November 2019 Daily News Current Affairs

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Nov 30, 2019
1. 2019 edition of Manipur Sangai Festival organised in Imphal, named after State animal, Sangai, the brow-antlered deer found only in Manipur. It is being observed since 2010.
2. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship announced opening of online registrations for IndiaSkills 2020, a biennial competition to scout talent from country.
  1. IndiaSkills 2020 provides a platform for skilled and talented Indian youngsters to showcase their abilities at regional and national level competitions in over 50 skills. Regional legs of competitions are organized across four zones, culminating at national competition in Delhi.
  2. Winners of IndiaSkills will represent India at WorldSkills International Competition to be held in China in 2021.
  3. Interested candidates can register online- www.worldskillsindia.co.in. The age limit for the competition is for youth born on or after 1 January 1999.
  4. Earlier, 22 winners of Indiaskills 2018 represented India at WorldSkills International 2019 (WSK), held in Kazan, Russia. India won one gold, one silver, two bronze and 15 Medallions of Excellence and ranked 13th among 63 countries.
3. 5th Meeting of SCO Member States’ Heads of Ministries and Departments of Science and Technology(S&T) and Permanent Working Group on S&T Cooperation held in Moscow (Russia).
  1. India will host Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) forum of Young Scientists and Innovators in 2020.
  2. India will also host Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of SCO Member States in 2020.
4. Chairman of Lokpal, Pinaki Chandra Ghose launched logo of Lokpal in New Delhi. Motto of Lokpal “मा गृधः कस्यस्विद्धनम्” (Do not be greedy for anyone’s wealth) was also adopted. Logo design is made by Prashant Mishra (Prayagraj).
  1. Design -
5. General Events / Conferences (Nov 21 - 30, 2019) -
  1. ‘DEFCOM INDIA 2019’ based on theme “Communications: A Decisive Catalyst for Jointness” held at Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi. DEFCOM is flagship event in area of military communication for achieving jointness between three services.
  2. 3rd Military Literature Festival organized in Chandigarh.
  3. Uttar Pradesh Government launched campaign against Filaria, as India aims to eradicate Filaria completely by 2021. As per WHO, Filaria is the second-largest disease that makes people handicapped on a large scale.
  4. UP's modern railway coach factory established new dimensions in field of modernity, by beginning using humanoid robot 'Sona 1.5', a full-service robot made in India which can be used to transport documents from one place to another.
  5. India for Humanity-Jaipur Foot event organised at US Capitol building to commemorate 150th birth anniversary of M K Gandhi, jointly by Indian Embassy and Jaipur Foot USA.
  6. Aalmi Tablighi Ijtima, world's biggest Islamic Congregation began in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh). It is a forum for delivering some important religious-spiritual messages to Muslims around world.
  7. 4-day North East festival held in Varanasi (UP), to offer an opportunity for fusion of two rich cultures of Ganga and Brahmaputra, represented by Varanasi and North East respectively.
  8. Fifth Dialogue of NITI Aayog and Development Research Centre (DRC) of State Council of China, held in Wuhan (China). Indian delegation was led by Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog.
  9. 47th All India Police Science Congress held in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), organized by Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D).
  10. 11th edition of Agrovision exhibition 2019 held in Nagpur (Maharashtra).
  11. 2 day conference of governors held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
  12. PM Narendra Modi launched Fit India School grading system in schools across country, for grading in 3 categories. Schools that achieve this ranking will also be able to use Fit India logo and flag. Schools can declare themselves as fit by visiting the Fit India portal and the rankings will be assigned after survey.
  13. Atal innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog in association with UNICEF and MyGov announced top 30 winners of the Gandhian Challenge, which was organized to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
    1. Gandhian challenge sought innovative solutions based on Gandhian principles for new world challenges such as global warming, increasing violence and intolerance etc.
  14. Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat released a short documentary film on Water Conservation named 'SHIKHAR SE PUKAR'. It is based on Journey of an IAS Officer Ravindra Kumar, who climbed Everest this year to attract attention of people from top of Everest on serious issue of Water Conservation.
  15. 1st International Conference on “Landslide Risk Reduction and Resilience" held in New Delhi.
  16. 19th Session of India-Finland Joint Commission held in New Delhi.
  17. Ocean Dance Festival 2019 held in Cox Bazar of Bangladesh, as largest international dance festival of Bangladesh. 2019 theme is 'Bridging the distance.
  18. Indore-based Devi Ahilya University became Madhya Pradesh's first varsity to be accorded A-plus grade by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
  19. DRDO Industry Synergy Summit 2019 held at Hyderabad (Telangana).
  20. As a tribute to one of most decorated soldiers of Indian Army Late Naib Subedar Chuni Lal, an Army Goodwill Park was dedicated at his native village Bhara in Doda, Jammu and Kashmir.
  21. Indian Steel Association organised 2nd Edition of “ISA – Steel Conclave 2019” in New Delhi.
  22. International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) organized NuGen Mobility Summit 2019 in Gurugram (Haryana).
  23. Etawah Lion Safari, formally known as Etawah Safari Park opened for public in Uttar Pradesh, without lion segment. It has at least 18 lions roam in the premises.
  24. 8th National Tribal Craft Mela held at Odisha State Tribal Museum Complex in Bhubaneswar.
  25. Agra (UP) hosted first-ever Global Taj International Film Festival.
  26. First Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, MoEF&CC & Centre for Media Studies (CMS) VATAVARAN-2019 Short Film Competition and Festival on held in New Delhi.
6. Visits from India (Nov 21-30, 2019) -
  1. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Singapore to attend 4th edition of annual India-Singapore Defence Ministers’ Dialogue 2019.
7. Visits to India (Nov 21-30, 2019) -
  1. Uzbekistan Minister of Internal Affairs, Pulat Bobojonov visited India.
  2. Newly elected President of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa Visited India.
    1. India announced financial assistance of $450 million to Sri Lanka including $50 million to fight terrorism.
  3. Tony Abbott, Former Prime Minister of Australia Visited India.
  4. All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) signed MOU with Western Sydney University (Australia), to promote collaboration in research and developing guidelines for integrating Ayurveda principles with modern medicine.
    1. It was signed during visit of Minister for Education of Australia, Dan Tehan to India. He also attended 5th Australia-India Ministerial Dialogue on Education Cooperation.
  5. 1st meeting of India-Japan Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue (2+2) held in New Delhi. India was represdnted by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. Japan was represented by Foreign Affairs Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Minister of Defence Taro Kono.
  6. Mozambique Minister of Defence Atanasio Salvador M’Tumukeis visited India.
8. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the India chapter of its new initiative, Accelerator Lab in New Delhi. It is aimed at addressing some of most pressing issues facing India, including air pollution, through innovation. UNDP also partnered with NITI Aayog ‘s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM).
9. Government is planning to set up a new rocket launch pad near Kulasekarapattinam in Tamil Nadu. At present, ISRO has two launch pads at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDCC) in Sriharikotta, Andhra Pradesh.
10. Nov 30 is observed as Organ Donation Day in India, with 2019 being 10th edition of the same.
11. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report titled “Emissions Gap Report 2019” -
  1. Report states that it is required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7.6% each year between 2020 and 2030 to limit temperature rise by 2030 to 1.5°C, as per Paris Agreement. Despite commitments under Paris Agreement, temperatures are still expected to rise by 3.2°C.
  2. India, China, Mexico, Russia and Turkey are projected to meet their targets with current policies. India, Russia and Turkey are expected to ‘over perform’ their targets by around 15%.
    - India made 3 promises at 21st Conference of Parties meeting in Paris, France in December 2015. They were - to lower emission intensity of GDP, to create more forests to absorb 2.5 billion to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 and 40% of installed capacity for electricity generation based on non-fossil fuels.
  3. In 2018, 55.3 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent of greenhouse gases (GHG) were emitted globally. In 2017, emission was 54 gigatonnes. Main reason for increase in CO2 emissions was burning of fossil fuels.
  4. To stay under 2°C, by 2030, emissions would need to be 25% lower than in 2018. For 1.5°C-consistent pathway, reduction needs to be 55%(32 gigatonnes) below 2018 levels.
  5. Report was released prior to UN Climate Conference (COP-25) to be held in Spain from 2 December 2019.
  6. Report suggests that, With renewable energy, emission reduction can achieve a target of 12.1 gigatonnes (GT) by 2050. Also, electrification of transport can also help reduce carbon emission up to 72% by 2050.
12. Misc. Appointments (November 2019) -
  1. Pavan kapoor has been appointed as India's New Ambassador to United Arab Emirates.
  2. Manoj Pande appointed as Member (Staff) in Railway Board.
  3. Anup Banerji appointed as Director General, Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS).
  4. Election Commission appointed B Murali Kumar as Special Expenditure Observer for forthcoming Elections to Assembly of Jharkhand.
  5. Anjani Kumar is appointed as New Ambassador of India to Mali.
  6. Sanjay Gupta is appointed by Google as India's Country Manager.
  7. British-Dutch transnational consumer goods company Unilever named Nils Andersen as its new Chairman.
  8. PSU India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) appointed G Kamala Vardhana Rao as new Chairman and Managing Director.
  9. Karabi Gogoi became first woman officer from Indian Navy to be posted as a Defence Attache at an Indian mission abroad, after she was posted as Assistant Naval Attache at Indian embassy in Moscow (Russia).
  10. Ms. Padmaja is appointed as New India Ambassador to Kingdom of Tonga (Oceania).
  11. Tamil Nadu government appointed R Rajagopal as Chief information commissioner (CIC) of state.
  12. Chinese sprinter Su Bingtian is appointed to Athletes Commission of World Athletics, formerly known as International Association of Athletics Federations.
  13. Tata Sons Group's Tata Comunications appointed Amur Swaminathan Lakshminarayanan as MD and CEO.
  14. Indian Overseas Bank appointed Bhuwan Chandra as its Chief Financial Officer.
13. Misc. Sports Events (November 2019) -
  1. Indian Women Cricket Team defeated Sri Lanka to win Women’s Emerging Asia Cup 2019, hosted in Sri Lanka.
  2. Official emblem of FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2020 has been unveiled. The tournament is to be held in India. Also, Thomas Dennerby is appointed as as Indian Head Coach for the event.
  3. 35th National Junior Athletics Championships 2019 held in Guntur (Andhra Pradesh).
  4. India's Deepak Chahar has set record for Best bowling figures in T20 Intrnational Cricket by picking 6 wickets for 7 runs against Bangladesh. He went past Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka)'s record of 6 wickets/8 runs.
  5. 63rd National Shotgun Shooting Championships held in New Delhi.
  6. South Korea’s Kim Joo Hyung won Panasonic Open Golf 2019 held in Gurugram (Haryana). India’s Shiv Kapur finished tied runner-up with S. Chikkarangappa.
  7. Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia has been conferred the Indian Personality of the Year Award (Sports) at the Indo Arab Leaders Summit & Awards 2019 in Dubai. Powerlifting champion Mahant Gaurav Sharma was honoured with Visionary Leaders of the Year (Sports) award.
  8. Bhubaneswar (Odisha) will host India's home matches during 2020 Hockey Pro League, as announced by International Hockey Federation. It will be played between 11th of January and 28th of June in 2020.
  9. Indian Hockey player-turned bodybuilder Chitahresh Natesan, also known as ‘Indian Monster’, became first Indian to win ‘Mr. Universe (Pro) 2019’ in 90kg category at 11th World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championship(WBPF) in South Korea.
  10. India won its first-ever pink ball test match played against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
  11. Serbia will stage its first-ever World Athletics Series, with its capital, Belgrade being named host of 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships. Chinese city of Yangzhou is named as host of 2022 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships.
  12. India won 28 medals at Under-15 Asian wrestling Championships at Taichung (China), including 13 gold, 14 silver and a bronze.
  13. Indian Professional boxer Vijender Singh defeated Ghana’s former Commonwealth champion Charles Adamu to claim his 12th successive win.
  14. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) committee recommended a four-year global sports ban on Russia, including hosting and participating in major international sports events. It wont affect russia hosting European Championship Football (UEFA) in 2020.
  15. Australian Cricketer Steve Smith became fastest to score 7,000 runs in Test cricket, going past late English cricketer Wally Hammond.
14. Obituaries (November 2019) -
  1. Champak Jain - Noted Bollywood Producer.
  2. Krishan Kumar Modi - Noted Indian businessman and President of Modi Enterprises.
  3. Girija Keer - Noted Marathi writer.
  4. Yvette Lundy - Noted French Resistance and a Nazi concentration camp survivor.
  5. Ernest J. Gaines - Noted American Author.
  6. Nabaneeta Dev Sen - Noted Sahitya Academy Awardee writer.
  7. Tazeen Ahmad - Noted British journalist and broadcaster.
  8. Ramakant Gundecha - Noted Dhrupad maestro.
  9. Tirunellai Narayana Iyer Seshan - Former Chief Election Commissioner of India.
  10. Vashishtha Narayan Singh - Noted Mathematician. He is said to have challenged Einstein's theory of relativity.
  11. Azad Yusuf - Noted Singer, known as Cochin Azad. He was famous for his renditions of Mohammed Rafi songs.
  12. Anthony Longford Mann - Australian cricketer.
  13. Sultan bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan - Brother of UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
  14. Shaukat Kaifi - Noted Actress and Shabana Azmi's mother.
  15. Nilkanth Khadilkar - Noted Senior Journalist.
  16. Kailash Joshi - Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister.
  17. Bala Singh -Tamil actor.
  18. Sushil Kumar - Former Indian Navy Chief.
  19. Sudhir Dar - Noted cartoonist.
  20. Clive James - Noted Australian writer.
  21. Brad Gobright - Noted American Rock climber. He died by falling during a rock climbing practice in Mexico.
  22. Yasuhiro Nakasone - former Prime Minister of Japan.
15. Industrial Awards (November 2019) -
  1. US Govt. presented Award for Corporate Excellence to Pepsico India for its efforts to save more than 17 billions of litres of water through community water programs and positively impacting thousands of community members.
  2. Singer S.P. Balasubrahmanyam has been selected for the Chetana Silver Jubilee National Award. It carries cash prize of one lakh. Also, Sound Engineer Resul Pookutty won National Audio Excellence Award instituted in memory of Fr. Paul Alengattukaran, founder of Chetana Sound Studio.
  3. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) India unit RBS India announced winners of 9th RBS Earth Heroes Awards (REHA) -
    1. Bholu Abrar Khan of Bharatpur (Rajasthan): Green Warrior
    2. Dimbeshwar Das of Assam: Green Warrior
    3. Ela Foundation (Pune): Earth Guardian
    4. Aishwarya Maheshwari (Uttar Pradesh): Save the Species
    5. Sathish (Tamil Nadu): Save the Species
    6. Jalal Ud Din Baba (Jammu & Kashmir): Inspire
    7. Pramila Bisoyi (Odisha): Lifetime Achievement
  4. Indian Industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla (Chairman of Aditya Birla Group) received UAE Government backed ABLF Global Asian Award.
  5. Indian chamber of food and agriculture conferred ‘global agriculture award’ on Tamil Nadu for its excellence in agriculture sector.
  6. Indian content broadcast app JioTV has been conferred award for IPTV Innovation at World Communication Awards 2019 in London.
  7. Haryana in UK Association conferred Haryana Gaurav Award on World Championship Silver medallist and Arjuna awardee Amit Panghal and International Sports Curator Sunil Yash Kalra.
  8. Tobacco Board of India has been awarded Golden Leaf Award in Most Impressive Public Service Initiative category for 2019, for its efforts to initiate various sustainability (green) initiatives in Flue-Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco cultivation in India. It was announced at Tab Expo 2019 event in Amsterdam (The Netherlands).
  9. Noted Rabindra Sangeet exponent from Bangladesh Rezwana Choudhury Bannya has been conferred ICCR distinguished alumni award in Dhaka, given away by High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das.
  10. J&K Grameen Bank ranked first from among 56 RRBs across country in terms of achievement of Rupay Card transaction targets (POS and eCOM). As per National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), It achieved 94.95% target for POS/ eCOM transactions.
  11. Uttar Pradesh Police awarded third prize in emergency response category during an international call centre event organised by the Dubai Police. First prize won by Singapore Police and second by Sharjah Police.
  12. NTPC has been bestowed with the ‘Golden Peacock Award for Sustainability’ 2019, during the 19th International Conference on Corporate Governance & Sustainability held in London (U.K).
  13. Suresh Krishna, former Confederation of Indian Industry received India’s First ‘Quality Ratna’ award by CII Institute of Quality.
  14. American-Italian filmmaker Martin Scorsese selected by 31st Palm Springs International Film Festival as the recipient of Sonny Bono Visionary Award for the film ‘The Irishman’. Film is based on a book titled, ‘I Heard You Paint Houses’.
16. Misc. Corporate Events (November 2019) -
  1. Government e-Marketplace (GeM) signed MoU with Indian Bank and Canara Bank, facilitate a cashless, paperless and transparent payment system on the portal and would create an efficient procurement system for government entities.
  2. Tripura Gramin Bank in collaboration with Stock Holdings Corporation of India launched an e-Stamp Counter at Agartala. With e-Stamp facilities in banks, all of government revenue gets transferred only in government fund, increasing transparency.
  3. MSTC Ltd signed agreement with Allahabad Bank for development of a dedicated e-Auction platform, directly linked with the Indian Banking Association’s portal (https://ibapi.net) for sale of non-performing assets (NPAs) through SARFAESI (Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest) Act.
  4. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank launched Digital Savings Account along with Fixed Deposit and Privilege Savings Account to offer digital services to its customers. Amount upto 1 Lakh cab be deposited. The limit will be lifted after getting full KYC done.
  5. RBI issued new compensation guidelines for banks to raise variable portion of remuneration to at least half of the total for their CEOs and full-time Directors.
    1. RBI stated that if variable pay is up to 200 % of fixed pay, at least 50 % of it should be non-cash. However, if variable pay is more than 200 % of fixed pay then, 67 % of it should be paid through non-cash ways.
  6. India's Sun Pharma partnered with AstraZeneca UK Ltd to introduce certain novel ready-to-use infusion oncology products in China.
  7. Indian Bank signed MOU with Muthoot Microfinance to serve micro, small and medium enterprises.
  8. Karnataka Gramin Bank (KGB) launched ‘mobile ATMs’ in several districts of Karnataka, to further financial inclusion efforts.
  9. Ministry of Environment granted clearance to Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) to set up a Rs 766-crore 2G ethanol plant in Haryana’s Panipat district.
  10. PNB Housing Finance raised INR 2500 crores from Life Insurance Corporation of India in 10-year bonds, as PNB Housing's second fund raising in bonds this fiscal.
  11. Gujarat Govt. launched online registration portal to facilitate setting up of new MSME units. It will enable quick approval and certificate issuiance, to set up new MSME unit in state.
  12. Uttar Pradesh government launched a dedicated web portal and a mobile application named e-Ganna, for sugarcane farmers. It will ensure transparency in process of issuing cane supply slips to farmers by mills.
  13. Ride hailing Firm Ola and tech firm Microsoft inked a partnership to measure real-time street air quality index in Delhi.
  14. Subsidiary of NBFC Sundaram Finance Ltd - Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance - has been renamed to Sundaram Home Finance.
  15. IIM Indore signed MoU with Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) Mussoorie, to exchange faculty members for various training programmes.
  16. MSME Lender U GRO Capital signed a loan co-origination partnership with State Bank of India (SBI) to offer credit at competitive rate of interest.
  17. Commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland signed MoU with ICICI Bank to offer customised financial solutions to customers.
  18. SBI Card Tied up with airline Vistara to offer co-branded credit cards.
  19. Online trucking platform BlackBuck partnered with private lenders IDFC Bank and Yes Bank to provide FASTags to truck owners free of cost. Truck owners can order FASTags on BlackBuck's Boss App, to be doorstep delivered for free until December 31, 2019.+
  20. Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare) ordered winding up Adarsh Credit Cooperative Society Ltd (Ahmedabad). ASSC Ltd has been found to indulge in misusing funds of depositors for personal gains.
  21. COCO By DHFL General Insurance launched its first retail health indemnity insurance product COCOCure, as a new-age health insurance product.
17. Persons Retired / Resigned (November 2019) -
  1. T. Latha resigned as MD and CEO of Dhanlaxmi Bank.
  2. Anil Ambani resigned as director of bankrupt Reliance Communications.
  3. Ireland Female Cricketer Amy Kenealy announced her retirement from international cricket.
  4. Noted British Boxer and Two-time Olympic boxing champion Nicola Adams announced her retirement.
  5. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis resigned from his post, after no party gained single handed majority in Recent Maharashtra elections and BJP refused to form coalition government with Shiv Sena, amid demands made by Shiv sena. President's rule has been enacted in state as no party was able to form goverment.
  6. Evo Morales resigned as President of Bolivia (South America), amid protests against his government.
  7. Arvind Sawant resigned as Union Minister of heavy industries and public enterprises. Govt gave the additional charge of Ministry of Heavy industries and public enterprises to Prakash Javadekar (He is also Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change).
  8. Spanish footballer David Villa announced retirement from Football.
  9. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) banned bowler Shahadat Hussain for five years, due to a fight with a teammate during a match.
  10. Home Ministry cancelled Indian citizenship of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MLA Ramesh Chennamaneni for concealing facts about his foreign tours. He is alleged to have secretly taken German citizenship and not informed about it.
  11. Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa's 3 year extension has been cancelled by Supreme Court of Pakistan. Pakistan Govt had earlier extended General Bajwa's term for 3 years.
  12. Ireland Cricketer Tim James Murtagh announced retirement from International Cricket.
18. Indian GDP Growth Forecasts (November 2019) -
  1. Moody's Investors Service has cut India's economic growth forecast for current year to 5.6% from 5.8% estimated earlier.
    1. It expects economic activity to pick up in 2020 and 2021 to 6.6% and 6.7% respectively, but pace to remain lower than in recent past.
    2. Few Days Earlier, Moody's Investors Service had cut India's ratings outlook to "negative" from "stable", citing increasing risks that India will grow at a slower pace than in the past.
    3. However, Moody's retained India's foreign and local currency ratings at 'Baa2'.
  2. Japanese Firm Nomura has cut its GDP forecast for India to 4.9 % for FY 2019-20 year 5.7 % earlier, saying India economy is going through a "deeper trough" and even a sub-par recovery is at least a year away.
  3. National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) pegged India’s GDP growth for 2019-20 at 4.9 %.
  4. Fitch group firm India Ratings and Research lowered India's GDP growth forecast to 5.6 %, as 4th revision for this year.
Nov 29, 2019
1. As per year-end FIFA World Ranking 2019 -
  1. India ranked 108th in the list.
  2. Top 5 - Belgium (1), France (2), Brazil (3), England (4), Uruguay (5)
2. 14th edition of annual military exercise Between India and Nepal, SURYA KIRAN-XIV commenced at Salijhandi, Rupendehi district of Nepal.
3. Singapore and India Joint air force military training exercise held at Kalaikunda Air Force Station in West Bengal.
4. Consumer Affairs Ministry announced that Hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts will be made mandatory across country from January 15, 2021 to ensure purity of Gold. It makes it compulsory for all the jewellers to register with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and sell only hallmarked gold jewellery and artefacts. Gold hallmarking voluntary at present. One year period will be provided for implementation.
5. RBI excluded Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank from 2nd schedule of RBI Act 1934 with effect from April 1, 2019, since they have ceased to carry on banking business with effect from April 1, 2019. Both banks were merged into Bank of Baroda.
6. SEBI issued rules for exchanged-traded debt funds and index funds. It comes ahead of proposed issue of first debt ETF, to be managed by Edelweiss Asset Management and will cater to borrowing needs of PSUs. As per SEBI Guidelines -
  1. Index created for debt ETF must have minimum 8 companies with no single issuer having more than 15% weight.
  2. Any new debt ETF to be launched should replicate index completely. If this is not feasible due to non-availability of securities issued by index constituents, ETF would be allowed to invest in other debt issues with a deviation of plus or minus 10%.
  3. Duration of debt ETF / index fund should not deviate more than 5% from duration of index. If credit rating of an issuance falls below investment grade, rebalancing by debt ETF must be done within 5 days.
7. Delhi Assembly along with Lok Sabha hosted a 3 day Commonwealth Youth Parliament, with Participation from 24 Commonwealth countries.It is first time an Indian Legislature hosted Commonwealth Youth Parliament.
8. A new species of snake named Trachischium apteii found in Tally Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh. Trachischium apteii commonly called ‘Slender Snakes’ is a non-venomous burrowing snake well known for its heat-sensing system. It was named in honour of Deepak Apte noted marine Biologist and Director of BNHS (Bombay Natural History Society).
9. Malayalam poet Akkitham Achuthan Namboodiri has been chosen as the recipient of 55th Jnanpith Award, as 6th Malayalam writer to be conferred with this prestigious honour.
  1. Jnanpith Award was instituted in 1961, as India's highest literary honour. It contains cash prize of INR 11 Lakh.
10. World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) organized 18th World Wind Energy Conference and Exhibition (WWEC 2019) in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
11. Indian Navy commissioned its sixth Dornier aircraft squadron in Porbandar (Gujarat), to boost coastal security near sea border with Pakistan. New Indian Naval Air Squadron 314, called Raptors, will operate with four newly-inducted, next generation Dornier aircraft.
12. RBI imposed penalty of INR 1.50 crore on Corporation Bank for non-compliance with certain provisions of directions issued by RBI.
13. European Union declared a climate emergency, as a symbolic move aimed at increasing pressure on incoming European Commission to take a stronger stance on climate change. It comes ahead of UN COP25 climate summit to be held in December in Madrid (Spain). Resolution call on EU to cut emissions by 55 % by 2030 to become climate neutral by 2050.
14. Nov 29 is observed as UN International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
15. NBFC Aditya Birla Finance Ltd became first company to list its commercial papers (CPs) on stock exchanges. Listing of commercial papers is expected to lead to an efficient transmission of information regarding corporate borrowings and liquidity positions to market participants.
  1. A Commercial paper is an unsecured money market instrument, issued in form of promissory notes that enables highly rated corporate borrowers to diversify their sources of short-term borrowings.
16. UK India Business Council (UKIBC) announced establishment of Aerospace and Defence Industry Group to boost bilateral cooperation. Eerlier, a MoU was signed between UK and India on ‘Defence Technology Industrial Capability Cooperation’. Aerospace and Defence Industry Group will contribute towards India’s defence modernization.
17. Ministry of Shipping (MoS) approved development of Loktak Inland Waterways Project in Manipur, under Central Sector Scheme (CSS) at estimated cost of Rs.25.58 crore. Loktak Lake is largest freshwater lake in Northeast.
18. Indian news channel NDTV has been awarded International Press Institute India award for excellence in journalism by India chapter of the Vienna-based International Press Institute, for its ‘expose of the conspiracy to scuttle’ the Kathua rape and murder case probe. Award was instituted by IPI India in 2003.
19. Indian Navy test-fired BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, from Navy’s stealth destroyer INS Kochi. BRAHMOS Supersonic Cruise Missile has been jointly developed by India and Russia and in service Indian Navy since 2005, as world’s fastest cruise missile and has strike-range of 290 km.
  1. Indian Army also successfully test fired newly acquired Spike long- range Anti-Tank Missiles in Madhya Pradesh. Spike anti-tank missiles is a 4th generation missile which can engage any target with precision at ranges up to 4 km, developed by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
20. Former RBI deputy governor H R Khan has been appointed as first chairman of steering committee panel on Code for Responsible Lending (CRL) in Micro-Credit. Code for Responsible Lending (CRL) is a self-regulatory step for micro-credit industry making diverse entities such as banks, NBFC-MFI, adhere to standards of customer protection.
  1. CRL was launched in September 2019 by Micro-finance Institutions Network (MFIN) and Sa-Dhan, an RBI-recognised association of microfinance institutions (MFIs).
21. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation's National Statistical Office (NSO) released estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2nd quarter (July-September) Q2 of 2019-20 -
  1. GDP growth rate came down to 6 year low of 4.5% in Q2 of FY 2019-20 financial year, triggered by huge slowdown in manufacturing sector.
    1. GDP at Constant (2011-12) Prices in Q2 of 2019-20 is estimated at 35.99 lakh crores, as against 34.43 lakh crore in Q2 of 2018-19, showing growth rate of 4.5 %.
    2. Quarterly GVA at Basic Price at Constant (2011-12) Prices for Q2 of 2019-20 also shown slow growth rate of 4.3 % over corresponding quarter of previous year.
  2. Earlier, India's GDP growth was 5 % in Q1 of FY 2019-20, 5.8 % in Q4 of FY 2018-19, 6.6 % in Q3, after strong growth of 7.1% in Q2 and 8.2% in Q1 of FY 2018-19. GDP Growth Rate of FY 2018-19 was 6.8 %.

