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NATIONAL AFFAIRS  Swachhta Pakhwada of Ministry in Civil Aviation, Government of : Pawan Hans Ltd, Airports Authority of India and Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi awarded the 3 best performing organizations  Swachhta Pakhwada observed by Ministry of Civil Aviation to highlight the importance of cleanliness to all the employees by citing the example of Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.  Shri Rajiv Nayan Choubey, Secretary (Civil Aviation) inaugurated the event and requested the employees to maintain cleanliness around their workstations.  The event was concluded on 15th November 2018.  Ministry of Civil Aviation plans to introduce 15 helipads across the country  Ministry of Civil Aviation plans to introduce 15 helipads across the country to improve tourism prospects.  Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said that the helipads will be established in hilly areas to explore the tourist potential in the north and north-eastern parts of the country.  While addressing at STEP conclave organized by Prabudha Bharat in Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Belagavi.  He also said that the government was committed to improving air connectivity at tier-II cities, including Belagavi.  The government was also contemplating opening three airports in the State for international destinations.  India to host G20 summit in 2022  India is to host the annual G20 summit in 2022 as it will be celebrating its 75th anniversary of Independence.  This will be India’s first time to host the G20 summit.  The announcement was made by Prime Minister at the closing ceremony of the 13th G20 summit in the Argentinian capital on 1st December 2018.  The Prime Minister thanked for allowing India to play the host as it was to host the summit in 2022.  Union Government launches Bhasha Sangam to introduce school students to 22 Indian languages  The Government launched ‘Bhasha Sangam’, a unique initiative to introduce school students to 22 Indian languages.  Bhasha Sangam launched under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.  It is a programme for schools and educational institutions to offer multilingual exposure to students in Indian languages.  The main aim is to improve linguistic tolerance and respect and promote national integration.  DAIC And JNU Sign MoU To Facilitate Research Activities & Policy Formulation  Dr. Ambedkar International Centre (DAIC), 15 Janpath, New Delhi, and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate and enhance research activities and policy formulation aimed at Socio-economic Transformation and Sustainable Development.  15th Global SME Business Summit in New Delhi  The 15th edition of a two day Global SME Business Summit was organised by the Ministry of MSME and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with Government e-marketplace in New Delhi. The theme of the event was ‘Building Partnerships through Global Value Chains.’  The agenda of the summit was to bring together renowned speakers with unbounded experience and expertise, a global audience, and various national and international SME stakeholders to integrate Indian MSMEs into the Global Value Chains (GVCs).  National Medical Devices Promotion Council To Be Set Up Under DIPP  To give a fillip to the medical device sector, which is a sunrise sector, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, announced setting up of a National Medical Devices Promotion Council under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.  The Council will be headed by Secretary, DIPP. The announcement was made at the occasion of the 4th WHO Global Forum on Medical Devices, at Andhra Pradesh Medtech Zone, in Vishakhapatnam.  CRZ approved the construction of Pulicat bridge  Expert Appraisal Committee of the Ministry of Environment approved a proposal by the Highways Department for the construction of the bridge for the people of Pasiyavaram island on Pulicat Lake to the mainland.  The committee, while granting Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance for the bridge, with a width of 7.5 m to meet the IRC requirements, and costing Rs. 18.2 crore, noted that it was informed that the Pulicat Sanctuary Eco- Sensitive Zone (ESZ), that starts from the inter-state boundary of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, is about 2 km away from the proposed bridge site.  DU has been ranked A+ in the NAAC review  Delhi University has been ranked A+ in the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) review held in the last week of October.  The grading provided by the council is crucial for funds and grants allotted to a university by the University Grants Commission (UGC).  The grading provided by the council is crucial for funds and grants allotted to a varsity by UGC.

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 Last year, the Jawaharlal Nehru University was ranked A++ in the NAAC review. DU got a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.28. The CGPA for A++ accreditation is between 3.51 to 4.  First Global Aviation Summit to be held in  Supported by ICAO, IATA, ACI and CANSO, the 1st Global Aviation Summit will be held on January 15 and 16, 2019 at The Grand Hyatt in Mumbai.  It aims to focus on the celebration of 'Flying for All' and to provide a platform to the aviation fraternity to highlight the challenges of the sector in the newly-developing growth spots.  India To Chair Kimberley Process From January 2019  The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) Plenary 2018, was held in Brussels, , in November 2018.  EU handed over the Chairmanship of KPCS to India from 1st January 2019.  This year was the fifteenth anniversary of KPCS.  Four Indian-Origin Women In Forbes US Top 50 Females In Tech  Four Indian-origin technology executives have made it to the Forbes’ list of America’s 50 women in technology space in 2018.  The list includes Neha Narkhede, chief technology officer and co-founder of streaming platform Confluent; Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan, CEO, and founder of identity-management company Drawbridge; Padmasree Warrior, former chief technology officer (CTO) of Cisco, and Komal Mangtani, senior director at Uber.  Centre proposes ban on use of animals in circuses, performances  The Centre has proposed a prohibition on the use of all animals for performances, exhibition at any circus or mobile entertainment facilitiesand has invited comments from various stakeholders on the issue within 30 days.  Though the ministry had banned the use of lions, tigers, panthers, monkeys, bears and bulls in 2011 as part of its species-specific rules, the new draft will now be applicable for all animals across the country.  SC rejected the fresh plea against Article 370  The Supreme Court (SC) declined to look at the fresh petition challenging Article 370, which gives special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir.  Another pending writ petition is by NGO ‘We the Citizens’. This petition challenged the validity of both Article 35A and Article 370.  It argues that four representatives from Kashmir were part of the Constituent Assembly involved in the drafting of the Constitution and the State of Jammu and Kashmir was never accorded any special status in the Constitution. Article 370 was only a ‘temporary provision’ to help bring normalcy.  The Constitution makers did not intend Article 370 to be a tool to bring permanent amendments, like Article 35A, in the Constitution.  The petition said Article 35A is against the “very spirit of oneness of India”. Restricting citizens from other States from getting employment or buying property in J&K is a violation of their fundamental rights.  PM Modi to be invited to Pakistan for SAARC summit  Pakistan’s Foreign Office Spokesman Mohammad Faisal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to be invited to Pakistan for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit.  SAARC Summits are usually held biennially hosted by a member state in alphabetical order.  The member state hosting the summit assumes the Chair of the Association.  The summit 2018 was called off after , Bhutan and Afghanistan also declined to participate in the Islamabad meet.  The Maldives and are the seventh and eighth members of the initiative.  Centre approves release of Rs 353 crore to Tamil Nadu as relief  The Centre has approved the release of Rs 353.70 crore to Tamil Nadu as assistance for the damage caused by Cyclone Gaja on November 15 and 16, during which 12 districts of the state were severely affected.  Further, assistance will be provided from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), based on the final report of the Inter-ministerial Central Team (IMCT).  Govt forms6-member panel to look at selling 149 fields of ONGC, OIL to private companies  The panel is headed by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar and includes Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, Oil Secretary M M Kutty, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and ONGC Chairman and Managing Director Shashi Shanker.  The fields will be sold to private companies to boost domestic output.  The government gave out 34 fields to private firms by offering them pricing and marketing freedom for oil and gas they produced from the fields in the first round of Discovered Small Field (DSF).  The second round of DSF with 25 fields on offer is currently under bidding.  Akshay Kumar becomes first Honorary Ambassador of Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial Foundation  Actor Akshay Kumar has been known to be a vocal supporter of the Indian Armed Forces (jawan) as well as the farmer (kisan) community. Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial Foundation is the social organisation founded by the

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family of India’s second Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri. Lal Bahadur Shastri gave the motto of ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’.  National Common Mobility Card (NCMC):  NCMC is an interoperable transport card conceived by the Ministry of Urban Development of the .  The Urban Development Ministry brought in the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) with the task of management, clearing, and settlement of payments, simulating cards and terminals and maintenance of the network.  Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) is given the responsibility of developing standards and hardware for the card usage and the related ecosystems.  Cabinet approves PM-AASHA scheme to protect farmers’ income  The Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi approved Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM- AASHA) to protect income of farmers growing pulses, oilseeds and copra. It will be a mix of sub-schemes involving direct procurement from farmers, involvement of private players for procurement on a pilot basis, and paying farmers the difference between the MSP and the selling price.  India ranks 3rd globally in family-owned businesses: Report  India ranks third globally in terms of number of family-owned businesses with 111 companies having a total market capitalisation of $839 billion, according to a Credit Suisse report. India followed (159 companies) and the US (121 companies). Indian family-owned companies generated 13.9% annual average share price return since 2006, compared to 6% by non-family owned peers.  India Water Impact Summit-2018 Held In New Delhi  Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated India Water Impact Summit 2018, being jointly organized by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga) in New Delhi.  The India Water Impact Summit is an annual event where stakeholders get together to discuss, debate and develop model solutions for some of the biggest water related problems in the country.  The discussions this year will be on rejuvenation of the Ganga River Basin. The spotlight is on the 5 states, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, and Bihar.  India moves up one spot to 130 in UN Human Development Index  India has climbed up one spot to rank 130 out of 189 countries in the latest Human Development Index (HDI) released by the United Nations Development Programme. India’s HDI value for 2017 is 0.640, putting the country in the medium human development category. Between 1990 and 2017, India’s HDI value rose from 0.427 to 0.640, an increase of nearly 50%.  Kolkata-Patna Becomes India’s Second Container Cargo Sector On Inland Waterways  Kolkata-Patna is India’s new Inland Water Transport (IWT) origin-destination pair for containerised cargo movement on the National Waterway-1.  The Ministry of Shipping is developing NW-1 (River Ganga) under Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) from Haldia to Varanasi (1390 Km) with the technical and financial assistance of the World Bank at an estimated cost of Rs 5369 crore.  ‘SHOUT’ Feature Introduced In The ‘112 India’ Mobile App  Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced a pan-India single-number emergency mobile app ‘112 India’ and stated that it will have a special women safety feature ‘SHOUT’ to get immediate assistance from police and volunteers. It is connected to the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS).  Under the ERSS project, people will be able to receive immediate assistance from police, health and fire departments as well as from other agencies using a pan-India single emergency number 112.  Cabinet approves death penalty for ‘sexual crimes’ against minors  The Union Cabinet has approved amendments to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, including the provision for death penalty for “committing aggravated penetrative sexual assault crime” on children. “The amendment is expected to discourage the trend of child sexual abuse…due to strong penal provisions incorporated in the Act,” the government said.  India’s first music museum to be set up in Thiruvaiyaru  The country’s first music museum will be set up with assistance from the Central government in Thiruvaiyaru, Tamil Nadu, the birth place of Saint Tyagaraja, one of the Trinities of Carnatic music. The other two of the Trinity are Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri. The Tyagaraja Aaradhana Music Festival which is held annually in January in Thiruvaiyaru attracts musical talents from all over the world.  PM Modi Renames 3 Islands of Andaman & Nicobar  Prime Minister Narendra Modi unfurled 150-feet tall tricolor to mark Netaji’s hoisting of the national flag 75 years ago in Port Blair. The three renamed islands of Andaman and Nicobar are: 1. Ross renamed as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep

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2. Neil renamed as Shaheed Dweep 3. Havelock renamed as Swaraj Dweep.  To connect the islands with mainstream development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Lakshwadweep, Andaman & Nicobar industrial development policy. The Prime Minister also released a commemorative stamp, its first-day cover and a Rs. 75 coin on this special day.  12th Annual ISDSI Conference Held in Mumbai  SPJIMR hosted the 12th Annual Indian Subcontinent Decision Sciences Institute (ISDSI) Conference at SPJIMR, Mumbai. The theme of this international conference is “Data-Driven Decision Making in the Digital Age”.  The main objective of this conference is to provide a platform for academicians, researchers and practitioners to disseminate research, providing insights into the challenges, opportunities, emerging strategies and analytical tools in the domain of decision making.  41st Meeting of Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee Held in New Delhi  The 41st meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee was held in New Delhi. In the meeting, the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has approved the construction of another 3,10,597 more affordable houses for the benefit of urban poor under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).  A total of 864 projects with a project cost of Rs 14,662 crore with central assistance of Rs 4,658 crore has been approved in the meeting held under the Chairmanship of Durga Shankar Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Uttar Pradesh has been sanctioned 1,08,135 houses while the sanction for is 1,05,502 affordable houses.  Mobile App For Global Aviation Summit 2019 Launched  Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha launched an official mobile application for Global Aviation Summit 2019. The Global Aviation Summit (GAS) 2019 is scheduled to be held in January 2019 in Mumbai.  The application was launched in the presence of R.N. Choubey, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra, Chairman, Airports Authority of India (AAI), Dr. Shefali Juneja, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, and other officials of AAI.  Climate Change Performance Index 2018: India Ranks 11th, Tops  The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2018 was released on the sidelines of a UN summit on global warming. As per the Index, Sweden has topped the list while India was on 11th position.  The European Union as a whole rose from 21st to 16th place, but its biggest economy, , fell from 22nd to 27th because of its reliance on lignite coal, a big source of greenhouse gas emissions. Saudi Arabia came last, in 60th place, partly due to its obstructive role during international climate negotiations.  FAA Retains Highest Aviation Safety Ranking For India  The US regulator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has retained the highest aviation safety ranking for India. The Federal Aviation Administration carried out an audit of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in July 2018.  FAA formally confirmed that India’s International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) rating remains ‘Category 1’.  India’s Largest Cancer Institute Launched At AIIMS’ Jhajjar Campus  India’s largest cancer institute, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has been soft launched at Haryana’s Jhajjar area. The institute was finalised at a cost of Rs 2,035 crore and the project was approved by the cabinet committee in 2013.  The aim is to strengthen research and also bring down the patient load at All India Institute of Medical Sciences’ (AIIMS) cancer centre. The hospital will be fully functional by December 2020.  WEF Gender Gap Index 2018: Tops, India Ranks 108th  India has been ranked 108th in World Economic Forum (WEF) gender gap index 2018, same as 2017 while recording improvement in wage equality for similar work and fully closing its tertiary education gender gap for the first time.  As per the WEF’s Global Gender Gap Report 2018, Iceland topped the list having closed more than 85.8% of its overall gender gap. The Report was published for total 149 countries. and Sweden were on 2nd and 3rd position, respectively.  PM To Inaugurate India’s Longest Rail-Road Bridge: Bogibeel Bridge  Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Bogibeel Bridge, on December 25. It is India’s longest rail-road bridge, connecting the north and south banks of the Brahmaputra, falling in the eastern part of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.  The bridge is 4.94 km long. While former prime minister HD Deve Gowda laid the foundation stone for the Bogibeel bridge in January 1997, the work started only in April 2002 when former PM inaugurated the construction.  NITI Aayog Organises 3rd Edition of Women Transforming India Awards:  The NITI Aayog organised the 3rd Edition of the Women Transforming India Awards 2018 and launched the upgraded portal of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP).

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 The Vice , M. Venkaiah Naidu presided over as the chief guest of the event where he launched the WEP Portal 2.0 and conferred WTI Awards 2018. This year’s theme is “Women and Entrepreneurship”.  Vadodara: Goyal, Rupani dedicate India’s First Railway University to nation  Indian Railways opened the doors of India’s first railway university in Vadodara, Gujarat. Dedicated to the nation by Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal, it is the first of its kind institution in the nation and the third in the world after and China.  Named the Rail and Transportation Institution (NRTI), this deemed university will offer professional courses in technology and management of transportation networks.  13th Edition Of CII Agro Tech India – 2018 Inaugurated in Chandigarh  The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the 13th edition of CII Agro Tech India-2018 in Chandigarh.  Speaking on the occasion, the President stated that Indian agriculture needs a renewal of its marriage with contemporary technology; protection against climate change, price fluctuations and demand shocks; and sustained investment by and partnership with business.  PM Narendra Modi Inaugurates 4th Partners’ Forum in New Delhi  Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the fourth Partners’ Forum in New Delhi. The objective of the conference is to improve knowledge, alignment and accountability to accelerate action on women’s, children’s and adolescents health.  Ministry of Health in association with the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, PMNCH is hosting the two-day international conference.  Portal ENSURE Launched by Agriculture Ministry  Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Radha Mohan Singh launched a portal ‘ENSURE’- National Livestock Mission-EDEG developed by NABARD and operated under the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries.  The NABARD has developed an online portal “ENSURE” (ensure.nabard.org) so that the information related to beneficiary and processing of the application can be made readily available.  Home Ministry Launches Twitter Account ‘@CyberDost’  Home Ministry has launched a Twitter account named ‘@CyberDost’ to spread awareness about cybercrimes and normal precautions to be taken.  The Twitter handles is aimed at enhancing people’s basic knowledge about cybercrimes and precautions to be taken for prevention.  EU Ambassador Opens India’s 1st CoE at MAHE  India’s first Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence established by the European Union was inaugurated at the Department of European Studies (DES) at Manipal Academy of Higher Education in New Delhi by Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to India and Bhutan, Tomasz Kozlowski.  The award comes with a grant of €1,00,000 to pursue India-EU interdisciplinary studies in culture, literature, education and society.  69th Constitution Day observed across India  The 69th Constitution Day was observed across India on November 26, 2018 to mark the adoption of the Indian Constitution by the Constituent Assembly.  The Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949 and it came into force on January 26, 1950.  The Constitution of India is a supreme law of India, which lays down the framework that defines the political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers and duties of Government institution.  Dr BR Ambedkar is regarded as the father of the Indian Constitution.  Centre to set up 5,000 Compressed Bio Gas plants  The Centre has planned to set up 5,000 Compressed Bio Gas plants in the country in the next four years with an investment of around one lakh 75 thousand crore rupees.  Monsoon 2018 ends with 9% below normal rains  The Monsoon season has come to an end with a below normal showing this year as the country recorded a nine per cent deficit in rainfall. Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and northeastern states recorded the maximum deficiency.  Nation pays homage to the former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri on his birth anniversary  The Nation also pays homage to the former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his birth anniversary. Shastri gave the powerful slogan of Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan to enthuse soldiers and farmers.  Inauguration of Multimedia Exhibition  Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Information & Broadcasting and Sports & Youth Affairs Col.  Rajyavardhan Rathore (Retd.) inaugurated Multimedia Exhibition on 150 years of Celebrating Mahatma Gandhi’s Birth Anniversary.

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 Cabinet hikes MSP of Rabi crops  Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA, has increased the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all Rabi crops for the current financial year which will be marketed in 2019-20 season.  The MSP of wheat – raised by 105 rupees per quintal, Safflower – 845 rupees per quintal, Barley – 30 rupees a quintal, Masur – 225 per quintal, Gram – 220 per quintal and rapeseed & mustard – 200 rupees per quintal.  PM to unveil Deenbandhu Sir Chhotu Ram statue  Prime Minister Narendra Modi to unveil a statue of Deenbandhu Sir Chhotu Ram at Sampla in Rohtak.  Online Assurances Monitoring System(OAMS) inauguration  Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Statistics & Programme Implementation, Shri Vijay Goel, inaugurated the Online Assurances Monitoring System(OAMS), developed by the Union Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.  Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution  The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi attended and delivered an address at the event to mark the launch of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.  Silver Jubilee celebrations of NHRC  The three-day Silver Jubilee celebrations of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) begin to mark the occasion.  The Commission is completing 25 years of its existence with its 26th Foundation Day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the Silver Jubilee Foundation Day of the Commission in New Delhi.  Mission to sequence genes of Indians  India is planning a major mission to sequence the genes of a “large” group of Indians to improve health as well as buck a global trend of designing ‘personalised medicine.’ The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Department of Biotechnology would be closely associated with the project.  Inauguration the hi-tech Central Warehouse  Union Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Shri Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the hi-tech Central Warehouse, setup by the Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) in Bilaspur, Gurugram.  Two-day Agri-startup and Entrepreneurship inauguration  On the occasion of World Food Day, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh inaugurated a two-day Agri-startup and Entrepreneurship in New Delhi.  Theme – Unleashing potentials in agriculture for young agri-preneurs.  NITI Aayog launches guidelines for Public-Private partnership in NCDs  NITI Aayog launched the model guidelines for Public – Private partnership in Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). As per the guidelines, the private partner will invest in upgrading, building and deploying human resources.  75th anniversary of Azad Hind government  Prime Minister Narendra Modi will join a flag-hoisting ceremony at Red Fort on 21.10.2018 to mark the 75th anniversary of the Azad Hind government constituted by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.  Two day Children’s Film Bonanza  In Arunachal Pradesh, the two day Children’s Film Bonanza begins in Naharlagun. Internationally acclaimed film Gauru will be screened during the two day event.  The film festival is being organized by the Children’s Film Society, India, in collaboration with Arunachal Pradesh Information and Public Relation Department.  Supreme Court bans 15-year-old petrol & 10-year-old diesel vehicles in NCR to curb pollution  The Supreme Court has prohibited the plying of 15-year-old petrol and 10-year-old diesel vehicles in the national capital region due to the prevailing pollution situation.  The Apex court made it clear that such vehicles would be impounded if found on the roads in Delhi-NCR. INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

 World Bank unveils USD 200 billion in climate action investment for 2021-25  World Bank unveiled USD 200 billion in climate action investment for 2021-25, adding this amounts to a doubling of its current five-year funding.  The move coincides with a UN climate summit in Katowice ().  The breakdown of 200 billion dollars would comprise approximately 100 billion in direct finance from the World Bank. Around one-third of the remaining funding will come from two World Bank Group agencies with the rest private capital mobilized by the World Bank Group.  UNESCO along with World Jewish congress launched Holocaust education website  The U.N. culture and education agency has teamed up with the World Jewish Congress and launched “Facts about the Holocaust” site at the cultural agency’s headquarters.

