APPOINTMENTS
1.Arvind Singh
Arvind Singh, IAS officer of 1988 batch, Maharashtra Cadre took over as the Chairman of Airports Authority of India (AAI).On his first day, Singh interacted with board members and senior officials at AAI's corporate headquarters, Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, New Delhi.Singh, in his previous assignment, was Additional Chief Secretary (Energy) in Maharashtra government.
2.Vinaya Shetty
Dr Vinaya Shetty, from Mumbai India, is the first Indian to be elected to the position of General Vice President (GVP), International Organisation Development Association (IODA) since its inception in 1986.Dr Vinaya has helped in change and transformation of numerous organisations across industries in India and has been contributing to facilitating IODA's efforts since 2009.IODA is a non-profit association, has members from 50 countries that are initiating and supporting organizational and societal change processes all over the world.IODA is a community as well as a platform for OD (Organisational Development) professionals to connect, share and exchange ideas.
3.PS Sreedharan Pillai
P.S Sreedharan Pillai has assumed the office of Governor of Mizoram.Mr Pillai took the oath of office in a swearing-in ceremony held at Raj Bhavan in Aizawl. The Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court Ajay Lamba administered the oath of office to Mr Pillai. The President of India appointed Mr Pillai on 25th October as the new Governor of the state.
4.Gian Chand Gupta
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Panchkula, Gian Chand Gupta was unanimously elected as the Speaker of Haryana Assembly. The Panchkula MLA Gupta's name was proposed by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and seconded by Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala. Gupta defeated Congress's Chander Mohan Bishnoi in the Assembly elections.In the Assembly polls, BJP fell short by six seats to get a majority in the 90-member Haryana Assembly.Later, the party stitched an alliance with Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) which has 10 seats and managed to get the support of seven independent MLAs.
5.Satya Pal Malik
New Governor of Goa, Satya Pal Malik took the oath of office.Chief Justice of Mumbai High Court, Pradeep Nandrajog administered him the oath in a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan at Dona Paula near Panaji. Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant and other state cabinet ministers were present on the occasion. Mr Malik has been Governor of Bihar with the additional charge of Governor of Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir.
6.Shri Sanjeev Nandan Sahai
Shri Sanjeev Nandan Sahai assumed charge as Secretary, Ministry of Power.Prior to this, he was serving as the Special Secretary in the Ministry of Power. Shri Sahai is a UT cadre IAS officer of 1986 batch. He has also served as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Power from May 2018 to July 2019.Along with these Shri Sahai has held several other important positions in the Union as well as State Governments.
7.Pavan Kapoor
Pavan Kapoor, a 1990 batch Indian Foreign Service officer took charge as the new Ambassador to UAE.Ambassador Kapoor replaced Navdeep Singh Suri, who retired last month.During his diplomatic career, Pavan Kapoor has served in different capacities at the Indian Missions in Moscow, Kyiv, London and Geneva. During his last posting, Mr Kapoor served as the Ambassador to Israel He has an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad and also holds a Masters in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics.
DEATHS
8. Film producer Champak Jain
Film producer Champak Jain passed away after suffering from a brain haemorrhage. He was the owner of Venus Records & Tapes and United 7. Jain was also a film producer, who was most famously known for backing Akshay Kumar-Saif Ali Khan's Main Khiladi Tu Anari and Shah Rukh Khan-Aishwarya Rai's Josh.
Gurudas Dasgupta
Former Parliamentarian and veteran CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta died in Kolkata. He was former Deputy General Secretary of CPI and well-known trade unionist. Dasgupta was elected General Secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress - AITUC, in 2001.He was a member of Rajya Sabha and also elected in Lok Sabha from Midnapore district of West Bengal.
AWARDS
9. Deming award-2019
Venu Srinivasan, Chairman of TVS Motor Company and Sundaram Clayton, was conferred with the prestigious Deming Distinguished Service Award For Dissemination and Promotion Overseas. Srinivasan becomes the first industrialist from India to be bestowed this prestigious award for his contributions in the field of total quality management (TQM). The Deming Prize is the highest award for TQM in the world.
