274compendium November 2017 PDF

Compendium-November, 2017
National
International
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Compendium- November, 2017
National
Aditya L1 Mission: ISRO’s first sun mission to take off in 2019

 The India Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch first solar mission
Aditya-L1 in 2019. It will be India’s first dedicated scientific mission to study sun.
 The mission aims to put 1,500-kg heavy class Aditya-L1 satellite into halo orbit around
Lagrangian point L1, a point between Sun and Earth. This
point is at a distance of about 1.5 million km from earth.
 Key Facts
 The mission is a joint venture between ISRO and physicists
from various institutes including Indian Institute of
Astrophysics (Bengaluru), Tata Institute of Fundamental
Research (Mumbai) and Inter University Centre for
Astronomy and Astrophysics (Pune). Aditya L1 satellite will be launched by using PSLV XL.
The launch will take in early part of next solar cycle. The satellite will be programmed to
orbit L1 point and image sun’s magnetic field from space for very first time in world.
Scientists hope to capture close-ups of sun from here, uninterrupted by eclipses for years.
 Objectives of mission
 Study dynamic nature of sun’s outer most layers, the corona and the chromosphere, and
collect data about Coronal Mass Ejections (CME).
 Study on origin of solar storms and their path through the interplanetary space from the
Sun to the Earth.
 The studies will also focus on collection of information for space weather prediction.
 Payloads of mission
 The Aditya-L1 mission will carry seven payloads
 Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC): It is
largest payload or instrument aboard Aditya-L1
satellite. It will study diagnostic parameters of solar
corona and dynamics and origin of Coronal Mass
Ejections (CMEs). It can also measure magnetic field of
solar corona down to tens of Gauss.
 Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS): It
will be used for monitoring X-ray flares (1–30 keV) for
studying the heating mechanism of the solar corona.
 High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS): It will be used to study hard X-
ray emission from 10 keV to 150 keV during the impulsive phase of solar flares.
 Solar Ultraviolet Image Telescope (SUIT): It will take images of spatially resolved Solar
Photosphere and Chromosphere in near UV region and measure solar irradiance variations.
 Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA): It will study composition of solar wind and
its energy distribution throughout the lifetime of mission.
 Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX): It will study the variation of solar wind
properties, its distribution and spectral characteristics.
 Magnetometer: It will be used to measure magnitude and nature of interplanetary
magnetic field.
First Black buck conservation reserve of India come up in UP

 The Uttar Pradesh State Cabinet has approved Black buck Conservation Reserve in trans-
Yamuna belt near Allahabad.
 It will be first of its kind conservation reserves in India exclusively dedicated to blackbuck.
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 In this regard, state government has evoked Section 36 A (1) and (2) of the Wildlife
Protection Act, 1972, to declare the conservation reserve.
 The wildlife conservation reserve will come up on over 126 hectares in Meja forest division
known for its rocky, undulating and arid terrain.
 It will also create awareness about biodiversity conservation and provide opportunities for
people’s participation.
 It will also encourage eco-tourism and locals will get opportunities for employment.
Global Gender Gap Index 2017: India ranks 108th

 According to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report - 2017, India
was ranked low at 108th position out of 144 countries.
 India slipped by 21 places compared to 87th rank last year.
 Global Gender Gap Index:
 The index measures gender gap as progress towards parity between men and women in
four indicators -
(i) Educational attainment,
(ii) Health and survival,
(iii) Economic opportunity and
(iv) Political empowerment.
 Countries are ranked based scores on scale ranging
from 0 (lowest i.e. imparity) to 1 (highest i.e. parity).
 It is released every year by WEF since 2006.
 Global Gender Gap Index 2017:
 Iceland is most gender-equal country with score of
0.878.
 It is followed by Norway (2 rank), Finland (3), Rwanda (4) and Sweden (5), Nicaragua (6)
and Slovenia (7), Ireland (8), New Zealand (9) and the Philippines (10).
 Overall 68% of global gender gap has been closed, but it is slight deterioration is seen
compared to 2016 when gap closed was 68.3%.
 At current rate of progress, global gender gap will take 100 years to bridge, compared to 83
last year.
 The case is worse in terms of workplace gender divide as it will take 217 years to close.
BRO builds world’s highest motorable road in Ladakh at 19,300 feet

 The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed the world's highest motorable road
in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, passing through
Umlingla Top at a height of over 19,300 feet.
 The feat was achieved under 'Project Himank' of the
organisation.
 The 86km long strategic road connects Chisumle and
Demchok villages, located 230 Kms from Leh , close to
Hanle.
 These villages very near from the Indo-China border in
eastern sectorid.
 During peak summers, temperature hovers around minus 10-20 degrees Celsius, and in
winters, it dips to minus 40 degrees.
 Oxygen level at the altitude is 50 % less than at normal places.
 Efficiency of machines and manpower declines by 50 % due to harsh climate and less
oxygen level.
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Government launches portal for sexual harassment complaints at work

 Union minister Maneka Gandhi launched a portal to help women lodge complaints online
about sexual harassment at work.
 The online complaint management system - 'SHe-box'
(sexual harassment electronic box) - will be hosted on the
website of the ministry of women and child development.
 A cell under the ministry will look into every complaint
filed online and share it with the concerned organisation's
internal complaints committee (ICC), which is a
mandatory requirement under the law.
 The ministry had earlier launched a web page for
government employees, which has now been extended to women in the private sector.
 Under the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act, 2013, it is compulsory for any organisation
with 10 or more employees to set up an internal complaints committee for addressing
complaints of sexual harassment.
India has largest number anaemic women in the World : Global Nutrition Report
 According to Global Nutrition Report 2017, India has the largest number of anaemic women
in the world.
 About 51% of aged between 15 and 49 years suffering
from iron deficiency.
 India is followed by China, Pakistan, Nigeria and
Indonesia.
 India also faces the double whammy of under nutrition on
one hand and obesity on the other.
 About 38% of children under 5 are affected by stunting and 21% children in the same age
group are defined as 'wasted' or 'severely wasted' (where their weight is not enough for
their height), 16% of men and 22% of women (1 in 5) are overweight.
 The Global Nutrition Report highlights that the double burden of under-nutrition and
obesity needs to be tackled as part of the national nutrition strategy.
 About 88% of countries face a serious burden of either two or three forms of malnutrition
(childhood stunting, anaemia in women of reproductive age and/or overweight in adult
women), with 815 million going to bed hungry, up from 777 million in 2015.
“Bandhan Express” train inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi running

between Kolkata and Khulna in Bangladesh
 A train named “Bandhan Express” between India and Bangladesh that connects Kolkata
with Khulna (in Bangladesh) was inaugurated on 9
November 2017. This train will cover a distance of
about 172 km in 4 and half hours.
 It is air-conditioned weekly passenger train and
will run every Thursday from both Kolkata and
Khulna.
 It is worth mentioning that railway passenger and
freight services between India and the erstwhile
East Pakistan (later Bangladesh), which had
continued after Independence, were stopped during the 1965 war.
 The new service was flagged off by the Prime Minister of India, Prime Minister of
Bangladesh and Chief Minister of West Bengal through video conferencing.
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Telangana state government declared “Urdu” language as it’s second official language
 Telangana state government declared Urdu as state’s second
official language on 10 November 2017.
 It was declared by Telangana Chief Minister K.
Chandrashekhar Rao.
 He also asked all government offices starting from the Chief
Minister’s Office to District Collectorate, to receive all petitions
in Urdu as well.
 After this announcement all competitive examinations in Telangana will also be conducted
in Urdu.
 The Telangana government had earlier also passed a Bill to secure 12% reservation for the
Muslims, which will ultimately increase their reservation in jobs and educational
institutions.
 The Bill is yet to be approved by the Centre.
Biaras Drass Hydropower plant became the first one to be commissioned under the
Prime Minister’s Ladakh Renewable Energy Initiative
 Biaras Drass Hydropower plant project became the first one to be commissioned under the
Prime Minister’s Ladakh Renewable Energy
Initiative on 10 November 2017.
 The 1.5-mw small hydropower plant in Biaras
Drass of Kargil, commissioned on 4 November
2017.
 The plant will power the Drass town in Kargil,
which is one of the coldest places in India.
 Power from the Biaras SHP would be sufficient to
meet normal power requirement of about 1,000
families, which would make them comfortable in the extreme winter season.
 The total cost of the project, fully funded by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, is
Rs. 17 crore and this is the first project to be commissioned under the Prime Minister’s
Ladakh Renewable Energy Initiative (LREI).
Cabinet approves Creation of National Testing Agency (NTA)

 The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved creation of
National Testing Agency (NTA) as a Society registered under the Indian Societies
Registration Act, 1860, and as an autonomous and self-
sustained premier testing organization to conduct
entrance examinations for higher educational
institutions.
 Features:
 The NTA would initially conduct those entrance
examinations which are currently being conducted by
the CBSE.
 Other examinations will be taken up gradually after NTA is fully geared up.
 The entrance examinations will be conducted in online mode at least twice a year, thereby
giving adequate opportunity to candidates to bring out their best.
 In order to serve the requirements of the rural students, it would locate the centres at sub-
district/district level and as far as possible would undertake hands-on training to the
students.
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India becoming world's top sulphur dioxide emitter

 According to the study led by researchers at University of Maryland (USA),India’s emissions
of the air pollutant sulphur dioxide increased by 50 % since 2007, while Chinas fell by 75 %
become the world’s top sulphur dioxide emitter.
 Sulphur dioxide is an air pollutant that causes acid rain, haze and many health-related
problems.
 It is produced predominantly when coal is burned to generate electricity.
 China and India are the worlds top consumers of coal, which typically contains up to three
per cent sulphur.
 Most of the two countries sulphur dioxide emissions come from coal-fired power plants and
coal-burning factories.
 In particular, Beijing suffers from severe haze problems because of the many coal-burning
factories and power plants located nearby and upwind.
 Starting in the early 2000s, China began implementing policies such as fining polluters,
setting emission reduction goals and lowering emissions limits.
 Sulphur dioxide levels in China declined dramatically even though coal usage increased by
approximately 50 % and electricity generation grew by over 100 %.
 India opened its largest coal-fired power plant in 2012 and has yet to implement emission
controls like China.
PM Narendra Modi inaugurates rice field laboratory named after him in Los Banos
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated rice field laboratory named after him
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Banos in Philippine during his three-day
visit to attend ASEAN-India and East Asia summits
 India is setting up regional centre of IRRI in Varanasi to develop high-yielding rice varieties
to increase farmers’ income by enhancing and supporting rice productivity, reducing cost of
production, value addition, diversification and enhancement of farmers’ skills.
 IRRI is international agricultural research and training organization
known for its work in developing rice varieties that contributed to
Green Revolution in 1960s.
 It was established in 1960 and has offices in 17 countries.
 It aims to reduce poverty and hunger, improve health of rice
farmers and consumers, and ensure environmental sustainability of
rice farming.
 RRI is one of 15 agricultural research centres in world that form
CGIAR Consortium of International Agricultural Research centres, a
global partnership of organizations engaged in research on food security.
 It is also the largest non-profit agricultural research centres in Asia.
Life expectancy improves in India, Kerala healthiest state: Lancet

 According to the medical journal Lancet ,
Kerala is the healthiest state in India.
 The Lancet study is India’s latest and most
comprehensive health report card.
 The life expectancy at birth has improved
from 59.7 years in 1990 to 70.3 years in 2016
for females, and from 58.3 years to 66.9 years
for males.
 However, deaths due to non-communicable
diseases are among the glaring findings of the India.
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 The findings of the study point out to severe inequalities in the disease burden in different
states, suggesting the need for more specific health planning.
 Kerala was adjudged as the healthiest state where men enjoyed a life expectancy of 73.8
years. However, the corresponding figure for men in Assam was 63.6 years.
 Ironically, the life expectancy for females in Uttar Pradesh was 66.8 years - below the
national average and 12 years less than in Kerala, where it was 78.7 years.
 This meant that on an average a woman in Uttar Pradesh has twelve years shorter life span
than their sisters in Kerala.
 In Uttar Pradesh, average life expectancy of females in 2016 is 66.8 years, close to four
years lesser than the national average of 70.3 years, while in Kerala it is eight years more
than the national average at 78.7 years.
 Life expectancy in the whole of India has improved over three decades but is still lower by
eleven years than in China and Sri Lanka.
 As per the Lancet study, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Chattisgarh have the highest disease
burden rates, while Kerala and Goa have the lowest rates.
 This is probably the first-of-its-kind report on the state-wise burden of diseases, which also
monitors trends over the past thirty years highlighting disparities between states.
 States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu have the highest disease burden due to diabetes, while
on the other hand states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha are tackling
highest disease burden due to infections because of unsafe water, shoddy sanitation and
non-practice of hand washing, leading to deaths due to diarrhoea especially in children
under five years of age.
 Around 15 percent of total disease burden in India is due to the child and maternal
malnutrition.
 The burden due to outdoor air pollution is highest in a mix of northern states, including
Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Bihar, and West Bengal.
 Kerala, Goa, Tamilnadu have lowest rates.
 India has 72 percent more per capita disease burden than China and Sri Lanka.
“Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra” approved by the CCEA

 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a new scheme called “Pradhan
Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra” (“PMMSK”).
 It aims at empowering rural women through community participation to create an
environment in which they realise their full potential.
 The scheme is part of the Umbrella Scheme “Mission for Protection and Empowerment for
Women” of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
 The scheme is envisaged to work at various levels.
 The national level (domain based knowledge support) and state level (State Resource
Centre for Women) structures will provide technical support to the respective governments
on issues related to women.
 The district and block level centres will provide support to PMMSK and also give a foothold
to Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme in 640 districts to be covered in a phased manner.”
Hyderabad Metro dedicated metro train service to Nation

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the services of Hyderabad Metro on 29 November
2017.
 Hyderabad thus became ninth Indian city to have metro train service.
 The first phase of this metro service was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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 Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) is the company that is operating this metro service.
 Eight cities having operational metro services are – Kolkata, Delhi,
Bengaluru, Gurugram (Gurgaon), Mumbai, Jaipur, Chennai and
Kochi.
 Hyderabad Metro has been implemented entirely on public-
private partnership (PPP) basis, with the Telangana state
government holding a minority equity stake.
 The first phase of this metro comprises of 30 km stretch from
Miyapur to Nagole, having 24 stations.
 No other rapid transit metro service in India opened for public
operations on such a long stretch of 30 km. It is estimated to cost Rs. 15,000 crore.
Government reconstitutes Multi-Agency Group probe into Paradise Papers revelation

