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1 CURRENT AFFAIRS NOVEMBER 2019
PREFACE
Hi Readers,
On the Basis of your continuous demand for a Monthly PDF of most-trusted Current
Affairs, the No.1 preparation platform OnlineTyari has come up the Current Affairs July
2019 PDF.
As we know Current Affairs, including related General Knowledge (GK), form a crucial
component of any competitive exams including SSC, Banking, IAS|PCS and others. Now-
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The lack of preparation for current affairs by the aspirants and candidates often is a
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The Current Affairs July 2019 PDF covers the most important and exam-focused current
affairs. The PDF has been designed basis the concept of complete Study Cycle, viz.,
Study ----> Revise ----> Test and thus has three parts: (i) Detailed Section-wise Current
Affairs in bullet points; (ii) One Liners; and (iii) Current Affairs Questions with
Explanation.
The Current Affairs PDF of July 2019 comes with one more value addition, that is, 8
Topics of the Month. We have also selected 9articles of the month from The Hindu, the
Indian Express and Mint. These topics have been selected on the basis of their
impact and will be very useful for subjective papers like IAS (Mains) Exam 2019.
Our experts have tried to put in their best efforts to make sure that the content provided
remains in the mind of the candidate for a longer period of time and is perceived with its
true meaning.
National Affairs
1. National Symposium to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis
Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurated National Symposium to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis

recently.
THE THEME FOR THE YEAR 2019 IS: ‘UNITED TO ELIMINATE LYMPHATIC
FILARIASIS’.
Key Points:
• DR HARSH VARDHAN HAS ALSO SIGNED THE ‘CALL TO ACTION TO

ELIMINATE LYMPHATIC FILARIASIS BY 2021’.
• Lymphatic filariasis is considered a neglected tropical disease (NTD).
• It is a parasitic disease.
• Microscopic, thread-like worms cause this disease.
• It spreads from person to person by mosquitoes.
• It is also a leading cause of permanent disability worldwide.
• Communities usually reject women and men disfigured by the disease.
• Affected people are unable to work because of their disability.
2. Bamboo Technology Parks in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh

The Union govt announced that Bamboo Technology Parks will soon be set up in the
two new Union Territories of Jammu-and-Kashmir and Ladakh.
Key points:
• Bamboo grows naturally in Kathua and neighbouring districts adjoining Punjab.

• this region has a huge potential to commercially exploit bamboo farming
• The process includes bamboo cultivation, harvesting and application
• Bamboo provides ecological, economic and livelihood security to the people.
• Department of Agriculture & Cooperation (DAC), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers

Welfare is implementing National Bamboo Mission (NBM)
• National Bamboo Mission Promotes holistic growth of the bamboo sector by adopting
the area-based, regionally differentiated strategy and to increase the area under
bamboo cultivation and marketing.
3. Public Health emergency declared in the Capital

The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) ordered a
complete shutdown of construction in Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Greater
Noida and All schools in Delhi will be shut until (November 5).
Key points:
• The action is to be taken under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)
• Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported the overall AQI(Air Quality Index) score
of Delhi as 504.
• The air quality in Delhi and NCR is now at the ‘severe plus level’
• It will have adverse health impacts on all, especially on children.
• Air pollution in Delhi is due to local pollution, further escalated by bursting of crackers
on Diwali, stubble burning and extremely adverse weather conditions.
4. Government vehicles to be converted into e-vehicles

Minister for Environment and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar stated that all the 5
lakh government vehicles on conventional fuel will be converted into e-vehicle in a
phased manner.
Key Points:
• 5 lakh government vehicles which run on conventional fuel will be converted.

• E-vehicles are cost-effective.
• They are eco-friendly.
• They save the consumption of petrol and diesel.
• These vehicles play a major role in curbing the high level of pollution.
5. ‘Red Atlas Action Plan Map’ atlas and the ‘Coastal Flood Warning System App’ for
flood mitigation in Chennai
Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on 3rd November unveiled the 'Red Atlas Action Plan
Map,' and the ‘Coastal Flood Warning System App (CFLOWS-Chennai)’ for flood
mitigation in Chennai, Tamil Nadu which is first of its kind ready reckoner, prepared by
the Ministry of Earth Sciences to aid Tamil Nadu government flood mitigation in
Chennai which witnessed the worst deluge in 2015.
Key Points:
• Both Atlas and the CFLOWS-Chennai are intended as decision support systems covering
aspects, including preparedness and prevention. Such initiatives are taken to effectively
tackle urban flooding which is likely to be replicated in other Indian cities including
Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• This Atlas has probable scenarios for different rainfall periods, aiming at flood
mitigation, preparedness, operations and management aspects.
• The Atlas which was prepared by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), National
Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) and National Centre for Medium-Range Weather
Forecasting (NCMRWF) in association with TN State Disaster Management Authority
(SDMA) and Greater Chennai Corporation.
• Also, the office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to Centre government, IIT-
Bombay, IIT Madras and Institute of Remote Sensing of Anna University participated
from the academia.
About CFLOWS-Chennai
• The CFLOWS-Chennai is a webGIS-based decision support system that can be used for
both mitigation planning operations before flooding and in real-time for aspects like
relief work.
• CFLOWS is an integrated system which involves coupling models of regional weather
forecasts, storm surges and which also captures about 796 flood scenarios.
6. Researchers at IIT Kharagpur generated electricity from wet clothes

