GK Capsule November 2021

Welcome to Endeavor’s GK Capsule for the month of November 2021. The big news of the month was the repeal of three farm laws by the government. Farmers’ organizations were protesting against these laws for more than a year. Coronavirus threat also renewed with a new Omicron variant detected in South Africa in November. In other news, Parag Agrawal was appointed the new CEO of Twitter. Let’s look at these and other highlights of the month.

In the category of ‘Persons in News’ –

Parag Agrawal has become the new CEO of Twitter after Jack Dorsey announced his resignation. Parag, who was Twitter’s Chief Technology Officer, is assuming the role of the company’s CEO immediately. Parag Agrawal joins the likes of Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella as Indian-origin CEOs running the biggest tech companies in the world. The 37-year-old Parag Agrawal is a Computer Science graduate from IIT Bombay and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. He has worked with Microsoft, Yahoo, and AT&T Labs before joining Twitter in 2011. In his role as Chief Technology Officer, Parag looked after the technical strategy of Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Twitter. He was also the in-charge of the Bluesky vision of Twitter for an open and decentralized social media.

In the category of ‘National News’–

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the repeal of the three farm laws on 19th November. The repeal of three controversial farm laws came after a year of protests. Thousands of farmers had camped at Delhi’s borders since last November and dozens died from cold and suicide. The legislative process for the repeal was completed in the winter session of the Parliament. Addressing the nation in a television broadcast, the Prime Minister also announced the formation of a committee to look into issues related to agriculture, including Minimum Support Prices. The announcement came on the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. Farm unions are seeing the repeal of farm laws as a huge victory.

In the category of ‘Science & Tech’ –

A new coronavirus variant has been detected in South Africa in mid-November. The new variant is identified as B.1.1.529 Omicron. According to scientists, the new variant is a concern because of its high number of mutations and rapid spread among young people. The new variant has more than 30 mutations in its spike protein that affects transmissibility. South African officials had warned that a new resurgence was expected from mid-December to early January. Many countries have banned flights from Southern African countries. India has also recorded the first two cases of the Omicron variant in Karnataka on 25th November. According to the WHO, the Omicron variant has higher transmissibility but it is expected to be milder than the earlier Delta variant.

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