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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 25 November 2020

::NATIONAL::

Three-time former Assam Chief Minister TarunGogoi passed away due to multiple organ failure at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Guwahati on Monday. He was 84.
The veteran Congress leader was suffering from post-COVID complications.

About:

Born in 1934 in Jorhat district, Mr. Gogoi had his early education at No 26 RangajanNimnaBuniyadi Vidyalaya and later from the Jorhat Madrassa School, Bholaguri High School and Jorhat Government High School.
He did his graduation from the JB College in Jorhat and LLB from the Gauhati University. His father was a medical practitioner at the Rangajan Tea Estate in Jorhat.
He was first elected to the Parliament in 1971 from the prestigious Jorhat seat in eastern Assam.
In 1976, he was elected the joint secretary of the All India Congress Committee. Later, he served as the party’s general secretary from 1985 to 1990).
He was appointed a minister in the Cabinet of former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in 1991.
Mr. Gogoi also served as the president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (1986-90) and was an MLA for four terms.
He first represented the Margherita seat in the Assembly. Since 2001, he had represented Titabor.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to Sir Chhotu Ram, a prominent politician of Punjab province before independence, on his birth anniversary, saying he dedicated his life to farmers welfare and serving people.
Prime Minister said Ram not only struggled for the rights of the nation’s farmers, but also became a voice for labourers and the deprived and exploited sections of the society.
His contribution in the progress of the society will be always remembered.
Ram, who is credited with several pro-farmer measures, was born on 24th November in 1881.
The British had knighted him in recognition for his work.

India has told the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that it calls for an “immediate comprehensive ceasefire” in Afghanistan, while welcoming all opportunities to bring peace to the country.
India’s position was articulated by its Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at a UNSC convened under the Arria Formula (informally convened at the request of a UNSC member).
Current and incoming members of the UNSC spoke on how the Council could support the Afghan peace process.

About:

The timing of the remarks is significant as India is weeks away from beginning a two-year term at the Council and comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement this week that he would dramatically cut the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan by January 15.
It is an act that could potentially jeopardise the fragile peace process underway in the country.
India has been concerned that the Afghan peace process and premature withdrawal of NATO/ U.S. coalition forces could leave opportunities for terrorist networks that could target both Afghanistan and India.

Four requirements for peace and stability in Afghanistan outlined by India:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) working group’s recommendation to allow corporate houses to own banks has drawn sharp reactions from experts, who have red-flagged risks associated with such a move.

About:

Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan and ex-deputy governor Viral Acharya argued against allowing companies to own banks because it would allow non-financial businesses to gain easy access to financing and encourage connected lending and because it could lead to further concentration of economic and political power in certain business houses.
They are also laid out likely motivations for the recommendations, the first being to enable the privatisation of PSU banks.

Key objectives:

This objective is better achieved by professionalising governance and letting the broader public own larger stakes in these banks, they argued.
The other possibility, they said, is that a particular corporate house which holds a payments bank licence now wants to convert into a full-service bank.
The two were surprised the working group had recommended corporate ownership of banks even though only one among all the experts they consulted favoured such a move. “Why is there urgency to change the regulation? After all, committees are rarely set up out of the blue. Is there some dramatic change in perception that it is responding to?” they asked.

Recently, data collected by NASA’s Curiosity rover found that mega flash floods washed through the Galecrater of Mars some four billion years ago.
This discovery hints that Mars was capable of sustaining life a long time ago.
Megaflood event may have been result of heat produced by a meteoric impact which let loose ice stored onMars’ surface and led to gigantic ripples.
These similar features were formed by melting ice on earth two millionyears ago.

Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin were nominated for the coveted ICC Men’s Player of the Decade Award with the Indian captain featuring in all five men’s categories for his incredible run in the last 10 years.
Kohli and veteran off-spinner Ashwin are the two Indians among seven players nominated for the most prestigious award.
Besides the Indian duo, Joe Root (England), Kane Williamson (New Zealand), Steve Smith (Australia), AB de Villiers (South Africa), and Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) are the other contenders in this category.
In the Men’s ODI Player of the Decade category, former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and run-machine Rohit Sharma also found a place alongside Kohli, Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka), Mitchell Starc (Australia), de Villiers and Sangakkara.