PDF 4th Week Capsule Nov 2016 1. Prime Minister of Portugal to be Chief Guest for PBD 2017 Dr. António Costa, Prime Minister of the Republic of Portugal has accepted an invitation from Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, to be the Chief Guest at the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention to be held from 7 to 9 January, 2017 at Bengaluru in Karnataka. Mr. Michael Ashwin Satyandre Adhin, Vice President of the Republic of Suriname will be the Special Guest at the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) to be held on 7 January 2017 in Bengaluru. Portugal Capital: Lisbon Currency: Euro 2. IIT Kharagpur is the top Indian university Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur is India’s highest-ranked institution features in the Top 100 QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2016-17. It’s the only Indian institution other than IIT Bombay to feature in top 100. IIT Madras, Delhi University and IIT Delhi are placed in the 200 rankings band. Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) rank first and second, while China’s Tsinghua University grabs third place. 3. Turkey to chair 2017 Energy Club of Shanghai Cooperation Organization Turkey will chair the Energy Club of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2017, becoming the first non-SCO country to hold its term presidency. Earlier, only members of the SCO had assumed the term presidency of the Energy Club. Apart from SCO's original members, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran, Mongolia, Belarus and Sri Lanka are the members of the SCO Energy Club. Turkey Capital: Ankara Currency: Lira Prime Minister: Recep Tayyip Erdogan 4. ITU released Measuring the Information Society Report 2016 UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) released the 2016 edition of the Measuring the Information Society Report. The ITU index prepared after surveying 175 economies of the world was topped by the Republic of Korea with IDI of 8.84. The Sub-Saharan Africa’s Niger with an IDI of 1.07 ranked lowest. India was placed at 138th rank with IDI score of 2.69. In 2015, it stood at 135th position. 5. International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women observed International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women was observed on November 25, 2016 across the world. The theme for this year is “Orange the World - raise funds to end violence against women”. 6. New Zealand most searched by Indian tourists in 2016: Survey New Zealand was the most searched country by Indian travellers in 2016, with travel searches increasing by 52% this year when compared to 2015, according to a new Skyscanner survey. Australia, the second most searched destination, recorded an increase of 47% in searches when compared to 2015. Malaysia and the UK witnessed a 28% and 15% increase in travel searches. New Zealand Capital: Wellington Currency: Dollar Prime Minister: John Phillip Key 7. Thailand invites crown prince to become new king Thailand's parliament invited Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn to be the new king, completing a formal step for the heir apparent to take the throne following the death of his father last month. Vajiralongkorn's father, the much-revered Bhumibol Adulyadej, who took the throne in 1946, died on October 13 at age of 88 after many years of ill health. Thailand Capital: Bangkok Currency: Baht 8. Dictionary.com’s 2016 Word of the Year Is Xenophobia As its 2016 word of the year, Dictionary.com has chosen “xenophobia,” which means “fear or hatred of foreigners, people from different cultures, or strangers.” Dictionary.com is the second major outlet to make their 2016 selection, following Oxford’s choice to anoint ‘post-truth’ earlier in November. 9. Khan Market world's 28th costliest location; slips 2 positions National capital's upscale Khan Market has slipped two position to world's 28th most expensive retail location, even as it continues to be the costliest place to hire a shop in the country, says Cushman & Wakefield. New York’s Upper 5th Avenue continued to remain the world’s most expensive retail location, narrowly ahead of Hong Kong's Causeway Bay. 10. BHEL commissions 93 MW unit at RIL's Hazira power plant State-run power equipment maker BHEL has commissioned a 93 MW steam turbine-based captive power plant (CPP) at Hazira in Gujarat for Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). This is the second unit of the 4x93 MW steam turbine-based CPP, being set up by BHEL for RIL at Hazira. 11. Fifth International Tourism Mart Organised In Imphal The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in association with the North Eastern States and West Bengal has organised the “International Tourism Mart” in Imphal, Manipur from 23rd – 25th November, 2016. The event was held in the City Convention Centre, Sanjenthong, Imphal, Manipur and inaugurated by Shri Okram Ibobi Singh, the Chief Minister of Manipur. 