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 It is a website to counter Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism.  The site features a trove of historical information about the Holocaust, including testimonies and it is linked to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Online Holocaust Encyclopedia.  This move is to combat the increased hate and disinformation online on Jewish issues.  Anti-semitism: Anti-semitism is hostility to, prejudice, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an anti-semite. ○ Anti-semitism is generally considered to be a form of racism.  Become 1st Country To Recognise ‘Orphanage Trafficking’ As Slavery  Australia has become the first country in the world to recognise ‘orphanage trafficking’ as a form of modern slavery. Children from smaller countries are recruited in orphanages in the West for the purpose of profit through foreign aid.  According to the US State Department, “many orphanages use the children to raise funds by forcing them to perform shows for or interact and play with potential donors to encourage more donations”. As per estimates, 80% of children living in the world’s orphanages have at least one living parent.  Russia Emerges As World’s No. 2 Arms Producer: SIPRI Report  A Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) announced that Russia has emerged as the world’s second-largest arms producer after the . Russia surpassed Britain, which had held that spot since 2002 and remains Western Europe’s No. 1 arms maker.  SIPRI announced in its annual report on the world’s 100 biggest armaments groups that the combined arms sales of Russian companies amounted to $37.7 billion in 2017, an 8.5 percent rise from a year earlier. Russia’s sales accounted for 9.5 percent of a worldwide total of $398.2 billion.  Becomes Permanent Member of Financial Action Task Force  Israel became a full member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international body set up to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other threats to the international financial system.  The Jewish state has now taken its place alongside 37 other members including most of the G20, the world’s 20 leading industrialized and emerging economies just 16 years after being blacklisted by the organization.  To Become First Country To Make Public Transport Free  Luxembourg is set to become the first country in the world to make all public transport free, implementing the move in 2020.  The move is aimed at addressing environmental issues and the problem of traffic congestion. Earlier, Luxembourg introduced free transport for all people under the age of 20.  South African President To be Chief Guest At Republic Day Celebrations 2019  South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will be the Chief Guest at the 2019 Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi. The announcement was made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  Germany launches world’s first hydrogen-powered train  Germany launched the world’s first zero-emission hydrogen trains which will run on a 100-kilometre stretch. Built by French rail transport company Alstom, the trains are equipped with fuel cells that produce electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen, leaving water and steam as the only emissions. The trains can travel up to 1,000 kilometres on a single hydrogen tank.  World’s 1st Floating Nuclear Plant Operational In Russia  Akademik Lomonosov, the world’s first “floating” nuclear power plant (FNPP) for installation in remote areas, has been started and brought to 10% of its capacity, Russian state-run atomic energy corporation Rosatom announced.  An FNPP is basically a mobile, low-capacity reactor unit operable in remote areas isolated from the main power distribution system, or in places hard to access by land.  Asia Pacific Summit-2018 Begins in Kathmandu  The Asia Pacific Summit-2018 began in Kathmandu, the capital of . The theme of two-day Summit is “Addressing the Critical Challenges of Our Time: Interdependence, Mutual Prosperity, and Universal Values”.  Around 1500 participants from 45 countries, including India, attending the summit. They will discuss various global issues, including peace, development, good governance and role of parliamentarians, climate change and role of media.  Katowice Climate Change Conference 2018 Held in Poland  The UN climate summits, i.e. so called COP (Conference of the Parties) are global conferences, in the course of which action for climate policy is negotiated. The Climate Change Conference 2018 was held in Katowice, Poland.  For the first time, the climate summit took place in Katowice. This year’s summit included: 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24), 14th Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 14) and the 1st Conference of Signatories to the Paris Agreement (CMA 1).  Sheikh Hasina Wins 3rd Consecutive Term As PM of Bangladesh  Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s alliance won Bangladesh’s election with a thumping majority, the country’s Election Commission announced. It gave her a third straight term following a vote that the opposition rejected as rigged.

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 The win consolidated Hasina’s decade-long rule over Bangladesh. The alliance dominated by her Awami League won 287 of the 298 seats.  World’s Oldest known Plant Virus Named Zea Mays Chrysovirus 1 (ZMCV1) Discovered:  World’s oldest plant virus dating back 1,000 years named Zea mays chrysovirus 1(ZMCV1) has been discovered by scientist at a Native American archeological site.The previous oldest was found about 750 years ago.  This new plant virus has discovered when research team examined ancient plant material from Antelope House, an Ancestral Puebloan ruin located at Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona.  Using carbon 14 dating, researchers confirmed that the age of the ancient samples was about 1,000 years old.  Qatar to pull out from OPEC  Qatar is to leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in January 2019 in order to focus on gas production.  Qatar has been a member of OPECsince 1961, and the decision to pull out after all these decades comes at a turbulent time in Gulf politics, with Doha under a boycott by former neighboring allies, including Saudi Arabia, for 18 months.  Qatar is the world's biggest supplier of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), producing almost 30 percent of the world total.  The decision to increase the supply of natural gas is to develop a future strategy based on growth and expansion, both in its activities at home and abroad.  IOC sets up human rights advisory committee starting in 2024  The International Olympic Committee IOC has set up an advisory committee on human rights chaired by Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the former United Nations commissioner for human rights starting in 2024.  President Thomas Bach said Saturday at meetings in the Japanese capital that “human rights standards” will be included in Olympic host-city contracts beginning with the 2024 Olympic in Paris.  Bach suggested the committee would focus on issues like the rights of transgender athletes.  Bach was asked if the committee would look at human rights in China, where the ruling Communist Party has been criticized for the internment of hundreds of thousands of Muslims in western China.  is the host of the 2022 Winter Olympics and spent USD 40 billion.  India releases commemorative stamps in to mark Gandhi Jayanti  The Indian embassy in the Netherlands released commemorative stamps in honour of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary.  Dubai's Burj Khalifa pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi  Pictures of Mahatma Gandhi and his messages were beamed on Dubai's Burj Khalifa to mark his birth anniversary.  Indian embassies had arranged LED projections highlighting Mahatma Gandhi's life and philosophy at over 120 locations globally.  India launches relief operation for tsunami-hit  India has launched a massive operation to provide assistance to the earthquake and tsunami victims in Indonesia, dispatching two aircraft and three naval ships carrying relief material to the country.  Operation Samudra Maitri for humanitarian assistance was launched on October 1, and following Indonesia’s acceptance of international aid.  World’s first full-sized Hyperloop capsule unveiled in  The world’s first full-sized Hyperloop passenger capsule “Quintero One” has been unveiled in Spain giving those in attendance a glimpse of the future.  California based company Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (Hyperloop TT) revealed the slimline capsule, which can reach speeds of 1,220 kilometres per hour.  Rabindranath Tagore Memorial Auditorium dedicated to people in Sri Lanka  The Rabindranath Tagore Memorial Auditorium built with Indian grant assistance of Rs. 300 million at the University of Ruhuna, Matara in the Southern Province, was dedicated to the people of Sri Lanka.  The auditorium named after Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore is a symbol of cultural links with India.  Japanese Passport Named World's Most Powerful, India 81st  's passport has been named the most powerful in the world, overtaking , according to the Henley Passport Index 2018.  Scientists from US develop world’s first bioelectronics medicine  Scientists from US claimed that they have developed world’s first bioelectronic medicine which is implantable, biodegradable wireless device that speeds nerve regeneration and improves healing of damaged nerve.  to abolish the death penalty for all crimes  Malaysia’s Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has agreed to abolish death penalty for all crimes and halt pending executions.  Stanford University of California named World’s Most Innovative University: Reuters  Stanford University was named as World’s Most Innovative University by Reuters news agency rankings.

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 No Indian was able to make it to the list. The Reuters’ top 100 World’s Most Innovative University ranking recognizes universities from across the world for their work in inventing new technologies, advance science and power new markets and industries.  It was first published in 2015, since then there has been no mention of any Indian university in the list.  Germany and the UK, with support from the World Bank, new GRiF  The governments of Germany and the UK, with support from the World Bank, are establishing a new Global Risk Financing Facility (GRiF) to pilot and scale up support to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable countries to climate and disaster shocks.  After , becomes second country to legalises use of cannabis  Canada has legalised the possession and use of recreational cannabis. After Uruguay, it has become the second country and the largest country to do so.  India to set up special desk to facilitate investments from UAE  India will soon set up a special UAE desk to facilitate investments and resolve any business issues between the two nations.  announced gender balanced cabinets with 50 percent women  Rwanda, the East African nation, announced gender-balanced Cabinets with 50% women. It said that women now make up half of the slimmed-down, 26-seat Cabinet.  A higher number of women in decision-making roles might lead to a decrease in gender discrimination and gender- based crimes.  Inter-Parliamentary Union and UN Women said that Rwanda joins a handful of countries, mostly European, where women make up 50% or more of ministerial positions.  World’s longest sea bridge between China- to open on October 24  The world’s longest sea bridge Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge will be thrown open for traffic on October 24.  hit by world’s strongest storm this year  Super Typhoon Mangkhut, the world’s strongest storm this year, hit the northern coast of the Philippines, bringing winds of up to 200 kmph and heavy rains. At least 12 people have died in the storm. Typhoon Mangkhut is heading west into the South China Sea, towards Hong Kong and southern China.  UAE Passport Ranked Most Powerful Globally: Arton Capital  The UAE now has the world’s most powerful passport, achieving the top ranking in an achievement hailed as a tribute to the legacy of the Founding Father, Sheikh Zayed, and the country’s diplomacy.  The index, compiled by Arton Capital, ranks national passports based on the number of countries a holder can enter without a visa or by obtaining one on arrival. India was ranked 140th in the list.  Top 3 countries on INDIVIDUAL PASSPORT POWER RANK are: 1. The UAE 2. Singapore 3. Germany  China has successfully tested the world's largest unmanned transport drone "Feihong-98 (FH-98)  China has successfully tested the world's largest unmanned transport drone "Feihong-98 (FH-98)", which can carry a payload of 1.5 tonnes, at Baotou test site in North China's Inner autonomous region.  China is in the process of creating an "artificial moon"  China is in the process of creating an "artificial moon" that would be bright enough to replace the streetlights in the south-western city of Chengdu by 2020.  Chinese-made world’s largest amphibious aircraft completes successful flight  China‘s home-grown amphibious aircraft AG600, claimed by Beijing as the world’s largest, carried out its first takeoff and landing on waters.  World's oldest intact shipwreck found in Black Sea  An ancient Greek trading ship dating back more than 2,400 years has been found virtually intact at the bottom of the Black Sea.  Xi Jinping opens world’s longest sea bridge  Chinese President Xi Jinping inaugurated a 55-km bridge that will deepen the integration of Hong Kong and Macao with the rest of China.  Australia Become first Country To Recognise Orphanage Trafficking As Slavery  Australia becomes the first country in the world to recognize ‘orphanage trafficking’ as a form of modern slavery.  Children from smaller countries are recruited in orphanages in the West for the purpose of profit through foreign aid.  Fourth India-Mozambique Joint Commission meeting held in New Delhi  India-Mozambique Joint Commission on Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technical Cooperation held its 4th session in Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan, New Delhi.  The meeting was chaired by the External Affairs Minister of India, Sushma Swaraj, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs & Cooperation of the Republic of Mozambique, Mr. Jose Condungua Antonio Pacheco.

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 Bilateral relations between the two countries were reviewed. In 2017, India was the largest destination for Mozambican exports, which accounted for 35% of its total export revenue.  Tica-Buzi Highway funded by Indian credit-line of about 150 million US Dollars was implemented recently in Mozambique.  Modi meets Trump, Putin and May ahead of G20 summit  Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and British Prime Minister Theresa May ahead of the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires. The brief exchange of views took place before the first trilateral meeting between Mr. Modi, Mr. Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe scheduled for later in the day.  Mr. Modi had held separate bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Mr.Modi and Mr.Xi discussed joint efforts to further enhance mutual trust and friendship. Asserting that the Wuhan meeting was a milestone in India-China ties, Mr. Modi told Mr. Xi that he was looking forward to host him for an informal summit next year.  US, and Canada sign new trade deal to replace NAFTA  US President Donald Trump, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau signed the new US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) which will replace the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).  USMCA will govern over a trillion dollars worth of trade between the three countries.  The new agreement requires that 40% of cars eventually be made in countries that pay autoworkers at least $16 an hour – that is, the US and Canada and not Mexico – to qualify for duty-free treatment under the trade pact.  First global conference on Blue Economy held in , Japan and Canada co-hosted the first global conference on the sustainable blue economy in Nairobi from 26 to 28 November 2018, in an event which brought together over 4,000 participants from around the world.  It builds on the momentum of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the 2015 Climate Change Conference in Paris and the UN Ocean Conference 2017 “Call to Action”.  India, China inked protocol on hygiene & inspection requirements for exports  A protocol on hygiene and inspection requirements for the exports was signed in New Delhi during the visit of Chinese Vice Minister, General Administration of Customs of China Hu Wei who is leading a six-member delegation to India.  The move would enable India to commence export of fish meal and fish oil to China. The neighbouring country has so far not allowed these exports by India.  China imports fish oil to the tune of USD 143.29 million per year and fish meal worth USD 263.43 million.  UNESCO accepted Korean wrestling as one of the worlds most treasured cultural practices  UNESCO accepted a joint bid for Korean wrestling to be recognized as one of the world’s most treasured cultural practices. This bids a new step in their reconciliation efforts of North and .  The two Koreas had originally filed separate applications for their traditional form of wrestling to be recognized on the UN agency’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list.  The announcement is the latest in a string of symbolic gestures between and its nuclear-armed neighbor in recent months. In North Korea, it is known as Ssirum and in South Korea, it is known as Sssireum. The wrestling has been practiced at village festivals for centuries.  hikes monthly minimum wage by 150% to 660  Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro has ordered a 150% increase in the monthly minimum wage to 4,500 sovereign bolivars, worth about 660at the black market rate.  Maduro has now raised the minimum wage 25 times since he took office in 2013.  The OPEC nation is in the midst of its worst-ever economic crisis, with acute shortages of food and medicine.  China, U.S. declare 90-day halt to new tariffs  China and the United States have agreed to halt new tariffs as both nations engage in trade talks with the goal of reaching an agreement within 90 days, the White House announced after US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held high-stakes talks in G20 summit.  Mr Trump agreed not to boost tariffs on US$200 billion (S$274 billion) of Chinese goods to 25 per cent on Jan 1 as previously announced.  US has imposed tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods, and China has responded by imposing duties on $110 billion in US goods.  India, UAE to ink MoU for projects in third countries  India & UAE for the first time will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up projects in third countries beginning with during Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj's ongoing visit to the Gulf country.  This will be India's second third-country project in Africa after Delhi and during their October annual summit decided to set up a hospital in Kenya.

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 External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will also inaugurate a Gandhi-Zayed Digital Museum in Abu Dhabi to mark the celebrations of 150 years of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth and centenary celebrations of the birth of Shaikh Zayed, founder of the modern UAE.  UAE passport tops the Global Passport Power Rank 2018  As per the ratings released by Passport Index, the United Arab Emirates has topped the Global Passport Power Rank 2018, emerging as the country with the most powerful passport in world.  UAE passport holders can now fly to 113 countries without a visa, and 54 others with a visa-on-arrival.  Singapore and Germany ranks second with 166 countries.  India ranked 66th in Global Passport Power Rank 2018.  Burundi Names Gitega As New Capital  Burundi declared the small central city of Gitega the country’s new political capital, in line with a presidential promise, made a decade ago.  A government spokesman named Gitega while also stating that the previous capital Bujumbura, on the north-eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, would in future function solely as the country’s economic centre.  UN Climate Conference 2018 Held in Poland  The UN Climate Conference 2018 was held recently in Katowice, Poland. In the meeting ministers of 200 nations finally reached consensus on rules to implement the 2015 Paris climate agreement.  The Paris accord aims to limit the rise in global atmospheric temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius from pre- industrial revolution levels. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed the development.  The concerns of developing nations including India and least developed nations on funding for carbon credit were finally addressed.  World’s 1st 3D-Printed Functional e-Bike Made In Germany  German firm BigRep claims it has produced the world’s first fully functioning e-motorbike NERA using a 3D printer. According to the company, NERA has groundbreaking features like airless tires, embedded electronics, and forkless steering.  The bike was conceptualized and developed in 12 weeks and includes 15 parts, which are all 3D printed except its motor and battery. The name is derived from the slogan “New Era”.  Pakistan Cabinet Approves Issuance Of ‘Panda Bonds’ In Chinese Currency  Pakistan’s cabinet has approved the issuance of first-ever renminbi-denominated ‘Panda Bonds’ to raise loans from China’s capital markets, as the country moved a step forward to give the Chinese currency status at par with the US dollar.  The Finance Ministry did not seek the Cabinet’s nod for the size of the bond, but it expects to raise $500 million to $1 billion in various tranches. The Philippines has also raised RMB1.46 billion through renminbi-denominated bonds.  Turkmenistan Launches First Messaging App  Turkmenistan has launched its first messaging app BizBarde. The privately developed BizBarde app will allow the exchange of messages, files, photos and videos, the state Yaslyk television station announced.  One of the world’s most isolated regimes, the ex-Soviet republic has blocked Western services including Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp, and Viber, along with popular Russian networks Odnoklassniki and VKontakte.  39th Gulf Cooperation Council Summit Held In Riyadh  The 39th Gulf Cooperation Council Summit was inaugurated by the King Salman of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh. It was announced at the conclusion of the summit that the 40th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit will be held in the United Arab Emirates.  The presidency of GCC shifts among the six members based on the Arabic alphabet. Although the 39th summit was held in Riyadh upon a request from Oman, Oman will be the president for the next 12 months. STATES HIGHLIGHTS

 Single code soon for vehicle registration  The government has decided to do away with district-wise codes for registration of vehicles and introduce a single code across the State.  Artificial reefs set up to prevent beach erosion  The Chennai-headquartered National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) conducted studies on the beach erosion between Rushikonda and Gangavaram Port with World Bank funding.  India Meteorological Department (IMD) to develop a climate resilient coast and for minimising pollution of backwaters, which support a large eco-system.  North East Circuits under Swadesh Darshan Scheme  Two important North East Circuits under Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Central Tourism Ministry inaugurated in Arunachal Pradesh.