10. Asian Film Talent Award -2019
Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui will be honoured by Lesley Ho Asian Film Talent Award at the Singapore International Film Festival (SIFF) on November 23.He will be awarded for his Netflix's Emmy-nominated original series Sacred Games. Sometime back, the actor was honoured by the Golden Dragon Award at the Cardiff International Film Festival for his excellence in cinema in the International market.
11. Special Icon award -2019
Actor Rajinikanth will receive the Special Icon award at the Golden Jubilee of International Film Festival of India, IFFI in Goa.The award will be presented in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema, during the past several decades. The Life Time Achievement Award for a Foreign Artiste will be conferred on French Actress Isabelle Hupert.
Books
12. ‘The Unquiet River: A biography of the Brahmaputra’ a book by Arupjyoti Saikia
A book titled “The Unquiet River: A biography of the Brahmaputra”, re-imagines the layered history of Assam with the Brahmaputra river at the centre.It has been written by historian Arupjyoti Saikia, and published by Oxford University Press (OUP).The book claims to combine a range of disciplinary scholarship to unravel the geological forces as well as a human endeavour which have shaped the river into what it is today.
SPORTS
13. Deepak Kumar secures India's 10th Olympic quota in shooting
Deepak Kumar secured India's 10th Olympic quota in shooting while Manu Bhaker claimed the women's 10 metres air pistol gold medal in the 14th Asian Championship in Doha.Deepak gifted himself a bronze medal in men's 10 metres air rifle on the opening day of the championship.Deepak shot 227.8 in the eight-man final to finish third on the podium and add to India's quotas for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Later in the day, Bhaker shot 244.3 to win the top prize in her event.The Haryana sensation had already secured an Olympic quota at the Munich World Cup in May. Deepak is the second Indian shooter to earn an Olympic quota in the men's 10 metres air rifle event after Divyansh Singh Panwar, who secured it in April.
14.Shahbaz Nadeem helps India B lift Deodhar Trophy
Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem claimed four wickets as India B lifted the Deodhar Trophy with a comprehensive 51-run win over India C in the final in Ranchi.The Deodhar Trophy is a List A cricket competition in Indian domestic cricket. India C skipper Shubman Gill became the youngest captain to lead a side in the Deodhar Trophy final, surpassing Virat Kohli's 10-year-old record.He became the youngest-known captain to lead a side in the finals of Deodhar Trophy.
15.Rafael Nadal secures No 1 spot for the eighth time in his career
Rafael Nadal is back to the world No. 1 for the eighth time in his career in the ATP rankings released.The Spaniard goes up one place to overtake Novak Djokovic even though the Serb sealed his fifth Paris Masters title. Djokovic slips down the rankings because he loses the points that he won a year ago in London when Nadal was absent.
16.Djokovic dominates Denis Shapovalov to win fifth Paris Masters title
Novak Djokovic eased to a record-extending fifth Paris Masters title by brushing aside Canadian youngster Denis Shapovalov in final. The top seed claimed a dominant 6-3, 6-4 victory over his 20-year-old opponent. The 16-time Grand Slam champion has now won 34 Masters titles, moving to within one of Nadal at the top of the all-time list, and 77 on the ATP Tour in total. It was Djokovic's fifth trophy of the season after previous triumphs at Wimbledon and the US Open, as well as at the Madrid Open and in Tokyo.
17.Barty became first Australian to top WTA rankings
Ashleigh Barty finished the season in style by beating defending champion Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-3 to add the WTA Finals title. Barty, became the first Australian to top the WTA rankings at the end of the year since they were introduced in 1975. On her debut tournament, She also won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open this year.With this win, Barty rose to the No. 1 ranking in the game becoming the first Australian to hold the year-end top spot.
18.Lakshya Sen wins SaarLorLux Open badminton tournament in Germany
India's Lakshya Sen has won the SaarLorLux Open badminton tournament at Saarbrücken in Germany.He defeated Sen Weng Hong Yang of China in an exciting final.World number 51 Lakshya took 59 minutes to overcome Weng in the summit clash.
