Current Affairs 20 November 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 20 November 2021, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2021 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Govt Procures Jaguar Flight Simulators from Hindustan Aeronautics LtdOn 18th November 2021 Ministry of Defence signed a contract with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the procurement of two simulators for Jaguar Aircraft at a cost of Rs. 357 crore.

• The contract is signed for procurement of two Fixed Base Full Mission Simulators (FBFMS) for Jaguar aircraft from HAL for IAF with five years comprehensive annual maintenance contract

Key Highlights 
i.The simulators will be installed at AirForce station Jamnagar and Gorakhpur.
ii.The simulators will help the Indian Air Force in enhancing the quality of its flying training to higher standards by exposing the pilots to various contingencies in the entire operating envelope.
Note: 
–The first FBFMS with associated equipment shall be completed within 27 months from the signing of the contract at Air Force station Jamnagar
–The 2nd FBFMS shall be completed within 36 months from the contract Air Force station Gorakhpur.
About Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
Established – 1964
Headquarters – Benguluru, Karnataka
Chairman & Managing Director – R Madhavan

Indian Navy Conducts Security Exercise ‘Prasthan’ in Western ODA off the Mumbai CoastThe Indian Navy conducted a security exercise, called “Prasthan”, in the Offshore Development Area (ODA) off the coast of Mumbai.

• The exercise is conducted by Headquarters Western Naval Command, every six months.
• The exercise was conducted on the Mumbai High North (MHN) platform of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) located about 94 nautical miles west of Mumbai.

Objective – To ensure offshore security and integrate maritime stakeholders including the Navy, Airforce, Coast Guard, ONGC, Port Trust, Customs, State Fisheries department and Marine Police, towards refining Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for response to various contingencies that could occur in the ODAs
Key Points:
i.The drill focused on contingencies such as terrorist intrusion, bomb explosion, major fire, oil spill, man overboard, casualty evacuation, loss of control of vessel and mass evacuation.
ii.The ‘Exercise Prasthan’ encourages coordinated operations and readiness to respond and combat contingencies in western ODAs.
About Indian Navy:
Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) – Admiral Karambir Singh
Integrated Defence Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi
About Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC):
ONGC is the largest crude oil and natural gas Company in India
Chairman & Managing Director – Subhash Kumar
Established – 1956
Headquarters – Vasant Kunj, New Delhi

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

IAF Contingent participates in Dubai Air Show; Akasa Air orders 72 Boeing 737 MaxThe Biennial Dubai Air Show, that was held from 14th to 18th November 2021 at the Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai, saw the participation of Indian Air Force (IAF) Contingent. The IAF contingent took part in the aerobatics and static displays, alongside Saudi Hawks, Russian Knights & UAE’s Al Fursan.
IAF Contingent – Sarang Team, Suryakiran Team & 3 LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) Tejas
Akasa Air orders 72 Boeing 737 Max at the Dubai Air Show
On 16th November, Indian Airline company Akasa Air placed an order for 72 Boeing 737 Max at the Dubai Air Show. The $9 billion worth order includes 2 versions of the Boeing Max Aircrafts: 737-8 and the high-capacity 737-8-200, that are expected to be under operation by 2022.
About Akasa Air:
Akasa Air is a proposed airline that is backed by famous Indian Investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.
CEO – Vinay Dube
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
About United Arab Emirates (UAE):
President – Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Capital – Abu Dhabi
Currency – Emirati Dirham
>>Read Full News

India Virtually Participates in 21st Annual COM Meeting of IORAIndia Virtually participated in 21st Annual Council of Ministers (COM) Meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) led by the Minister of State for External Affairs Dr.Rajkumar Ranjan Singh highlighting India’s contributions towards Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in IORA priority areas.

