1. The first-ever India-US Ocean Dialogue has started in Goa on November 1, 2017, which is being hosted by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO). The purpose of the Ocean dialogue is to promote sustainable development of the Blue Economy. According to the World Bank, the Blue Economy is sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, and ocean ecosystem health.
2. The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind has inaugurated the Global Clubfoot Conference at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on November 1, 2017. The 2-day conference is organised by the CURE India in partnership with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The Clubfoot is one of the most common orthopaedic birth defects, which can cause permanent disability if not treated early. This affects the child's mobility and confidence. Inevitably, education and schooling suffer – and the child cannot fulfil his or her potential.
3. The 36th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) 2017 has open at the Expo Centre in Sharjah on November 1 with theme "A World inside My Book". The book fair will see the participation of 1,650 publishing houses from 60 countries. More than 15 lakh titles will be on display throughout the 11 day celebration of literature, knowledge and culture. The 2017 edition will feature 393 guests from 48 countries who will take part in more than 2,600 events. The United Kingdom (UK) will be the 'Country of Honour' at the Book Fair. The SIBF is an annual event and is considered the 3rd largest book Fair in the world. The most extensive of the programmes on offer at this year's edition is the Kids' Programme, which will see 1,632 activities presented by 44 guests from 20 countries. Publication Division is also participating in the SIBF 2017 with its latest collection of books.
4. Yogesh Chander Modi, a 1984 batch IPS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, has taken charge as new Director General of National Investigation Agency (NIA) and will hold the post till his superannuation, i.e. May 31, 2021. He succeeded Sharad Kumar Sinha, who completed his tenure on October 30, 2017. Prior to this appointment, Modi was special director in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Apart from this, Modi was also part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed the Gujarat riots cases in August 2010 and remained part of the team till July 2012. NIA was set up after an Act was enacted on December 31, 2008. The federal probe agency is tasked with probing terrorism and terror-financing related cases.
5. Neelmani N. Raju, a 1983 batch IPS officer, has been appointed as the Karnataka's first-ever woman Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG-IGP). She will take over from Rupak Kumar Dutta, who is retiring from service.
6. Japanese lawmakers have reelected Shinzo Abe as the country's 95th Prime Minister on November 1, 2017 after his party won a landslide victory in last month's general election. Abe was reelected by both Houses of the Diet. The prime minister will now form his cabinet. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reappointed all of his Cabinet Ministers, following his reelection by the Diet as country's leader, to ensure continuity of his policies.
7. India has gained 30 places to rank 100th among 190 countries in the latest ease of doing business ranking by the World Bank (WB), in its Doing Business 2018 report. The improvement was due to a slew of reforms in taxation, licensing, investor protection and bankruptcy resolution. New Zealand has topped the list, followed by Singapore, Denmark, South Korea, Hong Kong, United States and United Kingdom.
8. The Inderkilla National Park (INP) is located in Himachal Pradesh, which is established in 2010. It covers an area of about 104 square kilometres.
9. The Haryana government has recently announced lifetime monthly pension of Rs 10,000 for 'Hindi Satyagrahis' and those from the state who were jailed during the Emergency. For this, the state government has identified 194 'Satyagrahis' who were imprisoned during the 'Hindi Satyagraha' launched by the Punjab Arya Pratinidhi Sabha in 1957 to promote the language. Apart from this, the state government has also announced financial assistance to soldiers from Haryana who took part in the World War-II, and their widows, from Rs 4,500 to Rs 10,000.
10. Veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher has been honoured with the 2017 Pramod Mahajan Smriti Award in Pune, Maharashtra on October 29, 2017. Kher is awarded along with Saira Banu, who is UN ambassador for HeforShe. The award was instituted by Pune-based organization 'Muktachhand' in memory of Late former Union Minister Pramod Mahajan.
11. The 14-day joint training exercise "PRABAL DOSTYK – 2017" has started between the Indian Army and the Kazakhstan Army at Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh. The purpose of the joint exercise is to enhance the military ties between the two countries as also at achieving interoperability between the two armies. The training contingents comprise of platoon strength from the 11th Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army and a similar strength of the Kazakhstan Army.
12. The 9th edition of CMS Vatavaran, India's only International Environment & Wildlife Film Festival and Forum, has started at Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti in New Delhi on November 2, 2017. The theme of the 5-day fest is "Conservation 4 Water". The aim of fest is to create awareness and sensitize people through films and discussions regarding water conservation and the inter-connectedness of climate change and water, water struggles in a world dealing with global warming, climate variability, bio-diversity loss, and environmental damage. It will showcase 113 films, including four from Kashmir, one of the most ecologically sensitive zones facing the threat of global warming. The event is supported and partnered by Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, National Geographic, UNESCO, UNDP and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
13. K Satchidanandan, noted Malayalam Poet and literary critic, has been selected for the prestigious 2017 Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, the highest literary award of the Government of Kerala, him for his contributions to Malayalam literature and poetry. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh and a citation. Satchidanandan is the former Editor of Indian Literature journal and the former Secretary of Sahitya Akademi. He is also a public intellectual of repute upholding secular anti-caste views, supporting causes like environment, human rights and free software and a well known speaker on issues concerning contemporary Indian literature. Moreover, he is the festival director of Kerala Literature Festival.
14. Suresh Chukkapalli, Chairman of Phoenix Group of Hyderabad, has been appointed as Honorary Consul General in Hyderabad by the Republic of Korea, with consular jurisdiction over the state of Telangana. He was given charge/invested formally at a ceremony in New Delhi.
15. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has increased the maximum age of joining National Pension Scheme (NPS) Private Sector from the 60 to 65 years of age to increase the pension coverage in the country. Now, any Indian citizen, resident or non-resident, of 60-65 years of age can join the NPS and continue up to the age of 70 years. A subscriber joining NPS after the age of 60 years will now have an option of normal exit from NPS after completion of three years. In this case, the subscriber will be required to utilise at least 40% of the corpus for purchase of annuity and the remaining amount can be withdrawn in lumpsum. However, if the subscriber wants to exit from NPS before completion of 3 years, he or she will have to utilize at-least 80% of the corpus for purchase of annuity and the remaining can be withdrawn in lumpsum. In case of death of the subscriber during his/her stay in NPS, the entire corpus will be paid to the nominee of the subscriber.
16. The 21st World Congress of Mental Health has started in New Delhi with theme "Partnerships for Mental Health" on November 2, 2017, which is organised by the World Federation for Mental Health in partnership with Caring Foundation and other institutions. It was inaugurated by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind. The 4-day WFMH World Congress is hosted in the SAARC region for the first time and will witness participation of over 1000 delegates from across the world. It will have sessions on yoga, meditation and traditional approaches to mental health.
17. Veteran actor and playwright Girish Karnad will be honoured by Tata Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award 2017 at the literature festival's annual awards ceremony which will be held on November 19 at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Nariman Point, Mumbai. The festival runs from November 16-19. Karnad is also a recipient of Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards. His critically acclaimed plays in the era of 1960s such as 'Yayati' (1961), the historical 'Tughlaq' (1964), and his three seminal works 'Hayavadana' (1971), 'Naga-mandala' (1988) and 'Taledanda' (1990) have earned international praise.
18. Olympic bronze-medallist Gagan Narang won a silver medal in the men's 50m rifle prone event of the Commonwealth Shooting Championships on November 2, 2017. Another Indian, Swapnil Suresh Kusale bagged the bronze in the same event, while Dane Sampson of Australia won the gold. In women's 25m pistol final, India's Suraj Singh won the bronze, while the gold and silver went to host country's L Yaumleuskay and E Galiabovitch respectively.
19. The book titled "Dreamnation: Uniting a Country with Handwritten Dreams" has been co-authored by Saji Mathew and Jubie John and is published by Bloomsbury. Its' an illustrative book containing inspiring words of Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, which was released online by Indian women cricket team captain Mithali Raj on the 86th birth anniversary of the former Indian President. It has been neatly divided into four sections — Spark, Resilience, Decision, and Take-off, each based on a dream-quote of the Missile Man of India. The book includes a collection of 200-plus handcrafted and handwritten postcards from across India.
20. The Samaspur Sanctuary is located near Salon in Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh, which is established in 1987, and covers an area of about 780 hectares of land. The best time to visit the place is between November to March. More than 250 varieties of birds can be seen here such as Greylag Goose, Pintail, Common Teal, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Shoveler and Ruddy Shelduck (Surkhab).
21. Fake news has been named official word of the year 2017 by Collins dictionary due to its widespread use around the world. The UK-based dictionary writer found that the use of this word registered a 365% rise in the last 12 months. The term-was defined as false, often sensational, information disseminated under the guise of news reporting. Other words on 2017 shortlist included "genderfluid", defined as not identifying exclusively with one gender rather than another; "fidget spinner", the toy being twirled by children around the world; and "gig economy" – the term for a system of casual, unstable employment that firms like Uber are associated with. All new words and meanings from the year will be added to CollinsDictionary.com and considered for inclusion in future print editions of the dictionary.
22. India's first-ever conservation reserve for black buck will come up on over 126 hectares in the trans-Yamuna region of Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. The State cabinet has recently approved a Blackbuck Conservation Reserve in the Meja forest division that is known for its rocky, undulating and arid terrain. For this, the U.P. government evoked Section 36 A (1) and (2) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, to declare the conservation reserve. With this, the conservation of blackbuck can be done in an effective way. It will also create awareness about biodiversity conservation and provide opportunities for people's participation. Eco-tourism will be encouraged and locals will get opportunities for employment.
23. Recently, the Department of Biotechnology has signed a trilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nobel Media AB and the Goa government to host the Nobel Prize Series – India during February 1-2, 2018 in Goa. It will address the core issues of knowledge, education, science, infrastructure and jobs. With interactions scheduled between school students and Nobel laureates, it will drive a passion for science. The Nobel Prize Series aims to stimulate creative thinking by bringing together Nobel laureates, other experts and learners. It would involve exhibitions, conferences, lectures, roundtables, etc. and inspire engagement in science, literature and peace. The first edition of Nobel Prize Series-India was held in Gujarat in January 2017.
24. The International Conference on "Ramayan Circuit and Mithila-Awadh Relations" has started at Janakpur in Nepal on November 3, 2017. Eminent experts from India and Nepal are participating in 2 day event. It must be noted that during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Nepal Visit in 2014, an agreement was signed between India and Nepal to develop Ayodhya and Janakpur as twin cities.
25. India slipped 21 places on the 2017 World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Gender Gap index to rank 108th among 144 countries, primarily due to less participation of women in the economy and low wages. According to the WEF Global Gender Gap Report 2017, India has closed 67% of its gender gap, less than many of its international peers, and some of its neighbours like Bangladesh ranked 47th while China was placed at 100th.The index is topped by the Iceland, followed by Norway, Finland, Rwanda and Sweden. As per the report, the global average annual earnings for a female stood at $12,000, while for a male it was as high as $21,000.
26. PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 3-day long World Food India (WFI) 2017 fair at the India Gate Lawns in New Delhi on November 3, 2017, which aimed to attract $10 billion investment in food processing sector and to generate 1 million jobs in the next 3 years in India. The purpose of the WFI 2017 is to transform food economy and realize the vision of doubling of farmers' income by establishing India as a preferred investment destination and sourcing hub for the global food processing industry. Approx 200 companies from 30 countries, 18 ministerial and business delegations, etc are participating in the food fair.
27. The Assam government has recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) and Terms of Reference (ToR) with Singapore for skilling over 78,000 rural youths in the state by 2019 and greening Guwahati. The MoU and ToR for setting up the North East Skills Centre (NESC) was signed between Skill, Employment and Entrepreneurship Department of Assam government and ITE Education Service of Singapore. The NESC will train up to 400 students each year. The MoU for Guwahati city's greening was inked between the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority and Singapore Corporation Enterprise.
28. The bi-annual multilateral exercise 'Blue Flag-17' has started at Uvda Air Force Base in Israel from November 2 to 16, 2017. In it, 45 member contingent of the Indian Air Force (IAF) is participating with the C-130J special operations aircraft along with Garud commandos. This is the first time the IAF is operating with Israeli AF in a multilateral exercise setting. Ex Blue Flag will give an opportunity to the IAF to share and learn best practices with some of the best professionals from other Air Forces. The purpose of the exercise is to strengthen military cooperation amongst participating nations.
29. Dharmendra Pradhan, the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, has led the Indian delegation at the IEF 7th Asia Ministerial Energy Roundtable (AMER7), which took place in Bangkok, Thailand from 1-3 November 2017. India is the current chair of International Energy Forum (IEF) which is promoting the AMER – a biennial event bringing together Energy Ministers and experts from Asian countries.
30. The Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary (BWS) is located in Ponda taluka of northeastern Goa and covers an area of 8 km2. A wide variety of animal life can be encountered, including: sambar deer, Indian bison, Malabar giant squirrel, Indian peafowl and many species of snakes.
31. Goa has topped the 2017 Gender Vulnerability Index (GVI) with score 0.649, which is recently released by the Child development NGO Plan India during its national conference in New Delhi on November 1. Kerala has acquired 2nd position followed by Mizoram and Sikkim. Bihar ranked the lowest at 30, with Delhi faring only slightly better at 29 and Uttar Pradesh at 28. The highest ranking north Indian state is Himachal Pradesh at the sixth position. The composite index has been developed within research for the NGO's Plan for Every Child campaign which is aimed at comprehensively understanding the dimensions of various problems affecting children, particularly girls, in difficult circumstances. This index provides a state-wise ranking which is calculated by analysing four issues pertinent to the situation of girls — child safety/protection, poverty, health and education.
32. The World Tsunami Awareness Day (WTAD) is observed every year on November 5 to spread awareness among people across the world in matters related to the dangers of tsunami and shall stress on the importance of early warning systems in order to mitigate damage from the often devastating natural hazard. It also aims at reviving traditional knowledge about tsunamis.
33. Kenneth Juster, a top economic expert on India, has been appointed as the new US Ambassador to India, which is unanimously confirmed by US Senate on November 3, 2017. He will replace Indian-American Richard Verma as the top American diplomat to India. The position has been lying vacant since January 20 after Mr. Verma resigned from the post after the swearing-in of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the U.S.
34. The 1st Heli Expo India and International Civil Helicopter Conclave-2017 was inaugurated at the Pawan Hans Heliport, Rohini in New Delhi on November 4, 2017. The 2-day conclave was organised by Pawan Hans Limited, a Mini Ratna company of Ministry of Civil Aviation in association with PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry with theme 'Enhancing Connectivity'.
35. The Pan India scholarship program for school children "Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana" has launched by Union Minister of Communications Manoj Sinha to increase the reach of Philately. Under the scheme of SPARSH, the annual scholarships will be awarded to children of Standard VI to IX having good academic record and also pursuing Philately as a hobby through a competitive selection process in all postal circles. Every Postal Circle will select a maximum of 40 scholarships representing 10 students each from Standard VI, VII, VIII & IX. The amount of Scholarship will be Rs. 6000/- per annum @ Rs. 500/- per month. The acronym 'SPARSH' stands for "Scholarship for Promotion of Aptitude & Research in Stamps as a Hobby".