 The Union Government has reconstituted Multi-Agency Group (MAG) to investigate cases
relating to ‘Paradise Papers’ data disclosure which is also probing the Panama Papers leak.
 It will be led by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman and will have
representatives from Enforcement Directorate, RBI and Financial Intelligence Unit.
 The MAG was constituted in April 2016 to investigate legality of money stashed in offshore
entities by Indians named in Panama Papers by
International.
 Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
 Panama Papers had named several prominent Indian
politicians, actors, and businessmen as having offshore
undisclosed bank accounts.
 The Paradise Papers, a largest ever leak of financial
data containing 13.4 million documents on offshore
entities involving people and companies from 180 countries to dodge tax.
 The files were first obtained by German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung and shared with
ICIJ and partner 95 media outlets that includes Indian partner The Indian Express.
New Delhi-Kathgodam Shatabdi Express first train to be accorded the ‘Swarn’ status
 Indian Railway recently unveiled the first of its overhauled premium trains under its
‘Swarn’ project.
 The New Delhi-Kathgodam Shatabdi Express is the
first of the 30 premium trains of Indian Railways to
be overhauled under its ‘Swarn’ project on 6
November 2017.
 Under the ‘Swarn’ initiative the interiors of 30
premium trains (including 15 Rajdhani and 15
Shatabdi Expresses) have received a complete
makeover with facilities like on-board entertainment systems, trolley service for catering,
clean toilets with automatic doors.
 Security of passengers has also been a focus with installation of CCTV surveillance cameras,
extra railway police personnel etc.
 Passengers are given disposable headrest covers in executive class, all coaches are
equipped for braille-signage for the visually impaired.
 Also entertainment systems include wi-fi hotspots, HD streaming and more. The cost of
upgrade for each train is Rs. 50 lakh while total cost under the project is Rs. 25 crore.
 Rajdhani Express trains that ply to destinations like Mumbai, Howrah, Patna, Ranchi and
Bhubaneswar were among those selected for upgrade and among the Shatabdi Express
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trains were Howrah-Puri, New Delhi-Chandigarh, New Delhi-Kanpur, Howrah-Ranchi,

Anand Vihar-Kathgodam.
India re-elected as member of UNESCO’s executive board

 India was re-elected as a member of the executive board of the UN educational, scientific
and cultural organization (UNESCO).
 The election was held at the 39th session of the general
conference of UNESCO in Paris.
 The general conference consists of the representatives of
the states members of the organisation.
 It meets every two years, and is attended by member
states and associate members, together with observers
for non-member states, intergovernmental organisations
and non- governmental organisations (NGOs).
 Each country has one vote, irrespective of its size or the extent of its contribution to the
budget.
 The general conference determines the policies and the main lines of work of the
organisation.
 Its duty is to set the programmes and the budget of the UNESCO.
 It also elects the members of the executive board and appoints, every four years.
President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurates International Gita Mahotsav in Haryana

 President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the International Gita
Mahotsav 2017 in Kurukshetra, Haryana. The objective behind
Mahotsav is to spread the message of Gita to world.
 The second edition of the event was organised by Haryana
Government. Mauritius was partner country and Uttar Pradesh was
partner state of the event.
 Key Facts
 President also participated in Gita Yajna and Gita Poojan ceremonies at Brahma Sarovar
and Jyotisar, the birthplace of Bhagvad. He also inaugurated international seminar on Gita
at the Kurukshetra University campus. Around 25-30 lakh people are likely to participate in
Gita Mahotsav 2017 as against 20 lakh last year.
 People from 35 countries had participated in Gita Mahotsav-2016. The exhibitions by
different cultural, spiritual, educational and social organisations, painting, rangoli, and
photography competitions, Gita Pustak Mela etc were also held.
First Namami Barak festival held in Assam

 The first ever Namami Barak festival was held at Silchar in Assam.
It was inaugurated by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
 The event was organised at 3 locations in Barak Valley also known
as Southern Assam. Silchar is main event area while other two
locations are Hailakandi and Karimganj district.
 Key Facts
 The 3-day river festival aimed to pay tribute to River Barak and to
showcase of Barak’s potential & possibilities to emerge as hub of
trade and commerce. The festival showcased cultural heritage of
valley together with its cuisine, fauna and flora, socio-economic and civic splendor before
global audience.
 Barak River
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 Barak River is one of major rivers of South Assam. The 564 kilometres long river is part of
Surma-Meghna River System. It rises in hill country of Manipur where it is biggest and most
important of hill country rivers. After Manipur it flows through Mizoram and Assam. It later
enters Bangladesh where it forks into Surma and Kushiyara rivers. The sixth national
waterway stretch is on this river.
Breeding season of Olive Ridleys begin in Odisha

 Olive Ridley turtles have started arriving in large at Gahirmatha beach in Odisha’s
Kendrapara district for breeding season. Gahirmatha beach is known as
world’s largest rookery of this species.
 During the breeding season, large numbers of turtles arrive at
Gahirmatha beach for mating. Later, they scale sand slope in large
numbers to lay eggs in January and February. In 2016-17 season,
around 9.75 lakh Olive Ridley turtles came out from sea to lay eggs
along Odisha coast.
 Olive Ridley
 Olive Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) is smallest and most abundant of all sea turtle
found in world. It gets its name from its olive coloured carapace, which is heart-shaped and
rounded. It is found in warm waters of Pacific and Indian oceans.
 It spends entire lives in ocean and migrates thousands of kilometers between feeding and
mating grounds in course of a year. Though found in abundance, their numbers have been
declining over the past few years. It is recognized as Vulnerable by IUCN Red list. In India, it
is protected under Wildlife (Protection) Act.
 The breeding season of Olive Ridley turtle commences its journey from Indian Ocean
towards Bay of Bengal during their mating season in October and November every year. A
single female can lay upto 100 to 150 eggs in a pit dug on beaches. The destination for
majority of turtles for laying egg is Gahirmatha in Odisha. The sandy stretches of Hope
Island of Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary also have turned into a breeding area. Six weeks later
these eggs hatches and newly hatched turtles start journey to their Indian Ocean habitat.
 One year of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana- Gramin: A Report. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana
(Gramin), under which a target of completing one crore new houses by 31st March 2019
was set, was launched on 20th November 2016 from Agra. Of this target, 51 lakh houses are
to be completed by 31st March 2018. To meet the target of 51 lakh houses under Pradhan
Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin) by March 2018, the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD),
in partnership with the State Governments, has taken many steps, including setting a
month-wise target for completion of houses.
 Union Government promulgates Indian Forest (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017. The
ordinance aims to promote cultivation of bamboo in non-forest areas to achieve twin
objectives of increasing the income of farmers and also increasing the green cover of the
country.
 Union Government promulgates ordinance to amend Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code,
2016. The Ordinance aims to prevent unscrupulous, undesirable persons from misusing the
provisions of the Code. The amendments aim to bar individuals who are wilfully defaulters
and are associated with non-performing assets or are habitually non-compliant, therefore,
pose a risk to the company.
 Union Government sends a proposal to UN for declaring year 2018 as International Year of
Millets. Millets can help tackle the health challenges such as obesity, diabetes and lifestyle
problems as they are gluten free, have a low glycemic index and are high in dietary fibre
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and antioxidants. Moreover, in times of climate change, they will be the last crop standing
and will be a good risk management strategy for resource-poor marginal farmers.
 Union government initiates 'safe-city' plan for women in 8 metropolitan cities. The Union
government has initiated the process of formulating comprehensive 'safe-city' plans for
women in eight metropolitan cities of the country. The plan will be implemented in cities
including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow and
Hyderabad.
 Union Cabinet approves continuation of Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs Scheme. With
the continuation, the training programs, research activities and projects conducted by the
Institute will enhance the skill sets resulting in increased employability of students as well
as professionals.
 Union Cabinet approves India's Membership for European Bank for Reconstruction &
Development. The minimum initial investment towards the membership of EBRD will be
approximately 1 million Euros. This assumption is based on India's decision to buy the
minimum number of shares (100) required for obtaining the membership.
 Cabinet approves expansion of umbrella scheme ‘Mission for Protection and Empowerment
for Women’. The Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi gave its approval for expansion of the schemes of WCD Ministry under
umbrella Scheme ‘Mission for Protection and Empowerment for Women’ for a period 2017-
18 to 2019-20.
 Babri Masjid land dispute: Shia Waqf Board submits peaceful settlement before SC. Under
the settlement, the board proposed that the Ram temple can be built on the Ayodhya site
while a mosque can be constructed in Lucknow. The peaceful proposal, submitted by Shia
Waqf Board chairman Syed Waseem Rizvi, will bring about harmony between Hindus and
Muslims in the country.
 India signs USD 100 million loan agreement with World Bank for Solar Parks Project. The
project will help in establishing large-scale solar parks and will support the Union
Government’s plan to install 100 Gigawatts (GW) of solar power, out of the total renewable
energy target of 175 GW by 2022.
 Union Health Ministry notifies amendment to Food Safety & Standards Regulations 2011.
The amendment prescribes maximum permissible limits of 37 antibiotics and 67 other
veterinary drugs in meat and meat products including chicken. Moreover, the Ministry also
invited objections and suggestions from all the stakeholders including general public by 6
December 2017.
 Union Cabinet approves increase in carpet area of houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas
Yojana. It approved the increase in the carpet area in the Middle Income Group (MIG) I
category of CLSS from the existing 90 square metre to up to 120 square metre. It increased
the carpet area in respect of MIG II category of CLSS from the existing 110 square metre to
up to 150 square metre.
 Union Government prepones introduction of BS-VI grade auto fuels in Delhi to 2018 instead
of 2020. The Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas introduced the BS-IV grade
transportation fuels across the country in April 2017. With the launch of BS-IV grade fuel, a
new era of clean transportation fuels began, which benefitted all citizens by significantly
reducing pollution levels.
 Railways Ministry launches comprehensive training programme 'Project Saksham'. With
growing rail network, new trains, different high quality services designed by the Indian
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Railways, it is imperative that the railway employees undergo proper training to deliver
superior and safe rail services.
 Union Government set to launch BharatNet phase 2 project. The Union Government would
be launching its second and final phase of BharatNet project to provide high-speed
broadband service in all Gram Panchayats by March 2019. It will be implemented at an
outlay of around Rs 34000 crores.
 WCD Ministry to host ‘Hausala 2017’ to celebrate Child Rights Week. The Ministry of
Women and Child Development would be celebrating the Child Rights Week by hosting
‘Hausala 2017’ festival from 16-20 November 2017. The festival will be hosted by the
Ministry as an Inter CCI Festival for the children who reside in Child Care Institutions
(CCIs).
 Linking of Aadhaar with insurance policy mandatory: IRDAI. The Rules make Aadhaar and
PAN/Form 60 mandatory for availing financial services including insurance and also for
linking the existing policies with the same. At present, there are 24 life insurance
companies and 33 general insurers (including standalone health insurance firms) operating
in the country.
 Union Government to provide financial assistance of Rs 2302.05 crore for Sagarmala
projects. The Coastal Berth Scheme aims to provide financial support to ports or state
governments for creation of infrastructure for movement of cargo and passenger by sea or
national waterways. The total financial assistance from Central Government is 50 per cent
of the total cost of the project subject.
 Railways launch main arch on world's highest bridge on Chenab. The Indian Railways has
commenced the main arch of the world's highest bridge on the River Chenab in Jammu and
Kashmir's Reasi district. This will provide direct connectivity to the Kashmir Valley. The
iconic bridge of Jammu & Kashmir will ascend 359 metres above the bed of the River
Chenab and will be 30 metres upper than the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris.
 Specify deadlines for Aadhaar Linking: Supreme Court to mobile service providers and
banks. The Rule 2(b) of the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records)
Second Amendment Rules, 2017 requires Aadhaar for opening new bank accounts and for
verification of existing bank accounts by 31 December 31, 2017, failing which the bank
accounts will cease to be operational.
 Dyal Singh College (Evening) renamed as 'Vande Mataram Mahavidyalaya'. A major
controversy was erupted over renaming of the Delhi University’s Dyal Singh College
(Evening) as ‘Vande Mataram Mahavidyalaya’.
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International
China proposes three-phased solution on Rohingyas crisis

 China has announced that Bangladesh and Myanmar have
accepted its mediatory role and agreed to implement three-
phased solution proposed by its Foreign Minister Wang Yi to
resolve Rohingya refugee crisis.
 The three-phased solution was proposed after Wang Yi met
separately with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and
Myanmar’s top leaders.
 Three- stage solution
 First stage: Myanmar should impose ceasefire and stop persecuted Rohingyas from fleeing
into Bangladesh.
 Second stage: Bangladesh and Myanmar should strengthen exchanges and find solution on
basis of equality.
 Third stage: International community to help develop the backward Rakhine state and
poverty alleviation of Rohingyas in Myanmar.
 Background
 Over 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar’s violence hit Rakhine state to
neighbouring Bangladesh since August when the military intensified crackdown against
alleged militant outfits of Rohingya Muslim. China is positioning itself as mediator in
dispute between Bangladesh and Myanmar over the Rohingya refugee crisis.
 Rohingya
 Rohingya is ethnic Muslim minority group, largely
comprising Muslims living primarily in Myanmar’s
western Rakhine state. They practice Sufi-inflected
variation of Sunni Islam. They differ from Myanmar’s
dominant Buddhist groups religiously, ethnically and
linguistically.
 They speak Bengali dialect, as opposed to commonly
spoken Burmese language in Myanmar. Myanmar
considers Rohingya’s as illegal Bengali immigrants, despite
fact that they have resided in Rakhine province for
centuries.
 Myanmar government refuses to grant them citizenship
status, and as result they do not have any legal
documentation, effectively making them stateless. They are also restricted from freedom of
movement, state education and civil service jobs. UN has often described Rohingyas as one
of most persecuted minorities in world.
NASA tests Supersonic Parachute for Mars 2020 mission

 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully tested supersonic
landing parachute that will be deployed in its Mars rover mission set to
launch in 2020.
 The mission will rely on special parachute to slow spacecraft down as it
enters Martian atmosphere at over 5.4 kilometres per second. It was
first of several tests in support of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission.
 Key Facts
 The Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment
(ASPIRE), mission’s parachute-testing series was launched on 17.7-metre-tall Black Brant
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IX sounding rocket for evaluation of ASPIRE payload performance. The payload was bullet-
nosed, cylindrical structure holding supersonic parachute along with parachute’s
deployment mechanism, and test’s high-definition instrumentation including cameras to
record data.
 This payload was carried as high as about 51 km and was successfully deployed from
altitude of 42 km and at velocity of 1.8 times speed of sound. Thirty-five minutes after
launch, ASPIRE splashed down in Atlantic Ocean about 54 km southeast of Wallops Island.
The next ASPIRE test is planned for February 2018. The Mars 2020 team will use data from
these tests to finalize design for its mission.
 Mars 2020 mission
 NASA’s Mars 2020 mission will seek signs of ancient Martian life by deploying rover for
investigating evidence in place and by caching drilled samples of Martian rocks for
potential future return to Earth. It will carry out search by conducting drills for core
samples that may contain proof of microbial life from the past. The rover will also examine
different methods to create oxygen from Mar’s atmosphere.
World Press Freedom Index -2017: China world's biggest prison for journalists
 China has the maximum number of jailed journalists while North Korea, as expected, is the
most dangerous for scribes.
 According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index,
China has the maximum number of jailed journalists.
 The country was also rated one of the most dangerous for journalists.
 In China, the media is under strict state-control.
 It has been ranked 176 of the 180 countries included in the report.
 Even Vietnam - another country with a high number of jailed journalists - fares marginally
better and is ranked 175.
 India is ranked 136 of 180 countries and fares better than i.e. three ranks above Pakistan.
 The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has listed 60 journalists who have
been killed in Pakistan since 1994, the country does not make it to the 'Most Dangerous'
list.
 On expected lines, North Korea is ranked last at 180 while war-ravaged Syria is at 177 - one
rank worse than China.
 On the other end of the report are the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden, Finland,
Denmark which make the top-five, along with The Netherlands.
Indonesia to open first contemporary art gallery

