1. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurates 35th IITF in New Delhi
i. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated 35th edition of India International Trade Fair (IITF) at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. The 14 day fair has been organised by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), under aegis of Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
ii. In this edition over 7,000 firms from India and overseas are participating.
iii. This year Afghanistan has been roped as the partner country and Bangladesh is the focus country. Within Indian states, Goa and Jharkhand are roped as partner states, while Madhya Pradesh is the focus state.
iv. Theme of 2015 edition of IITF is Make in India in order to encourage companies to manufacture their products in India.
v. The major objective behind this international trade festival is to focus on 25 sectors of Indian economy for skill enhancement and job creation. Some of these sectors are: automobiles, chemicals, Information Technology (IT), textiles, ports, pharmaceuticals, leather, aviation, tourism and hospitality, railway, auto components, wellness, design manufacturing, renewable energy, mining, bio-technology, and electronics etc.
2. PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Ambedkar memorial in London
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the recently acquired Ambedkar memorial by Maharashtra Government at King Henry’s Road in London, United Kingdom. On this occasion, Prime Minister unveiled a plaque to mark the dedication of the Memorial and was accompanied by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
ii. Maharashtra government had bought this house in London where social reformer and architect of the Indian Constitution Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar had stayed as a student in the 1920s.
iii. In September 2015, Maharashtra Government had purchased the house for 32 crore rupees and had converted into an international memorial consisting of a public museum and a library owing to its cultural and national importance and pride of millions of people of India.
iv. Apart from it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also unveiled a Basaveshwara Statue at Lambeth in London. Basaveshwara (1105-1167 AD) was a great philosopher and social reformer who had fought against social evils of his time, and worked for the strengthening of democracy at the grassroots.
3. 2017 announced as the UK-India Year of culture
i. Britain announced 2017 as the UK-India Year of Culture to mark the 70th Anniversary of Indian Independence.
ii. To mark the Occasion, UK Institute will partner with Indian Institutes for the program and the British Library will digitize 2,00,000 pages from its South Asian Archives.
iii. The government will send Shakespeare’s First Folio and the 800 year old Magna Carta to tour India.
4. Naval Ship Vishwakarma commissioned
i. INS Vishwakarma, the erstwhile Shipwright School (SWS) and a premier training establishment of the Indian Navy has been commissioned. It was commissioned by Admiral RK Dhowan, Chief of the Naval Staff at a formal ceremony held at Visakhapatnam.
ii. INS Vishwakarma was commissioned in keeping with the Navy’s thrust towards indigenisation and ‘Make in India’ initiative. It also was commissioned keeping in view the role of the SWS which has assumed greater significance presently in honing Indian Navy’s warship and submarine design.
iii. Shipwright School (SWS) was established in 1941 at INS Shivaji for training shipwright artificers of Indian Navy. SWS was a premier technical establishment and alma mater for Naval Architect Officers, Shipwright Officers and Shipwright Sailors of the Indian Navy.
iv. It was subsequently shifted in 1943 to Naval Barracks, Mumbai (now INS Angre). In 1981, it was again shifted to the present premises at Visakhapatnam as a dedicated training establishment with independent facilities for training of shipwright apprentices.
5. India, UK announced commercial deals worth 9 billion pounds
i. India and the UK announced commercial deals worth 9 billion pounds in London. The deals took place between the companies operating from both the countries and were agreed upon during the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UK.
ii. The deal included HDFC, India’s largest housing finance company, which has announced the proposal to issue rupee denominated bonds overseas of up to 490 million pounds.
iii. Bharti Airtel Ltd announced that it intends to issue its maiden sterling bond of up to 500 million pounds to be listed on the London Stock Exchange.
iv. Major UK-based insurance companies like Standard Life, Bupa and Aviva have committed to invest a combined total of approximately 238 million pounds worth of FDI in their Indian joint ventures.
v. London Stock Exchange Group and Yes Bank will sign a MoU to foster the development around bond and equity issuance, with a strong focus on green infrastructure finance. As part of this MoU, the bank is expected to list a green bond of up to 330 million pounds through Medium Term Notes by December 2016.
vi. State Bank of India (SBI) and London Stock Exchange Group have announced a collaboration to create the FTSE-SBI India Bonds Indices to be used initially by a new investment fund run by SBI. These indices, to be launched in the first half of 2016, will facilitate investment into India’s bond markets and support market liquidity and pricing.