36. Tamil Nadu's historic Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam has won the UNESCO Asia Pacific Award of Merit 2017 for cultural heritage conservation. The main reasons for the temple to won the UN award are as follows: Use of traditional methods in renovating its structures and re-establishment of rainwater harvesting and historic drainage system, and to augment water and prevent flooding. With this, it has become the first temple in Tamil Nadu to be given the prestigious award from the UN body. The temple is situated on an islet between Cauvery and Kollidam rivers. It has seven prakaras and 21 towers, including the 236-feet-high rajagopuram.
37. The Hazaribag Wildlife Sanctuary (HWS) is situatuted in Jharkhand and is about 89 km north of Ranchi. It covers an area of 184 km2. It is home to leopards, pantherswild boars tigers, sambar, nilgai, chital, peafowl, sloth bears, black bears, hyenas and pigeons.
38. Krishna Sobti (92), the renowned Hindi Litterateur, has been chosen for the 53rd Jnanpith Award for the year 2017 for her path-breaking contribution to Indian literature. She is known for experimenting with new writing styles and creating bold and daring characters in her stories who were ready to accept all challenges. Her language was highly influenced by the intermingling of Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi cultures. Some of her works include Daar se Bichhudi, Mitron Marjani, and Zindaginama. Jnanpith is the highest literary award of the country.
39. The National Cycling Championship has started from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on November 5, 2017 to promote fuel conservation. The event is organised by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) in four categories – Elite Cycling (50km/30km), Amateur Ride (30 km), Open Ride (10 km) and Green Ride (5 km). Approx 5,000 participants are taking part in the event, which are enrol for various categories via online registration. The championship is hosted by Saksham Pedal Delhi and supported by the Cycling Federation of India (CFI). Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar is the brand ambassador of the of Saksham Pedal Delhi. The event has prize money of Rs 8 lakh.
40. The 2017 World Youth Forum has started at Sharam El Shiekh in Egypt on November 4, 2017. The 5-day forum has inaugurated by the President of Egypt Mr Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. From India, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Col Rajyavardhan Rathore is participating in the forum. The Forum aims to provide a platform to the youth from all over the globe to engage with the key global policy makers. It will also cover role of youth in business and innovation, challenges and making of future leaders, gender equity and women empowerment among other things. The Summit segment is expected to be attended by the Heads of State/Government, Ministers of youth from 14 countries and representatives of UN, Arab League and the African Union.
41. Shiv Kapur from India has won the 2017 Panasonic Open (India) Golf tournament at the Delhi Golf Club in New Delhi on November 5, 2017. It is second Asian Tour title of the season for Kapur, who fired five birdies against one bogey to stay three strokes clear off a pack of fellow Indians, including Ajeetesh Sandhu (65), Sudhir Sharma (69) and Chirag Kumar (64).
42. The Punjab government will soon start a campaign to organise village level sports tournaments across the state in order to wipe out the menace of drugs. These tournaments will promote sportsmanship amongst the youth besides channelizing their unbounded energy in a positive direction. In these games, the dope test will be made mandatory in order to ensure free and fair competition in these tournaments.
43. The India women's national field hockey team has won the 2017 Women's Hockey Asia Cup Tournament by defeating China in the final by 5-4 via a shootout at Kakamigahara in Japan on November 5, 2017. Savita was adjudged Goalkeeper-of-the-Tournament while Monica won the Woman-of-the-Match award. With this win, Indian team has qualified for the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup i.e. scheduled to be held in England. South Korea secured third place with a 1-0 win over Japan. India had to wait long for their second Women's Asia Cup title with the last one coming way back in 2004, when they had beaten Japan in New Delhi for the trophy. The triumph of the Indian women's team follows the Asia Cup victory of the men's side in October 2107.
44. Baddam Narasimha Reddy (82), the former Lok Sabha Member and well known architect, has passed away in Hyderabad. B N Reddy, as he is known, represented Miryalaguda Constituency of Andhra Pradesh thrice. Till 2008, Miryalguda was a Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency of Andhra Pradesh.
45. The awards for the 'Best Urban Transport Practices' were announced by Central Government at UMI Conference in Hyderabad on November 6, 2017 . In it, Surat Municipal Corporation has been chosen for the 'Best City Bus Services Award' by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for succeeding in attracting 87% of the private vehicle and auto rickshaw users to use city buses. Mysuru's Public Bicycle Sharing has won the 'Best Non-Motorised Transport' Award while Kochi (Kerala) has been chosen for the 'Best Urban Transport Initiative' Award for completing its Metro Rail Project in a quick time besides integrating the metro with other modes of transport.
46. Mohan Joshi, the veteran Indian film and television actor, has been honoured with the prestigious Vishnudas Bhave award for his contribution to theatre on November 5, 2017. He was honoured with the award at a ceremony held in Sangli on the eve of Marathi Rangbhumi Din. Joshi has acted in a number of Hindi, Marathi, Bhojpuri and Kannada films, besides in plays. The award is conferred in memory of Vishnudas Bhave, the founder of Marathi theatre. The award includes a trophy, a citation and a cash of Rs 25,000.
47. The Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Science (DIPAS) of DRDO is organizing the International Conference on Human Physiology – VII Congress of Federation of Indian Physiological Societies (FIPS) "FIPSPHYSIOCON 2017" along with XXIX Annual Conference of the Physiological Society of India (PSI) in New Delhi from November 5-7, 2017. The purpose of the conference is to update the scientific community about most recent advances in human Physiology in extreme environments, Neuroscience, Yoga, Sport Physiology and translational research.
48. Dr Anil K. Tripathi, scientist at Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, has been honoured with the prestigious "Bharat Gaurav Award" – 2017 in Science and Technology stream at India International Centre (IIC) in New Delhi on October 4, 2017. He won the award in recognition for his meritorious achievements, outstanding performance and individual excellence throughout his life.
49. The annual 'Bali Jatra' festival was started in the city of Cuttack at Gadagadia Ghata of the Mahanadi river, Odisha on November 4, 2017. The week-long famous fair on an area of 30 acres on the river bank will continue till November 10. The fest is celebrated to mark the day when ancient traders of Odisha would set sail to distant lands of Bali, as well as Java, Sumatra, Borneo (all in Indonesia), and Sri Lanka for trade and cultural expansion. It is celebrated every year from the day of Kartika Purnima according to the Oriya Calendar. In all, Bali Jatra bears testimony to the rich maritime legacy of ancient Odisha.
50. The Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) is a 400-hectare zoo and botanical garden in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. It is home to endangered species such as the Asiatic lion, three Indian crocodilians, Sangal lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur, Indian pangolin, mouse deer and countless birds, reptiles and fish that have been breeding successfully. The zoo includes 34 aquaria which are home to a large variety of fresh water fish. It also enjoys a good reputation internationally for successfully breeding black panthers, gharials, and white tigers in captivity.
51. Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has been designated as the new Finance Secretary of India. Adhia is a 1981 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre. The post was vacant after former Finance and Expenditure Secretary Ashok Lavasa retired on October 31, 2017. As per the convention, the senior most Secretary in the Finance Ministry is designated as the Finance Secretary. Adhia's appointment comes ahead of the 10 November GST Council meeting in Guwahati that is likely to see a revision in the tax rates for some common use items and easier GST returns filing norms for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
52. The 2-day conference of Ministers for Power and New and Renewable Energy of States and Union Territories will be held at Rajgir in Bihar from November 10, 2017. The conference will be inaugurated by Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy Raj Kumar Singh. The objective of the conference is to review the implementation of various ongoing schemes and deliberate upon a host of issues pertaining to Power and Renewable Energy sectors. Ministers and Secretaries of States and senior officials will participate in the conference.
53. The Union Power Ministry has constituted a 4-member committee to investigate into the causes of the recent accident that occurred on 1st November 2017 at NTPC's Unchahar Thermal Power Plant in Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli district. The committee, headed by PD Siwal, Member of Central Electricity Authority, will submit its report to the Ministry of Power within a month. According to the term of reference of the committee, it will investigate the causes of the accident and fix responsibility for lapses, if any. It will also suggest remedial measures to avoid the recurrence of such incidents in the future. More than 30 people had lost their lives after a boiler exploded at the plant.
54. A theme based India-Nepal Folk Crafts Festival has started at Kathmandu, Nepal on November 7, 2017. The 5-day festival is organised by South Asia Foundation (SAF) in association with Council of Handicrafts Development Corporations (COHANDS), Embassy of India in Kathmandu, Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi and BP Koirala India-Nepal Foundation. The Ministry of Textiles, Government of India (GoI), is sponsoring the event. The basic objective of the festival is to promote bilateral relations through crafts and strengthen the relationship between artisans of India and Nepal. Around 50 artisans will showcase their crafts during the event. A Khadi- fashion show will also be organized at India House, Embassy of India in Kathmandu on Nov 10 as part of the festival.
55. The Union Government has reconstituted Multi-Agency Group (MAG) to probe into cases of Paradise Papers, which is also probing the Panama Papers leak. The reconstituted MAG headed by the Sushil Chandra, the Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), will have representatives from ED, RBI and Financial Intelligence Unit. The Paradise Papers revealed that India ranks 19 out of the 180 countries represented in the data of offshore entities. In all, 714 Indian entities and individuals figure in the list. The Paradise Papers include nearly 7 million loan agreements, financial statements, emails, trust deeds and other paperwork over nearly 50 years from inside Appleby, a prestigious offshore law firm with offices in Bermuda and other places. Indians who figure in Paradise Papers include Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, defaulter businessman Vijay Mallya, corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, film star Sanjay Dutt's wife Manyata, Union minister Jayant Sinha and Rajya Sabha MP R K Sinha.
56. Binoy Kumar, a 1983-batch IAS officer of the Telangana cadre, has been appointed the new Special Secretary in commerce ministry. He is the Director General of Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D), the procurement arm of the central government that closed on October 31. The closure of the DGS&D follows the governments shift to the commerce ministry's e-market platform (GeM) launched in 2016 for public procurement of goods and services. DGS&D has its origin in the India Stores Department, which was established in 1860 in London by the British for a centralised purchase of goods for India.
57. India has pledged additional $100 million towards India-UN Development Partnership Fund to help the poorest nations achieve the world organisation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to reduce poverty and raise the quality of life. This contribution would be in addition to $10.582 million India is contributing to various other UN programmes. Anjani Kumar, a Counsellor in India's UN Mission, announced the multi-year contribution at the 2017 UN Pledging Conference for Development Activities on November 6, 2017.
58. Recently, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has released a global investigation 'The Paradise Papers' that reveals the offshore interests and activities of some of the world's most powerful people and companies, including information about at least 31,000 persons or parties. India ranked 19th out of the 180 countries represented in the data in terms of the number of names. The vast of financial data could expose the secret wealth of hundreds of rich Indians, including politicians, corporate heavyweights and entertainment leaders, who are suspected to have used offshore tax havens to dodge taxes. In all, there are 714 Indians in the tally in biggest offshore data leak for alleged tax evasion. The headquarters of the ICIJ is located at Washington DC, United States.
59. India has signed $119 million of financial agreement with the World Bank (WB) for Odisha Higher Education Programme for Excellence and Equity (OHEPEE) project. The purpose of the project is to improve the quality of 'students' equitable access to selected institutions and enhance governance of the higher education system in Odisha. The closing date for the project is 30th November, 2022.
60. The Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary (TWS) is located in South Tripura District of Tripura and covers an area of about 163.08 square kilometres. It has a number of perennial water rivulets, water bodies and grass land. In this sanctuary, there are patches of virgin forests which are rich in rare vegetation. Indian Gaur (Bison) is an attraction of this sanctuary. Apart from it, there are varieties of Birds, Deers, Hollock Gibbon, Golden Langur, Capped Langur, Pheasant and many other animals and reptiles.
61. The 2nd edition of India International Cherry Blossom festival, which is the World's only autumn cherry blossom festival, has started on November 8, 2017 in Shillong, Meghalaya. The 4-day festival is being organized by Government of Meghalaya, Institute of Bio-resources and Sustainable Development with support from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations. According to Meghalaya government, such festivals will not only boost tourism but also protect and preserve the forest and wildlife biodiversity. The festival has successfully attracted a large number of tourists from different parts of the country and abroad. The festival will also have guided night walks under illuminated cherry blossoms, live music, and stalls showcasing the cuisine, wine, arts and craft of the region. In it, the state government has also released the special cover of the 2nd India International Cherry Blossom Festival Postage Stamp.
62. H S Prannoy has won the men's singles title at the 82nd Senior National Championship Senior National Badminton Championships in Nagpur, Maharashtra on November 8, 2017. He defeated higher ranked Kidambi Srikanth in the final by 21- 15, 16- 21, 21-7.
63. The 19th edition of Organic World Congress (OWC- 2017) will be held at India Expo Centre in Greater Noida from Nov 9-11. The International Federation of Organic Farming Movements (IFOAM) and OAFI are organizing the event where 55 seeds group from 15 Indian states will showcase 4,000 varieties of seeds. It will see the participation of 1,400 representatives from 110 countries, and 2000 delegates from India. The Organic World Congress (OWC) is organized once every three years in a different country and this time it is being organised in India. The last edition of the OWC took place in Istanbul, Turkey in 2014.
64. The Indo-Bangladesh joint military exercise "Sampriti-7" has started in its northeastern states of Meghalaya and Mizoram from November 6, 2017. This is the 7th edition of the joint training exercise, which will end on November 18. The 13-day exercise will be conducted at India's Jungle Warfare School at Vairengte in Mizoram and at the Joint Training Node at Umroi in Meghalaya. The purpose of the exercise is to enhance interoperability between the two nations and enrich from each other's experience while carrying out counter-insurgency or counter-terrorism operations.
65. Himachal Pradesh will be the first state to use EVMs with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines on all booths during assembly elections. The state will go to polls on November 9, 2017 in a single phase. Over 37 thousand polling personnel's have set up 7,525 polling stations for more than fifty lakh voters in different parts of the state. The election department has identified 983 as vulnerable while 399 as critical polling stations. The polling parties have also arrived in far flung areas of Pangi in Bharmour, Bara Bhangal in Baijnath and Dodra Kawar in Rohru assembly constituencies. The Kaa polling station Kinnaur tribal assembly constituency has only six voters. In Dharmashala segment of Kangra district two polling stations will be fully handled by divyang officials.
66. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted a flight test of its indigenously designed and developed long-range sub-sonic cruise missile 'Nirbhay', which can carry warheads of up to 300 kg. The state-of-the-art missile was successfully test-fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha. The missile has the capability to cruise at the speed of 0.7 Mach and loiter at altitudes as low as 100 m. Powered by a solid rocket motor booster, Nirbhay missile with a turbo-fan engine is guided by a highly advanced inertial navigation system. The missile is capable of carrying 24 kinds of war weapons, the missile is able to target multiple places simultaneously. Nirbhay is very manoeuvrable and can fly at tree-top level, making it difficult to detect on radar, and strikes targets of 1,000 km away carrying nuclear warheads, giving India the capability to strike deep into enemy territory.