• Objective: To promote peace, security and prosperity in the Indian Ocean region and in Indo- Pacific Region
• Bangladesh, as the incoming Chair of IORA, hosted the 21st IORA COM Meeting on 17 November 2021 and the 23rd Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) and its related Meetings from 15 – 16 November 2021, in a hybrid format (in-person & virtual).
• The IORA COM which was held in a hybrid format in Dhaka and Dhaka Communique was adopted at the end of the meeting.

About Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)
Secretary General – Gatot Hari Gunawan
Established – 1997
Headquarters – Ebene, Mauritius
Ambassador – Salman Al-Farisi
>>Read Full News

Barbados to become 1st Sovereign Nation to Host its Embassy on the Metaverse

Barbados, a Caribbean island nation, is set to become the first sovereign nation to host its Embassy, the world’s first virtual-reality embassy, on the Metaverse.

• Barbados has signed an agreement with Decentraland, a blockchain metaverse platform to establish a digital embassy. Decentraland is a company that hosts a user-owned, 3D digital world, comprised of 90,601 plots of ‘land’.
• Barbados is set to open the virtual embassy in January 2022.

BANKING & FINANCE

BFSL Partnered with NPCI to Launch BoB Credit Cards on Rupay PlatformBOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL), a Non-Banking Financial Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda (BoB), has partnered with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch BoB Credit Cards (in two variants of Easy and Premier) on the RuPay platform.

• Both variants of Credit Cards were launched on the JCB International network to support global acceptance.

Key Points:
i.Benefits: The cards had various benefits such as 5X Reward Points on select merchant categories, fuel surcharge waiver, pre and post-purchase EMI (Equated Monthly Instalment) offers up to 3 complimentary add-on credit cards for family members enabled by both BFSL and NPCI.

• The Premier Credit Card offers a personal accidental death insurance cover of up to Rs 50 lakhs.

ii.BFSL and NPCI have utilized FirstVisionTM from Fiserv, a core card processing platform for cards and transaction management, with a set of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and microservices for seamless digital enablement.
iii.Both Easy and Premier could be used for grocery purchases, shopping at departmental stores, and movie tickets with reward points.
iv.They have low joining and annual fees and spend-based waivers.
About BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL):
Establishment – 1994
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO – Shailendra Singh

NPCI & Network International sign MoU for UPI payments in UAEThe Network International, a digital commerce company  based in Dubai, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the international arm of National Payment Corporation of India(NPCI) to facilitate UPI transactions in the UAE.
Objective:
To provide impetus to ongoing acceptance of NIPL’s mobile-based real-time payment system, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), in the UAE.
Note – In 2021, Network International also announced its acceptance of India’s payment scheme ‘RuPay’ – to enhance the range of payment schemes acceptance and business for merchants in UAE (United Arab Emirates).
Key points
i.The agreement will benefit Indians, who are visiting UAE  by allowing seamless payments through UPI app.
Note– In 2020, UPI facilitated transactions in India accounts around USD 457 billion, which is equivalent to approximately 15% of India’s GDP.
ii.The proposed implementation of UPI mobile payment solutions on Network International’s merchant network in the UAE is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2022.
What is Unified Payments Interface (UPI)?

• UPI is a real-time payment system developed by NPCI, to facilitate inter-bank transactions.
• UPI is currently the biggest among the NPCI operated systems including National Automated Clearing House (NACH), Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AePS), Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), RuPay

About National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)

• NPCI was established in 2008, as an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India.
• It is an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.

About NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL):
CEO- Ritesh Shukla
Founded–  April 3, 2020