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 Arunachal Literature Festival  In Arunachal Pradesh, the first ever Arunachal Literature Festival will be held at Dorjee Khandu Convention Centre in Itanagar from November 28 to 30. The festival is being organized by the State Information and Public Relation Department.  Assam, 1st State To Launch Wage Compensation Scheme For Pregnant Women In Tea Gardens  The scheme will be launched by Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal in Guwahati. The announcement was made by the state’s Health and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Under the scheme, an amount of Rs 12,000 will be given to the pregnant women so that they can take care of themselves and the unborn baby.  IWAI to launch Ro-Ro service to Majuli Island in Assam  The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is set to lalunch a Roll on-Roll off (Ro-Ro) service in Assam from Neamati to Manjuli island, the Ministry of Shipping This service will reduce the road route distance of 423 km that trucks take from Neamati to Majuli Island via Tezpur Road Bridge to only 12.7 km with the use of river route.  India’s longest river bridge will be built on Brahmaputra river in Assam  India’s longest river bridge with total length of 19.3 kilometers will be built on Brahmaputra river in Assam. This bridge will connect Dhubri of Assam to Fulbarani of Meghalaya. This bridge will reduce the distance between these two places by 203 kms and also travel time. At present, India’s largest river bridge is Dhola-Sadia bridge, its length is 9.15 kilometers.  Kati Bihu festival celebrated across Assam  Assam celebrated its 3rd Bihu festival known as the ‘Kati Bihu’ festival across the state. The name of the other 2 Bihu festivals is: Rongali and Bohagi Bihu. The festival derives its name from the Assamese month of Kati.  Dr Jitendra Singh laid the foundation stone of new Science Centre, the "Technology Facility Centre" (TFC) in Jorhat, Assam  Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Dr Jitendra Singh laid the foundation stone of new Science Centre, the "Technology Facility Centre" (TFC) in Jorhat, Assam.  Dwijing Festival Begins in Assam  In Assam, the third Dwijing Festival has begun on the bank of Aye river at Chirang district. Around 15 lakh tourists will participate in the festival. Assam PHE minister Rihon Daimary inaugurated the festival in presence of several dignitaries.  Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal will attend the event. Adventure sports, food mart, cultural events, traditional games are being organized in the 12-day long event. Participants from , Bhutan and Bangladesh have reached the festival.  PM inaugurates India’s longest rail-cum-road bridge in Assam  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated the country’s longest rail-cum-road bridge over the Brahmaputra river at Bogibeel near Dibrugarh in Assam.  The prime minister, who reached Dibrugarh in the afternoon from New Delhi, flew directly to Bogibeel in a chopper and dedicated the 4.94-km-long double-decker bridge to the nation from the south bank of the river.  Every graduate girl in Bihar to get Rs 25,000 now  Bihar government has approved a proposal to pay Rs 25,000 to every girl graduating in 2018 and onwards.  Bihar CM unveils 70 ft tall Lord Buddha’s statue in Rajgir  Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar unveiled a 70-feet tall statue of Lord Buddha at Rajgir in Nalanda district.  It is the second tallest statue of Buddha in the country. It is made of pink sandstone.  Tourist Facilitation Counter at IGI airport  Tourism Minister K J Alphons inaugurated the Tourist Facilitation and Information Counter at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.  Tourism Ministry to open 24X7 Facilitation Counters in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Gaya and Varanasi soon.  Aadi Mahotsav festival  The 15-day Aadi Mahotsav festival is beginning in the national capital Delhi. The highlights of the festival will be fashion show for tribal textiles and tribal cuisines.  Theme – ‘celebration of the spirit of tribal culture, craft, cuisine and commerce’.  Goa government bans fish import  Goa government issued an order imposing a ban on the import of fish into the state. The decision has been taken in view of continuing uncertainty about the presence of formalin in imported fish in Goa.  Foundation stone for All India Institute of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy in Goa  Union minister of state for Ayush Shripad Naik laid the foundation stone for the All India Institute of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy at Dhargal, North Goa.  49th International Film Festival  The 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will begin at Panaji in Goa.

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 Inauguration of multi-media digital exhibition on Mahatma Gandhi at IFFI  Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore inaugurated a multi-media digital exhibition on Mahatma Gandhi at the International Film festival of India (IFFI) in Panaji, Goa.  “Mahatma on Celluloid” exhibition has been organized by National Film Archives of India in collaboration with the Bureau of Outreach and Communication, Information and Broadcasting Ministry.  Additional assistance of over Rs 546 crore from NDRF  Centre approved the additional assistance of over Rs 546 crore from National Disaster Response Fund, NDRF to Karnataka.  Facility for Testing Telecom products and equipment  The government has started a facility in Bengaluru for testing Telecom products and equipment to ensure security in digital communications at the national level.  The Telecom Department has set a deadline of April 2019 for mandatory testing of some telecom products including mobile phones and equipment.  INS Viraat into a floating museum  The Maharashtra Cabinet approved the conversion of decommissioned carrier INS Viraat into a floating museum. It was decommissioned in March 2017.  The project worth 852 crore rupees will be implemented through public-private-partnership (PPP).  Second Mega Food Park  Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated the second Mega Food Park in Maharashtra Aurangabad district.  Over 60 lakh toilets built in Maharashtra under  Over 60 lakh toilets were built in the last four years to ensure every citizen has easy access to clean toilets. About 25 Indian states are now open defecation free with Maharashtra being one of them.  Animation, Gaming & Visual effects Institute in Mumbai  Government to set up Animation, Gaming & Visual effects Institute in Mumbai to encourage youth participation in field of film & cinematography.  Reservation to Maratha community without disturbing OBC reservation  The state government has informed the high court that it has accepted all the recommendations of the backward commission on Maratha Reservation. The government will give the reservation to Maratha community without disturbing OBC reservation.  Land acquisition process for Jaitapur nuclear power plant  The Maharashtra government has said that the land acquisition process for the 9900 MegaWatt nuclear power plant in Jaitapur in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra has been completed.  The project is being undertaken by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and the Electricite de (EDF), a French power utility firm.  Bill passed proposing 16 per cent quota for Marathas  The Maharashtra assembly unanimously passed a bill proposing 16 per cent reservation for Marathas under socially, educationally and economically backward category.  3rd National Ayurveda Day 2018  The 3rd National Ayurveda Day 2018 was organised on the theme: “Ayurveda for Public Health” by the Directorate of AYUSH, Government of Meghalaya at Shillong.  India International Cherry Blossom Festival begins  The third edition of the India International Cherry Blossom Festival 2018 got underway at Polo 5th Ground, Shillong. It celebrates the unique autumn flowering of the Himalayan Cherry Blossoms with several cultural events.  Ekalavya model residential schools to be set up  36 Ekalavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) will be constructed in Meghalaya at the cost of 20 crore rupees each in a time frame of three years.  33% reservation for women in state assemblies  The Odisha Assembly has unanimously passed a resolution seeking 33 per cent reservation for women in legislative assemblies and Parliament.  Lexicon for rare tribal languages  To keep vanishing tribal languages in circulation, the Odisha government has come out with lexicons of 21 such languages.  The bilingual tribal dictionaries for multilingual education (MLE) and trilingual tribal language proficiency modules in all the 21 tribal languages have been formulated by the Special Development Council  Remembrance of 100 years of ‘Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre’ in 2019  Government of India has decided to mark the remembrance of 100 years of the historical Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre next year. The commemorative coin and postage stamps will be released on 13th April, 2019 (the day the incident took place 100 years ago).

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 Tamil Nadu has lost 41% of its shoreline  In the past two decades, Tamil Nadu has reportedly lost 41% of its shoreline to erosion. ports development, construction of dams in the rivers that block supply of sediments to coastline are some of the reasons for erosion apart from the natural causes such as sea-level rise and storms.  State Government announces one thousand crore rupees relief package  Tamil Nadu Chief Minister announced one thousand crore rupees relief package for people affected by Cyclone Gaja that devastated eleven coastal and interior districts of the state.  Grand Diwali celebrations at Ayodhya set world record  Grand Diwali celebrations at Ayodhya set a world record by lighting over 3 lakh earthen lamps or diyas. These diyas were lit on the banks of holy river Sarayu at Deepotsava in Uttar Pradesh.  The historic city of Faizabad will now be known as Ayodhya.  Training centre for eco skilled Ganga Mitras  In Uttar Pradesh, the first training centre in the country for eco skilled Ganga Mitras started at Banaras Hindu University to measure the pollution level in Ganga and help the government in many ways to keep the holy river clean.  ‘Rosogolla Day’ to be observed on Nov. 14  The West Bengal government has decided to observe ‘Rosogolla Day’ on November 14, to commemorate the first anniversary of the State’s famous sweet getting Geographical Indication (GI) tag as ‘Bengal’s Rosogolla’.  Dr Jitendra Singh laid the foundation stone of new Science Centre, the "Technology Facility Centre" (TFC) in Jorhat, Assam  Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Dr Jitendra Singh laid the foundation stone of new Science Centre, the "Technology Facility Centre" (TFC) in Jorhat, Assam.  Andhra Pradesh is building a world-class and India's first 'Justice City' within its new capital Amaravati  Andhra Pradesh is building a world-class and India's first 'Justice City' within its new capital Amaravati with the vision to provide a state-of-the-art ecosystem built on latest technology for supporting the judicial system in the state.  Cabinet approves setting up of Central Tribal University in Andhra Pradesh  Union Cabinet has approved setting up of Central Tribal University in Andhra Pradesh. It will be set up in Relli village of Vizianagaram District of Andhra Pradesh.  Bihar has approved a proposal to pay Rs 25000 to every girl graduating in 2018 onwards  The state cabinet of Bihar has approved a proposal to pay Rs 25000 to every girl graduating in 2018 and onwards. The one-time payment will be made to every girl who graduated from the colleges of the state on or after April 25, 2018.  Election Commission sets up ‘Sangwari’ polling booths in various constituencies of Chhattisgarh to encourage women voters  The Election Commission has set up ‘Sangwari’ polling booths in various constituencies of Chhattisgarh to encourage women voters to exercise their franchise in the Assembly elections. In Chhattisgarhi dialect, ‘Sangwari’ means friend.  Goa has banned importing/bringing fish from outside.  Goa has banned importing/bringing fish from outside. The announcement was made on November 10. The ban included import from Karnataka. The announcement has kicked off a controversy with fishermen from the State questioning the rationale behind the decision. The ban has come for a second time this year  Shripad Naik laid the foundation stone for the All India Institute of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy at Dhargal, North Goa  Union minister of state for Ayush Shripad Naik laid the foundation stone for the All India Institute of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy at Dhargal, North Goa.  Annual Venture Capital Summit 2018 Held In Goa  The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Government of Goa, hosted the annual Startup India Venture Capital Summit in Goa.  The theme of the Summit was ‘Mobilizing Global Capital for Innovation in India.’ The event showcased the Indian startup opportunity for funds from around the world.  Guwahati sports India’s ‘tallest’ national flag  The Assam government celebrated the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi by unfurling India’s tallest National Flag from the average city elevation. The 9,600 sq ft flag stands on a 319.5 ft flag pole at Gandhi Mandap, a memorial for Mahatma Gandhi atop the Sarania Hill  ‘Walkthon’ for Senior Citizens  Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment flagged off a “Walkthon” for older persons and senior citizens to celebrate the International Day of Older Persons at Village Stadium, near Akshardham Mandir.

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 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) celebrated its Annual Day  To commemorate its establishment on 1st October, 2016, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has instituted an Annual Day Lecture in New Delhi.  Foundation Stone of National Institute of Homeopathy at Narela  Union Minister of State for AYUSH Shri Shripad Yesso Naik laid the foundation stone of National Institute of Homeopathy at Narela.  Foundation stone for Museum on Prime Ministers of India  Minister Mahesh Sharma and Minister Hardeep Singh Puri laid the foundation stone for Museum on Prime Ministers of India in New Delhi.  PM inaugurates LNG terminal and pipeline projects at Anjar  The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Mundra LNG terminal, the Anjar-Mundra Pipeline Project and the Palanpur-Pali-Barmer pipeline project, at Anjar.  Unique Ro-Pax ferry service launched  In Gujarat, an unique Ro-Pax ferry service between Ghogha and Dahej was launched by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.  First Mega Food Park in Surat  Union Minister Smt Harsimrat Badal inaugurates Gujarat’s first Mega Food Park in Surat; says 2nd Park in Mehsana sanctioned.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation  Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation Statue of Unity, built in honour of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at Kevadiya in Narmada district of Gujarat.  182-metre statue of the Iron Man of India, world’s tallest, unveiled on his 143rd birth anniversary.  The statue will remind the world about the courage of the man who thwarted attempts to disintegrate India.  8th International Food Convention in December  The 8th International Food Convention (#IFCON-2018), a mega event of the Association of Food Scientists and Technologists (I) in association with the CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) and DRDO- Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL), will be held in Mysuru.  Mobile application ‘Chunavana’  In Karnataka, the Election Commission will provide a pick-up and drop facility for the differently abled voters to enable them to exercise their franchise without difficulty.  The facility launched for the first time in the country as a pilot project can be booked in advance through a mobile application ‘Chunavana’ till midnight of November 1.  Red Button Public Robotic Spectrum (RBPRS), an intelligent robotic terminal  Red Button Public Robotic Spectrum (RBPRS), an intelligent robotic terminal to help the public to reach out to police and track crimes, will be installed at two places in Cherthala.  Rekha Nair new RCC director  Rekha Nair, Additional Professor of Pathology at the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC), has been appointed the new director of the institution. Dr. Rekha Nair is the first woman to head the RCC, the oldest and the premier cancer treatment centre in the State.  Foundation for India’s largest Dry Dock  Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation for the country’s largest Dry Dock at Cochin Shipyard in .  It is being constructed at a cost of 1,799 rupees crore and will be completed by May 2021.  Establishment of National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation  Cabinet approves establishment of National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation in Sehore District instead of Bhopal.  Election commission is establishing 500 pink booths  In Madhya Pradesh, the election commission is establishing 500 pink booths in the state for the assembly election.  Maharashtra brings in 31 GST reforms  Maharashtra government brought in 31 reforms in the state GST structure to promote ease of doing business. The changes have been brought in for the first time since the introduction of the GST.  GI Tag for Alphonso from Konkan  Alphonso from Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Palghar, Thane and Raigad districts of Maharashtra, is registered as Geographical Indication (GI).  Internet connection and free set top boxes to be provided to one lakh homes  An MoU in this regard was signed in Mumbai today between Education Department and Stream cost company to provide e-education in rural parts of the state, internet connection and free set top boxes will be provided to one lakh homes in Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra.

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 Blue Revolution to be launched  Meghalaya to launch Blue Revolution: Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries.  Biggest Zika virus outbreak in Jaipur  A total of 50 people have tested positive for Zika virus in Jaipur making it the biggest outbreak of the deadly disease in India so far. This development comes few days after the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) sought a comprehensive report from the Health Ministry on the outbreak of Zika virus.  First printed Tirukkural to be republished after 165 years  Sivalayam J. Mohan, to bring out the edition on October 5, exactly 165 years after it [1853 edition] was first published because it falls on the birthday of Ramalinga Vallalar.  Southern Railway becomes unmanned level crossing free zone  The Southern Railway has said it has become Unmanned Level Crossing (UMLC) Free Zone, eliminating over 1,000 such level crossings.  Joint operations to combat Left Wing Extremism  Odisha and Andhra Pradesh Police have decided to conduct joint operations and share information to effectively combat the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in the border areas of the two states.  Tamil Nadu CM announces 3% sub-quota in recruitments for sportspersons  The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has announced that sportspersons would be given three percent sub-quota for recruitments in Government Departments and public sector undertakings.  India’s first engineless train  Train 18, the country’s first engineless train, which is being regarded as a successor to the 30-year-old Shatabdi Express, is set to hit the tracks for trials on October 29. Train 18, the swanky 16-coach prototype, was developed by the Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory in 18 months.  Indian International Science Festival  A four-day Indian International Science Festival (IISF) 2018 kicked off in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.  Theme :- Science for transformation.  UP cabinet decides to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj  Uttar Pradesh cabinet decided to change the name of Allahabad city to Prayagraj.  PM Modi inaugurates Krishi Kumbha 2018  Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Krishi Kumbha 2018 in Lucknow through video conferencing, Mr Modi reiterated the government’s commitment to double farmers’ income by 2022 will help the nation’s food producers at every stage from sowing to selling.  First container movement on inland waterways  Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) will transport container cargo belonging to the food and beverage giant PepsiCo (India) from Kolkata to Varanasi on river Ganga (National Waterway-1).  This would be the country’s first container movement on inland vessel post-independence.  Uttar Pradesh Police to launch first-ever ‘dial-FIR’ scheme  In this scheme, a common man can register regular crimes without going to a police station, by dialing the emergency number UP 100 and file an FIR, a call-based FIR.  An e-FIR or dial-FIR scheme is the FIR (first information report) that sets the law into motion and to start investigation. To combat crime, an online dossier of over 1-lakh small and big criminals in the state has also been prepared. UP is the only second state to prepare such a localised online criminal database after Punjab.  PM Modi UP Visit: 6th International Rice Research Institute Inaugurated  Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Varanasi and Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh. During the visit, he laid the foundation stone of medical College in Ghazipur in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.  The PM also dedicated the 6th International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), South Asia Regional Center (ISARC) to the nation. The Institute is built at the campus of National Seed Research and Training Center (NSRTC) in Varanasi.  The One District, One Product Regional Summit was held at Deendayal Hastakala Sankul (Trade Facilitation Centre & Crafts Museum) in Varanasi.  Atal Ayushman Uttarakhand Yojana Launched In Uttarakhand  ‘Atal Ayushman Uttarakhand Yojana’ has been launched in Uttarakhand. Under the scheme, each household in the state will be able to avail medical treatment of up to 5 lakh rupees annually. The scheme will benefit 23 lakh households and cover 1,350 critical diseases.  Launching the Yojna in Dehradun, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat distributed scheme-related golden cards to beneficiaries.  PEETHA Scheme Launched In Odisha To Reinforce Brand Naveen  IN a move to reinforce brand Naveen and give it a national perspective after the success of the Hockey Men’s World Cup, Odisha Government launched yet another initiative, Peoples Empowerment – Enabling Transparency and Accountability of Odisha Initiatives (PEETHA).

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 This is part of the 3T initiative of Technology, Transparency and Team Work model. The PEETHA is a sub-scheme of the Odisha government’s flagship Ama Gaon Ama Bikas Yojana.  Gangotri, Yamunotri Included Under PRASAD Scheme  The Centre included Gangotri and Yamunotri in Uttarakhand, Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh and Parasnath in Jharkhand under a central scheme to develop pilgrimage and heritage destinations in the country, a tourism ministry statement stated.  With the new additions, the number of sites under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) launched by the ministry in 2014-15 has now become 41 in 25 states.  Delhi Government Launches Free Pilgrimage Scheme For Senior Citizens  Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched the ‘Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana’ which offers free travel packages for senior citizens from Delhi to five religious circuits. 1,100 senior citizens from every constituency of Delhi will be able to avail this facility at one go.  Under this free pilgrimage scheme, a Delhi resident above 60 years will be eligible to take free pilgrimage along with his or her spouse.  Haryana CM inaugurates Patanjali’s World Herbal Forest Project in Morni Hill  Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar inaugurated the World Herbal Forest Project, a collaboration of Patanjali and Haryana Government, at Morni Hill, near Chandigarh.  The project covers over 52,000 acres of land in Morni Hills and is aimed at developing a forest of medicinal plants which will provide a huge boost to the Ayurvedic industry across the country.  About 25 different varieties of plants found in the country will be housed in this forest. 50,000 plants each of 20 medicinal varieties are being sown in the first phase of the project.  Emergency Response Support System: Himachal Pradesh becomes first state to launch Single Emergency Number '112'  Himachal Pradesh on November 28, 2018 became the first Indian state to launch a single emergency number ‘112’ which will connect to police, fire, health and other helplines through an Emergency Response Centre (ERC) in the state.  For this purpose, state established an ERC in Shimla along with 12 District Command Centres (DCCs) covering the entire state.  The emergency number was launched by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh under the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS).  Uttarakhand CM flags off test run of state’s first electric bus  Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat flagged off the test run of the state’s first electric bus to encourage the operation of pollution-free vehicles in the state.  HM Rajnath Singh Inaugurated 19th Hornbill Festival In Nagaland  Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated 19th Hornbill Festival in Nagaland on 55th Nagaland Statehood Day. In 1963, Nagaland attains its statehood and was declared as the 16th state of the Indian Union, by Dr. Sarvapelli Radhakrishnana, the then President of India.  Nagaland Becomes First North-Eastern State To Launch Single Emergency Number ‘112’  Nagaland became the first state in the Northeast and second in the country, after Himachal Pradesh, to launch a pan- India single-number (112) emergency mobile application which will have a special women safety feature for immediate assistance from police and volunteers.  Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh stated that a ‘SHOUT‘ feature has been made available exclusively for women in the ‘112 India’ mobile app which is connected to the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS). The launch coincided with the state’s formation day and the inaugural day of the 2018 edition of the Hornbill Festival.  The fest aims to display the rich traditions and the vibrant culture of Nagaland through colourful performances, crafts, sports, food fairs, games, and ceremonies. US Ambassador to India Kenneth I Juster was invited as the guest of honour.  8 States achieve 100% household electrification under Saubhagya; total 15 States now have 100% household electrification  RK Singh, Union Minister of State for Power and Renewable Energy, on November 29, 2018 announced that 8 States have achieved 100 percent saturation in household electrification under . With this, there are now total 15 States in the country that have 100 percent household electrification.  These eight states are Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Bihar, J&K, Mizoram, Sikkim, Telangana and West Bengal. As many as 2.1 crore connections have been released under Saubhagya or Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana so far.  States like Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, etc. are left with small number of un-electrified households and expected to achieve saturation any time.  Global Agriculture & Food Summit 2018 Held in Jharkhand  Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh inaugurated Global Agriculture and Food Summit 2018 in Ranchi, Jharkhand. Seven countries, including China, Israel and Malaysia are participating in the two-day Summit.