67. The Nokrek National Park (NNS) is located in West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya and covers an area of 47.48 square kilometres. It is an important habitat of the Asian elephants and is also an important bird area. In 2009, UNESCO added this National park to its list of Biosphere Reserves. It is noted for its wild varieties of citrus fruits that provide a gene-pool for commercially produced citrus.
68. The 20th International Children's Film Festival of India (ICFFI) has started in Hyderabad on November 8, 2017 with New India- as the main theme this time. The Telangana government and Children's Film Society, India (CFSI) are jointly organizing the biennial children's event. 317 films from over hundred countries will be screened in about 40 theatres in Hyderabad and also at the district head quarters across the state. Of them, over hundred films will be screened in competition sections. Some of the popular international award-winning children's films are also brought for the festival this time. They include – Sweeden film 'SIV Sleeps Astray' Russian film Pitch', Netherlands film 'Sky', film from Germany Nelly's Adventure, Canada film 'Anthems: A Journey Around The World', film from Egypt-Wintry Spring.
69. Indian boxer M C Mary Kom won gold medal in 48kg category at Asian women's Boxing Championships by defeating North Korea's Kim Hyang Mi in Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam on November 8, 2017. It is her first Asian gold medal in this category.
70. Natalie Portman, an acclaimed Israeli-born actress and director, has been awarded Israel's 2018 Genesis Prize in recognition of her commitment to social causes and deep connection to her Jewish and Israeli roots. It is announced by the Genesis Prize Foundation on November 7, 2017. The $1 million award, known as "the Jewish Nobel Prize," is granted each year to a person recognised as an inspiration to the next generation of Jews through professional achievement and commitment to Jewish values. Ms. Portman is the fifth winner and first woman to receive the prize.
71. Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company has won the " 2017 General Insurance Company of the Year" award at the 21st Asia Insurance Industry Awards. The Health Insurance Company is a joint venture between Apollo Hospitals Group and the Munich Re Group The award recognises Apollo Munich's contribution in demonstrating market leadership during the qualifying period via innovation in products, services, practices, responsiveness to end-users and intermediaries, initiatives in boosting the image of insurance in society, narrowing the protection gap, and showcasing exceptional business growth through professionalism and sound management.
72. Assam's female one-horned rhino "Guppy" has been unveiled as the official mascot of the 2017 AIBA Youth Women's World Boxing Championship in Guwahati, Assam on November 7, 2017. Guppy has been chosen as it is a symbol of strength and endurance, something that Indian women are known for, traits that are also synonymous with the game of boxing. Apart from this, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Boxing Federation of India president Ajay Singh has also released the championship's official logo and anthem 'Make Some Noise'. Approx 200 participants (16-17 years) from 38 countries will take part in the event, which is scheduled to be held from November 19 to 26.
73. The Union Environment ministry has constituted a 7-member committee to continuously monitor the short-term and long-term solutions to air pollution. It will be headed by C.K Mishra, the Secretary of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The committee will meet at regular, short intervals to draw up a plan and ensure enforcement.
74. The think tank NITI Aayog in collaboration with Proffer, a blockchain startup founded by graduates of MIT and Harvard, will organise a 'Blockchain Summit' and hackathon at IIT Delhi from Nov 10-13, 2017. The objective of the event is to explore how blockchain architectures can enable a new digital infrastructure for India, improving efficiency, transparency, privacy, and cost across all sectors. 1,500+ students from IITs, MIT, Harvard, Berkeley, and top engineering institutions around the world will be participating in the event, with 500 attending in-person on IIT Delhi's campus. Multinational majors that include Microsoft, IBM, Accel, Coinbase, and Amazon AWS are sponsoring $17,000+ in prizes to reward the top 5 blockchain-based applications addressing problems in government/enterprise infrastructure, finance, energy markets, supply chain, decentralized Aadhar identities, information exchange, and more.
75. Air Force Sportsmen Sergeant Shahzar Rizvi has won a gold medal in 10 mtrs Pistol for India at recently conducted Commonwealth Shooting Championship held at Gold Coast, Australia. Sergeant Deepak Kumar won Bronze medal in 10 mtrs Air Rifle at the same event. Both are outstanding Sportsman in shooting and they have performed consistently well in their career as well. Sergeant Rizvi had also won Gold and Silver medal in 2014 & 2015 in the Senior National Shooting Championship respectively.
76. The Maharashtra government will soon set up village climate resilient committees for adopting different agricultural practices in over 5,000 villages of 15 districts in the state. A 13-member committee will be set up in all these villages to stress on adopting new agricultural practices, judicious use of water and soil testing to keep a check on its health. As per a Government Resolution (GR) issued on November 7, 2017, under the Nanaji Deshmukh Krushi Sanjivanee Project, Village Climate Resilient Agriculture Management Committees (VCRMCs) would be set up at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore. The project would be funded by the World Bank. The project recommends use of seed technology, precision farming along with diversification of agriculture to coarse grains.
77. Saina Nehwal has won the women's singles title at the 82nd Senior National Badminton Championships in Nagpur, Maharashtra on November 8, 2017. She defeated PV Sindhu in the final by 21-17, 27-25. It is her third singles title in the national championships.
78. The Mathikettan Shola National Park (MSNS) is located in Poopara village of Udumbanchola taluk in Idukki district of Kerala and covers an area of 12.82 square kilometres. It is notified as a national park to protect the wildlife and rich biodiversity of the area. It is home to beautiful and rare animals like panthers, wild elephants, spotted deer, Nilgiri tahrs and giant grizzled squirrels, etc. Among reptiles, species like rat snakes, crocodiles, vipers, cobras, turtles, lizards and pythons inhabit the park.
79. Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister of Kerala, has launched the She Pad scheme for school girls on November 8, 2017, which will be implemented in 300 government schools across 114 panchayats in Kerala. The scheme will facilitate free sanitary napkins, storage spaces for napkins and environment-friendly incinerators at all government & aided schools in the state. It is a first-of-its-kind scheme in India, which aims to raise awareness about the need for menstrual hygiene and break the taboo around the subject. The financial cost for the project, about Rs30 crore, is provided by local panchayats and Kerala State Women's Development Corporation.
80. The 5th meeting of Nepal-India Oversight Mechanism was held at Kathmandu on November 8, 2017. A comprehensive review of the progress achieved in the implementation of bilateral projects in last 4 months was made in the meeting. Both sides reiterated their commitment to the early completion of all bilateral economic and development cooperation projects within specified time frame by providing required facilities and resolving difficulties in an expeditious manner. Foreign Secretary of Nepal Shanker Das Bairagi and Ambassador of India to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri jointly chaired the meeting. The Nepal-India Oversight Mechanism was set up as agreed during then Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal India visit in September 2016. The next meeting of the mechanism will be held at Kathmandu on a mutually convenient date.
81. The Nordic-Baltic embassies will host the first-ever Nordic-Baltic Youth Film Festival in collaboration with the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi from November 13-18, 2017. The festival will offer a diverse mix of some of the most celebrated and Oscar nominated movies from the Nordic-Baltic region. This platform offers a great opportunity for Nordic-Baltic countries to reflect on the similarities and appreciate their differences. It will also prove to be a platform to enhance people-to-people relations and share the thrill, excitement and experience of watching films together. The Nordic-Baltic countries — Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden, or NB8 — are tied together geographically and historically through trade, culture and many common yet diverse value systems.
82. Dr. Renu Swarup, Senior Adviser for Department of Biotechnology (DBT), has been awarded with National Entrepreneurship Award, 2017 under Mentor (Government) category in the Recognition Track at the National Entrepreneurship Award Ceremony, 2017 in New Delhi. Dr. Swarup also holds position of Managing Director, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a Public Sector Company.
83. The third edition of international film festival "Russian Film Days" has started at Siri Fort Auditorium in Delhi on November 10, 2017 with a special tribute to Raj Kapoor. It is an initiative to strengthen the Indo-Russian relationship through cinematic and cultural exchange. During the festival over the course of three days, Delhi movie-goers will be able to watch 'The Bolshoi', 'The Ghost of Sonora', 'Yana + Yanko', 'Kitchen: World chef battle', and 'Attraction' at DT Cinemas in Saket. This year the event expanded its borders and will be held in three major cities—Delhi, Mumbai and Panaji (Goa).The festival will come to an end in Delhi on November 12 before moving to Mumbai. It will conclude at the 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Panaji, Goa from November 20.
84. The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) is an apex organization of marketing cooperatives for agricultural produce in India. Its headquarters is located in New Delhi. Recently, it is in news because Consumer Affairs Ministry led-Price Stabilization Fund Management Committee (PSFMC) has decided to import onions through government agency to augment the availability of onions in market and moderate prices in New Delhi. In it, Consumer Affairs Secretary Avinash Srivastava stated that NAFED will procure 10 thousand tonnes and the Small Farmers' Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) two thousand tonne of onions from producing areas and supply it to consuming areas to enhance its availability.
85. As many as 64 cities from 44 countries have been designated as UNESCO Creative Cities by its Director General Irina Bokova. In it, Chennai has been included in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for its rich musical tradition. Some of the other cities included along with Chennai are Alba (Italy), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Auckland (New Zealand), Cairo (Egypt), Cape Town (South Africa), Manchester (UK), and Milan (Italy). With this, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network now counts a total of 180 cities in 72 countries. From India, Jaipur and Varanasi are the other Indian cities that feature on the list.
86. The IDFC Bank has entered into a strategic alliance with mobile wallet major MobiKwik to launch a co-branded virtual Visa prepaid card for customers of MobiKwik. The customers of MobiKwik can generate a 16-digit Visa virtual card through the app and use it for e-commerce and online transactions. In it, one need not be a customer of IDFC Bank to use the co-branded pre-paid card. This pre-paid card will now allow MobiKwik users to shop from Amazon or Flipkart where currently MobiKwik wallet use is not allowed. This Visa pre-paid card is replica of the wallet and can be used anywhere.
87. The Udaypur Wildlife Sanctuary (UWS) is located in West Champaran district of Bihar and covers an area of 8.74 square kilometres. It is home to a variety of water birds, both resident and migratory. The sanctuary has areas of swamp forest, dry riverine forest, and khair-sissoo forest. It is in the Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests eco-region.
88. The 2017 Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit has started in Danang, Vietnam with theme "Creating New Dynamism, Fostering a Shared Future" on November 10, 2017. The 2-day summit will gives an opportunity to tout the benefits of global free trade. The 2017 summit will highlight Vietnamese culture, as well as represent the five components, which are as follows: Dynamism, creativity, action, unity, and movement to the future.
89. The India Disaster Response Summit has inaugurated by Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, in New Delhi on November 9, 2017. The summit is jointly organised by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Facebook to leverage social media platforms to 'prepare, respond and recover' for, during and after natural disasters in India. Facebook will now share its disaster maps, developed using aggregated, de-identified data, with NDMA. These maps can aid swift disaster response by providing real-time, actionable information. The Disaster Information Volunteers (DIV) programme, which is being executed by SEEDS, will establish a network of volunteers to provide real-time, first-hand information on disasters in their local communities. The programme will be piloted in two disaster prone states — Assam and Uttarakhand.
90. The 39th session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) was held in Paris, France. In it, India has been re-elected as the member of the UNESCO's executive board, its top decision-making body. The General Conference consists of the representatives of the States Members of the organisation. It meets every two years, and is attended by Member States and Associate Members, together with observers for non-Member States, intergovernmental organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Each country has one vote, irrespective of its size or the extent of its contribution to the budget. The General Conference determines the policies and the main lines of work of the organisation.
91. The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) will celebrate the Child Rights Week Hausla 2017 between 16 and 20 November. To mark the occasion various events will be held including Bal Sansad, painting competition, athletics meet, football, chess competition and speech writing. The country celebrates the Children's Day on 14 November and the International Child Rights Day on 20 November every year. The period between the two important events will be celebrated as Child Rights Week by WCD Ministry by hosting an Inter CCI Festival for the children who reside in Child Care Institutions (CCIs). The fest "Hausala 2017" will provide an occasion to showcase the talents of children from CCIs from various child care institutions across the country and provide them with a space to express their dreams and aspiration.
92. Haryana has become the India's first state to treat Hepatitis-C patients of all categories through oral medicine. This drug will be provided free of cost for permanent residents of all categories at the district level. The medicine and treatment costs about Rs 28,000 to Rs 30,000 in the market, but the state government would provide this facility free of cost. The disease mostly spreads through infection and the blades used by barbers were also responsible for this.
93. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has been named as the recipient of the Harmony Foundation's 2017 Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice as an acknowledgement of its exceptional work worldwide. The award will be presented to the UNHCR on December 10, 2017. The UNHCR provides humanitarian aid to innumerable people internally displaced by conflicts and helping stateless people all over the world.
94. K Chandrashekar Rao, the Chief Minister of Telangana, has declared Urdu as the state's second official language. Every office in the state will now have an Urdu speaking officer. As per reports, the state government will appoint Urdu officers in all the offices over the next 60 days to receive petitions from public and reply them in Urdu. Apart from this, all competitive examinations will also be conducted in Urdu.
95. Broadcaster Turner International India and Gujarat-based Rajgreen Group have entered into a brand partnership to set up India's first Cartoon Network branded amusement park "Amaazia" in Surat, Gujarat. The park is expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2019 on a budget of Rs 450 crore. It will spread across an area of 61,000 sq m and will have family entertainment destination with 33 theme-based attractions as well as 20 unique water-slides. It will be divided into four major sections – a theme park branded by Cartoon Network, a water park, a family recreational hub and a service apartment and retail shopping area. The park has been conceptualised and designed by the Sanderson Group, Australia. For Turner, this is the third such arrangement globally. It has a similar model in IMG Dubai and CN Amazone Water Park, in Thailand.
96. The National Legal Services Day (NLSD) is celebrated every year on November 9 to make all people aware about the functions and their activities done by the Legal Services in India. It was first started by Supreme Court of India (SCI) in the year 1995 to provide help and support to poor and weaker sections of the society. On 9th Nov 2017, the 22nd NLSD was celebrated to recognise and honour the admirable endeavours of the legal services authorities and para-legal volunteers operating in districts across the country in successfully bringing justice to the doorstep of the less privileged.
97. The Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park (MHVNP) is located at Vanasthalipuram in Hyderabad, Telangana and covers an area of 3,758 acres. The park was named after Tirthankar Mahavir Swami, a Jain saint, in commemoration of his 2500th nirvana anniversary in the year 1975. It is home to blackbucks (the state animal of Andhra Pradesh), porcupines, water monitors, short-toed eagles, Indian pond herons, egrets, kingfishers, cormorants and several other bird species.
98. Hyderabad Police Commissioner M Mahender Reddy has been appointed the new Director General of Police (DGP) of Telangana State. He will be the second DGP of the state after its formation in 2014. He succeeded Anurag Sharma, who has been appointed as advisor to Home Department of Telangana State Government. Meanwhile, Hyderabad Police Additional Commissioner V.V. Srinivas Rao will be in-charge Hyderabad Commissioner of Police.
99. Kirti Nidhi Bista (90), the former Prime Minister and veteran politician of Nepal, has passed away on November 11, 2017 in Gyaneshwor, Kathmandu. He served as Prime Minister of Nepal from 1969 to 1970, 1971 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979 and was also the Vice-chair in the government led by then King Gyanendra Shaha.