Nov 28, 2019

5th edition of Global Exhibition on Services (GES) 2019 from at Bengaluru (Karnataka), as an annual event aimed at promoting greater exchange of trade in services between India and world.

21st Asian Archery Championships 2019 held in Bangkok (Thailand) -

Medal Table -

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	South Korea	9	2	2	13
2	India	1	2	4	7
3	China	0	2	1	3
3	Chinese Taipei	0	2	1	3

Gold - India's Abhishek Verma AND Jyothi Surekha Vennam (compound Mixed team).
Silver -
1. Compound Men's Team (Mohan Bhardwaj, Rajat Chauhan, Abhishek Verma)
2. Compound Women's Team (Priya Gurjar, Muskan Kirar, Jyothi Surekha Vennam)
Bronze -
1. Atanu Das - Recurve Men's Individual
2. Recurve Men's Team (Atanu Das, Tarundeep Rai, Jayanta Talukdar).
3. Recurve Women's Team (Ankita Bhakat, Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi Laishram)
4. Recurve Mixed Team (Atanu Das, Deepika Kumari)

In Maharashtra, Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress formed government, with Uddhav Thackeray as 18th Chief Minister of State.
1. Earlier, Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government had collapsed. Fadnavis had announced his resignation after NCP's Deputy CM Ajit Pawar withdrew his support.
2019 International Film Festival of India Held in Goa, as 50th edition of IFFI.
1. In this edition, Russia is country of focus with eight Russian language films screened.
2. Opening Film was Despite the Fog (Italy) and Closing Film was Marghe and Her Mother (Italy).
3. Awards (International Jury headed by American Cinematographer John Bailey) -
  1. Best Film (Golden Peacock Award) - Particles (French-Swiss) by Blaise Harrison
  2. Best Director - Lijo Jose Pellissery for Jallikattu (Malayalam)
  3. Best Debut Film of a Director - Amin Sidi Boumediene for Abou Leila AND Marius Olteanu for Monsters
  4. Best Actor (Male): Seu Jorge for Marighella (Brazil)
  5. Best Actor (Female): Usha Jadhav for Mai Ghat : Crime No 103/2015
  6. Lifetime Achievement Award - Isabelle Hupert (France)
  7. ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal - Riccardo Salvetti for Rwanda Movie
  8. Special Jury Award : Pema Tseden for Balloon
  9. Special Mention Jury Award - Hellaro by Abhishek Shah
  10. Special mention under ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi medal - Bahattar Hoorain
  11. Government constituted a special award titled ‘Icon of Golden Jubilee of IFFI’, which was conferred upon Noted Actor S Rajinikanth.
Cabinet Approvals (Nov 27, 2019) -
1. General Approvals -
  1. Approved Fifteenth Finance Commission to submit first report for first fiscal year 2020-21 and to extend tenure of Fifteenth FC to provide for presentation of final report covering FYs 2021-22 to 2025-26 by 30th October, 2020.
    1. Extension will enable it to examine various comparable estimates for financial projections in view of reforms and the new realities to finalise its recommendations for 2020-2026.
    2. 15th FC was constituted in November 2017, to give recommendations for devolution of taxes and other fiscal matters for 5 years, commencing 1 April 2020.
    3. Commission's chairman is N. K. Singh, with members being Ajay Narayan Jha, Ashok Lahiri and Anoop Singh. Commission also has a part-time member in Ramesh Chand. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das also earlier served as a member.
  2. Approved allotment of 1800 sqm of Airports Authority of India's(AAI's) land to Andhra Pradesh Education and Welfare Infrastructure Development Corporation(APEWIDC) for 15 years at a nominal rate of license fee of Re. 1 per annum, for construction of Ceremonial Lounge at Tirupati Airport.
2. MOUs -
  1. Approved Agreement on establishment of Strategic Partnership Council between India and Saudi Arabia.
  2. Approved MoUs with Saudi Arabia in field of combating illicit trafficking and smuggling of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Chemical Precursors.
  3. Myanmar - Prevention of Trafficking in Persons.
  4. Approved Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) and Protocol with Chile for elimination of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion and avoidance with respect to taxes on income.
3. CCEA -
  1. Approved mandatory packaging of foodgrains and sugar in jute material for Jute Year 2019-20. The decision mandates that 100% of food grains and 20% of sugar shall be mandatorily packed in diversified jute bags, to impetus to diversification of jute industry. Nearly 4 lakh workers are dependent for their livelihood on the jute sectors.
  2. Approved waiver of repayment of loan of 54 lakh and interest amounting to 370 lakh (totalling 424 lakh), against Sikkim Mining Corporation. Further accumulation of interest on principal loan will get extinguished and liquidation process of Corporation will get completed.
    1. Sikkim Mining Corporation (SMC) was established in 1960, and has been incurring losses every year since its inception. On the basis of report of a consultant & 107th Report of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Assembly of Sikkim, State and Central Governments took decision to close it down.
  3. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved increasing authorized capital of Food Corporation of India (FCI) from 3500 to 10000 crores. With this, additional equity capital can be infused in Food Corporation of India (FCI) through Budget for funding foodgrains stock, perpetually held by FCI.
To ensure corrupt-free administration, Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched 14400, a citizen helpline number meant to enable people to complain about graft in government departments. Complaints will be addressed within 15 - 30 days.
India signed $451 million loan agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to strengthen power connectivity between southern and northern parts of Chennai–Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC), which is part of the East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC), in Tamil Nadu.
Authored by Anita Bhatnagar Jain, 3 books which are a collection of stories for children namely - Kumbh, Garam Pahad and Dilli ki Bulbul (Sindhi edition) have been launched by HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’.
Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved Capital Procurement of over 22800 crores. It Includes
1. Indigenous development of 'Thermal Imaging Night Sights' for Assault Rifles to enhance night fighting capabilities.
2. Revalidated Necessity for procurement of additional Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) India aircraft, to be indigenously developed.
3. Procurement of Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance (LRMR) Anti-Submarine Warfare P8I aircraft for Indian Navy.
4. Procurement of Twin Engine Heavy Helicopters (TEHH) for Indian Coast Guard.
2019 Global Diplomacy Index released by Sydney-based Lowy Institute, with statistics and marking about how world’s diplomatic networks are expanding (61 countries) -
1. China now has more diplomatic posts with 276 embassies and consulates worldwide, overtaking US by 3. Both have equal number of embassies but China has 3 more consulates.
2. US still remains most popular place for countries to maintain embassies and consulates.
3. After China and US, next three spots are occupied by France, Japan, and Russia.
4. India is ranked 12th with 123 embassies / high commissions and 54 consulates globally.
5. Taiwan saw biggest drop in diplomatic posts, down from 22 embassies in 2016 to 15 in 2019. China opened new embassies in Gambia, Burkina Faso, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, São Tomé and Príncipe which were all former diplomatic friends of Taipei.
US President Donald Trump signed a bill supporting protesters in Hong Kong, highlighting restrictions on violation of human rights. It bans export of crowd control devices (tear gas etc) to Hong Kong Police. China had objected prior to Trump’s signature on this bill.
1. There has been protests across Hong Kong against a controversial extradition bill brought in February 2019, that says if a person from Hong Kong commits or performs a crime in China, he will be prosecuted not in Hong Kong but in China.
2. Youth of Hong Kong led by Joshua Wang started protesting against the bill and took to the streets to protest against China.
As per International organisation for migration's Global Migration Report 2020 -
1. India continues to be largest country of origin of international migrants with a 17.5 million-strong diaspora across world, and it received the highest remittance of $78.6 billion from Indians living abroad. In terms of Migrants, India is followed by Mexico (11.8 million) and China (10.7 million).
2. Number of international migrants in 2019 is now 270 million and top destination remains US, with 5 crore migrants.
3. Top remittance recipients are India ($78.6 billion), China ($67.4 billion) and Mexico ($35.7 billion).
4. US remained top remittance-sending country ($68.0 billion) followed by UAE ($44.4 billion) and Saudi Arabia ($36.1 billion).
5. Syria is top refugee-originating country with over 6 million, followed by Afghanistan (2.5 million).
As per NGO Child Relief and You (CRY)'s report on crimes against children -
1. Crimes against children rose by 20% which is higher than overall number of crimes that rose by 3.6%.
2. Uttar Pradesh(UP) and Madhya Pradesh(MP) topped the list for overall crimes in India.
3. CRY analysis was based on data of National Crime Records Bureau(NCRB) for 2016-2017, which was released after a gap of 2 years.
External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar attended G20 foreign ministers meeting 2019 in Japanese city of Nagoya.
As per QS World University Rankings Asia 2020 -
1. Among Indian Universities, IIT Bombay ranked as top performer, with 34th rank in overall list, followed by IIT Delhi(43rd) and IIT Madras (50th). 96 Indian universities including 20 new entries were ranked in List.
2. List was topped by National University of Singapore Singapore for second consecutive year, Followed by Nanyang Technological University Singapore and University of Hong Kong.

Nov 27, 2019
1. 39th India International Trade Fair(IITF) organized in New Delhi, with theme Ease of Doing Business.
  1. This year, status of Partner Country is accorded to Afghanistan and South Korea is Focus Country'. Bihar and Jharkhand are focus states.
2. 40th United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) General Conference Held at its HQ in Paris (France).
  1. HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ attended the meet on India's Behalf.
  2. Pakistan's Shafqat Mahmood elected as the president of UNESCO’s Education Commission.
  3. 1st Global Framework of Professional Teaching Standards was launched, by Education International (EI) and UNESCO.
3. Ministry for Youth Affairs and Sports formed a 13-member expert committee chaired by Retired SC Judge Mukundakam Sharma to review the draft of National Code for Good Governance in Sports 2017. It will overlook comments received from Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and other national sports federations.
4. Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) signed MoU with Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), to assist women entrepreneurs engaged in organic farming. It will help women entrepreneurs get connected with Government financial schemes and also meet compliances needed for being competitive in global market.
  1. NIFTEM (National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management) will also organize National organic festival of women entrepreneurs.
5. 3 regional rural Govt owned banks in UP - Baroda Uttar Pradesh Grameen Bank, Kashi Gomti Samyut Gramin Bank and Purvanchal Bank will be amalgamated on April 1, 2020 into a single regional rural bank which will be called Baroda UP Bank, with headquarters at Gorakhpur.
6. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries became First indian Company to hit Rs 10 lakh crore mark in market capitalisation. Second most valuable Indian Firm is Tata Consultancy Services, with market cap approx 7.81 lakh crores.
7. Global rating agency Moody’s stated India's fiscal deficit to be 3.7 % of GDP, as against Govt's target of 3.3 %. For all States put together, it is estimated to be 3 %.
8. Microfinance institution CreditAccess Grameen (CAGL) acquired Chennai-based Madura Micro Finance (MMFL) in a two-step process for Rs 876 crores. In first leg, CAGL will acquire up to 76.2 % stake in MMFL and in 2nd stage, remaining stake of MMFL shall be merged into CAGL.
9. RBI has put in place a revised framework on currency swap arrangement for SAARC countries for 2019-2022. It came into operation in November 2012 with an intention to provide a backstop line of funding for short-term foreign exchange liquidity requirements or balance of payment crises till longer-term arrangements are made.
  1. Under framework for 2019-22, RBI will continue to offer a swap arrangement within overall corpus of USD 2 billion. Drawals can be made in USD, euro or Indian rupee. Framework provides certain concessions for swap drawals in Indian rupee.
10. T-Hub, a Telangana government initiative for startups, launched a fintech accelerator program and National Payments Corporation of India's (NPCI) txnnxt hub, an innovation lab.
  1. Fintech accelerator program,presented by DST as per its NIDHI (National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations) acceleration scheme,would be carried out by T-Hub and NPCI to bring in scale-up opportunities for fintech startups with products and services for the digital payments sector.
11. International Hockey federation announced that Odisha's Bhubaneswar and Rourkela cities will host 2023 Men's Hockey World Cup, After hosting the World Cup in 2018.
12. Chinese scientists discovered a stellar black hole in our galaxy Milky Way, using China’s Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST). It has a mass 70 times that of the sun, crushing earlier belief of scientists that black hole with mass more than 20 times that of sun cant exist in our galaxy.
  1. Black holes form when a star runs out of fuel and collapses on itself, creating a strong gravitational pull that prevents anything — even light — from escaping. In the process, those stars lose much of their mass, producing black holes that reflect their diminished size.
  2. Newly discovered black hole is named LB-1 by researchers, and is located 15,000 light-years from earth.
  3. LAMOST enables researchers to detect black holes by first tracking stars that are orbiting something invisible to more than the naked eye, such as a black hole.
13. India’s largest electricity trading platform, Indian Energy Exchange will launch India’s first natural gas exchange by March 2020, seeking to tap increasing demand for cleanest fossil fuel.
  1. India seeks to increase share of natural gas in its energy mix to 15 % by 2030 from current 6 %, drawing interest from global majors.
  2. Exchange will help bring down price of natural gas through competitive trade.
14. Outgoing Army Chief Bipin Rawat will be appointed as first Chief of Defence Staff on a 2 year term, a four star position being created as part of a defence management overhaul. The post is created to improve coordinaton among three services. Age limit for the post will be 64 years.
15. UK's Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) London conferred Honorary Fellowship of Society for 2019 to DRDO Chairman G Satheesh Reddy.
  1. Reddy is first Indian recipient of this prestigious award in over 100 years, bestowed in recognition of Reddy’s pioneering technological contributions over past three decades.
  2. It is considered as equivalent to the Nobel Prize in the aerospace domain, being awarded since 1917.
16. RBI expressed concern over rising bad loans from Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY). Announced by Govt in April 2015, PMMY offers business credit within 50000 - 10 lakh, to small businesses. Percentage of NPA under MUDRA loans has risen from 2.52% in 2017-18 to 2.89% in 2018-19.
17. Asian Development Bank approved second tranche of USD 150 million for West Bengal to boost capital investment and infrastructure in state. It is a policy based programme loan of USD 300 million by ADB for West Bengal Development Finance Program, approved in September 2017.
18. To conserve endangered vulture population, Uttar Pradesh government will set up the state's first vulture conservation and breeding center in farenda area of Maharajganj district.
  1. There has been a sharp decline in the population of vultures in country, coming down from 40 million to 19,000 in a span of over three decades.
  2. States' first vulture conservation and breeding centre of its kind will be set up on lines of Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre at Pinjore in Haryana, which is also first in India.
19. Singer Billie Eilish will be honoured as Billboard's 2019 Woman of the Year. Pop star Taylor Swift will also be honoured at Billboard's event, receiving inaugural Woman of the Decade award. Eilish is the youngest artist ever to be named Billboard's Woman of the Year.
20. On occasion of 70th constitution day on Nov 26, President Ram Nath Kovind launched a web portal of National Youth Parliament Scheme.
  1. Through NYPS Portal, India’s educational organizations will be eligible to take in National Youth Parliament Scheme. Students taking part in programme will be given ‘certificate of participation’ and each head of the institution and teacher-in-charge will be given a ‘certificate of appreciation’ through web-portal.
Nov 26, 2019
1. Chhattisgarh Government declared Guru Ghasidas National Park (GGNP) as Tiger Reserve, located in the Koriya district in Chhattisgarh and as 4th Tiger reserve in state. State Govt. also took some other notable decisions -
  1. Decided to constitute the State Folk Art Council to preserve and nurture the traditional art forms and artists. It would collect literature folk arts, ensure registration of all kinds of folk art groups and provide musical instruments and other materials required by them.
  2. Approved amendment to State Panchayati Act 1993 to enable presence of a person with a disability in all Panchayats across state without a representative and also provisional requirement to contest in Panchayat elections has been moved. State cabinet also scrapped mandatory provision of passing Class V for contesting elections for post of ‘panch’ and Class VII for posts of ‘sarpanch’.
  3. State Cabinet also approved setting up of two new Universities in the state, one of the universities is for Horticulture and Forestry and will be named after M K Gandhi and another will be named after former state Congress president late Nand Kumar Patel in Raigarh district.
2. Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat represented India at WATEC (Water Technology and Environment Control) Conference held in Israel.
  1. Israel is considered as expert in water management. It treats and reuses 80% of its sewage water for agriculture.
3. Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM), Under Government of Kerala launched “Water 4 Change”. Under this project, 6 prominent institutions from Netherlands will perform a long-term research and field level action on urban water management systems along with Indian scientists.
4. Nov 26 is observed as Constitution Day in India (Samvidhan Divas). It commemorates adoption of the Constitution of India on 26 November 1949 by Indian Constituent Assembly. However, the Indian Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950.
  1. Government declared observing 26 November as Constitution Day in 2015, as 2015 represented 125th birth anniversary of Ambedkar, who had chaired the drafting committee of Constituent Assembly.
  2. Previously, Nov 26 was celebrated as National Law Day.
  3. On this occasion, HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched Kartavya Portal, with URL kartavya.ugc.ac.in, as part of year long Nagrik Kartavya Paalan Abhiyan being observe. It will be used primarily for holding monthly essay competitions for students as well as other activities like quizzes, debates, poster making etc.
  4. On this occasion, President Ram Nath Kovind launched a web portal of National Youth Parliament Scheme. He also released commemorative coins and a special stamp of Rs 250 on the occasion of Constitution Day. Through NYPS Portal, India’s all recognized educational organizations will be eligible to take in the National Youth Parliament Scheme.
5. 13th Asia Pacific Screen Awards awarded in Brisbane (Australia), considered Asia Pacific’s highest accolade -
  1. Best Feature Film: ‘Parasite’, directed by South Korea’s Bong Joon-Ho
  2. Best Actress - Max Eigenmann in ‘Verdict’
  3. Best Actor - Manoj Bajpayee in ‘Bhonsle’
6. Nov 26 is observed as National Milk Day In India, to commemorate birth snniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien, father of India’s White Revolution.
  1. First National Milk Day was celebrated on 26 November 2014, marked by Indian Dairy Association (IDA).
  2. Dr. Kurien is also famous for his ‘Operation Flood’, world’s largest agricultural development program. He established 30 institutions which are run by various farmers and workers and played a key role in establishment and success of Amul brand.
  3. India is 2nd largest Milk producer in world, after US.
7. Last surviving Sumatran Rhino in Malaysia, Iman, has passed away. Making Sumatran rhino extinct in Malaysia. Sumatran Rhinos are smallest of the five extant rhino species in world. Other species include Black Rhinos, White Rhinos, Greater on-horned Rhinos and Javan Rhinos.
  1. Now only 80 Sumatran Rhinos left in world, all in Indonesia in Borneo and Sumatra Island.
8. Indian Journalist Neha Dixit has been honoured with International Press Freedom Award 2019 for her groundbreaking and bold reporting. The award has been given by Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
  1. Apart from Neha, other awardees are Patricia Mello (Brazil), Lucia Ubau and Miguel Mora of Nicaragua and Maxence Mubyazi (Tanzania).
9. Odia women weightlifter Jhilli Dalabehera will receive 27th Ekalabya Award for 2019, given by Indian Metals Public Charitable Trust (IMPaCT). It comprises cash prize of Rs 5 lakh.
10. Wheelchair-bound Hridayeshwar Singh Bhati has been selected for National Award for Empowerment of Person with Disabilities 2019 under category- Outstanding Creative Child (Male)-2019, declared by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE).
  1. He became youngest patent holder and also youngest differently-abled patent holder in world. He achieved this feat for inventing six-player circular chess at the age of nine in 2013.
  2. He also created 12 and 60 players’ circular chess and also got the patent for it.