 Indonesia’s first international gallery of contemporary art opens, recently.
 It brings together works by Ai Weiwei, Mark Rothko and Indonesian masters in a free
flowing modern space overlooking the Jakarta skyline.
 The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (Museum MACAN) holds
nearly 800 paintings and sculptures.
 It aims to provide a world-class gallery to a country starved of quality museum
infrastructure.
 The collection, mostly acquired by businessman Haryanto Adikoesoemo over the past 25
years.
 It is showcased in an airy 4,000 square metre space on the fifth floor of a city tower.
 Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago nation of more than 250 million people and it is home to
a vibrant art scene but lacks high-quality museums.
 The opening underlines growing interest in Southeast Asian art and comes amid a number
of high-profile gallery launches this year outside of Europe and North America.
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 Cape Town’s Zeitz MOCAA opened in September and the Louvre Abu Dhabi is set to open
this month.
China launches Asia's largest dredging ship - The 'Magic Island Maker'
 China has unveiled a massive ship described as a "magic island maker", the Asia’s largest
dredging vessel.
 The ship is capable of building artificial islands of
the sort the country has constructed in the
contested South China Sea.
 It was launched on Friday at a port in eastern
Jiangsu province.
 The boat named Tian Kun Hao is capable of
digging 6,000 cubic meters an hour, the
equivalent of three standard swimming pools.
 It is a larger version of the one China used to dredge sand, mud and coral for transforming
reefs and islets in the South China Sea into artificial islands capable of hosting military
installations.
 It will be the most powerful such vessel in Asia.
 China claims nearly all of the sea, through which $5 trillion in annual shipping trade passes
and which is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas deposits.
 Its sweeping claims overlap with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, as well as
Taiwan.
 China has previously completed its reclamation projects in an area of the sea known as the
Spratlys.
Afghanistan Government temporarily bans WhatsApp

 The Afghanistan government has asked several private telecommunication companies to
suspend WhatsApp and Telegram instant messaging services in the country in a move that
can curb "freedom of expression".
 Although the apps, popular among the country’s elite, were still working on private telecom
operators.
 According to the Constitution, freedom of expression is inviolable in Afghanistan.
 The clarity on the reason for the temporary ban was not obtained but, the ban was due to
"security concerns".
 WhatsApp and Telegram are often used by the Taliban and other militant groups to evade
government surveillance.
 The request on the 20-day ban had come from the National Directorate of Security, the
country’s intelligence agency.
 The apps were being temporarily banned "to introduce a new kind of technology", because
users had complained about the quality of WhatsApp’s service.
 It also denied that the ban constituted a threat to freedom of expression.
 WhatsApp and Telegram are just applications for contact and the sending of audio
messages, and this does not affect freedom of speech.
China launches two BeiDou-3 navigation satellites

 China successfully launched two BeiDou-3 satellites named BeiDou-3 M1 and BeiDou-3 M2
into space on board of single carrier rocket Long March-3B from Xichang Satellite Launch
Center in southwestern province of Sichuan.
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 These two satellites and carrier rocket were developed by

China Academy of Space Technology and China Academy of
Launch Vehicle Technology, respectively.
 The two newly-launched satellites represent third phase of
BeiDou Navigation Satellite System.
 They will reside in a medium-Earth orbit at an altitude of
21,500 kilometers, inclined 55.5 degrees.
 These two satellites represent third phase of BDS system
(BeiDou-3).
 It is the final stage of the establishment of a Chinese space-based navigation architecture.
 The BeiDou project was formally initiated in 1994.
 It was named after Chinese term for plough or Big Dipper constellation.
 It began to serve China in 2000 and the Asia-Pacific region at the end of 2012.
 This system will provide services for countries involved in Belt and Road Initiative and
form complete global satellite navigation system by 2020 by which time China plans to
have more than 30 satellites.
APEC Summit held in Da Nang city of Vietnam

 The 2017 Summit meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was held on 10
and 11 November 2017 hosted by Vietnam.
 The city Da Nang, Vietnam hosted the 2017 Summit.
 The theme of this edition of summit was “Creating new
Dynamism, Fostering a shared future”.
 The summit was marked by different views to free trade
expressed by US President Donald Trump and his
Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
 Trump reiterated “America First” policy while Jinping
called on for strengthening multilateral trade.
 But in the resolution passed on 11 November 2017, the APEC Leaders reiterated their
commitment to the full implementation of the Free-Trade Agreement of the Asia-Pacific
(FTAAP).
 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim member economies
that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
 It was established in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific
economies and the advent of regional trade blocs in other parts of the world.
 There are 21 member countries of APEC at present.
 The United States, China, Australia, Japan, Russia, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia,
South Korea, New Zealand, Philippines, Vietnam, Mexico, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Peru,
Chile, Brunei and Papua New Guinea
The 31st Summit of ASEAN formally hosted by The Philippines

 Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte formally opened the 31st Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN Summit) in capital Manila on
13 November 2017.
 The theme for the ASEAN Summit this year is
“Partnering for Change, Engaging the World”.
 Security and regional integrity will be among the key
issues during the summit for the world leaders.
 ASEAN, the regional intergovernmental organization
established in 1967, is celebrating 50 years of its
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existence this year.

 World’s seventh largest market and third-largest labour force, the organisation has
matured into a community that focuses on economic integration and growth.
 ASEAN-comprises of Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand,
Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam.
 Later China, Japan and South Korea were accorded plus three status in the organisation.
 Australia, India, New Zealand, Russia and the United States are the 5 partner states of the
association while Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste are the two observer states.
 Bangladesh, Canada, Mongolia, North Korea, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and European Union are
also associated with ASEAN as member countries of East Asia Summit.
 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is representing Indian in the ASEAN Summit.
 The 10-member grouping ASEAN and India comprise a total population of 1.85 billion
people which is one-fourth of the global population.
 The combined GDP has been estimated at over 3.8 trillion dollars.
 Trade between India and ASEAN stood at $ 65.04 billion in 2015-16 and comprises 10.12
per cent of India’s total trade with the world.
 Apart from participating in the ASEAN-India and East Asia Summits, in the three-day visit,
Mr. Modi would also take part in special celebrations of the 50th anniversary of ASEAN,
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Leaders’ Meeting and ASEAN
Business and Investment Summit.
India, Japan, U.S., Australia hold first ‘Quad’ talks at Manila ahead of ASEAN Summit
 India participated in the first formal official-level
discussions under the recently floated regional coalition
known as the ‘Quad’.
 It is a quadrilateral formation, includes Japan, India,
United States and Australia.
 The quadrilateral talks were held even as Prime Minister
Narendra Modi interacted with Premier Shinzo Abe of
Japan and U.S. President Donald Trump at a gala dinner
thrown by President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines for the leaders who are here to
participate in the 31st ASEAN and the 12th East Asia summits.
 The discussions focussed on cooperation based on their converging vision and values for
promotion of peace, stability and prosperity in an increasingly inter-connected region that
they share with each other and with other partners.
 The Indian team at the ‘Quad’ consisted of the Joint Secretary in charge of the East Asia
division in MEA, Pranay Verma, and the Joint Secretary in charge of South division, Vinay
Kumar.
 The leaders of the quadrilateral countries, Mr. Abe, Mr. Modi, and Mr. Trump participated in
the dinner dressed in the Barong Tagalog, the traditional Filipino shirt for men.
10th South Asia Economic Summit held in Nepal

 The 10th South Asia Economic Summit (SAES-2017) was held in Kathmandu, Nepal with
theme “Deepening Economic Integration for Inclusive and Sustainable
Development in South Asia”.
 The 3-day summit was organised by National Planning Commission
and Ministry of Commerce of Nepal and South Asia Watch on Trade,
Economics and Environment, Nepal.
 Key Facts
 Approx 200 participants including ministers, members of parliament,
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former MPs, ambassadors, government officials, researchers, eminent experts and thinkers
will attend the summit. The summit is a regional platform for discussing and analyzing
economic and development issues and challenges faced by South Asian countries and
advancing the cause of regional integration and cooperation.
 South Asia Economic Summit
 South Asia Economic Summit is like Davos- World Economic Forum event in South Asia. It
was started in 2008. It brings together stakeholders from government, research, private
sector, academics and civil society to generate innovative and actionable ideas for
consideration by region’s policymakers and SAARC.
World carbon emissions set to rise 2% to record high of 37 billion tonnes

 World carbon emissions are set to rise 2% this year
to a new record.
 Carbon emissions had been roughly flat from 2014-
16, but will increase this year mainly due to a rise in
China after a two-year decline.
 Their data, presented during negotiations among
almost 200 nations in Germany about details of the
2015 Paris Agreement climate accord, are a setback
to a global goal of curbing emissions to avert more downpours, heat waves, and rising sea
levels.
 The plateau of last year was not peak emissions after all,” the Global Carbon Project, a
group of 76 scientists in 15 countries, wrote of the findings.
 Countries that have signed or ratified the Paris climate agreement, or which have stayed
outside the deal, with an indication of how much they contribute to greenhouse gas
emissions.
 Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and industry, the bulk of man-made greenhouse
gases, were on track to gain 2%in 2017 from 2016 levels to a record high of about 37 billion
tonnes.
 China’s emissions were set to rise 3.5%, driven by more coal demand amid stronger
economic growth.
 China, the top greenhouse gas emitter ahead of the United States, accounts for almost 30%
of world emissions.
 US emissions were set to decline by 0.4% in 2017, a smaller fall than in recent years, also
reflecting more burning of coal.
 Concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, drivers of
climate change, since the pre-industrial era.
China world's worst abuser of internet freedom

 According to a study conducted by Freedom House - an
independent watchdog organisation for expanding freedom and
democracy globally, Chinese internet users were found to be
the most restricted and most compromised in the world for the
third consecutive year.
 Tightening of online controls before the 19th National Congress
of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) last month also
contributed in the country faring worst in the study.
 China scored 87 out of 100 - where 100 is the worst score.
 India, on the other hand, scored 41 and was deemed 'partly free'.
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 Factors hampering India's net freedom record, according to the study, are people being
detained for comments on religious or political issues and several suspension of net service
in Jammu and Kashmir.
 Conversely, what has helped India's rank are increased net access, better speeds and
Supreme Court recognising privacy as a fundamental right in an August ruling.
 Pakistan has not fared as well and scored 71 - a little better than Saudi Arabia's 72.
 Pakistan is also only one of two countries - with South Korea - to have worse scores for
internet freedom than for press freedom.
 Conversely, the countries with the overall best score for internet freedom were Estonia and
Iceland - tied at No. 1 rank.
 Canada had the next best score, followed by Germany, Australia-United States (tie), Japan,
Georgia-UK (tie) and South Africa-Italy (tie).
Oxford launches first-ever Hindi word of the year

 Oxford Dictionaries will have a Hindi word of the year for 2017.
 The Hindi word of the year will be a word or expression that
has attracted a great deal of interest this year.
 The chosen word should reflect the ethos, mood, or
preoccupations of the year.
 It is not necessarily a new word, but should be one that is
strongly linked somehow to 2017.
 This word of the year will be announced in January 2018.
 Oxford Dictionaries has called on Hindi speakers across the
country to help choose the word. Submissions need to be made before November 29.
 The word will be chosen by the Hindi Dictionaries team at Oxford University Press (OUP)
along with an advisory panel of language experts who each bring a unique perspective.
 The panel includes writer-publisher Namita Gokhle, Indian language expert Kritika
Agrawal, journalist Saurabh Dwivedi, senior editorial manager at OUP India Malika Ghosh,
and Ranchi University associate professor Poonam Nigam Sahay.
 Oxford has been creating dictionaries for over 150 years and its dictionary editors in India
and around the world have developed expertise in monitoring how language is used by real
people.
Qatar ranked world’s richest in terms of per capita GDP

 According to the IMF,Qatar ranked world’s richest in terms of per capita GDP countries as
per latest data released recently.
 The Persian Gulf emirate of 1.7 million people ranks
as the world's richest country per capita thanks to a
rebound in oil prices and its massive natural gas
reserves.
 The small Middle Eastern country topped the
International Monetary Fund’s October 2017 data on
GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity.
 According to the latest data, Qatar’s per capita GDP
stood at $1,24,930 with a population of approximately 2.27 million.
 The country has grown despite facing lower prices for hydrocarbon, a major revenue
source for Qatar, which is used for fuel.
 After Qatar the data listed following country chronologically in the top 10 – Luxembourg
($109,190), Singapore ($90,530), Brunei ($76,740), Ireland ($72,630), Norway ($72,630),
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Kuwait ($69,670), United Arab Emirates ($68,250), Switzerland ($61,360) and Hong Kong
($61,020).
 India was placed at 126th place in the listing, with one place improvement.
 India’s GDP rose to $7,170 in 2017, from $6,690 last year, helping improve its rank by a
position to 126th.
Latin America and the Caribbean ranked World’s most violent region for women
 According to a latest report by UN Women and the UN Development Programme (UNDP),
Latin America and the Caribbean region is ranked as the World’s most violent region for
women.
 Latin America and the Caribbean is the most violent region in the world for women.
 This was disclosed by the United Nations (UN) in Panama on 22 November 2017.
 The conclusion has been drawn based on a report prepared by UN Women and the UN
Development Programme (UNDP).
 The report found assaults on women persisted in the region despite severe laws aimed at
curbing the phenomenon.
 The rate of sexual violence against women outside of relationships is the highest in the
world in the region.
 According to the report, 3 of the 10 countries with the highest rates of rape of women and
girls were in the Caribbean.
SAM: World’s first AI politician developed

 Scientists from New Zealand have developed world’s first artificial intelligence politician
named SAM. It was created by Nick Gerritsen, entrepreneur in New
Zealand.
 Key Facts
 The virtual politician SAM can answer person’s queries regarding local
issues such as policies around housing, education and immigration. It
constantly learns to respond to people through Facebook Messenger as
well as a survey on its homepage. It may help to bridge the growing
political and cultural divide in many countries
 Artificial intelligence
 Artificial intelligence is branch of computer science concerned with making intelligent
machines, especially intelligent computer programs in order to make them behave like
computers. AI enables a machine to perceive and respond to its changing environment. It is
related to similar task of using computers to understand human intelligence.
China launches world’s first fully electric cargo ship