100. The 12th edition of East Asia Summit (EAS) will be held in Angeles, Philippines on November 13–14, 2017. It is a unique Leaders-led forum of 18 countries of the Asia-Pacific region formed to further the objectives of regional peace, security and prosperity. The membership of EAS consists of ten ASEAN Member States (i.e. Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam), Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation and the USA.
101. Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, the Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge), has released the India Youth Development Index (YDI) and Report 2017 in New Delhi on November 13, 2017. The Index enables recognizing the high and low performing states, identifies the weak domains and informs the policy makers the priority areas of intervention for youth development in the states. The purpose of constructing the index is to track the trends in youth development across the States. The Index will enable the policy makers track the national and the regional progress as well setbacks in youth development policies, planning, priority identification and implementation strategies. The ministry stated that the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD), Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu has come out with Youth Development Index and Report 2017. This is a pioneering attempt made by the Institute in 2010 which it followed up with the India YDI in 2017.
102. The 4-day traditional Lavi Fair has started at Rampur Bushahr in Himachal Pradesh on November 12, 2017, which was inaugurated by Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Devvrat. The 300-year-old Lavi fair is an important trade event between India and Tibet. It is a unique example of the glorious, social, cultural, economic history and legacy of Himachal Pradesh. It provides a good opportunity for people to promote and sale woolens, dry fruits and other traditional crafts and products.
103. Veteran cyclist Ashok Khale (64), who was recently injured in the suspected hit-and-run case on the Sion-Panvel highway, has passed away in the Bombay hospital during treatment on November 12, 2017. He won several medals for cycle-riding in state and national-level championships. He had represented India in Giro d'Italia event and was also called as the King of the Ghats. He was also the recipient of the Shiv Chhatrapati award.
104. Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani clinched his 17th world title after thrashing his arch-rival Mike Russell of England in the 2017 IBSF World Billiards Championship at Doha on November 12, 2017. In the best-of-11 summit clash, Advani beat Russell 6-2 to defend the 150-up format title he had won in Bengaluru last year. Advani will be eyeing a 'Grand Double' as the lengthier format (long-up) of the IBSF World Billiards Championship 2017, which will begin on November 13, 2017 at Doha.
105. Audrey Azoulay, a former Minister of Culture and Communication of France, has been appointed as the new Director-General (DG) of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). She will succeed outgoing DG Irina Bokova on November 15, 2017. The new Director will set priorities for the organization's World Heritage program that protects cultural sites and traditions. Ms Azoulay is the 11th Director-General of UNESCO and the second woman to occupy this position. She was born in Paris to a Moroccan Jewish family from Essaouira, and is the daughter of Andre Azoulay, who is current adviser to king Mohammed VI of Morocco.
106. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is organizing a National Conference with the State Governments and Service Providers to brainstorm and showcase various utilization models leveraging BharatNet infrastructure in New Delhi on November 13, 2017. The Conference will be attended by IT Ministers and IT Secretaries from States. In it, DoT will sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with states for the implementation of BharatNet Phase II. Under BharatNet Phase I, Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connectivity has reached in over 1, 00, 000 Gram Panchayats (GPs) across different States in the country. By Dec 2017, all 1, 00, 000 GPs will be operational on the BharatNet infrastructure. As of today, almost 90,000 installations have been completed and Services are expected to commence in 80,000 GPs shortly.
107. The Ghughuwa Fossil Park (GFP) is located near Shahpura in Madhya Pradesh and was declared a National Park in 1983. It was founded during the 1970s by Dr. Dharmendra Prasad, in which plant fossils belonging to 31 genera of 18 families have been identified. A eucalyptus fossil found at Ghughua is the oldest fossil of its type ever discovered and this find supports its origins from Gondwana.
108. The 4th India-Canada Annual Ministerial Dialogue has started in New Delhi on November 13, 2017. The Indian delegation is led by the Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu and the Canadian International Trade Minister, François-Philippe Champagne is leading the Canadian delegation. As per official release, India and Canada will focus on some of the key commercial drivers to enhance the India-Canada partnership in the current round of the Ministerial Dialogue. The efforts would be made to work towards the expeditious conclusion of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement for a progressive, balanced, and mutually beneficial agreement covering both goods and services. The trade ministers of both countries are likely to discuss issues to explore ways of expediting the early conclusion of the CEPA and the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement.
109. The Public Service Broadcasting Day (PSBD) is observed every year on November 12 to commemorate the first and last visit of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi to the studio of All India Radio, Delhi in 1947. He addressed the displaced people, who had temporarily settled at Kurukshetra in Haryana after partition. This year, in 2017, a function was organized at the premises of Broadcasting House, All India Radio in New Delhi to mark the occasion. Artists of All India Radio (AIR) recited favourite bhajans of Gandhiji and students of two Delhi Schools sung couple of songs on National Unity.
110. The ASEAN Business and Investment Summit 2017 (ABIS 2017) has started in Manila, Philippines from November 12 to serve as a platform for conversations among regional and global stakeholders in the ASEAN Economic Community. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading the Indian delegation in the 3-day summit.
111. Slovenia's internet-savvy President Borut Pahor has been re-elected for a second term after winning the 2017 Slovenian presidential election on November 12, 2017. Centre-left ex-premier Pahor won the run-off with roughly 53% of the vote, but the voter turnout was the lowest in any presidential election since independence in 1991.
112. Odisha and its neighboring state West Bengal will soon organize a joint security exercise named as 'Sagar Kavach' to strengthen coastal security mechanism along the 630 km long coastline. It is a real-time security exercise, which will be conducted with an aim to check the efficacy of the security parameters and preparedness of various security forces. The Indian Navy, Marine police force, Indian Coast Guard (ICG), Forest Department, Fisheries and district administration would take part in the exercise. During the course of this two-day exercise, a simulated terror attack named 'red force' will be organized at a random place along the coast of Odisha or West Bengal.
113. The 34th annual conference of the Asian Bankers Association (ABA) will be held in Mumbai, Maharashtra from November 16-17, 2017. The 2017 summit will be hosted by State Bank with theme 'Asia's turn to transform'. This year, summit will discuss the impact of the ongoing global downturn on the outlook of the Asian economies; economic consequences of the Brexit in March 2019 on Asia, the America-first policy of the Trump administration; implications of fintech on banks, among others. Approx 80 members from 25 countries will participate in the conference.
114. The 10th South Asia Economic Summit (SAES-2017) has started in Kathmandu, Nepal on November 14, 2017 with theme "Deepening Economic Integration for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in South Asia". The 3-day summit is organised by National Planning Commission and Ministry of Commerce of Nepal and South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment, Nepal. Approx 200 participants including ministers, members of parliament, former MPs, ambassadors, government officials, researchers, eminent experts and thinkers will attend the summit. The summit is a regional platform for discussing and analyzing economic and development issues and challenges faced by South Asian countries and advancing the cause of regional integration and cooperation.
115. The 7th Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan has started in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on November 14, 2017 to discuss investment opportunities in war-torn country. The political and business leaders from 40 countries are attending the conference will focus on key aspects for the economic development of Afghanistan. Representatives of 30 regional and international organizations are expected to submit their proposals on how to rebuild Afghanistan's economy after decades of violent conflict.
116. The World Diabetes Day (WDD) is observed on November 14 to promote better diabetes management among people across the globe who are or have been suffering from the condition, which is initiated by International Diabetes Federation (IDF). The 2017 theme is "Women and diabetes – our right to a healthy future". This year, the campaign will promote the importance of affordable and equitable access for all women at risk for or living with diabetes to the essential diabetes medicines and technologies, self-management education and information they require to achieve optimal diabetes outcomes and strengthen their capacity to prevent type 2 diabetes.
117. The Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR) is located inside the Buxa National Park in Alipurduar district of West Bengal and covers an area of 760-square-kilometre. It is home to tiger, civet, elephant, gaur (Indian bison), Indian boar, red jungle fowl, etc. The Endangered species found in the reserve are Indian tiger, Asian elephant, leopard cat, Bengal florican, regal python, Chinese pangolin, hispid hare, etc.
118. President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the 37th India International Trade Fair (IITF-2017) with theme "Startup India Standup India" at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on November 14, 2017. The 14-day annual event is organised by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO). Vietnam is the Partner Country, while Kyrgyzstan is the Focus Country. Jharkhand is participating as a Partner State in the event. Approx 7,000 participants from 22 countries will show case their products ranging from electronics to textiles. The fair is a symbol of India's ancient and enduring commitment to international trade.
119. India's first Tribal Entrepreneurship Summit has organised by NITI Aayog in partnership with the US government at Dantewada in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh on November 14, 2017. The event is a part of 8th Global Entrepreneurship Summit being held in India. The summit was inaugurated by Minister of State for Science and Technology YS Chowdhary. The purpose of the summit is to inspire, nurture and promote the spirit of entrepreneurship in tribal youth. The summit will see the participation of tribal entrepreneurs from various sectors across the country and abroad. The summit will be addressed by eminent speakers from NITI Aayog, health and agri-pharma sectors. The summit not only provides a platform to tribal youth but also addresses the issues faced by the tribal community in pragmatic and progressive ways.
120. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attending 12th East Asia Summit and 15th ASEAN-India Summit at Manila in Philippines on November 14, 2017. At the 15th ASEAN-India Summit, Prime Minister and ASEAN Leaders will review the commemorative activities undertaken in 2017 to mark the 25 years of India's dialogue partnership with ASEAN as well as review the broad spectrum of ASEAN-India cooperation in all its aspects. At the 12th East Asia Summit, Leaders will discuss matters of regional and international interest and concern including maritime security, terrorism, non-proliferation, irregular migration, etc. The Leaders are also expected to accept declarations on countering the spread of terrorist narratives, anti money laundering and countering financing of terrorism and poverty alleviation.
121. Aditi Ashok has become the first Indian golfer to qualify for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship-2017 on the LPGA Tour and will head to Florida to take part in the prestigious event. Apart from Aditi, Nicole Broch Larsen, Peiyun Chien, Nelly Korda , Olafia Kristensdottir, Sung Hyun Park, Madelene Sagstrom and Angel Yin are the other rookies in the field. It will be an extremely competitive field, with each of the Top 10 players taking part and 18 out of the top 20 in the world rankings participating. The $250,000 competition starts on November 16 and will played over four rounds, ending on November 19.
122. China has launched the world's first all-electric ship in Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong Province, which can travel up to 80km with 2000-tonnes cargo after a two-hour charge. The vessel, manufactured by the Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Ltd, is powered by a 26-tonne lithium battery. It can cruise at the top speed of 12.8 km per hour. As the ship do not use fossil fuels, it has zero emission, including carbon, sulphur and PM2.5 and it could be used as a passenger liner or a working ship.
123. Manu Sharma alias Hanuman Prasad Sharma (89), the noted author and Padma Shri awardee, has passed away in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh on November 9, 2017. He was nominated as one of the navratna of the Swachha Bharat Abhiyan by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency in 2014. He donated his lifetime savings of Rs 20 lakh for the renovation of a ghat in Varanasi to carry out a cleanliness campaign. He was also the recipient of the prestigious Yash Bharti Award of the Uttar Pradesh government. Sharma has authored several hindi books including Krishna Ki Atmakatha.
124. President Ramnath Kovind has launched JOHAR scheme worth Rs 1,500 cr on the occasion of State Establishment-Day in Ranchi, Jharkhand on November 15, 2017. The World Bank aided JOHAR (Jharkhand's Opportunities For Harnessing Rural Growth) scheme is aimed at doubling the income of two lakh rural poor. On this day, in 2000, Bihar was bifurcated to give birth to Jharkhand.
125. India's first offshore desalination plant will be set up by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) about 40km from the Ennore coast in Tamil Nadu with a capacity of about 10 million litres of water per day. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the plant, which is estimated to cost Rs 2,000 crore, has been submitted to the Centre for approval. The offshore plant is designed and built by NIOT scientists. The plant will operate on the indigenously developed Low Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD), a low cost and environment friendly technology to get potable water. The technology is based on the temperature difference in seawater at different depths.
126. The 15th edition of Asia Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team (APCERT) Conference has started in New Delhi with theme "Building Trust in the Digital Economy" from November 12-15, 2017. It is organized by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) under the aegis of Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology. This is the first ever conference in India and South Asia, and is expected to be attended by 21 economies. The conference is expected to be attended by over 300 cyber security professionals from the Asia Pacific region, USA, Europe, Industry, Academia, Government and Media.
127. Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu has inaugurated the 2017 AP Ag Tech summit, which is organized by the Andhra Pradesh government in Visakhapatnam from November 15. The purpose of the 3-day summit is to bring cut edge technologies in the agriculture and allied sectors to support the small and marginal farmers. About 1,500 delegates from the national and international agencies are participating in the summit. The summit is organized in association with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Dalberg Advisors. It will discuss on innovative ideas, technologies and global best practices to push agricultural transformation in the state.
128. Dr. Subhash Bhamre, the Raksha Rajya Mantri, has represented the Government of India at the 'UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial: Vancouver 2017', which is held between November 14-15, 2017. It was 2nd time Dr. Bhamre attended the conference. He will be speaking on November 15. Over 500 delegates from more than 70 countries and international organisations gathered at the Defence Ministerial in Vancouver. Along with representatives from the African Union, the European Union, NATO and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, these delegates discussed improvements to UN peacekeeping operations.
129. Ganga Kumari, the resident of Raniwara in Jalore district of Rajasthan, has become the first transgender to be appointed in Rajasthan Police. On 13th November 2017, the Rajasthan High Court had directed the police department to appoint Ganga Kumari as a constable within six weeks, after officials denied her a post due to her gender and reported lack of clarity of rules in 2015. She was selected in the police recruitment examination for constables in 2013. However, her appointment was held up following the medical examination, which brought to the recruiters' notice that she was a eunuch.
130. The Chail Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) is located at Chail, a hill station which is abode of wildlife, in Himachal Pradesh and covers an area of 110 square-kilometre. It houses rhesus macaque, leopard, Indian muntjac, goral, porcupine, wild boar, langur and Himalayan black bear. It also has prevented few endangered species of reptiles and birds. The sanctuary is well connected with major routes of Shimla and Chandigarh.
131. The Saudi Arabian government has officially declared Yoga as a 'Sports Activity'. With this, Yoga is now an official sport practiced under Saudi Ministry of trade and industry. This means that anyone in Saudi Arabia who wants to practice can do so just by getting a license and the person shall not be disapproved or face any consequences for the same. Nouf Al Marwaai is the first Saudi woman teaching yoga and has been recognized as the driving force behind the development of yoga in Saudi Arabia.
132. India's longest expressway from Agra to Lucknow will soon provide free Wi-Fi services on the entire 302-kilometre stretch. As per officials, the UP government has offered to provide space to lay an optical fiber cable (OFC) along the expressway. The plan is to earn revenue to maintain the expressway and gain from the agreement with the private firm by leasing rights to lay the OFCs to offer free WiFi along the entire stretch. this will also help the state to have a world-class advanced traffic management system (ATMS) for convenience and safety. Safety will be assured by the usage of traffic monitoring and event detection along with speed enforcement through a network of CCTV cameras and phone helplines at every two kilometers.