6. Terrorist attack in Paris; Hundreds Killed
i. Terrorists attacked six locations around Paris killing around 160 civilians and injuring another 200 people and security personnel.
ii. While majority of the deaths occurred in the Bataclan concert venue, around 80000 football fans in the Stade de France (National Stadium of France) came under the deadliest attacks who were watching a friendly match between France and Germany.
iii. To deal with impending attacks, France President Francois Hollande, who was at the venue during the attack, immediately convened an emergency cabinet meeting outside the stadium and announced a state of emergency.
1. First AMRIT outlet opened at AIIMS Delhi for selling affordable drugs
i. Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 15 November 2015 launched the Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) pharmacy outlet at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.
ii. The purpose of the first of its kind outlet is to reduce the expenditure incurred by patients on treatment of cancer and heart diseases by 50 to 60 percent.
iii. It is a retail pharmacy outlet that sells drugs and implants for the two ailments-cancer and heart diseases-at highly discounted rates. It would be selling 202 cancer and 186 cardio-vascular drugs and 148 types of cardiac implants at very affordable prices.
iv. It has been floated in a tie-up with government-owned HLL Lifecare Ltd (HLL). Based on the outcome of the AIIMS outlet, this initiative will be taken to other central government hospitals and Regional Cancer Centres in partnership with the HLL.
2. International Day for Tolerance observed across the world
i. The International Day for Tolerance was observed globally on 16 November 2015 with an aim to educate people about the need for tolerance in society and help them understand the negative effects of intolerance.
ii. In 1996, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) by its resolution 51/95 invited UN Member States to observe the International Day for Tolerance on 16 November, with activities directed towards both educational establishments and the wider public.
iii. This action came in the wake of the United Nations Year for Tolerance 1995, proclaimed by the UNGA in 1993. On 16 November 1995, the UNESCO member states adopted the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance and Follow-up Plan of Action for the year.
3. Maareech, an Advanced Torpedo Defence System, handed over to Indian Navy
i. The Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar handed over the Maareech - Advanced Torpedo Defence System – developed by DRDO to the Navy Chief Admiral Robin K. Dhowan in Vishakhapatnam.
ii. Maareech is a joint project of Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi and NSTL, Visakhapatnam. It is a state-of-the-art indigenous system for torpedo detection and countermeasures.
iii. The system provides a complete solution to detect and locate the incoming torpedo and to apply countermeasures to protect naval platform against torpedo attack. The system is capable of detecting, confusing, diverting and decoying the incoming torpedoes.
iv. Two production grade Maareech systems have been developed and user evaluation trials completed onboard two Indian Navy ships. Besides, Parrikar also dedicated to the nation the Seakeeping and Manoeuvring Basin (SMB). It is a one of its kind platform in the country set up as a joint effort of DRDO and Indian Navy.
4. Jharkhand Government introduced Mobile Governance
i. The Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on 15 November 2015 introduced Mobile Governance in the state to realise the dreams of Digital India during the occasion of 16th Foundation Day of the state.
ii. The State Government launched 14 mobile applications and three web portals on the State Foundation Day to deliver the benefits of information technology to the people of the state in order to bridge the gap between the government and public.
iii. To facilitate quick clearance for industries, the state government introduced Advantage Jharkhand Portal, the country's first single window portal.
iv. The mobile applications were developed by Jharkhand Space Applications Centre (JSAC). These are designed to bring services from government, civic bodies and police force to the Android smartphones of the beneficiaries.
v. All the mobile applications can be downloaded free of cost from apps.jharkhand.gov.in portal. Although, they have not been put up on any popular application distribution platform yet, this option is open for exploration in future.
5. Children's book writer Kamala Laxman dead
i. A well-known author of children's books, Kamala Laxman, passed away in Pune on 14 November 2015 due to old age issues. She was 90.
ii. Widow of legendary cartoonist R.K. Laxman, Kamala was commissioned by the India Book House in the 1970s to write stories for children, such as Thama and His Missing Mother and tales of Tenali Raman. The Tenali Raman stories penned by her were later memorably serialised into 13 and telecast on Doordarshan.
iii. Kamala was born in Chennai. She attended St. Thomas' Convent and later graduated from Delhi's Indraprastha College. She also studied interior decoration from Sir J.J. School of Arts in Mumbai.
