Daily GK Update: 14th November 2021

National & International Appointments

Pramod Chandra Mody (1982 batch IRS Officer) has been appointed as the new Secretary General of Rajya Sabha.
He was formerly working as the chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
He replaced P.P.K. Ramacharyulu, who was appointed to the post on 1st September, 2021 and has now been appointed as an adviser to the Rajya Sabha chairman.
Chairman of RS (Vice President of India): M Venkaiah Naidu.
Leader of the Rajya House: Piyush Goyal.

Defense

Navies of India and France will conduct 6th edition of biennial training exercise ‘EX SHAKTI 2021’ from 15th to 26th November 2021 in Frejus, France
Indian Army will be represented by Gorkha Rifles Infantry Battalion and France Army will be represented by troops of 21st Marine Infantry Regiment of 6th Light Armoured Brigade
Focus: Counter Terrorism operations, military cooperation and inter-operability
India and France also carry out Exercise GARUDA and Exercise VARUNA

National & International Appointments

Spanish-German actor Daniel Bruhl has been named as the Goodwill Ambassador for United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)
Daniel Bruhl will help WFP in its mission to reach world with Zero Hunger
He is known for his performances in movies like Rush, Goodbye Lenin and as Baron Zemo in Marvel Cinematic Universe
WFP: World’s largest humanitarian organization aimed at ending hunger around the globe. It was founded in 1961, headquartered in Rome and has offices in 80 nation

Important Dates

World Diabetes Day (WDD) is observed every year on November 14 to growing concerns about the escalating health threat posed by diabetes.
The day also birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin along with Charles Best in 1922.
The day was launched in 1991 by the IDF and World Health Organization (WHO) and became an official UN Day in 2006.
Theme for WDD 2021-23: Access to Diabetes Car – If Not Now, When?

Defense

The 32nd edition of India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) was conducted from 12th to 14th November 2021 in Andaman Sea.
It is a three-day bi-annual CORPAT exercise
Indian Navy was represented by Indian Naval Ship (INS) Karmuk while Royal Thai Navy participated with Majesty’s Thailand Ship (HTMS) Tayanchon
It was conducted for 1st time in 2005 along their International Maritime Boundary Line
CORPAT builds up understanding, interoperability between navies

Sports

Women’s cricket T20 tournament will be making its debut at 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England
This will be 1st time that women cricket will be included in Commonwealth Games
Earlier, cricket was played as List A men’s tournament at 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2022 matches will be played under Twenty20 format and there will only be women’s tournament.
Opening match on schedule will be between Australia and India at Edgbaston Stadium

National Affairs

Five new Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) will be set up on India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal to ensure better connectivity and security.
In total, 7 ICPs will be set up in West Bengal
These include 5 ICPs on Indo-Bangladesh border at Changrabandha in Cooch Behar, Phulbari in Jalpaiguri, Hilli in South Dinajpur, Mahadipur in Malda and Gojadanga in North 24-Parganas and one ICP borders with Nepal at Panitanki in Darjeeling district

National & International Appointments

Fumio Kishida (64 years) has been re-elected as the Prime Minister of Japan in the parliamentary elections held on 10th November 2021.
His governing party Liberal Democratic Party scored a major victory securing 261 seats in the 465-member lower house.
He is the former Foreign Minister of Japan.
Japan is an island country in East Asia, located in the northwest Pacific Ocean with Tokyo as capital
Emperor of Japan: Naruhito

National & International Organizations

World Bank and Inland Water Transport (IWT) dept of Assam has signed MoU for Rs 770 crore loan to improve river transportation in the state.
Central Govt will refund 80% of the sanctioned amount and the state government would bear the remaining 20%
CM of Assam also flagged off four steel catamaran vessels at Pandu Port recently under World Bank-funded project to integrate high-quality passenger and vehicle ferry services into the state’s wider transport network system.

Books & Authors

A book titled ‘Nehru: The Debates that Defined India’ has been released, highlighting the former PM's encounters with his contemporaries.
The book has been co-authored by Tripurdaman Singh and Adeel Hussain.
This book mentions the political journey of Jawaharlal Nehru from being elected as Congress president to various other important aspects of his life.
The book has been published with permission from HarperCollins India.

National & International Appointments

President Ram Nath Kovind has conferred honorary rank of ‘General of the Indian Army’ on Nepal’s Army Chief Gen Prabhu Ram Sharma.
Prabhu Ram Sharma is on a four-day visit to India to explore ways to expand bilateral defence cooperation.
Earlier, Nepal had conferred honorary rank of ‘General of Nepal Army’ to Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane in November 2020.
PM of Nepal: Sher Bahadur Deuba