Current Affairs in Short: 6 November 2020

PIF to invest Rs 9,555 crore for 2.04% stake in Reliance Retail 

•Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) announced on November 5, 2020 that the Public Investment Fund (PIF) will invest Rs 9,555 crore in Reliance Retail Ventured Limited (RRVL).
•The PIF will invest in Reliance Retail for a 2.04 percent equity stake, valuing the company at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.587 lakh crore.
•This is the second investment by PIF in a Reliance Industries subsidiary, as it had earlier acquired a 2.32 percent stake in Reliance Jio Platforms. The PIF is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, one of the largest and most impactful in the world. 

Bangladesh signs MoU with Serum Institute for 3 crore COVID 19 vaccine doses

•Bangladesh government on November 5, 2020 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Serum Institute of India (SII) for priority delivery of 3 crore COVID 19 vaccine doses. The agreement was signed between the Bangladesh government, Beximco Pharmaceutical Ltd and the Serum Institute of India. 
•The MoU comes as the process of development of the AstraZeneca vaccine is in the final stages at the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca. 
•Bangladesh Health Minister Zahid Maleque called the agreement a landmark one and expressed hope that the people of Bangladesh will get relief from this. The Minister said that in the initial lot, 1.5 crore people will be vaccinated, as at least two doses of the vaccine will be needed for each person.  
•The vaccine from India was chosen not only because it was best priced but also because it is would be most suited for the conditions for the distribution of the vaccine in Bangladesh. The vaccine is also one of the most promising candidates that is being brought up to international regulators. 

Gautam Gambhir self isolates himself after COVID-19 case at home

•Lok Sabha MP and former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has isolated himself after someone at his home contracted the COVID-19 virus. He is now awaiting his COVID test result. 
•Gambhir himself tweeted to confirm the news and urged everyone to follow all guidelines & not take the pandemic lightly. The former India opener is currently a Lok Sabha MP from East Delhi. He entered politics by joining the Bhartiya Janata Party ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. 
•Gambhir had represented India in 58 Test matches, 147 ODIs and 37 T20 Internationals. 

Facebook deletes ISSF's official page

•Facebook has deleted the page of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) from its platform without any prior intimation. The world shooting body confirmed the news saying that it experiencing an "unpleasant situation." 
•The global body has started a campaign - #unblock_ISSF_facebook and has urged the shooting fraternity to come together and show solidarity in the cause to force Facebook to reverse its decision.
•Shooters from across the world rely on the ISSF Facebook page for updates regarding the sport’s governing body. The ISSF Facebook page was created on January 14, 2010. While the reason for shooting down the page is not known, Facebook is known to have a stringent policy on firearms.

ISRO to launch EOS-01 earth observation satellite on November 7, countdown begins

•The countdown for the launch of earth observation satellite EOS-01 mission began today, November 6, 2020 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR in Sriharikota.
•ISRO will be launching the earth observation satellite to provide support to agriculture, forestry and disaster management. If the launch is successful then, the Indian Space Agency will touch 328 foreign satellite launches. 
•The EOS-01 satellite will be launched aboard launch vehicle PSLV-C49 along with nine international customer satellites on November 7, 2020.