Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 29 November 2020

::NATIONAL::

Prime Minister will visit Varanasi on 30 November 2020 and dedicate to the nation the six-lane widening project of the Handia (Prayagraj) - Rajatalab (Varanasi) section of National Highway 19.
During the tour, the Prime Minister will attend Dev Deepawali, undertake a site visit of Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor Project and also visit the Sarnath Archaeological Site.
The 73 Km stretch of the newly widened and six laned NH19, made with a total outlay of Rs 2447 crore, is expected to reduce the travel time between Prayagraj and Varanasi by one hour.
Dev Deepawali, which has become a world famous festival of light and fervour in Varanasi, is celebrated on every Poornima of the Kartik month. The festival will be started by the Prime Minister by lighting a diya on the Raj Ghat of Varanasi, which will be followed by lighting of 11 lakh diyas on both sides of River Ganges.
During the visit, the Prime Minister will also undertake a site visit of the under construction Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor Project to review its progress. He will also see the Light and Sound show at the archaeological site of Sarnath, which had been inaugurated by him earlier this month.

It is celebrated as an attempt to raise awareness regarding organ donation in India.

Government initiatives for organ donation:

National Organ Transplant Programme which aims to improve access to life transformingtransplantation for needy citizens by promoting deceased organ donation.
National Organ &Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), mandated under theTransplantation of HumanOrgans (Amendment) Act 2011 to carry out activities for promotion of organ donation from deceased persons.

Speculation is around the corner that about 7,000 trees are proposed to be felled for the proposed Inter-Modal Station Project (IMS) at Ajani in Nagpur.

About:

Regional office of National Highway Authority of India clarified that the IMS project is in resonance with Environment Impact Assessment. As per Detailed Project Study approximately only 1,940 trees are proposed to be felled.
A compensatory afforestation of 25,000 trees shall be carried out by the NHAI on the available vacant spaces on the National Highway Projects land in and around Nagpur.
Inter-Modal Station proposed to be constructed at Ajni, with a Land Acquisition of 44.4 acres of Indian Railway land, available adjacent to Railway tracks, for handling capacity of over 3 lakhs passengers per day with a facility of Bus Stand, Railway Station and a Metro Station in the proposed vicinity. This Project is taken up for development of the city of Nagpur.

International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is being observed on 29 November.

About:

In 1977, the General Assembly called for the annual observance of 29 November as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. On that day, in 1947, the Assembly adopted the resolution on the partition of Palestine.
Palestine is recognized officially as the State of Palestine by the United Nations and other entities.
It is a de jure sovereign state in Western Asia claiming the West Bank (bordering Israel and Jordan) and Gaza Strip (bordering Israel and Egypt) with Jerusalem as the designated capital, although its administrative center is currently located in Ramallah.
The entirety of territory claimed by the State of Palestine has been occupied since 1948, first by Egypt and Jordan and then by Israel after the Six-Day War in 1967.

Giant Meterwave Radio Telescopehas been selected as a Milestone facility by U.S.based Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE).
It is operated by Pune-based National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, which is part of Tata Institute ofFundamental Research.
GMRT is a low- frequency radio observatories for investigating a variety of radio astrophysical problemsranging from nearby Solar system to the edge of observable Universe.
IEEE Milestones programme honours significant technical achievements which have global or regional impact.

The Marine Commandos (MARCOS) of the Indian Navy have been deployed in the Pangong lake area in eastern Ladakh.
The idea behind the deployment of the MARCOS in Eastern Ladakh where Indian Air Force’s Garud operatives and Indian Army’s Para Special Forces, which have been there since day one of the conflicts, is to enhance the integration of the three services and provide the naval commandos exposure to extreme cold weather conditions.
The Navy commandos are also soon going to get new boats for operations in the lake are along with the existing infrastructure for operations in the lake.
Indian Army’s Special Forces including the Para Special Forces and Cabinet Secretariat’s Special Frontier Force have been operating in Eastern Ladakh for carrying out special operations for a long time.
The Indian Air Force’s Garud Special Forces moved to hilltops on the strategic heights on the Line of Actual Control (LAC)along with their Igla shoulder-fired air defence systems in the early days of the conflict to take care of any fighter or other aircraft of the enemy which may have tried to violate Indian air space.
The special troops belonging to both the Army and Air Force have been there for more than six months now.