CURRENT AFFAIRS November Week II

Awards and Honours

Appointments

National Round-Up

• President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the India International Trade Fair inDelhi which will see participation of over 150 companies from 27 countries. 
• India is set to host the crucial global tobacco control conferencefor the first time, where it will push for incorporating smokeless tobacco as an agenda.
• Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), the company which was tasked to set up IT infrastructure for the GST, said that by January it will start training around 60,000 state government officials to equip them to handle GST roll
• The Centre has decided to open Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Kendra in every Parliamentary Constituency to impart skill training to the people and make them employable.
• A three-day international event of ‘Global Rajasthan Agritech Meet (GRAM)’for farmers will begin in Jaipur on November 9 which will showcase best global practices and technologies suitable for farmers.
• The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has announced launch of Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojanato scale up an ecosystem of entrepreneurship for youngsters.
• Competition Commission of India (CCI)selected to host ICN 2018 Annual Conferencein New Delhi in March –April 2018.
• Union Government on 9 November 2016 announced that cash deposits above 2.5 lakh rupees threshold under the 50-day window could attract tax plus a 200 percent penalty in case of income mismatch.
• Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) launched ‘Kahin Bhi-Kabhi Bhi’ medical facilities for its beneficiaries of Delhi. Kahin Bhi means any dispensary/Hospital and Kabhi Bhi means anytime.
• The Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC), under the Union Government, on 7 November 2016 approved the guidelines for suspension or banning of business dealings with arms companies.

Snippets from the States

• Thiruvananthapuramhas been termed as the country’s breast cancer capital, with cases at a record high of 40 per lakh of population. 
• Rajasthan governmentis planning to launch a pension scheme for the labourers who have crossed the age limit of 60 years.
• Meghalayabecame the first state to start India’s first Cherry Blossom Festival, which is widely celebrated in Japan.
• Himachal Pradeshis set to host the paragliding world cup at Bir Billing area of Kangra district in October.
• Sikkim hasrecently laid the foundation stone of a ropeway and support facilities for the Bhaleydhunga Skywalk Project at Dhapper in Yangang, which once completed, will be the world’s highest skywalk.
• Union health minister J.P. Nadda launched “No more tension” mobile app to help- manage stress. The app will help users manage stress by providing appropriate information, symptoms and its management on stress.
• Indian Navy Sailing Vessel Mhadei with an all-women crew was flagged off from Goa to Cape Town,South Africa by Rear Admiral Monty Khanna, Commandant Naval War College on 09 Nov 16 in a ceremony held at the Boat Pool of INS Mandovi, Goa.
• The regional news Unit of Radio Kashmir Jammu on 10 November 2016 started morning news bulletin in Gojri language.

Banking and Economy

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)issued clarifications on hedging of currency for external commercial borrowings (ECBs) in a notification on its website.
• City Union Bank (CUB)plans to deploy robots named CUB-Lakshmi’ in its branches, becoming the first bank in the country to do so. Japan’s Soft Bank was the first to use a robot in banking operations.
• Kerala based, Federal Bank announced that RBI has given its approval vide letter dated 08 November 2016 to open a representative office of the Bank in Manama, Bahrainand also to open a branch in DIFC, Dubai,
• Axis Bank, India’s third largest private bank, is set to launch intelligent banking chat botsto make mobile banking services more conversational.
• Reserve Bank of India on 14 November 2016constituted an eight-member task force to re-calibrate all ATMs. The eight-member task force, led by RBI deputy governor SS Mundra.

International Round-Up

• The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum’s Week started at Lima in Peru on November 14 bringing together leaders of world’s largest economies, businessmen and investors.
• Colombia’s government and the Marxist FARC rebelssaid  they agreed on a revised peace deal to end a 52-year war, six weeks after the original was narrowly rejected in a referendum amid objections it was too favorable to the rebels.
• Australiawill host the 2018 Invictus Games for wounded military personnel, Britain’s Prince Harry announced on November 12.
• With political upheavals like the election of Donald Trump to the US presidency and Brexit, Oxford Dictionaries has declared “post-truth” to be its international word of the year citing a 2,000 per cent spike in its usage.

India and the World

• Over 20 countries, including Braziland France, have become signatories to the framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance.
• The framework agreement of International Solar Alliance (ISA)was opened for signatures on the sidelines of CoP22 with Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave saying that with this legal framework in place, the ISA will be a major international body headquartered in India.
• The union government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $500 million loanagreement to build a 9.8-km River Bridge, the country’s longest, across the river Ganga.
• India and Japansigned a bilateral civilian nuclear cooperation agreement seen as crucial for energy-starved India to access sensitive technologies to generate clean electricity.
• India and Bhutansigned a new bilateral trade agreement to enhance trade between the two countries through trade facilitation by improving procedures.
• The India-ChinaJoint Training Exercise “Hand in Hand 2016” will be held in Pune from November 15 to 27. The exercise is in continuation of the series of joint exercises between India and China.
• India will preside the eighth edition of the Conference of Parties (COP) to WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)which will be held in Switzerland’s Geneva in 2018.
• Ten UK-based companies have pledged to invest 29.29 million pound to train about 20 lakh people in India by 2020
• Karnataka’s chief minister Siddaramaiahasked British Prime Minister Theresa May to relax visa rules for Indian technology professionals saying that the UK can actually reduce migration while reaping economic benefits by allowing workers on short-term job visits.
• India and Israel inked two agreements in the field of water resources management and agriculture. The agreements were inked on 15 November 2016 after the delegation level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in New Delhi.

Science and Technology

• Rustom-2, India’s long endurance Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) finally completed its first flight early in Challakere,about 200km from Bengaluru. 
• A companion to the world’s most powerful private Earth-imaging satellite rocketed into space today from the U.S.
• India’s first liquefied natural gas-drivenbus was launched. The first pilot run of the eco-friendly bus on the sidelines of the fourth meeting of the Group of Ministers, set up by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
• The 4th Young Scientists Meet (YSM), organized by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), New Delhi along with other Delhi based laboratories of the DRDO, commenced.
• Union HRD Minister Shri Prakash Javadekarhas inaugurated the world’s largest digital national building initiative “Smart India Hackathon 2017” by handing over a torch to technology students.
• The moon came closer to Earth than at any other time since 1948. The ‘supermoon’ reached its brightest in Asia on 14 November 2016. The Moon was closest, only 2 lakh 21 thousand 524 miles (356509 km) away at 11:21 GMT.

Important days

Sports Point

Obituary