Top Current Affairs of the Week (3 – 7 November 2019)

Home , Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, Rajinikanth

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1. Rajinikanth to be honoured with first “Icon of Golden Jubilee Award” at IFFI

• The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2019 that is to be held in Goa from 20th November to 28th November, 2019, will honour Indian Film star S Rajnikant with a special Icon of Golden Jubilee Award. • The IFFI will also confer with the Lifetime Achievement Award for a Foreign Artiste to French Actress Isabelle Huppert. • The Icon of Golden Jubilee Award is a special award constituted by the Government of India in the year 2019. • Rajinikanth made his acting debut with director K Balachandar's Apoorva Ragangal in 1975.

Note:

• This year would commemorate the 50th edition of the International Film Festival. • To celebrate the same, 50 films by women directors will be showcased at the event. • Russia will be the partner country of the IFFI 2019. • The first-ever IFFI was organized by the Films Division, Government of India, with the patronage of the first Prime Minister of India – Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. • The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) aims at providing a common platform to the cinemas across the world to project the excellence of the art of film making.

2. Writer Anand selected for Ezhuthachan Puraskaram

• Noted writer Anand has been selected for the 27th Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, the highest literary honour of the Kerala state government. • This award is given by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and the Government of Kerala. • His one of the famous novel is Aalkoottam which portrays the unique crises that the nation had witnessed with a rare finesse. • His Govardhante Yatrakal had won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi award, Veedum Thadavum and Jaina Manushyan Kerala Sahitya Akademi award and Marubhoomikal Undakunnath, Vayalar award.

Note:

• The Ezhuthachan Puraskaram comprises a cash prize of ₹5 lakh and a citation. • Born at Irinjalakuda in 1936, his real name is P. Satchidanandan. • He served the nation as a planning director in the Central Water Commission in New Delhi.

3. Sudarsan Pattnaik selected for Italian Golden Sand Art Award 2019

• Acclaimed sand artist from Odisha, Sudarsan Pattnaik has been chosen for the Italian Golden Sand Art Award 2019.

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• He will be felicitated during the International Scorrana Sand Nativity fete in Italy which will be held between 13th and 18th November 2019. • Pattnaik will also represent India in the event. There will be eight sand sculptors who will participate in this fete. • The president of ‘Promuovi Scorrana’ Vito Maraschio sent an invitation to Pattnaik to participate in the event.

Note:

• Pattnaik was awarded the fourth highest civilian honour in India, Padma Shri by the union government in 2014. • In 2017, the Odisha-based sand artist won the jury prize gold medal at the Xth World Sand Sculptures Championship in Moscow, Russia.

4. Novak Djokovic Beats Denis Shapovalov to Win 5th Paris Masters Title 2019

• Novak Djokovic of Serbia has won the fifth Paris Masters title for 2019 by defeating Canadian youngster Denis Shapovalov in the final. • Thus, he sealed his 34th Master’s title and fifth overall ATP victory of the year 2019. • Djokovic will lose top spot in the rankings to Nadal next week, but could still equal Pete Sampras' record by finishing a sixth year as the world's best player.

5. Russia's Nuclear Submarine Test-Fires Ballistic Missile from White Sea

• Russia's newest nuclear submarine was successfully test-fired a Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile from the White Sea off Russia's northwestern coast. • The Knyaz Vladimir, or Prince Vladimir, fired the missile from underwater that landed on target on the Kamchatka peninsula in far eastern Russia. • Launched in 2017, the Prince Vladimir submarine is the first upgraded model of Russia's Borei class of ballistic missile submarines, designed to be more maneuverable and quieter than previous models.

6. 5th November: World Tsunami Awareness Day

• The World Tsunami Awareness Day (WTAD) is being observed across the world on 5th November. • In 2019, the World Tsunami Awareness Day will promote Target (d) of the "Sendai Seven Campaign" which focuses on reducing disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services. • By the year 2030, an estimated 50% of the world's population will live in coastal areas exposed to flooding, storms and tsunamis.

Note:

• The first World Tsunami Awareness Day was observed on 5th November 2016.

7. Madhuri Vijay’s debut novel ‘The Far Field’ wins 2019 JCB Prize for Literature

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• U.S. based-Indian author Madhuri Vijay’s debut novel, “The Far Field” has won 2019 JCB prize for Literature (most expensive Indian award for writing). • Taking the reader through a complex personal story, The Far Field is set against the backdrop 1990’s Kashmir conflict • She also received the Rs 25 lakh as the prize money, a sculpture by Delhi artist duo Thukral & Tagra entitled Mirror Melting. • The novel published by Fourth estate India.

