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Important Current Affairs November 2017 Capsule With PDF
Important Current Affairs November 2017 Capsule With PDF
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o Maharashtra government has formed a committee to study the feasibility
of merging financially weak District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs)
with the Maharashtra State Cooperative (MSC) Bank.
o The panel, headed by former NABARD chairman Yashwant Thorat, is
expected to submit its report in a month’s time.
o DCCBs disburse crop loans to village level PACS, which in turn lend to the
farmers.
Govt. sets panel on PSU bank mergers
o Union Government set up an alternative mechanism panel headed by
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, to consider and oversee mergers among
India’s public sector banks.
o Union Railway and Coal Minister, Piyush Goyal and Defence Minister,
Nirmala Sitharaman are also the members of the panel.
o It is set up to manage mergers more effectively. Banks will be able to
manage risks in a better way.
International Affairs
National Affairs
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o The guidelines are grounded in human rights standards and ethical
principles.
Iran allows women to compete in sports
o Women weightlifters from Iran will be allowed to compete internationally
for the first time.
o Iran has one of the world's strongest weightlifting cultures, and its men
have won seven Olympic gold medals this century.
o The federation's chief also said that the women weightlifters can compete
wearing special clothes for Muslim athletes.
Myanmar, Bangladesh sign deal
o Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a memorandum of understanding on the
return of Rohingya Muslims who fled the Rakhine state in Myanmar to
escape a military crackdown.
o The Rohingya are a stateless minority who have long experienced
persecution in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
o More than 600,000 have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since deadly
Rohingya attacks in August.
Air force drill “Vigilant Ace”
o The air forces of South Korea and the United States will hold ‘Vigilant Ace’
a joint drill from 4th – 8th December.
o ‘Vigilant Ace’ between air forces of United States and South Korea is held
at periodic intervals to simulate wartime defenses.
o The exercise comes as North Korea continues to press forward with
developing its nuclear and missile program.
S&P retains India’s rating at ‘BBB-'
o Rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) kept its sovereign rating for India
unchanged at ‘BBB-‘, with an outlook for the nation as ‘stable’.
o BBB- rating is the lowest investment grade and just one notch above junk
status.
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o S&P stated that India’s sizable fiscal deficit, low per capita income, and
high government debt do not warrant a sovereign rating upgrade as of
now.
Mount Agung erupts after 54 years
o Mount Agung, a volcano on the Indonesian island of Bali has erupted for
the first time in more than 54 years.
o Mount Agung last erupted in 1963, claiming 1600 lives.
o Due to increased volcanic activity in the recent months, more than 1.4 lakh
people have evacuated their homes.
WTO sets up panel on Qatar-UAE crisis
o The World Trade Organization has established a panel to decide on Qatar’s
complaint against measures imposed on Doha by UAE for its alleged
financial support for militant groups.
o Qatar insists UAE’s actions violate its rights and those of other countries
by denying freedom of transit to Qatar.
o Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia & UAE launched an economic boycott of
Qatar in June 2017.
Most violent region for women
o According to UN, Latin America and the Caribbean is the most violent
region in the world for women.
o Rate of sexual violence against women outside of relationships is the
highest in the world in the region & the 2nd-highest for those who are in,
or were in, a couple.
o UN Women and UNDP found out that assaults on women persisted in the
region despite severe laws aimed at curbing the phenomenon.
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o According to the revised fees and charges for savings and salary accounts,
customers will not have to pay any charge for doing online transactions
through RTGS and NEFT from 1st November 2017.
o Also,customer can avail one chequebook of 25 leaves free.
India’s first co-working space launched
o Independent workplace provider WorkoLab unveiled its first co-working
space in Gurgaon, Haryana and in Pusa Road, New Delhi.
o Co-working spaces offered by WorkoLab also provide research guidance by
India’s youngest scientific minds with an aim to infuse innovation into the
start-up idea .
o WorkoLab is planning to launch 100+ centres in next three years across
the globe.
MoU Signed Between GoI & Patanjali
o A memorandum of understanding (MoU) of Rs 10000 Crore was signed
between the Government of India (GoI) and Patanjali at the World Food
India 2017.
o The MoU was signed by Managing Director of Patanjali, Acharya
Balkrishna and Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the Union Cabinet Minister of Food
Processing in the Government of India.
o The World Food India 2017 was organised at Delhi's Vigyan Bhawan.