RBI Released Report of WG on Digital Lending; RBI Withdraws over 100 Redundant CircularsThe Working Group (WG) on Digital Lending including Lending through Online Platforms and Mobile Apps, which was constituted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has submitted its report.
Key Points:
i.Background:On January 13, 2021, the RBI had set a WG on Digital Lending with Jayant Kumar Dash, Executive Director, RBI, as the Chairman to study all aspects of digital lending activities in the regulated financial sector as well as by unregulated players.
ii.Density of DLAs and illegal players: As per the findings of the WG, there were ~1,100 lending apps available for Indian Android users across ~81 application stores (from January 01 to February 28, 2021). Out of 1100 lending apps ~600 loan apps are found to be illegal in nature.
iii.Recommendations:In the near term, the WG suggested setting up a nodal agency in consultation with stakeholders to verify the technological credentials of the Digital Lending Apps ( DLAs) of the balance sheet lenders and Lending Service Providers(LSPs) operating in the digital lending ecosystem.
-RBI Withdraws over 100 Redundant Circulars
As per the recommendations of the second Regulations Review Authority (RRA 2.0), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) withdrew more than 100 redundant circulars relate to certain norms concerning Foreign Investment in India by Foreign Portfolio Investors, RTGS (Real-Time Gross Settlement), Know Your Customer (KYC), and Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT) – Standards.
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Establishment– April 1, 1935
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors– Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao, T. Rabi Sankar
>>Read Full News

AIIB approves USD 150 Million loan for implementing SUSP in Chennai Metropolitan AreaThe Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a USD 150 million loan to the Government of India. The loan amount will be used for the implementation of the Sustainable Urban Services Program (SUSP) for the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA).

• The Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) includes the core urban services, such as water resource management, water supply and sewerage, urban mobility, solid waste management, and public health.

Key points
i.The AIIB has approved around 29 projects for India worth USD 6.8 billion till 2021. Now, India has become one of the largest beneficiaries of AIIB.
ii.Major infrastructure projects include Haryana Orbital Railway project which will be a circular railway to national capital Delhi, multi corridor transport project in Mumbai and digital education project in Gujarat.
iii.AIIB is also planning to approve a USD 500 million project for COVID-19 vaccination in India.
AIIB investments & projects in India:
i.India is the second largest shareholder with 7.5 % of voting rights after China with 26.06 % voting rights and also the largest beneficiary in terms of getting approval from AIIB.
ii.The energy and transport sectors received the highest amount of financing from AIIB.
About Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
President– Jin Liqun
Headquarters– Beijing, China
Membership- 104 Members
Commenced Operation- 2016

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Highlights of 7th Edition of Google for India event 2021Google has announced the 7th edition of its Google for India event 2021. The event was held virtually on November 18, 2021. The event emphasizes making the internet safer for a billion Indians and empowering the country to become a leading digital economy.
Google for India 2021 highlights:
i.Google has announced a global-first feature in India that will let users hear search results out loud i.e. the feature will enable people to hear by simply asking Google Assistant to read out the search results.
ii.Google announced its support of voice-assisted bookings for vaccinations on the COWIN platform with the help of the Google Assistant.
iii.Google Search was now enabled to show results in more Indian local languages, especially when a user searches in their language, instead of showing results in English on top.
iv.Google has added the My Shop feature to Google Pay. The tool will be available to merchants using Google Pay for Business app to help them ‘digitise’ their journey.
v.Google Pay also gets the option of using Hinglish for the app’s language settings.

• Hinglish is a conversational hybrid of Hindi and English, which is often used in large parts of India.

vi.The company announced strengthening of the Google Career Certificate program to help more people acquire new digital skills.
About Google:
CEO – Sundar Pichai
Headquarters -California, United States
>>Read Full News

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS 

72nd US National Book AwardsThe 72nd edition of the US National Book Award,an american literary Prize was organised as a virtual event by the National Book Foundation from New York,United States.
Jason Mott won the 2021 National Book Award for fiction for his novel “Hell of a Book”, a narrative about a black author’s adventure while travelling around in a book tour.
Highlight:
i.Tiya Miles has won the 2021 National Book Award for nonfiction for her book titled “All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake”. The book features the history of a family through a cotton sack that an enslaved woman gave to her daughter in the 19th century when they were about to be sold apart.
ii.Malinda Lo has won the 2021 National Book Award for young people’s literature for her book titled “Last Night at the Telegraph Club”, a story of same-sex, cross-cultural love set in the 1950s.
Winners of 2021 National Book Awards:

Note: All finalists receive $1,000, a medal, and a citation written by the judging panel; winners gets $10,000 and a bronze sculpture. 
National Book Foundation’s Honorary prize:
i.Author-playwright Karen Tei Yamashita was honoured with the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. The award was presented by Thanh Nguyen.
ii.Author-Librarian Nancy Pearl has been honoured with the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community. The award was presented by Ron Charles.
About National Book Awards:
National Book Awards, established in 1950, are the American literary prize administered by the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization.Every year, the National Book Foundation partners with The New School’s Creative Writing Program to present readings by each of the National Book Awards Finalists.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS 

Sourav Ganguly appointed as the new Chairman of ICC Cricket’s CommitteeThe Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President and former cricketer Saurav Ganguly was appointed as the Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Cricket Committee. He succeeded Anil Kumble, a former Indian cricketer who stepped down after serving a maximum of three continuous, 3-year terms.
Other decision taken by the ICC Board:
i.The ‘ICC Women’s Committee’ will be known as the ‘ICC Women’s Cricket Committee’ and will assume all decision making responsibility for women’s cricket reporting directly to the CEC (Chief Executives Committee) .

• Johnny Grave, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cricket West Indies has been appointed to the ICC Women’s Cricket Committee.

ii.The ICC Board also approved ‘first-class status’ and ‘list A classification’ to women’s cricket to align with the men’s game.
iii.The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Ramiz Raja will be a part of the ICC Working Group appointed by the Board to review the status of cricket in Afghanistan.

• The group comprises Imran Khwaja (Chairman), Ross McCollum, Lawson Naidoo and Ramiz Raja.

About International Cricket Council (ICC):
Chairman- Greg Barclay
CEO- Geoff Allardice
Headquarters- Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Founded- 15 June 1909

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Russia successfully test fires ‘Zircon’ Hypersonic Cruise Missile & Anti-Satellite Missile On 18th November 2021, Russian Navy successfully test fired the ‘Zircon’ Hypersonic Cruise Missile from Frigate – Admiral Gorshkov warship, that rightly hit the test target placed in the Russian Arctic waters. Previously, Russia also successfully conducted similar tests using the ‘Zircon’ missile from the Nuclear Submarine – Severodvinsk in the Barents Sea.
Russia destroys Satellite using ASAT system – ‘Nudol’
On 15th November, Russia destroyed its own satellite in low-earth orbit using an Anti-Satellite (ASAT) Missile named ‘Nudol’, which led to formation of a cloud of space debris that could potentially destroy other orbiting satellites & the International Space Station (ISS).
i. This is Russia’s 1st successful intercept of a satellite.
About Russia:
President – Vladimir Putin (Term – 6 years)
Capital – Moscow
Currency – Ruble / Rouble
Monuments – Catherine Palace (Saint Petersburg), Kremlin and Red Square(Moscow)
>>Read Full News

SPORTS

South Africa Cricketer AB de Villiers Announced Retirement from All Forms of CricketSouth Africa Cricketer Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (AB de Villiers) (37 years old) has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on 19th November 2021. He hails from Pretoria, South Africa.

• In May 2018 he retired from international cricket.