Note:

• JCB prize is an annual Indian literary award instituted in 2018 for a distinguished work of fiction by an Indian writer working in English or to a translated fiction by an Indian writer. • The award is funded by English construction manufacturing group JCB, which established the JCB Literature Foundation to maintain this award.

8. Guyana to be the fastest-growing country in the world next year at 86%

• According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) report, South America's Guyana GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is expected to be more at 86% in 2020 after expanding 4.4% in 2019. • This growth expectation had done after Exxon Mobil Corp.’s discovery of oil at Guyana. • Guyana’ GDP is to get fourteen times as fast as China’s GDP in 2020. • Guyana is projecting USD 300 million in petroleum revenue in 2020. • The oil sector will represent about 40% of the economy within five years.

9. 1st-ever India-Uzbekistan joint military exercise ‘Dustlik-2019’ begun

• The first-ever India-Uzbekistan joint military exercise ‘Dustlik-2019’ has begun at Chirchiq Training Area near Tashkent. (continue till 13th November) • India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Uzbekistan counterpart Major General Bakhodir Nizamovich Kurbanov presided over the Curtain Raiser of the military drill. • During the exercise, an Indian Army contingent will train along with Uzbekistan Army. • The exercise will enable the sharing of best practices and experiences between the Armed Forces of the two countries and will lead to greater operational effectiveness. • India and Uzbekistan have signed three Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in the fields of Military Medicine and Military Education.

10. Valtteri Bottas wins US Grand Prix 2019

• Finnish racing driver Valtteri Bottas (with Mercedes) has won the Formula One, United States Grand Prix 2019. • Lewis Hamilton was on second, Max Verstappen on third, Charles Leclerc on fourth and Alexander Albon on fifth.

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• Lewis Hamilton (sixth F1 world title) has won the Formula One World Drivers’ Championship for 2019. • The maximum number of Formula One World Drivers’ Championship has been won by Michael Schumacher with 7 titles.

11. M Venkaiah Naidu releases a monograph of 'Musical Excellence of Mridangam' in Chennai

• Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu has released the monograph, the Musical Excellence of Mridangam, at a function in Chennai. • According to Mr. Naidu, science has the responsibility to add values to ancient musical traditions like Mridangam and to preserve and protect the nation's cultural heritage. • Mridangam is an instrument made with ordinary and locally available materials but exhibits enormous musical beauty. • The book was authored by mridangam maestro and Padma Vibhushan awardee Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman and former scientists T. Ramasami (former Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology) and M.D. Naresh.

12. India decided not to be part of the RCEP agreement

• India (the sixth FTA partner) has decided not to be part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement in the national interest. • Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced during his speech at the RCEP Summit in Bangkok. • According to Mr Modi, the present form of the agreement does not fully reflect the basic spirit and the agreed guiding principles. • A balanced trade deficit, better market access of the Indian goods and services and protection of the industries from the unfair trade practices were the key demands of India.

Note:

• The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and its six FTA partners (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand).

13. Punjab Assembly holds a special session to commemorate 550th Prakash Purab of Guru Nanak Dev Ji

• Punjab Assembly is holding a Special Session to commemorate the 550th Prakash Purab of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. • Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh are among the main dignitaries attending the session. • The Vice President addressed the house on the philosophy of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

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• Yesterday, President Ram Nath Kovind attended Gurbani Gayan at Rashtrapati Bhavan to mark the concluding event of year-long celebrations of 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

Note:

• Guru Nanak was the founder of the Sikh religion and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. • His words are registered in the form of 974 poetic hymns in the holy text of Sikhism.

14. US-Bangladesh Navy exercise CARAT-2019 begins in Bangladesh

• The second phase of the biggest US- Bangladesh Navy exercise 'Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT)- 2019' started in Chattogram (till 7th November 2019). • CARAT is one of the U.S. Navy’s longest continually running exercise in South Asia and Southeast Asia. • Assistant chief of naval staff (operations) Bangladesh Navy rear admiral M Makbul Hossain was present as the chief guest in the opening ceremony. • The exercise provides an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the operational activities of the Navies of two countries and to get acquainted with advanced technology through various theoretical and practical training.

15. Barty became first Australian to top WTA rankings

• Ashleigh Barty finished the season in style by beating defending champion Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-3 to add the WTA Finals title. • Now, Barty, became the first Australian to top the WTA rankings at the end of the year since they were introduced in 1975. • With this win, Barty rose to the No. 1 ranking in the game becoming the first Australian to hold the year-end top spot.