HSBC to finance for climate change
o HSBC pledged to provide $100 billion in financing and investment by
2025 to help combat climate change.
o It is a part of its commitment to tackling climate change and other “green”
goals.
o It has also committed that all electricity used by HSBC would come from
renewable sources by 2030.
o It would also adopt recommendations made by the Task Force on Climate-
Related Financial Disclosures.
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Investment worth 19 billion dollars
o Investment of around 19 billion dollars were committed during the three
day mega food event- World Food India.
o The event achieved a resounding success and saw participation from 60
countries and over 50 global CEOs.
o This was the first time that India hosted such an event for the food
processing sector to strengthen its position as a global food factory.
India’s largest CDQ facility
o Tata Steel has established India’s largest Coke Dry Quenching facility,
capable of handling 200 metric tonnes per hour, at its state-of-the-art steel
plant at Kalinganagar Industrial Complex.
o This environment-friendly technology would help in abating climate
change by reduction in the emission of carbon dioxide.
o CDQ is a heat recovery system to cool hot coke from coke ovens.
Tata Power Solar bags award
o Tata Power Solar has won ‘Dun & Bradstreet - Everest Infra Awards 2017’.
o The prize was given for commissioning India's largest solar project under
Domestic Content Requirement for NTPC at Anantapur in Andhra
Pradesh.
o The 100-MW project is expected to generate nearly 160 million units of
energy per year and help offset approximately 110,000 tonnes of CO2 in
the first year.
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o The satellites were carried by Long March-6 rocket, a new generation of
liquid-fuelled carrier rocket developed by China Aerospace Science and
Technology Corporation.
o The launch was the 256th mission of the Long March rocket family.
SAM: World’s first AI politician
o Scientists have developed the world's first artificial intelligence politician,
that can answer a person's queries regarding local issues such as policies
around housing, education etc.
o The virtual politician, called SAM, was created by Nick Gerritsen,
a entrepreneur in New Zealand.
o Artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science concerned with
making intelligent machines.
How life evolved on earth
o A boost in levels of oxygen may have caused a three-fold increase in
biodiversity during between 445 and 485 million years ago, a study has
found.
o The explosion of diversity, recognised as the Great Ordovician
Biodiversification Event, brought about the rise of various marine life.
o The study was carried out by the Washington University in the U.S.
Tape recorder created from bacteria
o Columbia University researchers have converted a bacterial immune
system into the world’s smallest data recorder.
o Using CRISPR gene-editing method, the team modified the human gut
microbe E. coli, enabling the bacteria to record their interactions with the
environment and also time-stamp the events.
o It could be used for disease diagnosis and environmental monitoring.
New species of Gecko found
o A new species of gecko was found in the Eastern Ghats in northern Andhra
Pradesh.
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o Named after eminent herpetologist Sushil Kumar Dutta from Odisha,
Hemidactylus sushilduttai or Dutta’s Mahendragiri gecko is the 32nd
species of house geckos in India.
o The discovery, report of which was published earlier this month in the
taxonomy journal Zootaxa.
First supersonic parachute test
o NASA has completed the first test of its Mars 2020 mission’s parachute-
testing series, the Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research
Experiment.
o The mission will rely on a special parachute to slow the spacecraft down as
it enters the Martian atmosphere at over 5.4 km per second.
o The payload is a bullet-nosed, cylindrical structure.
First mission to study the Sun
o ISRO plans to launch ‘Aditya-L1’, the first Indian mission to study the
Sun, by the year 2019 – 2020.
o The Aditya-1 mission was conceived as a 400kg class satellite carrying one
payload, the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) and was planned
to launch in an 800 km low earth orbit.
o The satellite will be launched from Sriharikota
NASA Launches NOAA Weather Satellite
o NASA has successfully launched for the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration the first in a series of four highly advanced
polar-orbiting satellites.
o JPSS-1 lifted off on a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from
Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
o Satellite will provide meteorologists with observations of atmospheric
temperature and moisture, clouds, sea-surface temperature
First Pill with Digital Tracking Device
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o The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug in the
United States with a digital ingestion tracking system.
o This will ensure that patients with mental illness take the medicine
prescribed for them.
o The drug Abilify MyCite, developed by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd,
was first approved by the FDA in 2002 to treat schizophrenia.