About AB de Villiers:
i.AB de Villiers made his international debut in 2004 and has represented South Africa in 114 Tests, 228 One Day Internationals (ODIs)and 78 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).
ii.He has played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore team in the 2021 Indian Premier League(IPL).
iii.He has captained South Africa in all three formats between 2012 and 2017.
Note: South Africa National Cricket Team is also known as the Proteas.
Records:
i.He holds the record for fastest 50, 100 and 150 in ODI cricket and the record for the fastest ODI century in just 31 balls
iii.He is the only batsman ever to average above 50 with a strike rate of above 100 (batsmen with minimum 5000 runs).
Achievements:
i.He holds the joint record for the most ICC Men’s ODI Player of the Year awards won. He won it thrice(2010, 2014, 2015) and is now tied with Virat Kohli.
ii.He was nominated for Sir Garfield Sobers Award for Male Cricketer of the Decade as well as the Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Heritage Week 2021 – November 19 to 25 World Heritage Week is annually observed across India from 19th to 25th November to promote the conservation of the heritage and the culture of monuments. The week-long celebration aims to create awareness about the importance of culture and traditions and the need to protect them.
Background:
The World Heritage Week is a part of the promotion activities planned by the government of India to promote the conservation of the heritage sites across India.
Heritage sites in India:
i.In India, around 3691 monuments are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India(ASI) and among these monuments around 143 sites and monuments are ticketed.
ii.40 heritage sites across India are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites which include 32 cultural, 7 Natural, and 1 Mixed site.
About Archaeological Survey of India(ASI):
ASI under the Ministry of Culture is the premier organization for the archaeological researches and protection of the cultural heritage of India.
Director-General(DG)– V Vidyavathi
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
>>Read Full News

Women’s Entrepreneurship Day 2021 – November 19The Women’s Entrepreneurship Day (WED) is annually observed globally on 19th November every year to celebrate, empower and support the Women Entrepreneurs in business across the world. The first day was held on November 19, 2014, and was observed in 144 countries that year.

• The inaugural event was held in New York City at the United Nations
• The day is organized by the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organisation (WEDO) or #ChooseWomen founded by Wendy Diamond, Recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honour.
• Nasdaq, Google For StartUps, MIT Innovation Labs, WEGate – European Commission and the Girls Scouts have all joined as partners with WEDO to celebrate the day.

About Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organisation (WEDO):
WEDO is a non-governmental, non-racial, non-gender, and non-political volunteer non-profit organization founded in 2013
Founder – Wendy Diamond
Headquarters – New York, United States
>>Read Full News

World Toilet Day 2021 – November 19United Nations(UN)’s World Toilet Day is annually observed across the globe on November 19th to create awareness about the importance of sanitation for all. The day also highlights the importance of sanitation and hygiene in driving improvements in public health, gender equality, education, economic development and environmental protection.

• The World Toilet Day is organised by the UN-Water, the UN’s coordination mechanism on water and sanitation and Taskforce which includes the World Health Organisation(WHO).

The theme of World Toilet Day 2021 is “Valuing toilets”. 
Aim: 
To tackle the global sanitation crisis and achieve Sustainable Development Goal(SDG) 6: Water and Sanitation for all by 2030.
Background:
i.The World Toilet Day was first established by the World Toilet Organisation in 2001.
ii.The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/67/291 titled “Sanitation for All” on 24th July 2013 and proclaimed the 19th November of every year as World Toilet Day.
iii.The first UN’s World Toilet Day was observed on 19th November 2013.
>>Read Full News

November 19 celebrated as the ‘National Integration Day’ in India

National Integration Day also known as ‘Quami Ekta Diwas’ is celebrated every year on November 19 to commemorate the birthday of India’s first Woman Prime Minister (PM) – Indira Gandhi. The year 2021 marks the 104th birth anniversary celebration of Indira Gandhi.

• National Integration Day was created in her honor as a way to encourage all Indians to integrate, regardless of race or religion.
• slogans by Indira Gandhi – ’’People tend to forget their duties but remember their rights’’ and ‘’Garibi Hatao’’ (“Remove poverty”)

Key points
i.It is celebrated in Schools, colleges, and universities across India to remember Indira Gandhi’s leadership and the ways in which she changed the country.
ii.The celebration of National Integration Day  is carried out for an entire week with different themes associated with each following day.
About Indira Gandhi:
i.Indira Gandhi (Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi Nehru), the first woman Prime Minister of India, was born on 19th of November  1917 in Allahabad. She was the daughter of the first Indian PM Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
 ii.Political career- She  became a Cabinet member under Lal Bahadur Shastri’s govt. and served as the Minister for Information and Broadcasting in 1964, later in 1966 she became the Prime Minister of India.
>>Read Full News