Nov 25, 2019

UNESCO World Heritage Week observed between November 19 - 25 annually.
8th edition of ‘International Tourism Mart’ organized at Imphal (capital of Manipur), organised annually in North Eastern region by Ministry of Tourism. 2019 theme is Sustainable Tourism an engine for Economic Growth and Employment.
American Actress Jennifer Aniston received People's Icon Award at 2019 People's Choice Awards, as 2nd recipient of the title. First winner was Melissa McCarthy.
ISRO launched 14 satellites with Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C47 (PSLV-C47) placing in orbit India's earth observation satellite Cartosat-3 and 13 nano-satellites for US. It was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh).
1. Cartosat-3 will be used for large-scale urban planning and to monitor coastal land, rural resources and infrastructure development. It will last for five years and weighs 1,625kg. It can pick a 25-cm object from its orbital perch about 509 km away, making it one of sharpest earth-imagers. Last of the Cartosat-2 Series satellite weighed 710 kg and it was launched by PSLV-C40 last January 2018.
2. Twelve US nano-satellites called FLOCK-4P will be used for earth observation and another called MESHBED is a communication test bed.
3. With this latest American business order, ISRO has so far launched 310 foreign satellites.
Nov 19 - 25 is observed as Qaumi Ekta Week In india, to foster spirit of Communal Harmony -
1. November 19 - National Integration Day (Birth Anniversary of Indira Gandhi)
2. November 20 - Welfare of Minorities Day
3. November 21 - Linguistic Harmony Day.
4. November 22 - Weaker Sections Day
5. November 23 - Cultural Unity Day
6. November 24 - Women’s Day.
7. November 25 - Conservation Day.
Nov 25 is Marked as UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. 2019 Theme is Orange the World: Generation Equality Stands Against Rape.
1. Ministry of Home Affairs in collaboration with UN Women launched UNiTE campaign to spread awareness about violence against women. The 16 day campaign will continue till International Day of Human Rights on December 10.

ISSF World Cup Final 2019 (Putian, China) -

India Ranked at top. Indian Medalists -

Sl No	Event	Winners	Medal
1	Men's 10 metre air rifle	Divyansh Singh Panwar	Gold
2	Women's 10 metre air rifle	Elavenil Valarivan	Gold
3	Women's 10 metre air pistol	Manu Bhaker	Gold
4	Mixed team 10 metre air pistol	Manu Bhaker (Ind) /Artem Chernousov (Russia)	Gold
5	Mixed team 10 metre air rifle	Snjezana Pejcic (Croatia) /Divyansh Singh Panwar (IND)	Gold
6	Mixed team 10 metre air pistol	Anna Korakaki (Greece) /Saurabh Chaudhary (IND)	Silver
7	Mixed team 10 metre air rifle	Apurvi Chandela (IND) / Zhang Changhong (China)	Silver
8	Mixed team 10 metre air pistol	Zorana Arunovic (Serbia) /Shahzar Rizvi (IND)	Bronze

In Previous 4 Legs of ISSF World Cup in New Delhi, Beijing, Munich and Rio, India had won 16 Gold, 4 Silver and 2 Bronze Medals.
After Final, India is at top with total 30 Medals - 3 in Leg 1 in New Delhi, 4 in Leg 2 in Bejing, 6 in Leg 3 in Munich, 9 in Leg 4 in Rio De Janeiro and 8 in Final in Putian.

Medal Tally -

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	India	21	6	3	30
2	China	11	15	18	44
3	United States	6	6	3	15
4	Russia	5	6	5	16
5	Italy	5	2	7	14

Notably, Manu Bhaker broke junior world record with her total score of 244.7. She also became second Indian to win gold in 10m Air Pistol at the ISSF World Cup, after Heena Sidhu.
Also, 3 Indian shooters finished as No.1 in year-end World rankings and will receive International Shooting Sports Federation's (ISSF) 'The Golden Target' award. Divyansh Singh Panwar and Elavenil Valarivan topped men's and women's 10m air rifle categories respectively, while Saurabh Chaudhary ended as No. 1 in men's 10m air pistol event.

IIT Jodhpur Researchers developed a catalytic converter for cars using Rajasthani clay which can be cheaper and more effective in reducing pollution. A catalytic converter is a device which is fitted to a vehicle’s exhaust to reduce the pollutants coming from it.
1. It was developed by extracting Iron-Nickel-Cobalt nanoparticles from Rajasthani clay.
2. Catalytic converters currently in use have expensive rare earth elements - Palladium and Cerium.
Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (MoS- IC) for Housing and Urban Affairs launched Credit-linked Subsidy Services(CLSS) portal named “CLAP” (CLSS Awas Portal), with URL https://pmayuclap.gov.in/. It aims to address grievance of beneficiaries in an organised manner.
1. A Memorandum of Agreement(MoA) was signed between MoHUA and state govt of 6 states for light house projects(LHP) under Global Housing Technology Challenge. States - Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.
2. For LHPs, Ministry has introduced a technology innovation grant as an additional grant of 2.0 lakh per house, in addition to existing share of Rs 1.5 lakh per house under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U).
Book titled “Hemant Karkare -A Daughter’s Memoir”, written by Jui Navare has been released. Former Anti-Terrorism Squad(ATS) chief Hemant Karkare was martyred during 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008.
RN Kao: Gentleman Spymaster, Book on legendary Spymaster late RN Kao written by Nitin Anant Gokhale has been released.

As per Ministry of Tourism Data on foreign tourist visits to India in 2018 -

Rank	Nation (Max foreign tourist arrivals to India)	States with highest foreign tourist visit
1	Bangladesh	Tamil Nadu.
2	United States(US).	Maharashtra.
3	United Kingdom(UK).	Uttar Pradesh.
4	Sri Lanka	Delhi.
5	Canada	Rajasthan.

Kerala Govt. appointed P S Rajan as CEO of Kerala Bank, formed by amalgamation of 13 district cooperative banks (DCB) in the state. Official launch of the same will be held on December 6.
Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal led Spain to win its sixth Davis Cup title 2019, by defeating Denis Shapovalov of Canada.
1. 2019 Davis Cup is 108th edition of Davis Cup, a tournament between national teams in men's tennis.
Book ‘Finding the gaps – Transferable Skills to be the best you can be’, written by Former Australian Cricket Umpire Simon Taufel has been released.
Noted writer from Rajasthan, Manisha Kulshreshtha has been awarded 28th Bihari Puraskar for 2018 for her novel ‘Swapnapash’. Award is presented by KK Birla Foundation and is for writers of Rajasthani origin. It cash prize of 2.5 lakh.
1. Bihari Puraskar is one of the literary awards instituted by K K Birla Foundation in 1991.
2. Awards Institited by K K Birla Foundation in 1991 -
  1. Saraswati Samman - For literary work in any Indian language
  2. Vyas Samman - For prose/poetry work in Hindi
  3. Bihari Puraskar - For prose/poetry work in Hindi/Rajasthani, only authors from Rajasthan are eligible
  4. Shankar Puraskar - For a work in Hindi concerning Indian philosophy, culture and/or art.
  5. Vachaspati Puraskar - For any work in Sanskrit.
  6. G.D. Birla Award for Scientific Research
Suman Billa (Kerala) is appointed as the director, technical cooperation and silk road development at DI level of United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
Floating school project in Bangladesh won Aga Khan Architecture Award.
1. Large part of bangladesh landscape remains submerged under water during monsoon.
2. Razia Alam wanted to build a school for children which is spacious, modern and healthy for learning. She contacted noted architect of Bangladesh Saif Ul Haque to design the school.
3. It is a floating school named ‘The Arcadia Education Project’, in South Kanarchor of Bangladesh.
4. It is an amphibious school built with local material and expertise near the capital city Dhaka. It remains on ground during dry season and floats on water when the area is submerged in water during monsoon.
Scottish Open Badminton 2019 -
1. Men's Singles - Lakshya Sen (India). He defeated Brazil's Ygor Coelho.
2. Womne's Singles - Qi Xuefei (France)
3. Men's doubles - Scotland's Alexander Dunn AND Adam Hall
4. Women's doubles - Denmark's Amalie Magelund AND Freja Ravn
Govt extended ban on Assam-based Bodo insurgent group National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) citing that the terrorist outfit has continued to indulge its involvement in violent activities. NDFB was declared an outlawed outfit in 1990s, the ban has been extended every five years since then.
1. NDFB was formed in 1986 to obtain a sovereign Boroland for the Bodo people. Since then NDFB has been engaging in unlawful and violent activities.
2. Govt also extended ban on Assam-based insurgent outfit United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) for 5 years for continuing subversive activities.

Nov 24, 2019

World Athletics Awards 2019 (in Monaco, Europe) -

Male Athlete of the year - Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya. He won a highly competitive London marathon in April for the fourth time and also became first man to run a marathon in less than two hours.
Female Male Athlete of year - Muhammad Dalilah of US.

Other Awards -

Name	Award
Selemon Barega (Ethiopia)	Male Rising Star
Yaroslava Mahuchikh (Ukraine)	Female Rising Star
Vikki Orvice (United Kingdom-UK)	President’s Award

Japan Based Nomura Global Market Research report 2019 Nomura’s Food Vulnerability Index -
1. Report is about 50 countries, most vulnerable to food price surge. India ranked 44th in list.
2. NFVI has three components - country's GDP per person, share of food in household consumption, and net food imports.
3. Nomura reported 3 potential triggers for rise in food prices - weather related shocks, higher oil prices and sharp depreciation in value of USD.
US Based Tech Firm NVIDIA announced a new kind of GPU-accelerated supercomputer in the cloud on Microsoft Azure. NDv2 supercomputer is designed to handle demanding AI and high-performance computing applications, using up to 800 NVIDIA V100 Tensor Core GPUs interconnected on a single Mellanox InfiniBand backend network, making it world's largest GPU-accelerated cloud-based supercomputer.
1. It enables customers to rent an AI supercomputer on-demand from their desk, and match the capabilities of large-scale on-premises supercomputers. NDv2 is available in preview. (ANI)
Former Governor of RBI Raghuram Govind Rajan's new Book The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind, has been released.
Survey of India Included Amaravati as capital of Andhra Pradesh (AP), in Official political Map of India. Amaravati was missing from map released by Govt. earlier, and showed Hyderabad as common capital of Telangana & Andhra Pradesh.
1. AP was bifurcated in 2014 and it was initially decided that Hyderabad would serve as the common administrative capital for 10 years.
First-ever Prosperity & Inclusion City Seal and Awards (PICSA) Index 2019, released by Basque institutions & D&L Partners in Bilbao (Spain) -
1. Bengaluru topped among Indian cities, ranked 83rd globally. Delhi ranked 101st and Mumbai 107th.
2. Top 5 - Zurich (Switzerland), Vienna (Austria), Copenhagen (Denmark), Luxembourg, Helsinki (Finland).
Sydney (Australia) based Institute for Economics and Peace(IEP) released 7th edition of annual report 2019 Global Terrorism Index: Measuring the impact of terrorism -
1. India ranked at 7th place, in list of countries most affected by terrorism in 2018.
2. Afghanistan was most affected Nation. Iraq and Nigeria are at 2nd and 3rd place in terms of being affected by terrorism.
Govt. appointed Rajat Bhargava as head of a high-level committee to suggest necessary policy initiatives for attracting more investments into the Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIR) in the country.
1. PCPIR Policy was put in place in 2007 and This is first time that govt is seeking to amend it.
Researchers from IIT Kharagpur discovered archaeological evidence of a 3,000-year-old Iron Age settlement at Karim Shahi in Gujarat and also a historic to medieval settlement at Vigakot near Thar Desert (1500-900 years old), also from Gujarat.
1. Soon after fall of the 5200-3300-year-old Indus Valley civilization, which is mainly attributed to declining monsoon and major droughts, the Iron Age civilization came into being sometime around 3000-2500 years ago.
Markets regulator SEBI asked listed companies to report any loan default within 24 hours of any failure to repay principal or interest amount to banks or financial institutions. As per SEBI, Such disclosure shall be made promptly, but not later than 24 hours from the 30th day of such default. It is aimed at addressing the gaps in the availability of information to investors.
India's Reliance Industries became world's sixth-largest oil company after overtaking BP Plc, with market capitalisation of $133 billion. Mukesh Ambani's net worth has touched $56 billion, making him Asia's richest person above Alibaba Group's Jack Ma. RIL's market cap has increased by 35 % in 2019.
Mahinda Rajapaksa has been appointed as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, for his 3rd Term. Few Days earlier, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected as president of Sri Lanka.
Late Pakistani writer Intizar husain’s Urdu novel, ‘Tazkirah’ will be translated into English as ‘The Chronicle’.
Nov 24 is ‘Martyrdom Day’ of 9th Guru of Sikhs, Guru Teg Bahadur. He was martyred on November 24, 1675.
1. Nov 24, 2019 is also observed as 71st Raising Day of National Cadet Corps (NCC), world's largest uniformed youth organization.

Nov 23, 2019
1. Global Bio-India 2019, one of the largest biotechnology stakeholders meet held for the first time in India at New Delhi.
2. Indian Army commemorated Poonch Link-up Day on Nov 23, as pay tribute to martyred soldiers defending Poonch during conflict in 1948. The event was conducted to mark Operation Easy that was aimed to defend the Poonch district from the invading Pakistan.
3. Kalaburagi Airport in Karnataka began operations under UDAN-RCS Scheme of Govt, with its first flight to Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru. It is developed at cost of 176 crores.
  1. Ministry of Civil Aviation undertook development of Kalaburagi airport, to enable direct connectivity to North Karnataka.
  2. So far, 230 routes and 42 airports are operationalized under UDAN. UDAN aims to connect all States / UTs with around 700 routes.
4. Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) signed MoUs with JawaharLal Nehru University (JNU) and Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) for cooperation in field of Research & Development and Training in Ayurveda & Traditional Medicine.
5. Madhya Pradesh government announced 5% reservation to national and international medallists sportspersons in state government jobs. It was announced during Regional Olympic Games at Kampoo sports complex in Gwalior.
6. Government will expand 3S programme-Smart Safety Surveillance of WHO in India, to make sure vaccines distributed under universal immunization programme are safe and also to optimize post-marketing surveillance of priority drugs.
  1. 3S Programme was introduced by World Health Organization in India considering limited safety data on vaccines in country.
  2. Under 3S, India is currently evaluating rotavirus vaccines.
7. National Statistical Office(NSO) under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released Quarterly Bulletin for period January- March 2019.
  1. Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in Current Weekly Status for all ages is estimated as 36% in urban areas during January-March 2019 as compared to 35.6% during April- June 2018.
  2. Unemployment Rate (UR) in current weekly status in urban areas for all ages has been estimated as 9.3% during January-March 2019 as compared to 9.8% during April- June 2018.
  3. For Males - UR is 8.7% during January-March 2019 as compared to 9% during April- June 2018.
  4. For Females - UR is 11.6% during January-March 2019 as compared to 12.8% during April- June 2018.
8. As per 76th round of National Sample Survey (NSS) carried out during July 2018 to December 2018 -
  1. Overall percentage of persons with disability in the population was 2.2% in the country
  2. It was 2.2% - with 2.3% in rural and 2% in urban areas.
  3. Among males, prevalence of disability was 2.4%, while it was 1.9% among females.
Nov 22, 2019
1. Plenary meeting of Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) hosted by India in New Delhi.
  1. It is held annually to make sure that the trade of diamonds is conflict free.
  2. KPCS outlines rules that govern the trade of diamonds. It is not an organization. It simply relies on contributions of the participants, industries, governments, civil society observers.
2. Central Information Commission prresented its annual report for 2018-19. In 2018-19, over 13.70 lakh applications were received by Central Public Authorities of commission, 11% more than previous year. Only 4.7% were processed by commission, down from 5.13% in previous year.
  1. Central Information Commission was set up under Right to Information Act in 2005. There are 10 Information Commissioners and one Chief Information Commissioner (Currently Sudhir Bhargava).
3. Government will launch India’s first fixed income Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) comprising debt securities of large PSUs in December 2019. It will comprise only AAA-rated papers of the PSU companies, expected to have size of 15000 to 20 000 crores.
  1. It is expected to improve liquidity in corporate bond market, smoothen borrowing plans of PSUs and enhance investor base.
  2. It will be first large fund in India that will allow retail investors to invest in fixed income product comprising a basket of securities, without need to study individual bond issues.
  3. Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has appointed Edelweiss Asset Management as asset manager for proposed debt ETF.
  4. It will provide safe investment option and high liquidity. It will also help in deepening corporate bond market and will allow PSUs to borrow from market.
  5. As these ETF units will be listed on exchanges, it will provide new options to investors to own securities of government-owned PSUs along with facility of overnight liquidity.
4. US approved Foreign Military Sale to India of 13 MK45 5 inch/62 caliber (MOD 4) Naval guns and related equipment, for approx $1 billion.
  1. MK-45 Gun System will provide India Navy lethal capability to conduct anti-surface warfare and anti-air defence missions. It will be used by India as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defense.
5. World Health Organization published its study about physical activity of adolescents aged between 11 and 17 years.
  1. India was ranked 8th, reporting low level of physical activity. In India, overall insufficient physical activity in 2001 was 76.6% and has now decreased to 73.9% in 2016.
  2. Bangladesh had lowest prevalence of insufficient physical activity among boys, girls, and both genders combined (63%, 69% and 66%, respectively).
6. 1st bilateral Mine Countermeasure Exercise (MINEX) exercise between Indian and Japanese Navies conducted at Kochi (Kerala).
7. RBI enhanced scope of ‘Special Non-resident Rupee’ (SNRR) by allowing persons residing outside India to open such accounts for purposes Including External commercial borrowing, Trade credit and Trade (Export/ Import) Invoicing in domestic currency.
  1. It is done to popularise cross-border transactions in Indian rupee (INR).
  2. Other reasons include export/ import invoicing and business related transactions outside International Financial Service Centre, all in domestic currency of INR.
8. Researchers of University of Gothenburg in Sweden developed a potential Diarrhea vaccine candidate, named as ‘ETVAX’, proved safe and effective in an early-stage clinical trial in Bangladesh.
  1. Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) bacteria are primary cause of diarrhea. At present there is no ETEC vaccine available for use in children in the ETEC high-risk areas.
9. Researchers found an aquatic environment on Earth with complete absence of any form of life, terming it most non-habitable place on planet. Findings revealed that any form of microbial life was absent in the hot, saline, hyperacid ponds of Dallol Geothermal Field in Ethiopia.
  1. It is one of the most torrid environments on planet with daily temperatures in winter exceeding over 45 degrees Celsius.
  2. Earlier it was believed that certain microorganisms can develop in this multi-extreme environment but now they have presented this place as an example of limits of conditions that can support life.
  3. Wider area of Dallol is known as one of the driest and hottest places on planet Earth. It is also one of the lowest land points, lying 125 m or 410 ft below mean sea level (MSL).
10. Scientists at Hyderabad based CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) demonstrated role of a protein Secretagogin (SCGN) in increasing insulin action in obesity-induced diabetes.
  1. Currently, processes regulating insulin synthesis, secretion, signalling and maturation in diabetes were not completely understood by scientists.
  2. Secretagog is a protein that in humans is encoded by SCGN gene. The encoded protein is a secreted calcium-binding protein which is found in cytoplasm. Findings show that SCGN would soon become a diagnostic marker, and one should check its potential in diabetes management.
  3. As per findings SCGN is insulin-binding protein with therapeutic potential against diabetes. SCGN binds to insulin and protects it from various stresses, increases its stability as well as adds to its action.
Nov 21, 2019
1. 1st India-US joint tri-services Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise named 'Tiger Triumph' held at Visakhapatnam. Exercise was aimed at developing interoperability for conducting HADR operations.
2. Joint India Qatar naval exercise Za’ir-Al-Bahr (Roar of the Sea) conducted in Doha (Qatar).
3. SEBI banned Karvy Stock Broking Ltd (KSBL) over client defaults worth Rs 2,000 crores, after National Stock Exchange (NSE) found that Karvy had allegedly sold client stocks pledged with it through associated entities.
4. Muthoot Finance acquired IDBI Asset Management Ltd and IDBI Mutual Fund Trustee Company Ltd, for 215 crores.
5. Japan and South Korea agreed to hold formal talks soon, taking a step towards improving relations strained by decades of acrimony over their wartime past and exacerbated by a simmering trade dispute.
6. Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) Researchers stated that an affliction called avian botulism had killed off thousands of birds around Rajashan’s Sambhar Lake.
7. Nov 21 is World Fisheries Day.
  1. Andhra Pradesh Government launched YSR Matsyakara Bharosa scheme, extending benefits of the scheme to fishermen. Under new scheme, assistance to fishermen will be enhanced to Rs 10,000 from the earlier Rs 4,000 for the annual fishing ban period between April 15 and June 14.
  2. Nov 21 is also observed as World Television Day, proclamied by UN in December 1996.
  3. Nov 21, 2019 is also observed as World Philosophy Day, observed globally on third Thursday of November every year. It was introduced in 2002 by UNESCO.
8. Indian IT services firm Tech Mahindra signed an agreement with Business Finland for research and development in 5G and 6G technology. Tech Mahindra will set up an innovation lab in Finland to foster growth and innovation.
9. OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) trimmed its 2020 global economic growth forecast to 2.9 % in current financial year, a decline of 0.1 percentage points from previous forecast. In 2021, OECD predicted 3.0 % global Growth.
10. Global Payments Tech Firm PayPal acquired america firm Honey Science Corp. for about $4 billion, as its largest-ever acquisition.
11. Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg has been awarded international children's peace prize awarded by Dutch KidsRight organisation, for her work in struggle against climate change which has resonated with schoolchildren across world.
  1. Cameroonian peace activist Divina Maloum was also honored with International Children’s Peace Prize 2019.
12. Oxford Dictionaries named “climate emergency” as its 2019 Word of the Year, amid increase in its usage since 2018.
13. Assam Govt. released state's new Land Policy 2019, prepared by Revenue and Disaster Management Department after 30 years. It was last prepared in 1989.
14. National Investigation Agency (NIA) hosted first-ever counter-terrorism (CT) exercise for the Quad countries (United States (US), India, Australia, and Japan) in New Delhi.
15. RBI superseded board of debt-laden Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL), to initiate process of resolution of company under the insolvency and bankruptcy rules. The company is all set to become India’s first financier to land up in bankruptcy courts.
  1. It comes after Govt empowered RBI to refer stressed NBFCs and HFCs having assets worth at least Rs 500 crore to insolvency court.
  2. R Subramaniakumar has been appointed as the administrator.
  3. DHFL owes close to Rs 1 lakh crore to its debtors.
16. Winter Session of Parliament 2019 -
  1. It is 250th session of Rajya Sabha.
  2. Statements made by Govt -
    1. Census 2021 will be conducted in two phases - House-listing & Housing Census during April to September, 2020 and Population Enumeration during February 09-28, 2021. Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) recommended amount of 8754 crores for conducting Census 2021 in 16 languages.
    2. National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) counter terrorism Programme will begin by December 31, 2020. It will connect databases of core security agencies of India, proposed after Mumbai terror attacks in 2008.
    3. During current fiscal year so far, Jammu and Kashmir has achieved the highest road length in country under Centre’s rural roads’ programme of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). It involves completion of around 11,400 kilometres of different road projects, against sanctioned length of 19,700 kilometres.
    4. Indian Railway Institute of Financial Management (IRIFM) has been set up in Hyderabad, Telangana. It aims to set up to impart professional training in management of railway finances, constructed by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL).
    5. As per health ministry, Gujarat is best performer in terms of no. of hospital admissions under PMJAY (PM Jan Arogya Yojana), also called Ayushman Bharat. UP, Bihar are worst performers.
17. Uttar Pradesh Draft Religious Freedom Bill 2019 recommended 7 years Jail term for forced conversion cases.
18. 5th edition of India-Europe 29 Business Forum held at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in New Delhi. Europe 29 region stretches from Switzerland in west to Turkey in east and Norway in the north to Cyprus in the south.
19. India test-fired indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile at night, with strike range of 350 km. It is India’s first missile indigenously developed by DRDO under Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP). First night testfire of Prithvi-2 was conducted in February 2018.
20. Software Firm Microsoft launched its “K-12 Education Transformation Framework” to facilitate comprehensive digital transformation of schools in India. It has been adopted by education leaders in over 50 countries to help plan their learning strategies.
  1. It comprises four pillars — leadership and policy, modern teaching and learning, intelligent environments and technology blueprint.
Nov 20, 2019
1. Cabinet Approvals (Nov 20, 2019) -
  1. General Approvals -
    1. Approved extension/renewal of the extant Pharmaceuticals Purchase Policy (PPP) with the same terms and conditions while adding one additional product namely, Alcoholic Hand Disinfectant (AHD) to the existing list of 103 medicines till the final closure/strategic disinvestment of Pharma CPSUs.
    2. Approved adoption of Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programme by Indian Patent Office (IPO), to initially commence between Japan Patent Office (JPO) and Indian Patent Office on pilot basis for 3 years. Under this, Indian Patent Office may receive patent applications in certain specified technical fields.
    3. Approved establishment of National Institute for Sowa-Rigpa in Leh as an autonomous organization under the Ministry of AYUSH and to create post of Director in Pay Level -14 to oversee its implementation.
      1. Sowa-Rigpa is a Traditional Medical system of the Himalayan belt in India.
      2. Objective is to bring valid and useful synergy between Traditional Wisdom of Sowa-Rigpa and modern science, tools and technology.
    4. Approved proposal approved under Rule 12 of Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules 1961, to remove difficulty in giving effect to the provisions of Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 with regard to section 3 of the Act.
    5. Approved introducing Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill 2019 in order to replace the Ordinance.
      1. To generate employment and boost economy, Taxation Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2019 was issued in September 2019. . The ordinance will now be replaced, while looking to amend Income-tax Act 1961 (IT Act) or Finance Act.
      2. Salient features of amendments made by Ordinance -
        