Asgardia launched Asgardia-1 into space
o The Space Kingdom of Asgardia (virtual nation) launched its first satellite
‘Asgardia-1’ into space from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
o The Asgardia – so-called ‘virtual nation’ is the project of Russian scientist
and billionaire Igor Ashurbeyli.
o The Asgardia-1 satellite, which is about the size of a loaf of bread, contains
half a terabyte of data
Sports
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o Dmitrii Trunenkov and Aleksei Negodailo, both in the gold-medal winning
four-man bobsleigh team, plus biathlon relay silver medalists Yana
Romanova and Olga Vilukhina, who also won silver in the 7.5 km event.
o Sergei Chudinov was also disqualified for doping.
Kohli makes 10 int. hundreds in an year
o Virat Kohli has become the first captain to score 10 international hundreds
in a calendar year.
o On 26th November 2017, Virat Kohli struck his 19th hundred in Test as
India played against Sri Lanka at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur.
o It was also his fifth double hundred in Test cricket.
o Virat Kohli reached his fourth Test hundred in 2017 in just 130 balls.
India won Asian Kabaddi Championship
o Indian men’s and women’s kabaddi teams were both crowned the
champions of Asia at the 2017 Asian Kabaddi Championship, in Gorgan,
Iran.
o In the men’s finals, star raider Ajay Thakur led from the front, and India
beat Pakistan36-22. India won the match by a 14-point margin.
o The Indian women’s team beat South Korea 42-20 in their final.
7th IMG to be held in China
o The 7th international military games will be held in Wuhan city in the
central China‘s Hubei Province.
o The International Military Sports Council (CISM)’s Military World Games
is a top sports event for military personnel.
o It comprises 329 competitions in 27 categories and is expected to attract
around 8,000 participants from more than 100 countries and regions.
India won 10 medals in Para-Badminton WC
o Indian contingent to BWF Para-Badminton World Championships in
Ulsan, South Korea has clinched 10 medals, including two golds.
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o India’s Parul Parmar defeated Thailand’s Wannaphatdee Kamtam in the
finals of the women’s singles Standing Lower.
o Other gold was also won by Parul Parmar, who paired with Japan’s Akiko
Sugino in women’s doubles (SL 3-4) final.
2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
o Valtteri Bottas survived several laps of high-speed pressure from his
Mercedes team-mate and world champion Lewis Hamilton to claim a
memorable victory.
o It was Bottas' third career victory, all of them recorded since he joined
Mercedes to partner the 32-year-old Hamilton in January.
o The 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu
Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
India defeats Sri Lanka
o India bowled Sri Lanka out for 166, winning the Nagpur Test by an innings
and 239 runs.
o R Ashwin became the quickest bowler to 300 Test wickets.
o The third and final Test begins in New Delhi on December 2.
o India has taken a 1-0 lead.
India wins 5 medals
o It was a gold rush for India at the AIBA World Women’s Youth Boxing
Championships with the country’s pugilists grabbing five top positions to
finish overall champions for the first time.
o The country had won just one bronze medal at the previous edition of the
event and had not won a gold since 2011.
o The tournament was held in Assam.
Gopi Thonakal wins Asian Marathon
o Gopi Thonakal became the first Indian to win Asian Marathon
Championships.
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o He achieved the feat in the 16th edition of the prestigious event held at
Dongguan in China.
o Andrey Petrov of Uzbekistan bagged the silver with a timing of while
Byambalev Tseveenravdan of Mongolia won the bronze.
Defence
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o The “Defence of A&N Islands Exercise” (DANX), was conducted from
November 20 to 24, 2017.
DANX-2017
o The Defence of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Exercise was conducted
under the aegis of Andaman & Nicobar Command from 20-24 November.
o The main objective of the exercise was to practice & validate procedures
and drills of all the Command forces aimed at defending Andaman &
Nicobar Islands.
o The exercise is critical against the increased Chinese footprint in Indian
Ocean Region.
BrahMos test-fired from Sukhoi Jet
o World's fastest supersonic cruise missile, BrahMos, has been successfully
flight-tested for the 1st time from Indian Sukhoi-30MKI.
o The latest test completes the tactical cruise missile triad for India, as it is
now capable of being launched from land, sea and air.
o The BrahMos ALCM weighing 2.5 tonnes is the heaviest weapon to be
deployed on Su-30, modified by HAL to carry weapons.
