NEWS DIGEST (5 Mins read) to start the DAY updated at 0525HRS IST – 20 NOV 2021 Saturday

*NEWS DIGEST (5 Mins read) to start the DAY updated at 0525HRS IST – 20 NOV 2021 Saturday*

_ISL 2021-22: Hugo Boumous Magic Helps ATK Mohun Bagan Thrash Kerala Blasters 4-2 in Curtain-raiser_

*Apologising To Nation": PM Says 3 Farm Laws To Be Cancelled; defended the laws saying they were meant as reforms, mainly for small and marginal farmers; Asks Protesters to Return Home*

_Mix of Relief and Caution at Singhu Border as Farmers Say ‘No Question of Leaving’ Before Parliament Action; Meghalaya Governor says Concerns over a legal assurance for MSP are at the core of farmers' protests against Union Govt's three controversial farm laws_

*PM handed over indigenously designed light combat helicopters to the IAF in Jhansi; light combat helicopter incorporates advanced technologies and stealth features for effective combat roles*

_9, Including 4 Children, Killed After House Collapses Due to Heavy Rains in Tamil Nadu's Vellore; 8 Dead, 12 Missing After Flash Flood in Andra Pradesh, Life Thrown Out of Gear_

*Pakistan Eases Advance Intimation Norm for Sikh Pilgrims Visiting Kartarpur Till Nov 30*

_Shipment containing possible radioactive substances was seized by Govt authorities at Mundra Port in Gujarat. The cargo was on its way from Karachi in Pakistan to Shanghai in China_

Kerala tea seller, who toured 26 countries with wife, dies at 71; owned a tea stall "Sree Balaji Coffee House" in Kochi’s Gandhinagar and travelled to 26 countries in the past 14 years

*Gold Worth ₹ 42 Cr Smuggled Into Delhi As Machine Parts; being melted and moulded into different shapes by 4 foreign nationals (2 from South Korea, 1 from China & Taiwan)*

_Road Secretary: 15 states have rolled out BH-series so far for seamless transfer of vehicles across India_

*IDFC First partners up with HPCL to facilitate fuel payments using FASTag; Survey finds Majority of insurance buyers prefer physical copies of policy document*

_Now, No More Boring, Ready-to-eat Meals on Trains, Railways Brings Back Hot Food; review by the railway ministry shows that there were not too many takers for packaged and ready-to-eat meals_

You may have to pay 20-40% more for life cover next year as large reinsurance companies are likely to raise charges that are likely to be passed on to customers.

*Retail Direct bond scheme gets 32,000 registrations in 6 days reflecting investor eagerness for the asset class that was hitherto an institutional monopoly*

_With the one-year moratorium on an emergency credit scheme ending soon, banks and non-banks are concerned that the end to the standstill could give rise to a fresh round of bad loans_

*IndiGrid consortium lowest bidder for Rs 170Cr project; Transmission system for evacuation of power from Renewable (RE) Projects in Osmanabad area (1 GW) in Maharashtra*

_AYUSH ministry transfers AYUSH-64 drug technology an effective drug in treating 'mild, asymptomatic' and 'mild to moderate' cases of COVID-19, to 46 Cos_

*Jindal Steel Plans To Start Building Coal Mine in Botswana's southeastern Mmamabula coalfields in 2022, aiming to supply the export market and a planned coal power plant*

_Biocon and Viatris to distribute Insulin Glargine through Walgreens in US offering its members savings of up to 80% on the cash price of comparable long-acting insulins now sold_

*Reliance and Saudi Aramco to reevaluate proposed O2C investment; oil majors reiterated their desire to remain preferred partners, with Reliance set to continue as the Saudi company's collaborator in the subcontinent*

_Biden Mulls Diplomatic Boycott Of Beijing Olympics; China Says 'Politicising Sports' Hurts Olympic Spirit_

*Sotheby: Rare Original Copy of US Constitution Auctioned for $43MN; It is one of only 11 known surviving copies of the US charter, signed on Sep 17, 1787 at Philadelphia's Independence Hall*

_Kamala Harris to Become First Woman With Presidential Power As Biden Undergoes Colonoscopy_

*Brazil's Amazon Deforestation Hits Record 15-year High After 22% Jump in Last Year; the state of Para accounted for 40% of deforestation from Aug. 2020 to July 2021*

2nd T20: India beat New Zealand by 7 wickets to win series; Southee took 2 Quick wickets in last over, Pant hit two consecutive sixes to seal the deal

*World: 256,650,729; Active 19,697,378 (7.67%); Recovery 231,801,616 (90.32%); Vaccinated 7.62BN*

_India 34,489,623; Active 126,620 (0.37%); Recovery 33,897,921 (98.28%); Vaccinated 1.15BN_

_Maha's Palghar District to Give Extra Funds to Gram Panchayats That Complete 100% Vaccination by Dec 31_

*20 Cr Doses in Stock & More on the Way, Vaccine Surplus May Push India to Start Commercial Exports*

_Germany is 'One Big Outbreak', Says Disease Control Chief as Covid Infections Surge in Austria's Neighbour; Austria First Country in Western Europe to Reimpose Full Covid Lockdown Amid Fresh Wave_

*Study: 1st confirmed case of symptomatic Covid-19 can be traced to a female seafood vendor at a wholesale food market in China's Wuhan, not an accountant who lived far away; WHO inquiry on early chronology of the pandemic wrong*

Today’s Word - *Academicism* - adherence to conventional rules & traditions in art, literature.