 China launched world’s first fully electric cargo ship in Guangzhou,
capital city of Guangdong province. It is the first ship in the world to use
lithium ion battery. The ship will be mainly used to run in inland
section of Pearl River for carrying coal for generation of electric power.
 Key Facts
 The 2000-metric-ton ship was manufactured by the Guangzhou
Shipyard International Company Ltd. It is 70.5 meters long and is
powered by 26-tonne lithium battery. It has battery energy of about 2400 kilowatt (kw)
hours which is same energy of 40 new energy cars. It can run 80 kilometers after being
charged for two hours. Its highest speed is 12.8 kilometers per hour. This all-electric ship
will help in reducing shipping costs for electric power operators. The main cost of this ship
depends on how much lithium battery it is equipped with. As the ship does not use fossil
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fuels, it has zero emission, including carbon, sulphur and PM2.5 which will help to protect
water quality and marine life. It can be used as passenger liner or a working ship.
 India, Russia sign anti-terror agreement. Indian and Russian representatives also signed a
joint action plan for countering the threat posed by narcotics. This agreement will provide
legal framework for bilateral cooperation in this field.
 Beyonce named World's Highest-Paid Woman in Music in 2017 by Forbes. Beyonce
Knowles earned a total wealth of USD 105 million from record sales and from her
‘Formation’ concert tour. She also has her own Ivy Park fashion line and other business
interests. Adele fetched the second spot with a total worth of USD 69 million, boosted by
her first proper tour since 2011.
 WHO launches global effort to end TB by 2030. The Moscow Declaration to End TB aims to
increase multisectoral action as well as track progress, and build accountability. More than
1000 participants took part in the two-day conference which resulted in collective
commitment to end TB.
 Leonardo Da Vinci's Christ painting sold for record USD 450 million. The painting is known
by the name 'Salvator Mundi', an Italian phrase for 'Savior of the World'. The painting is one
of 16 paintings by Leonardo known to exist and is the only one in private hands. This 26-
inch-tall painting dates from around 1500 and shows Christ dressed in Renaissance-style
robes, his right hand is raised in blessing and his left hand holds a crystal sphere.
 Japan to relax visa rules for Indians from 1 January. Japan will relax its visa rules for Indians
from 1 January 2018 and issue multiple- entry-visa for short-term stay. The relaxed visa
regime will not only have simplification of visa application documents but also expansion of
scope of eligible applicants.
 Facebook to introduce disaster response tools in India. Social media giant, Facebook has
teamed up with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and an Indian non-
profit body – SEEDS- to offer tools to these agencies in an attempt to help them
respond more effectively to natural disasters.
 India to contribute USD 100 million to UN partnership fund. India has pledged an additional
amount of USD 100 million towards the UN partnership fund, scaling up its support to
sustainable development projects across the developing world.
 2017 set to be among top three hottest years with record breaking extreme weather: WMO.
The year 2017 witnessed an extraordinary weather, including temperatures topping 50
degrees Celsius in Asia, record-breaking hurricanes in the Caribbean and Atlantic reaching
as far as Ireland. Extreme events affect the food security of millions of people, especially the
most vulnerable.
 Guinea ratifies International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement. With this, Guinea
became the 15th country to ratify the agreement. The other 14 countries are India,
Bangladesh, Comoros, Fiji, France, Ghana, Mauritius, Nauru, Niger, Mali, Seychelles, Somalia,
South Sudan and Tuvalu.
 ICIJ releases Paradise Papers: 714 Indians named in the list. Among the 180 countries
represented in the data, India ranks 19th in terms of the number of names. In all, there are
714 Indians in the list. Interestingly, Indian company Sun Group, founded by Nand Lal
Khemka, figures as Appleby’s second-largest client internationally, with as many as 118
different offshore entities.
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Economics & Financial Awareness
India’s ranks 100th in World Bank’s Doing Business Report 2018

 In World Bank’s recently released Doing Business (DB) Report 2018
titled as ‘Doing Business 2018: Reforming to Create Jobs’, India
leapfrogged to 100th among 190 countries.
 India has jumped over 30 ranks to attain 100th spot from 130th
position in 2017 Ease of Doing Business Index. Its score also increased
from 56.05 in 2017 to 60.76 in Doing Business 2018
 Ease of Doing Business Index
 The Ease of Doing Business Index assesses 190 economies and covers 10 indicators which
span the lifecycle of a business. These 10 indicators are: Starting a business, Dealing with
construction permits, Getting electricity, Registering
property, Getting credit, Protecting minority
investors, Paying taxes, Trading across borders,
Enforcing contracts and Resolving insolvency. Each
one of these indicators carry equal weightage.
 India’s Performance
 It saw the improvement in 6 out of 10 indicators. They
are Resolving Insolvency, Paying Taxes, Getting Credit,
Enforcing Contracts, Protecting Minority Investors and Construction Permits.
 India ranked 103rd in Resolving Insolvency indicator, 119th in Paying Taxes, 29th in
Getting Credit, 164th in Enforcing Contracts, 4th in Protecting Minority Investors and 181st
in Construction Permits.
 Key Highlights of Report
 India figures among top 10 countries Brunei
Darussalam, Thailand, Malawi, Kosovo, Uzbekistan,
Zambia, Nigeria, Djibouti and El Salvador that have
marked an improvement this year.
 These 10 top improvers implemented 53 regulatory
reforms making it easier for them to do business.
 Europe and Central Asia regions continue to have
highest share of economies implementing at least
one reform as 76% of economies in the region
implemented at least one business regulatory
reform.
 India is only country in South Asia and BRICS
economies to feature among most improved
economies of the DB Report this year.
 In South Asia region, India was top improver, but
was ranked below Bhutan (75). Nepal (105), Sri
Lanka (111), Maldives (136), Pakistan (147), Bangladesh (177) and Afghanistan (183) were
ranked below India.
Telangana tops state-wise ease of doing business ranking in 2017

 Telangana has topped the yearly state-wise ranking on assessment of implementation of
‘Business Reforms Action Plan’ (BRAP) in 2017. Last year, Telangana was the joint topper
with Andhra Pradesh in the ranking.
 Telangana with an implementation score of 61.83% was followed by Haryana (54.03%),
Odisha (45.70%), Chhattisgarh (45.43%), and West Bengal (44.35%). The Department of
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Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) under Commerce and Industry Ministry is the nodal
body at Centre for the exercise.
 Assessment Report-2017
 This year’s assessment includes 372 reforms, up from 340 last year.
The broad areas of assessment included online single window system,
online tax payment, contract enforcement, paper-less courts, land
availability and allotment, obtaining electricity and water connection,
tax, labour regulation, construction permits, environmental registration
as well as commercial dispute resolution and online systems for
property registration.
 It also included registration and grant and renewal of licence under Factories Act, approval
of plan and permission to construct or extend or take into use any building as factory,
registration and renewal of boilers and compliance inspections under various laws.
 About State ease of doing business index
 In 2014, Government requested World Bank Group to support India’s efforts to enhance
India’s competitiveness and increase manufactured exports. DIPP then decided to start
similar initiative to promote competitiveness among states by taking cue from World
Bank’s “Ease of doing business index.
 The DIPP hosted website for states to update their performance on pre-identified
parameters on real-time basis and prepared a report card on the same. The parameters are
assessed by both World Bank and DIPP. Stakeholders, including companies or individuals
also gave feedback on portal about improvements made by states on each of those
parameters.
PM Narendra Modi, Ivanka Trump inaugurate Global Entrepreneurship Summit in

Hyderabad
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump’s
advisor and daughter Ivanka Trump jointly inaugurated 8th annual
Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES 2017) in Hyderabad,
Telangana.
 The mega event was co-hosted by National Institution for
Transforming India (NITI) Aayog and US Government n partnership
with Telangana Government.
 Key Highlights GES 2017
 GES is preeminent annual entrepreneurship gathering that convenes over one thousand
emerging entrepreneurs, investors, and supporters from around the world. It is organized
annually since 2010. This is the first time GES is being held in South Asia.
 The theme for 2017 GES is “Women First, Prosperity for All” to celebrate entrepreneurship
in all its strength, diversity and entirety. Around 1,500 delegates from over 160 countries
will participate in 2017 GES.
 GES 2017 aims to empower Indian entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas, build partnerships,
secure funding, and create innovative products and services that will transform societies
for better future. It will not only bring global best practices to India, but also create
irreplaceable place for India in global entrepreneurial ecosystem.
 The four primary focus areas of GES 2017 are Digital Economy and Financial Technology,
Health Care and Life Sciences, Energy and Infrastructure, and Media and Entertainment.
The summit will deliberate on four key sectors, focus on critical aspects of
entrepreneurship and host interactive sessions between panelists and audience
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Union Government mandatory for all new four-wheelers to have FASTag devices fixed
on front windscreens
 The Union Government has made mandatory for all new four-wheelers to have FASTag
devices fixed on front windscreens by
automobile manufacturers or authorised
dealers.
 This comes into force from 1 December 2017.
 The main aim is to promote digital India and
enabling hassle-free transportation.
 FASTag is a device that uses Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) technology for making toll
payments directly from the prepaid account linked to it.
 It is affixed on the windscreen of a vehicle and enables to drive through toll plazas without
stopping for payment.
 NHAI has also rolled out dedicated FASTag lanes at toll booths.
India become fourth largest population of millionaires in the Asia Pacific region
 India become the fourth largest population of millionaires in the Asia Pacific region with
2,19,000 ultra-rich individuals with a combined wealth of $877
billion.
 According to the 2017 Asia-Pacific Wealth Report (APWR) by
Capgemini, India stood at fourth position with its contribution of
4 % in terms of individual market share in HNWI population
growth in APAC (Asia Pacific) region.
 High net worth individuals (HNWIs) are defined as those having
investible assets of $1 million or more, excluding primary
residence, collectibles, consumables, and consumer durables.
 At the end of 2016, there were 28,91,000 millionaires in Japan, while China ranked second
with 11,29,000 HNWIs and Australia was at the third place had 2,55,000.
 Between the period 2015-2016, India's HNWI population witnessed a surge by 9.5 %,
outshining the average annual growth rate of 7.4 % of APAC.
 China and Japan which registered a growth of 9.1 % and 6.3 %, respectively, for the same
period.
 In terms of HNWI wealth, India witnessed a double-digit growth of 10 % for the period
2015-2016, as compared to the annual average growth of 8.2 %.
 After a sedate HNWI wealth expansion of 1.6 % in 2015, India posted double digit HNWI
wealth growth of 10 % in 2016.
 For the July-September period of this financial year, 41 % of Indian HNWI's financial assets
are held outside the home market.
 In terms of geographic spread of asset allocation, Indian HNWI's are largely holding their
assets in Singapore (22.2 %) Dubai (14.4 %) and London (13.4 %).
 The report said Asia-Pacific continued to dominate high net worth individual population
and wealth, and is on target to surpass $40 trillion in HNWI wealth by 2025.
 It proves corrupt rich Indians are parking their wealth abroad in fake accounts
 Asia-Pacific remains the global leader in HNWI population and wealth, but its pace slowed
slightly in 2016 with population and wealth increasing 7.4 % and 8.2 %, respectively, down
from 9.4 % and 9.9 % in 2015.
 The Asia-Pacific Wealth Report from Capgemini tracks HNWIs in the Asia-Pacific region,
their wealth, and the global and economic conditions that drive change in the wealth
management industry.
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Reliance Nippon AMC became the first mutual fund to be listed on Indian stock
exchanges
 Reliance Nippon AMC became the first mutual fund to be listed on Indian stock exchanges
on 6 November 2017.
 Reliance Nippon Asset Management Company
(Reliance Nippon AMC) became the first mutual fund
to be listed on Indian stock exchanges.
 Earlier the Rs. 1,540 crore IPO brought by Reliance
Nippon was oversubscribed over 80 times.
 The company is the country’s third largest AMC or
asset management company in terms of assets.
 At the end of August 2017, Reliance Nippon AMC managed assets worth Rs. 3.84 lakh crore
across mutual funds (Rs. 2.3 lakh crore), managed accounts (Rs. 1.53 lakh crore) and
offshore funds and advisory mandates (Rs. 2,223 crore).
Goods and Services Tax Council (GST Council) reduced GST rates on 50 items
 The Goods and Services Tax Council on 10 November 2017 sharply reduced to just 50 the
number of items in the highest tax rate of 28%.
 The 23rd meeting of GST Council being held in Guwahati, chaired by Union Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley,
 The Council also staggered the return filing
process, reduced the tax rates on restaurants and
expanded the Composition Scheme for small firms.
 The Council decided to reduce the tax rate on 178
of current 228 items from 28% to 18%, with effect
from 15 November 2017. After this now just 50
items remain in the 28% GST slab.
 The items in the 28% slab that have got cheaper include wires, cables, insulated plugs,
furniture, bedding, mattresses, suitcases, detergents, shampoo, perfumes, lamps, wrist
watches, and slabs of marble and granite.
 Now all restaurants will be taxed at 5%, except those in hotels with a tariff of Rs. 7,500 or
more that will be taxed at 18% with input tax credit (ITC).
India’s first Tribal Entrepreneurship Summit to be organised at Dantewada

 India’s first Tribal Entrepreneurship Summit was organised at Dantewada in Bastar region
of Chhattisgarh.
 The summit is part of 8th Global Entrepreneurship
Summit being held in India.
 The event was organized by National Institute of
Transforming India (NITI) Aayog in partnership with
Government of United States of America (USA).
 Tribal Entrepreneurship Summit in Dantewada was
organised with motive to inspire, nurture and promote
spirit of entrepreneurship in tribal youth.
 It aims to ensure another step towards tribal-centric sustainable and inclusive
development.
 The summit saw participation of tribal entrepreneurs from various sectors across country
and abroad.
 It was addressed by eminent speakers from NITI Aayog, health and agri-pharma sectors.
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 The summit not only provided platform to tribal youth but also addressed issues faced by
tribal community in pragmatic and progressive ways.
India-led solar alliance to add 1,000GW of energy by 2030

 The India-led International Solar Alliance (ISA) plans to add 1,000 gigawatt (GW) of solar
power across the globe by 2030 with an investment of nearly 1,200 billion euros.
 ISA's future plans were made public here in Bonn on the sidelines of the ongoing UN
climate change conference (COP23).
 India had earlier planned to disclose details of ISA's agenda next month during the
alliance's first global summit in Delhi.
 The inaugural summit has, however, now been deferred due to postponement of French
President Emmanuel Macron's India visit.
 ISA is India's brainchild and is meant to bring 121 solar rich countries on a single platform
to explore ways to utilise and promote solar energy.
 The alliance was jointly launched by PM Modi and the then French President Francois
Hollande in Paris on November 30, 2015.
 Since France had been quite active on this Indian initiative to forge a global coalition to
harness solar energy, India is keen to have Macron on board at ISAs inaugural summit.
 The current installed global capacity of solar power is around 303GW, including 12GW in
India. Nearly 75GW of solar power was added globally in 2016.
 India had in 2015 revised its solar power target from 20 GW to 100 GW by 2022. So far, 44
countries have signed the ISA framework agreement.
Rural Poverty Index: Now, Rs 10,000 in a/c to be measure as Poor

 The government has planned a set of parameters to assess poverty in a gram panchayat and
the criteria to determine "economic development" will look at bank deposits of households.
 The threshold for a healthy savings bank account is set at Rs 10,000.
 At the same time, the higher the number of families with "bank loans for diversified
livelihood", the better would be a village's assessment on poverty scale.
 Crucially, a panchayat's affluence or lack of poverty will be directly dependent on "the
number of women in paid/self employment" or the percentage
of households with LPG connections or those getting power
supply for 12 hours daily.
 These are among 21 parameters the rural development
ministry is learnt to have finalised to measure the status of
gram panchayats under Mission Antyodaya - the newly-carved
scheme to create 50,000 poverty-free panchayats.
 The criteria of minimum balance in a savings bank account to
measure "economic development" has seemingly changed over months of brainstorming.
 The ministry initially considered a deposit of Rs 20,000.
 To assess the progress made by a GP, the government's stress appears to be on nonfarm
work and employment.
 The ministry has finalised a three-pronged assessment scale based on "infrastructure",
"social development and protection" and "economic development and diversification of
livelihoods"
 Progress of a village will be measured against prevalence of malnutrition among children
up to three years, percentage of children with full immunisation, number of girls
completing secondary education and skilling courses.
 The 50,000 GPs, where the scheme plans to eliminate poverty, will be bunched together in
5,000 clusters for carrying out development work.
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 The state-wise list of GPs under Mission Antyodaya has already been finalised.
 Among the parameters, a village will be judged by –
i. All weather roads
ii. Internet connectivity and banking correspondent
iii. If it is "open defecation free" with "community waste disposal system".
Union Cabinet Clears Setting Up Of GST Anti-Profiteering Authority