Conf. of Commanders of Eastern Command
o A two-day conference of all Commanders of Eastern Air Command
commenced at Shillong in Meghalaya, where issues pertaining to security
are being discussed.
o The conference is being hosted by Air Marshal Anil Khosla AVSM VM, Air
Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command.
o Air Force Station, Chabua was awarded the 'Pride of EAC' Trophy, for
standing best in overall performance.
1st Indo-Myanmar joint military exercise
o A group of 15 officers from the Myanmarese army started a 6 day bilateral
military exercise with their counterparts from the Indian Army in
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Meghalaya in the first ever joint training of the troops from the
2 neighboring countries.
o IMBAX-2017 will take place at the recently created Joint Training Node of
the Indian Army at Umroi.
o The IMBAX-2017 would conclude on November 25.
Sampriti 2017 ends
o Joint Indo-Bangladesh Training Exercise SAMPRITI 2017, which was
being conducted in Mizoram culminated.
o It is the seventh such exercise in the SAMPRITI series.
o The exercise has been aimed to strengthen and broaden the aspects of
interoperability and cooperation between the Indian and Bangladesh
Armies.
o The 13-day long field training exercise commenced on 06 November.
Joint training of 3 services
o Indian armed forces released ‘Joint Training Doctrine Indian Armed
Forces – 2017’, aimed at ensuring integration amongst the three defence
services and optimum utilisation of resources.
o This training document flows from ‘Joint Doctrine Indian Armed Forces -
2017’ which was released in April 2017.
o It brings out Indian Armed Forces’ approach to Joint training at macro-
level.
India's 1st Military Literature Festival
o India's first Military Literature Festival (MLF) will be held in Chandigarh,
in December.
o It is a tribute to the armed forces, whose contributions to the nation
remain etched in history as iconic events.
o The MLF will be held here from December 7 to 9.
o It will be jointly promoted by the Punjab government and Chandigarh
Administration.
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India & the World
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o The agreement was signed between Union External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj and Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias.
o This air services agreement will allow Indian airlines to operate to Athens,
Thessaloniki and Heraklion and accordingly Greek airlines will be able to
start services to major Indian cities.
2 day Korea Tourism Festival in Haryana
o A two-day ‘Korea Culture and Tourism Festival’ showcasing Korea’s rich
art, culture and heritage was inaugurated in Gurugram, Haryana.
o Representatives from the regional tourism boards and tourism related
organisations of South Korea were present at the inauguration event.
o The festival showcased famous tourist destinations, delicacies, art, culture
and heritage of South Korea.
Memorial to honour Indian soldiers
o On December 2, a unique Indian Armed Forces Memorial will be
inaugurated at Villiers Guislain, right at the spot where the Indian cavalry
had resisted a German counterattack in 1917 at Cambrai.
o The Indian Tricolour will be hoisted and French children will sing Jana
Gana Mana.
o Cambrai was the world's first "all-arms" battle where infantry, artillery,
cavalry, tanks and aircraft participated.
Ind to help Mauritius on digital locker
o The Government of India will assist Mauritius to develop and set up digital
locker services.
o DigiLocker is a key initiative of the Indian government under its flagship
Digital India program.
o The free service provides citizens a shareable private space on a public
cloud wherein they can store their documents. The service is aimed at
paperless governance.
2018 as International Year of Millets
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o India has sent a proposal to the United Nations for declaring the year 2018
as 'International Year of Millets'.
o The proposal, if agreed, will raise awareness about millets among
consumers, policymakers, industry and R&D sector.
o Millet is a common term to categorise small-seeded grasses that are often
termed nutri-cereals or dryland-cereals.
Brics Bank approves $400 million loans
o Brics New Development Bank has approved 2 infrastructure & sustainable
development projects in India & Russia with loans of $400 mn.
o The loans will be used to rehabilitate Indira Gandhi canal system in India
& to build a toll transport corridor connecting Ufa city centre to M-5
federal highway in Russia.
o The NDB was set up with an initial authorized capital of $100 billion in
2014.