6. Saeed Jaffrey passes away
i. Veteran actor, Saeed Jaffrey, who was seen in films like Shatranj Ke Khiladi and Ram Teri Ganga Maili, passed away on Sunday, November 15, 2015. He was 86.
ii. Jaffrey's niece, Shaheen Aggarwal, broke the unfortunate news on Facebook. She wrote, "Today, a generation of Jaffreys has passed away. Saeed Jaffrey has joined his brothers and sister and is rejoicing in the lap of his Heavenly Father, eternally. The entire Jaffrey Family bids you, "adieu", you beautiful, beautiful man See you in heaven!"
iii. Saeed Jaffrey was the first Indian actor to tour Shakespeare, taking his company across the United States. He had also won the Filmfare Award for the film, Shatranj Ke Khiladi, in the Best Supporting Actor category.
7. ICICI Bank Canada launches student programme
i. ICICI Bank Canada, a subsidiary of private lender ICICI Bank, has launched Student GIC (Guaranteed Investment Certificate) Program for students aspiring to study in Canada.
ii. As per the terms of the programme, the amount of C$10,000 is paid back to the student while he/she is studying in Canada in 12 equal instalments along with the interest amount. The processing fee for applying to this programme is C$150.
iii. ICICI Bank Canada is the first Indian bank to be authorised by Canadian High Commission to accept GIC from Indian students. This programme enables students from India to fulfil the prerequisite of purchasing a GIC by transferring funds from any bank account held by them in India to their ICICI Bank Canada account. Students can do this while they are in India.
iv. Aspirants can apply for the Student GIC Program can register online and fill an application form sent to their email address. It can be submitted online itself as well as designated forex branches of ICICI Bank in India and transfer the required amount.
8. Nokia, Alcatel-Lucent name new India, MEA heads
i. Nokia announced that Sandeep Girotra would become the head of India and Amr Karim El-Leithy would become the head of Middle East and Africa as part of the planned combination of Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent, after and subject to the successful closing of the public exchange offer for Alcatel-Lucent securities announced on 15 April.
ii. Both would oversee the combined company's customer operations across India and Middle East and Africa, driving the execution of strategy and ensuring superior customer service, underpinned by a strong focus on innovation and quality.
iii. Sandeep Girotra joined Nokia Networks in 1996 and has held a number of different roles in India, heading the region since 2011. The proposed appointments are effective only after the successful closing of the public exchange offer and is subject to the completion of the relevant works council consultation procedures.
iv. Amr Karim El-Leithy is currently president for Middle East, Turkey and Africa for Alcatel-Lucent. He joined the company in 2009.
9. Practo, Uber enter into pact
i. Healthcare booking platform Practo and taxi-hailing platform Uber today announced a global partnership to help people reach doctors easily.
ii. Across India, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore, those who book an appointment on Practo’s mobile application will be able to view the closest Uber available along with the appointment reminder alert.
iii. The next phase of integration will involve notifying the user to request for an Uber, an hour prior to the appointment.
iv. The partnership comes with an India-specific inaugural offer where any existing or new user booking an appointment on Practo till November 30, will get a free ride to and from the doctor’s clinic.
10. Thomas Cook India signs pact with OYO Rooms
i. Travel services provider Thomas Cook India has entered into a partnership with online aggregator of budget hotels, OYO Rooms, offering access to over 3,200 hotels, spread over 140 cities across India.
ii. The company’s partnership with OYO Rooms aims at providing a wide range of standardised stay options, optimal locations (both business and leisure areas) and maximised savings, Thomas Cook India said.
iii. The company’s partnership with OYO Rooms aims at providing a wide range of standardised stay options, optimal locations (both business and leisure areas) and maximised savings, Thomas Cook India said.
11. Saina Nehwal wins silver medal at 2015 China Open
i. Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has won silver medal at 2015 China Open Superseries Premier Badminton tournament after finishing at second position in the Women’s Singles category.
ii. In the final match played at the Haixia Olympic Sports Centre in Fuzhou, the defending champion and top seeded Saina lost to sixth placed Xuerui Li from China by 12-21, 15-21 score.
iii. Saina and Li had met 12 times against each other and Saina has won just 2 of those games. The final of China Open tournament was overall Saina’s fifth final of the year 2015 and the third instance in 2015 that the World No. 1 has come out second best.