19.Korea Open Badminton: Maisnam Meiraba Luwang wins boys' singles U-19 title
Maisnam Meiraba Luwang clinched the boys' singles U-19 title at the Woncheon Yonex Korea Junior Open Badminton International Challenge 2019 in Miryang, Korea. The top seed from Manipur needed just 36 minutes to brush aside the challenge of 15th seed Lee Hak Joo of Korea in a 21-10 21-13 win.Meanwhile, the eighth seed, Sathish Kumar Karunakaran, who had bowed out to Luwang 16-21, 22-24 in the semi-final claimed bronze in the same category.It is the 16-year-old Luwang's third international title this year following his triumphs at the Russian Junior White Nights 2019 and India Junior International 2019.
20. South Africa defeat England to lift Rugby World Cup
South Africa lifted the Rugby World Cup a record-equalling third time. It won the cup after a convincing 32-12 victory over England. Twenty-two points by Handre Pollard and second-half tries from wingers Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe ensured a comfortable win for the Springboks at the International Stadium Yokohama in Japan.
21. Pooja Gehlot wins silver in UWW Under-23 World Championships
Pooja Gehlot (53kg) in wrestling claimed India's second silver medal after going down to Japan's Haruna Okuno in the finals of the UWW Under-23 World Championships in Budapest. Pooja lost 0-2 to Okuno in the summit clash.She had entered the finals after beating Turkey's Zeynep Yetgil in the semifinals of the tournament. Ravinder (61kg), had won India's first silver earlier this week.
22. MCC champion county match to be played in Sri Lanka next year
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has announced that the next year's champion county match will be played in Sri Lanka. The match will see the MCC take on the winners of the County Championship (Essex) in a four-day class match. Former Sri Lanka skipper and current MCC president Kumar Sangakkara will lead the MCC lineup.These matches used to be played at the Lord's Cricket Ground until 2010, but since then these games have started to be played abroad.Earlier this year, Sangakkara became MCC's first overseas president.
23. Olympic Test Event Boxing: Shiva Thapa, Pooja Rani clinch gold, Ashish settles for silver
Shiva Thapa and Pooja Rani clinched gold medals, while Ashish settled for a silver, as India ended with a decent haul of seven medals at the Olympic Test Event for Boxing in Tokyo, Japan.The other four medals, all bronze were bagged by Nikhat Zareen, Simranjeet Kaur, Sumit Sangwan and Vahlimpuia in their respective weight categories.Four-time Asian medallist Thapa outpunched Kazakhstan's national champion and Asian bronze-winner Sanatali Toltayev 5-0 to claim the top honours in the 63-kilogram category.Former Asian Games bronze-medallist Pooja Rani edged past Australia's Caitlin Parker in 75-kilogram category to ensure that the Indian women's contingent also had gold in its kitty.
24. Ravinder settles for silver at U-23 World Wrestling Championship
At the Under-23 World Wrestling Championship in Budapest, Indian grappler Ravinder settled for a silver medal after going down to Kyrgyzstan's Ulukbek Zholdoshbekov in the final. He suffered a 3-5 loss to Ulukbek in 61-kg category. Ulukbek is the current Asian U23 champion. Ravinder led till the end of the first period but a strong comeback from Ulukbek ensured that the latter won the bout 5-3 by the superiority of play. Despite the loss, it was a creditable performance from Ravinder who had won gold at the South Asian Games in 2016 and also a bronze at the Cadet Asian Championships in 2014. This was India's first medal at the 2019 edition and overall fifth silver at the Championships.
INTERNATIONAL
25.Bangladesh bans Islamist outfit 'Allahr Dol'
Government of Bangladesh has banned the Islamist outfit 'Allahr Dol' saying that it poses a threat to public safety and security. The government would ban eight outfits based on inputs from the intelligence agencies. Allah’r Dol was formed in 1995 with the aim to establish Caliphate through armed struggle. In 2004 it merged with banned militant organisation Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). Allahr Dol is the ninth Islamist group to be banned for extremism and militancy in Bangladesh.