 The Union Cabinet has approved setting up of a National
Anti-profiteering Authority under the GST.
 It seeks to ensure that consumers get the benefit of reduced
prices under the new indirect tax regime.
 Currently, there are only 50 items which attract the highest
tax of 28 % under the Goods and Services Tax or GST
regime and rates on many items have been cut to 5 % as
well.
 The National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAPI) is an
assurance to consumers of India.
 If any consumer feels that the benefit of tax rate cut is not being passed on, then he/she can
complaint to the authority.
 It had decided to slash tax rates of over 200 items in the GST regime as well as lowered tax
rates on AC and non-AC restaurants to 5 %, last week.
 The Council had earlier approved setting up of a five-member National Anti Profiteering
Authority to enable consumers to file complaint in case price reduction is not passed on.
 As per the structure of the anti-profiteering mechanism in the GST regime, complaints of
local nature will be first sent to the state-level 'screening committee', while those of
national level will be marked for the 'Standing Committee'.
 If the complaints have merit, the respective committees would refer the cases for further
investigation to the Directorate General of Safeguards (DGS).
 The DG Safeguards would generally take about three months to complete the investigation
and send the report to the anti-profiteering authority.
 If the authority finds that a company has not passed on GST benefits, it will either direct the
entity to pass on the benefits to consumers or if the beneficiary cannot be identified will ask
the company to transfer the amount to the 'consumer welfare fund' within a specified
timeline.
 The authority will have the power to cancel registration of any entity or business if it fails
to pass on to consumers the benefit of lower taxes under the GST regime, but it would
probably be the last step against any violator.
 According to the anti profiteering rules, the authority will suggest return of the undue
profit earned from not passing on the reduction in incidence of tax to consumers along with
an 18 % interest, as also impose penalty.
Govt's next mega mission to make 1 billion UIDs, 1 billion accounts, 1 billion mobiles
 India government is set to pursue an unique and ambitious "1 billion-1 billion-1 billion"
connectivity vision.
 This means one billion unique Aadhaar numbers, linked to one billion bank accounts and
one billion mobiles+.
 The target follows the success of demonetization in bringing about a substantial Rs 6 lakh
crore reduction in value of high value notes that would have been in circulation and a rising
trend of bank accounts and digital payments+.
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 There is confidence in government circles that the "1 plus 1 plus 1" figure will happen soon
- though no target dates are spelt out - and this will mark a big step towards expanding the
financial and digital mainstream.
 According to official statistics, estimated high value notes at the end of September, 2017,
add up to approximately Rs 12 lakh crore as against a value of Rs 15.44 crore in November,
2016 when PM Narendra Modi announced demonetization.
 The rate at which specified bank notes were growing meant they would have been of the
order of around Rs 18 lakh crore and they have been effectively brought down by Rs 6 lakh
crore.
 The government has sought to counter attacks that the return of 99% of denotified
currency, despite being contrary to what was initially anticipated, does not signal a failure
of demonetisation.
 The sharp reduction in the number of high-value notes is seen as a significant step towards
a less cash economy promised by the government and, coupled with measures such as
limits on such payments for property purchases, is expected to accelerate the process.
 The tax reform has received widespread approval even from economists who were
doubtful of note ban.
 The fillip to digitalization, read in conjunction with Aadhaar and measures like BHIM-UPI, is
also being recognized by ratings agencies, and the reduced transaction costs are also
making a difference.
 The UID schemes and its linkage with welfare payments as well as PAN cards and other use
by private firms have been criticized for exclusion as well as intrusion of privacy.
 The thumbs up to UID as a means of quickly establishing identity of a beneficiary or
payment maker is a shot in the arm for the government.
First North East Development Summit held in Manipur

 The first ever North East Development Summit (NEDS) 2017
was held in Imphal, Manipur.
 It was inaugurated by President of India Ram Nath Kovind.
 It was organised by Delhi-based think tank India Foundation
in collaboration with Union Government and Manipur
government.
 NEDS 2017 aims to boost trade and investment in
underdeveloped region of North East.
 It also aimed at building confidence and altering perception among visiting delegates and
investors. Various international finance agencies laid down their plan for development in
the region.
 NEDS 2017 were Trade and Investment, Connectivity and Infrastructure Development,
Tourism Development in North-East India, Skill Development, Capacity Building and
Entrepreneurship.
India ranks 51 on IMD Talent Rankings, Climbs 3 Steps

 According to the World Competitiveness Center in IMD World Talent
Rankings 2017, India has improved its ranking by three notches to 51
globally.
 India ranked 51st among 63 countries on the IMD Talent Rankings in terms
of ability to attract, develop and retain talent.
 India Climbs 3 Steps To 51 On IMD World Talent Rankings; Switzerland No. 1
 European economies are superior when it comes to attracting, developing
and retaining top talent.
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 In IMD World Talent Rankings 2017, India has improved its ranking by three notches to 51
globally in terms of ability to attract, develop and retain talent while Switzerland topped
the list.
 The prestigious annual IMD World Talent Ranking assesses the methods countries use to
attract and retain the talent their businesses need to thrive.
 Europe continues to dominate the 2017 list, with 11 out of the 15 most talent competitive
economies based on the continent, after a strong performance in 2016. Switzerland,
Denmark and Belgium remain the most competitive countries in the 2017 IMD World
Talent Ranking.
 Austria, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Sweden and Luxembourg make up the
top-ten.
 The study draws on an in-depth survey of thousands of executives from 63 different
economies, and more than two decades' data from the IMD World Competitiveness Center.
Union Government launches UMANG app

 The Union Government launched new all-in-one mobile application called UMANG with an
aim to make Government services accessible on mobile phone of the
citizens.
 The UMANG app offers 162 services from 33 state and central
government departments and four states under a one-single platform.
 UMANG app
 The term UMANG stands for Unified Mobile Application for New-age
Governance. It was launched to promote Digital India program and to
drive mobile e-governance in India. The app was developed by Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology (MeitY) and National e-Governance Division (NeGD).
 The app provides unified approach where one application to avail multiple government
services. It is single mobile app that has access to 1200 services of various government
offices from Centre, State and utility services.
 It supports 13 Indian languages and caters to on-demand scalability. It provides all pan
India e-Governance services like Aadhaar, PAN, booking gas cylinder, PF account and
Digilocker on one single platform
SBI To Roll Out YONO Lifestyle Banking App

 India’s largest public sector bank, State Bank of India (SBI) will unveil the country's first
integrated lifestyle and banking digital platform.
 It was launched by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
 YONO is stands for 'You Only Need One'.
 It will be the first digital banking platform to offer
customised products and offers from over 60 e-commerce
players by leveraging analytics, besides a range of banking
and financial services, the SBI release said here.
 YONO will also allow customers to meet their lifestyle needs
across 14 categories including booking and renting cabs, entertainment, dining experience,
travel and stay, medical needs and so on.
 SBI has partnered with e-commerce players including Amazon, Uber, Ola, Myntra, Jabong,
Shoppers Stop, Cox & Kings, Thomas Cook, Yatra, Airbnb, Swiggy and Byjus to provide the
customised offers and discounts.
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SAUBHAGYA Scheme launched in Manipur

 The Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA) was launched in Manipur.
 It was launched by Union Minister of State (IC) for Power
and New & Renewable Energy, Shri R.K. Singh and Shri N.
Biren Singh, Chief Minister of Manipur.
 A total of approximately 1.75 lakh households (1.62 lakh
rural households and 0.13 lakh urban households) of
Manipur are proposed to be included under the Scheme.
 Manipur is the fastest reforming state in Power sector in the
country and the Manipur Government is performing well in
terms of power sector in the State.
 The vision of the govt. is to provide electricity to every household of the country.
 Now the Government would come to people’s doorstep to provide power connection to
every household.
 This is such a scheme where the poorest of the poor can afford electricity in their homes.
 The Minister promised that people would get 24x7 power supply by March, 2019.
 For achieving this target, the Government has already given obligation to private
companies to provide 24x7 power supply to every household.
 The Saubhagya Scheme would transform the lives, especially poorest of the poor by
providing power supply to every household of the country.
Government constitutes task force for drafting New Direct Tax Legislation
 The Union Finance Ministry has constituted task force to review
Income Tax (IT) Act 1961 and draft new direct tax law in consonance
with current economic needs. CBDT member Arbind Modi will be
convener of task force. Chief Economic Adviser Dr. Arvind
Subramanian will be its permanent Special Invitee.
 Terms of Reference of Task Force
 Taskforce main mandate is to draft appropriate Direct Tax Legislation
keeping in view direct tax system prevalent in various countries, international best
practices. It will also take into consideration, economic needs of country and any other
matter connected thereto.
 Background
 During 2017 Rajaswa Gyan Sangam held in September, 2017, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi had observed that IT Act, 1961 was drafted more than 50 years ago and it needs to be
re-drafted. Rajaswa Gyan Sangam is an annual conference of senior tax administrators to
enable two-way communication between policy-makers and senior officers in field offices
with view to increase revenue collection and facilitate effective implementation of law and
policies in key result areas.
One Rupee note celebrated its 100th anniversary of its release

 An important milestone was marked by the mundane One Rupee note on 30 November
2017.
 It celebrated its 100th anniversary of its release
 The first note was introduced on 30 November 1917 with the
photo of King George V.
 The paper note was launched due to inability of the then
British Government to mint One Rupee coins during the hard
times of the First World War.
 Hence it shifted to printing paper notes.
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 When introduced, the Re. 1 replaced the silver coin, which was the prevalent way of storing
value of the princely Re 1. Unlike other banknotes, this is not signed by the RBI governor,
but by the finance secretary.
 Finance Minister Arun Jaitley launches Paytm Payments Bank. Paytm Payments Bank aims
to bring Indians into 'digital economy'. With the launch of the Bank, Paytm account holders
can enjoy the benefits like zero-balance account, free IMPS, NEFT, RTGS, UPI transactions
and a complimentary virtual Rupay cards for online transactions.
 CCEA approves expansion of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao for Pan India coverage. The
expansion includes Multi sectoral intervention in 244 districts in addition to existing 161
districts and 235 districts will be covered through Alert District Media, Advocacy and
Outreach.
 Moody's upgrades India's sovereign rating after 14 years. US credit rating agency Moody's
raised India's sovereign rating to Baa2 from its lowest investment grade of Baa, while
changing the outlook for the country's rating to stable from positive. Since 2004, Moody
raised the sovereign rating for the first time ignoring a haze of short-term economic
uncertainties to bet on the nation’s prospects from a raft of policy changes by the
government.
 Cabinet approves the establishment of the National Anti-profiteering Authority under GST.
The Union Cabinet led by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its consent for the
creation of the posts of Chairman and Technical Members of the National Anti-profiteering
Authority (NAA) under GST. The decision was followed up immediately after the sharp
reduction in the GST rates of a large number of items of mass consumption. This paves the
way for the immediate establishment of this apex body, which is mandated to ensure that
the benefits of the reduction in GST rates on goods or services are passed on to the ultimate
consumers by way of a reduction in prices.
 Union Government launches BHARAT-22 Exchange Traded Fund. Union Government's key
Economic Reforms may also benefit ETF. These reforms are Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Code 2016, Digital Economy, Bank recapitalization, GST, Liberalization of FDI, Introduction
of Daily Fuel pricing, Revival package for DISCOMs, etc.
 India to be third largest economy by 2028, says report. India is likely to achieve strong
growth over the next decade and emerge as the world’s third-largest economy, overtaking
Japan in nominal GDP by 2028, says a report titled ‘India 2028’ by Bank of America Merrill
Lynch.
 RBI directs banks to provide doorstep banking facilities to senior citizens, differently-abled.
The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to provide doorstep banking facilities to senior
citizens who are more than 70 years of age and differently-abled persons by December
2017.
 India slips to 7th position in Business Optimism Ranking. According to the most recent
Grant Thornton International Business Report India has slipped to the 7th position in the
Business Optimism Index (BOI) in the September quarter, from the second position in the
previous three months. The survey suggests that this ranking is showing the clear signs of
lag in the economy.
 CBDT notifies rules for furnishing Master File and Country-by-Country Report. The report
of Master File needs to be submitted in Form 3CEAA and the Country-by-Country Report in
Form 3CEAD. An international group having multiple Indian constituent entities can
designate one constituent entity to furnish the Master File.
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 PFRDA increases maximum age of joining under NPS-Private Sector to 65 years. With this,
any Indian Citizen, resident or non-resident, between the age of 60- 65 years can now join
NPS and continue up to the age of 70 years in NPS. Moreover, the subscribers who are
willing to join NPS at the later stage of life will be able to avail the benefits of NPS.
 Union Government constitutes Arun Jaitley led committee to oversee PSU bank mergers.
Earlier in 2017 itself, the banking sector witnessed the consolidation of State Bank of India
(SBI), which merged operations of its five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank with
itself, marking the first consolidation move following the bad loan crisis.
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Defence & Security - National/International
SAMPRITI-2017: India-Bangladesh joint exercise