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o Badri Narain Sharma, a Rajasthan cadre IAS officer of 1985 batch, has
been appointed the first chairman of the National Anti-profiteering
Authority.
o This body was set up under the goods and services tax to ensure that the
benefits of lower taxes under the new regime are shared with consumers.
o Sharma, at present is an additional secretary in the department of revenue
in the finance ministry
NK Singh as Chairman of Fin. Commission
o The Central government has appointed NK Singh as chairman of 15th
Finance Commission.
o The commission will make recommendations after reviewing several
important aspects of federal fiscal finance including the deficit, cash
balances, debt levels, and fiscal discipline efforts of the Union and the
states.
o It will make recommendations, by October 2019, for five years
commencing April 1, 2020.
Das appointed as India’s G20 Sherpa
o Union Ministry of Finance has appointed Shaktikanta Das, former
secretary of Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), as India’s G20
(Group of Twenty) Sherpa till December 31, 2018 for the Development
Track.
o Role of a Sherpa is to coordinate on the agenda for the upcoming G20
summit.
o Position of India’s G20 Sherpa fell vacant in August 2017, when Mr.
Panagariya left NITI Aayog.
Pradeep appointed as Air India CMD
o Senior IAS officer Pradeep Singh Kharola was appointed as the Chairman
and Managing Director (CMD) of Air India.
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o Pradeep, a Karnataka cadre IAS officer, would replace Rajiv Bansal, who
has been serving as the interim CMD for a little over three months.
o Currently, Pradeep Singh Kharola is the Managing Director of Bangalore
Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.
Aegon appoints Vineet Arora as MD & CEO
o Aegon Life Insurance has appointed Vineet Arora as the Managing
Director & Chief Executive Officer, effective from January 2018.
o Vineet Arora will replace K S Gopalakrishnan who had left the company on
November 17, 2017.
o Chief People Officer of Aegon Life Insurance, Saba Adil, will serve as the
interim In-charge and Principal Officer.
Nirmala Sitharaman elected IDSA Prez
o Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been elected President of the
Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA).
o IDSA was set up in 1965 by the Ministry of Defence as an autonomous
think tank, and it is customary to have the Defence Minister as its
President.
o The Minister chairs the Executive Council which governs the Institute.
WHO Deputy DG appointed
o Soumya Swaminathan is set to assume the charge of deputy director-
general of the WHO in Geneva.
o Her appointment as the Deputy Director-General for Programmes,
announced early last month by the World Health Organisation, elevates
India's stature globally.
o Swaminathan is the daughter of agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan
who is hailed as the father of the 'Green Revolution'.
Madras High Court judge sworn in
o Justice Satrughana Pujahari has been sworn in as Madras High Court
judge.
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o Justice Satrughana Pujahari had been transferred from the High Court of
Orissa to the Madras High Court by a notification dated November 14,
2017.
o With his appointment, the total number of judges has gone up to 54 as
against the sanctioned strength of 75.
N Sambasiva Rao appointed as A.P. DGP
o Andhra Pradesh government appointed 1984-batch IPS officer N
Sambasiva Rao as Andhra Pradesh DGP.
o N Sambasiva Rao has been holding the DGPs post as “full additional
charge” since July 23, 2016, while his actual position was DGP
(Coordination).
o Dinesh Kumar is Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh.
Person In News
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o This body was set up under the goods and services tax to ensure that the
benefits of lower taxes under the new regime are shared with consumers.
o Sharma, at present is an additional secretary in the department of revenue
in the finance ministry
Suu Kyi stripped of Oxford Award
o Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been stripped of the
Freedom of Oxford award.
o It is done due to her "inaction" in handling the raging Rohingya refugee
crisis and turning a "blind eye to violence" in the country that forced over
600,000 people to flee to Bangladesh.
o Oxford City Council in London voted unanimously to permanently remove
the honour given to her in 1997.
Thodupuzha Vasanthi passes away
o Popular Malayalam stage, movie and television actor Thodupuzha
Vasanthi passed away at a private hospital in Thodupuzha, Kerala.
o Thodupuzha Vasanthi was 65 years old. She was battling cancer.
o Her film career began in 1975. She had acted in over 450 films.
o She had won the state government award for theatre acting.