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 Several dignitaries attended the inaugural ceremony including Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das and NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.  42nd Indian Social Science Congress Inaugurated in Odisha  The 42nd Indian Social Science Congress was inaugurated by Manipur governor Dr Najma Heptulla at KIIT University campus in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.  The theme of the Congress was ‘Human Future in Digital Era.’  National Children’s Science Congress Begins In Bhubaneswar  Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated 26th edition of National Children’s Science Congress in Bhubaneswar in which as many as 800 students from ten Asian and seven Gulf countries are participating.  This year’s theme is ‘Science, Technology and Innovations: For clean, green and healthy nation’.  Maharashtra Launches Vajpayee International Schools For Rural Students  Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has launched the ‘ Atal Bihari Vajpayee International Schools’ for students in rural areas.  Initially, 13 Zilla Parishad (ZP) schools would be part of the international board and it would be expanded in the coming years.  Madhya Pradesh Declares Kuno As National Park  Madhya Pradesh State government has declared Kuno wildlife sanctuary as a national park in compliance with the last condition imposed by a Supreme Court-appointed committee for the much awaited ‘translocation of Asiatic lions from Gir in Gujarat.’  The move is expected to pave way for translocation of lions from Gir in Gujarat to Kuno. It is spread over 750 sq km area.  Odisha CM Announces Rs10,000 cr KALIA Scheme For Farmers  Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik announced a Rs10,000 crore scheme for the overall development of farmers.  Named Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA), the scheme will provide farmers with Rs10,000 a year at the rate of Rs5,000 each for Kharif and Rabi season. Additionally, crop loans of up to Rs50,000 will be interest-free under the scheme.  NITI Aayog Releases SDG India Index  The NITI Aayog has released a first-of-its-kind Sustainable Development Goals index released on 21st December 2018. According to the SDG Index, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu have been ranked on top 3 positions and are on track to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).  The SDG Index aims to promote healthy competition among States by evaluating their progress in social, economic and environmental terms that will help India in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030. Based on the performance of the States and UTs across 13 of the 17 identified SDGs, a score ranging between 0 and 100 has been assigned to each of them in the index.  Kerala and Himachal Pradesh have been called as the front-runners in the Index with a score of 69. Chandigarh has been declared as the front runner in the Index with a score of 68 among the UTS. The state of Tamil Nadu (score 66) is at the top to meet the goals of eradicating poverty and providing clean and affordable energy. Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are at the bottom of the rankings in the NITI Aayog’s Sustainable Development Goals Index .  Goa, Kerala, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland were the front runners on the Zero hunger sub-index.  Gujarat Emerges As Best Performing State In Start-Up Ranking 2018  Gujarat has emerged as the best-performing state in the Startup Ranking 2018. The National Report on States’ Startup Ranking was unveiled by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi. Total 27 states and 3 union territories participated in the ranking process.  Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha and Rajasthan, with a score of more than 85 percentile, have been adjudged the top performers.  Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana have been recognised as Leaders.  Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal were ranked as Aspiring Leaders.  Assam, Delhi, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand were judged as Emerging States.  Chandigarh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, and Tripura were ranked as Beginners.  Nagaland signs MoU with Estonian academy on e-governance  Nagaland government signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with e-Governance Academy of Estonia to provide advisory and technical knowledge for setting up of e-Governance Academy of Nagaland (e-GAN).  The MoU is aimed at strengthening bilateral technical cooperation in the fields of information technology and e- governance.  Indian Owl Festival, first owl fest, held in Pune  The Indian Owl Festival,India’s first owl fest, was held at Pingori village in Purandar taluka of Pune, Maharashtra.  The festival was organized by Ela Foundation.

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 It created awareness on owl conservation and feature art forms like pictures, paintings, lanterns, lamp shades, posters, origami, stitched articles, poems and stories on owls.  Jammu and Kashmir Becomes 1st State To Bring Law Against ‘Sextortion’  Jammu and Kashmir has become the first state in the country to enact a law banning sexual exploitation of women “by those in positions of authority, having a fiduciary relationship or a public servant”, Under Section 354E of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC).  Any person committing the offence of sextortion shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term not be less than three years, but may extend to five years and with fine. The offence is “non-bailable” and “not compoundable”.  CM Fadnavis Launches SMART Project  The state government launched an ambitious project State of Maharashtra Agribusiness and Rural Transformation (SMART) in 10,000 villages with an objective to achieve sustainable farming within the next three years. The project SMART will be assisted by the World Bank.  Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis launched the project, which was followed by the signing of 50 memorandum of understandings (MoUs) between big corporates and farmers producer groups. The project will cover almost one-fourth of Maharashtra.  Jammu & Kashmir Government Launches AB-PMJAY Scheme  Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik launched the ambitious “Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)” scheme which would benefit over 31 lakh residents in the state.  The governor distributed golden cards among 10 eligible beneficiaries for availing the annual health cover facility, marking the launch of the scheme in the state  Telangana State signed pact with British Council  The Telangana government and British Council have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen educational and cultural cooperation and support the knowledge ambitions and economic growth of Telangana.  The signatories, Alan Gemmell, Director, British Council India, and Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Information Technology, signed the MoU in the presence of Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi. The British Council has aimed at inspiring youngsters from across Telangana and India to build a relationship with the UK for the next 70 years. Mr. Joshi hoped that the MoU will expand the scope of the Council’s engagements in developing the skill of young people.  NGT instructed Delhi government to pay a fine of Rs.25 crore  The National Green Tribunal (NGT) instructed the Delhi government to deposit an environmental compensation of Rs.25 crore with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for failing to curb air pollution in the Capital.  A Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said in case the State government failed to comply with the orders, a sum of Rs.10 crore per month will be levied.  The tribunal further, said that a performance guarantee of Rs.25 crore has to be provided by the State government and in case of non-compliance of orders, the amount will be forfeited. The Chief Secretary has been directed to file a compliance affidavit by March 31, 2019.  Common Mobility Card was launched in Delhi  Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot launched the Common Mobility Card which can be used by commuters to travel aboard both Delhi metro trains and State-run buses. The ONE card, which is essentially the rebranded Delhi Metro smart card with the tagline ‘One Delhi. One Ride’ with the logos of all three transport operators in the city, the Delhi Metro, the Delhi Transport Corporation and the Delhi government.  National Common Mobility Card (NCMC):  NCMC is an interoperable transport card conceived by the Ministry of Urban Development of the Government of India.  The Urban Development Ministry brought in the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) with the task of management, clearing, and settlement of payments, simulating cards and terminals and maintenance of the network.  Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) is given the responsibility of developing standards and hardware for the card usage and the related ecosystems.  Punjab cabinet approves international airport near Ludhiana  The Punjab Cabinet approved the setting up of a new international civil terminal at Indian Air Force (IAF) Station, Halwara 32 kms from Ludhiana.  The terminal will be jointly developed by the state government and Airports Authority of India (AAI). While AAI would have majority stake of 51 per cent, the Punjab Government, through the Greater Ludhiana Development Authority (GLADA), will have 49 per cent stake in the project.  The state already has two international airports at Mohali and Amritsar.

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ECONOMY AWARENES & CORPORATE AFFAIRS

 SIDBI Launched National Level Entrepreneurship Awareness Campaign ‘Udyam Abhilasha’  SIDBI has launched a national level entrepreneurship awareness campaign ‘Udyam Abhilasha’, in 115 aspirational districts identified by NITI Aayog in 28 States reaching to around 15,000 youth.  Bank of Maharashtra closes 51 branches to cut costs  The Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has announced the closure of 51 branches across the country as part of cost-cutting measures being implemented in the banking industry.  India’s first Cryptocurrency ATM opens in Bengaluru  Despite the government and Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) crackdown on cryptocurrency in India, virtual currency exchange Unocoin has installed a currency deposit and dispensing ATM at Kemp Fort Mall in Bengaluru. The kiosk, installed by Unocoin, allows its customers to deposit and withdraw minimum amount of Rs 1000 from the platform.  Centre is reportedly planning the amalgamation of next set of bank  After deciding to merge Bank of Baroda (BoB), Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank, Centre is reportedly planning the amalgamation of Punjab National Bank (PNB), Andhra Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC). The government has been battling for years to clean up its banks, which have the highest bad-loan ratio after Italy among the world's 10 largest economies. Then Allahabad Bank, Uco Bank and United Bank of India  Seven hundred and twenty eight crores capital infusion to Syndicate Bank from government  Public sector Syndicate Bank announced capital infusion of Rs 728 crore from the government in lieu of preferential allotment of shares. The government in its October 17th order issued that it would infuse Rs 728 crore to Syndicate Bank against preferential allotment of equity shares during 2018-19.  IDFC Bank to be renamed as IDFC First Bank  IDFC Bank on proposed to change its name to 'IDFC First Bank Ltd' in the wake of its amalgamation with the nonbanking financial company Capital First. The decision was taken during the meeting of the Board of Directors of IDFC Bank.  NPCI reduces the number of transfers via UPI that a person can make to another per day to 10 from 20 earlier  The National Payments Corp. of India (NPCI) has reduced the number of transfers that a person can make to another person/s in a 24-hour period to 10, from the limit of 20 earlier on the UPI network.  Government Forms Panel Under BBB to Select MD for PSU Insurance Firms  The government has constituted a seven-member panel to select managing directors of public sector insurance companies. The panel would be headed by Banks Board Bureau (BBB) chairman B P Sharma.  The other members of the panel are Financial Services Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises Secretary and Chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India.  Besides, three insurance sector experts G N Bajpai, Mathew Varghese and T Bhargava — have been appointed on the selection panel.  RBI Shortlists TCS, Wipro, IBM, 3 Others For Setting Up PCR  The Reserve Bank of India has shortlisted six major IT companies, including TCS, Wipro and IBM India, to set up a wide-based digital Public Credit Registry (PCR) for capturing details of all borrowers and wilful defaulters.  The proposed PCR will also include data from entities like market regulator Sebi, the corporate affairs ministry, Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) to enable banks and financial institutions to get a 360-degree profile of the existing as well as prospective borrowers on a real-time basis.  RBI Limits Total Outstanding ECBs To 6.5% of GDP  The Reserve Bank of India, in consultation with the government, has decided to have a rule-based dynamic limit for outstanding stock of External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) at 6.5% of GDP at current market prices.  As per the statement based on the GDP figures, the soft limit works out to $160 billion for the current financial year. The outstanding stock of ECBs as on September 30, 2018, stands at $126.29 billion.  Capital First Merged With IDFC Bank to Create IDFC First Bank  IDFC Bank and non-banking financial company (NBFC) Capital First has announced the completion of their merger, creating a combined loan asset book of Rs 1.03 lakh crore for the merged entity IDFC First Bank. The merged entity to be called IDFC First Bank, subject to shareholders’ approval.  Following the merger, the board of IDFC Bank approved the appointment of V Vaidyanathan, founder and chairman of Capital First Ltd, as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the merged entity. His appointment awaits shareholders’ approval.

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 ESAF SFB Gets RBI Nod To Operate As Scheduled Bank  ESAF small finance bank has got RBI approval to operate as a scheduled bank. This makes ESAF small finance bank (SFB) the fifth scheduled bank from Kerala.  ESAF microfinance institution, started in 1992, was one among the ten applicants to receive approval from RBI to start banking operations in 2016.  ICICI Topped List Of Banks Penalising Staff For Fraud in 2015-2017: RBI data  According to data furnished by the Reserve Bank of India, between 2015 and 2017, private lender ICICI Bank penalized the highest number of employees for defrauding bank assets in the last three year out of 60 scheduled commercial banks operating in India.  It is followed by State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank. In all, banks took action against a staggering 13,949 officials, of which 16%, or 2,236, belonged to ICICI.  RBI to soon release new Rs 20 currency note  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon introduce a new Rs 20 currency note with additional features, according to a document of the central bank.  The central bank has already issued new look currency notes in the denominations of Rs 10, Rs 50, Rs 100, and Rs 500, besides introducing Rs 200 and Rs 2,000 bank notes. The new look notes are being introduced since November 2016 under Mahatma Gandhi (New) series. These are different in size and design compared to the notes issued previously.  PM Releases Commemorative Rs 100 Coin In Honour Of Atal Bihari Vajpayee  Prime Minister Narendra Modi releases a 100 rupees commemorative coin in honour of former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee.  Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth anniversary, which falls on 25th December, is celebrated as ‘Good Governance Day’.  RBI directs banks with over 10 branches to have an internal Ombudsman  The Reserve Bank of India asked all scheduled commercial banks with more than 10 branches to appoint an internal ombudsman. It has excluded regional rural banks (RRB) from its directive.  RBI has reviewed the arrangement and issued revised directions under Section 35 A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 in the form of Internal Ombudsman Scheme, 2018. An ombudsman is a person officially charged with investigating and addressing public complaints or violation of rights.  Punjab National Bank bagged implementation award Rajbhasha Kirti  Punjab National Bank got an award for outstanding performance in implementing the Official Language Policy during 2017-18.  Paytm tops UPI payments with over 33% market share  Alibaba and SoftBank-backed Paytm said it registered over 137 million UPI transactions in September, becoming the leading contributor to Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments with over 33 per cent of the overall market share. The company also announced the launch of its Spam-proof “SMS Inbox” as part of its “Paytm Inbox”. The “Spamproof SMS Inbox” uses Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to classify SMS into personal, transactional and promotional categories.  BSE becomes first stock exchange to launch commodity derivative contracts  India’s leading bourse Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) became first stock exchange in the country to launch commodity derivative contracts. It has launched contracts in popular commodities like gold (1kg) and silver (30kg). This launch comes after unified exchange regime kicked off from 1 October 2018.  Government releases Agriculture census data for 2015-16  The government released agriculture census for 2015-16 that showed a 1.53 per cent decline in total operated area at 157.14 million hectare as compared to 2010-11 data, but a rise in both operational holdings and female participation. The census is conducted every five years to collect data on structural aspects of operational holdings in the country.  UNCTAD has expected India’s economy to grow 7.0% in 2018  The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has expected India’s economy to grow 7.0% in calendar year 2018 compared with 6.2% in 2017. As per the report “Trade and Development”, the effects of demonetization are still evident in private consumption trends within the economy.  IFC extends Rs.1,000-crore loan to Aditya Birla Finance:  Aditya Birla Finance, the NBFC arm of Aditya Birla Group, has received a 1,000-crore term loan for seven years from the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group.  The IFC green loan is a rupee loan under Track-III of the Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines for external commercial borrowings. ABFL will use the proceeds to finance renewable energy projects and help the country move towards its target to achieve 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022.

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 WPI Inflation Rises To 5.13% in September  Inflation-based wholesale prices rose to a two-month high of 5.13 percent in September, mainly due to the hardening of food prices and the rise in the cost of petrol and diesel. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation stood at 4.53 percent in August and 3.14 percent in September last year.  FPIs pull out INR 35,600 crore from Indian capitals market in October  Foreign investors pulled out Rs 35,600 crore from the Indian capital markets in October 2018. The outflow is higher than Rs 21,000 crore withdrawn in September. Prior to that, overseas investors had invested Rs 7,400 crore in the capital markets (both equity and debt) in July-August period.  Reserve Bank of India moves to ease liquidity for non-banking finance firms  Reserve Bank of India in a move to make more liquidity available to non-banking finance firms (NBFCs)issued a circular to relax the securitization norms by relaxing the Minimum Holding Period (MHP) requirement.  The NBFC sector is facing liquidity shortage after Infrastructure Leasing & Finance Services, a core investment company, started defaulting on loans.  The cost of funds gone up for the non-banking finance firms putting pressure on profitability.  India is the fastest growing e-commerce market: Report by Bain & Company  According to the report, India’s online retail market had a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 53% from 2013 to 2017.  This rapid growth is due to heavily discount-driven e-commerce marketplaces, improvement in delivery infrastructure and increased smartphone penetration and data usage.  India’s total e-commerce retail sales in 2017 were nearly $20 billion.  As per the studies, another $50 billion of online e-commerce could be introduced by adding new users and bringing back the currently inactive old users.  India was in 8th rank in terms of online retail penetration among 11 countries.  Puducherry bagged top position in National Clean School Award given by HRD Ministry  Seven schools from Puducherry were awarded for cleanliness. As many as 52 schools from across the country were bestowed with National Clean School Award in recognition of their efforts in carrying forward Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.  Tamil Nadu bagged second position in National Clean School Award. The third position was shared by Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. Fourth position was shared by Jharkhand, Haryana, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.  Nagaland Government declared Singphan Wildlife Sanctuary as an elephant reserve  The Singphan Elephant Reserve which is the 30th elephant reserve in India, is located in Mon district of Nagaland and spreads over an area of 5825 acres (2357 hac). As per recent census report (2017) Nagaland has around 446 elephants. The creation of new Elephant Reserve will result in protection and conservation of the elephants.  India’s economy grows at 7.1 per cent  India’s economy grew at 7.1 per cent for the second quarter of 2018-19 according to data released by Central Statistics Office.  Reduction of the statutory liquidity ratio by 0.25 percent  The Reserve Bank said that it will reduce the statutory liquidity ratio by 0.25 percent every quarter beginning January next year.  Statutory Liquidity Ratio – SLR – is the portion of funds which banks are required to maintain in the form of cash, gold reserves, the government approved securities before providing credit to the customers.  Direct Tax Gross collections for 2018-19  Direct Tax collections for 2018-19 up to November this year show that Gross Collections are at 6.75 lakh crore rupees. This is 15.7 percent higher than the Gross Collections for the corresponding period of last year.  OPEC & its allies agree to cut oil output  The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) [the group of 14 nations] and its allies agreed to cut oil output by 12 lakh barrels a day to boost global oil markets.  No GST on sale of complexes and flats having completion certificate  Center clarified that there is no GST on sale of complexes, buildings and ready to move-in flats where sale takes place after issue of completion certificate.  Sebi initiates adjudication against NSE  Markets regulator SEBI has initiated adjudication proceedings against NSE as well as around 30 entities in the exchange’s co-location matter.  Global debt hits all-time high of USD 184 trillion  The International Monetary Fund said that global debt has reached an all-time high of 184 trillion US dollars with the United States, China and Japan accounting for more than half of it.  According to the IMF report, the amount in nominal terms, is the equivalent of 225 per cent of the world GDP in 2017.