 India and Bangladesh will engage in a joint counter-terrorist training exercise.
 It will be held at India's Jungle Warfare School at Vairengte in
Mizoram and at the Joint Training Node at Umroi in
Meghalaya.
 The Indo-Bangladesh joint training exercise is known as
“SAMPRITI”- 2017.
 It is the seventh edition of joint training exercise.
 It will send a strong signal to the world that both India and
Bangladesh understand the emerging threat of transnational
terrorism and stand shoulder to shoulder united in countering this menace.
 Exercise SAMPRITI is held alternately in India and Bangladesh every year with an aim to
build and promote positive relations between the armies of the two neighbours.
 It also aims to enhance interoperability between the two nations and enrich from each
other's experience while carrying out counter-insurgency or counter-terrorism operations.
 The previous edition was held at Tangail in Dhaka last year.
 This edition has two district components which include Command Post Exercise (CPX) and
Field Training Exercise (FTX).
 The CPX will be conducted at Umroi over six days from November 6 to 11 whereas FTX will
be conducted at Vairengte for 13 days from November 6 to 18.
 There will be 20 officers each from both the armies in the CPX as part of brigade and
battalion command posts.
 The FTX would include the participation of one Infantry company each from the
Bangladesh Army and elite Red Horns Division of the Indian Army.
 The CPX will focus on practicing joint planning and conduct of counter-terrorist operations
in semi-mountainous terrain with a special focus on drills and procedures followed while
operating in dense jungles.
 The FTX will emphasise on physical conditioning, training on special heliborne operations,
neutralisation of improvised explosive devices, cordon and search operations and company
and platoon level tactical drills in counter-terrorist operations scenario.
India's First Woman Navy Pilot To Train At Air Force Academy In Hyderabad
 The Indian Navy will soon get its first-ever woman pilot, Shubhangi Swaroop, who will be
flying a maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
 Though Uttar Pradesh resident Shubhangi is set to be the
first Naval woman pilot, the Navy's Aviation branch has had
women officers manning the air traffic and as 'observers'.
 Besides her, three other women cadets -- Astha Segal from
New Delhi, Roopa A from Puducherry and Sakthi Maya S
from Kerala -- have also been inducted in the Navy's
armament division, which was earlier considered a men-only
unit.
 Astha Segal, Roopa A and Sakthi Maya S created history by becoming the country's first
women officers at the Naval Armament Inspectorate (NAI).
 The NAI is responsible for auditing and assessing the state of weapons and ammunition of
the Navy.
 The Indian Navy started inducting female officers in 1991, but now the areas of induction
have been expanded.
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 Shubhangi will now head to INS Garuda in Kochi and then graduate to the Air Force
Academy in Hyderabad, which trains pilots of the Army, Navy and the Air Force.
 On successful completion of training, she will become the first woman pilot in the maritime
reconnaissance stream.
IMMSAREX 2017: International Multilateral Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise held
in Bangladesh
 The 2017 International Multilateral Maritime Search and Rescue
Exercise (IMMSAREX) was held in Bangladesh from November 26 to 28
2017.
 The exercise is taking place under the aegis of Indian Ocean Naval
Symposium (IONS). It was inaugurated by Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Sheikh Hasina.
 Key Facts
 From India, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba participated in the exercise to consolidate
bilateral naval relations between India and Bangladesh and to explore new avenues for
naval cooperation. Indian Naval Ships (INS) Ranvir, Sahyadri, Gharial and Sukanya along
with one Maritime Patrol Aircraft P-8I participatied in the exercise.
 Extraordinary Conclave of Chiefs (ECoC)’ meeting of IONS was also held. It focussed upon
activities being undertaken by IONS in-addition to review progress made by three IONS
Working Group (IWG)- Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster relief (HADR), Maritime
Security and Information Exchange and Interoperability.
 The ships and aircraft of IONS members and observers including China (has observer
status) and Pakistan also participated in exercise.
 Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS)
 The IONS is regional forum of Indian Ocean littoral states launched by India Navy in
February 2008. It is voluntary initiative that seeks to increase maritime co-operation
among navies of littoral states of Indian Ocean Region (IOR) by providing an open and
inclusive forum for discussion of regionally relevant maritime issues.
 It endeavours to generate flow of information between naval professionals that would lead
to common understanding and possibly cooperative solutions on way ahead. There
are 35 members – navies of IONS represented by heads of their navies.
North Korea has conducted its first ballistic test launch Hwasong-15
 The North Korea successfully tested newly developed intercontinental ballistic rocket
Hwasong-15.
 The missile was more sophisticated than any previously tested and was capable of carrying
a “super-large heavy (nuclear) warhead”.
 South Korea and Japan led condemnation of North
Korea’s launch of the missile, which landed off Japan’s
coast.
 The launch, which triggered a South Korean test-
launch in response, reignited tensions in the region
after a lull of more than two months.
 It was North Korea’s 20th launch of a ballistic missile
this year, and possibly its third successful test of an
ICBM following two launches in July.
 The missile was reported to have flown for 50 minutes on a very high trajectory, reaching
2,796 miles (4,500km) above the earth (more than 10 times higher than the orbit of the
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International Space Station) before coming down nearly 621 miles from the launch site off
the west coast of Japan.
 This would make it the most powerful of the three ICBMs North Korea has tested so far.
 The missile would have a range of 8,078 miles, enough to reach Washington, the rest of the
US west coast, Europe or Australia.
 ICBM is missile launched by land-based system that is intended to carry nuclear payloads.
 To qualify as an ICBM, the missile must have minimum range of 5,500km.
 The most significant difference between ICBM and other ballistic missiles is its greater
range and speed.
DANX-17: Defence of Andaman & Nicobar Islands Exercise concludes

 The Defence of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Exercise (DANX-2017) was conducted under
aegis of Andaman & Nicobar Command from 20 to 24 November 2017.
 The main objective of the five day exercise was to practice and validate procedures and
drills of all Command forces aimed at defending strategic Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
 Key Facts
 Accretional forces from mainland including fighters, Special Forces, Naval ships and heavy
lift transport aircraft participated in exercise. They collectively conducted fighter
operations, night-para jumps at sea, slithering of troops from helicopters and amphibious
landings of troops by ships.
 The purpose of the exercise was for adopting planning and precise execution of Command
plans by forces in synergistic manner. It also aimed for being fully prepared for any
eventuality in future.
BrahMos cruise missile successfully test-fired from Sukhoi-30 MKI for first time
 The world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile BrahMos was
successfully test fired from Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Sukhoi-30MKI
fighter jet for the first time.
 The missile was gravity dropped from Su-30MKI from its fuselage and
two-stage missile’s engine fired up and was propelled towards the
intended target in Bay of Bengal.
 Significance
 It was for first time that missile was successfully tested from fighter
aircraft against sea-based target. It makes IAF first air force in world to have successfully
fire air-launched 2.8 Mach surface attack missile of this category.
 This test effectively gives Indian armed forces especially IAF ability to fire Brahmos Air
Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM). With this, India also created world record and completed
Supersonic Cruise Missile Triad by successfully test firing of Brahmos from IAF Sukhoi-
30MKI fighter aircraft.
 Defence Ministry approves procurement of 260 naval communication sets. The Union
Ministry of Defence has approved procurement of 260 Software Defined Radios (SDR) for
the Indian Navy. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council
(DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The DAC is defence ministry’s
highest decision making body on procurement.
 Defence of Andaman & Nicobar Islands Exercise 2017 held. The exercise was crucial as at
present, Indian Ocean Region (IOR) witnesses the increased Chinese footprint. China has
been participating actively in anti-piracy operations in the region. It claims that the Indian
Ocean is not India's Ocean.
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 Widows of gallantry award winners to get allowance even after remarriage. The Ministry of
Defence announced on 21 November 2017 that widows of gallantry award winners will
continue to get their allowance even after remarriage. As per the existing condition for
grant of monetary allowance to winners of gallantry awards, the allowance is given to the
recipient and on his death, to his widow.
 India-Myanmar begin joint army exercise. The India-Myanmar Bilateral Army Exercise
(IMBAX) began on 20 November 2017 at the Joint Warfare Centre at Umroi Cantonment,
about 25 km from Shillong, capital of Meghalaya. The week-long army warfare exercise is
the first-ever one to be held in India.
 42nd International Congress of Military Medicine begins. The congress was organised by
the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence
(MoD). The International Committee of Military Medicine is an international inter-
governmental organisation created in 1921 with its secretariat at Brussels in Belgium and
currently has 112 nations as members.
 237th Corps of Engineers Day was celebrated in Delhi. The 237th Corps of Engineers Day
was celebrated in a solemn ceremony conducted at ‘Amar Jawan Jyoti’, India Gate in New
Delhi. The day is celebrated to commemorate the raising of first Engineer Company in 1780.
 INS Sarvekshak reaches Dar-Es-Salaam to conduct Joint Hydrographic Survey with
Tanzanian Navy. INS Sarvekshak is a specialised survey ship of the Indian Navy presently
based at Kochi and is fitted with up to date survey equipment like Deep Sea Multi beam
echo sounder system, Side Scan Sonars and a fully automated digital surveying system.
 Joint Training Doctrine Indian Armed Forces 2017 released. The aim of the Doctrine is to
promote synergy and integration amongst the three Services- Army, Navy and Air force for
enhanced efficiency and optimum utilisation of resources. It brings out the approach
towards joint training at macro-level, fundamentals, objectives, joint structures, planning,
organisation amongst other aspects presently in use in the Armed Forces.
 DRDO conducts successful flight trial of 'NIRBHAY' Cruise Missile. The missile has the
capability to linger and cruise at 0.7 Mach at altitudes as low as 100 m. It was successfully
test fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, Odisha. This was the fifth
experimental test of the missile system.
 Indian Army launches Joint Training Node in Shillong. The Indian Army has launched an
independent and fully-integrated Joint Training Node (JTN) at Umroi cantonment in
Shilllong, Meghalaya.
 India successfully tests its first fully indigenous Glide bomb. Indigenously developed 'Glide'
bomb has been successfully tested by the Indian Air Force in Chandipur in Odisha. The
bomb is a lightweight, long-range precision-guided anti-airfield weapon, designed to
destroy ground targets such as runways, bunkers, aircraft hangers and other reinforced
structures.
 Indo-Kazakhstan bilateral military exercise PRABAL DOSTYK 2017 begins. The fourteen
day PRABAL DOSTYK is aimed at enhancing the military ties between the two countries for
achieving interoperability between the two armies. It also aims to acquaint both forces with
each other’s operating procedures in the backdrop of counter insurgency and counter
terrorism operations under UN mandate.
 Indian Air Force to participate in air exercise ‘Blue Flag-17’ in Israel. The Indian Air Force
(IAF) would be participating in a two-week-long multilateral air exercise- 'Blue Flag-17'- in
Israel. It is a bi-annual exercise that aims to strengthen military cooperation amongst
participating nations.
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Appointments-National/International
Audrey Azoulay appointed as Director-General of UNESCO

 The General Conference of UNESCO appointed Audrey
Azoulay (France) to the post of Director-General of the
Organization.
 Ms Azoulay was nominated on 13 October to take the
place of outgoing Director-General Irina Bokova
(Bulgaria) by UNESCO’s Executive Board.
 Ms Azoulay is the 11th Director-General of UNESCO and
the second woman to occupy this position. She will take
office on 15 November.
 She was born in 1972. Ms Azoulay was France’s Minister of Culture and Communication
from February 2016 to May 2017.
Kenneth Juster Sworn In As US Ambassador To India

 Kenneth Juster, a top economic expert on India has been sworn in as the US Ambassador to
India.
 Juster replaces Indian-American Richard Verma as the top American diplomat to India.
 The 62 year old Juster is expected to be headed for India soon so as to prepare for and
ensure a successful visit of Ivanka Trump to Hyderabad later this month.
 The position has been lying vacant since January 20 after Verma resigned from the post
after the swearing in of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the US.
 Juster founded and served as the US Chair of the US-India High Technology Cooperation
Group, and was one of the key architects of the 'Next Steps in Strategic Partnership
initiative' between the US and India.
 His work related to India played an important role in the transformation of the US-India
relationship and helped provide the foundation for the historic civil nuclear agreement
between the two countries.
Ajay Bisaria was named as India’s new High Commissioner to Pakistan

 Ajay Bisaria was named as India’s new High Commissioner to Pakistan.
 He will replace Gautam Bambawale, who has been serving as India's envoy to Pakistan
since January 2016.
 Ajay Bisaria is a 1987 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer.
 Bisaria is presently Ambassador of India to Poland.
 He will replace Gautam Bambawale, who has been serving as India's envoy to Pakistan
since January 2016.
Jerome H. Powell nominated to chair the US Federal Reserve

 Jerome H. Powell was nominated to chair the US Federal Reserve by President Donald
Trump on 2 November 2017 to replace Janet L. Yellen.
 Powell is a Republican with strong roots in the party’s
establishment and in the financial industry, a lawyer by
training and investment banker by trade.
 As Fed chair, he would be the voice of an institution that is
charged with keeping the economy on track by adjusting
interest rates that influence the decisions of millions of
Americans.
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 According to a section of US media, Powell lacks the deep background in economics of some
of his predecessors, and he has expressed skepticism in the past about the unconventional
measures that the Fed took after the recession.
Shamika Ravi to be appointed as part-time member of PM economic panel

 Shamika Ravi, a senior fellow at Brookings India, would be appointed as part-time member
of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister
(EAC-PM).
 The EAC-P is headed by NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy.
 The EAC-PM includes NITI Aayog's Principal Advisor Ratan
Watal as its member and economists Surjit Bhalla, Rathin
Roy and Ashima Goyal as part-time members.
 Ravi leads the development economics research vertical at
Brookings India.
 Ravi is also a visiting professor of economics at the Indian School of Business (ISB) where
she teaches courses in Game Theory and Microfinance.
Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia Appointed Finance Secretary

 Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has been appointed as the new Finance Secretary.
 The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved
designating Adhia as the Finance Secretary.
 As per the convention, the senior most Secretary in the
Finance Ministry is designated as the Finance Secretary.
 Mr Adhia is a 1981 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre.
 The vacancy was caused following the superannuation of
Ashok Lavasa last month.
 There are five departments under the Finance Ministry-
Expenditure, Economic Affairs, Financial Services, Revenue
and Department of Investment and Public Asset management (DIPAM).
 IAS officer Rajiv Kumar of 1984 batch is the Financial Services Secretary.
 Ajay Narayan Jha is Expenditure Secretary and Neeraj Kumar Gupta Secretary, DIPAM.
 Both are 1982 batch IAS officers.
 Subhash Chandra Garg, a 1983 batch IAS officer, is Economic Affairs Secretary
Debjani Ghosh to be The First Woman to be President of NASSCOM in 2018

 NASSCOM has appointed Debjani Ghosh, former MD, Intel South Asia, as the NASSCOM
President-Designate.
 She is succeeding R Chandrashekhar upon the completion of his term in March 2018.
 At present, Raman Roy is the Chairman of NASSCOM.
 The Indian IT-BPM industry has been a growth driver for the country and is today a $150
billion sector representing multiple sub-sectors.
 Moreover, the intersection of digital technologies across every business provides a great
opportunity for the industry to achieve its aspiration to reach $350 billion by 2025.
 In March 2017, the NASSCOM President Succession Committee (NPSC) was constituted by
the NASSCOM Chairman.
 The committee was chaired by N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons.
 The additional members of the committee were Neelam Dhawan, Managing Director, HP
Enterprise; Rajendra Pawar, Chairman, NIIT; Rajan Anandan, Managing Director, Google
India; Rishad Premji, Chief Strategy Officer, Wipro and Harish Mehta, Cofounder, NASSCOM
and CMD, Onward Technologies (Convener).
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Dalveer Bhandari Re-Elected to World Court ICJ

 India's Dalveer Bhandari, 70, has been re-elected to the International Court of Justice (ICJ),
winning the last of five seats for which elections were held, after Britain pulled out its
candidate Christopher Greenwood before the 12th round
of voting.
 For 11 rounds, the two were locked in a stalemate with
Justice Bhandari getting majority support in the United
Nations General Assembly and Justice Greenwood in the
UN Security Council, both of which vote in elections to the
world court.
 One-third of the ICJ's 15-member bench, or five judges, is
elected every three years for a nine-year term.
 Elections are held separately but simultaneously in the United Nations General Assembly
(UNGA) and the UN Security Council in New York.
 To win, a candidate needs to get a majority in both chambers.
 This is the first time since the ICJ there will be no British judge.
NK Singh appointed as Chairman of 15th Finance Commission

 NK Singh was appointed as Chairman of 15th Finance Commission by the Union
Government on 27 November 2017.
 The Commission will make recommendations, by October 2019, for five years commencing
1 April 2020.
 Other members of the commission are former Economic Affairs
Secretary Shaktikanta Das and former Chief Economic Advisor
Ashok Lahiri, Niti Aayog Member Ramesh Chand and
Georgetown University professor Anoop Singh.
 As per Article 280 of the Indian Constitution, the Finance
Commission is required to make recommendations on the
distribution of the net proceeds of taxes between the Centre
and the states.
 It also reviews the current status of the finance, deficit, debt levels, cash balances and fiscal
discipline efforts of the Union and the states.
 The 14th Finance Commission, headed by YV Reddy, was set up on 2 January 2013.
 Its recommendations cover the period from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2020.
Shaktikanta Das appointed India’s G20 Sherpa for the G20’s Development Track
 Shaktikanta Das was appointed India’s G20 Sherpa for the G20’s Development Track on 27
November 2017.
 He was former Economic Affairs Secretary.
 Shaktikanta Das appointed India’s Sherpa till 31 December 2018, for the G20’s
Development Track.
 There are two tracks in G20 – the Finance Track and the Development Track.
 Finance Track is managed by the Secretary (Economic Affairs), Ministry of Finance, as
India’s Deputy to G20 and the Development Track is coordinated by the Sherpa.
 The Department of Economic Affairs will provide necessary support to the Sherpa.
 Sherpas, who are representatives of leaders of G20 member countries, coordinate on the
agenda of the summit.
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 BN Sharma appointed as Chairman of National Anti-profiteering Authority under GST. The