12. Nico Rosberg beat Lewis Hamilton to win Brazilian Grand Prix
i. German Formula One motor racer Nico Rosberg on 15 November 2015 defeated Lewis Hamilton to grab the Brazilian Grand Prix trophy. Sebastian Vettel grabbed the third position in the race.
ii. With the win, Rosberg reserved his place as runner-up in 2015 Formula One world championship. The Brazilian Grand Prix was German F1 Driver's second consecutive win following the 2015 Mexican Grand Prix. Besides, it was his fifth win of 2015 and the 13th of his career.
iii. Born on 27 June 1985, Rosberg has also briefly competed for Finland very early in his career. Rosberg entered Formula One in 2006 with Williams Grand Prix Engineering. He joined the re-branded Mercedes team for the 2010 Formula One season.
iv. The 2015 Brazilian Grand Prix is a Formula One motor race that was held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, in São Paulo, Brazil.
1. PRASAD and Swadesh Darshan schemes of Ministry of Tourism
i. PRASAD (National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive) and SWADSH DARSHAN schemes of the Union Ministry of Tourism were in news in the second week of November 2015. The two initiatives, along with Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs), were launched to achieve 1 per cent share of international tourist arrivals by 2016-17 from the present 0.68 per cent.
ii. Both the schemes are under implementation in mission mode and aimed at developing world-class tourism related infrastructure.
iii. PRASAD's objective is to augment religious and spiritual tourism in the country as India is a land of many religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism and Sufism.
iv. As part of SWADSH DARSHAN scheme, theme based tourism circuits are identified for infrastructure development across the country. Theme Based Tourist Circuit (TBTC) is defined as a tourist circuit around specific themes such as religion, culture, ethnicity, niche, etc. A TBTC could be confined to a state or could be a regional circuit covering more than a state or union territory (UT).
2. Governing Council of NIIF constituted under the chairmanship of Finance Minister
i. Union Ministry of Finance on 13 November 2015 constituted the Governing Council (GC) of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). The GC will be chaired by the Union Finance Minister and the members included Secretary: DEA, Secretary: Financial Services, Arundhati Bhattacharya, Hemendra Kothari,T V Mohandas Pai.
ii. The GC was mandated to consider approval of guidelines for Investment of Trust property/Corpus of NIIF and parameters for appointment and performance of investment managers/ advisors among others.
iii. Its objective is to back new and stressed projects and help restart the investment cycle. It was proposed by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget 2015-16.
iv. It was approved by the Union Cabinet on 23 July 2015 with an initial corpus of 20000 crore rupees. It was set up as a fund under the provisions of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882.
3. VHP leader Ashok Singhal dead
i. The patron of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Ashok Singhal passed away on 17 November 2015 in Gurgaon due to a prolonged illness. He was 89. Singhal served as the international working president of the Hindu organisation for over 20 years.
ii. Singhal was a key organiser of the first VHP Dharma Sansad held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi in 1984. The Sansad gave birth to the movement for reclaiming the Ramjanmabhoomi temple. Later, he became the main leader of the Ramjanmabhoomi movement.
iii. Born in Agra on 15 September 1926, Singhal obtained his bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Benaras Hindu University Institute of Technology in 1950. After graduation, he became a full time pracharak of RSS.
iv. In 1980, the leader was deputed to the VHP and became its joint general secretary.
4. AMRUT Action Plans for 81 cities approved with total project outlay of 5748 crore rupees
i. An inter-ministerial Apex Committee on 16 November 2015 approved State Annual Action Plans (SAAP) of 81 mission cities in 5 states-Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Mizoram under AMRUT for 2015-16.
ii. The meeting of the committee was headed by Shri Madhusudan Prasad, Secretary, Union Ministry of Urban Development, which is the nodal ministry for implementation of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
iii. As per the approved SAAPs, the Union, State governments and urban local bodies together will invest 5748 crore rupees. Out of this, Central assistance will be provided to an extent of 2440 crore rupees.
iv. And, Out of the five states, Tamil Nadu with 27 AMRUT cities would invest 3249 crore followed by Madhya Pradesh (32 cities)-1,656 crore, Odisha (9 cities)-456 crore, Jharkhand (7 cities)-313 crore and Mizoram will invest 73 crore rupees in the lone mission city of Aizawl.
v. With this approval, number of cities covered under AMRUT went up to 170 across 8 states with a total project expenditure of 8534 crore rupees.