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 Interpol issues Red Corner Notice against Mehul Choksi  The Interpol has issued a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against absconding billionaire Mehul Choksi, who is accused of cheating state-run Punjab National Bank to the tune of over 13,000 crore rupees.  Oil prices slip after China reports slower economic growth  Oil prices slipped after China reported slower economic growth, pointing to lower fuel demand in the world’s biggest oil importer.  PSU Banks recover Rs 2.33 lakh cr worth of bad loans during 4 years  Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla informed Parliament that Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have recovered 33 lakh crore rupees worth of bad loans during the four years from financial year 2014-15 to fiscal 2017- 18.  India becoming world’s fastest growing economy  Indian economy is projected to be the fastest growing major economy in 2018-19 and 2019-20. The government has said the share of the Indian economy in the world increased from 2.6 percent in 2014 to 3.2 percent in 2017 as per the World Development Indicators database.  India, S Korea to raise bilateral trade  India reiterated its continued support to usher in a new era of peace and stability in the Korean peninsula. Both sides agreed to raise the quantum of the bilateral trade to 50 billion dollars by the year 2030.  Govt to infuse Rs 83,000 crore in PSBs  The government will infuse 83000 crore in Public Sector Banks in next few months in the current fiscal.  Panel to look into tax issues faced by startups  The government has decided to set up an expert committee to look into all the taxation issues being faced by startups and angel investors.  GST of 6 items reduced from 28 percent to 18 percent slab  Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said GST of 6 items reduced from 28 percent to 18 percent slab. These items include TV, tyre, power bank and video games.  28 percent slab rate is applicable only on 28 items, which are luxury items like cement, auto parts, AC and dishwasher.  The GST Council has reduced tax rates on 23 goods and services, including movie tickets, TV and monitor screens and power banks. With this, only 28 goods are left in the highest 28 per cent tax bracket. Monitors and TV screens up to 32-inches and power banks will attract 18 per cent GST, as against 28 per cent earlier.  Investment through P-notes rises  Investments in the Indian capital market through participatory notes climbed to Rs 79,247 crore in November after hitting a nine-and-a-half year low at the end of October.  P-notes are issued by registered foreign portfolio investors to overseas investors who wish to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly.  Government reviews guidelines for FDI in E- commerce  Government has reviewed guidelines for Foreign Direct Investment in E- commerce companies to protect the interests of domestic players.  MSP for Copra hiked by more than Rs.2000 per quintal  The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA has approved hike in Minimum Support Price for Copra by more than two thousand rupees per quintal for 2019 season.  India announces Rs 4,500 crore assistance to Bhutan  Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a Rs 4,500 crore financial assistance to Bhutan for its 12th five-year plan after holding wide-ranging talks with his Bhutanese counterpart Dr. Lotay Tshering. The new five-year plan of Bhutan began this year and will continue till 2022.  Traders welcome new e-commerce rules  A day after the government issued a clarification, tightening the norms for e-commerce players, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) welcomed the decision and demanded that the rules be implemented with retrospective effect from April 1, 2018 so as to void the Walmart acquisition of Flipkart.  MSP for Copra hiked by more than Rs.2000 per quintal  The Minimum Support Price [MSP] of Ball Copra will now be 9920 rupees per quintal which was earlier 7750 rupees.  PSBs approve loans worth over Rs 37,400 cr for MSME sector  Public sector banks have approved more than 1.12 lakh loan applications of MSMEs worth of 37,412 crore rupees under the ’59 minutes’ loan scheme launched by the government last month.  GST-registered Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) can take loan up to one crore in just 59 minutes through ‘psbloansin59minutes.com’ portal.  Centre doubles export incentives for onion farmers to 10%  Government has doubled the export incentives for onionfarmers from existing 5 per cent to 10 per cent.

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 Loan subsidy for middle-income group extended till March 2020  Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said that the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, PMAY loan subsidy for middle-income group has been extended till 31st March 2020.  Mobile phone-based solution to help visually impaired identify banknotes  The Reserve Bank of India is exploring the possibility of mobile phone-based solution to help visually-impaired people easily identify the currency notes. Currently, intaglio printing-based identification marks are present in the banknotes of Rs 100 and above for helping the visually challenged.  RBI to announce its fifth bi-monthly monetary policy review  The Reserve Bank of India will announce the fifth bi-monthly monetary policy statement for 2018-19 this afternoon. The three-day policy review meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by Governor Urjit Patel began in Mumbai.  Oil firms increaseATF prices by 7.25%  Aggravating the problem for loss-making airlines, oil marketing companies have increased the domestic Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices by 7.25% effective October 1.  BSE introduces commodity segment  BSE became the first equity exchange to unveil its commodity segment with contracts in popular commodities like gold and silver.  USFDA nod for breast cancer drug  Drug firm Zydus Cadila has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market Exemestane tablets, used for treatment of breast cancer.  IMF predicts 7.3% growth rate  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted a growth rate of 7.3 per cent for India in the current year and 7.4 per cent in 2019.  IMF study says gender diversity is likely to be boost productivity growth  IMF study says gender diversity is likely to boost productivity growth including in countries like India. The Research Paper said the women bring new skills to the workplace.  Centre decides to start issuing Sovereign Gold Bonds  The Centre in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India has decided to issue Sovereign Gold Bonds 2018-19.  WhatsApp sets up system to store payments-related data  Messaging platform WhatsApp has set up a system in India that stores payments-related data locally in the country to comply with RBI regulations.  Government hikes import duty on certain communication items up to 20%  The government has hiked the import duty on certain communication items, including base stations, to up to 20 per cent as part of efforts to check a widening current account deficit by curbing imports.  Chinese Stock market’s plunge to lowest levels in four years  China stock markets plunged to their lowest levels in four years following a global rout, marking the lowest level since November 2014.  SpiceJet will offer WiFi on flights soon  SpiceJet is set to offer its passengers access to internet on board its aircraft. Airline CMD Ajay Singh made the announcement at a ceremony to induct its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, which has arrived equipped with satellite communication device.  Govt hikes GPF interest rate to 8%  The union government has increased the rate of interest for General Provident Fund (GPF) and other related schemes by 0.4 percentage points to 8 per cent for the October-December quarter of current financial year.  India imposes anti-dumping duty on certain steel products from China  India has imposed anti-dumping duties of up to 185.51 US dollars per tonne for five years on certain varieties of Chinese steel to protect the interest of the domestic players on the recommendations of the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR).  Income Tax returns growth of over 80 per cent  The number of Income Tax returns filed in the last four financial years has registered a growth of over 80 per cent.  The number was 3.79 crore in the year 2013-14 which has increased to 6.85 crore in 2017-18.  GST Council Secretariat asks six states to set up appellate authorities  The GST Council Secretariat hasasked six states to expeditiously set up appellate authorities to enable aggrieved entities to file appeals against orders of the Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR).  India takes lead in delivering equipment to France for ITER research project  India has taken a lead over others nations in delivering equipment to France for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) research project which is aimed at generating energy through nuclear fusion.  Govt clears five more rice mills for exporting non-basmati rice to China

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 The government has cleared five more rice mills for exporting non-basmati rice to China. With this, the number of Indian mills exporting rice to China goes up to 24.  China buys over five million metric tonnes of rice from India. India also intends to export sugar to China to bridge the trade deficit.  India set to be third largest aviation market  India will be the third largest aviation market globally a year sooner than was earlier predicted.  It is now expected to be among the top three countries by 2024 from its current seventh position, according to global aviation body IATA.  Massive inflow of tourists in last few years  Arunachal Pradesh has witnessed massive inflow of tourists both domestic and international jumping from 2.5 lac to 9 lac in last few years.  Japan agrees to 316 Billion Yen loan for infrastructure projects in India  Japan has agreed to provide loans of about 316 Billion Yen for seven major infrastructure projects in India. These include Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train, projects in Delhi, North East and Chennai.  Oil prices fall on rising supply  Oil prices fell signs of rising global supply despite looming sanctions on Iran’s crude exports.Bankin  RBI to inject Rs. 36,000 cr into system through purchase of government bonds  The Reserve Bank announced that it will inject 36,000 crore rupees into the system through purchase of government bonds in October to meet the festival season demand for funds.  SBI reduces ATM withdrawal limit to Rs 20,000  State Bank of India has slashed the daily withdrawal limit on its classic debit card from Rs 40,000 to Rs 20,000. The new limit will be effective from October 31st this year.  RBI allows state-owned oil companies to borrow long term working capital from overseas  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed state-owned oil companies to borrow long term working capital from overseas. RBI relaxed the policy on borrowing up to 10 billion US dollar from the overseas by the state owned fuel retailers.  RBI imposes penalty on Federal Bank  Reserve Bank has imposed a penalty of five crore rupees on Federal Bank for non-compliance of certain RBI directions among other deficiencies.  RBI keeps key rates unchanged  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to keep the interest rate unchanged at 6.5%. The reverse repo rate at 6.25%. The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 4% while the bank rate is at 6.75%.  SBI to triple asset purchase from NBFCs  State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to triple the target for loans it purchases from non-banking finance companies (NBFCs). The move is expected to provide much-needed liquidity to these entities.  RBI issues guidelines to facilitate payments among PPI  In a move aimed at promoting digital transactions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released operational guidelines to facilitate payments among prepaid instruments (PPI) such as mobile wallets.  RBI opposes move for independent Payments Regulatory Board  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has opposed the move to have an independent Payments Regulatory Board (PRB) as envisaged by the draft proposal for amendments to the Payment & Settlement Systems Act, 2007.  Speed up cyberheist response, RBI says to banks  The Reserve Bank of India’s IT arm has asked banks to have a protocol in place to ensure quick response to a cyberheist and to effect recovery. The directive comes in the wake of multiple attempted heists in Indian banks in recent years.  RBI proposes new method to benchmark floating rate of loans for MSMEs  In a bid to ensure greater transparency, Reserve Bank has proposed that floating interest rates on personal, home, auto and MSMEs loans be linked to external benchmarks like repo rate or treasury yields.  The new system is likely to become operational by 1st April 2019.  Exim Bank extends USD 500 mn loan to  Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has extended a credit facility of USD 500 million to Tanzania for water supply projects in the country.  RBI slaps Rs.1 crore fine on Indian Bank for violating cyber security norms  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a fine of Rs.1 crore on Indian Bank for violating cyber security norms. The contravention is with regard to RBI’s directions on Frauds- Classification and Reporting by Commercial Banks.  RBI launches survey to capture retail payment habits in 6 cities  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will capture payment habits of individuals in six cities, including four metropolitan towns. For the purpose, the central bank has launched a ‘Survey on Retail Payment Habits of Individuals (SRPHi)’.

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 The survey will cover a sample of 6,000 individuals from various socio-economic backgrounds across six cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Guwahati.  Panel on RBI reserve  Reserve Bank of India has named former Governor Bimal Jalan as the head of the expert panel that will decide on the appropriate size of reserves that the central bank should maintain and the dividend it should give to the government. Rakesh Mohan to be vice chairman.  GST collection crosses Rs 1 lakh crore  Collections from Goods and Services Tax crossed one lakh crore rupees mark for the second time since its launch in July last year. The government said the total gross GST revenue collected in October 2018 is 1 lakh 710 crore rupees.  India extends deadline for imposition of higher customs duties on 29 US products  India has extended the deadline for the imposition of higher customs duties on 29 US products, including almond, walnut and pulses, by another 45 days till 17th of next month.  Blockchain trade finance transaction  Reliance Industries Limited [RIL] & HSBC executes first of its kind blockchain trade finance transaction.  Australia announces cheap loans to Pacific countries for building infrastructure  Australia announced up to 2.18 billion US dollars in grants and cheap loans to Pacific countries for building infrastructure.  The announcement came in the backdrop of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Port Moresby scheduled.  Digital payment transactions jump to 244 cr in Aug 2018  The number of digital payment transactions in India touched 244.81 crore in August 2018 underlining the massive adoption of digital payment modes over the last two years.  New payment modes, BHIM-UPI, AePS and NETC have transformed digital payment ecosystem by increasing Person to Person (P2P) as well as Person to Merchant (P2M) payments said by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.  MSME Pavilion at India International Trade Fair  Union Minister of State (I/C) for MSME, Giriraj Singh, inaugurated the MSME pavilion at the 38th India International Trade Fair (IITF) in New Delhi.  Ease of Doing Business Grand Challenge  The launched a Grand Challenge on resolving seven identified Ease of Doing Business problemswith the use of cutting edge technologies.  The objective of this Challenge is to tap the potential of young Indians, startups and other private enterprises to provide solutions to complex problems using current technology.  EIB expands wind energy finance plan  The European Investment Bank (EIB) said it will increase its support for India’s wind energy projects by expanding the existing lending programmes with SBI.  NPCC is now a Miniratna  National Projects Construction Corporation Limited (NPCC) has been conferred with the status of Miniratna : Category –I by the Government of India.  NPCC, a schedule ‘B’ CPSE under the administrative control of Ministry of Water Resources RD & GR, has also been awarded ISO 9001:2015 Certification.  Interim Budget for 2019-20  Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to present interim Budget for 2019-20 fiscal on 1st of February next year.  India to Chair Kimberley Process  The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) Plenary 2018, was held in Brussels, Belgium, from 12th- 16thNovember 2018.EU handed over the Chairmanship of KPCS to India from 1st January, 2019.  RBI relaxes ECB norms for infrastructure creation  The Reserve Bank of India liberalised the norms governing foreign borrowings for infrastructure creation. The minimum average maturity requirement for the External Commercial Borrowings, ECBs in the infrastructure space raised by eligible borrowers has been reduced to three years from earlier five years.  Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed Loan Agreement  Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $169 million loan as the First Tranche of a $500 million multi-tranche financing to develop climate-resilient water supply, sewerage, and drainage infrastructure in at least 10 cities in the State of Tamil Nadu.  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India also signed a $300 million Loan Agreement to support lending by India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL).

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 RBI to set up expert panel to look into issues on capital surplus  The RBI board decided to set up a high-powered committee to examine issues related to surplus capital of Rs 9.69 lakh crore with the central bank and advised it to consider a scheme for restructuring stressed assets in the MSME sector.  RBI launches survey  With an aim to create a profile of India’s startup sector, the Reserve Bank has launched a survey to gauge their scope with respect to turnover, profitability and workforce.  GlaxoSmithKline merges with HUL  GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd. is to merge with Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL), India’s biggest consumer goods company, in a deal worth Rs.31,70 0 crore.  Because of this transaction HUL’s parent, Unilever will gain control of popular health drink brand Horlicks while other brands from GSK CH, such as Boost, Maltova, and Viva, will be a part of the merged entity in India. GSK CH had acquired Maltova and Boost from Jagatjit Industries in 2000.  On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), HUL shares gained 4.12%, or Rs.72.30, to close at Rs.1,825.90. Shares of GSK CH closed the day at Rs. 7,542.85, rising 3.75% or Rs.272.90.  CPCLs crude oil pipeline is set to be commissioned in DecembeR  Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd.’s 42-inch diameter crude oil pipeline from Chennai Port to its Manali refinery is to be commissioned soon in the month of December. The refinery’s latest lifeline will replace a 46-year- old 17 km-long pipeline that runs beneath many localities in thickly-populated north Chennai.  CPCL Managing Director S.N. Pandey said that all required permissions had been got and that they were ready to take crude oil. The pipeline with state-of-the-art safety features is mechanically completed. The port side is done and in the plant, all systems are ready to go.  The new pipeline has safety aspects including Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System (SCADA) for monitoring and control during operation, higher pipe thickness, an intelligent pigging facility for checking pipeline health condition and corrosion monitoring system.  RComs Jio deal gets approved with a rider  The Supreme Court (SC) asked the Department of Telecom(DoT) to give a No-Objection Certificate (NoC) to Reliance Communications (RCom) to sell its spectrum to Reliance Jio, provided a corporate guarantee of Rs.1,400 crore is furnished by its group firm in favour of the government by December 2.  A bench headed by Justice R.F.Nariman said the NoC should be given to Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCom), an Anil Ambani Group firm, by the DoT if Reliance Realty furnishes the corporate guarantee within two days.  The DoT filed a petition against the order of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal(TDSAT) which had allowed the debt-ridden RCom to sell spectrum to Reliance Jio without providing the bank guarantee of about Rs. 2,900 crore to the DoT. No Objection Certificate (NoC): NoC is a type of legal certificate issued by any agency, organization, institute or, in certain cases, an individual It does not object to the covenants of the certificate The certification is a requirement at most government-based departments predominantly from the Indian subcontinent  State Bank of gets RBI approval for subsidiary  Mauritius based SBM group granted a license by Reserve Bank of India to operate SBM Bank (India) Limited through Wholly Owned Subsidiary (WOS) mode under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 with effect from December 1, 2018.  Now at present SBM operate its branches in Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Ramachandrapuram since 1994.  It plans to open six new branches in Delhi, , Kolkata, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Jaipur by next year  Microsoft passes Apple to become most valuable company  Microsoft has surpassed Apple as the most valuable US company with a market value of about $812 billion. Apple’s market cap was about $1 billion less.  In August 2018, Apple became the first US company with a $1 trillion valuation.  Under CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has made a years-long bet on cloud computing. This has positioned Microsoft as one of the two dominant players - along with Amazon (AMZN) - in a fast growing market, and propelled the company to its first $100 billion sales year.  WhatsApp awaits RBI approval to expand its payment services  WhatsApp sought Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval that it can expand its payments services to all its 200 million users in India.  The messaging app is waiting for a regulatory clearance to launch full-fledged payments operations in India. It has been almost two years since it first began discussions with the government on its payments services plans.  The initiation comes at a time when competitors such as Google have forged ahead with their payments offerings. WhatsApp has drawn fire from the government over the spread of fake messages on its platform.

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 Google rolls out ‘Blog Compass’ app for Indian bloggers  Technology giant Google launched a new app ‘Blog Compass’ to help Indian bloggers manage their site and find topics to write about. The app, which is ‘only available in India’, works as an analytics and recommendation platform. It provides users with suggestions about topics based on their interests and posting history.

 First 2-day India Idea Summit held in Mumbai by USIBC  The theme of the conference is ‘US and India connecting our future’. This is the first time that US India Business Council (USIBC) is holding its annual general body meeting in India. The U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) was formed in 1975.  Paisabazaar.com Launches India’s First ‘Chance of Approval’ Feature  Paisabazaar.com, India’s largest online marketplace for financial products has launched an industry-first feature that will help loan applicants choose their most-suited lender on its platform.  Named ‘Chance of Approval’, this advanced predictive algorithm has been created by Paisabazaar.com by using the last four years of lending data.  SpiceJet 1st Indian airline to start dedicated cargo service  SpiceJet will start a dedicated air cargo service under the SpiceXpress brand from September 18. SpiceJet, which would be the first scheduled airline to start dedicated air cargo services in India, has inducted a Boeing 737-700 plane as the first freighter aircraft. The company said air cargo traffic in India is expected to grow 60% over the next five years.  Kolkata tops in 4G Coverage in India, Jammu and Kashmir ranked last  Kolkata has topped OpenSignal’s list of 4G availability with over 90.7% coverage, across all of India’s 22 telecom circles for the May-July period this year. It is followed by Punjab (89.8%), Bihar (89.2%), Madhya Pradesh (89.1%) and Odisha (89%). The Jammu and Kashmir circle comes at the last spot with 80.23 percent 4G availability.  India Post Payments Bank, Bajaj Allianz tie up for insurance products sale  India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) and Bajaj Allianz announced a five-year partnership to sell life insurance products on a revenue share basis.  Under the partnership, IPPB will facilitate customers to pay for Bajaj Allianz life insurance products through their accounts. Launched on September 1, the IPPB has gained around 9 lakh customers.

SCIENCE,TECHNOLOGY,DEFENCE & SECURITY

 Ex Cope India 18, the bilateral military exercise between IAF and the U.S., began  The Air Forces of India (IAF) and the U.S. began the ‘Ex Cope India-18’, a 12-day military exercise, in the Kalaikunda and Panagarh air bases in West Bengal. The aim is to enhance operational coordination and to provide operational exposure and undertake the mutual exchange of best practices towards enhancing operational capability.  This exercise is the fourth edition in the series of bilateral drills between the Indian Air Force and the U.S. Air Force. This is for the first time, the exercise is being held at two Air Force bases. The U.S. has sent a fleet of F15 C/D and C-130 military aircraft. The IAF is participating with the Su-30 MKI, Jaguar, Mirage 2000, C-130J and AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft.  Air forces of the US and India to hold joint exercise 'Cope India 2019'  Air forces of the United States and India are scheduled to participate in a 12-day joint exercise 'Cope India 2019' at two air force stations in West Bengal this month.  The exercise will be held from December 3 to 14 at Air Station Kalaikunda and Air Station Arjan Singh(Panagarh).  The Cope India exercise is being held after a gap of eight years, with the last one having taken place in 2010.  Cope India began in 2004 as a fighter training exercise held at Air Station Gwalior.  India, China to hold joint military exercises from December 10  The militaries of China and India would hold a joint 14-day drill from December 10 in southwest China's Chengdu city to improve their capabilities in fighting terrorism and promote mutual understanding.  The 7th India and China joint military exercises - 'Hand in Hand' - will focuss on counter-terrorism operations.  The exercises will be held after a gap of one year as both the sides were locked in a 73-day standoff in Doklam in the Sikkim sector of the border in 2017.  Defence Ministry approves military procurement worth Rs 3000 crore  The approved deal includes procurement of indigenous BrahMos missiles for two Indian Navy ships that are to be built in Russia.

