• October to December period is among the favourable months for the development of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
• This year, however, October passed without witnessing a cyclonic storm.

Cyclones in North Indian Ocean

• About 80 cyclones are formed around the world annually, out of which five are formed in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, together known as the North Indian Ocean.
• India’s east and west coasts are prone to cyclones with the maximum associated hazards—rain, heavy winds and storm surge— faced by coastal districts of West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
• Cyclones in the North Indian Ocean are bi-modal in nature, that is, they occur during two seasons— April to June (pre-monsoon) and October to December (post-monsoon).
• Of these, May and November remain the most conducive for the development of cyclones.
• Cyclonic disturbances— either in the form of a well-marked low pressure, depression or a deep depression (weather systems with varying wind intensities ranging from 31 – 61 km/hr formed either over sea or land) — are common in October.
• Ocean disturbances enter the Bay of Bengal from the South China sea side and head towards the Indian coast. 

• India will launch the EOS-01, an earth observation satellite, on 07th November 2020.
• EOS-01, along with nine satellites from foreign countries, would be launched by a PSLV rocket.
• Of the nine foreign satellites being carried in the mission, four each are from the United States and Luxembourg, while another is a technology demonstrator from Lithuania.

EOS-01

• EOS-01 is nothing but another Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT) that will work together with RISAT-2B and RISAT-2BR1 launched last year.
• EOS-01 was initially named RISAT-2BR2, and was supposed to be the third of the three-spacecraft constellation aimed at providing all-weather round-the-clock service for high-resolution images.
• EOS-01, like its cousins RISAT-2B and RISAT-2BR1, uses synthetic aperture radars to produce high-resolution images of the land.
• One big advantage that radar imaging has over optical instruments is that it is unaffected by weather, cloud or fog, or the lack of sunlight.
• It can produce high-quality images in all conditions and at all times.
• EOS-01, and its sister RISATs, use X-band radars that operate at low wavelengths and are considered best for monitoring of urban landscape, and imaging of agricultural or forest land.
• According to ISRO, EOS-01 is intended for applications in agriculture, forestry and disaster management support.
• The radar images are also considered to be immensely useful for military requirements.

PSLV

• For the launch of EOS-01, ISRO would be using a new variant of its PSLV rocket that has been flown only once before, in January last year, when it had placed the Microsat-R satellite in orbit. 
• For the PSLV, this would be the 51st flight. Only two of its launches have not been successful.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually inaugurate the Ghogha-Hazira Ro-Pax ferry service in Gujarat.
• This will be the second such ferry service to be launched by the PM after the Ghogha-Dahej route three years ago, which is now dysfunctional.
• Both the services were launched to bridge the Gulf of Khambhat by providing a sea route to large number of passengers travelling to and fro between Bhavnagar located on the western side of the Gulf and South Gujarat on the east.
• The sea route would be shorter compared to the road.

• Tamil Nadu has bagged the first place under the ‘Best State’ category under the National Water Awards (NWAs) 2019, presented by the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
• Tamil Nadu was followed by Maharashtra and Rajasthan as the best states under the normal category.
• The National Water Awards 2019 are presented in 16 categories including Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat, Best Urban Local Body, Best Research/ Innovation/ New Technology and Best Education among others, and each of the categories has sub-categories in different zones of the country.
• The awards distribution ceremony will be held on November 11 and 12 virtually.

• The Ethiopian army recently said the country had been pushed into an “aimless war” with its northern Tigray region, which in turn said that areas around its capital were being bombed by fighter jets.
• The conflict in the region continued to escalate despite international calls for talks to calm the crisis.

What is the Conflict?

• Tigray is a heavily armed region in northern Ethiopia that played a dominant role in the country’s government and military.
• Its power has waned since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took power in 2018.
• The federal government declared a six-month emergency in the region, fueling tensions between government authorities and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
• The row escalated in September when Tigray held regional elections in defiance of the federal government, which called the vote “illegal”.