26. V Muraleedharan reaches Abu Dhabi to attend IORA meeting
Minister of State in the External Affairs Ministry V Muraleedharan reached Abu Dhabi to attend the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) meeting. He looks forward to fruitful deliberations to strengthen regional cooperation with fellow Indian Ocean states. The Minister of State for External Affairs is leading the Indian delegation to attend the 19th IORA Council of Ministers meeting. The theme is "Promoting a Shared Destiny and Path to Prosperity in the Indian Ocean."During this week’s ministerial meeting, the United Arab Emirates will take over from South Africa as IORA Chairman, for a two year period running to 2021.Points to remember The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is an international organisation consisting of 22 coastal states bordering the Indian Ocean. Headquarter: Mauritius
27. Italian movie ‘Despite the Fog’ to open at 50th IFFI this year
Italian movie ‘Despite the Fog’ will be the opening at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) this year.The film is directed by Europe’s noted filmmaker Goran Paskaljevic. The 50th edition of IFFI, beginning 20th of this month in GOA, will witness the screening of over 200 best films from 76 countries.
28. Italy to make climate change study compulsory in schools
Italy will next year become the world’s first country to make it compulsory for schoolchildren to study climate change and sustainable development. All state schools would dedicate 33 hours per year, almost one hour per school week, to climate change issues from the start of the next academic year in September. Many traditional subjects, such as geography, mathematics and physics, would also be studied from the perspective of sustainable development.
29. Biggest US-Bangladesh Navy ‘CARAT- 2019’ exercise starts in Chattogram
The second phase of the biggest US- Bangladesh Navy exercise named 'Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT)- 2019' started in Chattogram. CARAT is one of the U.S. Navy’s longest continually running exercise in South Asia and Southeast Asia. Assistant chief of naval staff (operations) Bangladesh Navy rear admiral M Makbul Hossain was present as the chief guest in the opening ceremony. The exercise provides an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the operational activities of the Navies of two countries and to get acquainted with advanced technology through various theoretical and practical training. The second phase of the exercise is being conducted from 4 to 7 November with different subject-based training and exercise.
30. Madrid to host COP 25 in December
The Spanish capital city of Madrid will host the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 25) from 2 to 13 December.The decision was taken following Chile's stepping down as host for the event due to the ongoing street protests in the South American country.The annual Conference of the Parties (COP) summit is a key event which allows representatives from around 200 nations to monitor and discuss the current situation of the world's warming climate.
31. Chile cancels APEC, COP25 summits amid social unrest
Chile’s President Sebastián Piñera said that the country will neither host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit nor the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) for security reasons. Chile has faced the largest social uprising since the return to democracy in 1990 with nationwide protests. Also, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez offered Madrid as a replacement venue for the United Nation's COP25 conference.
32. 35th ASEAN Summit begins in Bangkok
The 35th ASEAN Summit began in Bangkok.Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan -O-Cha inaugurated this summit at IMPACT convention complex.Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend this summit on November 3rd and 4th.Theme : Advancing Partnership for sustainability During five days summit East Asia Summit (EAS) and Regional, Comprehensive Economic Summit ( RCEP) will be also held. Apart from leaders of the 10 ASEAN countries head of Eight dialogue partner countries including India, USA, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand are also participating in the summit. Points to Remember The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and its six FTA partners (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand).
33. Eritrea, Saint Kittis & Nevis sign ISA Framework Agreement
Two new countries Eritrea and Saint Kittis and Nevis have signed the International Solar Alliance's (ISA) Framework Agreement at its second Assembly held in New Delhi. With this 83 countries have so far signed the ISA framework agreement. At the United Nations Climate Action Summit 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to increase renewable energy capacity to 175 GigaWatt by 2022 and committed for further increasing it to 450 GigaWatt.
NATIONAL
34.11th edition of Bal Sangam to begin from Nov 9.
The Eleventh edition of Bal Sangam to be organised by the National School of Drama, NSD, will begin from the 9th of this month in the New Delhi. It is a confluence of folk and traditional art forms performed by children. The four-day festival will showcase enthralling folk and traditional performing arts and folk theatre dedicated to children. As many as twelve States including Assam, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat are participating in the event.