NK Singh as Chairman of Fin. Commission
o The Central government has appointed NK Singh as chairman of 15th
Finance Commission.
o The commission will make recommendations after reviewing several
important aspects of federal fiscal finance including the deficit, cash
balances, debt levels, and fiscal discipline efforts of the Union and the
states.
o It will make recommendations, by October 2019, for five years
commencing April 1, 2020.
Pradeep appointed as Air India CMD
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o Senior IAS officer Pradeep Singh Kharola was appointed as the Chairman
and Managing Director (CMD) of Air India.
o Pradeep, a Karnataka cadre IAS officer, would replace Rajiv Bansal, who
has been serving as the interim CMD for a little over three months.
o Currently, Pradeep Singh Kharola is the Managing Director of Bangalore
Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.
5 Russians banned for Doping
o 5 more Russian competitors from the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics have
been banned for life over anti-doping rule violations by IOC.
o Dmitrii Trunenkov and Aleksei Negodailo, both in the gold-medal winning
four-man bobsleigh team, plus biathlon relay silver medalists Yana
Romanova and Olga Vilukhina, who also won silver in the 7.5 km event.
o Sergei Chudinov was also disqualified for doping.
Kohli makes 10 int. hundreds in an year
o Virat Kohli has become the first captain to score 10 international hundreds
in a calendar year.
o On 26th November 2017, Virat Kohli struck his 19th hundred in Test as
India played against Sri Lanka at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur.
o It was also his fifth double hundred in Test cricket.
o Virat Kohli reached his fourth Test hundred in 2017 in just 130 balls.
Om Prakash Saraf passes away at 95
o Om Prakash Saraf, former MLA of Jammu Kashmir, passed away in
Jammu Kashmir.
o Om Prakash Saraf, former MLA from Jammu Kashmir, passes away at 95.
o He has become the first person in Jammu Kashmir, who in his lifetime
had decided to donate his body to the medical college.
o There was no cremation of his body. Instead, his body was handed over to
the Government Medical College, Jammu.
2017 Miss Universe
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o South Africa's Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters has won Miss Universe 2017 crown.
o The 66th annual Miss Universe pageant had 92 contestants vying for the
crown, which is the largest number since Miss Universe 2011 and 2012
when 82 contestants fought for the title.
o Miss Colombia Laura Gonzalez was adjudged the first runner up while
Miss Jamaica Davina Bennett became the second runner-up.
Environment
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o The Conference also made progress on framing rules for implementing the
Paris Agreement and brought the rich nations on board to walk the talk on
their pre-2020 commitments.
o It is an effort to achieve the climate goal of keeping the global average
temperature rise within 2 degree Celsius.
Climate Change Performance Index 2018
o India has ranked 14th out of 56 nations and European Union on Climate
Change Performance Index 2018 released by environmental organisation
Germanwatch.
o This marks an improvement from its 20th rank in CCPI 2017. CCPI keeps
track of countries’ efforts in combating climate change.
o CCPI 2018 report was released on November 15, 2017, on the sidelines of
the UN COP23 in Bonn, Germany.
Syria signs up Paris Agreement
o On 14th November 2017, United Nations announced that Syria has
officially signed the Paris Agreement on climate change.
o Syria has become the 169th of 196 countries that are members of the UN
climate convention to take the legal step of ratification.
o Paris agreement on climate change is an agreement within the
UNFCCC dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation
and finance.
Founding Ceremony of ISA in Bonn
o A Curtain Raiser Event for the Founding Ceremony of the International
Solar Alliance was held in Bonn, Germany.
o The ISA was jointly launched in 2015 by Modi & then-President of France
during UNFCCC Conference.
o The ISA is a treaty-based alliance of 121 prospective solar-rich Member
Nations situated fully or partially between the Tropics & aims at the
development of solar energy globally.
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Global climate risk Index
o India is the sixth most vulnerable country in the world in terms of facing
extreme weather events, according to global climate risk index.
o Haiti, Zimbabwe, Fiji, Sri Lanka and Vietnam are at top five positions in
the fresh list of nations facing climate risk.
o The ranking was released here by the Germanwatch, an independent
Berlin-based development and environmental organisation.
Gurugram to have butterfly park
o Forests Minister Rao Narbir Singh laid the foundation stone for Butterfly
Conservatory Park.
o It will be developed on 15 acres in Sector 52 of Gurugram and will be the
biggest butterfly park in North India.
o The park is to conserve the species of butterflies that are near extinction
because of the massive urbanisation in the area.
o The park will be developed in association with Uthaan, an NGO.
