects worth over Rs 67,000 crore during his visit on Saturday. Deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam, ministers and officials would participate in the event. The much-delayed reservoir in Tiruvallur district, formed by combining two lakes– Thervoy Kandigai and Kannankottai, is expected to meet Chennai’s additional requirement for drinking water.
16. Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) has asked Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh to appear before it at 11 am on November 27. This is in connection with a complaint filed by advocate Aditya Mishra on the arrest of Republic Media Network’s Assistant Vice President Ghanshyam Singh in the TRP scam probe. Mishra called upon the state human rights panel to show cause Mumbai Police as to why they arrested Singh when the FIR in the TRP case doesn’t name Republic TV.
17. The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices on a batch of petitions challenging the election of external affairs minister S Jaishankar to Rajya Sabha from Gujarat . The pleas have also raised the issue of Election Commission’s power on issuance of separate notifications for holding by-polls for casual and regular vacancies in Rajya Sabha.
18. Twelve civilians sustained injuries in a grenade attack by terrorists on a team of security force personnel in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday
19. Wearing face masks compulsory even inside personal vehicles: Delhi Government on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that “any person” moving around in his personal or official vehicle must wear face masks compulsorily.
20. Coronavirus Cases:
    8,913,642
    Deaths: 131,047
    Recovered: 8,335,109

✈INTERNATIONAL NEWS

1. PM Modi spoke with US President-elect Joe Biden in their first phone conversation since the results of the US election 2020 was declared earlier this month. During the phone call, PM Modi congratulated Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their victory and reiterated New Delhi’s commitment to the Indo-US strategic partnership and discussed their “shared priorities and concerns”.
2. According to Biden’s transition team, the Democrat leader is interested in working with India on several issues including COVID-19 and global economy.
3. Param Siddhi is a high-performance computing-artificial intelligence (HPC-AI) supercomputer that was established at C-DAC under the National Supercomputing Mission. It has secured rank 63 in TOP 500 most powerful non-distributed computer system list in the world.
4. Param Siddhi was jointly developed by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Department of Science and Technology. The supercomputer has a speed of 5.267 petaflops. It has now got the recognition of non-distributed super computer systems. Param Siddhi was built on NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD reference architecture networking.
5. The World Economic Forum selected 36 cities from 22 countries for pioneering a policy road map for smart cities . These smart cities are being developed under the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance. Of the 36 cities selected, four are Indian cities. The four Indian cities selected are Bengaluru, Faridabad, Indore and Hyderabad.
6. The selected 36 cities will collaborate with global experts and enhance their city policies in areas ranging from cyber security to services to be provided to physically challenged people. These 36 cities will adopt five policies namely better broadband coverage, privacy protection, accountability for cyber security, better accessibility to digital city services for physically disabled and increased openness of city data. With these inputs they will frame a road map to become a smart city which will then be used by other cities in the world in following phases of the initiative.
7. The Indian Army recently claimed that the report that quoted Chinese Army used “Microwave weapons” against Indian soldiers in eastern Ladakh was baseless and fake. Microwave weapons are direct energy weapons. They deliver energy in highly focused form such as laser, sonic or microwaves at the target. China had displayed its microwave weapon for the first time in 2014 air show. The weapon was called “Poly WB-1” The US also has developed microwave weapons called “Active Denial System”.
8. The Indian Navy received its ninth P8-I long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft from Boeing. The aircraft, first of the second batch of four P8-I bought by India, arrived in Goa from Seattle in the US after stops at Hawaii, Guam and Brunei. Eight of these aircraft, which were ordered in the first batch, have already been delivered and are in service with the Indian Navy.
9. The aircraft arrived at a time when the Indian Navy is holding the Malabar Naval Exercise in the Arabian Sea with its Quad partners — the US, Japan and Australia. India’s P8-I aircraft are also participating in the exercise.

🌎WORLD NEWS🌍

1. Every year, the World COPD Day is celebrated on November 18. COPD is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. The disease obstructs the airflow in lungs. Thus it hampers the ability of the infected person to carry out day to day activities.
2. US Government announced that the US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq will be reduced. The US forces in Afghanistan is to be reduced from 4,500 to 2,500 and in Iraq from 3,000 to 2,500.
3. According to NATO, by withdrawing forces, the United States is putting Afghanistan at the risk of becoming a platform of international terrorism once again. This might lead to attack on US again (just like Twin tower attack). NATO has 12,000 troops. These troops are from different nations. The alliance is highly dependent on the US armed forces for logistics and transport.
4. The researchers from the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention have discovered that the Chapare Virus is capable of human to human transmission . Bolivia is currently facing an outbreak of the virus. Just like the Ebola virus, the Chapare virus is capable of causing haemorrhagic fever.
5. Donald Trumps re-election campaign said on Wednesday it was seeking a partial recount of Wisconsins presidential election results, as part of its long-shot attempt to reverse President-elect Joe Biden`s victory. While staying out of the public eye, the Republican Trump has persisted in venting his anger on Twitter, where he made claims of election fraud,
6. Coronavirus Cases:
   56,087,831
   Deaths: 1,346,477
   Recovered: 39,087,314
   ACTIVE CASES
   15,654,040

🚣🚴🏇🏁🏊Sports:

1. India set to tour England in 2021 for five-match Test series : The Indian cricket team will tour England in their summer period of August and September, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Wednesday (November 18). The first Test is slated to commence on August 4, 2021 at Trent Bridge. England will be hosting Sri Lanka and Pakistan (limited overs series) before a full-fledged Test series against the touring Indians.