5. Standard Chartered names Zarin Daruwala as new India CEO
i. Zarin Daruwala will join as the India chief executive officer at Standard Chartered Bank, the international lender said in a statement on Tuesday. Daruwala was president of the wholesale lending team at ICICI Bank Ltd. Daruwala will report to Ajay Kanwal, regional CEO, ASEAN & South Asia at Standard Chartered.
ii. In July, Standard Chartered had announced a revamp of its core management team. Sunil Kaushal, who was heading the India operations, was moved and appointed as regional chief for Africa and Middle East.
iii. Daruwala, who had taken over as head of ICICI Bank’s wholesale banking team in July 2010, has led teams in corporate banking, project finance, structured finance, financial institutions, government and public sector banking, and has also helped build ICICI’s rural and agri-finance offering.
iv. ICICI Bank said its board has appointed Vishakha Mulye as executive director. Mulye, who is managing director and chief executive officer of ICICI Venture Funds Management Co, will be in charge of the wholesale banking business at ICICI Bank, after her appointment.
6. Global cancer summit on Nov 18-20
i. Global Cancer Summit, a three-day programme focussed on understanding and suggesting strategies to tackle cancer, will be organised from November 18-20 at the Indian Institute of Science.
ii. The event is organsied by BioGenesis - the Euro-Indian Health Cluster (India), Global Cancer Foundation and supported by the Indian Council of Medical Research. iii. The conclave is expected to have 700 experts in the field of oncology and related sectors and is dedicated to the late US senator Ted Kennedy.
7. Axis MF launches Children’s Gift Fund
i. Axis Mutual Fund today announced its new fund offer, the Axis Children's Gift Fund. This is Axis' first goal-based investment option, the MF house said. Investments can only be made for a minor, represented by a parent or guardian.
ii. According to the company, such an investment would be better than taking an education loan in the future for a child's education. The NFO comes with an optional lock-in period till the child turns 18 years old.
iii. The open-ended balanced scheme will invest up to 60 per cent in equity and equity derivatives, a maximum of 55 per cent in debt and a maximum of 15 per cent in cash arbitrage.
iv. The minimum application amount is Rs. 5,000. The fund will be benchmarked against the Crisil Composite Bond Fund Index.
8. World Bank, AP ink $75-m credit deal for rural project
i. The Centre, Andhra Pradesh and the World Bank have inked a $75 million (₹500 crore) credit deal for the Andhra Pradesh Rural Inclusive Growth Project. The project seeks to enhance agricultural incomes of small and marginal farmers and ensure increased access to services related to health, nutrition, sanitation and social entitlements.
ii. It will focus on increasing economic opportunities for small and marginal farmers, especially from Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) households in the 150 most backward mandals.
iii. In addition, it will invest in developing a network of social enterprises for food, nutrition, sanitation and other social enterprises which operate at community and district level. The agreement was signed by Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary (Department of Economic Affairs), Ministry of Finance; Sunitha Kolaventy, Finance Secretary, Andhra Pradesh; and Onno Ruhl, World Bank Country Director in India.
iv. The Project will help link small and marginal farmers to urban markets and make them competitive across the value chain. Investments will be made for increasing the nutritional content of products such as milk, vegetables and poultry.
9. Syed Akbaruddin appointed as next Permanent Representative of India to UN
i. Syed Akbaruddin was on 16 November 2015 appointed as the next Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations at New York. He will replace Asoke Kumar Mukerji who assumed the office in April 2013.
ii. In this position, Akbaruddin will head India’s diplomatic mission in the UN and articulates the country’s stand on critical issues at the global forum.
iii. Akbaruddin is a 1985 batch officer of Indian Foreign Service and currently, he is serving as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. He also served as MEA spokesperson and was Chief Coordinator of successful India Africa Foreign Summit held in New Delhi from 26 October to 29 October 2015.
iv. So far, excluding Akbaruddin, 19 diplomats served as Permanent Representative of India to the UN. Notable among them are the incumbent Vice President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari (1993-95), Brajesh C Mishra (1979-81), Nirupam Sen (2004-09) and Hardeep Singh Puri (2009-13) among others.
