Current Affairs on 17 November 2020

Kris Gopalakrishnan appointed the first Chairperson of Reserve Bank Innovation Hub
Kris Gopalakrishnan, the former co-chairman and co-founder of Infosys was appointed as the first Chairperson of Reserve Bank Innovation Hub. He was appointed by the Reserve Bank of India. The Reserve Bank Innovation Hub aims to promote innovation across financial sector.

First Solar Powered Textile mill in Asia to come up in Parbhani district, Maharashtra
The chairman of Jai Bhawani Women cooperative textile mill announced that the mill will soon operate on solar power. With this, the mill will become the first Solar Power enabled textile mill in Asia. The mill is located in Parbhani district of Maharashtra.

WHO to celebrate World Antimicrobial Awareness Week
The World Health Organization is to celebrate Antimicrobial Awareness Week between November 18, 2020 and November 24, 2020. The week aims to increase awareness of global antimicrobial resistance.

Dr Susanta Kar Honoured with Prof. A N Bhaduri Memorial Lecture Award-2020
Dr Susanta Kar, Senior Scientist, Molecular Parasitology and Immunology, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research- Central Drug Research Institute (CSIR-CDRI) was honoured with "Prof. A N Bhaduri Memorial Lecture Award 2020" by Society of Biological Chemists (India), Bengaluru. The award is given to him for his contribution towards defining the survival tactics of Leishmania Donovani.

Japanese Nobel-prize-winning Masatoshi Koshiba passes away
Physicist Masatoshi Koshiba, who shared 2002 Nobel prize for the detection of cosmic neutrinos, passed away. Koshiba's most famous work involved detecting neutrinos from a distant supernova explosion using a vast detector based in a mine in central Japan. Koshiba, a distinguished professor at the University of Tokyo.

Former Pondicherry Lt Guv Chandrawati passes away
Former Lt Governor of Pondicherry, Chandrawati passed away. She has a number of 1st to her credit as she was the 1st Member of Parliament (1977), the 1st MLA, 1st minister (1964-66 and 1972-74) & 1st leader of Opposition in the Haryana assembly (1982-85). Chandrawati had also served as the president of the Janata Party from 1977 to 1979.

HDFC Bank, IndusInd in 'red flag' list on nearing foreign investment cap
HDFC Bank & IndusInd Bank have been put in the 'red flag' list, a system used for monitoring foreign portfolio investor (FPI) limits. A listed company enters the list when the available legroom for overseas investment is less than 3% of the permissible limit. FPIs can invest up to 74% in both HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank.

RBI imposes Rs 1 crore penalty on Punjab National Bank
The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on Punjab National Bank for violating the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. Punjab National Bank was operating a bilateral ATM-sharing arrangement with Druk PNB Bank Ltd., Bhutan, since April 2010 without prior approval or authorisation from India's banking regulator.

SBM Bank India set to launch a neo banking platform
SBM Bank India, the wholly-owned subsidiary of State Bank of Mauritius has partnered with Fintech PayNearby to launch a neo banking platform. Both firms signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to build an "open banking" network towards delivering basic banking solutions as well as advanced financial services, to their customers.

Keetham lake in Uttar Pradesh added to Ramsar sites
The Keetham lake, also known as Sur Sarovar, in Agra of Uttar Pradesh has been added to the list of Ramsar sites. More than 106 species of migratory birds rest in Sur Sarovar lake. The water of the lake is obtained from Agra Canal. The canal originates from Okhla barrage on River Yamuna in Delhi.