USD 74.19 💷GBP 98.48
In Ooty(TN)
🥇Gold ₹51,620@10 gm 24 (Krt)
🥈 Silver ₹67,700@ Kg
⛽ Petrol ₹ 79.23
⛽ Diesel ₹ 77.06

🇮🇳Facts about India🇮🇳

How does the name Udhagamandalam come to Ooty ?

Ooty is in the Nilgiri hills, meaning the “blue mountains”, so named due to the Kurunji flower which blooms every twelve years giving the slopes a bluish tinge.

‘Udakam’ (உதகம் in Tamil and उदकं in Sanskrit) means ‘water’.
Mandalam (மண்டலம்) means ‘Abode’. Thus Udakamandalam is a place that contains/ filled with water. If you go to Ooty, you can see the often low-hanging clouds, the lake and rain and can readily see how it can be seen as an abode of water.

Ooty did not become Udakamandalam; it was the other way. It was hard for Britishers to pronounce, and they did what any red-blooded Englishman would do those days; they changed the name to suit their tongue. After all, it was the summer capital of the Madras presidency (since 1870) and the entire administration would move en masse, red-taped files and all, to Ooty’s cooler climes and beat the sweltering heat of Madras. So Udakamandalam became Ootacamund and Udagai and then finally Ooty.

😀Thought of the day

Life and time are world’s two teachers. Life teaches us how to make good use of time. While time teaches us the value of life.

Joke of the day
विभिन्न शोहरों की पत्नियां उनसे कैसे लड़ती है़ :-
Pilot’s wife :- ज्यादा मत उड़ो
Teacher’s wife :- मुझे मत सिखाओ
Painter’s wife :- थोबड़ा रंग दूंगी
Dhobi’s wife :- धो दूंगी
Actor’s wife :- ज्यादा नाटक मत करो
Dentist’s wife :- बत्तीसी तोड़ दूंगी
Marwadi’s wife :- हिसाब से रहो
Engineer’s wife :- सारे पुर्जे ढ़ीले कर दूंगी
Architect’s wife :- ढ़ंग से रहो वरना थोबड़े का डिजाईन बदल दूंगी
Sunar’s wife :- एक जड़ दूंगी
Pandit’s wife :- घंटी बजा दूंगी
Musicians wife :- ढोल बजा दूंगी
Driver’s wife :- ब्रेक लगा दूंगी
Builders wife :- ईंट से ईंट बजा दूंगी
Doctors wife :- सही इलाज कर दूंगी
Advocate ki wife :- अपनी वकालत कोर्ट तक ही सीमित रखो!!
And the Best one…..
Admin ki wife :- ग्रुप डिलीट कर दूंगी!! 😡 😜

😳Tell Me Why❓❓❓

Why Doesn’t Glue Stick To the Inside Of the Bottle?

When white glue is inside a bottle, there’s not enough air inside the bottle to cause the water to evaporate to make the glue sticky. Basically, the bottle protects the glue from the air and keeps the glue runny. … This chemical bonds things together when it reacts with water vapor in the air.

LEARN Sanskrit🙏🏻

glue = निर्यासः | niryaas:

🤔 How it works ⁉

Plastics are made from natural materials such as cellulose, coal, natural gas, salt and crude oil through a polymerisation or polycondensation process. … In a polymerisation reactor, monomers such as ethylene and propylene are linked together to form long polymer chains.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was first polymerised te between 1838-1872. A key breakthrough came in 1907, when Belgian-American chemist Leo Baekeland created Bakelite, the first real synthetic, mass-produced plastic.

💁🏻‍♂️ GK TODAY

The Philippine peso , is the official currency of the Philippines. Manila is the capital

🛕 Vedic Gyan:

Chhatt Puja is celebrated in certain states in North India namely Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar. It is also popular in Nepal. It is a Vedic festival that is dedicated to the Sun God (Lord Surya) and Chhathi Maiya (another name for Goddess Usha and a known sister to Lord Surya).

The festival is called ‘Chhath’ because it means the number 6 in Hindi or Nepali. The festival is celebrated on the 6th day of the month of Karthika.

🧬 HEALTH CARE: HOME REMEDIES🩺
( Note : These home tips followed in villages/ancient traditions, it is up to you to use it or not🙏🏻)

Amla fruit can help control blood sugar levels, boost eye health, improve digestion and aid in weight loss. It can also be used as a remedy for heartburn. Amla juice is also used as a remedy for several health issues. This nutritious drink can help get rid of toxins and supports liver function.

🙏PLZ FOLLOW GOVT. NORMS, MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCE, KEEP YOURSELF & YOUR FAMILY SAFE🌼 ENDS