        New provision was inserted in IT Act, enabling an existing domestic company to opt to pay tax at 22% plus surcharge at 10% and cess at 4%, if it does not claim any incentive/deduction. Effective tax rate for these companies comes to 25.17%. They would also not be subjected to Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT).
        
        To attract investment in manufacturing, another provision was inserted to IT Act - to provide that a domestic manufacturing company set up after 1st October, 2019 and which commences manufacturing by 31st March 2023, may opt to pay tax at 15% plus surcharge at 10% and cess at 4% if it does not claim any incentive/deduction. Effective rate of tax comes to 17.16% for these companies, also not subjected to MAT.
        
        Company which does not opt for concessional tax regime and avails tax exemption/incentive shall continue to pay tax at pre-amended rate. Also, to provide relief to companies which continue to avail exemptions/incentive, rate of MAT was reduced from existing 18.5% to 15%.
        
        Further, it was also provided that the enhanced surcharge will not apply to capital gains income of FPIs arising out of transfer of any security including derivatives, having concessional tax regime.
    6. Approved enactment of Recycling of Ships Bill 2019 and accession to Hong Kong International Convention for Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships 2009.
      1. It restricts and prohibits use or installation of hazardous material, which applies irrespective of whether a ship is meant for recycling or not. Ship recycling facilities are also required to be authorized.
    7. Approved proposals for Mitigating financial stress being faced by the Telecom Services Sector -
      1. Department of Telecommunication will allow Telecom Companies to defer payment of spectrum auction instalments due for 2020-21 & 2021-22, either for one or both years. Interest as stipulated while auctioning, will however be charged so that NPV is protected.
    8. Approved withdrawing International Financial Services Centres Authority 2019 Bill, which was introduced in Rajya Sabha on 12th February 2019. It was approved to introduce International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill 2019 in Lok Sabha current session of Parliament.
      1. Cabinet in February 2019 approved establishment of a unified authority for regulating all financial services through the introduction of International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill 2019 in Parliament.
      2. Lok Sabha Secretariat has now conveyed that this is a Finance Bill under Article 117(1) of Constitution and it should be introduced in Lok Sabha accordingly with recommendation of President under Article 117(1) and 274(1). So, the same is being withdrawn and will be fresh introduced in Lok Sabha.
    9. Approved introduction of Industrial Relations Code 2019 in Parliament. Benefits Include -
      - Setting up of two-member tribunal (in place of one), introducing a concept that some of the important cases will be adjudicated jointly and rest by a single member resulting speedier disposal of cases.
      - Vesting of powers with government officers for adjudication of disputes involving penalty as fines thereby lessening the burden on tribunal.
      - Draft code has been prepared after amalgamating, simplifying and rationalizing relevant provisions of -
        
        Trade Unions Act, 1926
        
        Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946
        
        Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
    10. Approved introducing National Capital Territory of Delhi (Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Unauthorised Colonies) Bill 2019. This will help in allowing registration of properties and provide certain relief to the residents in Unauthorised Colonies (DCs) of Delhi from Registration Charges and Stamp Duty.
      1. Nearly 40 lakh people reside in Unauthorised Colonies located on private or public land in Delhi.
      2. Properties in these colonies are not registered by registration Authorities and thereby residents do not have any title documents in respect of such properties and Banks do not extend any credit facilities in respect of said properties.
      3. Keeping in view socio-economic conditions of residents of these unauthorised colonies, it is necessitated to recognise and confer rights of ownership or transfer or mortgage to residents of such colonies, which is envisioned in proposed Bill.
  2. MOUs -
    1. Finland - Tourism.
    2. Comoros - Health and Medicine.
  3. CCEA Approvals -
    1. Approved Initiatives to revive Construction Sector, Following proposals put by NITI Aayog with respect to arbitrations by / against Government Entities -
      1. Government Entities will decide to initiate proceedings for setting aside of arbitral award, and any appeals, with opinion of a Law Officer - Attorney-General / Solicitor-General / Additional Solicitor-General.
      2. Where a Government Entity has challenged an arbitral award, resultant of which amount of arbitral award has not been paid, 75% of such award will be paid by Government Entity to contractor.
      3. These approved measures would help in ensuring that remedies of challenge/appeal are resorted to in a prudent and judicious manner, and in furthering the objective of infusion of liquidity into the construction sector.
    2. Approved amendments proposed in Toll Operate Transfer (TOT) Model by NHAI.
      1. Public funded National Highway projects which have toll revenue generation history of 1 year, shall be monetized through TOT Model. Around 75 operational NH projects have been identified for potential monetization using the TOT Model, and bundled into 10 separate bids to attract economics of scale for the private sector.
      2. This would ensure a wider set of assets for Monetization and providing a more attractive model for investors.
      3. NHAI has already monetized one bundle of projects under TOT Model, generating revenue of 9681 crores for government.
    3. Approved strategic disinvestment in select CPSEs -
      1. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) -
        
        Strategic disinvestment of Government shareholding of 53.29% in BPCL.
        
        Strategic disinvestment of BPCL's shareholding of 61.65% in NRL along with transfer of management control to a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) operating in Oil and Gas Sector.
      2. Shipping Corporation of India Ltd. (SCI)
        
        Strategic disinvestment of Government shareholding of 63.75%.
      3. Container Corporation of India Ltd. (CONCOR)
        
        Strategic disinvestment of Government shareholding of 30.8% (out of 54 8% equity held by Government).
      4. Tehri Hydro Development Corporation India Limited (THDCIL)
        
        Strategic disinvestment of Government shareholding of 74.23% in THDCIL to NTPC.
      5. North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO)
        
        Strategic disinvestment of Government shareholding of 100% in NEEPCO, to NTPC.
2. Government will merge 3 public Sector Insurance Companies as announced in budget 2019-20. The merger includes United India Insurance Limited, National Insurance Co Limited and Oriental Insurance Company Limited.
  1. Budget 2020 did not make provision of funds for insurers and Department of Financial Services.
  2. Therefore, government institutions in financial sector are forced to seek supplementary demands to fulfil their purposes. Budget allocated Rs 12,000 crore for this.
  3. General Insurance Companies have sought Rs 500 crore to Rs 3000 crore each to avoid falling below solvency ratio.
  4. 3 companies that are to be merged are struggling to maintain minimum solvency ratio of 1.5, as mandated by IRDAI.
    1. Solvency ratio is calculated by dividing company’s tax net operating income by its total debt obligation.
3. 6th tri-annual World Congress on Rural and Agricultural Finance (WCRAF) held in New Delhi. Theme is Critical Input to achieve Inclusive and Sustainable Development.
4. General Events / Conferences (Nov 11 - 20, 2019) -
  1. Ministry of Defence organized “Def Connect” event in New Delhi, to showcase the accomplishments of iDEX-Innovations for Defence Exellence.
  2. 2nd Summit of World Religious Leaders began in Baku, Azerbaijan.
  3. Indo French Chamber of Commerce & Industry (IFCCI) organized ‘Indo-French Investment Conclave’ in Goa.
  4. Ministry of AYUSH organized International Conference on Yoga Mysuru (Karnataka) with theme ‘Yoga for Heart Care’.
  5. In Jammu, Directorate of School Education (DSEJ) launched a special enrollment drive under the banner 'Aao School Chalein' for increasing enrollment in government schools.
    1. Centre also held regional conference on theme- ‘Replication of Good Governance Practices in Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh’ in Jammu.
  6. 2nd Joint India-China Capacity Building Programme for Afghan Diplomats held in New Delhi.
  7. First buyer seller meet on horticulture and agriculture produce for Arunachal Pradesh held in Itanagar. Buyers from 7 countries participated - Nepal, Bhutan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Oman, UAE and Greece.
    1. 11th Maitree Diwas event was also in Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh).
  8. 1st edition of Dhaka Global Dialogue held in Dhaka (Bangladesh), jointly organised by New Delhi based Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS).
  9. 7th edition of North East Festival held at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) in New Delhi.
  10. 2019 World Conference on Access to Medical Products : Achieving the SDGs 2030 held in New Delhi.
  11. 2nd India ASEAN InnoTech Summit held in Davao (Philippines).
  12. 27th Conference of Central and State Statistical Organizations (COCSSO) held in Kolkata (West Bengal).
  13. Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath inaugurated North India's first sugar mill which will produce ethanol direct from sugarcane, in Pipraich area of Gorakhpur.
  14. National Agro Chemical Congress conducted in New Delhi by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, first of its kind. It is to be conducted once in three years.
  15. First ever Sanskrit Bharati Vishwa Sammelan or Sanskrit World Conference organised in New Delhi.
  16. National Disaster Response Force is to establish a specialized unit for heritage structures, in every battalion of NDRF.
  17. 12th Urban Mobility India Conference and Expo 2019 held in Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow with theme Accessible and liveable Cities.
  18. India's first memorial for elephants, which died in harness or as victims of human brutalities, has been opened on Agra-Mathura highway in Uttar Pradesh.
  19. Andhra Pradesh Govt. launched 'Rythu Mitra', an exclusive mobile application to serve the needs of farmers of Siddipet.
  20. 11th edition of Bal Sangam festival organised by National School of Drama (NSD) in New Delhi.
5. Visits from India (Nov 11 - 20, 2019) -
  1. India attended 8th session of International Treaty of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) at Rome, Italy. Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar attended the session representing India. Treaty is in harmony with Convention on Biological Diversity, negotiated through FAO.
  2. Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri inaugurated a new Guru Nanak Chair at the University of Birmingham to enable research around teachings of the founder of Sikh religion, to mark 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak.
  3. Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan attended Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC). The India Pavilion has been set up by 9 Indian Oil & Gas companies.
  4. 2nd edition of annual Paris Peace Forum held in Paris (France). India was represented by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
6. Visits to India (Nov 11 - 20, 2019) -
  1. UK's Prince Charles (Prince of Wales) visited India.
  2. Foreign Minister of Bhutan, T. Dorji visited India.
  3. Uzbekistan Minister of Internal Affairs, Pulat Bobojonov Visited India.
  4. Microsoft Co-Founcder Bill Gates Visited India.
    1. Government launched Bharatiya Poshan Krishi Kosh with aim of reducing malnutrition, launched by WCD Minister Smriti Irani along with Bill Gates. It is a repository of diverse crops across 128 agro-climatic zones to help enable better nutritional outcomes.
      1. Ministry of Women and Child Development has collaborated with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for this project.
    2. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare signed memorandum of cooperation (MoC) with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) for technical support.
    3. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) signed declaration of intent with National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAD) of National Institutes of Health, USA and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).
    4. 8th International Conference on Agricultural Statistics (ICAS-VIII) held in New Delhi. India is hosting this conference for first time, with theme Statistics for Transformation of Agriculture to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is Chief Guest of the conference.
7. Microsoft's India-Origin CEO Satya Nadella topped Fortune's Businessperson of Year 2019 list.
  1. Others in top 5 - Elizabeth Ganes (Fortescue Metals), Brian Niccol (Chipotle Mexican Grill), Margaret Keane (Synchrony Financial), Bjorn Gulden (Puma)
  2. List also Includes India's Ajay Banga (Mastercard) and Jayshree Ullal (Arista)
8. Nov 20 is observed as UN World Children's Day, established in 1954.
  1. Nov 20 is also observed as Africa Industrialization Day. 2019 Theme is Positioning African Industry to Supply the AfCFTA Market.
9. As an initiative to check child marriage, Assam Govt approved Arundhati scheme to provide 1 Tola Gold to Brides free of cost, to brides belonging to economically weaker families. As per law, girl cant be married before age of 18 and a boy before 21 years.
10. Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat launched a project that will connect 500 secondary schools to virtual classrooms, to make up for shortage of teachers. Around 1.90 Lakh students to get benefited with the programme.
11. DRDO will increase range of ASTRA air-to-air missiles, under its Ballistic Missile Defence programme. Currently, ASTRA is capable of engaging targets upto a distance of 110 km, planning to increase it to 160 km.
12. Kolkata installed first of its kind high-end Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) Machines in India for quick detection of diseases such as dengue, tuberculosis (TB) and swine flu. Objective is to give accurate DNA report on blood tests in order to ascertain exact cause of illness.
13. 2nd edition of South Asia Safety Summit held in New Delhi, orgnaised by Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) and Facebook.
14. India hosted World Customs Organization (WCO) Asia Pacific Regional Contact Points (RCP) meet in Puducherry, held for fourth time in India.
15. Paris based International Energy Agency recently released its report on World Energy Outlook.
  1. It projected that installed solar power in world will increase by 3142 GW by 2040. Currently, world uses 495 GW of installed solar power.
  2. Oil demand will slow down after 2025 and world will transit towards electric vehicles. Energy demand in world is growing at 2% per year.
  3. 3 climate scenarios projected by report for future -
    1. Current Policy Scenario - World will continue to function with old regulations with energy demand rising at 1.3% yearly by 2040.
    2. New Policy Scenario - energy demand will increase by 1% per year.
    3. Sustainable Policy Scenario is most ambitious of all the scenarios. Under this, global temperature rise is to be contained within 1.5 degree Celsius by 2030.
16. On the occasion of World Toilet Day (Nov 19), Govt conferred Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2019 awards to top ranked states / UTs and districts in various categories. Ranking -
  1. Top 3 States – Tamil Nadu, Haryana, 3) Gujarat
  2. Top 3 Districts – Peddapalli (Telangana), Faridabad (Haryana), Rewari (Haryana)
  3. State with maximum citizen participation – Uttar Pradesh
17. President Ram Nath Kovind awarded President’s Colour to Indian Naval Academy (INA). President’s Colour is the highest honour that is bestowed upon a military unit. 2019 also marks 50th year of establishment of Naval Academy.
18. Ministry of Corporate Affairs inaugurated Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) Help Line number — 1800114667. It aims to facilitate investors with smooth information flow.
19. Cricketer Virat Kohli is named People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India’s ‘Person of the Year for 2019’ for his animal advocacy efforts.
Nov 19, 2019
1. Nov 19 is Birth Anniversary of Former (3rd) Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Her Birthday is observed as National Integration day in India.
  1. Earlier in 2019, Environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt was awarded Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration for 2017 and 2018 for his services in promoting and preserving national integration in country.
  2. David Attenborough, Noted British renowned naturalist, has been conferred with Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development 2019 for his efforts towards awakening humankind to need to preserve and protect planet’s biodiversity.
  3. Note that Indira Gandhi Birth anniversary (Nov 19) is observed as National Integration Day. While, Sardar Shri Vallabh Bhai Patel's Birth Anniversary (Oct 31) is observed as National Unity Day (Observed since 2014).
2. Nov 19 is observed as International Men's Day, Being observed since 1992.
  1. Nov 19 is also observed as Women's Entrepreneurship Day (WED), marked in 2014.
  2. Nov 19 is also observed as World Toilet Day, marked by UN in 2013. 2019 Theme is Leaving No One Behind.
    1. On the occasion of World Toilet Day, Govt conferred Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2019 awards to top ranked states / UTs and districts in various categories. Ranking -
      - Top 3 States – Tamil Nadu, Haryana, 3) Gujarat
      - Top 3 Districts – Peddapalli (Telangana), Faridabad (Haryana), Rewari (Haryana)
      - State with maximum citizen participation – Uttar Pradesh
  3. Nov 19 is also observed as World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse.
3. New Zealand tightened foreign investment rules in strategic assets. Foreign investors hoping to buy strategic assets will now have to convince government that it is in the national interest, giving government the power to reject overseas investments in sensitive areas.
4. India granted visa-on-arrival facility to the citizens of United Arab Emirates (UAE), to enhance people to people contacts and trade relations. This facility for UAE nationals will be available for a period of up to 60 days with double entry for tourism, business, medical purposes and conference.
  1. Japan and South Korea are other two countries whose citizens are offered visa-on-arrival facility by India.
  2. India has announced a set of new exemptions for foreigners seeking medical treatment in India. Under new visa exemptions, foreigners seeking medical treatment in India will not have to get their primary visa converted in a medical visa, applicable for foreigners obtaining indoor treatment up to 180 days. However, diseases requiring organ transplant shall be permitted only on a Medical Visa.
5. Government will set up FACT Check Module to identify incidences of fake news on social media and digital platforms and take corrective action. It will be set up under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It will work on the four principles of find, assess, create and target (FACT).
6. 2019 IMD World Talent Ranking released by International Institute for Management Development -
  1. India Ranked 59th, slipping from last year's ranking of 53.
  2. Top 5 - Switzerland (1st), Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd), Austria (4th), Luxembourg (5th). US Ranked 12th. Singapore ranked 10th and best in Asia.
  3. BRICS - Brazil (61), China (42nd), Russia (47th) and South Africa (50th).
7. Company Law Committee headed by Injeti Srinivas (Secretary in Ministry of Corporate Affairs) submitted its report to Ministry of Corporate Affairs. It was tasked to decriminalise provisions of Companies Act 2013 and find other measures to provide further Ease of Living for corporates. Committee proposed amendments in 46 penal provisions, so as to remove / reduce penalties.
8. Croatia Footballer Luka Modric has been awarded 2019 Golden Foot award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements. The award is only given to active players of at least 28 years of age, and can only be won once.
  1. Out of 10 Nominees, winner is selected by an online public poll. Winner leaves a permanent mould of his footprints on "The Champions Promenade", on seafront of the Principality of Monaco.
9. Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan released BIS’s (Bureau of Indian Standards) Water Quality Report 2019. Mumbai ranked at top, followed by Hyderabad (Telangana), Bhubaneswar,Odisha (3rd ). Delhi’s water quality is worst.
10. Book From Shanties to School written by Manimala Roy has been released. It explores literacy among migrant children after 1991 reforms.
11. Brazil won FIFA U-17 Football World Cup 2019, as 4th Title for Brazil. Brazil defeated Mexico in Final.
  1. It was hosted by Brazil, with particpation from 24 Nations.
  2. Top scorer was Netherlands's Sontje Hansen and Best player title was given to Gabriel Veron (Brazil).
12. Former Competition Commission of India chairman Sudhir Mital and Shantikumar Singh are elected as president and general secretary respectively, of Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI).
13. Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) notified new rules known as Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Insolvency and Liquidation Proceedings of Financial Service Providers and Application to Adjudicating Authority) Rules 2019.
  1. It provides framework for insolvency and liquidation proceedings of systemically important Financial Service Providers (FSPs) other than banks.
  2. Rule is applicable to FSPs under section 227 of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code(IBC) for insolvency and liquidation proceedings.
  3. Now Non-Banking Financial Companies -NBFCs with assets worth at least Rs 500 crores can be taken for debt resolution & liquidation proceedings under the provisions of the IBC 2016, by being referred to National Company Law Tribunal. It might refer to troubled companies like DHFL (Dewan Housing Finance Limited) and Altico Capital.
14. After gap of 3-years, National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released 2016 data about frmer suicides in India. It stated that Maharashtra tops in number of Farmer suicides, followed by Karnataka.
15. Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd delivered to Indian Coast Guard ICGS 'Amrit Kaur', the third in a series of five 'Fast Patrol Vessels' (FPV). Earlier in Nov 2019, GRSE had delivered ICGS 'Annie Besant' to Coast Guard.
Nov 18, 2019
1. Winter Session of Parliament 2019-20 Began Today, to have 20 sittings between November 18 and December 13, 2019.
  1. It is 250th Session of the Rajya Sabha.
2. As per 2019 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange report -
  1. India remained largest source of foreign students to the US for the 10th consecutive year, sending approx 2 lakh students to US annually. Total number of international students in US are over 1 Million.
3. Thailand hosted 6th ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM)- Plus in Bangkok. ASEAN and its 8 partner - India, China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Russia and US attended the meet. India was represented by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
4. NITI Aayog released a report on “Health Systems for a New India: Building Blocks-Potential Pathways to reforms”, as a framework to build a rigid health system for India.
  1. Report identified 4 focus areas - deliver on unfinished public health agenda, change health financing from out of pocket expenditures into large insurers, integrate health services with digitization and empower citizens on becoming better health buyers.
  2. Report Recommended practices of Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust of Karnataka. It went on to enroll hospitals from neighboring states and succeeded its implementation in state and now targeting entire 6.4 crore population.
  3. It suggests to extend the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, the cashless insurance scheme to cover entire country.
  4. Health spending in India is about 1.4 % of GDP. Only about 20 % of population comes under health insurance.
5. 2019 ATP Finals Men's tennis (London, United Kingdom) -
  1. It was season-ending event for highest-ranked singles players and doubles teams on 2019 ATP Tour.
  2. Singles - Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece). He defeated Dominic Thiem (Austria).
  3. Doubles - France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert AND Nicolas Mahut
6. Actors Sridevi and Rekha have been conferred with Akkineni Nageswara Rao National Award for 2018 and 2019 respectively, instituted by Akkineni International Foundation to honor those who have made a lasting impact on Indian cinema.
7. Justice Ravi Ranjan has been appointed as Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court.
8. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) released a booklet named ‘From Uttapam to Sprouted Dal Parantha’ based on findings of the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey 2016-18.
  1. It stated that 35% of children under five are stunted, 17% are wasted and 33% are underweight.
  2. It suggests that there are various nutritious food options that cost less than Rs. 20 to tackle obesity, underweight and anaemia.
9. Government launched Bharatiya Poshan Krishi Kosh with aim of reducing malnutrition, launched by WCD Minister Smriti Irani along with Bill Gates. It is a repository of diverse crops across 128 agro-climatic zones to help enable better nutritional outcomes.
  1. Ministry of Women and Child Development has collaborated with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for this project.
10. Haryana government will create a new Department of 'Foreign Cooperation', to focus on initiatives for promotion of investment, youth employment and welfare of Non-Resident Indians.
11. 8th International Conference on Agricultural Statistics (ICAS-VIII) held in New Delhi. India is hosting this conference for first time, with theme Statistics for Transformation of Agriculture to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is Chief Guest of the conference.
12. Assam Olympic Association (AOA) launched new programme- ‘Grassroot Olympic – Mission Talent Hunt’ to identify and groom sports talent.
  1. Assam will also host Khelo India Youth Games during January 10-22, 2020.
13. Government banned Meghalaya-based insurgent group ‘Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council’ (HNLC), for its increased activities of violence and other insurgent acts. It was banned under sub-section (1) of section 3 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) 1967.
14. World Bank submitted a master plan to develop logistics infrastructure of Kolkata metropolitan area, aiming to invest 300 million USD. Entities participating in deal are CII and West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation.
15. India's Harmeet Desai won men’s singles title at International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Challenge Indonesia Open 2019 Table Tennis tournament at Batam (Indonesia). He defeated India's Amalraj Anthony.
16. Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) signed MoU) with Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) to market and operate the Golden Chariot Train. KSTDC will soon hand over reins of the train to IRCTC.
17. India signed a $91 million loan agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to modernize Vijayanagara Channel irrigation systems and prepare river basin management plans in the Krishna river basin that will help improve irrigation water use efficiency and contribute to improving sustainable water security in Karnataka.
18. Indian women won clinched 5 gold and men won 2 silver at Asian Youth Boxing Championship in Mongolia.
  1. Women medalists included Naorem Chanu, Vinka, Sanamacha Chanu, Poonam and Sushma.
  2. Men silver medalists included Selay Soy and Ankit Narwal.
  3. India won total 12 medals, with 7 Gold and 5 Bronze.
19. India’s Sarita Devi has been elected among 5 members of AIBA (International Boxing Association) Athletes Commission.
20. November 18 is observed as Naturopathy Day, by Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy (AYUSH) Ministry. It was first observed in 2018.