10. FIFA banned Nepal football Chief Ganesh Thapa for 10 years for corruption
i. FIFA, the governing body of football, on 16 November 2015 banned Nepal's football chief Ganesh Thapa for 10 years for corruption. The body also banned the president of the Laos federation Viphet Sihachakr for two years for bribery.
ii. In the context of the 2009 and 2011 elections at the Asian Football Confederation congress, FIFA accused Thapa of committing various acts of misconduct, which includes the solicitation and acceptance of cash payments from another football official, for personal and family gain.
iii. FIFA's ethics committee also stated that he had specifically been bribed over elections for the FIFA executive committee in 2009 and 2011.
iv. Earlier, it was revealed by The Associated Press that Thapa received an illegal gift of 100000 US dollars from Bin Hammam in 2009. The money was deposited into the personal bank account of Thapa’s son. Apart from the ban, Thapa was fined 20000 Swiss francs by the ethics committee's adjudicatory chamber.
11. Siril Verma clinched silver at World Junior Badminton Championships
i. Young shuttler Siril Verma on 15 November 2015 grabbed a silver medal at the BWF World Junior Championships held in Lima, Peru. China’s Chia Hung Lu clinched the gold medal at the Boys' singles event.
ii. With this, Verma joined the ranks of Saina Nehwal, P.V. Sindhu, R.M.V. Gurusaidutt, H.S. Prannoy and Sameer Verma, who have won medals for India in the World junior championships.
iii. Verma came into limelight when he clinched the Junior U15 Asian Championships title in 2013. He also became the first Indian player to win the Badminton Asia Youth Championships in 2013.
iv. The 15-year-old shuttler trains at the Pullela Gopichand Academy. Verma was born on 25 December 1999 in Andhra Pradesh (now Telangana).
v. The BWF World Junior Championships is also known as the World Junior Badminton Championships. It is a tournament organized by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to crown the best junior badminton players (under-19) in the world.
12. Australian cricketer Mitchell Johnson retires from International cricket
i. Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson (age 34) has announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket. He made this announcement after conclusion to the second Test match against New Zealand at WACA.
ii. With this, he has joined his fellow team mates who had recently retired from international cricket including Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris, Chris Rogers and Shane Watson.
iii. In his test career, he had scored 2,036 runs at a batting average of 22.35 and his top score was 123 (not out). He had scored one century and 11 half centuries. He had bowled 15,409 balls in his test career and had taken 311 runs at bowling average of 28.1.
iv. He had made his ODI debut in 2005 against New Zealand and had played 153 ODI matches. In his ODI career, he had scored 951 at an average of 16.12, with to score of 73 runs. He had bowled 7,066 balls and had taken 239 wickets at an average of 25.3.
1. Kiren Rijiju conferred with Disaster Risk Reduction Asia Champion honour by UN
i. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, was on 17 November 2015 designated as the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Champion for the Asia Region by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). Rijiju also became the first Indian to be conferred with this honour.
ii. The honour was conferred Margarete Wahlstrom, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction, during the inaugural session of the Asia Leaders’ Meeting towards Implementation of the Sendai Framework for DRR in Asia.
iii. Rijiju is the first regional champion for DRR after the Sendai Agreement, giving an impetus to Union Government efforts to facilitate regional support towards enabling community resilience in the Asia-Pacific region.
iv. UNISDR recognizes individuals as Disaster Risk Reduction Champions for using their political influence to lobby for disaster risk reduction in their country, region and beyond. This is a non-remunerated honorary position.
v. Only the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction and head of UNISDR may designate a Disaster Risk Reduction Champion by issuing a letter of designation. It advocates and promotes the goals and priorities of the Hyogo
2. RAW former Chief Sankaran Nair died
i. Former Chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) K. Sankaran Nair passed away on 17 November 2015 in Bengaluru. He was 94. Nair, who hailed from Ottapalam village in Kerala, was a part of the Intelligence Bureau. Later, he was inducted into RAW in 1968, as the deputy to Rameshwarnath Kao.
ii. Nair was also credited with the liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971. It was under his leadership that RAW helped find the guerrilla fighters troupe Mukti Bahini and train them.
iii. In 1977, Nair was appointed as the Chief of RAW. However, he resigned just three months after taking over. He protested against the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai downgrading the post of chief of RAW to director from Secretary (R).
iv. Nair also served as India’s High Commissioner to Singapore from 1986 to 1988. In 1985, the former RAW Chief was honoured him with a Padma Bhushan.