35. 2-Day BIMSTEC Port Conclave to be held in Visakhapatnam
The two-day BIMSTEC Port (Bay of Bengal initiative multi-sector technical and economic cooperation) Conclave will be held on 7th and 8th November at Visakhapatnam. Vizag port trust is hosting the conclave first time ever since the formation of BIMSTECH in 1997. Seven-member countries that include Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Srilanka, Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan are participating in the conference. Union Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh L. Mandaviya will inaugurate the conclave.
36. Indian Coast Guard conducted ReSAREX-2019
The Indian Coast Guard conducted the Regional level Search and Rescue Workshop and Exercise - 2019 (ReSAREX - 2019).It conducted this exercise to check the preparedness and response measures for search and rescue at sea in a coordinated manner. The two days event organised by the Coast Guard District Headquarters - 11 (Goa) comprised of search and rescue workshop and tabletop exercise followed by search and rescue exercise at sea. The ReSAREX - 19 tested the efficiency of operations of various SAR agencies in Goa.
37.Ministry of Tourism participates in three-day-long World Travel Market (WTM) in London
The Ministry of Tourism is participating in the three-day-long World Travel Market (WTM) from November 04-06, 2019 in London, UK. The theme for India Pavilion at WTM 2019 is ‘Incredible India - Find Incredible India’. Besides, showcasing India’s various tourism products, this year, the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and the Statue of Unity are also being promoted and publicized in the India Pavilion at WTM 2019.
38. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar to attend 15th meeting of Governing Council of SACEP in Dhaka
Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar will attend the 15th meeting of the Governing Council of ‘South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme’, SACEP in Dhaka. The SACEP is an inter-governmental organization which was established in 1982. Its member countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka aim to promote and support protection, management and enhancement of the environment in the region. The 14th meeting of the SACEP Governing Council was held in March last year in Colombo.
39. KT Rama Rao invited to WEF 2020 annual meet at Davos
Telangana IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao has been invited to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting. KTR has been invited for the 50th summit to discuss the advantages of technology in the fourth industrial revolution and to reduce the challenges being faced. The meeting which will take place in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland from January 21 to January 24 next year. The theme of the meeting will be ‘Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.’
40. Narendra Singh Tomar Releases Wastelands Atlas – 2019
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar released the fifth edition of Wastelands Atlas - 2019. The Atlas, published jointly by Department of Land Resources and National Remote Sensing Centre, provides robust geospatial information on wasteland. It is helpful in rolling back the wastelands for productive use through various land development programmes and schemes.
41. Rising Himachal 2019: Global Investors meet in Dharamshala
The State Government of Himachal Pradesh is organizing Global Investors' Meet 2019, a flagship business event, at Dharamshala on November 7 -8, 2019. This event will showcase the policy and regulatory environment, investment opportunities in eight focus sectors to boost manufacturing and employment generation in the State. The Global Investors’ Meet will be attended by diplomats, leaders from the corporate sector, senior policymakers, development agencies and investors from across the world.
42. Saudi Aramco to float initial public offering
Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest integrated oil and gas company, will float initial public offering (IPO). Saudi Arabia’s Aramco is considered one of the world’s most profitable oil producing enterprise. It has decided to sell an unspecified percentage of its shares on the Saudi stock exchange, the Tadawul.
43. Ministry of Skills launches Skills Build platform in Collaboration with IBM
Directorate General of Training (DGT), under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), announced the launch of SkillsBuild platform in collaboration with IBM. As part of the programme, a two-year advanced diploma in IT, networking and cloud computing, co-created and designed by IBM, will be offered at the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) & National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs). The platform will be extended to train ITI & NSTI faculty on building skills in Artificial Intelligence (AI). SkillsBuild offers digital learning content from IBM and partners such as CodeDoor, Coorpacademy and Skillsoft.
44. India opts out of RCEP agreement
India has decided not to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) deal as negotiations failed to address New Delhi's outstanding issues and concerns. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement during his speech at the RCEP Summit in Bangkok. Mr Modi said the present form of the agreement does not fully reflect the basic spirit and the agreed guiding principles. He said the agreement also did not satisfactorily address India's outstanding issues and concerns, hence it was not possible for New Delhi to sign it Points to Remember The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and its six FTA partners (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand).