133. Scientist Dr Vijay Prasad Dimri has been appointed as the president of the 36th International Geological Congress (IGC), a global platform for the advancement of earth science, to be held in New Delhi from March 2 -8, 2020. He succeeded Shailesh Nayak. India is hosting the IGC in 2020 after a period of 56 years. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is the nodal agency for organizing this conference with active support of Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and the support of science academies of Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
134. Kunwar Narayan (90), the renowned poet in Indian literature, has passed away in New Delhi on November 15, 2017. He was honoured with many awards such as Sahitya Akademi Award in Hindi (1995), Jnanpith Award (2005) and Padma Bhushan (2009).
135. RBI Governor Urjit Patel has been appointed as advisory board member of the Financial Stability Institute (FSI) of the Bank of International Settlement (BIS). The FSI assists financial sector authorities worldwide in strengthening their financial systems. The FSI was jointly created in 1998 by the BIS and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Among other mandates, the FSI seeks to promote cross-sectoral and cross-border supervisory contacts and cooperation. The BIS is an international financial organisation owned by 60 member central banks across the world.
136. Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan will be honoured with personality of the year award at the 2017 International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. The award will be given during IFFI which will be held from November 20-November 28. Mr. Bachchan has starred in over 190 Indian films in a career spanning almost five decades. He has won four national awards for best actor and 15 Filmfare Awards. IFFI founded in 1952, is considered to be one of the most prestigious film festivals in Asia.
137. The National Press Day (NPD) is celebrated every year on November 16 as a symbolic of a free and responsible press in India. This was the day on which the Press Council of India (PCI) started functioning as a moral watchdog to ensure that not only did the press maintain the high standards expected from this powerful medium but also that it was not fettered by the influence or threats of any extraneous factors.
138. The 5th edition of Global Conference on Cyberspace (GCCS-2017) will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on November 23. The main objective of the 2-day conference is to have mutual understanding of latest practices in cyberspace, more coordination and security measures. Over 2000 delegates & representatives from over 100 countries will participate in this conference. The theme of the conference will be "Cyber for all: An Inclusive, Sustainable, Developmental, Safe and Secure Cyberspace". It is first time that India is hosting such conference. The GCCS is a prestigious international conference that aims at encouraging dialogue among stakeholders of cyberspace.
139. Superstars Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth have been chosen by the Andhra Pradesh government for the prestigious NTR National Film Award for the years 2014 and 2016 respectively. Ace director K. Raghavendra Rao will receive the same award for 2015. The award was instituted in the memory of Telugu film legend and former Chief Minister Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao. The award comprises a cash component of Rs 5 lakh and a memento. Beside this, "Baahubali" director S.S. Rajamouli has been chosen for the B.N. Reddy National Film Award for the year 2014 while prominent Telugu film directors, Trivikram Srinivas and Boyapati Srinivas will get the award for 2015 and 2016. Megastar and Rajya Sabha member K. Chiranjeevi and former Union Minister U. Krishnam Raju will be bestowed with the Raghupati Venkaiah Award. The ceremony is expected to take place in January 2018 in Vijayawada, along with the Nandi Awards for best Telugu films.
140. The Gajner Wildlife Sanctuary (GWS) is located at a distance of about 32.0 km from Bikaner in Rajasthan. There is a lake in this sanctuary and a variety of animals come here to quench their thirst in summer. It is a lush green forest which is a haven to the nilgai, chinkara, black buck, wild boar, flocks of imperial sand grouse and many other species of migratory birds that make the sprawling forest their winter home. This is one of the proposed forests for the reintroduction of cheetahs in India.
141. The UN Climate Change Conference (COP23) has concluded on November 17, 2017 after two weeks of talks in Boon, Germany. Envoys from nearly 200 countries, including delegates from Washington, negotiated on implementing the Paris climate change agreement including a rulebook to be adopted next year and for enacting the global deal reached to cheers and champagne in 2015. The Paris pact commits countries to limiting average global warming to under two degrees Celsius over Industrial Revolution levels, and 1.5 Celcius if possible, to avert worst-case-scenario climate change. The November 6-17 conference is the first of the UN's climate body since US President Donald Trump announced in June that the US will withdraw from the agreement. Meanwhile, United States again expressed its desire to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
142. International rating agency Moody's Investors Service has recently upgraded the Government of India (GoI)'s local and foreign currency issuer ratings to Baa2 from its lowest investment grade (Baa3) and changed the outlook on the rating to stable from positive. Moody's has also upgraded India's local currency senior unsecured rating to Baa2 from Baa3 and its short-term local currency rating to P-2 from P-3. The decision to upgrade the ratings is underpinned by Moody's expectation that continued progress on economic and institutional reforms will enhance India's high growth potential. Though, the global ratings agency cautioned that high debt burden remains a constraint on the country's credit profile. Moody's has revised the sovereign rating of India a notch above investment grade after a long gap of 14 years. Interestingly, the last time the global rating has revised the rating was when the BJP government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in power.
143. The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will set up Next Gen-Bioscope Village at Panaji in Goa on 21st November 2017, as part of the IFFI Next Gen side bar program aimed at involving greater participation from the local Goan audience. It will be inaugurated by actress Shraddha Kapoor. The Bioscope Village is open to all with a entry fee of Rs. 50 from 21st to 27th of November. The Village is a concept based on the theme New Age Cinema for allowing non-delegates to watch films at the IFFI. The Bioscope Village will screen new and classic films including Children movies. In addition, 'Katta' talk session will also be held with some noted celebrities like Nana Patekar, Sachin Khedekar, Sonali Kulkarni, Dilip Prabhavalkar and Sushant Singh Rajput. The village will also host a skill studio aimed at honing cinematic skills through special sessions on a diverse range of topics. It will also host a short film competition for all delegates who are participating in the Festival. The theme for the short film festival is 'IFFI as never seen before'. The winners will be announced on 27th of November.
144. Pandit Jagdish Mohan (87), the renowned Hindustani vocalist of Kirana Gharana, has passed away in New Delhi on November 14, 2017. He hailed from Uttarakhand's Haridwar and was born on March 4, 1930. Pt Mohan was honoured with the Sangeet Sartaj award by Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh for his vast contribution to Indian classical music. He was a regular performer at the All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan.
145. Sethurathnam Ravi, the noted chartered accountant, has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Bombay Stock Exchange with effect from November 13, 2017. Ravi succeeded Dhirendra Swarup. Presently, Ravi serves as a Director on boards of various companies such as UTI Trustee Company, S Ravi Financial Management Services, SMERA Ratings, SBI-SG Global Securities, IDBI Bank, STCI Finance, Tourism Finance Corporation of India and BOI Merchant Bankers. Besides, he is member of the working group, constituted by Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, for suggesting possible modalities for creation of an institutional structure on corporate social responsibilities matters. Also, he is a member of SEBI's takeover panel, as well as mutual funds advisory committee.
146. The Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu has inaugurated 'Aadi Mahotsav' – a fortnight long Tribal Festival with the theme of 'A Celebration of the Spirit of Tribal Culture, Cuisine and Commerce' on 16 Nov 2017 at Dilli Haat in New Delhi. Over 750 tribal artisans from over 25 States are participating in the festival. The 15-day festival will feature exhibition-cum-sale of tribal handicrafts, art, paintings, fabric, jewellery and much more through about 200 stalls. A special feature of the festival is Tribal India cuisine, recreated and presented in delectable forms to suit urban tastes by special tribal chefs.
147. The Navegaon National Park (NNP) is located in the Gondia district of Maharashtra and covers an area of 133.78 km2. It is an important conservation unit in Central India in general and Vidarbha in particular. It acts a "Green-lung" for the adjoining human settlements and helps in maintaining the environmental balance. It is a home to number of fishes, 209 species of birds, 9 species of reptiles and 26 species of mammals which includes Tiger, Panther, Jungle cat, Small India Civet, Palm Civet, Wolf, Jackals, Bisons, Sambars, etc. The one of the unique features of this sanctuary is the existence of diverse vegetation type ranging from dry mixed forests to moist forests. Its forests belong to the category of "Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests" – 5A/C3 as per the revised classification of the forests by Champion and Seth.
148. Shagun Chowdhary from Rajasthan has bagged a national champion crown on winning the women's trap event at the 61st National Shooting Championship in New Delhi on November 16, 2017. In the final, she overcame the challenge from Punjab's Rajeshwari Kumari to prevail 41-38. Chowdhary is the first Indian woman to qualify for the Olympic trap shooting event. She finished in 20th place in the trap shooting event at the 2012 London Summer Olympics. She is supported by the Olympic Gold Quest.
149. The 4th Global Conference on Sustained Eradication of Child Labour was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from November 14-16, 2017. The conference has been organized jointly by Government of Argentina and International Labour Organization (ILO). The Conference was a call to action to redouble efforts in the fight against child labor and modern slavery, in line with Target 8.7 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More than 1,500 delegates from 193 countries attended the Conference.
150. The Maharashtra government has constituted a 7-member committee headed by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sudhir Shrivastava to recommend ways to stop the custodial deaths. The formation of the panel comes in the wake of the custodial death of Aniket Kothale in Sangli city earlier in November 2017. The committee will also recommend measures so that people get proper treatment at police stations. It will also take into account the government circulars issued in the past as well as the judgments of the high court and Supreme Court.
151. R.K. Singh, Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, launched the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana – 'Saubhagya' Web Portal on November 17, 2017. The web portal is a platform for monitoring household electrification progress, which would disseminate information on Household Electrification Status (State, District, village-wise), Household Progress on live basis, State-wise Target vs Achievement, Monthly Electrification Progress, etc.The portal can be accessed at http://saubhagya.gov.in.
152. As per Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat scheme, the Madhya Pradesh Government has partnered with Nagaland and Manipur to strengthen cultural relations between them. For this, the MP Govt has made its Higher Education Department as a nodal department to execute the scheme. The team of MP will participate in Sangai Mahotsav which is being organized in Manipur. Similarly, teams of Manipur and Nagaland will take part in Lok Rang and Bal Rang programmes to present their cultural programmes and to apprise people with their culture. The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31, 2015 with the prime objective to celebrate the unity in diversity culture of the country and to embolden the sentimental bonds between the people of different states.
153. The Telangana government has signed a MoU with the Patanjali group with an aim to set up 'Food Park'. The Patanjali Group will set up a large food park in Telangana with units for processing edible oil, fruit pulp and spices.
154. Chakravarthi AVPS, Hyderabad-based packaging professional, has been appointed as Ambassador of World Packaging Organisation (WPO) at the 99th board meeting of WPO in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The recognition is bestowed on him for his contribution to the Indian and global packaging industry for over 30 years. With this, he has become the first Asian to be appointed as ambassador of WPO. Chakravarthi is the CEO and managing director of Hyderabad-based Ecobliss India. He has the distinction of working for several companies, including Ballarpur Industries, Akerlund & Rausing, Huhtamaki, Pragati among others.
155. France will host the 2023 Rugby World Cup , according to the global governing body "World Rugby". The country beat strong bids by South Africa and Ireland. Interestingly, the 2023 World Cup will take place in the year of the 200th anniversary of the legendary 'invention' of the sport by William Webb Ellis.The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. Japan will host the 2019 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held from September 20 to November 2.
156. Gopinath R., the famous Child Care activist from Bengaluru, has been chosen for Prof. Yashwantrao Kelkar Youth Award 2017 in appreciation of his work for "Child care, protection and development. The award will be given to him at the 63rd National Conference of ABVP at Ranchi, Jharkhand on December 2. The award consists of Rs 50,000/- in cash, a certificate and a memento. It was instituted by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in memory of Late Prof. Yashwantrao Kelkar.
157. Sergio Ramirez Mercado, the Nicaraguan author and former politician, has won the 2017 Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world's highest literary honor. He has written more than 20 novels, including "Margarita, esta linda la mar" (Margarita, How Beautiful the Sea), which won Spain's prestigious Alfaguara award in 1998. The 125,000-euro ($148,000) Cervantes Prize is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote.
158. Two-time Olympic-medallist Sushil Kumar, India's lone woman Olympic medal winner Sakshi Malik and Geeta Phogat won gold medal in their respective categories in the National Wrestling championship in Indore on November 17, 2017. Sushil Kumar took less than three minutes to bag a gold medal as three of his rivals gave him a walkover in men's 74kg freestyle competition. Sakshi finished on the top of the podium after posting a dominating 10-0 victory over Pooja Tomar of Haryana in the final of women's 62kg, while Geeta clinched the yellow metal with a win against Ravita in the final of 59kg category.
159. The first-ever Namami Barak festival has started at Police Parade ground in Silchar, Assam on November 18, 2017. The 3-day river festival is an attempt to pay tribute to the River Barak and to showcase of Barak's potential & possibilities to emerge as a hub of trade and commerce. The cultural heritage of the valley together with its cuisine, fauna and flora, socio-economic and civic splendor will be showcased before the global audience during the festival. The event is being organised at 3 locations in Barak Valley also known as Southern Assam. Silchar will be the main event area while other two locations are Hailakandi and Karimganj district.
160. The Nameri National Park (NNP) is located in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in the Sonitpur District of Assam and covers an area of 200 km2. This forest has over 600 species. Some notable species are Gmelina arborea, Michelia champaca, Amari and Bonjolokia. The park is an ideal habitat for a host of other animals including the tiger, leopard, sambar, dhole (the Asiatic wild dog), pygmy hog and Indian wild bison. It is home for orchids like Dendrobium, Cymbidiumand Cypripedioideae.
161. Acclaimed Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan will be honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the 2017 International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which is to be held in Panaji, Goa from November 20th to 28th. Egoyan is best known for his films "Exotica", "The Sweet Hereafter" and "Chloe". Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan will inaugurate the Film Festival. Over 200 films would be screened during the festival. Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi's movie "Beyond The Clouds" will be the opening film of the fest, while Indo-Argentine film "Thinking of Him" by filmmaker Pablo Cesar will be the closing film of the festival.
162. Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi (72), the veteran Congress leader, has passed away in New Delhi on November 20, 2017. He was on life support system after he suffered a massive stroke which left him paralysed in 2008. He represented the Raiganj (Lok Sabha constituency) of West Bengal and was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. Mr Dasmunsi served as Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs. He was elected to Lok Sabha five times.
163. At the 8th edition of the Tata Literature festival-2017, the book "Age of Anger: A History of the Present" has won the Book of the Year Award 2017 in the Non–Fiction category. The book was authored by Pankaj Mishra. Apart from this, the fiction top honour was bagged by Easterine Kire's 'Son of the Thundercloud'. Tata Trusts' Big Little Book Awards' for Author in Bengali Children's Literature, went to Nabaneeta Dev Sen. Actor-playwright Girish Karnad was conferred with Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution in the field of theatre at the Tata Literature Live in Mumbai on November 20, 2017.
164. Dr Manmohan Singh, the former Prime Minister of India, will be honoured with the 2017 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for his leadership of the country between 2004 and 2014 and for enhancing India's stature globally. According to a statement from the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, Dr Singh was unanimously chosen for the award by an international jury chaired by former President Pranab Mukherjee. The Trust stated that Dr Singh is only the third Indian prime minister to complete two full terms as the PM between 2004 and 2014. The award, named after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was announced on the eve of Gandhi's birth anniversary on November 19, 2017.