3. PM Narendra Modi concluded his two-nation tour to UK and Turkey
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16 January 2015 returned to India after his two-nation tour of the United Kingdom and Turkey.
ii. During his five-day visit which took place from 12 November to 16 November 2015, Modi participated in G-20 summit at Antalya in Turkey and met with Queen Elizabeth II, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and others.
iii. During this tour, he stayed in UK (12 to 14 November 2015) and Turkey (14 to 16 November 2015).
iv. Modi inaugurated Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar Memorial in London. He unveiled Basaveshwara Statue in London and addressed the Indian Community at Wembley Stadium, London. Modi paid homage at Gandhi Statue in London and met with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. With this, he became the first Indian head to address the British parliament
v. Modi held delegation level talks with Prime Minister David Cameron of United Kingdom and also met Leader of the Labour Party and the Leader of the Opposition. Modi attended the UK-India CEO Forum. He also visited Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plant, a subsidiary of India’s Tata Motors, in Solihull
4. Foundation stone of first Mega Food Park of Telangana laid
i. Union Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal on 16 November 2015 laid the foundation stone of the first Mega Food Park in Telangana. The park is promoted by Smart Agro Food Park Pvt. Ltd. at Village Lakkampally and Chimrajpally, Nandipet Mandal, District Nizamabad, Telangana.
ii. Besides, two more Mega Food Parks have been sanctioned to be set up in Khammam and Mahboobnagar districts in Telangana.
iii. The park will have facilities of 5000 MT Multi Commodity Cold Storage, 5000 MT Raw Material Warehouse, 5000 MT Finished Good Warehouse, 5000 MT Grain Silos, 500 MT Deep Freeze, 20 MT/day Turmeric Processing Facility and modern food testing lab.
iv. The Mega Food Park Scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries in the country to give a major boost to the Food Processing Sector. The scheme will also facilitate creation of modern infrastructure for food processing along the value chain from the farm to the market.
5. Tianhe-2: World’s powerful Supercomputer for the sixth consecutive time
i. China’s Tianhe-2 supercomputer has emerged as the world’s most powerful supercomputer system for the sixth consecutive time. It was unveiled in 46th edition of Top500 list of supercomputers.
ii. The Chinese Supercomputer is capable of performing calculations with processing speed of 33.86 petaflops per second (Pflop/s). It has held the title since June 2013. Supercomputer Titan of the US Department of Energy has been placed at second position. It has a performance of 17.59 Pflop/s.
iii. Supercomputer Sequoia of Tech giant IBM was placed at third position. It has processing speed of 17.17 Pflop/s. K computer of Fujitsu was placed at fourth position. It has processing speed of 10.51 Pflop/s. Supercomputer Mira of IBM placed at fifth position. It has processing speed of 8.58 Pflop/s.
iv. Supercomputer Tianhe-2 or Milky Way 2 has been developed by China’s National University of Defense Technology. It has processing speeds of 33.86 petaflops (1000 trillion calculations) per second. Presently, it is deployed at the National Supercomputer Center in Guangzhou and is playing important role in boosting China’s capabilities in both scientific and defence fields.
6. Intel’s 'Ek Kadam Unnati Ki Aur’ begins in Telangana village
i. Chip-maker Intel has rolled out its ‘Ek Kadam Unnati Ki Aur’ programme towards rural digitisation in 10 States from Nadimpalle villlage in Telangana.
ii. Announcing the setting up of the first Unnati Kendra at the village in Mahabubnagar District, Intel Vice President-Sales and Marketing Group and Managing Director-South Asia Debjani Ghosh said the company will work with Central and the State governments to identify “best framework” for digitisation.
iii. Creating a blueprint to drive technology-enabled transformation at the grassroots in the select States is the objective of the programme. While work with Telangana was underway for sometime now -- the Kendra at the Common Service Centre has been functioning since June -- Intel was yet to decide on the other nine States and number of villages in Telangana, Ms.Ghosh told presspersons at the launch function in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
iv. Effective digitisation of rural India will be central to the success of Digital India programme, she said, while underscoring the need to make such initiatives relevant to the people. It should lead to increase in the income and improved livelihood for rural people.