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 The Defence Acquisition Council also approved the procurement of Armoured Recovery Vehicles (ARVs) for the Indian Army’s main battle tank, Arjun.  Jointly developed by India and Russia, the BrahMos missile flies at almost three times the speed of sound.  DRDO invites applications from military officers into DRDS  The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) invited applications from serving officers of the three services already working with it for permanent absorption as civilian officials into its Defence Research and Development Cadre (DRDS). The deadline for submitting applications is December 20, after which a committee would shortlist eligible officers based on their research experience to the equivalent ranks and research aptitude, among other criteria.  The broad eligibility criteria are: the service officers on tenure should not be above the age of 50 years as on December 20, 2018, while there is no such stipulation for PS officers. Another important criterion is that the officers should not have been fully superseded in their parent organizations. Once absorbed, the officers will be treated as civilian scientists for pay and promotion.  India celebrates the Indian Navy Day on 4th December  The Indian Navy Day is celebrated on December 4 every year to commemorate Operation Trident, an attack on the Karachi harbor during the Indo-Pakistan war in 1971. The Indian Navy is the fifth largest in the world, employing 67,109 personnel.  The Indian Navy has three commands: Eastern Command headquartered in Vishakhapatnam, Western Command in Mumbai, and Southern Command in Kochi. The Navy operates in 66 bases under the Commands.  It operates three classes of submarines: Chakra (under which is the nuclear-powered INS Chakra), Sindhughosh, and Shishumar. Marine Commandos or MARCOS, part of a special unit of the Navy, are made to undergo an excruciating training which only 10% of the trainees successfully complete.  India-Mongolia Joint Exercise ‘Nomadic Elephant 2018’ held in  The 12 days long Nomadic Elephant-2018 has begun at Mongolian Armed Forces (MAF) Five Hills Training Area, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Nomadic Elephant is an annual bilateral military exercise, started in the year 2006, and this was the 13th edition of the exercise.  Indra Navy-18 Joint Exercise concluded between India and Russia:  Indra Navy-18, a bilateral naval exercise, between India and Russia concluded on 16th December 2018. It was a 4- day maritime exercise that took place in the Bay of Bengal.  INDRA NAVY or India – Russia Navy Exercise is being conducted since 2003. The first edition of this exercise was conducted in May 2003 in India.  India Sets World Record In Nuclear Plant Operation  The indigenously developed Kaiga Atomic Power Station in Karnataka has set a new world record, with one of its units operating uninterrupted for more than 940 days. This is a record for all kinds of nuclear power-generating units, including advanced gas-based reactors in the world.  The record was earlier held by Unit 2 of Heysham of the United Kingdom, which operated non-stop for 940 days. The same unit had set a world record in October 2018, by operating uninterrupted for 894 days among Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors.  Sino-India Joint Exercise Hand-in-Hand 2018 Held in China  The opening ceremony for the 7th Sino-India joint exercise Hand-in-Hand 2018, was held at Chengdu, China. Company size contingents of 11 SIKHLI from Indian Army and a regiment from Tibetan Military District of People’s Liberation Army participated in the exercise.  The aim of the exercise is to build and promote close relations between armies of both the countries and to enhance ability of the joint exercise commander to take military contingents of both nations under command.  India’s Heaviest Satellite GSAT-11 Successfully Launched  India’s heaviest, largest and most powerful satellite GSAT-11 was successfully launched by an Arianespace rocket from the French Guiana. Blasting off from the Ariane Launch Complex in Kourou, the Ariane-5 vehicle injected the GSAT-11 into the orbit in a flawless flight lasting about 33 minutes.  The satellite will play a vital role in providing broadband services across the country and also be a platform to demonstrate new generation applications. As per the ISRO Chairman K Sivan, GSAT-11 is going to be the richest space asset for India and it will provide something like 16 Gbps data link services to the country.  India’s 1st Engine-Less ‘Train 18’ Breaches 180 kmph Speed Limit  India’s first locomotive-less train, known as Train 18, has breached the 180 kilometers per hour speed limit during a test run at Kota-Sawai Madhopur section in Rajasthan. When this indigenously designed train is made operational, it will become the country’s fastest train.  Train 18 is capable of touching 200 kilometers per hour provided the rest of the Indian Railways’ system, such as tracks and signals, permit. With 16 coaches, the train will have the same passenger carrying capacity as that of the Shatabdi Express.

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 Bilateral Air Exercise SHINYUU Maitri-18 Held In Agra  The Japanese Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) held a bilateral air exercise SHINYUU Maitri-18 with Indian Air Force at A F Station Agra. The theme of the exercise is joint Mobility/Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) on Transport aircraft.  The JASDF C2 aircraft along with aircrew/observers are part of this first air exercise between the two Air Forces.  IAF participated with An-32 and C-17 aircraft with aircrew & observers. The focus of the exercise was the IAF and JASDF crews to undertake Joint Mobility/ HADR operations. Display of heavy loading/offloading was also practiced during this exercise.  EU sets goal to be climate neutral by 2050  The European Union urged government, businesses, citizens, and regions to join it in an ambitious plan to cut emissions and make the bloc carbon neutral by 2050.  the block is kicking off a process to determine how Europe's energy and climate policy will evolve between now and 2050.  The member states will submit their draft national climate and energy plans to the EU by the end of 2018.  Delegations from more than 200 countries are due in Poland next week for the latest COP24 climate summit, aimed at renewing and building on the Paris deal and limiting global warming.  NASA to launch VISIONS 2 to image Earths leaky atmosphere  NASA is set to launch VISIONS-2 rocket to get a closer look at the how the earth’s atmosphere is leaking into space. The VISIONS-2 mission, Visualizing Ion Outflow via Neutral Atom Sensing-2, is scheduled to be launched on December 4. Understanding atmospheric escape on earth has applications all over the Universe, from predicting which planets might be habitable, to piecing together how Mars became a desolate landscape.  A sounding rocket makes brief, targeted flights into space before falling back to Earth just a few minutes later. Sounding rockets are unique among scientific spacecraft for their superior dexterity.  They can be carted to remote locations, where they are aimed and shot into short-lived events, like the sudden formation of the aurora borealis, at a moment’s notice. The aurora borealis is of keen interest to the VISIONS-2 team, but not just for its otherworldly glow. The aurora play are fundamental drivers in the process of atmospheric escape, whereby planets, including Earth, gradually leak their atmosphere into space.  First manned Soyuz mission to ISS was launched successfully  After the October launch failure, a Soyuz rocket carrying Russian, American and Canadian astronauts took off from and reached orbit on 3rd December in the first manned mission.  Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, Anne McClain of NASA and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency were launched off for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station(ISS). After the rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Russian space agency Roscomos announced that the capsule was successfully launched into orbit.  Universities to celebrate September 29 as ‘Surgical Strike Day’  UGC has directed varsities and higher educational institutions across the country to observe September 29 as ‘Surgical Strike Day’. NCC units of universities have been asked to organise a special parade, besides holding talk sessions with ex-servicemen to inform students about sacrifices of defence personnel. Students should also be encouraged to write letters to personnel, a circular added.  Google announces ‘Journalism AI’ project  To help news industry use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in more innovative ways, Google has announced a partnership with Polis, the international journalism think-tank at School of Economics and Political Science, to create “Journalism AI”.  UN Climate conference finalises rules to implement Paris climate treaty  Ministers of 200 nations finally reached consensus on rules to implement the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The Paris accord aims to limit rise in global atmospheric temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial revolution levels.  Teams to report incidents of pollution  Environment Ministry constituted 52 special action teams that will go to various places of Delhi-NCR and report the incidents of pollution to the concerned enforcing agency.  Ozone layer is finally healing from damage  A United Nations, UN report has said Earth’s protective ozone layer is finally healing from damage caused by aerosol sprays and coolants.  Frontline health workers in the country against Ebola vaccinated  The World Health Organization and Ugandan Ministry of Health, have begun vaccinating frontline health workers in the country against Ebola.

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 Ice age crater discovered beneath Greenland glacier  Buried beneath a kilometre of snow and ice in northern Greenland, scientists have uncovered an asteroid impact crater, bigger than the area of Paris. This is the first time that a crater of any size has been found under one of Earth’s continental ice sheets, said researchers from the University of Copenhagen in .  Regulating food products cultured from animal cells  US agreed to regulate food products cultured from animal cells – paving the way to get so-called “lab meat” on American plates.  Congo’s Ebola outbreak  The World Health Organization, WHO, said that Congo’s deadly Ebola outbreak is now the second largest in history, behind the devastating West Africa outbreak that killed thousands a few years ago.  Novel ‘bionic mushrooms’ can produce electricity  Scientists, including those of Indian origin, have created a bionic device that generates green power by 3D-printing clusters of cyanobacteria on an ordinary white button mushroom.  China debuts artificial intelligence news anchors  “World first”, Xinhua news agency debuted a pair of virtual news anchors of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI).  Mobile phone-based sensors to detect adulteration in milk  A smart phone-based sensor is being developed by the researchers at IIT-H to detect adulteration in milk.  ‘Robo-nose’ to replace sniffer dogs  Scientists have developed an artificial “robot nose” device made from living mouse cells that could be used instead of dogs to sniff out narcotics and explosives.  New technology to monitor impact of rain & deal with natural disasters  The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has developed a new technology to assess the rise of water level in rivers and reservoirs by rain.  The technology, called ‘Impact Based Forecasting Approach’, which shows pre-event scenario, can help state governments to minutely monitor the impact of rain and take real-time decisions.  NASA’s historic Dawn mission to asteroid belt comes to end  NASA’s pioneering Dawn spacecraft launched in 2007 to study the protoplanet Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres orbited the two largest objects in the asteroid belt has run out of fuel, ending a historic 11-year mission that untraveled many mysteries of our solar system.  China launches new high-orbit satellite  China successfully launched a high orbit satellite to boost its home-grown BeiDou global satellite navigation system. It is the first BeiDou-3 satellite in high orbit, about 36,000 km above the Earth.  It will be the fourth global satellite navigation system after the US GPS system, Russia’s GLONASS and the European Union’s Galileo.  NASA’s Hubble spots cosmic smiley  The Hubble Space telescope has spotted a formation of galaxies that resembles a smiling face in the sky.  NASA probe set to visit Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids  NASA’s Ralph – a space instrument that has travelled as far as Pluto – is set to explore Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, which are remnants from the early days of the solar system. In 2021, Ralph is set to journey with the Lucy mission to Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids.  NASA releases new image of Jupiter’s swirling clouds  NASA’s Juno spacecraft has beamed back a stunning image of Jupiter, showing the gas giant’s multitude of colourful, swirling clouds. The image was taken on October 29 as Juno performed its 16th close flyby of Jupiter  ISRO to launch modern communication satellite GSAT-29 onboard rocket GSLV-Mark-Three  The Indian Space Research Organization ISRO will launch the modern communication satellite GSAT-29 onboard the rocket GSLV-Mark-Three. This would be the second development flight of the heavier launch vehicle GSLV Mark-III.  It has the capacity to lift satellites of about four-tons into a geostationary transfer orbit.  ISRO successfully launches communication satellite GSAT-29  ISRO’s heavy-lift rocket GSLV-MkIII-D2 blasted off from Sriharikota on November 14 carrying India’s latest communication satellite GSAT-29 on board. GSLV-MkIII-D2 rocket successfully injects the satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit.  ‘Super-Earth’ found orbiting Sun’s nearest single star  Astronomers have discovered a frozen planet with a mass over three times that of the Earth, orbiting the closest solitary star to the Sun.  The potentially rocky planet, known as Barnard’s star b, is a ‘super-Earth’ and orbits around its host star once every 233 days, said researchers from Queen Mary University of London.

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 Countdown for launch of ISRO’s PSLV-C43 begins  The countdown for the launch of the national space agency ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C43 began. It is carrying India’s latest earth observation satellite hyper-spectral imaging satellite [HysIS]  PSLV-C43 successfully launched 31 satellites  The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C43) successfully launched 31 satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota.  31 Satellite includes India’s Hyper-Spectral Imaging Satellite (HysIS) and 30 foreign satellites  ISRO to launch its heaviest satellite, GSAT-11, on Dec 5, 2018  Unreserved Mobile Ticketing facility [UTS] mobile app  Railway passengers can now book unreserved general tickets online from November 1. To avail the facility passengers have to download UTS on the mobile app.  Bhoomi Rashi Portal  The portal allows for totally digital and paper-less processing of land acquisition cases, and has resulted in transparent, quick, corruption-free and error-free handling of land acquisition cases. It has also made the possible real-time tracking of activities and generation of reports relating to land acquisition.  AirSewa 2.0  The Union Minister of Civil Aviation and Commerce & Industry, Suresh Prabhu, and Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha launched the upgraded version of AirSewa 2.0 web portal and mobile app in New Delhi.  Government sets up state of-the-art National Data Repository  Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said it is a database of all the geo-scientific data of hydrocarbon resources in the country. National Data Repository is equipped with cutting-edge technology and provides ready access to interested companies.  With the introduction of National Data Repository in Indian E&P regime, India has joined the league of countries like UK and Norway which have a National Data Repository for the upstream sector.  Aero India 2019  The 12th edition of ‘Aero India 2019’ would be held at Air Force Station, Yelahanka, Bengaluru, (Karnataka) from 20 to 24 February 2019.  This five-day event will combine a major trade exhibition of the aerospace and defence industries with public air shows.  Paisa – Portal  A centralized electronic platform for processing interest subvention on bank loans to beneficiaries under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) named “PAiSA – Portal for Affordable Credit and Interest Subvention Access” was launched.  The web platform has been designed and developed by Allahabad Bank which is the Nodal bank.  Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP)  Preeti Sudan, Union Health Secretary did soft-launch of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) segment of Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) in seven states.  The path-breaking initiative will provide near-real-time data to policy makers for detecting outbreaks, reducing the morbidity and mortality and lessening disease burden in the populations and better health systems.  “SHe-Box”  The Ministry of Women and Child Development has linked SHe-Box, the online portal to report complaints of Sexual Harassment at Workplace, to all the Central Ministries, Departments and 653 districts across 33 States/Union Territories.  e-pashuhat (GPMS Transportal)  The portal is playing a crucial role in connecting farmers, breeders and other agencies to trade in disease-free germplasm, namely live animals, frozen semen and embryos.  It has been created and integrated with UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) application.  INDUSCHIP has been developed for genomic selection of indigenous breeds and 6000 dairy animals have been genetically evaluated using it.  High level meeting between Indian and Vietnamese Coast Guards  A High Level Meeting between Coast Guards of India and was held at Coast Guard Headquarters under the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2015.  IBSAMAR-VI  The sixth edition of IBSAMAR, a joint Multi – National Maritime Exercise between the Indian, Brazilian and South African Navies, is being held at Simons Town, from 01 – 13 Oct 18.  Sahyog HOP TAC-2018  Coast Guards of India, Vietnam hold Sahyog HOP TAC-2018 – joint exercise off Chennai aimed at strengthening the working level relationship between them.

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 Japan military joins historic Philippine war games “Kamandag”  Japanese troops stormed a beach in the Philippines in joint exercises with US and Filipino troops marked the first time Tokyo’s armoured vehicles rolled on foreign soil since World War II, 1945.  NS Rana at South Korea to Participate in IFR  INS Rana which is currently on Operational Deployment to the North West Pacific region in the pursuance of India’s Act East Policy, arrived Jeju, Repubic of Korea to participate in the International Fleet Review (IFR).  32nd India – Indonesia coordinated patrol (CORPAT)  Indian Naval Ship Kulish, a Kora class missile corvette entered Belawan harbour, Indonesia for the opening ceremony of the 32nd edition of India – Indonesia coordinated patrol (IND-INDO CORPAT).  Goa Maritime Symposium – 2018  The Goa Maritime Symposium – 2018, the second edition of the Goa Maritime Symposium (GSM) – a forum towards fostering friendly relations with the maritime neighbours – was inaugurated by the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba at INS Mandovi at Goa on 16th October 2018.  Newly inducted Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV)  The Indian Navy’s submarine rescue capabilities have got a boost with the successful maiden trials of its newly inducted Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV).  China and ASEAN to hold joint naval exercises  China and Southeast Asian Nations will hold their first joint maritime exercises next week. The navies of China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will hold ASEAN-China Maritime Exercise in the South China Sea near the city of Zhanjiang.  Dharma Guardian- 2018  India and Japan are all set to hold the first ever joint military exercise ‘DHARMA GUARDIAN-2018’ involving the Indian Army and Japan Ground Self Defence Force in India from 01 November to 14 November 2018.  The Indian contingent will be represented by 6/1 GORKHA RIFLES.  India, Japan, U.S. plan joint air exercise  India, Japan and the U.S. are set to elevate the bilateral ‘Cope India’ air exercise to a trilateral format. The three countries already conduct naval war games under the expanded Malabar naval exercise.  NATO’s biggest military maneuvers  NATO’s biggest military maneuvers since the Cold War began in Norway.  Defence Pension Adalat  A Defence Pension Adalat was conducted at Aundh Military Station, Pune, Maharashtra.  57th Raising Day Parade of ITBP  Home Minister Rajnath Singh attended the 57th Raising Day Parade of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) at Greater Noida.  72nd Raising day of the Infantry battalion of the Indian Army in Ooty  Special parade, march past and offering of wreaths were held at the Madras Regiment Training Centre, Wellington, Coonoor, Ooty, Tamil Nadu to commemorate the 72nd Raising day of the Infantry battalion of the Indian Army.  US military successfully tests ballistic missile intercept system  The US military successfully shot down a medium-range ballistic missile in a test of a new interceptor system. It is co-developed with Japan. SPORTS

 Ullas Narayana won Indias first international medal in ultra running  Ullas Narayana became the first Indian individual medal winner in an international ultra running event by winning bronze in the 2018 International Association of Ultra Running (IAU) 24 Hour Asia & Oceania Championships in Taipei, Taiwan.  Ultra races consisted of running over extremely long distances which are much longer than the traditional races.  They are contested in 2 different types of race modalities: over a set distance or a set time.  Shooter Esha Singh beats Bhaker, Heena to win 3 national golds  India's 13-year-old shooter Esha Singh beat the likes of and Heena Sidhu to win three gold medals in women's air pistol events at the62nd National Shooting Championships.  The 13-year-old won the Women's, Youth Women's and Junior Women's 10m Air Pistol competitions at the event.  Chidaoba wrestling, Jamaican reggae, Irish hurling got UNESCO heritage tag  The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, meeting in Mauritius until 1 December, inscribed six elements on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The newly inscribed elements are:

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Chidaoba, wrestling in , Ireland - Hurling—Hurling is a field game played by two teams using a wooden stick (hurley) to strike a small ball (sliotar) between the opposing team’s goalposts, Reggae music of , Japan - Raiho-shin, ritual visits of deities in masks and costumes, As-Samer in Jordan, Traditional spring festive rites of the Kazakh horse breeders  Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat included in the top Rs 30-lakh Grade A contract  Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Pooja Dhanda have been offered Wrestling Federation of India's (WFI) first- ever Grade 'A' contract system with a top pay bracket of Rs 30 lakh, while two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar and Rio Games bronze winner Sakshi Malik have been placed in Grade 'B' with a financial support of Rs 20 lakh each annually.  The wrestlers' contracts will be up for review after a year's time.  IPL auction to be held in Jaipur on December 18  The player auction for the 2019 (IPL) season will take place on December 18 in Jaipur.  As many as 70 players including 20 overseas cricketers will be up for grabs for the eight franchises, who are left with a total purse of 145.25 crore.  Yuvraj Singh was released by KXIP while Delhi Daredevils let go of Gautam Gambhir.  Abhinav Bindra 1st Indian to receive Blue Cross from ISSF  India's Olympic gold medal-winning shooter Abhinav Bindra became the first Indian to be honoured with the Blue Cross by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) for his contribution to the sport of shooting.  The Blue Cross is the highest laurel for shooters given by the ISSF.  Bindra won an Olympic gold (2008), a World Championship gold (2006), 7 CWG medals and 3 Asian Games medals.  He was given the Arjuna award in 2000, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2001 and the Padma Bhushan in 2009.  Magnus Carlsen retains World Chess Championship 2018 title  World number one Norwegian Magnus Carlsen has retained his World Chess Championship title, beating US opponent Fabiano Caruanain a tie-breaker event.  Carlsen's peak rating of 2882, achieved in 2014, is the highest in history.  Carlsen became World Champion in 2013 by defeating Viswanathan Anand.  Delhi Daredevils renamed as Delhi Capitals ahead of 2019 IPL season  The change in name comes close on the heels of JSW Sports picking up a 50 percent stake in the franchise.  Ahead of the 2019 IPL auctions, the Delhi Daredevils released former captain Gautam Gambhir and a host of international stars which include Jason Roy, Glenn Maxwell and Liam Plunkett, along with Indian paceman Mohammed Shami.  star Luka Modric wins Ballon d'Or to end Ronaldo, Messi era  Midfielder Luka Modrić, who led Croatia to their first-ever FIFA World Cup final, won this year's Ballon d'Or.  He was named 2018 FIFA World Cup's best player and had also won this year's The Best FIFA Men's Player award.  This is the first time since 2007 that neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or.  France World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe won the Kopa Trophy - for the best player under the age of 21.  Jhulan first player to pick 300 int’l wickets in women’s cricket  Indian pacer Jhulan Goswami became the first bowler in women’s cricket to pick 300 international wickets after reaching the landmark figure in India’s nine-wicket win over Sri Lanka. In addition to Jhulan’s record, Mithali Raj went past ’s Charlotte Edwards (117) as the most-capped captain in women’s ODIs with her 118th appearance.  Belgium ends the year as No. 1 in FIFA global rankings  Belgium will end the year as No. 1 ahead of world champions France in the global rankings released by FIFA recently. Belgium have 1,727 points by FIFA’s calculations to 1,726 for France. are third on 1,676.  Ullas Narayan Wins India’s 1st International Medal in Ultra Running  Ullas Narayan became the first ever Indian individual medal winner in an international ultra running event by clinching a bronze in the 2018 International Association of Ultra Running (IAU) 24 Hour Asia & Oceania Championships in Taipei.  Narayan bagged the third position, completing 250 km, behind two Japanese runners Yoshihiko Ishikawa (253 km) and Nobuyuki Takahashi (252 km). Japan won the team event gold with a distance of 756 km and Australia (684 km) got the silver.  Rishabh Pant equals Dhoni’s record in Test Cricket  Indian wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant created history on day 3 of the first Test against Australia in Adelaide. Rishabh Pant took six catches in the Australian first innings thus equalling M.S. Dhoni’s record.  Pakistan’s Wasim Bari holds the record of most dismissals by a wicket-keeper in an innings with 7 catches.