Varanasi is the most polluted city
o A report by the Central Pollution Control Board has found that the air
quality of holy city Varanasi is most polluted among the 42 cities
monitored recently.
o Varanasi’s Air Quality Index was at an alarming 491, followed by
Gurugram at 480, and Delhi at 468.
o Stubble burning by farmers in Punjab & Haryana are speculated to have
added to the factors causing pollution in northern belt of India.
Delhi govt 'defers' odd-even
o Delhi govt has called off the odd-even scheme, which was to be
implemented from 13th Nov, after the National Green Tribunal ordered
withdrawal of exemptions under it.
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o The decision came in view of the directive by NGT, which
ordered withdrawal of all exemptions, including to two-wheeler riders
& woman-only vehicles.
o Trucks and two- wheelers are the major polluters in Delhi.
Obituaries
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Government Policies & Schemes
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o President Ram Nath Kovind has promulgated an ordinance under Article
123 of Constitute to amend Indian Forest Act, 1927 to encourage bamboo
plantation.
o The amendment to Section 2(7) of Indian Forest Act, 1927 will encourage
bamboo plantation by farmers, which will contribute to doubling farmers
income by 2022.
o India is the 2nd largest producer of bamboo after China.
Samsung partners with UP govt
o Samsung India announced a partnership with Uttar Pradesh State
Government for ‘Smart Healthcare Programme’.
o Under this programme, Samsung India will set-up 20 new smart
healthcare centres across Uttar Pradesh to offer affordable and quality
healthcare.
o It will also provide advanced equipments such as ultrasound and digital
radiology (x-ray) machines
FOGSI launches ‘Manyata’ movement
o Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of India (FOGSI)
launched ‘Manyata’, a nationwide movement emphasising the need for
quality care for mothers during and immediately after childbirth.
o FOGSI has launched ‘Manyata’ in partnership with MSD for Mothers,
MacArthur Foundation and Jhpiego.
o The movement was flagged off by Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty.
Haryana to offer power Connection on EMI
o Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar announced a new scheme offering
Domestic Power Connections in rural areas on EMI.
o Currently it costs between Rs. 3000/- to Rs. 4000/- to get a domestic
power connection.
o Under this new scheme, households in rural areas can pay just Rs. 200
and get a domestic power connection.
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o The remaining amount can be paid in easy installments of Rs. 100 to Rs.
200.
Karnataka passes SC/ST promotions bill
o Karnataka passed ‘Karnataka Extension of Consequential Seniority to
Government Servants Promoted on the Basis of Reservation Bill 2017’.
o Prior to introduction of this bill, SC had struck down Karnataka Govt.’s
provision for providing reservation in promotion for SC/ST employees.
o Karnataka had formed a committee led by Additional Chief Secretary
Ratnaprabha to study the above issues.
Daily Drug Regimen for treatment of TB
o Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has recently announced the launch of
daily regimen for TB patients across the country under the Revised
National TB Control Programme.
o The daily FDC anti-TB drugs will be made available to private pharmacy or
at private practitioners.
o It will be provided free of cost. Ministry will take this forward to all major
hospitals.
Punjab to compensate acid attack victims
o Punjab State Cabinet approved ‘Punjab Victim or Their Dependents
Compensation Scheme.
o It will provide minimum compensation of Rs three lakh to an acid attack
victim.
o Every year, Punjab State Government’s department of home affairs and
justice, will allocate a separate budget to the department of legal and
legislative affairs to provide compensation under this scheme.
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o With the longest play running for not more than 10 minutes to the shortest
one ending in 42 seconds, India's first ever micro-drama festival was held
in New Delhi.
o Named after Thespis of Icaria, believed to be the first actor in Greek drama
(6th century BC), the day-long event 'Thespis' saw screening of 28
independent plays at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Art.
Tibetan medi system for Unesco honour
o INDIA has nominated the Tibetan medicine system of Sowa-Rigpa for
inclusion on Unesco’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
o The dossier was submitted in late March and India’s bid will be considered
during Unesco’s session in 2018.
o Sowa-Rigpa, commonly known as the Amchi system of medicine, is among
the oldest documented medical traditions in the world.
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