International Men’s Day 2021 – November 19 International Men’s Day is annually observed across the globe on November 19th to celebrate men and their contribution to the household, community and society.
The day aims to address the issues relevant to men and boys in a gender-inclusive way and to focus on the health and well being of men.
The theme of International Men’s Day 2021 is “Better relations between men and women”.
Background:
International Men’s day was first conceptualized in 1991 by Thomas Oaster and celebrated on 7th February 1992.
On 19th November 1999, The International Men’s Day was revived by Dr Jerome Teelucksingh, a history lecturer at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago.
Dr Jerome Teelucksingh chose the 19th of November to honour the birth anniversary of his father.
Significance:
The day aims to create awareness about men’s mental health and the important aspects of their life including social, emotional, physical and spiritual.
It also recognises the intersection between gender and other factors, such as race and sexuality, that compound the inequalities affecting men and boys.

Communal Harmony Campaign Week 2021 – November 19 -25Communal Harmony Campaign Week is annually observed across India from 19th November to 25th November and the last working day of the Communal Harmony Campaign Week is observed as the Flag Day.

• 25th November 2021 (Thursday) is observed as Flag Day 2021. 

Communal Harmony Campaign Week and the flag day is annually observed by the National Foundation for Communal Harmony(NFCH), an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Objective:
The Communal Harmony Campaign Week and the flag day aims to raise funds to enhance the resources of the National Foundation for Communal Harmony(NFCH) to carry out its activities on various schemes and projects.
Note:
All Donations to the NFCH are eligible for 100% exemption from Income tax under the Section 80G(2)(A)[iii(e)] Of The Income Tax Act, 1961.
Objectives of Communal Harmony Campaign Week: 

• To raise donations for the physical & psychological support of the orphan or destitute children affected by violence.
• To promote fraternity among the people, maintain peace & communal harmony and national integration.

Background:
On 7th August 1992, during the Meeting of the Executive Council, NFCH, the establishment of the annual fundraising week by the Foundation along with the intensified publicity campaign was proposed.
It was also proposed that the fundraising week should coincide with Quami Ekta Week organised from 19th to 25th November in Delhi and areas identified for implementation of the scheme of Assistance to children affected by communal violence.
National Foundation for Communal Harmony(NFCH):
Secretary– Manoj Pant
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi

STATE NEWS

Odisha Signs MoU with Save LIFE Foundation NGO to Improve Road SafetyIn November 2021 Odisha Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Delhi based NGO (Non-Governmental Organisation), Save LIFE Foundation (SLF), to improve road safety in the state.

• The agreement was signed by Sanjay Biswal, Joint Commissioner, Road Safety, State Transport Authority, Odisha, and Piyush Tewari, Founder & CEO, Save LIFE Foundation, New Delhi.
• Focus – To improve road safety and emergency medical care, and reduce accidental deaths on roads significantly in the next three years.

Key Highlights:
i.MoU aims to reduce accidental road deaths around 30-40 percent in 3 years.
ii.SLF will identify 100 accident prone areas and recommend measures to bring down the accidents.
iii.The ‘Zero-Fatality Corridor’ model attempts at reducing the number of road accident deaths through a 360-degree intervention across engineering, emergency care, enforcement, and education.
iv.SLF provides assistance with the formation of a Technical Support Unit (TSU) for road safety and works with Lead Agency on Road Safety to reduce road crash fatalities in the State.
Note – According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 4738 people were killed in 9817 road accidents in Odisha in 2020. Road accident-related deaths in the state have increased by nearly 21 percent from 3,931 deaths in 2014 to 4,738 in 2020.
About Odisha:
Chief Minister – Naveen Patnaik
Festival – Mahabisuva Sankranti , Raja Parba , Rath Yatra, Naukhai
Stadium – DRIEMS Ground, Kalinga Stadium

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