National Anti-profiteering Authority was formed under Goods and Services Tax (GST) on 16
November 2017. The objective of NAA is to comfort consumers that Government is fully
committed to make sure that the benefits of implementation of GST reach them without any
hassle.
 Karen Pierce appointed as Britain's Ambassador to UN. With this appointment, Pierce
became the first woman to be appointed to this role. Previously, she served as Permanent
Representative to the UN in Geneva and had served as Deputy Permanent Representative to
the UN in New York as well.
 Soumya Swaminathan to take charge as Deputy Director-General of WHO. With over 30
years of experience in clinical care and research, Swaminathan has been a member of
several WHO and international advisory bodies including the WHO specialist Panel to
Review Global Strategy (RGS) and Innovation and Intellectual Property, Plan of Action on
Public Health.
 Indian-origin Quarraisha Abdool Karim appointed as UNAIDS Special Ambassador for
Adolescents and HIV. Professor Abdool Karim is one of the world's leading AIDS
researchers. She has made pioneering contributions in understanding the HIV epidemic
among young people, especially among young women.
 RBI governor Urjit Patel appointed to advisory board of BIS. RBI Governor Urjit Patel has
been appointed to the Financial Stability Institute Advisory Board of the Bank of
International Settlement (BIS), a global financial organisation owned by major central
banks from across the world. The Financial Stability Institute (FSI) of the BIS assists
financial sector authorities worldwide in strengthening their financial systems.
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Person Resigned/Retired
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri resigns for his life in danger
 Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri resigned because of danger in his life.
 He sensed a plot to target his life and criticising Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.
 Hariri became Lebanon’s Prime Minister late last year after a political deal that also brought
Hezbollah ally Michel Aoun to office as the country’s president.
 Hezbollah is politically dominant in Lebanon, but its ties to Iran and its support for Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad have angered some Lebanese.
 Hariri has visited Saudi Arabia, a political foe of Iran and Hezbollah, twice in the past week,
meeting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other senior officials.
 Beirut-based al-Jadeed television reported Hariri’s resignation statement was made and
broadcast from the Saudi capital Riyadh.
Bangladesh Chief Justice (CJ) resigns amid criticism over verdict

 Chief Justice of Bangladesh Surendra Kumar Sinha resigned, six weeks after he went on a
leave amid criticism over a Supreme Court
verdict that scraped a vital constitutional
amendment.
 the receipt of Justice Sinha’s resignation letter
from abroad to the President, a day after his
month-long leave ended.
 He led an appellate division bench of the Supreme
Court, which scrapped the 16th amendment to
the Constitution, stripping the Parliament’s
power to impeach apex court judges on grounds of incapacity and misconduct.
 Justice Sinha had earlier drawn criticism more for the “observations” he made in the verdict
than the judgment itself.
 Mr. Sinha left Singapore for Canada to see his ailing daughter.
 Ruling Awami League and many civil society leaders criticised Justice Sinha for his
observations on Bangladesh politics, the Election Commission, governance and judiciary.
 They also accused him of “belittling” the Father of the Nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in
his observations.
 According to a Supreme Court statement, Justice Sinha faces 11 charges, including
corruption, money laundering and moral lapse, for which his colleagues in the appellate
division refused to work with him.
41 |
Sports
HS Prannoy, Saina Nehwal win 82nd Senior National Championship titles

 HS Prannoy (World no 11) won the 82nd Senior National
Championship title of Badminton in men’s single category by
defeating Kidambi Srikanth (World No 2) by 21-15, 16-21,
21-7 score.
 The women’s single title was won by Saina Nehwal (World
No 11). She defeated PV Sindhu (World No 2) by 21-17, 27-
25 score. The mixed doubles title was won by Satwik Sai Raj
R and Ashwini Ponnappa by defeating Pranaav Jerry Chopra
and N Sikki Reddy pair by 21-9, 20-22, 21-17 score.
 Senior National Badminton Championships
 It is annual tournament organized to crown the best badminton players in India. It was
established in 1934 and until 1960s foreign players were also allowed to participate in it.
The 2016 edition of title was won by Sourabh Verma (men’s single title), Rituparna Das
(women’s single title).
Pankaj Advani lifts IBSF World Billiards Championship

 Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani won the IBSF World Billiards Championship at Doha,
Qatar.
 Advani clinched his 17th world title after thrashing his arch-
rival Mike Russell of England 6-2 to defend the 150-up format
title which he won in Bengaluru last year.
 Advani, winner of maximum number of world titles in any
sport by an Indian, earlier in the semi-finals overcome fellow
Indian Rupesh Shah 5-2, while Russell got the better of
Singapore's Peter Gilchrist 5-1.
 Advani will be eyeing a 'Grand Double' as the lengthier format
or the long-up of the IBSF World Billiards Championship 2017 begins at Doha.
Cristiano Ronaldo has won the 2017 Ballon d'Or

 Cristiano Ronaldo has won the prestigious annual award for the 2017 Ballon d'Or for the
fifth time.
 As per a report in Spanish newspaper Don Balon,
Ronaldo, in a phone call to Messi, revealed that he has
been chosen as the winner of this year's Ballon d'Or.
 A front cover of a French football magazine was doing the
rounds on Twitter which had Messi as the winner of 2017
Ballon d'Or. But if latest reports are to be believed, it's not
the case.
 The year 2016-17 belonged to Ronaldo who led Real Madrid to a second straight
Champions League title.
 The Portuguese has scored eight times in 13 games with just one of them in La Liga.
 It's been a decade since the last time a man not named Ronaldo or Messi laid his hands on
the silverware.
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Mitchell Starc created history by taking a second hat-trick in the same match
 The Australian bowler Mitchell Starc created
history by taking a second hat-trick in the same
match on 7 November 2017 to become the eight
bowler overall to achieve this feat in a first-class
match.
 He achieved this feat in a Sheffield Shield match for
his team New South Wales (NSW) against Western
Australia.
 In remarkable scenes at Hurstville Oval, the
visitors Western Australia- who were cruising at 0-179 in their second innings – lost all 10
wickets for 44 runs.
 With this Starc became the first player to claim two hat-tricks in a single first-class match in
Australia and only the third Australian to achieve this feat.
 He is overall eighth bowler to take a second hat-trick in the same first-class match.
Virat Kohli become joint-fastest to 50 international Century

 Kohli equals with Amla in terms of inns taken to score 50 International centuries
 50 - Number of international hundreds for Virat Kohli.
 He became the eighth batsman overall and second Indian, after Sachin Tendulkar.
 Kohli got his 348th innings, at Eden Garden in Kolkata, the joint-quickest along with
Hashim Amla, who got there in February 2017.
 The last India captain to score a third-innings century before Kohli was Tendulkar, who did
so against New Zealand in Mohali in 1999.
 The previous India player to score a third-innings
century at Eden Gardens was Rahul Dravid, against
Pakistan in 2005.
 Number of hundreds for Kohli across formats this
year - three in Tests and six in ODIs - the most by
him in any calendar year.
 He made eight hundreds, his previous best, in 2012
and 2014.
 No captain has made more international hundreds in a year than Kohli's nine this year.
 Ricky Ponting (2005 and 2006) and Graeme Smith (2006) also made nine hundreds.
 Kohli still has six internationals left this year to set a new record. have also scored nine
hundreds in a year. Kohli still has six International matches to set a new record.
Mirabai Chanu wins gold at World Weightlifting Championships

 Saikhom Mirabai Chanu of India won gold medal at World Weightlifting Championships
held in Anaheim, United States.
 She achieved this feat by lifting new world record of
194kg – 85kg snatch and 109kg clean-and-jerk in the
48 kg weight category.
 Thailand’s Sukcharoen Thunya won silver medal with
total lift of 193, while Segura Ana Iris won bronze
medal with 182kg lift.
 Mirabai Chanu became first Indian in over two
decades to win the medal at the Championships.
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 She is only second Indian weightlifter after Karnam Malleswari to achieve this feat. Olympic
bronze medallist Karnam Malleshwari had won the top prize in worlds twice in 1994 and
1995.
 Srikanth, Sindhu win top awards at Indian Sports Honours 2017. The Inaugural edition of
the Indian Sports Honours, which was held in Mumbai, saw Kidambi Srikanth and P V
Sindhu grab the top honours. While ace shuttler Srikanth, who won four Super Series titles
this year, won the Sportsman of the Year award, Rio Olympics silver medallist Sindhu won
the Sportswoman of the Year award in the individual sport category.
 Asian Boxing Championship 2017: MC Mary Kom wins Gold in 48 kg category. This was her
fifth gold medal in the Asian Boxing Championship. In her entire boxing career, till now,
Mary has won four gold and a silver in the Asian Boxing Championship.
 Kidambi Srikanth achieves career-best World No 2 ranking. India's ace shuttler Kidambi
Srikanth has achieved career-best World Number 2 ranking. The 25-year-old grabbed the
spot after jumping two places in the latest BWF rankings. He was previously placed 4th
behind Korea’s Son Wan Ho and China’s Lin Dan, both of whom have slipped down by 1
position.
 India’s Ritu Phogat has won Silver medal in Under-23 Senior World Wrestling held in
Poland. She won silver medal in 48 kg category. She entered into final by defeating
Bulgarian Wrestler Selishka in Quarter finals and Chinese Wrestler Jiang Zhu in the semi-
final. In the gold medal bout (in the final match), she lost against Turkish Wrestler Evin
Demirhan and stand in second with a silver medal.
 Bharat Khandare becomes the first- Indian born fighter to sign with UFC. UFC® is the
world's leading Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organization. It has officially announced the
signing of Bharat 'Daring' Khandare (5-2-0, fighting out of Maharashtra, India). With this
addition to the world's most elite roster of MMA athletes, Khandare becomes the first ever
Indian born fighter to fight in the UFC. Making his debut at UFC FIGHT NIGHT® SHANGHAI:
BISPING vs. GASTELUM presented by General Tire on November 25th, Khandare will face
off against Chinese national, Liu Pingyuan (10-5, fighting out of China).
 For the first time since 1958 Italy failed to reach the World Cup as they were held to a 0-0
draw in the second leg of their play-off at the San Siro by Sweden, who qualified with a 1-0
aggregate victory. The four-time champions dominated possession but struggled to create
enough clear-cut chances, as Sweden secured a first appearance at the finals since 2006
courtesy of Jakob Johansson's first-leg strike in Stockholm.
 Indian women won the Asia Cup Hockey defeating China in a grand final. India had to wait
long for their second Women’s Asia Cup title with the last one coming way back in 2004.
India edged past China 5-4 via shootout to win the women’s Asia Cup hockey title. Now,
India has qualified for next year’s World Cup as Continental champion.
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Honours / Awards
Krishna Sobti was chosen for the Jnanpith Award for 2017
 Renowned Hindi littérateur Krishna Sobti has been chosen for India’s most prestigious
literary award – the Jnanpith Award for 2017.
 This was announced by the Jnanpith Selection Board on 3
November 2017.
 The board is chaired by noted scholar, writer and critic
Namwar Singh.
 It will be the 53rd edition of this prestigious prize.
 92 year old Sobti is known for experimenting with new writing
styles and creating “bold” and “daring” characters in her stories
who were ready to accept all challenges.
 Her language is highly influenced by the intermingling of Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi cultures.
 Some of her celebrated works include ‘Daar Se Bichhudi’, ‘Mitro Marjani’, ‘Zindaginama’,
‘Dil-o-Danish’, ‘Badalom ke Ghere’, ‘Ai Ladki’ and ‘Gujarat Pakistan Se Gujarat Hindustan’.
 The Jnanpith Award is presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their
“outstanding contribution towards literature”.
 Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian writers writing in Indian
languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India and English, with no
posthumous conferral.
 It carries a cash prize of Rs. 11 lakh and a statue of Saraswati.
South Africa’s Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters wins Miss Universe 2017 crown

 South Africa’s Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters (22) was crowned Miss Universe at pageant held at
The AXIS at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. With
this she becomes, second South African to win this crown after
Margaret Gardiner who had won Miss Universe 1978.
 The runner-up of Miss Universe 2017 was Miss Colombia Laura
Gonzalez, while second runner-up was Miss Jamaica Davina Bennett.
Contestants from 92 countries had participated in the Miss Universe
2017. This year’s edition had the most contestants ever, including the
first ever representatives of Cambodia, Laos and Nepal.
 Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters
 She was born on 28 June 1995 in Sedgefield, Western Cape. She received a degree in
business management from North-West University. She is fluent in both English and
Afrikaans. She has been crowned Miss South Africa 2017.
 Miss Universe
 It is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. It
was founded in 1952 by the California clothing company Pacific Mills. Along with the Miss
World and Miss Earth contests, Miss Universe is one of the three largest beauty pageants in
the world and one of the most anticipated beauty pageants worldwide.
India’s Medical student Manushi Chhillar crowned Miss World 2017

 India’s Manushi Chhillar was crowned Miss World 2017 at the 67th edition of Miss World
2017 pageant held on 18 November 2017 in Sanya, China.
 She is the 6th Indian to win the coveted crown.
 India last won the crown in 2000 when Priyanka Chopra was crowned the by Yukta
Mookhey.
 Manushi succeeds Miss World 2016 Stephanie Del Valle.
45 |
 The grand finale of the most prestigious pageant was hosted by former Miss World 2013
Megan Young.
 The 20-year-old medical student from Haryana had won
Femina Miss India World 2017 in May this year.
 Manushi had made it to the top 5 along with contestants
from England, France, Kenya and Mexico.
 The first and the second runners-up were Miss England
Stephanie Hill and Miss Mexico Andrea Meza.
 Manushi Chhillar clinched the coveted crown after defeating
130 contestants from around the globe. This year at the
Miss World pageant Multimedia Award was won by Mongolia.
 Beauty with a Purpose was won by South Africa, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, and Philippines
and Talent Round was won by the gorgeous Miss Malta.
 The event went on with another amazing musical performance as all the delegates walked
down the stage in gorgeous evening gowns and concluded with the announcement of
winners and runners – up.
 The coveted title was last won by Priyanka Chopra for India in 2000, a year after Yukta
Mookhey had made the country proud.
 In 1997, Diana Hayden had bagged the title, while Aishwarya Rai had the honours in 1994.
 Reita Faria was the first Indian to win the crown in the 1966.
Former PM Manmohan Singh to get Indira Gandhi peace prize

 Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will receive the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace,
Disarmament and Development this year.
 He will be conferres for his leadership of the country between 2004 and 2014 and for
enhancing India's stature globally.
 The award has given by Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust.
 Mr.Singh was unanimously chosen for the award by an
international jury chaired by ex-president Pranab Mukherjee.
 His achievements during the momentous 10 years from 2004 to
2014, for his contributions to the cause of economic and social
development, for improving India's stature in the world and its
relationship with the neighbours and the leading nations of the
world.
 The international award named after former prime minister Indira Gandhi was instituted in
1986. The award has been announced on the eve of Gandhi's birth anniversary.
 The last two recipients have been the Indian Space Research Organisation and the UN High
Commission for Refugees.
Chennai became the third city from India to be included in Creative Cities Network of
UNESCO
 Chennai became the third city from India to be included in Creative Cities Network of
UNESCO for its contributions to music.
 Chennai joined the elite club of world cities on 7 November 2017 when it was included in
Creative Cities Network (CNN) of UNESCO for its contributions to music.
 The city joined two other cities in India – Jaipur and Varanasi – to have figured in the
prestigious list for their contributions to music and folk arts.
 Other cities included in this prestigious list this year are Cairo (Egypt), Cape Town (South
Africa), Manchester (UK) and Milan (Italy).
46 |
 The dossier to nominate Chennai for the CCN was submitted a few months back to the
UNESCO by the Union culture Ministry.
 Once a city is included on the list, it holds cultural events for four years to highlight its
uniqueness and it is monitored by the UNESCO.
 CCN currently has 116 member cities from 54 countries, covering various fields.
Dangal girl Zaira Wasim awarded by President Kovind

 Kashmiri actor Zaira Wasim received the national child award for exceptional achievement,
2017, from President Ram Nath Kovind.
 The 17 year old girl shot to fame with her portrayal of wrestler Geeta Phogat in Aamir
Khan-starrer Dangal.
 Wasim is from Srinagar. Wasim's career choice has been mired in controversy, with some
sections of the conservative Kashmiri society criticising her.
 The young actor's performance has been recognised by several film personalities.
 The state government has not yet recognized Wasim's role in the field of acting.
Girish Karnad conferred with 2017 Tata Literature Live Lifetime Achievement Award
 Actor-playwright Girish Karnad (79) was conferred with 2017 Tata Literature Live Lifetime
Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution in field of theatre
at the eighth edition of the Tata Literature festival held in Mumbai,
Maharashtra.
 Other category winners
 Big Little Book Awards: Nabaneeta Dev Sen.
 Book of the year, non-fiction: ‘Age of Anger: A History of the Present’
by Pankaj Mishra.
 Book of the year, fiction: Easterine Kire’s ‘Son of the Thundercloud’.
48th International Film Festival of India held in Goa

 The 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) was held in Panaji in Goa. The closing
ceremony was held at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium in Bambolim.
 Legendary Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan was honoured with the Indian film
personality of 2017 award. Acclaimed Canadian filmmaker Atom
Egoyan was honoured with the lifetime achievement award.
 Other Category Awards
 Best film award: 120 Beats Per Minute (French movie) directed by
Robin Campullo.
 Best director award: Vivian Qu for Angels Wear White (China).
 Special Jury Award: Take-off (Malayalam film-India).
 Best Actor (Female) award: Parvathy.
 Best Actor (Male) award: Nahuel Perez Biscayart for his performance in 120 Beats Per
Minute.
 Best Debut Feature Film Director award: Kiro Russo for film Dark Skull (Spanish).
 ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal: Kshitij-A Horizon (Marathi movie) directed by Manouj
Kadamh.
 Film Beyond the Clouds directed by Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi was opening film this
year, while Pablo Cesar-directed Indo-Argentine film Thinking of Him was the closing film.
Around 200 films from 82 countries were screened during nine-day event.
47 |
Tamil Nadu’s Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple wins UNESCO award

 The Sri Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam in Tamil Nadu has won UNESCO Asia-
Pacific award for cultural heritage conservation programme in the
Awards of Merit category. It is first temple from Tamil Nadu to grab the
prestigious honour from the UN body.
 The temple won the award in recognition of its efforts for protecting
and conserving cultural heritage. The traditional method of renovating
temple premises as well as re-establishment of rainwater harvesting
and historic drainage system in preventing flooding were two key
parameters that earned temple the award.
 UNESCO Asia-Pacific awards for cultural heritage conservation programme
 The awards were launched in 2000 by UNESCO for cultural heritage conservation
programme. They are given under four categories– Award of Excellence, Awards of
Distinction, Awards of Merit and Award for New Design in Heritage Context.
Professor Hiroshi Marui conferred with 3rd ICCR Distinguished Indologist Award
 The third Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Distinguished
Indologist Award for the year 2017 was awarded to Professor Hiroshi
Marui of Japan.
 He was presented with this award by President Ram Nath Kovind at a
function in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. Indology is academic study
of history, cultures, languages and literature of India and is a subset of
Asian studies.
 Professor Hiroshi Marui
 Professor Marui has spent over 40 years working on Indian philosophy and Buddhist
Studies. His has many acclaimed publications and research papers to his credit which are
considered as final authority on several subjects world. He is President of Japanese
Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies and has made significant contribution to
Indology in Japan.
Etikoppaka toys from Andhra Pradesh get GI tag

 The Geographical Indication Registry (GIR) has given Geographical Indication (GI) tag
traditional Etikoppaka toys (Etikoppaka Bommalu) from Andhra Pradesh. These traditional
toys are made by artisans in Etikoppaka village located on banks of
river Varaha in Visakhapatnam district of the state.
 With this, Etikoppaka toys join elite products from Andhra Pradesh
such as Kondapalli toys, Tirupati laddu, Bobbili Veena, Srikalahasthi
Kalamkari, Uppada Jamdani sarees and Shadow puppets to have
coveted GI tag.
 Etikoppaka toys
 The art of making traditional wooden Etikoppaka toys is more than 400 years old and it has
been traditionally handed over to them by their ancestors through generations. The art of
this toy making is also known as turned wood Lacquer craft.
 The toys are unique in shape and form. They are made of wood and painted with natural
dyes. The wood used is from ‘Ankudi Karra’ (Wrightia tinctoria) tree that is soft in nature.
The natural dyes are prepared from seeds, lacquer, bark, roots and leaves. These dynes are
unique as they do not have heavy metal or toxic content in it.
 Ruskin Bond conferred with Lifetime Achievement Award. Renowned author and Padma
Bhushan Awardee Ruskin Bond was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by
48 |
the Chandigarh Literary Society during the 5th edition of Chandigarh Literature Festival. He
was conferred with the award comprising a citation and Rs 2 lakh for his outstanding
contribution in the field of literature.
 President Ram Nath Kovind gives away National Child Awards 2017. The President of India,
Ram Nath Kovind, gave away the National Child Awards at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi
on 14 November 2017, on the occasion of Children’s Day. The awards include the National
Child Awards for Exceptional Achievement, National Awards for Child Welfare and Rajiv
Gandhi Manav Seva Awards.
 UNHCR to receive Mother Teresa Award 2017 for social justice. The award will be
presented to the UNHCR at a function on 10 December 2017 on the occasion of the
celebrations of the unique legacy of Mother Teresa, popularly known as the 'Saint of The
Gutters'.
 Surat wins Best City Bus Services Award for attracting 87% of private vehicles users. Surat
city, with a population of about 45 lakhs, was heavily dependent on three wheelers and
private vehicles till 2014 when Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) and city buses were
made operational.
 Veteran actor Mohan Joshi honoured with Vishnudas Bhave award. Renowned Indian film
and television actor Mohan Joshi has been honoured with the prestigious Vishnudas Bhave
award for his contribution to theatre. The award is conferred in memory of Vishnudas
Bhave, the founder of Marathi theatre. It comprises a trophy, a citation and a cash prize
worth Rs 25,000.
 The Goa government has executed a trilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
the Department of Bio-Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of
India (GoI) and Nobel Media, Sweden to hold the ‘Nobel Prize Series - India 2018 (Science
Impacts Life)’.It will be held from February 1-28 next year along with a month-long
exhibition brought from Nobel Museum, Sweden.The Nobel series has earlier been
organised in Gujarat.
49 |
Obituaries
Veteran Congress Leader Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi Dies At 72

 Senior Congress leader and former union minister Priya
Ranjan Dasmunsi died at a hospital in Delhi at the age of 72.
 He has been in coma since 2008 and critically ill over the
past month.
 Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi was a popular leader with rich
political and administrative experience.
 He did notable work to popularise football in India.
 The former union minister fell into a coma after suffering a
massive stroke that left him paralysed and unable to speak.
 H e was ane of the Congress's most popular leaders in West Bengal and enjoyed a good
rapport with leaders across the political spectrum.
 He was union Parliamentary Affairs Minister when he went into coma.
Charles Manson, whose cult slayings horrified world, dies

 Cult leader Charles Manson, whose followers killed actress Sharon Tate and six others in
1969, has died. He was 83.
 The gory slayings horrified the world and revealed a violent underbelly
of a counterculture that preached peace and love.
 The killings occurred on successive August nights and terrorized the city
of Los Angeles.
 Tate, who was nearly nine months pregnant, was found stabbed
repeatedly in her Hollywood mansion, along with several of her friends.
 Other victims included coffee heiress Abigail Folger and celebrity hair
stylist Jay Sebring.
Hindustani classical music exponent Pandit Narayanrao Bodas passes away

 Eminent exponent of Gwalior gharana of Hindustani classical music, Pandit Narayanrao
Bodas, passed away in Pune, Maharashtra after a brief illness.
 He was revered for his deep voice and expressive face among actor vocalists.He was born
into family connected with gayaki of Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar.
 He learned music from his father Laxmanrao and subsequently from Pralhadpant Ganu.
 He had started his career as an actor-vocalist from play Saubhagyarama written by B N
Purandare.
 Kirti Nidhi Bista (90), the former Prime Minister and veteran politician of Nepal, has passed
away on November 11, 2017 in Gyaneshwor, Kathmandu. He served as Prime Minister of
Nepal from 1969 to 1970, 1971 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979 and was also the Vice-chair in
the government led by then King Gyanendra Shaha.
 Dina Wadia, daughter of Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah and mother of
industrialist Nusli Wadia, died at her New York home. She was 98. A statement issued by
the Wadia family said that she died peacefully. It read, “She is survived by her daughter
Diana, son Nusli, her grandsons, Ness and Jeh, Jeh’s wife Celina and two great
grandchildren, Jah and Ella Wadia.”
50 |
Important Day with Theme

 30 October to 4 November : Vigilance Awareness Week
 Theme of 2017 : My Vision Corruption Free India
 November 5 : World Tsunami Awareness Day (UN)

 Theme of 2017 : Reduce the Number of Affected People
 November 9 : Legal Service Day

 Theme of 2017 : No Theme
 November 11 : National Education Day of India

 November 14 : Children's day in India

 November 14 : World Diabetics day (UN & IDF)

 Theme of 2017 : ‘Women and diabetes – our right to a healthy future
 November 16 : International Day for Tolerance, National Press Day (UN)

 Theme of 2017 : Together: Respect, Safety & Dignity for all
 November 19 : World Toilet Day (UN),

 Theme of 2017 : ‘Wastewater’
 November 19 : National Integration Day

 November 20 : Universal Children’s Day (UN)

 Theme of 2017 : ‘It’s a #KidsTakeOver'.
 November 25 : International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women

 Theme of 2017 : ‘Leave no one behind: end violence against women and girls’
 November 26 : Constitution Day in India

 November 29 : International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

 Theme of 2017 : The Palestinian People: Everlasting Roots, Infinite Horizons
Foreign Visits / Foreign Visitors

 Visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to Philippines in between November 12-14,
2017.
 Visit of Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe to India in between
November 21-24, 2017.
51 |
 Visit of Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo Mr. Leonard She Okitundu to India in between November
09-11, 2017.
 Visit of Prince of Wales Mr. Charles Philip Arthur George to India in between November 08,
2017.
 State Visit of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium to India in between November
05-11, 2017.
 Visit of President the Republic of Armenia Mr. Serzh Sargsyan to India in between
November 02-04, 2017.
 Visit of Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia Mr. Māris Kučinskis to India in between
November 02-06, 2017.
Source of Information
 http://pib.nic.in
 http://india.gov.in
 http://www.ibef.org
 http://thehindu.com
 http://jagranjosh.com
 http://gktoday.in
52 |

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Compendium-November, 2017

Aditya L1 Mission: ISRO’s first sun mission to take off in 2019

First Black buck conservation reserve of India come up in UP

Global Gender Gap Index 2017: India ranks 108th

BRO builds world’s highest motorable road in Ladakh at 19,300 feet

Government launches portal for sexual harassment complaints at work

“Bandhan Express” train inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi running

Cabinet approves Creation of National Testing Agency (NTA)

India becoming world's top sulphur dioxide emitter

Life expectancy improves in India, Kerala healthiest state: Lancet

“Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra” approved by the CCEA

Hyderabad Metro dedicated metro train service to Nation

Government reconstitutes Multi-Agency Group probe into Paradise Papers revelation

trains were Howrah-Puri, New Delhi-Chandigarh, New Delhi-Kanpur, Howrah-Ranchi,

India re-elected as member of UNESCO’s executive board

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurates International Gita Mahotsav in Haryana

First Namami Barak festival held in Assam

Breeding season of Olive Ridleys begin in Odisha

China proposes three-phased solution on Rohingyas crisis

NASA tests Supersonic Parachute for Mars 2020 mission

Indonesia to open first contemporary art gallery

Afghanistan Government temporarily bans WhatsApp

China launches two BeiDou-3 navigation satellites

 These two satellites and carrier rocket were developed by

APEC Summit held in Da Nang city of Vietnam

The 31st Summit of ASEAN formally hosted by The Philippines

existence this year.

10th South Asia Economic Summit held in Nepal

World carbon emissions set to rise 2% to record high of 37 billion tonnes

China world's worst abuser of internet freedom

Oxford launches first-ever Hindi word of the year

Qatar ranked world’s richest in terms of per capita GDP

SAM: World’s first AI politician developed

China launches world’s first fully electric cargo ship

Economics & Financial Awareness

India’s ranks 100th in World Bank’s Doing Business Report 2018

Telangana tops state-wise ease of doing business ranking in 2017

PM Narendra Modi, Ivanka Trump inaugurate Global Entrepreneurship Summit in

India’s first Tribal Entrepreneurship Summit to be organised at Dantewada

India-led solar alliance to add 1,000GW of energy by 2030

Rural Poverty Index: Now, Rs 10,000 in a/c to be measure as Poor

Union Cabinet Clears Setting Up Of GST Anti-Profiteering Authority

First North East Development Summit held in Manipur

India ranks 51 on IMD Talent Rankings, Climbs 3 Steps

Union Government launches UMANG app

SBI To Roll Out YONO Lifestyle Banking App

SAUBHAGYA Scheme launched in Manipur

One Rupee note celebrated its 100th anniversary of its release

Defence & Security - National/International

SAMPRITI-2017: India-Bangladesh joint exercise

DANX-17: Defence of Andaman & Nicobar Islands Exercise concludes

Audrey Azoulay appointed as Director-General of UNESCO

Kenneth Juster Sworn In As US Ambassador To India

Ajay Bisaria was named as India’s new High Commissioner to Pakistan

Jerome H. Powell nominated to chair the US Federal Reserve

Shamika Ravi to be appointed as part-time member of PM economic panel

Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia Appointed Finance Secretary

Debjani Ghosh to be The First Woman to be President of NASSCOM in 2018

Dalveer Bhandari Re-Elected to World Court ICJ

NK Singh appointed as Chairman of 15th Finance Commission

 BN Sharma appointed as Chairman of National Anti-profiteering Authority under GST. The

Bangladesh Chief Justice (CJ) resigns amid criticism over verdict

HS Prannoy, Saina Nehwal win 82nd Senior National Championship titles