45. Rajnath Singh to co-chair India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military-Technical Cooperation
Defence minister Rajnath Singh will co-chair the 19th India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military-Technical Cooperation starting in Moscow. During his visit, Mr Singh is expected to hold discussions with Defence Minister of Russian Federation General Sergei Shoigu. He is also scheduled to inaugurate, along with Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, India-Russia Defence Industry Cooperation Conference.
46. Finance Minister launches IT initiatives ICEDASH, ATITHI for improved customs clearance
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled two new IT Initiatives - ICEDASH and ATITHI for improved monitoring and pace of customs clearance of imported goods and facilitating arriving international passengers.ICEDASH is an Ease of Doing Business monitoring dashboard of the Indian Customs helping the public see the daily Customs clearance times of import cargo at various ports and airports.The ATITHI app will facilitate hassle-free and faster clearance by Customs at the airports and enhance the experience of international tourists and other visitors at the airports.
47. National Tribal festival to be held from Nov 16 in New Delhi
The 15-day Aadi Mahotsav, National Tribal festival will be held in New Delhi from 16th of this month. The theme of the festival is “A celebration of the spirit of Tribal Craft, Culture and Commerce”. More than one thousand tribal artisans from 27 states will participate in the event. The festival will feature exhibition-cum-sale of tribal handicrafts, art, paintings, fabric, jewellery and much more through two hundred stalls.
48. 1st-ever India-Uzbekistan joint military exercise - Dustlik-2019 begins
The first-ever India-Uzbekistan joint military exercise - Dustlik-2019 will begin at Chirchiq Training Area near Tashkent. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Uzbekistan counterpart Major General Bakhodir Nizamovich Kurbanov presided over the Curtain Raiser of the military drill. The exercise, which will focus on counter-terrorism, will continue till November 13. During the exercise, an Indian Army contingent will train along with Uzbekistan Army. India and Uzbekistan have signed three Memoranda of Understanding in the fields of Military Medicine and Military Education.
49. PM attends 16th India - ASEAN Summit in Bangkok
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi attended the 16th ASEAN-India Summit in Bangkok, Thailand. In his opening remarks, Prime Minister expressed happiness in being part of the 16th India - ASEAN Summit. He thanked Thailand for the warm hospitality and extended best wishes to Vietnam for taking over as Chairman of next year’s Summit.
50. AYUSH Minister Inaugurates National Research Institute of Unani Medicine for Skin Disorders
Union Minister of State for AYUSH Shri Shripad Yesso Naik inaugurated National Research Institute of Unani Medicine for Skin Disorders (NRIUMSD) upgraded from Central Research Institute of Unani Medicine (CRIUM) at Hyderabad. Shri Naik lauded the success of the CRIUM in the treatment of vitiligo and other chronic and stubborn diseases and said that it’s perhaps the only medical institution in the world which has treated more than 1.5 lakh patients of Vitiligo alone. Shri G. Kishan Reddy called the researchers to find safe and viable solutions to prevalent health challenges, such as vector-borne diseases, non- communicable diseases, cancer and tuberculosis.
51. ‘Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan - Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat Parv’ culminated
The four-day long mega cultural and literary event of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan - Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat Parv culminated in New Delhi. Kolkata Region bagged the first position as the overall winner under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat category, while Bengaluru stood first in the category of Language of LitFest. Bhopal Region got the first position in the Display of Artefacts or Exhibition. A total number of 28 events were organized during the Parv.
52. First-ever movement of container cargo on Brahmaputra (National Waterway -2)
In line with Government’s focus on improving connectivity to the North Eastern Region (NER), a landmark container cargo consignment will sail on inland waterways from Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) to the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) terminal at Pandu in Guwahati. Shri Gopal Krishna, Secretary (Shipping) will flag off the inland vessel MV Maheshwari carrying 53 TEUs (containers) of petrochemicals, edible oil and beverage etc.The 12-15 days voyage will be an integrated IWT movement via National Waterway-1 (River Ganga), NW-97 (Sunderbans), Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route and NW-2 (river Brahmaputra). This is the first-ever containerised cargo movement on this Inland Water Transport (IWT) route. National Waterway 2 (NW-2) is a section of the Brahmaputra River having a length of 891 km between the Bangladesh border near Dhubri and Sadiya in Assam.