12. Palampur Assembly Constituency becomes first e-Assembly of nation The Palampur Assembly Constituency of Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh became the first e-assembly constituency of the country. The e- system was inaugurated by State Assembly speaker Brij Behari Lal Butail at a function held in Palampur. The system will help the residents of the constituency to know about the development works going on by one click on the computer. 13. National Constitution Day: 26 November India observes its Constitution Day on November 26, as it was on this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution. On the occasion, the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi launched two books: an updated version of the Constitution of India; and “Making of the Constitution”. 14. Tribals celebrate Wangala harvest festival in Meghalaya Hundreds of Garo tribals gathered here recently to celebrate the harvest festival of Wangala with much fervour here. The festival marks the end of a period of toil for farmers wanting a good output from their fields. Meghalaya Capital: Shillong Chief Minister: Mukul Sangma Governor: V Shanmuganathan 15. Nalanda University Chancellor resigns The Chancellor of Nalanda University, George Yeo, resigned citing that earlier he was assured of the University’s autonomy but now things had changed. Yeo was appointed Chancellor in July 2015. Earlier on November 23, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen ended his nine-year-long association with the Nalanda University, first as a Chancellor and later as a member of the governing board. 16. Goa will be first state to go cashless from December 31 Goa is likely to become the first state in India to go cashless from December 31, as people will be able to buy perishables such as fish, meat, vegetables or anything else at the press of a button on their mobile. One has to dial *99# from their mobile phone, not necessarily a smart phone, and follow the instructions to complete the transcation. Goa Capital : Panaji Chief Minister : Laxmikant Parsekar Governor : Mridula Sinha 17. Radha Mohan Singh launches e-pashuhaat portal The Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh launched e-pashuhaat portal (www.epashuhaat.gov.in) on the occasion of National Milk Day. Shri Singh informed that for the first time in the world under the scheme National Mission on Bovine Productivity ‘e-pashuhaat’ portal has been developed for connecting breeders and farmers regarding availability of bovine germplasm. Through the portal breeders/farmers can sell and purchase breeding stock, information on all forms of germplasm including semen, embryos and live animals with all the agencies and stake holders in the country has been uploaded on the portal. 18. Railways, IRCTC include transgender as third gender Indian Railways and IRCTC have included "transgender as third gender" in the option alongside male and female in ticket reservation and cancellation forms. The decision, which was taken on a representation made by a lawyer will include the facility for reservations and cancellations, both online as well offline. 19. Coins to commemorate 500th anniv of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Culture Secretary N K Sinha released a commemorative non-circulation coin of Rs 500 and a circulation coin of Rs 10 to mark the 500th anniversary of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's arrival in Vrindavan as part of year-long celebrations. In 1515, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who propagated the worship of Lord Krishna and popularised the chanting of 'Hare Krishna' Mantra', visited Vrindavan with the objective of locating the lost holy places associated with Krishna's transcendental pastimes. 20. PM Modi flag off Hamsafar train Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flag off the Humsafar train from Kushinagar that will ply between Gorakhpur and Delhi's Anand Vihar terminus. This tri-weekly train will have several new features, including LED screen display to show information about stations, train speed and will have announcement system as well. 21. PM Modi launches Indian Police app to locate nearest police stations Narendra Modi government recently launched the new Indian Police at Your Call app that helps citizens to locate the nearest police station along with the details when in an emergency. This Android and iOS supported app not only provides the list of nearby police stations, but also delivers added information about the phone number, the distance of the police station from the person's location, and they will take to reach the station. 22. 26 November: National Milk Day All dairy cooperatives across the country has celebrated National Milk day on November 26. It was observed on the occasion of 95th birth anniversary of Dr Verghese Kurien, founder of white revolution. Dr Verghese Kurien is known as Milkman of India. 23. Asia's First Cycle Highway Opens In Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh now has Asia's first cycle highway. A first-of-its-kind project, the 207-km-long cycle highway runs between Etawah and Agra and was declared open recently.