Nov 17, 2019

CSIR - National Geophysical Research Institute released the Geochemical Baseline Atlas of India for environment management purpose. It aims to document concentration and distribution of the chemical elements in the soils of India. It consists of 45 maps of metals, oxides and elements present in top and bottom soils across India.
1. Atlas traces elements from top soil i.e top 25 cm depth and bottom soil at 100 cm depth from 2006 to 2011.
Uttarakhand Cabinet approved formation of an integrated safety scheme under the high-intensity earthquake minimization program to deal with natural calamities in state. Budget of 500 crore will be approved for a period of five years to deal with natural calamities in Uttarakhand.
2019 Fed Cup, 57th edition of Women's Tennis tournament between national teams -
1. French team comprising Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia defeated Australian duo of Ashleigh Barty and Samantha Stosur in Final, to win France's third Fed Cup title.
2. Final was held in Perth (Australia).
Nov 17 is observed as National Epilepsy Day, a brain related disease.
Delhi HC Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal has been appointed as a Judicial Member in Competition Commission of India, for 5 years.

Red Bull's Belgian-Dutch Racer Max Verstappen won Brazil Grand Prix 2019 -

Earlier, Lewis Hamilton (UK) had won his 6th F1 world championship by winning 2019 F1 Season, only behind Michael Schumacher in all time list.

Formula 1 Season 2019 -

Round	Grand Prix	Winner	date
1	Australian Grand Prix	Valtteri Bottas (Finland)	17 March
2	Bahrain Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	31 March
3	Chinese Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	14 April
4	Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Valtteri Bottas (Finland)	28 April
5	Spanish Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	12 May
6	Monaco Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	26 May
7	Canadian Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	9 June
8	French Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	23 June
9	Austrian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch)	30 June
10	British Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	14 July
11	German Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch)	28 July
12	Hungarian Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	4 August
13	Belgian Grand Prix	Charles Leclerc (Monaco)	1 September
14	Italian Grand Prix	Charles Leclerc (Monaco)	8 September
15	Singapore Grand Prix	Sebastian Vettel (Germany)	22 September
16	Russian Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	29 September
17	Japanese Grand Prix	Valtteri Bottas (Finland)	13 October
18	Mexican Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	27 October
19	United States Grand Prix	Valtteri Bottas (Finland)	3 November
20	Brazilian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch)	17 November
21	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix		1 December

Nov 16, 2019 -
1. Nov 16 is observed as UN International Day of Tolerance.
  1. In 1995, to mark UN Year for Tolerance and 125th anniversary of birth of M K Gandhi, UNESCO created a prize for promotion of tolerance and non-violence, called UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence. It is awarded every 2 years on International Day for Tolerance, 16 November.
  2. In 2018, Manon Barbeau (President and Founder of Wapikoni Mobile (Canada)), and Kenyan NGO Coexist Initiative were laureates of UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence. Next award will be announced in 2020.
  3. Nov 16 is also observed as National Press Day in India.
  4. Nov 16 is observed as World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.
2. Pakistan became first country to introduce World Health Organization (WHO) recommended typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) into its routine immunization program. It is the first typhoid vaccine that can be given to children as young as 6 months of age and confers longer term protection against typhoid. Pakistan is suffering amid ongoing outbreak of a drug-resistant strain of typhoid.
3. India pledged to contribute USD 13.5 million for various operational activities of development across UN agencies for 2020, during UN General Assembly Pledging Conference for Development Activities.
  1. About 16 countries pledged total USD 516 million at 2019 United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities, representing a increase over 2018 which saw USD 425.69 million promised.
4. Indian movie Bhonsle won awards at Asian Film Festival Barcelona (Spain). It won 2 awards in ‘Best Screenplay’ and ‘Best Director’ categories at the festival. The film is directed by Devashish Makhija.
5. Lancet Countdown Report 2019 highlights -
  1. If global warming is not controlled, world will become 4 degree hotter in 71 years. It will cause severe health issues to people of all ages.
  2. Agriculture related -
    1. Average production of major crops like maize and rice has been declined in India by 2 % since 1960s.
    2. Production of four key crops, wheat, maize, rice and soyabean has been declined globally by 6%, 7.4%, 3.2% and 3.1% respectively.
    3. Agricultural losses due to rise in temperature will further increase if concrete steps will not be taken.
  3. Pollution related -
    1. Dangerous level of outdoor fine particulate air pollution (PM 2.5) was the reason of over 5 Lakh premature deaths in India in 2016.
    2. In India, coal contributed to over 97,400 deaths while coal based energy supply increased 11% in India.
6. United Nation Children's Fund (UNICEF) released report on pneumonia disease -
  1. Over 8 lakh children died due to pneumonia in world in 2018. India was second after African country Nigeria in the death of children below five years of age from this disease. It killed 1,27,000 children in India last year.
  2. Pneumonia is cause of 15 % of total cases of deaths among children under five years of age.
  3. India's Ministry for Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) launched SAANS: ‘Social Awareness and Action to Neutralise Pneumonia Successfully’ campaign to reduce child mortality due to pneumonia.
7. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has set up an On-line Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (OCSAE) Prevention/Investigation Unit at New Delhi under its Special Crime Zone to tackle the menace of child porn on the internet.
8. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under Ministry of Commerce and Industry has set up a Development Council for Bicycle, for period of 2 years. It will stimulate value chain and fuel accelerated demand growth of Make-in-India.
9. To commemorate Former Chief Election Commissioner T N Seshan who passed away recently, Election Commission of India will establish and fund a Visiting chair on interdisciplinary approach to Electoral Studies in Centre for Curriculum Development at India international institute of Democracy and Election Management( IIIDEM ), New Delhi from 2020-2025. It will be mentored by N Former CEC Gopalaswami.
10. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar stated that government has withdrawn draft of the amendment of Forest Act 1927, to remove any misgivings about taking away rights of the tribals and forest dwellers.
11. Book Savarkar: Echoes from a Forgotten Past, 1883–1924 written by Rajya Sabha Member Vikram Sampath has been released.
12. Brown to Green Report by Climate ransparency -
  1. It analyzes climate actions taken by G20 Nations, based on 80 Indicators.
  2. Report states that 80 % of Global Greenhouse Gas emissions are from G20 Nations.
  3. Extreme weather events led to around 16,000 deaths and economic losses of $142 billion in G20 nations on average every year during 1998-2017.
  4. Among G20, India is only nation close to 1.5 Degree Celsius Temperature rise Target, which shows good efforts put in by India.
    1. Target is to contain Temperature rise by 2030 limited to under 1.5 Degree celsius.
    2. However, India reported maximum deaths among G20 Nations due to extreme weather events, while US reported maximum economic losses among all nations in G20.
  5. India is currently investing most in renewable energy while Brazil and Germany are only G20 countries with long-term renewable strategies. Brazil leads with 82.5% renewables, while Saudi Arabia, South Korea and South Africa lag behind with shares of only 0-5%.
  6. Coal is to be phased out in OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Nations by 2030 and globally by 2040.
13. Book An Extreme Love of Coffee written by Harish Bhat has been released.
14. Jeanine Áñez Chávez declared herself interim President of Bolivia after recent resignation of Evo Morales as President of Bolivia.
15. Darjeeling green and white teas, whose price varies from Rs 3,000 -Rs 10,000 per kg, have received Geographical Indication (GI) tag for domestic market. It means that any teas sold as Darjeeling white and green teas in the domestic market without GI will not be considered authentic teas. Darjeeling black tea is already registered as GI.
  1. Green Tea is made from same tea leaves. However, it does not undergo the process of withering and oxidation. Though Green Tea originated in China, it is spread all over Asia.
  2. White Tea is known as most delicate tea varieties, because it is minimally processed. The leaves are harvested before the leaves open completely.
16. World Trade Organization rejected several claims of India against US on steel duties. India had earlier complained in WTO that US States is breaching international trade rules in 14 areas.
  1. In 2012, India filed first complaint against US at the WTO, for US imposing tariffs on nearly 300% imports that included steel, carbon-quality steel, etc.
  2. Later in 2014, WTO ruled that duties imposed by US were a breach of global trade rules. When US failed to comply the ruling, India took it to the WTO again. WTO had set a Dispute Settlement Body to sort out the issue.
  3. The Body has now rejected several charges filed by India against US duties.
17. Water Resources Ministry formed a committee to draft a new National Water Policy (NWP). It will be chaired by Mihir Shah, a former Planning Commission member and a water expert.

Nov 15, 2019

25th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) 2019 Organized with Germany as Focus Country of this year.

2019 World Para Athletics Championships (Dubai, UAE) -

1403 Athletes from 118 Nations participated.

Top 5 -

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China	25	23	11	59
2	Brazil	14	9	16	39
3	Great Britain	13	9	6	28
4	United States	12	10	12	34
5	Ukraine	11	8	8	27

India Ranked 24th, with 9 Medals (2 Gold, 2 Silver, 5 Bronze). Indian Medalists -
1. Gold -
  1. Sandeep Chaudhary - Men's Javelin Throw F44. He has also set new world record of 65.80 metre.
  2. Sundar Singh Gurjar - Men's Javelin Throw F46.
2. Silver -
  1. Sumit Antil - Javelin thrower (F64).
  2. Sharad Kumar - High jump (T63).
3. Bronze -
  1. Vinay Kumar Lal (men's 400m T44)
  2. Yogesh Kathuniya (men's discus throw F56)
  3. Mariyappan Thangavelu (men's high jump T63)
  4. Nishad Kumar (men's high jump T47)
  5. Ajeet Singh (men's javelin F46)

Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched ‘Nadu-Nedu’ programme which seeks to transform government schools into vibrant and competitive institutions. It has budget of 12000 crores and in first year, 3500 crores will be spent for development of infrastructure. English medium will be introduced in Classes 1 to 6.
1. Andhra government will introduce Amma Vodi scheme in January 2020, where govt will incentivize mothers to send their children to school.
European Investment Bank announced to stop funding fossil fuel (oil and coal) projects by end of 2021.
1. Since 2013, European Union through EIB has funded 13.4 billion Euros for fossil fuel projects.
2. EIB’s new policy demands that the energy projects applying for funding must prove that they can produce 1 Kilo watt hour of energy emitting less than 250 grams of carbon dioxide. New rules are not applicable to gas-based energy projects.
3. EU aims to become first carbon-neutral continent by 2050.
National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) has been launched in UT of Jammu and Kashmir. It is was earlier launched across country by HRD Ministry in August 2019.
1. It aims at improving learning outcomes at Elementary level through integrated Teacher Trainings, targeting capacity building of 42 lakh participants.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated Sisseri River Bridge at Lower Dibang Valley in East Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh. It is a 200-metre long bridge between Jonai-Pasighat-Ranaghat-Roing road and would cut down the travel time from Pasighat to Roing by about 5 hours. It provides connectivity to Tinsukia via Dhola-Sadia bridge and will also provide connectivity between Dibang Valley and Siang.
2019 Trace Bribery Risk Matrix report by TRACE International -
1. It is a global business bribery risk assessment tool that measures business bribery risk in 200 countries /territories.
2. Top 5 Risky - Somalia, South Sudan, North Korea, Yemen and Venezuela.
3. Lowest Bribery Risk - New Zealand, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
4. India ranked 78th, better than China. Other countries with same score as India (48) - Azerbaijan, Ghana, Bahamas, Panama, Samoa and Thailand.
5. Bangladesh is highest risk country in terms of bribery in South Asia, ranked 178.
Ministry of Statistics and Programme implementation will not release Consumer Expenditure Survey due to quality issues. Next Consumer Expenditure Survey is to be conducted in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
1. According to National Statistical Office (NSO), there was significant increase in divergence in consumption pattern and change in data as compared to other administrative data sources like goods and services.
2. Ministry is also looking ways to change the base year of the survey to 2017-18, which is currently 2011-12.
3. Survey is conducted in quinquennial intervals (5 Years). Previously it survey was conducted in 2011-12. It provides data on household Monthly Per Capita Consumer Expenditure (MPCE).
Beijing Based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) approved investment of $575 million in suburban railways and renewable energy sector. It will extend a long-term project loan to Mumbai Urban Transport Corporation for $500 while the rest $75 million will be invested in Tata Cleantech Capital.
1. AIIB expects investment of 100 million USD in India in a year, in Wind and solar projects.
4th edition of India International Cherry Blossom Festival 2019 celebrated in Shillong (Meghalaya). It celebrates unique autumn flowering of Himalayan Cherry Blossoms with several cultural events.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Hayabusa 2 probe started its year long journey back to earth from its mission of collecting samples from an asteroid called Ryugu, about 300 million kilometres from Earth. It first touched down on the asteroid Ryugu in February 2019 with a mission to collect samples that could provide clues to the origin of solar system as well as life on Earth.
Indian Oil Corporation launched special winter grade diesel that will remain unfrozen even at -33 degree Celsius, to help provide continuous and year-round access to snow-covered regions, specially Ladakh. It meets BIS specification of BS-VI gradeIt was produced and certified at Panipat Refinery.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa won Sri Lankan presidential elections. He will be New president of Sri lanka, Relacing Maithripala Sirisena.
Nov 15 is statehood day of Jharkhand. It was created on 15 November 2000, carved out of Bihar.
Nilam Sawhney has been appointed as Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh, becoming first woman Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh.