16. The two-day ‘BIMSTEC Conclave’ begins in Visakhapatnam

• Union Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh L. Mandaviya has inaugurated the two-day BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal initiative multi-sector technical and economic cooperation) Conclave at Visakhapatnam. • Vizag port trust is hosting the conclave first time ever since the formation of BIMSTECH in 1997. • Seven-member countries that include Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan are participating in the conference. • The thrust would be to discuss and share experiences in increasing productivity, availing investment opportunities, development of free trade zones, development of tourism and measures required for safety and security. • Ease of doing business, sharing of expertise, and emulation of best practices would be few among the deliberations.

17. MoS Sanjay Dhotre launches ‘Shala Darpan portal’ for Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti

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• Sanjay Dhotre (Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development) has launched the Shala Darpan Portal of Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti. • Shala Darpan provides an integrated platform to meet the educational and administrative needs of all stakeholders-students, teachers and parents. • This will integrate all Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas with a common standard which includes around 636 schools and 2.67 million students. • This single integrated platform has been developed for information sharing and knowledge dissemination for the 22,000 employees and over 2 lakh students across schools and offices of Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti. • The major components include integrated content management portal which consists of 636 websites of Navodaya schools across the country. • It will contain information relating to the service record, transfer/posting, disciplinary action, ACR tracking and the portal will improve mess management and hostel conditions.

Note:

• The Navodaya Vidyalayas are co-educational residential schools established by the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti which is an autonomous organization under MHRD to provide quality modern education.

18. Lucknow Railway Station installs 'Health ATMs'

• The Indian Railways has installed two ‘Health ATMs’ at the Charbagh railway station in Lucknow. • The kiosks, promoted by YOLO Health ATM, provide 16 health check-ups for Rs 50- 100. • There are two types of check-ups a 9-minute one that costs Rs 100, and a 6-minute one that costs Rs 50. • The report is delivered instantly to the email or smartphone of the user. • The check-ups include body mass index, blood pressure, body fat, haemoglobin, metabolic age, muscle mass, weight, height, temperature, muscle mass, basal metabolic rating, visceral fat, oxygen saturation, pulse rate, blood glucose, and bone mass.

19. Serbia’s Sara Damnjanovic wins “Miss Asia Global title 2019”

• Serbia’s Sara Damnjanovic has been crowned ‘Miss Asia Global 2019’ (5th Edition) at Gokulam Convention centre in Kochi, Kerala. • Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Yen Trang was crowned 'Miss Asia', while Samiksha Singh (India) won the sub-title of 'Miss Beautiful Face'. • Miss Asia Global aims to find the most beautiful and talented women from all over the globe. • Asia Global is one of the three beauty pageant contests in India which doesn't have a bikini and other similar rounds. • The ‘Miss Asia Global Title 2020’ will be held in Malaysia.

20. China launches Sudan’s first-ever satellite “SRSS-1”

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• Sudan’s first-ever satellite for conducting research in military, economic and space technology has been launched by China. • The satellite (Sudan’s remote-sensing satellite – ‘SRSS-1’) was launched aboard China’s Long March-4B rocket along with other Chinese satellites including Gaofen 7, Xiaoxiang-1 08, Whampoa 1 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China. • Sudan’s remote-sensing satellite (SRSS-1), was developed by the Shenzhen Aerospace Oriental Red Sea Satellite Co. • The Sudanese satellite has been mainly designed for civil and military remote sensing over Sudan. • The remote-sensing satellite aims to advance research in space technology. Its main objective is to acquire the required data as well as discover natural resources for the country’s military needs. • The satellite aims to generate a comprehensive, cost-effective and reliable database on the topographic, mapping and natural resources of Sudan.

21. Nawazuddin Siddiqui to be honoured with Asian Film Talent Award at SIFF

• Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui will be honoured by Lesley Ho Asian Film Talent Award at the Singapore International Film Festival (SIFF). • He will be awarded for his Netflix's Emmy-nominated original series Sacred Games. • Earlier, Nawazuddin Siddiqui was honoured by the Golden Dragon Award at the Cardiff International Film Festival for his excellence in cinema in the International market.

Note:

• The Lesley Ho Asian Film Talent Award is one of the most honourable awards on the global platform.

22. Rohit Sharma becomes 1st Indian male cricketer to play 100 T20I

• Rohit Sharma (Stand-in skipper) became the first Indian man and second in world cricket to complete 100 T-20 Internationals. • He reached the milestone when he led the team in the second match against Bangladesh at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium. • Shoaib Malik with 111 games from Pakistan is the only player to have played more than 100 T20 Internationals. • Rohit is currently the top-scorer in this format with 2452 runs with regular skipper Virat Kohli second in the list with an aggregate of 2450 runs. • Rohit has scored the runs at a strike-rate of 136.67 with four hundred and 17 half- centuries.