53. 12-Day Odd-Even Scheme in Delhi comes into effect
The Odd-Even scheme to combat air pollution will be implemented in the National Capital from 4 November .The 12-day scheme will continue till 15th of this month.Under the scheme, the vehicles with odd last digit registration number will be allowed on roads on odd dates and those with even last digit will ply on even dates. The scheme will be applicable from 8 AM to 8 PM. Vehicles of President, Vice President, Prime Minister, State Governors, Chief Justice of India, Speaker of Lok Sabha, Union Ministers, Leaders of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, Chief Ministers of States and Union Territories will also be exempted from the scheme. However, there will be no exemption for the vehicles of Delhi Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues. Privately owned CNG vehicles will not be exempted this time. If anyone violates the odd-even rule, a fine of Rs 4,000 would be charged.
54. PM Modi to inaugurate 5th India International Science Festival on Nov 5
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Fifth India International Science Festival at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre, Kolkata.The festival will continue till 8th of this month. The prime objective of the festival is to instil scientific temper among the masses.It will showcase India’s contribution in the field of science and technology over the years and encourage the translation of its benefits to people.
55. UNESCO designates Mumbai as member of UCCN in field of Films, Hyderabad in field of Gastronomy
UNESCO has designated Mumbai as a member of UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in the field of Film and Hyderabad in the field of Gastronomy. UCCN, created in 2004, is a network of cities which are thriving, active centres of cultural activities in their respective countries. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network now counts a total of 246 cities. The member cities that form part of the Network come from all continents and regions with different income levels and populations.The 7 categories for recognition under UCCN are Crafts and Folk Arts, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Music, Media Arts and Literature. Previously, 3 Indian cities were recognized as members of UCCN, namely- Jaipur-Crafts and Folk Arts (2015), Varanasi-Creative city of Music (2015), Chennai-Creative city of Music (2017).
56. India, Uzbekistan sign 3 MoUs in fields of Military Medicine and Military Education.
India and Uzbekistan have signed three Memoranda of Understanding in the fields of Military Medicine and Military Education. The MoUs were signed following a meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Uzbekistan counterpart Major General Nizamovich in Tashkent. Mr Rajnath Singh is on a three-day visit to Uzbekistan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
57. Home minister Amit Shah to inaugurate SCO joint exercise on Search, Rescue
Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Joint Exercise on Urban Earthquake Search and Rescue - SCOJtEx-2019 in New Delhi. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is hosting the event which will continue till November 7. The aim of the exercise is to rehearse the disaster response mechanism, share knowledge, experience and technology for mutual coordination. All the eight-member countries of SCO namely China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will participate in this exercise.
58. Govt to set up anti-human trafficking units in all districts using Nirbhaya Fund
The government will set up anti-human trafficking units in all districts with the help of the Nirbhaya Fund. This initiative will strengthen women safety and instil a greater sense of security among them. Mrs Irani expressed her gratitude to Home Minister Amit Shah for speedy intervention and ensuring efficacy in fructifying these initiatives. The empowered committee (EC) under the Nirbhaya framework has recommended setting up anti-human trafficking units and women help desks at a cost of 100 crore rupees each to be fully funded by the centre. Nirbhaya Fund was announced by the Centre in 2013 to support the initiatives of the government and the NGOs working towards the safety of women.
59. Govt releases maps of newly-created UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh
The government released the maps of newly created union territories of Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh and the map of India depicting these union territories. The new map shows 28 states and nine union territories after the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir. The new union territories of Ladakh consists of two districts of Kargil and Leh and the rest of the districts of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir are in the newly created union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
60. Rajnath Singh leaves for Tashkent to attend SCO summit
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh embarked for a two-day visit to Tashkent to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. Rajnath Singh will represent India in the meeting of Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of SCO in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. This will be the third CHG meeting after India became a member of the SCO. The last two CHG meetings were held from November 30 to December 1, 2017, in Sochi, Russia, and on October 11 to 12, 2018 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
61. SC mandated panel declares a public health emergency in the Delhi-NCR region
A Supreme Court-mandated panel EPCA has declared a public health emergency in the Delhi-NCR region and banned all the construction activity till 5th November. In a letter written to Chief Secretaries of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi, EPCA chairperson Bhure Lal said air quality in Delhi-NCR in a severe category. Delhi CM has announced that all schools in Delhi would remain closed till November 5 after Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) announced a state of Public Health Emergency.