7. Delhi to host the first International Qawwali Festival 2016
i. Delhi will host the first International Qawwali Festival 2015 titled Taali Ho that is scheduled to be held from 12 February 2015 to 14 February 2015. This was announced during the performance by Qawwali singers from India and Pakistan at India Islamic Centre providing a glimpse of the festival.
ii. The festival aims to reinforce a notion that music is not restricted to any borders. The event is also set to showcase the evolution that Qawwali has undergone with artistes performing a fusion of old genre of music with a modern touch.
iii. Hailing from the Sikandrabad Gharana, the Nizami Brothers are going to perform at the event. They are among the most popular Qawwali singers in Astana Gayki as well as the modern Qawwali tradition.
iv. Other Qawwali singers who will be a part of the event are Warsi brothers from Hyderabad, Hamza Akram and Taimoor Akram from Pakistan, Tahir Hussain Faridi Qawwal from US and Ahmed Sham Sufi Qawwal from Afghanistan.
8. CCI imposed penalties on 3 Airlines for concerted action in Fixing Fuel Surcharge
i. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on 17 November 2015 imposed penalties upon 3 Airlines for concerted action in fixing and revising Fuel Surcharge (FSC) for transporting cargo. These 3 Airlines are Jet Airways (India) Ltd, InterGlobe Aviation Limited and Spice Jet Limited.
ii. The matter was filed by Express Industry Council of India under section 19(1)(a) of the Competition Act, 2002 against Jet Airways (India) Ltd, InterGlobe Aviation Limited, Spice Jet Limited, Air India Limited and Go Airlines (India) Limited alleging contravention of the provisions of section 3 of the Act which deals with anti-competitive agreements.
iii. The Commission noted that the Airlines acted in parallel in collusion in fixing FSC rates. Such conduct was found to have resulted in indirectly determining the rates of air cargo transport and thereby in contravention of the provisions of section 3(1) read with section 3(3)(a) of the Competition Act, 2002.
iv. Accordingly, penalties of 151.69 crore rupees, 63.74 crore rupees and 42.48 crore rupees were imposed upon Jet Airways (India) Ltd., InterGlobe Aviation Limited and Spice Jet Limited respectively. Besides, cease and desist order was also issued against the Airlines. No penalty was imposed upon Air India Limited as its conduct was not found to be parallel with other Airlines.
9. Indian Red Cross Society Secretary General SP Agarwal died
i. Eminent neurosurgeon and secretary general of Indian Red Cross Society Satya Paul Agarwal died on 17 November 2015. He was 70. He is survived by his wife Sarita Agarwal, son Tushar Agarwal and daughter Ashima Sharma.
ii. Since 2005, Agarwal was serving the Indian Red Cross Society as its Secretary General. He was also the Chair of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Advisory Body on Sustainable Development and Health.
iii. He was a well-known public health administrator and played a pivotal role in execution of various disaster relief operations and control of disease outbreak and epidemics in the country. From 1996 to 2005, he was Director General of Health Services of Union Government.
iv. In 2014, he received Belgian Redcross Flanders Gold Medal. In 2010, he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, for his services to the fields of medicine and public health. In 2005, he was honoured with the Life Time Achievement award for TB.
10. Kosmos 2510, the first satellite of EKS (Tundra) system, launched by Russia
i. Russia successfully on 17 November 2015 launched the first satellite for its newest early warning system, named EKS or Integrated Space System. The satellite was officially named Kosmos 2510 (Tundra 11L).
ii. This new-generation satellite is designed to restore Moscow's capability to detect, track and identify worldwide missile launches from space. The satellite was carried by a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from Site 43/4 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, located in Northern Russia.
iii. The launch was carried out under the command of Deputy Commander of Russian Aerospace Defence Forces (VKO) – Commander of the Space Troops Alexander Golovko.
iv. RKK Energia, a Russian manufacturer of spacecraft and space station components, built the Tundra spacecraft. The satellite will be operated by the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. It was delivered into a highly elliptical geosynchronous orbit, called a Tundra orbit.
11. Czech Republic defeated Russia to retain Fed Cup
i. The Czech Republic on 15 November 2015 successfully defended its Fed Cup crown after beating Russia in final day's play in Prague. Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova emerged as the team’s hero as she not only won her singles rubber to tie the match at 2-2 but also returned to court after a break to secure another comeback victory in the finals of the deciding doubles.
ii. The victory marked a fourth Fed Cup success for the Czech Republic in five years. The country has won the Fed Cup nine times overall, including Czechoslovakia's five before its split in 1993.
iii. Fed Cup is the premier international team competition in women's tennis. It was launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The competition was known as the Federation Cup until 1995.
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