Nov 14, 2019
1. Nov 14 is observed as Children's Day in India. It commemorates Birth Anniversary of India's First Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
  1. On this occasion, Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (ASCPCR) launched a mobile app called ‘Sishu Suraksha’, an e-complaint box for child right violations. It will enable users from all over Assam to lodge complaints about violation of child rights.
  2. Also, West Bengal Govt. observed ‘Rosogolla Dibas’ on 14 November 2019 to mark granting of Geographical Indication (GoI) tag of ‘Banglar Rosogolla’ or Bengal’s Rasgulla to the state on this day in 2017.
2. Misc. Supreme Court Rulings -
  1. Supreme Court held that office of the Chief Justice of India is a public authority under Right to Information Act. Also, Transparency doesn’t undermine judicial independence. Supreme Court upheld Delhi HC judgment which ruled that office of Chief Justice comes under purview of RTI.
  2. Supreme Court dismissed all review petitions filed against its previous judgement on Rafale deal.
  3. Supreme Court referred review petitions against its previous judgement on Sabarimala issue to a larger 7-judge bench. Supreme Court, ruled out a stay on its September 28, 2018 judgement, which allowed entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple.
3. Pakistan will Amend Its Army Act, to Allow Kulbhushan Jadhav to Appeal in Civilian Court as Per International Court of Justice Ruling. Pakistan’s Army Act bars individuals being tried in military courts from appealing in civilian courts. However a special amendment will be made for Kulbhushan Jadhav.
  1. Kulbhushan Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court under on charges of espionage and terrorism. International Court of Justice has put a stay on the death sentence in its ruling in July 2019.
4. Indian Railways aigned Procurement cum Maintenance Agreement with Madhepura Electric Locomotive Pvt. Ltd. (MELPL), a joint venture of Indian Railways and French Firm Alstom.
  1. As part of largest Foreign Direct Investment project of Indian Railways, Railways and Alstom partnered in 2015 to transform heavy freight transportation landscape of India. An agreement worth 3.5 billion Euro was signed to manufacture 800 electric locomotives for freight service and its associated maintenance.
  2. Factory has been set up in Madhepura, Bihar with capacity to manufacture 120 locomotives per year.
  3. The project will allow faster and safer movement of heavier freight trains. It will haul 6000T trains at maximum speed of 100 kmph.
5. Competition Commission of India Approvals -
  1. Approved merger of BNP Paribas (BNPP) Mutual Fund and Baroda (BOB) Mutual Fund. It proposes to amalgamate BOB Asset Management Company (AMC) into BNPP AMC and BNPP Trustee Company (TC) into BOB TC.
  2. Approved investment in Ecom Express Private Limited (Ecom) by CDC Group plc. CDC is a Development Finance Institution, owned by DFID, UK Government, which provides capital to private sector entrepreneurs in developing countries.
  3. Approved acquisition of shareholdings in Mumbai International Airport Limited by Adani Properties from Bid Services Division (Mauritius) Limited and ACSA Global Limited. It relates to acquisition of 23.5 % equity stake of MIAL by APPL from BSDA and ACSA.
  4. Approved secondary acquisition in Delhivery Private Limited (DPL) by SVF Doorbell (Cayman) Ltd. (SVFD). After this, SVFD will hold up approx 25.72% of DPL.
  5. Approved acquisition of the ‘Plates & Coils Mill Division’ of Welspun Corp by Laptev Finance.
  6. Approved acquisition of 4.94% shareholding in Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) by Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and acquisition of 0.24% shareholding in TMC by SMC. TMC and SMC are both Japan based.
  7. Approved Amazon's proposed Rs 1,500 crore deal to acquire 49 % stake in Future Coupons Ltd (FCL), a Future Retail promoter group company.
  8. Approved acquisition of 37.40% stake and joint control of Adani Gas Limited by Total Holdings SAS. Total Holdings, is parent company of the Total group entities worldwide.
  9. Mitsubishi-Hitachi Metals Machinery will acquire Siemens’ 49 % stake in Primetals Technologies. Following closing, MHMM will assume sole control of Primetals Technologies.
6. Nov 14 is observed as World Diabetes Day, with theme Family and Diabetes. It was proclaimed in in 1991.
7. American-Italian actor Robert De Niro has been named winner of SAG-AFTRA's highest honor: the SAG Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment. It given annually to actor who fosters "finest ideals of the acting profession."
8. DRDO successfully carried First night-time 'arrested landing' of naval variant of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas at a facility in Goa.
  1. DRDO also conducted its first night trial of AGNI II missile successfully, with strike range 2000 km. It can carry payload of 1,000 kg and launch a weight of 17 tonnes.
9. Scientists spotted a new species of signal fish, the first one of genus recorded in Indian waters. It has been named 'Pteropsaron indicum'. Discovered species is the world’s largest signal fish. They flap their long fins as a sign of dominating their territory and attracting their mate.It is because of these characteristics they are called signal fish.
10. Arsène Wenger (France) has been appointed by Football Governing Body FIFA as new Chief of Global Football Development.

Nov 13, 2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visited Brazil for attending 11th BRICS summit Helcd in Brasília (Brazil). 2019 Theme is Economic Growth for an Innovative Future.
1. PM Modi proposed holding first meeting of BRICS Water Ministers in India.
2. During 11th BRICS Meet, 9th BRICS Trade Ministers Meet was also held in Brasilia, attended by Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal.
3. Earlier, India’s Ravi Prakash won BRICS-Young Innovator Prize at 4th BRICS -Young Scientist Forum Conclave held in Brazil. He won first prize carrying $25,000 for inventing an affordable indigenous milk chilling unit for smaller and marginal rural dairy farmers.
4. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro accepted PM Narendra Modi’s invitation to be Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in 26 January 2020.
5. BRICS Grouping comprises of 5 major economies namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The member countries of BRICS grouping hold 42% of world’s population, 17% of world trade and 23% of world GDP.

14th Asian Shooting Championships 2019 Held in Doha (Qatar)

It acts as Asian qualifying tournament for 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Medal Table -

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China	20	20	5	45
2	South Korea	8	6	7	21
3	North Korea	6	2	3	11
4	India	5	10	11	26
5	Kuwait	3	3	2	8

India Ranked 7th with 26 Medals (5 Gold , 10 Silver and 11 Bronze). Medalists -
1. Gold -
  1. 25 m standard pistol team - Udhayveer Sidhu, Vijayveer Sidhu, Gurpreet Singh
  2. Skeet - Angad Vir Singh Bajwa
  3. 10 m air pistol (Women) - Manu Bhaker
  4. 50 m rifle prone team (Women) - Anjum Moudgil, Kajal Saini, Tejaswini Sawant
  5. 10 m air pistol team (Mixed) - Abhishek Verma, Manu Bhaker
2. Individual Silver -
  1. 10 m air pistol - Saurabh Chaudhary
  2. 25 m center fire pistol - Gurpreet Singh
  3. 25 m standard pistol - Udhayveer Sidhu
  4. 50 m pistol - Gaurav Rana
  5. Skeet - Mairaj Ahmad Khan
  6. Notably, 10 m air pistol team Mixxed Silver won by Saurabh Chaudhary and Yashaswini Singh Deswal.
3. Individual Bronze -
  1. 50 m pistol - Arjun Singh Cheema
  2. 10 m air rifle - Deepak Kumar
  3. 50 m rifle 3 positions - Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar

International Union for Conservation of Nature organized 7th Regional Conservation Forum in Islamabad (Pakistan). Secretary of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (C K Mishra) visited on India's Behalf.
NCDEX (National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange) launched return based agricultural futures index named NCDEX AGRIDEX, in partnership with NSE Indices Limited. AGRIDEX tracks and replicates the performance of the ten most liquid commodities traded on the NCDEX’s platform.
IIT Guwahati researchers developed a paper-based sensor that can make an assessment of the freshness of milk instantaneously, by invasion and presence of microbes in milk.
1. It detects quantity of ALP (Alkaline Phosphate) in milk to determine its freshness and quality. ALP is a metalloprotein found in raw milk samples, and is an important bio marker in quality control in milk. ALP compounds are destroyed during pasteurization. Therefore, detecting ALP compounds can help in detecting inadequate pasteurization in milk.
Indian Sprinter Dutee Chand has been named in TIME 100 Next list, highlighting 100 rising stars who are shaping future in various fields.
4 day long International Lavi fair organised in Rampur district of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. This 400 years old tradition dates back to when Raja Kehari Singh of Rampur Bushahr state signed a treaty to promote trade with Tibet. This fair has remained an important trade fair between India and Tibet.
Festival ‘Bali Yatra’ inaugurated in Cuttack (Odisha), at bank of Mahanadi River. It is an annual festival to mark day when ancient mariners from Odisha would set sail to distant land of Bali, Sumatra, Java (Jawa) in Indonesia, Borneo and Sri Lanka, for expansion of trade and Culture.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) renamed a distant space rock Ultima Thule, to Arrokoth. It is the farthest cosmic body ever visited by a spacecraft. Arrokoth or “sky” is a name of Native American Powhatan language following a significant backlash over old name’s Nazi connotations. The name portrait the co-operation with Powhatan Tribal elders.
India-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Business Summit 2019 Held in New Delhi, with theme Today, Tomorrow, Together.
Mohammad Imran has been appointed as new High Commissioner (Ambassador) of Bangladesh to India.
Nov 13 is observed World Kindness Day, introduced in 1998 by World Kindness Movement, a coalition of nations' kindness NGOs.
Suranga Bawadi in Bijapur, Karnataka has been included in World Monument Watch List for 2020, under category of “Ancient Water System of Deccan Plateau”, by New York-based NGO World Monuments Fund. Suranga Bawadi was selected along with 24 monuments globally.
1. It is one of integral parts of ancient Karez system of supplying water through subterranean tunnels. It is now set to get funding for restoration. It was built in 16th century of Adil Shahi-I in Vijayapura.
Indian Philanthropist and Businesswoman Nita Ambani has been named Honorary Trustee of New York City’s The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the largest U.S. art museum. She is first Indian Trustee in 150 year old museum, that draws millions of visitors annually to see art spanning 5,000 years from around world.
Haryana government will bring more crops under its ‘Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojna (BBY)’ scheme for vegetable growers. Under it, farmers get compensated for selling their crop at a price lower than that fixed by government. It was launched in January 2018 and included potato, onion, tomato and cauliflower. More crops to be included are Carrots, peas, kinnow, guava, capsicum and brinjal.
e-commerce Firm Amazon introduced ‘Project Zero’ in India, To block selling of counterfeit goods on its platform. It introduces additional proactive mechanisms to identify, block and remove counterfeits.
Muhammad Raffiq has been apppointed as New Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court.
According to data by Central electricity Authority (CEA), electricity demand fell by 13% in October 2019 as compared to October 2018, lowest in 12 years. Its mainly due to economic slowdown. India's Elecricity demad was 98 billion units in October 2019 as against 112 billion units in October 2018.
India started a USD 43 million project to boost climate resilience in three coastal states in partnership with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Project is funded by Green Climate Fund, established within United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to assist developing countries.
1. 6 year project will build climate-resilient livelihoods for 1.7 million people in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha and will offset 3.5 million tonnes of carbon in 30 years.
2. It will also restore 15,000 hectares of coral reefs, mangroves, salt marshes and sea marshes.
CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH) Chandigarh signed MoU with IIT Bombay to promote collaborative research, in line with MHRD's 2018 circular paving way for all IITs to sign MoUs with National Research Laboratories affiliated to CSIR to start new collaborations.

Nov 12, 2019
1. Nov 12, 2019 is observed as 550th birth anniversary of Sikhism Founder Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji, named as Prakash Parv.
  1. Guru Nanak Dev Ji was born on the full moon day of Kartik month or Kartik Poornima in 1469.
  2. On this occasion, Book The First Sikh: The Life and Legacy of Guru Nanak authored by Nikki-Guninder Kaur Singh has been released.
  3. Govt also launched 3 books on teachings of Guru Nanak Dev Ji - ‘Guru Nanak Bani’, ‘Nanak Bani’, and ‘Sakhian Guru Nanak Dev’.
  4. Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) organized three-day ‘Takhat Darshan Yatra’ for Sikh youths from various countries.
  5. As a first, Punjab and Haryana MLAs came together for a special assembly session in Chandigarh, to mark 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. MLAs from both states sat together for an assembly session for first time since 1966, when Haryana was carved out of Punjab.
  6. Shooting player Avneet Sidhu has been honoured with Guru Nanak Dev Ji Achievers Award.
2. Industry body FICCI signed MOU with Singapore Fintech Association (SFA) to boost cooperation for development of financial technology industry in India. MoU was signed during the Fourth edition of Singapore Fintech Festival.
  1. During the 4th Singapore Fintech Festival, a global pilot demo of BHIM UPI QR-based payments was done, As a first step towards BHIM UPI internationalization. This is first time that BHIM app has gone international.
3. Nov 12 is observed as World Pneumonia Day, marked in 2009. 2019 Theme is Healthy Lungs for all.
4. Assam Govt signed MoU with Malaysia India Business Council (MIBC) to improve two-way trade and investment between India and Malaysia.
5. RBI withdrawn certain exemptions granted to housing finance companies (HFCs), putting them on a par with NBFCs -
  1. HFCs are currently exempt from provisions of Chapter IIIB of RBI Act 1934. This exemption has been withdrawn now. RBI can now order winding up of a HFC on being satisfied that it is unable to pay its debt.
  2. RBI can now inspect any HFC to verify completeness of any statement furnished to RBI.
  3. Another exemption taken away is with regard to maintenance of a reserve fund. Mortgage lenders will have to create a reserve fund and transfer at least 20% of its net profit every year before any dividend is declared.
  4. Also, Earlier, Finance Act 2019 had amended National Housing Bank Act 1987, conferring certain powers for regulation of HFCs to RBI.
6. According to National Council of Applied Economic Research, Business Confidence of India dipped to lowest in six years. It fell by 15% between the period July and October 2019.
7. Government removed price restriction on locally produced oil and natural gas, to increase investment in oil and gas sector.
  1. As per New Exploration Licensing Policy, producers cannot charge gas from deep sea below government-prescribed ceiling. Govt had fixed this ceiling at 8.43 USD per mmBTU. The ceiling is to be removed now.
  2. Gas producers were critical about this low pricing that affected investment adversely. Though, prices seem increasing at initial period, it will get reduced in long term as more investors compete.
  3. Kelkar Panel had suggested to increase ceiling gradually and remove it completely to increase investment.
8. Iran discovered a new oilfield with 53 billion barrels of crude oil in Khuzestan province. New oil field is 2400 square kilometres (925 square miles), with deposit some 80 metres (260 feet) deep. It could also become Iran’s second-largest field after one in Ahvaz containing 65 billion barrels.
  1. Iran currently has about proven crude oil reserves of 155.6 billion barrels and this new oil filed discovery would add about 34% to its total reserves.
9. Asia Society announced 2019 Asia Game Changers awards. 2019 marks first time that all of the honorees are women. Winners are -
  1. Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE) - President of Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF)
  2. Sana Mir (Pakistani Cricketer)
  3. Faiza Saeed (American Businesswoman)
  4. Chhaya Sharma - Indian IPS officer Who Led Nirbhaya Murder Case
  5. Jane Jie Sun (Chinese businesswoman)
  6. Kung Fu Nuns - For empowering young girls and dismantling gender stereotypes
10. During 14th East Asia Summit in Bangkok (Thailand), Indian PM Narendra Modi had poposed Info-Pacific Initiative for a safe and secure maritime. To take this forward, India will organize a Indo-Pacific Conclave in Chennai in 2020.
11. NASA’s NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer) telescope detected a sudden spike of X Rays, was caused by a massive thermo nuclear flash on surface of a pulsar.
  1. A Pulsar is a neutron star whose compact core is left behind when a massive star runs out of fuel. It later collapses under its own weight and explodes. A Pulsar spins rapidly and becomes a host to several X-Ray emitting hotspot.
12. November 12 is observed as Public Service Broadcasting in India. It commemorates visit of M K Gandhi to studio of All India Radio in Delhi in 1947.
13. Sri Lanka became first South Asian nation to criminalise several offences related to match-fixing, after Sri Lankan parliament passed of a bill related to it labelled as “Prevention of Offences Related to Sports”. It covers all sports. Punishment includes jail term up to 10 years and fines.
14. Government approved setting up four medical device parks to provide world-class products at an affordable price for treatment. The four parks will be set up in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
15. 6th World Congress on Rural and Agriculture Finance jointly organised by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Asia - Pacific Rural Agricultural and Credit Association (APRACA) in New Delhi.
16. SBI Ecowrap report has cut GDP growth forecast to 5% for FY 2019-20 from earlier projection of 6%. Second quarter GDP growth rate is likely to slip to 4.2%. Report predicts that growth rate will pick up pace in 2020-21 to 6.2%.
Nov 11, 2019
1. November 11 is celebrated as National Education Day in India, to commemorate birth anniversary of Maulana Abdul Azad, the first Education Minister of India. He is accredited for establishment of several premier institutes of country. It is being celebrated since 2008.
2. Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu released a monograph, 'Musical Excellence of Mridangam', authored by mridangam maestro and Padma Vibhushan awardee Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman and T. Ramasami and M.D. Naresh.
3. US Space Agency NASA showcased an early version of its first all-electric experimental aircraft, the X-57 "Maxwell", Adapted from a Italian-made Tecnam P2006T twin-engine propeller plane.
4. Gujarat Government approved developing world’s first CNG port terminal at Bhavnagar,with 1900 crores investment from Joint Venture of UK based Foresight group and Mumbai based Padmanabh Mafatlal group. It will have annual capacity of 6 million matric tone, which will increased total handling capacity of the port to 9 million matric tones.
5. India registered 26.9 % reduction in Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) since 2013, according to Sample Registration System Bulletin 2016.
  1. Ratio declined from 167 in 2011-2013 to 130 in 2014-2016 and to 122 in 2015-17.
  2. Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have met sustainable development goals target of 70 per 100000 MMR, while Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are close.
6. Jammu and Kashmir Government will set up committee that will declare Dal Lake as an Eco-sensitive Zone, based on the study conducted by the DCI-Dredging Corporation of India. Encroachments and pollution has shrunk the lake from its original size of 22 square kilometers to about 10 square kilo meters.
Nov 10, 2019
1. General Events / Conferences (Nov 1 - 10, 2019) -
  1. India's Ministry of Tourism participated in World Travel Market (WTM) in London (UK), led by Secretary of Union Ministry of Tourism Shri Yogendra Tripathi.
  2. International Conference on Soil and Water Resources Management for Climate Smart Agriculture and Global Food and Livelihood Security held in New Delhi.
  3. 9th edition of Bangladesh-India Friendship Dialogue held at Cox Bazar in Bangladesh.
  4. Himachal Pradesh government Held Rising Himachal Global Investors’ Meet 2019 in Dharamshala. Bollywood actress Yami Gautam had been appointed as brand ambassador for the meet.
  5. Inaugural conclave on “National Capital Region -2041” Held in New Delhi, organized by the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB). with theme Planning for Tomorrow’s Greatest Capital Region.
  6. 7th India-US Economic and Financial partnership dialogue held in New Delhi. It was attended by Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.
  7. ShaalaDarpan porta E-Governance school automation and management system for NavodayaVidyalayaSamiti (NVS) has been launched.
  8. Indian Railways installed two ‘Health ATMs’ at the Charbagh railway station in Lucknow, promoted by YOLO Health ATM. It provides 16 health check-ups for Rs 50-100.
  9. National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) organized ‘Ganga Utsav’ in New Delhi to mark the 11th anniversary of Ganga being declared as national river.
  10. First ever containerised cargo movement via Indo-Bangladesh protocol route and Brahmaputra river sailed from West Bengal's Haldia, towards Pandu in Assam's Guwahati.
  11. Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu unveiled ‘Red Atlas Action Plan Map’ atlas and the ‘Coastal Flood Warning System App (CFLOWS-Chennai)’ for flood mitigation in Chennai.
  12. India’s first-ever Arts Exposition for Artists blessed with Down Syndrome, Autism, Mental Retardation, Seizure Disorder and Dyslexia Held in New Delhi, titled "eCAPA 2019 - Art from the Heart".
  13. Kerala Govt. organized 3rd edition of Global Ayurveda Summit 2019 in Kochi.
  14. 21st North East Book Fair held in Guwahati, Assam.
  15. Bihar Government banned vehicles older than 15 years to tackle increasing air pollution in state.
  16. Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) introduced its nanotechnology-based product range by introducing Nano Nitrogen, Nano Zinc, Nano Copper for on-field trials in Gujarat.
  17. Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO) Igniter Complex has been inaugurated at High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune. It will design, process, evaluate ignition systems for any kind of DRDO projects.
  18. 2nd ‘No Money for Terror’ 2019 conference held in Melbourne (Australia). Minister of State for Home Affairs, G.Kishan Reddy attended te meet on India's Behalf. India will host next ‘No Money For Terror’ Conference in 2020.
  19. 10th Asian Conference of Emergency Medicine held in New Delhi.
2. Visits to India (Nov 1 - 10, 2019) -
  1. Damien O’ Connor, Agriculture Minister of New Zealand visited India.
  2. German Chancellor Angela Merkel Visited India -
    1. She Attended 5th Indo-German Inter-Governmental Consultations in New Delhi.
    2. 8th meeting of the Indo – German Energy Forum also held in New Delhi.
    3. 7 Joint Intent of Declaration and 17 MOUs signed during the visit -
      1. Implementing Arrangement for Exchange of Personnel between ISRO and German Aerospace Centre.
      2. JDI on Cooperation in Civil Aviation, International Smart Cities Network Skills Development and Vocational Education and Training, Start-ups, Establishment of Bilateral Cooperation Project regarding Agricultural Market Development.
      3. JDI between Siemens India and MSDE and German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development on Skills for Sustainable Growth
      4. Statement of Intent on key elements of Indo-German Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement.
      5. MoU in -
        
        Occupational Diseases, Re-habilitation and vocational training of Insured Persons & workers with disabilities,
        
        Inland, Coastal and Maritime Technology.
        
        Establishment of an Academic Collaboration in Ayurveda, Yoga and Meditation.
        
        MoU between National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management MANAGE and the German Agricultural Academy DEULA in city of Nienburg on collaboration in agricultural technical and professional training.
        