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Cricket  Madhya Pradesh opener Ajay Rohera creates world record for highest first-class debut score 267 not out, a world record.  The record was earlier held by former Mumbai stalwart Amol Mazumdar, who had hit 260 in 1994.  Second fastest to score 25 Test centuries in Cricket  Indian skipper Virat Kohli has became the second fastest to score 25 Test centuries, only behind Sir Don Bradman. Kohli also equalled Tendulkar’s record of most Test tons by an Indian – that is six – in Australia.  IPL 2019 auction  IPL 2019 auction takes place in Jaipur.  BCCI to expand ACU  The BCCI is all set to expand its Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU).  Indian Women’s ODI and T20 team captains announced for the tour  Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur were retained as captains for the Indian Women’s ODI and T20 team for the New Zealand tour beginning next month.  Seven year old to co-captain Australia  Archie Schiller, the seven-year-old leg-spinner inducted into the Australian team earlier this month, is set to co- captain the side alongside Tim Paine in the in the Boxing Day Test at the Cricket Ground.  Ponting inducted into ICC Hall of Fame  Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting was formally inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.  ICC announces women’s ODI and T20I teams of the year  International Cricket Council, ICC, announced women’s ODI and T20I teams of the year 2018.  New Zealand’s Suzie Bates was named as captain of the one day team and Harmanpreet Kaur of India appointed captain of the T20 team.  Men’s Hockey World Cup  India, Australia, Argentina and Germany have made it to the last-8 stage after topping their respective groups.  India lost to Netherlands 2-1 in a quarter-final encounter at Bhubaneswar. In another quarterfinal, Belgium defeated Germany 2-1.  Belgium has claimed their first ever World Cup title defeating Netherlands 3-2 in a dramatic shoot-out in the final of the Men’s World Cup in Bhubaneswar. Belgium has won the trophy after sixteen years.  National Shooting Championship Competitions  Rajasthan’s Maheshwari Chauhan retained her women’s skeet title at the 62nd National Shooting Championship Competitions (NSCC) for shotgun events in Jaipur.  First Indian to be elected in ISSF’s judges committee  Pawan Singh has become the first Indian to be elected one of seven members of the Judges Committee of the International Federation (ISSF).  World chess championship 2018  Magnus Carlsen beats caruana in tie-breaker to retain the world Champion title.  Tata Motors Senior National Championship  In Wrestling, Vinesh Phogat won the 57-kilogram national title at the Tata Motors Senior National Championship in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh. Sakshi Malik won in the 62 kilogram.  Tata Open India International Challenge  In Badminton, young shuttler Lakshya Sen stormed into the finals of the men’s singles of the 11th Tata Open India International Challenge in Mumbai.  Pune International Marathon  Atlawim Debebe of Ethiopia won the Full Marathon with the timing of 2 hours 17 minutes 17 seconds. Teshome Getachew claimed second and Bekele Asefa third position.  In women’s Full Marathon Pascalia Chepkogei from Kenya stood first with the timing of 2 hour 50 minutes 27 seconds. Belew Mekonnen and Fekede Tilahun of Ethiopia claimed second and third position.  Khelo India Youth Games  Khelo India Youth Games to be held in Pune from 9th to 20th of January.  Badminton World Tour Finals  PV Sindhu has stormed into the summit clash of Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals at in China.  Ace Indian shuttler P V Sindhu lifted the prestigious season-ending World Tour Finals trophy at Guangzhou, China. The Olympic silver medallist defeated Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-19, 21-17 in the summit clash.  37th Senior National Rowing Championship  The 37th Senior National Rowing Championship will start in the Army Rowing Node in Pune.  Kabaddi Player announces his retirement  Renowned Kabaddi Player, Anup Kumar announced his retirement from Kabaddi, ending a 15-year iconic career.

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 Premier Badminton League  The Premier Badminton League begins in Mumbai.  Indian woman becomes the fastest Asian to cycle the globe  Vedangi, who hails from a suburb of Pune, cycled into Kolkata in the wee hours of December 23, completing the 29,000 km distance required to qualify as bicycling across the globe.  16th Mumbai Marathon  The 16th Mumbai Marathon will be held on January 20 next year and around 50,000 participants are expected to participate in the run.  Five weightlifters banned  The International Weightlifting Federation announced in Paris that five weightlifters have been provisionally suspended after reanalysis of their urine samples provided during the 2012 London Olympics.  10th R R Lakshya Cup  The 10th R R Lakshya Cup, an international shooting competition, will be held at Karnala.  3rd Edition of Women’s national boxing championships  Third edition of women’s national boxing championships begins in Vijayanagara, Karnataka.  India clinch Blind T20 series against England  India beat England by 55 runs in the second T20 game in Bengaluru to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the bilateral cricket series for the blind.  U-19 Asia Cup cricket  India entered the Under-19 Asia Cup cricket final after beating Bangladesh by two runs in Dhaka.  2nd Youngest Indian to score a century in Cricket  Prithvi Shaw became the second youngest Indian to score a century behind the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar.  Quickest batsman to reach 24 Test centuries  India captain Virat Kohli became the quickest batsman to reach 24 Test centuries after the great Donald Bradman early on day two against the West Indies.  U-19 Asia Cup  Indian won the U-19 Asia Cup defeating Sri Lanka in the final.  Test series against West Indies  India has swept the test series 2-0 against West Indies in Cricket.  Pakistan Vs Australia Test Cricket  Pakistan defeat Australia by 373 runs in 2nd Cricket Test in Abu Dhabi and won the two-match series 1-0.  Vijay Hazare trophy  Mumbai beat Delhi to lift title for third time  Kohli becomes the fastest to score 10,000 ODI runs  Virat Kohli broke the world record for the fastest 10,000 one-day international runs. He Reaches the milestone in his 205th innings, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 259 innings.  West Indies Dwayne Bravo announces retirement  West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo announces his retirement from international cricket.  Chris Broad completes triple century of ODIs  Chris Broad became the second member of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees to reach 300 ODIs trails the Sri Lankan Ranjan Madugalle by only 36 ODIs.  China Open  Caroline Wozniacki won her 30th WTA singles title in the China Open final in Beijing.  Open trophy Tennis  Leander Paes won the Santo Domingo Open trophy with partner Miguel Angel Reyyes-Varela.  Shanghai Masters Tennis  Novak Djokovic beat Croatia’s Borna Coric in the final of the Shanghai Masters Tennis.  Wimbledon Tennis 2019  Wimbledon to introduce fifth-set tiebreakers starting in 2019.  India’s new number one doubles player  Divij Sharan became India’s new number one doubles player, overtaking veteran Rohan Bopanna by moving to 38 in the latest ATP Tennis rankings.  Sultan Johar Cup Hockey  Great Britain defeated India 3-2 in the final and lifted the 2018 Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia.  Asian Champions Trophy  India & Pakistan declared joint winners of Asian Champions Trophy in Oman after rain washes off summit clash.  31st All India Railways Chess tournament  The 31st All India Railways Chess tournament will begin at Trichy in Tamil Nadu.  SAFF U-18 Women’s Championship

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 India to face Nepal in semi-finals of SAFF U-18 Women’s Championship at Thimphu, Bhutan  36th National Games  36th National Games in Goa will be held from March 30 to April 14 next year.  Japanese Grand Prix  Lewis Hamilton won the record-extending 80th pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix.  Chess Olympiad  Indian men took the sixth spot and the women finished eighth in the Chess Olympiad that concluded in Batumi.  IBSF World U-16 Snooker Championships  India’s Keerthana Pandian won the girls’ title in the IBSF World Under-16 Snooker Championships in the final in St Petersburg, Russia.  India’s Premier Cyclothon  Deborah Herold won the gold medal in the elite women’s 40 kilometre competition at Saksham Pedal Delhi, India’s Premier Cyclothon. The honour in men’s 50 kilometres was bagged by Shreedhar Savanur.  Youth Olympic Games  Shooter Tushar Mane bagged silver in the men’s 10 metre air rifle event.  Thangjam Tababi Devi became India’s first judo medallist at the Olympic level, claiming a silver medal.  Jeremy Lalrinnunga wins the first gold for India in the Men’s 62 kg category weight lifting. Sandeep Chaudhary in Javelin throw men’s category, Raju Rakshitha in women’s 1500 meters and swimmer Jadhav Suyash Narayan in men’s 50-meter butterfly won gold medal.  Saurabh Chaudhary bags Gold in 10-metre air pistol event.  Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen settled for a silver medal after he lost the men’s singles summit clash against Li Shifeng of China in straight games in the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.  Manu Bhaker became the second Indian after judoka Tababi Devi to win two medals at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) after winning a silver.  Indian Men’s team lost to Malaysia & Women’s Hockey team lost to Argentina and won Silver medals at Youth Olympic Games in Argentina.  Suraj Panwar clinches silver in men’s 5000m race walk event in Argentina.  Indian Triple Jumper Praveen Chitravel has bagged a Bronze medal at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in the Argentina.  Akash Malik became India’s first silver-medallist in archery at the Youth Olympic Games being held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  Para Asian Games  Men’s badminton team won bronze.  Farman Basha won silver and Paramjeet Kumar won the bronze in the 49 kg men’s powerlifting event.  Swimmers Devanshi Satijawon won silver in women’s 100 metre butterfly and Suyash Jadhav won the bronze in the men’s 200 metre individual medley.  Ekta Bhyan won gold at the Asian Para Games by topping the women’s club throw event. Monu Ghangas in the men’s shot put, Anandan Gunasekaran in men’s 200m and Jayanti Behera in the women’s 200m race secured bronze medal.  Harvinder Singh won gold in the men’s individual recurve [Archery]. Monu Ghangas won the silver in the men’s discus throw F11 category, while Mohammed Yasser won bronze in the men’s shot put F46 category.  Narayan Thakur won gold in men’s 100 meters dash, para-shooter Manish Narwal won gold in the men’s 10 meter air pistol event.  Surender Aneesh Kumar in men’s discus, Ram Pal in men’s high jump and Virender in men’s shot put won silver medal.  Sundar Singh Gurjar won a silver medal in the javelin throw men’s F46 category.  Deepa Malik set a new Asian record with her best throw of 10.71 meters and won bronze in the women’s F51/52/53 discus throw event.  In men’s singles SL3 class badminton, India’s Pramod Bhagat defeated Ukun Rukaendi of Indonesia to clinch the gold medal, Tarun added another gold for India on the final day of the event by beating Yuyang Gao of China 21-16 21-6 in the men’s singles SL4 class.  India to play with Japan in the semi-final of the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Muscat.  Nehru Trophy Boat race to be held on Nov 10  Kerala’s famed Nehru Trophy Boat Race will be held on November 10 in Alappuzha’s Kuttanad,. The annual event was delayed by two months this year due to devastating floods in Kerala  World Wrestling Championships  World Wrestling Championships begin in Budapest, .  30-member team led by Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia to represent India at World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

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 India’s Sumit Malik recorded one of the biggest results of his career by reaching the semifinals of the World Wrestling Championships.  Bajrang Punia has entered 65 kg category Final at the World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary.  Bajrang Punia had to settle for silver in the 65 kg category of the World Wrestling Championship after losing to youngster Japanese Takuto Otoguro in the final at Budapest.  Pooja Dhanda won a bronze medal in the women’s freestyle 57kg weight class in Budapest, Hungary.  Delhi Half Marathon men’s race  Ethiopian Andamalak Belihu won in the men’s elite field to win his maiden Airtel Delhi Half Marathon.  Badminton tournament  French Open badminton tournament begins in Paris.  Liuzhou International Challenger  In Tennis, seventh seed Indian Prajnesh Gunneswaran defeated Johan Tatlot of France in closely contested straight sets 6-4, 7-5 in the men’s singles of Liuzhou International Challenger in Guangyuan, China  Valencia race  Kenyan distance runner Abraham Kiptum won the Valencia race, setting a new world best time of 58mins 18sec for the half-marathon.  Panasonic Open India Golf  Indian golfer Khalin Joshi clinches Panasonic Open India title at Delhi Golf Club.  ITTF Challenge Belgium Open  Indian table tennis player Ayhika Mukherjee has won a silver medal in the under-21 women’s singles category of the ITTF Challenge Belgium Open.  International Chess tournament  Grandmaster B Adhiban finished tied third at the Isle of Man International tournament after beating highly-regarded Michael Adams of England in Isle of Man, United Kingdom. AWARDS &HONOURS

The Complete List of Winners of Nobel Prize 2018 S.No. Field Description Winner 1. Physiology or Medicine For their discovery of cancer therapy by James P. Allison(USA), inhibition of negative immune regulation Tasuku Honjo(Japan) 2. Physics For their method of generating high-intensity, Gérard Mourou(France), ultra-short optical pulses in the field of laser Arthur Ashkin(USA), physics Donna Strickland(Canada) 3. For control of evolution and used it for George Smith (USA), Chemistry purposes that bring the greatest benefit to Frances Arnold (USA), humankind. Greg Winter (UK) 4. Literature This year no Nobel Prize for Literature 5. Peace Denis Mukwege (Democratic For their efforts to end the use of sexual Republic of the Congo), violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict. Nadia Murad (Germany) 6. For work on climate change, and the William Nordhaus (US) Economic Sciences endogenous growth theory Paul Romer(US)

 Why this year there is no Nobel Prize for Literature?  An expose published late last year by the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter told the story of 18 women who said they were sexually harassed or assaulted by a French arts promoter named Jean-Claude Arnault. He's married to poet Katarina Frostenson and is friends with Horace Engdahl, two members of the Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel Prize in literature. Earlier this week, Arnault was sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of raping a woman in 2011.  Sarala Puraskar award for Poet Satrughna Pandav  Eminent novelist of India, Sri Govind Mishra will be the Chief Guest of the Sarala Award function. He has been chosen for this honor for his poetry collection ‘Misra Dhrupad’. This award consists of a cash award of Rs. 5,00,000/- along with a citation.  Pandit Umesh Chandra Karto be awarded ‘ Ila Panda Sangeet Samman’ in the field of music and art. Sri Binod Moharanawill receive ‘Ila Panda Chitrakala Samman’ award.

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 Sonam Kapoor Named PETA India’s 2018 Person of the Year  Actress Sonam Kapoor, a vegan, has been named People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India’s Person of the Year for 2018.  Sonam has been feted as she sings in praise of vegan eating and because she keeps animal skins out of her handbag line for her fashion brand Rheson, apart from taking other action for the welfare of animals.

 Author Amitav Ghosh Honoured With 54th Jnanpith Award  Noted English author Amitav Ghosh has been honoured with Jnanpith Award for 2018, an award for outstanding contribution to literature.  The decision was taken in a meeting of Jnanpith Selection Board chaired by eminent novelist, scholar and Jnanpith laureate Pratibha Ray.  Ghosh, one of the most prominent contemporary Indian writers, is known for a series of novels such as “Shadow Lines”, “The Glass Palace”, “The Hungry Tide”, and Ibis Trilogy — “Sea of Poppies”, and “River of Smoke”.  Jharkhand Gets ‘Krishi Karman’ Award In Rice Category  Jharkhand has been selected for “Krishi Karman” award in the rice category from the Union Ministry of Agriculture.  The award to be given away in February 2019 carries a cash prize of Rs 2 crore and a citation.  Indian Navy commander (Pilot) Vijay Varma,Captain (Pilot) P Rajkumar win Asian of The Year award for Kerala flood rescue  On 28th November 2018, An Indian Navy Commander (Pilot) Vijay Varma and Captain (Pilot) P Rajkumar were honoured at the 7th ‘Asian of The Year’awards acknowledging their selfless service and bravery in rescue operations during the devastating floods in Kerala.  The winners were announced at the Straits Times Global Outlook Forum 2019 held in Singapore.  Manika 1st Indian to Win ‘Breakthrough Table Tennis Star’ Award  Manika Batra won the ‘Breakthrough Table Tennis Star’ award at the prestigious International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Star Awards in Incheon, South Korea.  India coach Massimo Costantini won Table Tennis Star Coach award.  Sahitya Academy Awards 2018 Announced: Complete List of Winners  Sahitya Akademi announced its annual Awards for 2018 in 24 languages.  Seven books of poetry, six novels, six short stories, three of literary criticism and two of essays have won the Sahitya Akademi Awards, 2018.

Sl. No. Winner Language For Collection of Poetry 1. Sananta Tanti Assamese 2. Paresh Narendra Kamat Konkani 3. S Ramesan Nair Malayalam 4. Dr Rama Kant Shukla Sanskrit 5. Dr Mohanjit Punjabi 6. Dr Rajesh Kumar Vyas Rajasthani 7. Khiman U Mulani Sindhi For short stories 8. Sanjib Chattopadhyay Bengali 9. Mushtaq Ahmed Mushtaq Kashmiri 10. Prof Bina Thakur Maithili For Novel 11. Inderjeet Kesar Dogri 12. Anees Salim English 13. Chitra Mudgal Hindi 14. Shyam Besra Santali 15. S Ramakrishnan Tamil 16. Rahman Abbas Urdu 17. Short-story writer, Mushtaq Ahmad Mushtaq, bagged the Award for his collection of short stories “AAKH’’.