165. Manushi Chillar from India, the damsel from Haryana, has won the coveted Miss World 2017 pageant at a glitzy event in Sanya, China. She is a trained Indian classical dancer who also enjoys painting and hopes to open a chain of non-profit hospitals in rural areas. Chillar is the 6th Indian to become Miss World, following in the footsteps of Bollywood actresses Priyanka Chopra and Aishwarya Rai. Aishwarya had bagged the title in 1994, followed by Diana Haydon in 1997, Yukta Mookhey in 1999 and Priyanka in 2000.
166. The World Toilet Day (WTD) is an official United Nations international observance day to raise awareness and inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis. It is observed every year on November 19 and the 2017 theme is "Wastewater".
167. The 42nd World Congress of the International Committee of Military Medicine (ICMM) has started in New Delhi on November 19, 2017. The 5-day event is organised for the first time in India, and is the largest medical conference ever organised by the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS). The theme of this 42nd World Congress is "Military Medicine in Transition: Looking Ahead". The ICMM is an international inter-governmental organisation created in 1921 with its secretariat at Brussels in Belgium and currently has 112 nations as members. Approx350-400 foreign delegates from 80 countries are participating in the event.
168. The 2017 Women's Youth World Boxing Championship (YWBC) has started in Guwahati, Assam on November 19, 2017. Approx 200 participants from 38 countries will be seen in action in this knockout tournament. The preliminaries will take place from November 19 to 22, the semi-finals on November 24 and 25 and the finals on November 26.
169. Afghanistan U-19 cricket team has clinched the 2017 Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Under-19 Asia Cup tournament by defeating Pakistan in the final by 185-run at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on November 19, 2017. It is their first Asia Cup title.
170. Jana Novotna (49), a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic, has passed away in Brno, Czech Republic on November 19, 2017. She won the women's singles title at Wimbledon in 1998, 12 Grand Slam women's doubles titles and four mixed doubles titles. She was also inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 in 1997, and achieved the No. 1 ranking in doubles.
171. The world's biggest toilet pot model was launched at Marora, popularly known as the 'Trump village', in Haryana on the World Toilet Day (WTD) on November 19, 2017 in a bid to create awareness towards sanitation and use of toilets. A mega pot of toilet is made up of iron, fibre, wood and plaster of Paris — measuring 20×10 feet. The nondescript village, with a population of 1800, in Mewat region was in June rechristened as 'Trump village' by NGO Sulabh International Social Service Organisation.
172. Popular Bengali writer Nabaneeta Dev Sen has been has been declared winner of the 2017 Big Little Book Award in the "Author in Bengali Language" category for her contribution to the children's literature. The Big Little Book Award, a first-of-its-kind initiative in India, seeks to recognise and honour authors and illustrators who have contributed to children's literature that are global in appeal and contextual in nature. The award has been instituted under Parag initiative of Tata Trusts to promote children's literature.
173. The 8th edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit-2017 will be held at Hyderabad from November 28th. The summit is being co-hosted by India and the USA and for the first time it is being held in South Asia. This year the theme of the Summit is "Women First, Prosperity for All". The event will focus on supporting women entrepreneurs and fostering economic growth globally. It will focus on four areas- Energy and Infrastructure, Digital Economy and Financial Technology, Health and Life Sciences and Media and Entertainment. In it, women will represent 52.5% of entrepreneurs, investors and ecosystem supporters at the Summit. The summit will have participation from 150 countries and women from 127 countries are participating.
174. India has been ranked 51st globally in terms of ability to attract, develop and retain talent while Switzerland topped the list compiled by leading global business school IMD. The annual IMD World Talent Ranking covered 63 countries and assessed the methods the countries adopted to attract and retain talent. The rankings are based on a country's performance in three main categories – investment and development, appeal, and readiness – and India was ranked 62nd, 43rd and 29th on these terms. Globally, Europe continues to dominate the rankings, with Switzerland, Denmark, and Belgium being the most competitive countries. Austria, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Sweden and Luxembourg made up the top 10.
175. The Hyderabad based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in association with the Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR) has developed Improved Samba Masuri (ISM) variety rice with low Glycemic Index. Rice with low Glycemic Index is considered suitable for people with diabetics. The new variety is also resistant to bacteria blight. The ISM has lowest Glycemic Index of 50.99 against the normal 53 to 70 in several rice varieties. It has shown better yield and fine grain type enhancing its market potential and profit for farmers. The scientists stated that the new variety is not a transgenic one and they did molecular breeding in CCMB and traditional rice breeding at the rice research institute. The ISM has been grown in 1.3 lakh hectares in 7 states including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The IIRR is a rice research institute located at Rajendranagar, Hyderabad.
176. The sixth edition of India's premier open water swimming competition " Swimmathon" will be held at Colva beach in South Goa on December 3, 2017. The event had been accredited by the Swimming Federation of India (SFI) as the national selection trials. This year, the event will have four categories for both men and women. Around 1000 participants are expected to participate in the event across various categories.
177. The World Fisheries day (WFD) is celebrated every year on November 21 throughout the world by the fisherfolk communities holding rallies, workshops, public meetings, cultural programs and exhibition to highlight the importance of maintaining the world's fisheries. The day helps in highlighting the critical importance to human lives, of water and the lives it sustains, both in and out of water. A recent United Nations study reported that more than two-thirds of the world's fisheries have been overfished or are fully harvested and more than one third are in a state of decline because of factors such as the loss of essential fish habitats, pollution, and global warming.
178. The exercise code-named India-Myanmar Bilateral Army Exercise (IMBAX) has started at the Joint Warfare Centre at Umroi near Shillong in Meghalaya on November 20, 2017. The week-long Army warfare exercise by India and Myanmar is aimed at building and promoting closer relations with armies of the neighbouring countries. The six-day training exercise also aims to train the officers of Myanmar Army in various United Nations Peacekeeping roles and tasks.
179. India and Russia have recently agreed to implement the general declaration for visa free entry of the crew of chartered and scheduled flights between the two countries. A pact on the issue was signed here recently by officials of the two countries. The agreement will facilitate visa-free entry, stay and exit of crew of aircraft of the designated airlines as well as other aircraft companies operating chartered and special flights in the respective territories on reciprocal basis. According to official estimates, around 1,200 scheduled flights ply between India and Russia every year. Moreover, about 1,100 Russian chartered flights arrive in India every year. A majority of them land in Goa with Russian tourists.
180. President Ram Nath Kovind has inaugurated the Manipur Sangai Festival at Palace Compound in Imphal on November 21, 2017. The festival will reflect the State's proud cultural heritage and the love for art which is inherent amongst various tribes inhabiting the State of Manipur. It will showcases the best of what the state has to offer to the world in terms of art and culture, handloom, handicrafts & fine arts, indigenous sports, cuisines & music, eco & adventure sports as well as the scenic natural beauty of the land. It is named after the State animal 'Sangai' the brow-antlered deer found only in Manipur. The galaxy of foreign dignitaries including ambassadors of South-East Asian countries and some western countries will also attend the inaugural function of the 10-day state festival. A two-day North-East Development Summit will also be opened by the President today as a part of the festival at City Convention Centre in the capital Imphal. As many as 175 delegates including official representatives of foreign countries and multi-national corporate firms are also attending the Summit.
181. Pondicherry University library has bagged the Highest Profile Registration category award for effective utilisation of the J-Gate@eShodhSindhu platform. University librarian R. Samyuktha received the award at the first J-Gate@eShodhSindhu Forum and Information and Library Network Centers (INFLIBNET) meet jointly organised by INFLIBNET and Informatics Publishing Ltd, held at Gandhi Nagar recently. Pondicherry University is a member of the consortia of leading universities in the country for access to e-resources including electronic journals and electronic databases for major publishers.
182. Veteran journalist Manik Banerjee, who is also an acclaimed mountaineer, has been conferred with the 2017 Nain Singh-Kishen Singh Life Time Achievement (LTA) award by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) on November 19 for his achievements in mountaineering over a period of four decades and invaluable contribution in promotion of mountaineering. Beside him, Lt col RS Jamwal was presented the IMF Gold Medal. Lt. Col Jamwal has the distinction of reaching the top of Mt. Everest thrice (in 2013, 2016 and 2017) besides climbing many other peaks in Indian Himalaya.
183. Sudip Datta Bhowmik (49), the noted journalist was shot dead under mysterious circumstances at a battalion headquarters of Tripura State Rifles (TSR) near Agartala on November 21, 2017. He was working for a vernacular daily 'Syandan Patrikaand' and was also contributing to local television channel 'News Vanguard'.
184. The Universal Children's Day (UCD) is observed every year on November 20 throughout the world to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide and improving children's welfare. The 2017 theme is 'Kids Take Over'. The day was established in 1954, offers each of us an inspirational entry-point to advocate, promote and celebrate children's rights, translating into dialogues and actions that will build a better world for Children
185. Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim, an acclaimed South African Indian-origin AIDS researcher, has been appointed as a UNAIDS Special Ambassador for Adolescents and HIV. Professor Abdool Karim is one of the world's leading AIDS researchers and has made pioneering contributions to understanding the HIV epidemic among young people, especially among young women. She is a strong advocate for the rights of people living with and affected by HIV. In her new role as a UNAIDS Special Ambassador, Abdool Karim will focus on adolescents and HIV, while also championing the involvement of young women in science.
186. The Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) is located in the Rajsamand District of Rajasthan and covers an area of 578 km2. It is home to Indian wolf, Indian leopard, sloth bear, striped hyena, Golden jackal, jungle cat, sambhar, nilgai, chausingha, etc.
187. The Government of India (GoI) has signed a $98 million loan agreement and $2 million grant agreement with World Bank (WB) for "Shared Infrastructure for Solar Parks Project (SISPP)". The project will finance the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA), to provide sub-loans to select states to invest in various solar parks, mostly under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy's (MNRE) Solar Park Scheme. The purpose of the project is to increase solar generation capacity through establishment of large-scale parks in the country. The project will help establish large-scale solar parks and support the government's plan to install 100 Gigawatts (GW) of solar power out of a total renewable-energy target of 175 GW by 2022.
188. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is observing 'Vasectomy Fortnight' from November 21 to raise awareness about male sterilisation and to promote the participation of men in family planning. Under this awareness campaign, all states and union territories will observe Vasectomy Fortnight till December 4, 2017 by providing quality of male sterilization services at public health facilities. The theme for this campaign is "Zimmedar Purush ki yehi hai Pehchan, Parivar Niyojan mein jo de Yogdaan". The Vasectomy fortnight will be observed up to block level with a focus on family planning service delivery along with information, education, communication, and advocacy.
189. Andhra Bank has launched a new scheme "Pattabhi Sitaramayya — Self Business Group (PS-SBG)" on November 21, 2017 to encourage entrepreneurship. The scheme was launched to commemorate the 138th birth anniversary of its founder Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya, and the Silver Jubilee of the SHG-Bank linkage programme in the country. Under the scheme, maximum financial assistance will be Rs. 25 lakh without collateral security. The Self Help Groups (SHGs), which have had five years of association with Andhra Bank, will be eligible for the scheme. The SHGs should also have completed three credit rotations with good repayment record to be considered eligible. The bank aims to encourage SHGs to Self Business Group model by helping these collectives take up substantial economic activity. Bank will also facilitate capacity building workshops for SHG members.
190. J P Nadda, the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, has inaugurated the 1st World Conference on Access to Medical Products and International Laws for Trade and Health in New Delhi. The Conference is organized by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare with the support of WHO Country Office for India and in partnership with Indian Society of International Law. The purpose of the conference is to exchange knowledge and expand understanding on contemporary issues in international trade laws and research and innovation for access to medical products to achieve SDG 2030 agenda.
191. The 5th edition of Global Conference on Cyber Space (GCCS) has inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on November 23, 2017. The theme of the conference is "Cyber for All: A Secure and Inclusive Cyberspace for Sustainable Development". The main objective of the conference is to have mutual understanding of latest practices in cyberspace, more coordination and security measures. For the first time, the event is being organized in India. The representatives from 124 countries and 33 Ministerial delegates from 31 countries including Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremasinghe will attend the conference. nternational leaders, policymakers, industry experts, think tanks and cyber experts will deliberate on issues and challenges for optimally using cyber space. The conference will promote the importance of inclusiveness and human rights in global cyber policy.
192. Emmerson Mnangagwa, the former Vice President, will be sworn in as the President of the Zimbabwe on November 24, 2017 after the resignation of Robert Mugabe following a military intervention. The ruling ZANU-PF party has nominated him to fill the vacancy left by Mr Robert Mugabe. Mr Mugabe stepped down on November 21 after 37 years ruling the country. Mr Mnangagwa's dismissal from the Vice President post led the ruling party and the military to intervene and forced Mr Mugabe to resign.
193. The Union Cabinet has recently approved the setting up of the 15th Finance Commission which will assess the tax resources of the nation and suggest a formula for their devolution among states. Its recommendations will have to be in place before April 1, 2020 and will takes 2 years for Finance Commission to give its recommendations. As per Article 280 of the Constitution, the Commission is required to make recommendations on the distribution of the net proceeds of taxes between the Centre and the states. The Commission also suggests the principles which should govern the grants in aid of the revenues of the states out of the Consolidated Fund of India. The 14th Finance Commission was set up on January 2, 2013. Its recommendations cover the period from April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2020.
194. The Union Government has recently constituted a task force to review the Income Tax Act 1961 and draft a new direct tax law in consonance with current economic needs. CBDT member Arbind Modi will be the convener of task force while Chief Economic Adviser Dr. Arvind Subramanian will be a permanent Special Invitee. The task force will draft an appropriate direct tax legislation keeping in view the direct tax system in various countries, international best practices and economic needs of the country. It will submit its report within six months.
195. Indian railways has installed Asia's largest Solid State Interlocking (SSI) system at Kharagpur in West Bengal, which will enable station masters to set 800 different routes for trains in a matter of minutes. Interlocking is a railway signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements of trains through an arrangement of tracks such as junctions or crossings. The cutting-edge technology is installed at a cost of Rs 39 crore, which replaces the pre-1989 route relay system that only allowed operators to set maximum 423 routes, ensures that no cross-movement takes place. The SSI software will also detect the routes a particular train can take and inform the station masters working at the panel, bringing down the operation time and the possibility of human error. It will reduce the possibility of accidents.
196. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) through the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) will conduct a multi-State mega mock exercise on tsunami preparedness on November 24, 2017. The exercise will be simultaneously conducted in 31 coastal districts across four States – West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu – and Union Territory Puducherry along the entire East Coast. The participants from 11 Pacific Island countries will observe the entire exercise to take away key lessons and best practices to be adopted while preparing for and responding to a disaster situation. The exercise is one of the various activities planned on the occasion of the 2nd World Tsunami Awareness Day (WTAD) held on November 5 this year. India's eastern coast is susceptible to both floods and tsunamis and many coastal districts have conducted similar mock exercises for better preparedness over the years.