        MOU between All India Football Federation (AIFF) and DeutscherFußball-Bund e.V (DFB).
      6. GermanY will spend 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion) on green urban mobility projects conceived under new German-Indian partnership.
  3. Vladimir I Zemskov, Deputy Chief of Russian Naval Staff Visited India for 4th Indian - Russia Navy (RuFN) Staff Talks in New Delhi.
3. Visits From India (Nov 1 - 10, 2019) -
  1. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Russia to attend India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) in Moscow.
    1. India and Russia will hold 11th edition of bilateral military exercise Indra-2019 in December 2019.
  2. PM Narendra Modi Visited Thailand to attend 35th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits Held in Bangkok -
    1. ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is a 10 member Grouping. Members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam. 2019 Theme is Advancing Partnership for sustainability.
    2. PM Narendra Modi Visited Thailand to attend 16th ASEAN-India Summit, 14th East Asia Summit and RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) Meetings.
    3. India has decided not to join Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement over India's concerns not being addressed in the deal. PM Modi stated that present form of RCEP Agreement does not fully reflect basic spirt and agreed guiding principles of RCEP. In such a situation, it is not possible for India to join RCEP Agreement.
    4. PM Modi attended Sawasdee PM Modi event in Bangkok. He also released a commemorative coin marking 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and also released Thai translation of Tamil classic Tirukkural.
4. Nov 10 is observed as World Science Day for Peace and Development, proclaimed by UNESCO in 2001 and celebrated since 2002.
  1. 2019 Theme is ‘Open science, leaving no one behind’.
5. World’s largest index compiler, Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) added 8 stocks and deleted 6 from India index.
  1. Additions include Berger Paints, DLF, HDFC AMC, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, Indraprastha Gas, Info Edge, SBI Life, Siemens India.
  2. Deleted Stocks included BHEL, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Indiabulls Housing Finance, L&T Finance, Vodafone Idea and Yes Bank.
6. Committee has been formed under Atul Karwal to implement Home Ministry'd directive to enable around 7 lakh CAPF jawans should get to spend at least 100 days annual holidays.
7. 10th meeting of Heads of Authorities of Member States of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on dealing with prevention and elimination of Emergency Situations held in New Delhi.
8. Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi released Assamese version of the book 'Courts of India: Past to Present'.
9. Book Accidental Magic written by Author Keshava Guha has been released.
10. Dhruv Prajapati, A researcher at Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (GEER) Foundation named a newly discovered spider species after Noted Cricketer Sacin Tendulkar. It is named Marengo sachintendulkar and Another one is named after saaint Kuriakose Elias Chavara who was a crusader in creating awareness about education in Kerala.
Nov 09, 2019
1. Nov 9 is statehood day of Uttarakhand.
  1. On 9 November 2000, Uttarakhand became 27th state of India, being carved from Himalayan districts of Uttar Pradesh.
2. Nov 9 is observed as National Legal Services Day In India, to commemorate enactment of Indian Legal Services Authorities Act 1987. On 11 October 1987, the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 was enacted. It took effect on 9 November 1995.
3. RBI increased household income limits for borrowers of Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and microfinance institutions (MFIs) from 1 lakh to 1.25 lakh rupees in rural areas, and from 1.6 lakh to 2 lakh for urban / semi-urban areas.
  1. RBI also increased loan disbursal limit to 75000 for 1st cycle (from 60000), and 1.25 lakh for successive cycles (from 1 lakh).
4. China Based Tencent Holdings acquired minority stake in Indian online insurance aggregator Policybazaar.com, valuing it at $1.5 billion.
5. Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a 300 million dollar loan for a power transmission lines project in Bangladesh.
6. 2019 Fuzhou China Open Badminton Title -
  1. Men's Singles - Kento Momota (Japan)
  2. Women's Singles - Chen Yufei (China)
  3. Men's Doubles - Indonesia's Marcus Fernaldi Gideon AND Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo
  4. Women's Doubles - Japan's Yuki Fukushima AND Sayaka Hirota
  5. Mixed Doubles - China's Wang Yilü AND Huang Dongping
  6. India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won bronze at the event.
7. Wildlife biologist K. Ullas Karanth has been awarded Wildlife Conservation Society’s George Schaller Lifetime Award in Wildlife Conservation Science. He is the first recipient of this award.
  1. Award is instituted by New York based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), named after WCS’s Dr. George Schaller, considered to be one of the greatest wildlife scientists and conservationists globally.
8. International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced that India will host 2023 Men's Hockey World Cup in January 2023. Also, Spain and the Netherlands have been named as co-hosts of 2022 Women's World Cup.
9. As per RBI report titled "Furthering Digital Payments", RBI has asked banks not to charge for NEFT Transactions, From January 2020. It has been done to promote digital transactions.
10. Tata Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award 2019 has been conferred on writer and film critic Shanta Gokhale. She received Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 2015.
11. Supreme Court Bench Headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi delivered crucial verdict on Ram Janmabhoomi Babri Masjid land dispute case -
  1. Hindus get disputed Ayodhya Land to build Ram Mandir and Muslims get alternate land of 5 acres to build the mosque.
  2. Verdict came after 9 years of Allahabad High Court Judgement, wherein, it divided land among three parties - Ram Lalla, Sunni Waqf Board and Nirmohi Akhara.
  3. Supreme Court scrapped the high court ruling by giving complete disputed land to Hindus and rejecting claim of Waqf Board and Nirmohi akhara.
  4. Judgement has been primarily made on the basis of observations made by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which depicts that Babri Masjid was not built on vacant land and this land was not of Islamic origin.
  5. Government has to frame Temple formation trust within 3 months.
  6. Ayodhya Verdict is Unanimous and all 5 judges are in favour.
  7. Timeline of Ayodhya Land Dispute -
    1. 1885 - First Suit filed by Mahanth Raghubar Das to construct Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
    2. 1949 - Idols of Lord Ram found in side Babri Masjid.
    3. 5 other suits were filed both by Hindu and Muslim religious organizations, Between 1950 and 1990.
    4. 1992 - Babri Masjid was demolished by dozens of right-wing activists.
    5. 2010 - Allahabad High Court pronounced a judgement that divided disputed land among Nirmohi Akhara, Sunni Waqf Board and Ram Lalla.
12. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth has been re-elected as Prime Minister of Mauritius, for his 2nd 5 year term.
13. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Integrated Check Post (ICP) of Kartarpur Corridor at Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur in Punjab. First Jatha of Sikh pilgrims also entered Pakistan through Kartarpur Corridor, with over 500 Indian pilgrims.
  1. To celebrate historic occasion of 550th Birth Anniversary of Shri Guru Nanak Devji in 2019, India signed an agreement with Pakistan on in October 2019, on the modalities and formal framework for operationalisation of Kartarpur Sahib Corridor.
  2. It would facilitate Indian Piligrims to visit Gurudwara Kartapur Sahib in Pakistan. Kartarpur corridor connects Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur, Punjab in India to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Narowal, Pakistan.
  3. Kartarpur Gurdwara is known as the the final resting place of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikh faith.
  4. It is located on the banks of river Ravi and is just over 4 km from Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab.
Nov 8, 2019
1. First ever BIMSTEC Ports’ Conclave Held 'at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
  1. 3 MoUs signed between Ranong Port (Port Authority of Thailand) and Port Trusts of Chennai, Vishakhapatnam and Kolkata during Conclave. These will enhance economic partnership by cutting down sea travel time between India and Thailand from 15 to 7 days.
  2. Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is International Organization involving a group of countries in South Asia and South East Asia namely, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.
2. Nov 8 is observed as International Day of Radiology.
3. Govt announced 300 % hike of ex-gratia payment for fatal coal mines accidents, increasing amount to 15 lakh from 5 lakhs.
4. Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Maha affetcted States of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
5. Akil Abdulhamid Kureshi appointed as chief justice of Tripura High Court.
6. University of Michigan (US) will expand genetic testing in India in partnership with AIIMS Delhi and Kasturba Medical College in Manipal. A 2.3 million US dollar grant from the National Institute of Health over five years will help the University of Michigan and Indian geneticists identify and confirm genetic changes that are basis of developmental disorders.
7. Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Bulbul-Matmo struck Vietnam and Indian states of West Bengal and Bangladesh, bringing storm surge, heavy rains, and flash floods.
8. Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) declined by eight points in one year as per the bulletin on MMR released by Registrar General of India.
  1. MMR declined from 130 per lakh live births in 2014-16 to 122 per lakh live births in 2015-17.
9. Special Protection Group (SPG) security cover provided to Gandhi family members has been withdrawn. Gandhi family will now be provided with Z plus security cover, to be protected by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
10. President Ram Nath Kovind has gave his assent to 'Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organized Crime Bill', which has been controversial due to stricter rules -
  1. Investigating agencies can record phone calls and present them in court as evidence. There is a provision for 5 years of jail or life imprisonment in cases of involvement or planning any of wide range of crimes included in Law.
  2. Controversial aspects -
    1. Provision of recording phone calls by investigating agencies and presenting it to court as evidence is an infringement of the fundamental right of privacy, as per Article 21.
    2. The provision of presenting statement taken from the accused in police custody as evidence is a violation of the fundamental rights of the accused, as per Article 20.
    3. A person accused of any crime cannot be compelled to be a witness against himself under, as per Article 20 (3).
11. Kalapani Area became issue of contention between India and Nepal after Nepal government raised objections to its inclusion in India's new political map. India had released its new political map depicting newly created UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.The new map of India shows
  1. Map shows Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as a part of newly created Union Territories. While three districts of PoK- Muzaffarabad, Mirpur and Punch are depicted as a part of the J&K Union Territory, Gilgit-Baltistan is shown as a part of Ladakh.
  2. Kalapani is a disputed territory between India and Nepal. While Nepal claims it to be a part of its Darchula district, the region is administered in India as a part of Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand.
  3. Kalapani is located at an altitude of 3600m on the Kailash Manasarovar route. It borders Uttarakhand in India and Sudurpashchim Pradesh in Nepal.
12. British Broadcasting Corporation announced list of ‘100 Novels That Shaped Our World’.
  1. Noted Indian authors R K Narayan ( Swami and Friends), Arundhati Roy (The God of small things), Salman Rushdie (The Moor’s Last Sigh), Vikram Seth (A Suitable Boy) and S. Naipaul (A House for Mr Biswas) have featured in the list.
13. Minister for Environment, Forest and climate change & Information and Broadcasting (I&B), Prakash Javadekar participated in 15th governing council meeting (GCM) of the South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme 2019 (SACEP) in Dhaka (Bangladesh).
  1. SACEP is an inter-governmental organization established in 1982, with members - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
14. West Bengal-based writer Abhishek Sarkar and Bangladeshi poet Rofiquzzaman Rony were given Gemcon Young Literature Award and Gemcon Young Poetry Award at At 9th edition of Dhaka Literature festival (Bangladesh). Abhishek and Rofiquzzaman won for their manuscripts, “Nishiddho” and “Dhoashar Tamate Rong,” respectively.
15. Council of Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR)’s National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) launched IndAIR (Indian Air quality studies Interactive Repository), as India’s first interactive online repository to make air quality research available to everyone. This includes all major legislation in the country dating back to 1905.
16. Ministry of Steel issued Steel Scrap Recycling Policy -
  1. Steel is most conducive for circular economy as it can be used, reused and recycled infinitely. While iron ore remains primary source of steel making, used steel in form of Scrap is secondary raw material for steel industry.
  2. New steel scrap recycling policy aims to increase domestic steel scrap production by 7 Millon Tonnes, which will eliminate need to import 7 MT of steel scrap annually, which costs around 24500 crores INR. Current domestic supply of scrap is 25 MT.
  3. National Steel Policy 2017 (NSP-2017) aims to create 300 Million TPA Steel production capacity by 2030, with contribution of 35-40% from EAF/IF route.
    1. Scrap is main raw material for secondary sector but primary sector also uses Scrap in charge mix of BOF steel to tune of 15%. Demand of steel scrap has increased considerably in the past globally from 367 mt in 2000 to 589 mt in 2017..
    2. When production of steel rises to 250 MT, as envisaged in National Steel Policy, then requirement of scrap shall rise to 70-80 MT.
  4. This shall also contribute in adopting principle of 6Rs - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, Redesign and Remanufacture.
  5. Scrap recyclig policy proposes creating suitable infrastructure for increasing scrap production and has potential to create 3 lakh jobs by 2030.
17. Railways launched 3 applications to strengthen its IT-enabled services which will help ensure proper monitoring of projects. Applications are - namely CRS Sanction Management System, Rail-road crossing GAD approval system and TMS for construction aim.
18. India Justice Report 2019 released by Tata Trusts -
  1. Report states that None of 29 states scored above 60 % on its justice delivery system across four key pillars - police, judiciary, prisons and legal aid. Report ranked 18 large and mid-sized and seven small states.
  2. Maharashtra topped list of 18 large / mid-sized states (population over 1 crore), followed by Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Haryana.
  3. List of seven small states is topped by Goa, followed by Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh.
  4. Country has about 18,200 judges with about 23 % sanctioned posts Lying vacant. Only Sikkim's High Court has judge vacancy of below 20 %. 22 % posts are vacant in police and 33-38.5 % in prisons.
  5. Women are poorly represented across Justice system as they account for 7 % of Police, 10 % of prison staff and 26.5 % of all judges in high courts and subordinate courts.
Nov 07, 2019
1. Biennial Commonwealth Law Ministers’ Conference held in Colombo (Sri Lanka), with Theme Equal Access to Justice and the Rule of Law. India was represented by Union Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad.
2. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India released draft regulations Titled food Safety and Standards (Safe Food and Healthy Diets for School Children) Regulations, 2019.
  1. It Proposes complete ban on sale of soft drinks, potato wafers and other junk foods within 50 meters of school campus. Also the advertisements of these junk foods were banned.
3. NASSCOM Foundation and software firm Mphasis announced winners of 11th edition of NASSCOM Social Innovation Forum (NSIF) awards -
  1. In 2019, 7 organisations are declared winners who will receive INR 10 lakh each as catalytic grants and a 12-month Support to Scale industry mentorship from experts, worth more than Rs.20 lakh. Winners -
    1. Meraki Foundation (Education)
    2. Inali Foundation - For Accessibility for developing an ‘affordable’ myoelectric prosthetic arm.
    3. PadCare Labs Pvt. Ltd - For Healthcare for developing ‘Sanicure’, a smokeless sanitary napkin disposal system.
    4. MHS City Lab - won Financial Inclusion award for ‘NEEV’ digital tool for affordable low-income housing.
    5. Watsan Envirotech Pvt. Ltd - Environment award.
    6. NotOnMap (NoM) - for Other Social issues for creating livelihood for culturally hidden communities
    7. Bombay Bijlee
4. Press Council of India (PCI) announced 2019’s winners of National Awards for Excellence in Journalism. Awards will be presented on the occasion of National Press Day on 16 November.
  1. Raja Ram Mohan Roy National Award for Excellence in Journalism given to Rajasthan Patrika group chairman Gulab Kothari. For Raja Ram Mohan Roy award for excellence in journalism, cash prize is worth 1 Lakh. Other Categories Winners rceve cash prize of 50000.
  2. Other Winners -
    1. Gender Based Reporting - Anuradha Mascarenhas (Indian Express) and Ruby Sarkar of Deshbandhu.
    2. Rural Journalism - Sanjay Saini (Dainik Bhaskar) and Raj Chengappa (India Today)
    3. Developmental Reporting - Shiva Swarup Awasthi (Dainik Jagran) and Anu Abrahim (Matrubhumi)
    4. Financial Reporting - Sandeep Singh (Indian Express) and Krishn Kaushik
    5. Photo Journalism (Single News Picture) - P G Unnikrishnan and Akhil E S
    6. Photo Journalism (Photo Feature) - Sipra Das
    7. Sports Reporting - Saurabh Duggal (Hindustan Times)
5. Indian Coast Guard (ICG) conducted ‘Regional Level Search and Rescue Workshop and Exercise 2019’: ReSAREX- 19 off Goa coast.
6. With addition of over 1300 startups this year so far, India continues to be 3rd largest startup ecosystem in world, as per IT industry body Nasscom. Number of tech startups in India has grown to 8,900-9,300. Report is titled Indian Tech Start-up Ecosystem: Leading Tech in 20s.
  1. India also witnessed addition of 7 Unicorns this year, taking total tally to 24 It is 3rd highest number of Unicorns (companies with valuation of over $1 billion) in a single country.
7. India Indonesia Navies held bilateral naval exercise ‘Samudra Shakti’ in Bay of Bengal, as 2nd edition of this exercise.
8. Winners of Infosys Prize 2019 announced by Infosys Science Foundation (ISF)
  1. Engineering & Computer Sciences - Sunita Sarawagi, for her research in data mining, machine learning and natural language processing.
  2. Humanities - Manu V. Devadevan, for his original and wide-ranging work on pre-modern South India.
  3. Life Sciences - Manjula Reddy, for her groundbreaking discoveries concerning the structure of cell walls in bacteria
  4. Mathematical Sciences - Siddhartha Mishra, for his outstanding contributions to Applied Mathematics.
  5. Physical Sciences - Mugesh, for his seminal work in chemical synthesis of small molecules and nanomaterials for biomedical applications.
  6. Social Science - Anand Pandian, for his imaginative work on ethics, selfhood and the creative process.
  7. Infosys Prize is an annual award given by the Infosys Science Foundation, being conferred since 2008. Prize includes prize money of $100,000 (around 70 lakh Indian Rupees) and prize purse is given tax free.
9. 19th Indian Ocean Rim Association Council of Ministers meeting held in Abu Dhabi (UAE). UAE will hold the IORA chairmanship for 2019-21, assisted by vice-chair Bangladesh.
  1. IORA is a 22 member grouping. Minister of State in External Affairs Ministry, V Muraleedharan attended the meet on India's Behalf.
  2. During the event, Maldives became latest IORA member.
10. Researchers at medical-device and health care giant Abbott discovered a new strain of human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV—the first to be identified in 19 years. The new strain, called HIV-1 group M subtype L, is extremely rare.
11. Four Indian authors are shortlisted for $25,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2018. Writers are -
  1. Jayant Kaikini for No Presents Please (translated from Kannada by Tejaswini Niranjana)
  2. Manu Joseph for Miss Laila Armed And Dangerous
  3. Neel Mukherjee for A State Of Freedom
  4. Sujit Saraf for Harilal & Sons.
  5. 8th year of DSC Prize have shortlisted 88 entries for the final prize. 2 Pakistani Authors are also named - Mohsin Hamid for Exit West and Kamila Shamsie for Home Fire.
12. Venu Srinivasan, Chairman of TVS Motor Company and Sundaram Clayton, has been conferred with Deming ‘Distinguished Service Award For Dissemination and Promotion Overseas’, in Tokyo (Japan). He became first Indian industrialist to be bestowed with this award, named as top award in world in Total Quality Management (TQM).
13. RBI Panel on regulatory and supervisory framework for Core Investment Companies (CICs) has recommended tighter norms to cut leverage by CICs and improve governance as well as regulatory supervision.
  1. CIC is a non-banking finance company (NBFC) that holds equity shares in group companies, not less than 90 % of its net assets, and not less 60 % of its net assets as equity shares in group companies.
  2. Panel is headed by Tapan Ray. It recommended that number of layers of CICs be restricted to two and that any CIC within a group shall not make an investment through more than a total of two layers of CICs, including itself.
14. Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) has been recognised as world's top public business accelerator by UBI Global, the Stockholm-based intelligence company. It was announced at World Incubation Summit for Best Programmes in Doha (Qatar).
15. Export-Import (Exim) Bank of India provided a USD 30 million line of credit to Ghana for potable water project in the country. At least 75 % of contract price shall be supplied by seller from India.
16. IRDAI barred Reliance Health Insurance Co (RHICL) from selling new health insurance policies, amid poor financial status of RHICL.
17. UAE's Supreme Council of Union re-elected Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan as UAE President for his fourth five-year term.
18. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance launched a new mobile app called 'Farmitra', to assist farmers in optimizing their farming practices.
19. Vinaya Shetty became first Indian to be elected as General Vice President of International Organisation Development Association (IODA).
20. Nov 7 is observed as National Cancer Awareness Day in India.
Nov 06, 2019
1. Nov 06 is International Day for preventing environmental exploitation during war and armed conflict, marked by UN in 2001.
2. Iran announced that it will start injecting uranium gas into 1044 centrifuges, in a phased manner, beginning from Fordow nuclear facility.
  1. Iran had shut down Fordow nuclear plant in 2018, accepting condition to stop all kinds of Uranium enrichment, under Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran, USA, France, UK, Germany, China and EU. Iran has now started reversing its commitments.
  2. Fordow Nuclear Facility is an underground Iranian uranium enrichment centre located 32 km of city of Qom, disclosed to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in September 2009.
  3. Iran stated in its earlier declaration that the purpose of Fordow Nuclear Facility was to the production of UF6 enriched up to 5 per cent of U-235. In January 2012, IAEA found that Iran had started producing uranium enriched up to 20 %.
3. Ministry of Culture restructured Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) Society -
  1. PM Narendra Modi is the new chairman of the society, with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh as Vice-Chairman.
  2. Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh and Karan Singh have been removed from the society.
  3. Total strength of NMML has been trimmed from 34 to 28, with induction of 14 new names.
4. RBI Stated that Liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) norms for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) will take effect on 1 December 2020, extending its previous date of 1 April 2020.
  1. In May 2019, RBI Had issued Draft Guideines titled Liquidity Risk Management Framework for NBFCs and Core Investment Companies (CICs), to help NBFCs deal with severe liquidity problems and to prevent re-occurrence of IL&FS type of debt crisis.
  2. LCR, which refers to share of high quality liquid assets to be set aside to meet short-term obligations, will be introduced in stages.
  3. In its final guidelines, RBI said NBFCs with assets of 10000 crore and above will have to maintain a minimum of 50% of LCR as high quality liquid assets (HQLA), while those with assets of 5000-10,000 crore will have to maintain 30% LCR. In both cases, LCR will be progressively increased to 100% by December 2024.
  4. Draft guidelines had earlier proposed that all non-banks will have to initially maintain60% LCR from April 2020. The changes are in line with suggestions from NBFC sector, which had sought relaxations in LCR norms.
5. Nagpur will have India’s first four-level transit intersection on a stretch of Nagpur Metro, with proposal to build a flyover between railway track and metro has been cleared by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). It will have cost of 573 crores.
6. China approved a drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, the first new medicine with the potential to treat the cognitive disorder in 17 years. The seaweed-based drug, called Oligomannate, can be used for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's.
7. IIT Madras launched India’s first indigenously designed standing wheelchair, in collaboration with Phoenix Medical Systems. It enables a differently-abled person requiring a wheelchair to shift from sitting to standing position, independently and in a controlled manner.
8. Ratings Agency Fitch raised India's fiscal deficit forecast to 3.6 % of GDP for this fiscal year, from 3.4 % previously, due to weak revenue collections resulting from sluggish economic growth. Govt aims to contain fiscal deficit within 3.3 % for current fiscal.
9. 2nd Women, Peace and Security Index 2019 Report by Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) -
  1. Indian ranked 133 out of 167 countries, based on three indicators – inclusion, justice and security.
  2. Norway ranked at top, followed by Switzerland, Denmark, Finland and Iceland.
  3. Least safe Nations for women - Yemen (167), Afghanistan (166), Syria (165), Pakistan (164), South Sudan (163), and Iraq (162).
10. As per UNCTAD Report, India gained about $755 million in additional exports, mainly of chemicals, metals and ore, to US in the first half of 2019 due to the trade diversion effects of US-China Trade war. Study puts trade diversion effects of US-China tariff war for first half of 2019 at about $21 billion, with net trade losses of about $14 billion.
11. Cabinet Approvals (Nov 06, 2019) -
  1. MOUs -
    1. Paraguay - Tourism
    2. Brazil - Health & Medicine. Also approved protocol amending Convention between India and Brazil for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.
    3. Switzerland - Technical Cooperation in Climate Change and Environment.
    4. Guinea - Renewable Energy.
    5. Maldives - Training and Capacity-Building Programme for Maldivian Judicial Officers in India.
    6. Approved MoUs signed between India and German Agency in field of Occupational Diseases, Re-habilitation and vocational training.
    7. Approved MoU with Bangladesh on withdrawal of 1.82 cusec of water from Feni River by India, for drinking water supply scheme for Sabroom town in Tripura.
  2. General Approvals -
    1. Approved Cadre Review of Posts & Telegraphs Building Works Service, Group ‘A’. Number of Duty posts was fixed as 105. This would strengthen the cadre structure. This will reduce the existing stagnation of P&T BWS officers. There will be no fresh recruitment into the Cadre.
      1. Posts & Telegraphs Building Works Service (P&T BWS), Group A, was constituted in 1990 and comprises 3 wings - Civil, Electrical and Architecture. It caters to Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Department of Posts (DoP).
      2. Formation of BSNL had affected the functions as well as cadre strength of the service with absorption of various officers in BSNL.
    2. Approved establishment of Rs 25,000 crore fund for home buyers whose money is stuck in stalled projects. There are over 1600 such projects comprising of 4.58 lakh housing units across country.
      1. 10000 crores will be provided by Government. Other firms like LIC and SBI along with sovereign wealth funds and pension funds will contribute Rs 15,000 crores.
      2. Fund is to be set up as Category II Alternate Investment Fund, to be registered with SEBI as an escrow account.
      3. In September 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced that a special window for affordable and middle-income housing will be created. This will provide last mile funding for stressed housing projects.
12. As an awaited move to make export of Khadi, exclusively categorized from general league of textile products, ministry of commerce and industries has allocated separate HS code for Khadi.
  1. Earlier, Khadi did not have its exclusive HS code. As a result, data regarding export of this signature fabric used to come as a normal fabric under textile head.
  2. HS Stands for Harmonized System it is a six digit identification code, developed by WCO (World Customs Organization). Custom officers use HS Code to clear every commodity that enters or crosses any international border.
13. Starting September 2020, public schools in Italy will have to incorporate 33 hours of climate-related lessons into their annual curriculum. Italy has become first country to make climate change education mandatory in public schools.
14. French Development Agency (AFD) and Assam Government signed a 50 million euro (Rs 400 crore) project agreement for supporting Phase II of Assam Project for Forest and Biodiversity Conservation (APFBC).
  1. Total budget of second phase is Rs 500 crore out of which the State government will contribute Rs 100 crore.
  2. The project aims to restore Assam’s forest ecosystems and preserve their biodiversity.