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 Virat Kohli, Mirabai Chanu to be awarded Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna  Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli and world champion weightlifter Mirabai Chanu will receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the country’s highest sporting honour, on September 25. While Kohli is currently the top-ranked Test batsman in the world, Chanu won gold at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year. Meanwhile, javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will be given the Arjuna award.  Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli became the third Indian cricketer to be given the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna after former captains Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni.  Aadi Sai Vijaykaran Wins ‘Top Debater In The World’ Title  Aadi Sai Vijaykaran created history by winning the Junior Debate Championship at the World Scholar’s Cup held at Yale University, the USA.  The theme for the cup was ‘An Entangled World: diplomacy, human relationships, the science of memory, and literature, art’. It is the first time an individual from India has won the coveted title.  Indian Film ‘Period. End of Sentence’ Made It To Oscars Shortlist  ‘Period. End of Sentence’ has made it to the Oscar shortlist in the Documentary Short Subject category. This is a film about women in India fighting against the deeply rooted stigma of menstruation and delving upon the work of real-life ‘Pad Man’ Arunachalam Muruganantham.  A total of 104 films had originally qualified in the category. India’s entry for the Foreign Language Film Category, Village Rockstars is out of the Oscar race.  : Catriona Gray of the Philippines wins crown  The Philippines’ Catriona Gray was named Miss Universe 2018 in a competition concluding Monday in , besting contestants from 93 other countries and delighting her home country.  The 24-year-old Gray wore a sparkling red dress she said is inspired by a volcano in the Philippines as she was handed the crown to the delight of a roaring crowd that generally favored Southeast Asian contestants.  Mamata Banerjee awarded the Skoch CM of the Year Award  The Chief Minister of West Bengal has been awarded the Skoch Chief Minister of the Year Award for the year 2017. The award was given to Mamta Banerjee recognising her contribution in the overall development of West Bengal as West Bengal emerged as the best-performing state in the field of Governance.  West Bengal has won 31 Skoch Awards this year for its performance in different fields and for executing unique projects.  Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu was also awarded by the Skoch Group with “SKOCH Sprinter of the Year” Award. Commerce and Industry and civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu won the “Steady Reformer” Award.  Slain Journalist Khashoggi Named Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year”  Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in October 2018 at his country’s consulate, has been named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” alongside several other journalists.  The magazine has also honoured Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo — currently imprisoned in and the staff of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, including five members killed in a June shooting. International

S. No Awards Awardees 1. 2018 Mexico’s Vanessa Poncede Leon. Thailand’s Nicolene Pichapa Limsnukan was declared the runner-up. 2. Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray of Philippines [4th Filipina to be named Miss Universe.] 3. Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. 4. Men’s 2018 Ballon d’Or Award Croatian midfielder Luka Modric 5. Women’s Ballon d’Or Award Norwegian striker Ada Hegerberg [Named for the first time] S. No Awards Awardees International Press Institute-India 1. Namrata Biji Ahuja award 2. AirSewa Champion award Chennai airport [For hundred percent grievance redressal in one year]. 3. UN Environment award [for combating Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), Ministry of Environment, Forest transboundary environmental crime] and Climate Change, Government of India

National Awards

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S. No Awards Awardees 1. Sahitya Akademi Award Shri Shyam Sundar Besra, Chief Inspector of Ticket [Novel “Marom” in Santhali language] 2. Sahitya Akademi Award for Malayalam Ramesan Nair 3. “Meethoileima” (par excellent queen) MC Mary Kom [By Manipur Government] 4. Jnanpith Award Amitav Ghosh 5. 3rd edition of Women Transforming NITI Aayog is organising the third edition of the Women Transforming India awards 2018 India Awards 2018 tomorrow. The event will also mark launching of the upgraded portal of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP). 2018 theme is “Women and Entrepreneurship” 6. Sardar Patel Award for National Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi announced annual Sardar Patel Integration Award for National Integration at the DGPs/IGPs Conference at Kevadia. This award would be given for outstanding efforts to further national integration. S. No Awards Awardees 1. Federation of Indian Chambers of Certificate of Excellence for Internationalisation of Education to Vellore Commerce and Industry award [FICCI] Institute of Technology (VIT) for its achievements in higher education. 2. Raja Ram Mohan Roy Award Ram [by the Press Council of India PCI] 3. Infosys Prize 2018 for science and Navakanta Bhat research. Six eminent professors have Kavita Singh been awarded the Infosys Prize 2018 Roop Mallik Nalini Anantharaman S.K. Satheesh Sendhil Mullainathan 4. EURAXESS Science Slam India Chakraborty [for communicating science through theatre]

PERSON APPOINTED /RESIGNED

 Pawan Singh is the first Indian to be elected in ISSF judges committee  Pawan Singh is also the Joint Secretary General of National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).  He was a former coach of the Indian shooting team.  Members of the administrative council of ISSF voted to select the committee, at the elections held at .  The Judges Committee consists of a Chairman and 7 members.  It is responsible for the uniform application of shooting rules.  Yes Bank appoints T.S Vijayan as an independent director to the board  Yes Bank appointed T.S Vijayan, former Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) chairman, as an independent director on the board of the private sector bank with immediate effect. The board was formed by the bank to select the successor of its MD & CEO, Rana Kapoor, whose present term ends on January 31. He was the only external member in the search and selection committee. He has been given a five-year term.  Mr.Vijayan’s appointment comes after a spate of resignations from the board which raised concerns over corporate governance practices among investors. Three board members had resigned in November. With the current appointment, the board now has eight members.  Y.K.Koo resigns as MD and CEO of HMIL  Y.K.Koo, the present Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) resigned his position as he is to move back to Korea to take up a new role after completing a three-year term in India. He has been with the Hyundai Motor Company for more than 34 years, handling different assignments. He has served HMIL for over nine years.  Seon Seob Kim, head of business operations division, will replace Mr.Koo as the MD & CEO of Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL).  World Gold Council appoints David Tait as next CEO  The market development organization for the gold industry, The World Gold Council announced the appointment of David Tait who has a very successful career in the financial services industry as the upcoming Chief Executive Officer (CEO).  Bank of Maharashtra appoints A.S. Rajeev as MD and CEO  The 54-year-old previously served as the Executive Director of Indian Bank and had also been the CFO of Vijaya Bank.  He will hold the position for a period of three years or till further orders, whichever is earlier.

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 Sunil Arora took charge as new Chief Election Commissioner  Sunil Arora, the senior-most election commissioner, on Dec 2 took charge as the 23rd Chief Election Commissioner, succeeding OP Rawatwho demitted office on December 1.  Besides the Parliamentary polls, the 2019 assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim will be held during his tenure.  He will be in office till October 2021.  Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador became first leftist president of Mexico  He became as President and signed an agreement with three Central American counterparts to create a plan to stem the flow of migrants seeking asylum in the USA.  About Mexico:- Capital – National language – Spanish Currency – Peso (MXN)  CAG Rajiv Mehrishi Appointed Vice-Chair of UN Panel of Auditors  CAG has announced that Comptroller and Auditor General Rajiv Mehrishi has become the Vice-Chair of the UN Panel of Auditors. The United Nations Panel of Auditors consists of External Auditors of the United Nations and its agencies.  Currently, the panel is chaired by the Comptroller and Auditor General of the UK, Sir Amyas Morse. The panel also elected the Comptroller and Auditor General of the UK as Chair of the Panel for another term (2019).  Pawan Singh First Indian To Be Elected In ISSF’s Judges Committee  Pawan Singh has become the first Indian to be elected one of seven member’s of the Judges Committee of the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF). Mr. Singh also holds the post of the Joint Secretary General of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).  Mr. Singh got elected onto the seven members’ Judges Committee for which 22 candidates from all over the world were in the fray. Members of the administrative council of ISSF voted to select the committee during the elections held at Munich. The ISSF elections take place every four years.  RBI Appoints Shaktikanta Das As New Governor  The government has appointed Shaktikanta Das as the new RBI governor, a day after Urjit Patel resigned as RBI Governor. He is the 25th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.  A former economic affairs secretary from 2015 to 2017, Das worked closely with the central bank. He is currently a member of the Finance Commission of India, and the government’s representative at the Group of 20 summits.  State Bank of India Ropes in Swapna Barman As Brand Ambassador For YONO  State Bank of India has roped in Asian Games gold medalist Swapna Barman as brand ambassador for its digital app YONO. YONO, the bank’s digital platform that makes both lifestyle and banking available through a single app, was launched exactly a year back.  Swapna won Gold medal in Heptathlon in Jakarta Asian Games with a score of 6026 and is looking to break the 6200 score barrier to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.  Government Appoints Krishnamurthy Subramanian As New Chief Economic Advisor  The government appointed Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian as the new Chief Economic Advisor. Dr. Subramanian will have a tenure of three years.  The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has cleared his name. He is currently working as an Associate Professor at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.  A Ph.D. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a top-ranking IIT-IIM alumnus, Subramanian is one of the world’s leading experts in banking, corporate governance and economic policy.  Brijendra Pal Singh Appointed New FTII Chairman  Producer-director Brijendra Pal Singh was appointed as the new president of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and chairman of the institute’s governing council by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.  Mr Singh, best known as the producer-director of popular TV series ‘CID’, is currently the vice-chairman of the FTII governing council. He succeeds veteran actor Anupam Kher.  Raninder Singh becomes first Indian to be elected ISSF Vice President  The elections were held during the General Assembly meeting of ISSF in Munich in which Raninder secured 161 votes to make it to the coveted position.  The 51-year-old Raninder is currently the president of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).  The NRAI president was also awarded the ISSF diploma of honor gold medal at the General Assembly by the outgoing longest-serving president of the ISSF, Olegario Vázquez Raña, who was at the helm for 38 years.  Vladimir Lisin, of Russia, was elected as the seventh president of ISSF and Alexander Rather was elected as the new secretary general of ISSF in the same General Assembly meeting.  Indian Shooter and 2008 Olympic gold medalist, Abhinav Bindra was honored with the prestigious Blue Cross, the highest recognition of the ISSF in the meeting.

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 Ravindra Kumar Verma assumes charge as Technical Member in the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity  Ravindra Kumar Vermatook charge as Technical Member in the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL), Ministry of Power, for a period of 3 years.  Justice Manjula Chellur, Chairperson of APTEL, administered the Oath of Office and Secrecy to Ravindra Kumar Verma.  Ravindra Kumar Verma occupied various posts in the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) for over 37 years.  Government Appoints Interim CBI Head Nageswara Rao As Additional Director  CBI’s Joint Director M Nageswara Rao, who is currently the interim CBI Director, was promoted to the rank of Additional Director by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.  Before being appointed interim chief, Rao was No. 3 in the pecking order and was handling the Chandigarh branch along with certain branches in South India.  Uday Shankar Elected As Vice President Of FICCI  Star India’s Chairman and CEO Uday Shankar has been elected Vice President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) for 2018-19.  He was recently appointed Star and Disney India’s Chairman and President of The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific. Shankar is the first-ever Indian media and entertainment executive to assume the leadership position in a national industry chamber.  Ramphal Pawar Appointed Director of NCRB  The Government appointed Ramphal Pawar as the new Director of National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB). An IPS officer from the West Bengal cadre, Mr Pawar was Joint Secretary in NATGRID.  He will be joining NCRB against existing vacancy from the date of joining the post and up to tenure extendable as per IPS Tenure Policy or till further orders, whichever is earlier.  State Bank of India appoints Prashant Kumar as CFO  Anshula Kant is promoted as Managing Director of SBI, was the CFO. Kumar was designated as Deputy Managing Director (HR) & Corporate Development Officer of India’s largest bank.  Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma signed as ambassadors of Campaign  The two stars of the film ‘Sui Dhaaga – Made in India’, have been signed on to promote and endorse the Skill India Mission (SIM), chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Skill India Mission is led by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and aims to standardise vocational training.  Kamlesh Nilakanth Vyas is appointed as the Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission  Kamlesh Nilakanth Vyas, Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, has been appointed as the Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission and the Secretary of Department of Atomic Energy. His tenure will end on May 2021. He has replaced Shekhar Basu.  Mr.Vyas is a Mechanical Engineering graduate from MS University, Vadodara. He underwent training in BARC training school in 1979, he joined Fuel Design and Development Section of Reactor Engineering Division of BARC. He is an expert in thermal hydraulics and stress analysis of critical reactor core components.  Sudhir Bhargava Appointed New Chief Information Commissioner  The government has appointed Sudhir Bhargava as Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), along with four information commissioners. Mr. Bhargava was Information Commissioner in the CIC.  An alumnus of St Michael’s High School in Patna and St Stephen’s College in Delhi, Mr. Sinha is a 1981-batch Indian Foreign Service officer who was the High Commissioner of India in the United Kingdom.  Anshula Kant appointed Managing Director of SBI  State Bank of India (SBI) said the government has appointed Anshula Kant as Managing Director of the bank. Kant will remain in the position until the date of her superannuation on September 30, 2020 or until further orders, whichever is earlier. Kant, who joined SBI as a Probationary Officer in 1983, was serving as Deputy MD and CFO.  WV Raman Appointed India Women’s Cricket Team Coach  W V Raman has been appointed the new coach of the Indian women’s cricket team. Raman is a vastly-experienced coach having been in charge of Tamil Nadu and India U-19 teams in the past.  Former India captain Kapil Dev and Anshuman Gaekwad, along with Shanthan Rangaswamy, who are all part of the three-member selection panel, had suggested the two names to the apex body of Indian cricket including that of former India men’s cricket team coach Gary Kirsten. National New Appointments

S.No Name Designation 1. Air Marshal MSG Menon, VSM Director General (Wks & Cer) of IAF 2. Lt Gen P S Rajeshwar Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to Chairman, COSC

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3. Air Marshal Pradeep Padmakar Air Officer-in-Charge Administration of IAF Bapat VSM 4. Shri Vishwesh Chaube New Member (Engineering), Railway Board 5. Bidyut Chakrabarty Vice Chancellor of Visva Bharati University 6. Justice Amareshwar Pratap Sahi Chief Justice of Patna High Court 7. Ajay Bhushan Pandey New revenue secretary 8. Sunil Arora Chief Election Commissioner 9. M. Naik Chairman of National Skill Development Corporation 10. Arvind Saxena Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission 11. Ajay Bhushan Pandey Revenue Secretary

International Appointments

S.No Name Designation 1. Kim Jong Yang of South Korea Interpol President for a two-year term 2. Nahid Afrin UNICEF appoints singer as First ‘Youth Advocate’ of northeastern region [to fight for child rights]

BOOKS & AUTHORS

S.No BOOK AUTHORS 1. ‘Smart Cities Unbundle’ Dr. Samir Sharma 2. Cricket My Style Kapil Dev 3. Terrorism in India Shaileshwar Jha 4. My life Struggle Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan 5. By God’s Decree The Autobiography of Kapil Dev 6. The Sins of the Father Jeffery Archer 7. The Perfect World Priya Kumar 8. Global Crisis Recession and Uneven Recovery Y.V.Reddy 9. Water: Asia’s New Battleground Brahma Chellaney 10. Yuvi- Biography of Yuvaraj Singh Makarand Waingankar 11. Walking with Linos: Tales from a Diplomatic Past K.Natwar Singh 12. The Orphan Master’s Son Adam Johnson 13. Matters of Discretion I.K. Gujaral 14. Narcopolis Jeet Thayil 15. When Loss is Gain Pavan K. Varma 16. The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes 17. India-China Boundary Problem, 1846-1947: History and Diplomacy A.G. Noorani 18. Craft Atlas of India Jaya Jaitiley 19.. One Little Finger Malini Chib 20. We the People Nani Palkiwala 21. My India S.Nihal Singh 22. Hinduism Nirad C. Chaudhari 23. Rich Like Us Nayantara Sehgal 24. Netaji and Gandhi Shashi Ahluwalia 25. Purpose of Life Arun K. Tiwari

IMPORTANT SUMMIT :- 2018  BRICS SUMMIT 2018  There are 5 Core Brics Members Countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa  Recently Held and upcoming BRICS Summits and Venues

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 6th BRICS Summit 2014 – Fortaleza, Brazil  7th BRICS Summit 2015 – UFA, Russia  8th BRICS Summit 2016 – Benaulim, Goa, India  9th BRICS Summit 2017 - xiamen, china  10th BRICS Summit 2018 - johnnesberg, south africa  G-20 Summit 2018  Headquarters - Cancún, Mexico  Establishment - 20 August 2003  Chairperson - Mauricio Macri  Total Member Countries - 20 (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, , United Kingdom United States and European Union)  Recently held and Upcoming G-20 Summits and Venues  12th G 20 Meeting 2017 – Germany  13th G 20 Meeting 2018 – Argentina, Buenos Aires  G-7 Summit 2018  Earlier it was G8, Now Russia has been temporarily suspended. So it was renamed as G7.  Established on - 1975  Group of Seven Countries – France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada.  Recently Held and Upcoming G7 Summits  43rd G8 Summit 2017 – Italy  44th G8 Summit 2018 – Canada  45th G8 Summit 2019 – France  46th G8 Summit 2020 - United States  47th G8 Summit 2021 - United Kingdom  ADB Annual Meeting  ADB – Asian Development Bank  Annual meeting of the board of governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) held every year.  Recently held and Upcoming ADB Annual Meetings  50th ADB Annual Meeting 2017 : Yokohama, Japan  51st ADB Annual Meeting 2018 : ADB Headquarters, Manila  52nd ADB Annual Meeting 2019 : Nadi,  NAM Summit  NAM – Non Alighed Movement membership countries (120 + 2) Two nations namely Azerbaijan Republic and Fiji  Recently held and upcoming NAM Summits  17th NAM Summit 2015 – , Venezulea  18th NAM Summit 2019 - Azerbaijan  NATO Summit  NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization  Head Office : Brussels, Belgium  Members : 28  Secretary General : Jens Stoltenberg  Recently held and upcoming NATO Summits  NATO Summit 2017 : Belgium (25th May)  NATO Summit 2018 : Belgium (11th-12th July)  CHOGM Summit  CHOGM - Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting  Recently held and upcoming CHOGM Summits  CHOGM 2015 : ,  CHOGM 2018 : London, United Kingdom  CHOGM 2020 : Malaysia  BIMSTECH Summit  BIMSTECH – Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation Countries (7) : Bangladesh – India – Myanmar – Sri Lanka – Thailand – Bhutan – Nepal  3rd BIMSTECH Summit 2014 : Nay Pyi Taw (Myanmar)  4th BIMSTEC Summit to be hosted by Nepal  Global Insurance Summit  10th Global Insurance Summit (2017) : Mumbai

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 Arab League Summit  2015 : Sharm El Sheikh,  2016 : Noukchott, Mauritania  2017 : Amman, Jordan  SAARC Summits  SAARC - South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation  These summits have generally taken place approximately every eighteen months.  Headquarters – Kathmandu, Nepal  Formation - 16 January, 1987  First holder - Abul Ahsan  Secretary General– Arjun Bahadur Thapa  Countries (8) – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka  Recently Held and upcoming SAARC Summits  18th SAARC Summit 2014 – Kathmandu, Nepal  19th SAARC Summit 2016 – Islamabad, Pakistan (cancelled)  OPEC International Seminar  OPEC – Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries  Recently Held and upcoming OPEC Summits :  6th OPEC International Seminar 2015 : Vienna,  7th OPEC International Seminar 2018 : Vienna, Austria (20 21 June 2018)  ASEAN Summits  ASEAN - Association of South East Asian Nation  Headquarters - Jakarta, Indonesia  Establishment - 8 August 1967  Total Countries – 10 (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, , Malaysia, Burma (Myanmar), Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam  Secretary General – Le Luong Minh (Vietnam)  Chairman - Philippines Rodrigo Duterte  Recently held and Upcoming ASEAN Summits  The First ASEAN summit was held February 1976 in Bali, Indonesia.  30th ASEAN Summit 2017 (April) - Philippines,Metro Manila  31st ASEAN Summit 2017 (November) – Philippine, Clark, Freeport Zone  32nd ASEAN Summit 2018 (April) - Singapore  33rd ASEAN Summit 2018 (November) - Singapore  IBSA Summit  IBSA Dilogue Forum (India, Brazil, South Africa) is an international tripartite grouping for promoting international cooperation among these countries.  7th IBSA Summit 2017 : India (New Delhi)  Nuclear Security Summit  3rd Nuclear Security Summit 2014 : The Hague, Netherlands  4th Nuclear Security Summit 2016 : United States  East Asia Summit (EAS)  Establishment - 1991 by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.  Countries : Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, United States, Vietnam  The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a forum held annually.  EAS meetings are held after annual ASEAN leaders’ meetings.  The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 December 2005.  Recently held EAST Asia Summits  The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 December 2005.  12th East Asia Summit 2017 – Philippines  13th East Asia Summit 2018 - Singapore  APEC Summits (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation)  Headquarters – Singapore  Establishment - 1989  Total Countries – 21 countries (Australia, Canada, Brunei, , china, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, , Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, United States, Vietnam).  Executive Director – Alan Bollard  Recently Held and Upcoming APEC Summits

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 29th APEC Summit 2017 – Vietnam, Danang  30th APEC Summit 2018 - Papua, New Port Mores  31st APEC Summit 2019 - Chile  32nd APEC Summit 2020 - Malaysia  33rd APEC Summit 2021 - New Zealand  34th APEC Summit 2022 – Thailand  35th APEC Summit 2023 - Mexico  36th APEC Summit 2024 - Brunei  37th APEC Summit 2025 - Republic of Korea

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