62. Election Commission announces Jharkhand assembly polls dates
Election Commission has announced the schedule of five-phase polls for 81 seats in Jharkhand State Assembly. The first phase of voting will be held on the 30th of November, the second phase on 7th December, 3rd phase on 12th December. The fourth phase polling will be held on 16th and fifth phase polling on 20th of December. The counting of votes will be held on the 23rd of December.
63. The several States, Union Territories celebrate their Formation Day on 1 November
States of Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh celebrated their formation day on 1 November. Union Territories of Lakshwadeep, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar also have their Foundation Days on 1 November. On November 1, 1956, all Kannada speaking regions were merged to form Karnataka. In 1963, Puducherry became officially an integral part of India.
64. Chavang Kut celebrated across North-Eastern states with traditional gaiety, enthusiasm
Chavang Kut, the post-harvest festival of the Kuki-Chin-Mizo communities is being celebrated across North-Eastern states with traditional gaiety and enthusiasm. The festival marks the Anglo-Kuki war centenary year. In Manipur, Mizoram and Assam and other parts of the country, the festival is organized every year as thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest. It is one of the most important festivals of Kuki-Chin-Mizo communities.
65. 'Dharma Guardian' military exercise between India, Japan concludes in Mizoram
The second edition of the annual joint military exercise, named as Dharma Guardian between Indian and Japanese Army ended at Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) Vairengte in Mizoram. The primary focus of this fortnight-long joint military exercise was to train and equip the contingents in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations in mountainous terrain.As part of the exercise, important lectures, demonstrations and drills related to counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations were conducted. Both the Armies also shared their valuable experiences in countering such situations as also refined drills and procedures for joint operations.
66. Tamil Nadu becomes the first State to enact a law on contract farming
Tamil Nadu has become the first state in the country to enact a law on contract farming with President Ram Nath Kovind giving assent to the Agricultural Produce and Livestock Contract Farming and Services (Promotion and Facilitation) Act. The law would safeguard the interests of farmers when there is a bumper crop or during major fluctuation in market prices. In such a scenario, the farmers will be paid a predetermined price arrived at the time of signing agreements with buyers. However, any product that is banned by the Centre government or the State government or by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, would not be covered under contract farming Contract farming refers to varied formal and informal agreements between producers and processors or buyers. It may include loose buying arrangements, simple purchase agreements and supervised production with input provision, with tied loans and risk coverage.Contract farming usually involves the following basic elements - pre-agreed price, quality, quantity or acreage (minimum/maximum) and time.
67. Arunachal Pradesh to host its 1st Multilingual Writers’ Meet
For the first time, Arunachal Pradesh will host the Multilingual Writers’ Meet at its oldest town Pasighat in East Siang District. The two-day event will be held at the auditorium of the College of Horticulture and Forestry. Sahitya Academi in collaboration with Central Agricultural University, Imphal and Arunachal Pradesh Literary Society, Itanagar is hosting the meet. 25 prominent multilingual writers and poets from all parts of India and many literary dignitaries of the host state will attend the event.
68. Chhath festival celebrations begin with religious fervour
In Bihar, the four days long auspicious Chhath festival worship of the Sun God began with the ritual of Nahay Khaya Devotees especially women across the state are taking a holy dip in Ganga and other rivers, ponds and water bodies. After that, they will take cooked Arwa rice and bottle gourd as Prasad. Devotees will pay their obeisance Sandhya Arghya to the setting Sun and the festival would end with Pratah Arghya where obeisance will be paid to the rising Sun. Migrant people of Bihar residing across the country are returning to their home to celebrate Chhath Puja with families.Markets across the state are flooded with items used in the puja.