Nov 05, 2019

5th India International Science Festival began in Kolkata, with Theme RISEN India – Research, Innovation, and Science Empowering Nation.
1. Vigyanika event was also held during IISF 2019, to showcase science communication efforts and concepts through an interesting mix of media. Vigyanika is coordinated by CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (CSIR-NISCAIR), Vigyan Prasar, and Vigyan Bharati.
2. During IISF 2019, Guinness World Records for largest astrophysics lesson (45 minutes) and assembly of spectroscopes was successfully achieved by students at Science City, Kolkata.
India’s first-ever global Mega-Science exhibition, ‘Vigyan Samagam’, began at Science City in Kolkata, Bringing world’s major Mega Science projects together.
1. Vigyan Samagam will be in Kolkata till December 31, 2019.
2. After Kolkata, Vigyan Samagam will commence its final leg in New Delhi. It will be put up at the National Science Centre from 21st January, 2020 and will close on 20th March, 2020.
3. Thereafter it will remain as a permanent exhibition at New Delhi and will be taken care-off by NCSM.
Nov 5 is observed as UN World Tsunami Awareness Day, marked by United Nations in 2015.
5th Edition of ‘Miss Asia Global Title 2019’ organized in Kochi (Kerala).
1. Sara Damnjanovic from Serbia won Title given to winner from Asian region. Nguyen Thi Yen Trang from Vietnam was awarded the Miss Asia title given to winner from rest of world.
2. Next ‘Miss Asia Global Title 2020’ will be held in Malaysia.
Asian Development Bank approved $451 million loan to strengthen power connectivity between the southern and northern parts of the Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC) in Tamil Nadu. The total cost of the project is $653.5 million. Cstimated completion is by end of 2024.
Sudan's first-ever satellite, SRSS-1, has been launched by China. The remote-sensing satellite will conduct research in economic, military and space technology. The satellite was launched along with other Chinese satellites including Gaofen 7, Xiaoxiang-1 08, Whampoa 1.
Freedom House 's Freedom on the Net (FoTN) report 2019, titled ‘Crisis of Social Media’ -
1. China has been named world’s worst abuser of internet freedom for fourth consecutive year and Pakistan was declared as 'not free’ in terms of internet freedom status for ninth consecutive year.
2. India was given an overall score of 55 in the report and the internet freedom status in the country was reported to be ‘partly free’.
3. Report assessed 65 countries and 33 among them showed an overall decline in internet freedom since June 2018. Country that recorded the biggest improvement in its internet freedom score in 2019 is Ethiopia.
4. Iceland was recorded as world’s best protector of internet freedom, as it had no cases registered against users for online expression.
Government Appoined Aditya Mishra as chairman of the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI). LPAI maintains facilities for cross-border movement of passengers / goods at designated points along international borders.
US- Bangladesh Navy exercise dubbed as ‘Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) – 2019’ held in Chattogram in Bangladesh.
6th Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit of G20 countries held in Tokyo (Japan), attended by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on India's Behalf.
India decided against joining Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade deal as India did not receive any credible assurance on market access and non-tariff barriers. This paved way for other 15-members to go ahead and sign the deal keeping the door open for India to join later. Reasons Include -
1. India's trade deficit 15 RCEP countries has doubled in last five years from 54 billion USD in 2013-14 to 105 billion USD in 2018-19. Of this, China alone accounts to 53 billion USD. Signing RCEP will widen trade deficit and will empty foreign exchange reserve of India at a faster rate.
2. Australia and New Zealand are searching free access to market their diary products. Similarly, Indonesia and Vietnam are looking for places to dump their less quality rubber. India being largest market, dumping such less expensive goods will affect domestic goods of India.
3. RCEP deal favors China, which is looking for greater access (as an alternate) to Indian market with the trade war with US. India by not signing RCEP deal has refused to be a willing dumping ground of China’s trade imperialism.

Mercedes' Finnish Racer Valtteri Bottas won US Grand Prix 2019 -

With this, Lewis Hamilton (UK) won his 6th F1 world championship, only behind Michael Schumacher in all time list.

Formula 1 Season 2019 -

Round	Grand Prix	Winner	date
1	Australian Grand Prix	Valtteri Bottas (Finland)	17 March
2	Bahrain Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	31 March
3	Chinese Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	14 April
4	Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Valtteri Bottas (Finland)	28 April
5	Spanish Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	12 May
6	Monaco Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	26 May
7	Canadian Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	9 June
8	French Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	23 June
9	Austrian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch)	30 June
10	British Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	14 July
11	German Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch)	28 July
12	Hungarian Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	4 August
13	Belgian Grand Prix	Charles Leclerc (Monaco)	1 September
14	Italian Grand Prix	Charles Leclerc (Monaco)	8 September
15	Singapore Grand Prix	Sebastian Vettel (Germany)	22 September
16	Russian Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	29 September
17	Japanese Grand Prix	Valtteri Bottas (Finland)	13 October
18	Mexican Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	27 October
19	United States Grand Prix	Valtteri Bottas (Finland)	3 November
20	Brazilian Grand Prix		17 November
21	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix		1 December

US gave formal notice of intention to withdraw from Paris Climate Change Agreement, which takes 12 months to take effect.
1. In June 2017, US President Donald Trump announced that U.S. would cease participation in 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation.
2. As per Article 28 of Paris Agreement, a country cannot give notice of withdrawal from agreement before 3 years of its start date in relevant country, which was on November 4, 2016 in case of US.
3. Earliest possible effective withdrawal date by US cannot be before November 4, 2020.
Wastelands Atlas 2019 estimated spatial extent of wastelands in India to tune of 55.76 million hectares or 16.96 % of geographical area, for year 2015-16. This is less as compared to 56.60 million hectares (17.21 % ) in 2008-09. Unprecedented pressure on land beyond its carrying capacity is resulting in degradation of lands in country.
Odisha government signed agreements with Tata Strive and Tech Mahindra to add new dimensions in skilling and employability of youth. It is aimed at imparting life skills to students of all 49 government Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in state.
A new frog species named Polypedates bengalensis has been found in West Bengal, also known as Brown Blotched Bengal Tree Frog.
Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) delivered ICGS Annie Besant, second in series of five Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) to Indian Coast Guard.
Indian IT Firm Tech Mahindra acquired 100% stake in US based Born Group, through its wholly owned subsidiary Tech Mahindra (Singapore). Deal has Enterprise value of USD 95 million.

Nov 04, 2019

35th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits Held in Bangkok (Thailand) -
1. ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is a 10 member Grouping. Members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam. 2019 Theme is Advancing Partnership for sustainability.
2. PM Narendra Modi Visited Thailand to attend 16th ASEAN-India Summit, 14th East Asia Summit and RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) Meetings.
3. India has decided not to join Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement over India's concerns not being addressed in the deal. PM Modi stated that present form of RCEP Agreement does not fully reflect basic spirt and agreed guiding principles of RCEP. In such a situation, it is not possible for India to join RCEP Agreement.
4. PM Modi attended Sawasdee PM Modi event in Bangkok. He also released a commemorative coin marking 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and also released Thai translation of Tamil classic Tirukkural.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization Joint Exercise on Urban Earthquake Search & Rescue (SCOJtEx-2019) has been inaugurated in New Delhi, hosted by National Disaster Response Force.
1. All 8 SCO member countries participated, with aim to rehearse disaster response mechanism and share knowledge. Members are - China, India, Kazakhastan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Italian journalist Paolo Borrometi won 2019 Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism.

3rd Under 23 World Wrestling Champinships 2019 Held in Budapest (Hungary) -

Champions - Russia (Freestyle), Iran (Greco-Roman), Japan (Women)

Medal Table -

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Japan	8	4	4	16
2	Iran	6	1	5	12
3	Russia	3	5	7	15
4	Georgia	2	4	2	8
5	China	2	2	1	5

With 2 Silver Medals, India was ranked 14th.
1. Ravinder won silver in 61 Kg Men's Freesyle and Pooja Gehlot won silver in women's freestyle 53 KG event.
4th edition of U23 world wrestling championships will be held in Tampere (Finland).

As part of Government’s ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ initiative, Odisha is tagged with Maharashtra to organize different programmes to promote art, culture and tourism of their respective states. It will strengthen ties between two states.
Author Madhuri Vijay won JCB Prize for Literature 2019 for her debut novel ‘The Far Field’.
1. JCB Prize for LiteratureIt is an annual Indian literary award founded in 2018.
2. Award consists of cash prize of Rs.25 lakh (US$38400), funded by English construction manufacturing group JCB.
3. Madhuri Vijay is also a recipient of Henfield Prize and the Pushcart Prize.
A documentary on Real Kashmir Football Club won British Academy of Film and Television Awards (BAFTA) and Scotland Awards, in Glasgow, Scotland.
1. Documentary narrates journey of former Rangers ace David Robertson as the coach of Real Kashmir FC. The film won in 'Single Documentary' category.
India's Lakshya Sen has won SaarLorLux Open badminton tournament at Saarbrücken in Germany, defeating Sen Weng Hong Yang of China.
2019 Paris Masters Men's Tennis -
1. Singles - Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
2. Doubles - France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert AND Nicolas Mahut
India's Maisnam Meiraba Luwang won boys' singles U-19 title at Korea Junior Open Badminton International Challenge 2019 in Miryang. Sathish Kumar Karunakaran claimed bronze in same category.

Nov 03, 2019
1. 1st ever India-Uzbekistan joint military exercise Dustlik-2019 began at near Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
  1. India and Uzbekistan also signed MoU for enhancing bilateral cooperation in fields of Military Medicine and Military Education between Armed Forces. MoUs were signed during visit by Defence Minister of India Rajnath Singh to Tashkent (Uzbekistan capital).
  2. He Visited to attend meeting of Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
  3. During the meet, it was decided that next meeting of Council of Heads of Government in 2020 is to be conducted in India.
2. As per International Monetary Fund, South American Nation Guyana is expected to experience fastest economic growth among all nations, with 86% growth next year after expanding 4.4% this year. The growth will be driven by Exxon Mobil Corp.’s discovery of oil in Guyana recently.
  1. Currently, Guyana doesn’t produce any crude, though its neighbor Venezuela holds the world’s largest reserves.
  2. Guyana’s First Oil Could Start Flowing as This Year While Guyana’s $4 billion annual gross domestic product, will expand to about $15 billion by 2024.
3. As per Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia report -
  1. This year title of report is “Reponding to Environmental Hazards in Cities”.
  2. India’s gross domestic product (GDP) could grow 6.6% in 2020-24, lower than its 2013-17 average of 7.4%.
  3. OECD predicted South Asian regional GDP growth of 5.7% over 2020-24, down from 6.7% in 2013-17.
  4. Among ASEAN countries, Vietnam and Philippines will remain as growth leaders.
4. Directorate General of Training (DGT) launched Skill sBuild platform in collaboration with IBM. As part of this, a two-year advanced diploma in IT, networking and cloud computing, co-created and designed by IBM, will be offered at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) & National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs).
  1. The platform will be extended to train ITI & NSTI faculty on building skills in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
  2. The digital platform will provide a personal assessment of the cognitive capabilities and personality via MyInnerGenius to the students.
5. Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled two new IT initiatives – ICEDASH and ATITHI –
  1. ICEDASH is an Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) monitoring dashboard of the Indian Customs helping public see the daily Customs clearance times of import cargo at various ports and airports.
  2. With ATITHI, CBIC has introduced an easy to use mobile app for international travelers to file the Customs declaration in advance. Passengers can use this app to file declaration of dutiable items and currency with the Indian Customs even before boarding flight to India.
6. Union Minister of State (IC) for AYUSH 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.
7. Sumant Kathpalia has been appointed as Chief of private sector Bank IndusInd Bank.
8. As first such initiative, Punjab Government launched a unique Job Helpline for the unemployed job seekers of the state, as part of ‘Ghar Ghar Rozgar’ programme.
  1. India's unemployment rate rose to 3 year high of 8.48 % in October 2019, as per data by Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). Uunemployment rate is highest since August 2016 (9.59 %).
9. Government issued New Map of Country, updated after formation of 2 New UTs - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
  1. UT of Ladakh consists of two districts of Kargil and Leh. The rest of former State of Jammu and Kashmir is in new UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
  2. In 1947, Jammu and Kashmir had 14 districts, which increased to 28 districts by 2019.
  3. The new Map Shows Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) as territory of UT of J & K and Gilgit - Baltistan as Terriroty of UT of Ladakh. POK and Gilgit - Baltistan are both illegally captured by Pakistan.
  4. Aksai Chin, a large 37244 SqKM Area has been shown as part of UT of Ladakh. It was captured by China 1962.
  5. The New map of Both UTs -
10. Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) held title for world’s most polluted city in latest edition of Guinness World Records 2020, released annually by publisher Penguin Random House. This year, about 80 record breaking achievements by Indians made it to the book.
11. Ministry of Women and Child Development will set up anti-human trafficking units in all districts with help of Nirbhaya Fund. Women help desks will also be set up in all police stations across country using Nirbhaya Fund. Nirbhaya Fund was announced in 2013 to support initiatives towards safety of women, with corpus of 1000 Crores INR.
12. 2019 Mother Teresa Memorial Awards for Social Justice (MTMA) have been conferred, established by Harmony Foundation and is endorsed by Missionaries of Charities. 2019 theme is ‘Combating Contemporary Forms of Slavery’. 2019 Awardees -
  1. Kailash Satyarthi, India - Fighting child labour and trafficking in India and Southeast Asia.
  2. Robert Bilheimer, United States - For using his skills as a filmmaker to raise awareness about modern forms of slavery.
  3. Junior Nzita Nsuami - For leading an international campaign through United Nations (UN) against use of child soldiers in war.
  4. Ajeet Singh: For his efforts in creating the first red-light area in India free of commercial sexual exploitation of children.
  5. Alezandra Russell - For helping neglected and ignored young boys in red-light districts of Thailand.
  6. Hasina Kharbhih - For rescuing and empowering over 72,000 vulnerable victims from fate of human trafficking.
  7. Rob Williams - For persistently protecting and supporting children in armed conflicts in some of the world’s most hostile regions.
  8. Priti Patkar and Prerana - For trying to abolish intergenerational prostitution.
  9. Four Associations also received awards - Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH)– USA, Free A Girl, JEEVIKA (Jeeta Vimukti Karnataka), Office for Rescue of Yazidis.
Nov 02, 2019
1. Nov 2 is Observed as UN International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.
2. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare observed Vigilance Awareness Week from 28th October to 2nd November 2019, with theme Integrity- a way of life.
3. 2019 Rugby World Cup (9th Editon), Hosted by Japan -
  1. 20 Nations Participated in the Event.
  2. South Africa won the title, defeating England in The final. New Zealand were ranked 3rd.
  3. It was 3rd Rugby world cup title for South Africa.
4. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will launc Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0 in December 2019, To achieve target of full immunization.
  1. So far, Mission Indradhanush and related programmes have successfully reached out to and vaccinated 3.39 crore children and 87.2 Lakh pregnant women.
5. Punjab Cabinet passed a resolution to institute Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Award for Promotion of Peace and Interfaith Understanding, in commemoration of 550th Prakash Purb of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. It would carry a citation and a cash prize of 11 lakh rupees.
6. China launched 5G telecom network service in about 50 cities, with three major state-run telecom companies (China Unicom, China Telecom and China Mobile).
  1. 5G is most advanced next-generation technology that provides faster download speeds. In 5G, Internet works 100 times faster than 4G.
  2. China has also reportedly launched research and development work for 6G mobile networks.
7. Indian Online marketplace ShopClues has been acquired Singapore-based ecommerce platform Qoo10 in an all-stock deal, valuing ShopClues at $70-100 million. ShopClues at its peak was valued at $1.1 billion in late 2015.
8. Central government appointed new Chief Justices in 3 High Courts -
  1. Madras - A P Sahi
  2. Madhya Pradesh - A K Mittal
  3. Patna - Sanjay Karol
9. Chhattisgarh Govt on State Formation day on Nov 01, launched new industrial policy of state for 2019-2024, titled 'Gadhbo Nava Chhattisgarh -
  1. It aims at encouraging food and horticulture processing sectors along with industries based on new technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence.
  2. Chhattisgarh came into existence on November 1, 2000, after a bifurcation of Madhya Pradesh.
10. Swedish Climate activist Greta Thunberg Greta rejected an environmental prize worth 500000 Swedish kronor (£40,000). She was declared winner of Nordic Council’s environmental award for 2019.
  1. Nordic Council was formed in 1952. It has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from autonomous areas of Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland Islands.
Nov 01, 2019
1. Nov 01 is formation day of States of Chhattisgarh (in 2000), Kerala (in 1956), Madhya Pradesh (in 1956), Haryana (in 1966), Karnataka (in 1956), Punjab (in 1956), Tamil Nadu (in 1956).
  1. For the first time since its formation in 1956, Tamil Nadu state government celebrated 'Tamil Nadu Day' on November 1, 2019.
  2. Chhattisgarh Govt on State Formation day on Nov 01, launched new industrial policy of state for 2019-2024, titled 'Gadhbo Nava Chhattisgarh -
    1. It aims at encouraging food and horticulture processing sectors along with industries based on new technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence.
    2. Chhattisgarh came into existence on November 1, 2000, after a bifurcation of Madhya Pradesh.
2. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi is collaborating with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to set up a space technology cell, to carry out focused research projects in space technology domain with specific deliverables.
3. Spain Capital Madrid will host United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25) in December 2019, after Chile decided to pull out from hosting the event due to the ongoing national unrest against Government of Chile.
  1. Chile had also cancelled hosting Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit was planned for November 2019.
4. Chandrayaan 2 detected Argon 40 in lunar Exosphere. Argon 40 is one of the isotopes of noble gas Argon, and is an important constituent of lunar exosphere.
  1. It originates from the radioactive disintegration of Potassium-40 beneath the moon’s surface, is released during moon quakes.
  2. CHACE-2 (Chandra’s Atomspheric Composition Explorer 2) payload in Chandrayaan 2 orbiter is a neutral mass spectrometer, has detected Argon 40.
  3. Potassium 40 is a radioactive isotope of Potassium. It has a long shelf life of 1.25×109 years. It is a rare example of an isotope that undergoes beta decay.
5. 66 cities globally were designated by UNESCO as Creative Cities, Including Hyderabad and Mumbai from India. Cities are named creative based on their mission to place creativity and creative economy at the core of their urban development.
  1. They were announced on World Cities Day on Oct 31.
  2. Mumbai was selected based on cinema and Hyderbad was selected based on Gastronomy.
  3. Previously, 3 Indian cities were recognized as members of UCCN -
    1. Jaipur-Crafts and Folk Arts (2015)
    2. Varanasi-Creative city of Music (2015)
    3. Chennai-Creative city of Music (2017)
6. In a first, Government has constituted a special award titled ‘Icon of Golden Jubilee of IFFI’, which will be conferred upon Noted Actor Shri S Rajinikanth.
  1. Also, Noted French actor Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert will be conferred with Lifetime Achievement Award at the Golden Jubilee (50th) edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2019.
  2. 50th IFFI is to be held in Goa during November 20 - 28, 2019.
7. Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment launched 3 Apps - UAN REGISTRATION, E-INSPECTION AND DIGI LOCKER, developed by Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), at EPFO's 67th Foundation Day.
  1. Online UAN generation - Now workers can obtain Universal Account Number (UAN) directly on EPFO website which enrolls them for PF, Pension and Life Insurance benefits and a worker need not depend on his employer for UAN.
  2. EPS Pensioner’s PPO (Pension Payment Order) in DigiLocker website/Application - EPFO integrates with DigiLocker of NeGD to create depository of electronic PPOs which is accessible to individual pensioners. This is a move towards paperless system and ease of living for pensioners.
  3. e-Inspection Form would be available in user login of employers not filing ECR which enables employer to inform either closure of business or unpaid dues with proposal for payment.
8. Gross GST revenue collected in October 2019 stood at 95,380 crores (CGST - 17582 crore, SGST - 23,674 crore, IGST - 46517 crore, and Cess 7607 crores.
9. Odisha government partnered with organisation co-founded by Nobel laureates - Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, to maximise the impact of anti-poverty programmes across a wide range of sectors in state. It is part of state govt's 5Ts initiative (Teamwork, Technology, Transparency, Time leading to Transformation).
10. Nov 1 - World Vegan Day. It was established in 1994 by Louise Wallis, then Chair of Vegan Society in UK.
11. German Firm Siemens signed 2 MoU with India's NTPC and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) for decarbonisation. It aims to reduce industrial and commercial carbon footprint and bringing down the dependence on hydrocarbons in India.
12. Noted Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has been selected for Italian Golden Sand Art Award 2019, to be honoured during the International Scorrana Sand Nativity in Italy in November 2019.
13. Indian Origin Neeraj Sharma from University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia), has won ‘Early Career Researcher of the Year (Physical Sciences)‘. It was given for his work in lithium-ion batteries found in electronic devices, electric vehicles and the grid.
14. Noted writer Anand has been announced winner of Ezhuthachan award 2019, highest literary award given by Kerala government. It carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh and a citation.

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