197. Shubhangi Swaroop, a native of Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, has become the first-ever female pilot to be inducted into the Indian Navy and will soon be fly Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft. Besides Swaroop, Astha Segal from New Delhi, Puducherry's Roopa A and Sakthi Maya S from Kerala also created history by becoming the country's first women officers at the Naval Armament Inspection (NAI) branch of the Navy. They are among the 328 midshipmen and cadets who had passed out of the Ezhimala Naval Academy in Kerala on November 22, 2017. All the four will be undergoing subsequent professional training in their respective chosen branches before being employed on duty. The NAI branch looks after the inspection and assessment of the arms and weapons of the country's naval force.
198. The Rowa Wildlife Sanctuary (RWS) is located in Tripura and covers an area of only 0.86 square kilometres. The sanctuary is known for varies rare species plants and animals providing immense scope for the botany and zoology experts. According to statistics, the small sanctuary is a safe abode for 150 species of birds, wild beasts and primates.
199. The Rajasthan government has launched an educational mobile app "Dishari" that will provide free study materials for youths preparing for competitive examinations. The app was developed by Imran Khan, a Sanskrit teacher and web developer from Alwar. The app has over 9,400 questions on topics ranging from current affairs and general knowledge to mathematics and reasoning. It will also send updates to students regarding exam forms, exams and job opportunities. The app will also provide the current Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) and National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) statuses of the colleges.
200. The first- ever North East Development Summit (NEDS) 2017 was inaugurated by President of India Ram Nath Kovind in Imphal, Manipur, which was held on November 21-22, 2017. The NEDS 2017 was jointly organized by Manipur State Government in collaboration with Union Commerce Ministry and India Foundation. The main purpose of this summit was to showcase the economic potential and to attract investments in food processing, bamboo industry, real estate and other businesses within the state. During the course of this Summit, approx 20 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) were signed between various Departments of Manipur State Government and National and International Companies/Investors. Approx 175 delegates including various foreign delegates attended the event.
201. Basel, a city in northwestern Switzerland, will become the first city to jointly host the Badminton and Para Badminton World Championships after it was awarded the 2019 edition of the Para event. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) confirmed on November 23, 2017 that the two tournaments will be staged simultaneously for the first time. The Swiss city defeated Tokyo to land the 2019 Para Badminton World Championships in a vote which was delayed by the BWF Council to allow "further discussion". The event will be the last held in the sport before Para Badminton makes its Paralympic Games debut at Tokyo 2020. There will be 14 medal events in badminton at the 2020 Paralympic Games.
202. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched Umang mobile application, an integrated platform for government to citizen services, on November 23, 2017. The acronym of Umang stands for " Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance", which has been developed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY). Currently, the app will host around 162 services from 33 government departments of central and state governments. The app provides all pan India e-Gov services ranging from central to local government bodies and other citizen-centric services like Aadhaar and Digilocker on one single platform. Citizen can download UMANG by giving missed call on 9718397183 and also access it on 'www.umang.gov.in'.
203. The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. Its headquarters is located at London, England. It is in news recently because the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has recently approved India's membership for the EBRD for which the required steps will be initiated by the Finance Ministry. The membership of EBRD would enhance India's international profile and promote its economic interests. It would increase the scope of cooperation between India and EBRD through co-financing opportunities in manufacturing, services, information technology and energy.
204. The Rani Jhansi Marine National Park (RJMNP) is located in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and covers an area of 256.14 square kilometres. It was founded in 1996 and commemorates Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi (1828-58). The park provides shelter to some very crucial wildlife and habitats which include Dugongs, Crocodiles, Marine Life, Coral Reefs, Mangroves, Terrestrial Moist forest and birds. It is an area which is strictly reserved for the betterment of the wildlife & biodiversity, and where activities like developmental, forestry, poaching, hunting and grazing on cultivation are not permitted. Their boundaries are well marked and circumscribed.
205. IKEA, the Swedish furnishing retailer, has launched its first experiential centre "IKEA Hej (Hello) HOME' in India at Hyderabad. The Hej Home, designed and set up over a six-month duration, highlights what the retailer stands for and what to expect from an IKEA store. It is an exhibition of IKEA products and solutions which its future customers can actually buy it from its store (in Hyderabad) in spring 2018. The display includes the bedroom, living area, kitchen and dining, play area among others. After the Hyderabad store, the second store will open in Mumbai during 2019, followed by Bengaluru and Delhi NCR.
206. David Cassidy (67), the teen and pre-teen idol who starred in the 1970s sitcom 'The Partridge Family', and sold millions of records as the musical group's lead singer, has passed away in Florida, United States on November 21, 2017.
207. Jon Hendricks (96), the legendary jazz singer and lyricist, has passed away in New York, United States on November 22, 2017. Hendricks found fame in the 1950s and '60s teaming with Dave Lambert and Annie Ross. The Jazz singer wrote the lyrics to existing Basie songs, and the three recorded their own voices in layers instead of using backup singers. The trio's first album, "Sing a Song of Basie," won acclaim for its use of vocalese, in which the voices mimic the instrumental parts. Others experimented with vocalese before Hendricks, but he is widely regarded as the father of the spirited singing style for popularising it. After the group broke up in 1962, he pursued a solo career in London, worked as a jazz critic in San Francisco and released several solo albums.
208. The Union Ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD) has launched a Digital Signature campaign on Constitution Day affirming faith in Indian Constitution and to generate awareness on fundamental duties enshrined in the Constitution. People can join the campaign by filling a form online. The Constitution Day is celebrated every year in India on 26 November to commemorate the adoption of Constitution of India. On this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted the Constitution of India, and it came into effect on 26 January 1950.
209. The State Bank of India (SBI) has recently launched a unified integrated app YONO (You Need Only One) that would offer all kinds of financial and lifestyle products. The omni-channel platform will allow customers to meet their lifestyle needs across 14 categories from booking cabs to paying for medical needs — all under one roof. For this, the bank has partnered with 60 e-commerce players, including Amazon, Ola, Flipkart, Yatra, Swiggy and BYJU's. Offline players such as Thomas Cook, Shoppers Stop and Cox and Kings are also part of the SBI partnership. The portal has been designed to offer maximum customer convenience and has been developed by SBI using artificial intelligence, predictive analysis and machine learning
210. The 2017 International Gita Mahotsav will be inaugurated by President of India Ram Nath Kovind in Kurukshetra, Haryana on November 25, 2017. The President will also participate in Gita Yajna and Gita Poojan ceremonies at Brahma Sarovar. He will also lay the foundation stone of the Gita Research Centre at Gita Gyan Sansthanam. The mahotsav, which will conclude on December 3, will have Mauritius as partner country and Uttar Pradesh as partner state. Approx 25-30 lakh people are likely to participate in this Mahotsav.
211. Ritu Phogat has clinched the silver medal in Under-23 Senior World Wrestling Championship at Poland. She lost against Turkish Wrestler Demirhan in the gold medal bout of women's 48 kilogram category. In Semifinal, Ritu defeated Chinese Wrestler Jiang Zhu 4-3 points to reach the finals. Ritu had won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship in 2016.
212. The 36th edition of International Geological Congress (IGC – 2020) will be held in New Delhi, India in the year 2020. The event is being jointly funded by the Ministry of Mines (MoM) and Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) with the active support of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and the Science Academies of the other neighbouring co-host countries – Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It is expected to attract 7000+ geoscientists from all over the world. The event is to be organized under the aegis of International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and as per the statutes of IUGS-IGC Council.
213. Nine States and the Union territory of Lakshadweep have entered into collaboration with the Film Facilitation Office (FFO) of Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry and National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) to showcase their shooting locations to filmmakers from India and abroad. These States are Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Karnataka and Delhi. The Film Offices of these States entered into collaboration with FFO and NFDC at Film Bazaar, which was organized under the banner of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at Panaji in Goa. The focus of the 5-day event of Film Bazaar was on discovering, supporting and showcasing South Asian content and talent in filmmaking, production and distribution. The headquarters of NFDC is located in Mumbai to encourage high quality Indian cinema.
214. The 2017 Constitution Day (or Samvidhan Divas) is celebrated every year in India on November 26 to commemorate the adoption of Constitution of India. On this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted the Constitution of India, and it came into effect on 26 January 1950. From 2015, the Government of India (GoI) is observing 26th November as Constitution Day. On the occasion of Constitution Day, in 2017, the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD) has launched a Digital Signature campaign to generate awareness on fundamental duties enshrined in the Constitution. People can join the campaign by filling a form online.
215. The Chandoli National Park (CNP) is a natural World Heritage Site and is spread over Satara, Kolhapur and Sangli Districts of Maharashtra. It covers an area of 317.67 square kilometres. The historical places of the park include the 17th century Shivaji's Forts, Prachitgad and Bhairavgad, of the Maratha kings Shivaji and his son Sambhaji. It is home to Bengal tigers, Indian leopards, Indian bison, leopard cats, sloth bears, etc.
216. Rajnath Singh, the Union Home Minister, has chaired the 12th Standing Committee meeting of the Inter-State Council (ISC) in New Delhi on November 25, 2017. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the recommendations of the Punchhi Commission on Centre-State Relations. The issues discussed in meeting included, financial transfers from Centre to States, GST, devolution of functions to local bodies, district planning, special provisions for Fifth and Sixth scheduled areas, communal harmony, deployment of central forces, migration and criminal justice system. The committee also finalized 118 recommendations.
217. The 15th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) for Documentary, Short and Animation Film will be organised from January 28 to February 3, 2018 at the Films Division premises in Mumbai. The biennial event is the oldest and largest film festival for non-feature films in South Asia. It will be organized by the Films Division, Information and Broadcasting ministry. MIFF 2018 will screen films from Jammu and Kashmir and the North East under special packages. Apart from films in various competition categories, best documentary, short and animation films produced in India and abroad will be also screened under special packages, including Jury retrospectives and best of festivals. Special packages like Turkish and Russian animation films and French short films will also be a part of the festival.
218. The 2017 International Multilateral Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise (IMMSAREX) has started in Bangladesh from November 26 to 28, 2017. The exercise will be inaugurated by Prime Minister of Bangladesh on November 27, 2017 in Cox Bazar, Bangladesh. From India, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba will participate in the exercise to consolidate the bilateral naval relations between India and Bangladesh and to explore new avenues for naval cooperation. The exercise is taking place under the aegis of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) — an initiative of the Indian Navy that was launched in 2008 to bring together littoral states in the region. Indian Naval Ships Ranvir, Sahyadri, Gharial and Sukanya along with one Maritime Patrol Aircraft P-8I will take part in the exercise.
219. Rajkummar Rao has won the best actor award for his movie "Newton" at the most prestigious 11th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA-2017). Beside this, the best screenplay award was also goes Amit V Masurkar and Mayank Tewari for "Newton". Newton is India's official entry for the foreign language film category at the Academy Awards 2018. The movie is produced by Drishyam Films and directed by Masurkar. It revolves around a young government clerk who is sent on election duty to a Maoist-controlled town and how the ideological struggle puts him in an awkward situation.
220. The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (IDEVAW) is observed every year on November 25 is to raise public awareness on issues of violence against women and girls, including how men and boys can play a more active role in eliminating this violence. The theme of the campaign for 2017 is "Leave no one behind: end violence against women and girls." This theme reinforces the UNiTE Campaign's commitment to a world free from violence for all women and girls around the world, while reaching the most underserved and marginalized, including refugees, migrants, minorities, indigenous peoples, and populations affected by conflict and natural disasters, amongst others, first.
221. Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, who represented South Africa, has been crowned the Miss Universe 2017 at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The runner-up was Miss Colombia Laura Gonzalez, while the second runner-up was Miss Jamaica Davina Bennett. Nel-Peters is the second titleholder from South Africa, and the first since Margaret Gardiner won Miss Universe 1978. Contestants from 92 countries and territories participated in the decades-old competition. This year's edition had the most contestants ever, including the first ever representatives of Cambodia, Laos and Nepal.
222. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, an Indian table tennis player from Tamil Nadu, has clinched the men's singles gold medal at the 2017 ITTF Challenge Spanish Open in Almeria, Spain. Sathiyan beat Japan's Kazuhiro Yoshimura 11-7 3-11 11-6 6-11 13-11 11-7 in the men singles final on November 26, 2017. He is currently being supported by the Go Sports Foundation through the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme.
223. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, the Minister of Women and Child Development, has launched an intensive training program for Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) of Panchayati Raj Institutions and Master Trainers in New Delhi on November 27, 2017. This capacity building program is being organized by National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) of the WCD Ministry which will ultimately train approximately twenty thousand EWRs covering nearly 50 EWRs from each district by March, 2018. The training program will include simple engineering skills will give EWRs an insight into women's issues as well as focus on education and financial matters. The Capacity building of EWRs is critical to empower women to participate effectively in the governance processes. This will help them assume the leadership roles expected of them and guide their villages towards a more prosperous future.
224. Private sector lender Axis Bank has recently launched instant international payment services using Ripple's enterprise blockchain technology solution for retail and corporate customers. The bank has launched a service for its retail customers in India to receive payments from RAKBANK in UAE and for its corporate customers in India to receive payments from Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore. Ripple makes international remittances faster and transparent for customers while ensuring security and improving efficiencies. The transactions reach their destination account in minutes, with the certainty of settlement, and with end-to-end visibility over the journey of the payment.
225. Gopi Thonakal from Kerala has become the first Indian man to win Asian Marathon Championship. He achieved the feat in the 16th edition of the prestigious event, at Dongguan in China on November 26, 2017. Gopi clocked 2 hours 15 minutes and 48 seconds to clinch gold. He, thus, became the first Indian man to win the title after the formation of separate Asian Marathon championships. Andrey Petrov of Uzbekistan bagged silver while Byambalev Tseveenravdan of Mongolia won bronze. Earlier, Asha Agarwal won the women's title when it was part of the biennial Asian Track and Field Championships.
226. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch the India's first mission to the Sun "Aditya-L1 mission" from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on the PSLV- XL launch vehicle in 2019. The Aditya-1 mission was conceived as a 400kg class satellite carrying one payload, the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) and was planned to launch in 800 km low earth orbit. It will be launched into the halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system. This orbit has the advantage of allowing continuous monitoring of the sun. The main aim of the solar mission is to improve the understanding of dynamical processes of the sun and help resolve some outstanding questions in solar physics.
227. The Adichunchanagiri Wildlife Sanctuary (AWLS) is located in Nagamangala Taluk of Mandya district of Karnataka and is spread over 0.88 square kilometres. This was created mainly for the conservation of peacocks. It also houses nearly 250 species of birds.
228. The scientists from New Zealand have developed the world's first artificial intelligence politician "SAM" that can answer a person's queries regarding local issues such as policies around housing, education and immigration. It was created by Nick Gerritsen, an entrepreneur in New Zealand. It constantly learns to respond to people through Facebook Messenger as well as a survey on its homepage. It may help to bridge the growing political and cultural divide in many countries.
229. World no. 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei has won the women's singles title at the Hong Kong Super Series badminton tournament by defeating P V Sindhu in the final at Kowloon on November 26, 2017. This was Tai's 8th win against Sindhu in 11 meetings and fourth on the trot. This is also Sindhu's second loss in the four finals that she reached this season. She had lost to Japan's Nozomi Okuhara at the World Championship final, while clinched two titles at India and Korea this year.
230. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research. It funded by the Government of India through the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, who is the Director General (DG) of ICMR, is a globally recognised researcher on tuberculosis and HIV. Currently, Dr. Swaminathan is in news because she will assume the charge of Deputy Director General of Programmes (DDP) at the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva in December 2017. It is the second-highest position in the WHO. Dr. Swaminathan is the daughter of agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan who is hailed as the father of the 'Green Revolution' in India.
231. Ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth, who won four Super Series titles in 2017, has won the Sportsman of the Year award at the first edition of Indian Sports Honours (ISH) in Mumbai on November 27, 2017. Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu was the Sportswoman of the Year award in the individual sport category. In the Team Sport category. Ravichandran Ashwin, who has became the fastest bowler to reach 'Club 300' in Test cricket, was awarded Sportsman of the Year award while women's cricket team skipper Mithali Raj was awarded Sportswoman of the Year award. The Indian Women's Cricket Team, which ended as runners-up in the ICC Women's World Cup, were named as the Team of the Year. The ISH is an initiative partnered by India skipper Virat Kohli and Sanjiv Goenka, in line with their vision to support the development of Indian sports.
232. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President's adviser Ivanka Trump jointly inaugurated the 8th edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES-2017) in Hyderabad on November 28, 2017. The 3-day event is co-hosted by India and the USA and for the first time it is held in South Asia. The NITI Ayog in partnership with the US State Department and other agencies and in coordination with the Telangana state Government is organising the prestigious event. This year's theme "Women First, Prosperity for All" will demonstrate the commitment of the United States and Indian governments to the principle that when women are economically empowered, their communities and countries thrive. About 1500 delegates from over 150 countries are taking part in the three-day Summit. Ten countries are being represented by all women delegations.
233. India will provide financial assistance of $2.87 million to Afghanistan for the refurbishment of 350 buses to help in strengthening the public transport system of capital Kabul. The assistance would be used to procure spare parts for the Milli Bus (government bus services) for refurbishment of 350 previously supplied buses under Indian assistance. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Acting Afghan Minister of Transport, Mohammad Hameed Tahmasi and Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Manpreet Vohra. The 350 buses are expected to be operational by end of 2018.
234. The Band-e Amir National Park is the Afghanistan's first national park, located in the Bamyan Province. It is a series of six deep blue lakes separated by natural dams made of travertine, a mineral deposit. The site of Band-e Amir has been described as Afghanistan's Grand Canyon, and draws thousands of tourists a year. The river is part of the system of the Balkh River.
235. India and Russia have recently signed anti-terror pact to help each other in combating terrorism. The agreement between the two countries for cooperation in tackling all forms of terrorism was signed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Russia's Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev in Moscow, Russia. Indian and Russian representatives also signed a joint action plan for countering the threat posed by narcotics. This agreement will provide legal framework for bilateral cooperation in this field.
236. India's top cueist Pankaj Advani has won the 15-frame IBSF World Snooker Men Championship 2017 at the Al Arabi Sports Club in Doha on November 27, 2017. Advani defeated Amir Sarkhosh of Iran 8-2 (19-71, 79-53, 98-23, 69-62, 60-05, 0-134, 75-07, 103-4, 77-13, 67-47) in the final. It was his 18th world title.
237. Under the chairmanship of NK Singh, who is the former bureaucrat and ex-Member of Parliament, the 15th Finance Commission has been constituted by the Union Government. The Commission will make recommendations for the five years commencing 1st April 2020. It will recommend devolution of shareable central taxes to the States and will also review several important aspects of federal fiscal finance. It will also look at the impact of the GST, including payment of compensation for possible loss of revenues for 5 years. Former Secretary Economic Affairs Shaktikanta Das and Adjunct Professor of Georgetown University, Dr Anoop Singh will be the members of the Commission. Chairman of Bandhan Bank, Dr Ashok Lahiri and NITI Aayog Member Dr Ramesh Chand will be the Part-time members. Arvind Mehta will be the Secretary to the Commission. The Commission will make its report available by 30th October 2019.
238. Karen Pierce, the Foreign Office (FCO) political director, has been appointed the first-ever female UK ambassador to the United Nations (UN). She had previously served as Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, and more recently as the Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva. Pierce succeeded Matthew Rycroft under whom UK suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of India in the recent election to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). This is for the first time in 70 years that Britain would have no judge in the 15-member panel of the ICJ.
239. The Golden Temple in Amritsar has officially been declared the most visited place of the world in 2017 by London-based organization World Book of Records (WBR). The WBR team presented the award certificate to Shriomani Gurdwara Pharbandhak Committee (SGPC), the management body of the Golden Temple. The certificate was given to Golden Temple as over a lakh devotees visit the holy shrine every day. The award, which is bestowed after every three months, has been conferred basis observations made from September 2017. The international organization, established in 2015, catalogues and verifies world records with authentic certification. The Golden Temple stands as a symbol of peace, unity and spirituality and is the holiest pilgrimage site of Sikhism.
240. Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Defence Minister, has been elected as the new President of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA). The IDSA was set up in 1965 by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as an autonomous think tank, and it is customary to have the Defence Minister as its President. The Minister chairs the Executive Council which governs the Institute. IDSA is funded by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and its faculty conducts research in military, foreign and strategic affairs. Significantly, the Government has sought its views before taking major policy initiatives, like conducting nuclear tests, as in 1974 and 1998. IDSA also executes specific assignments from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The headquarters of IDSA is loacted in New Delhi.
241. Shaktikanta Das, the former Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), has been appointed as India's G20 Sherpa till December 31, 2018 for the Development Track of the G20 summit. There are two tracks in G-20 — Finance Track and Development Track. Finance Track is managed by the secretary (economic affairs) as India's Deputy to G-20 and the Development Track is coordinated by the Sherpa. A Sherpa is a personal representative of the leader of a member country at an international Summit meeting such as the G8, G20 or the Nuclear Security Summit and are responsible for thrashing out the details before the meeting of the leaders. There is only one Sherpa per Summit for each member country; he/she is assisted by several sous Sherpas. Prior to Das, former NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya, held the responsibility of the G20 Sherpa.
242. Pradeep Singh Kharola, a 1985 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre, has been appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Air India. He will succeed Rajiv Bansal, who has been serving as the interim CMD for a little over 3 months. Currently, Mr. Kharola is the Managing Director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.
243. The first edition of the International Symposium to Promote Innovation & Research in Energy Efficiency (INSPIRE 2017) has started in Jaipur, Rajasthan on November 27, 2017. The 5-day symposium is being organized by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) in partnership with World Bank (WB) and Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE). INSPIRE 2017 is a global conference which aims to bring together various stakeholders like policymakers, innovators, financiers to showcase best practices in the sector. It is designed to provide global and national thought-leaders and implementers to expand perspectives on energy efficiency. Approx 350 participants from 13 countries across North America, Asia, Europe and Middle East are attending the event.
244. The India Hypertension Management Initiative (IHMI) has been launched by Preeti Sudan (Secretary of Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW)) and Dr. Soumya Swaminathan (Director of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)) in New Delhi on November 28, 2017. The purpose of IHMI is to reduce disability and death related to Cardio-Vascular Disease (CVD), the leading cause of death in India. The initiative seeks to improve control of high blood pressure (hypertension), cut salt consumption and eliminate artificial trans-fats regarded as leading risk factors for CVD.
245. Badri Narain Sharma, the 1985 batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, has been appointed the chairman of the newly constituted National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. Prior to this appointment, Sharma was an Additional Secretary in the Department of Revenue. The NAA has been set up for a two-year period and is mandated to ensure that the benefits of input credit and the reduction in tax rates effected by the GST Council are passed on to the consumers.
246. Professor Hiroshi Marui of Japan has been conferred with the 3rd Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Distinguished Indologist Award -2017 by the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, for his exemplary contribution to Indology at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. Professor Marui has spent over 40 years working on Indian philosophy and Buddhist Studies. His many acclaimed publications and research papers are considered a final authority on several subjects the world over.
247. Indian men's national Kabaddi team has won the gold medal at the 2017 Asian Kabaddi Championships after defeating Pakistan in the final by 36-22 under the captaincy of Ajay Thakur in Gorgan, Iran on November 26, 2017. Beside this, Indian women's national team has also won gold medal at the Asian Kabaddi Champions 2017 by defeating South Korea in the final by 42-20.
248. Valtteri Bottas, a Finnish racing driver currently competing in Formula One with Mercedes, has won the 2017 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix tournament on November 26.
249. The 2-day Korea Tourism festival 2017 was held in Gurugram, Haryana on November 25 to showcase famous South Korean tourist destinations, delicacies, art, culture and the country's heritage. The festival displayed food counters (managed by Korea Agro Fisheries and Food Trade Cooperation) to give a taste of the local Korean flavours to serve Indian taste buds besides featuring experiential attractions like face mask painting, Hangeul calligraphy and video gallery exhibiting Korean history & cultural assets. The fest was inaugurated by Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) Executive Vice President Min Hong Min along with Suman Billa, the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism.
250. The Bank of Baroda (BoB) has launched a digital supply chain finance solution to offer working capital loans to small and medium enterprise and large corporate clients. The solution will cover pre and post shipment products – dealer or channel finance, vendor finance and payable finance. This service will accelerate working capital loans by enhancing reporting capabilities. It will bring down the risk and ensure greater satisfaction to the clients.
251. Raj Shah, who holds a key position in the White House, has become the first Indian-American to hold press gaggle with reporters on board US Presidential chopper Air Force One. Gaggle is the term used for informal briefing by the White House Press Secretary, which is on the record but bars reporters from video-graphing. Mr Shah did so in the capacity of the Principal Deputy Press Secretary. For this position, he was promoted by President Donald Trump in September 2017 as he restructured his press office by making Hope Hicks Director of Communications. He was accompanying Mr Trump as he flew to Missouri to deliver a major speech on middle-class tax relief and business tax relief.
252. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) conducted the regional level marine oil pollution response exercise 'Clean Sea-2017' at sea off Port Blair on November 29. The purpose of the exercise was to ascertain preparedness of the ICG, resource agencies and other stakeholders in responding to a major oil spill in line with the provisions of the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS-DCP). The highlight of the exercise was participation of one ICG Pollution Control Vessel and integration of the Indian Coast Guard Dornier/Chetak aircraft into the Oil Spill Disaster Management System for aerial assessment/ delivery of Oil Spill Dispersant for mitigation of the spilled oil. The Indian Coast Guard has established three pollution response centres at Mumbai, Chennai and Port Blair. It is responsible for marine environment protection in the maritime zones of India and is the coordinating authority for response to oil spills in Indian waters.
253. The annual meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO-2017) has started in Russian city of Sochi on November 30, 2017. Sushma Swaraj, the Union External Affairs Minister, will represent India in the two-day summit which is likely to discuss regional security scenario, including situations in the Gulf and Afghanistan. On the sidelines of the summit, Ms Swaraj will also have bilateral meetings with several leaders. She also attend the reception to be hosted by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. As a member of the SCO, India is expected to have a bigger say in pressing for concerted action in dealing with terrorism as well as on issues relating to security and defence in the region. In June, India and Pakistan had become full-fledged members of the grouping.
254. Mirabai Chanu from Manipur has become the first Indian in over two decades to claim a gold medal at the International Weightlifting Federation World Weightlifting Championship (IWFWWC) in Anaheim, USA on November 30, 2017. Chanu lifted 85kg in snatch and 109kg in clean and jerk to total an impressive 194kg in the women's 48kg, in the process setting a new national record. Two decades earlier, Olympic bronze medalist Karnam Malleshwari had won the top prize in worlds twice – in 1994 and 1995.
255. The 7th International Military Sports Council (CISM) Military World Games will be hosted from Oct. 18 to 27, 2019 in Wuhan, capital city of central China's Hubei Province. The games, which are top sporting gala for military personnel, consist of 329 competitions in 27 categories and are expected to attract around 8,000 participants from more than 100 countries and regions. It will be an international event with great significance and far-reaching influence and it will also be an opportunity for foreign military personnel to learn more about China and its military. The emblem consists of a dove, a star, ribbons and other elements and the mascot is called Bing Bing, the design of which is based on the Chinese sturgeon, a critically endangered fish known as the "panda in water". The slogan is of the games is "Military glory, world peace". The games, which were inaugurated in Rome in 1995, is a multi-sport event organized every four years by the CISM.
256. Thodupuzha Vasanthi (65), the veteran Malayalam film and theatre actor, has passed away at Vazhakulam in Kerala on November 28, 2017. She was known for character roles in over 400 Malayalam movies in her four-decade-old acting career. Vasanthi was better known for her roles in God Father, Alolam and Karyam Nissaram.
257. Pandit Narayanrao Bodas (84), the renowned exponent of the Gwalior gharana of Hindustani classical music, has passed away in Pune, Maharashtra on November 28, 2017. He was born in Karachi into a musical aristocracy steeped in the traditions of Indian classical music. Despite his dedication to conserving the heritage of classical vocal music, Pandit Narayanrao devoted a considerable amount of his career to Marathi natya sangeet (enactment of musicals on stage). Though he acted in some films and worked in the television medium, Pandit Narayanrao remained devoted to the uncompromising art of Hindustani classical music — and promoting it in its purest form.
258. The Bhitarkanika National Park (BNP) is located in Kendrapara district of Odisha and is spread over 672 square kilometers. It is in news recently because the national park has registered an impressive rise in mammal population due to adequate conservation measures and vigil by anti-poaching squad of the forest department. According to the latest head count report released by the forest department, the enumerators spotted 7,129 mammals of 14 species in Kendrapara district while the figure stood at 6,122 in 2016. According to wildlife staff, there are couple of factors are contributing to the rising graph. First, the rich and lush-green mangrove forest has turned out to be an ideal habitat for hyenas, boars and deer. Besides, lack of human interference in their habitation corridors has also emerged favourable. There is also imbalance in predator-prey base in Bhitarkanika. Unlike the Sundarbans, Bhitarkanika mangroves are devoid of tigers.
259. India's first crypto-currency exchange "Coinome" has been launched by Mumbai-based payment gateway Billdesk. Coinome is incorporated under Hatio Innovations Pvt. Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of BillDesk. It will allow users to be on-boarded via Instant e-KYC. It means that users can start transacting in crypto-currencies almost immediately upon registering. The exchange supports instant deposits using payment gateway and instant withdrawals, thereby allowing transactions even on weekends or business holidays. Currently, Coinome offers the trading of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, but the exchange plans to support 20 mainstream crypto-currencies by 2018.
260. The Odisha government has launched a 'Fish Pond Yojana' scheme to boost fish production in the state with a budgetary provision of Rs 96 crore. The scheme was launched by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, while inaugurating a workshop on 'Doubling of Farmer Income through Dairy and Allied Farming Practices' in Bhubaneswar on November 28, 2017. The scheme aims to create additional 2,200 hectare of fresh water aquaculture farming with 50% financial assistance to farmers.
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