The researchers from IIT Kharagpur have found an efficient solution to India's power
woes. They have generated electricity from wet clothes drying in 'dhobi ghat'.
Key Points:
• This research was done at a 'dhobi ghat' using 50 wet clothes with a surface area of
3,000 square meters and the clothes were connected to a commercial super-capacitor.
• In this process, the researchers were able to reliably charge up to around 10 volts in
almost 24 hours. This stored energy is enough to glow a white LED for more than 1
hour.
• This power may not be used for a large-scale application but is good enough to change
the lives of a rural community.
About the process:

Clothes are usually illusively complex but they have regular cellulose fibres. The
cellulose fibres have a certain charge in their walls. If a piece of cloth is immersed in a
salt solution, it will ionize along the different passages of the cellulose fibres due to
transpiration. As the ion movement is a continuous process, it generates a continuous
voltage. If it is connected to an external register, it will generate small power.
7. The Union government released the political maps of newly formed Union Territories
of J&K and Ladakh
The Union government released the political maps of the newly formed Union Territories
(UTs) of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh as well as the map of India which depicts these
new UTs. This development was made as the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir
was reorganised as the new UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on 31 October
2019, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Key Points:
• The new maps which depict these new UTs of Jammu and Kashmir along with the map
of India, are prepared by Survey General of India.
• The Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh were created after a recommendation of
Parliament, the President effectively dismantled Article 370 of Indian Constitution and
gave assent to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
• The newly formed UT of Ladakh consists of 2 districts of Kargil and Leh while the rest
of the erstwhile state of J&K is in UT of J&K. The Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is
the part of UT of J&K, while Gilgit-Baltistan is in UT of Ladakh.
• The total number of states in the country is now 28, while the total UTs have gone up to
9. The UT of J&K will now have a legislature such as Puducherry while Ladakh will stay
a UT without legislature such as Chandigarh.
The newly formed maps:

• In 1947, the erstwhile state of J&K had 14 districts namely- Udhampur, Anantnag,
Poonch, Jammu, Gilgit, Baramulla, Leh and Ladakh, Kathua, Reasi, Mirpur,
Muzaffarabad, Gilgit Wazarat, Chilhas and the Tribal Territory.
• By 2019, the government of the erstwhile state of J&K had reorganised the 14 districts
into 28 districts. The names of new districts were – Srinagar, Pulwama, Ramban,
Kupwara, Bandipur, Kargil, Ganderbal, Budgam, Kulgam, Doda, Shupian, Kishtivar,
Samba and Rajouri. Out of these, the Kargil district was carved out from the area of Leh
and Ladakh district. The newly created map now depicts UT of J&K as comprising 22
districts.
• The Leh district of newly formed Union Territory of Ladakh has been defined in Jammu
and Kashmir Reorganisation (Removal of Difficulties) Second Order, 2019 (issued by
President), to include areas of districts of Gilgit, Gilgit Wazarat, Chilhasand Tribal
Territory of 1947, in addition to the remaining areas of Leh and Ladakh districts of 1947
(after carving out the Kargil District).
8.The first day of India International Science Festival 2019 created the Guinness World
Records for the largest astrophysics lesson
The first day of India International Science Festival (IISF) 2019 created the Guinness
World Records for the largest astrophysics lesson, with a time duration of 45 minutes,
and assembly of spectroscopes with the participation of over 1,598 students. The Inter-
University Centre organised a session for Astronomy and Astrophysics. A memento was
presented to the organisers on behalf of the Guinness Book of World Records.
Participants on the first-day session:

Students from many schools across India, who have a great interest in learning about
the creation of the universe and the cosmic system, participated in the festival. The
astrophysics session was dedicated to Dr C V Raman and Dr Meghnad Saha.
About IISF:
India International Science Festival (IISF) is the largest science festival in the world. The
theme for the 2019 IISF festival is RISEN India-Research, Innovation, and Science
Empowering the Nation.
Assembly of spectroscopes:
• The astronomers use spectroscopes to study various details like temperature, the
chemical composition of celestial objects hundreds, or millions of light-years away from
the earth.
• Anyone can easily make a small personal model of advanced spectroscopes by using a
box made of cardboard. It should have a very narrow window that can be used to
channel light into the spectroscope.
• A small piece of a Compact Disc can be used to split the light by a process called
diffraction. The construction of such a model was dedicated to Meghnad Saha and C V
Raman.
9.Centre, IBM to launch the Skills Build platform
The centre is to launch the Skills Build platform in collaboration with IBM. This was
announced by the Directorate General of Training (DGT), which functions under the
Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
Key Points:
• This initiative by the Centre is aimed to help the youth to scale themselves as per the
changing market trends.
• The government is planning to use technology effectively to benefit the public and to
bring innovation in welfare schemes.
• The Skills Build platform initiative is a part of IBM’s global commitment that aims to
create a job workforce and to build the next generation of skills needed for new collar
careers.
About Skills Build platform:

• Under the programme, a two-year advanced diploma in IT, networking, and cloud
computing will be offered at the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and National Skill
Training Institutes (NSTIs). The was co-created and designed by IBM. The platform will
also train ITI & NSTI faculty on building skills in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
• It also offers digital learning content from IBM and partners such as CodeDoor,
Coorpacademy, and Skillsoft. The digital platform will ensure to provide a personal
assessment of the cognitive capabilities and personality through MyInnerGenius.
• They will also learn foundational knowledge about digital technologies and professional
skills like resume-writing, problem-solving, and communication. Students will receive
recommendations on role-based education for specific jobs that include technical and
professional learning.
10.World Customs Organization recognised HS Code for India’s Signature Fabrics
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has allocated separate HS code for signature
fabric of India. HS- Harmonized System and was developed by the World Customs
Organization (WCO). This code is used by customs officers to clear commodities
entering or crossing the international border.
India’s Signature Fabric:

Khadi is the term that is used for fabrics that are hand-spun and handwoven. It is
recognised as the signature fabric of India. It gained its importance since the freedom
movement of the boycott. According to the Indian Flag Code, Khadi is the only material
allowed to be used for the flag. If the flying flag is made with any other material, the
offence is punishable by law with imprisonment up to 3 years and fine.
HS Code:
• It is a multi-purpose International Nomenclature that describes the type of goods being
shipped. The code follows the Kyoto Convention of 1974. It is being used by more than
200 countries.
• The code aids countries in the collection of international trade statistics and forms a
basis for customs tariffs. This helps in better reach of the product and increases its
global popularity.
11.Ganga Utsav
Ganga Utsav is celebrated to mark the 11th anniversary of Ganga for getting the tag of
national river.
• This year Ganga Utsav is organised by National Mission for clean ganga along with the
Jal Sakthi ministry.
• This event is celebrated in Delhi for the year 2019 to create awareness about the
cleanliness of the River Ganga.
• Every year Ganga Utsav is celebrated on November 4 because this is the same date in
2008, River Ganga got the tag of National river.
• This type of events can make the public come together and safeguard our ecosystems
and bring awareness in the society.
12.National Steel Policy
Union Minister for Steel has urged the steel industry to make the year 2019 the “Year of
Expansion” - expansion in terms of reaching out to new regions and areas of the
country.
Key Points:
• Vision is to make a globally competitive steel industry that promotes inter-sectoral

growth.
• The mission is to impart the environment for achieving –
a. Self-sufficiency in steel production.
b. Development of globally competitive steel manufacturing capabilities.
c. The production which is cost-efficient.
d. Increase domestic steel demand.
• It aims to build a globally competitive industry with a crude steel capacity of 300 MT by
2030-31 and to increase per Capita Steel Consumption to 160 Kgs by 2030-31 are some
of the objectives of National Steel Policy, 2017.
13. Ayodhya dispute
The Ayodhya dispute is a political, historical and socio-religious issue in India, centred
on a plot of land in the city of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.
Key Points:
• The issues include a site which is regarded to be the birthplace of the Hindu
deity Rama, the history and location of the Babri Masjid at the site, and whether a
previous Hindu temple was demolished or modified to create the mosque.
• The Babri Masjid was destroyed during a political rally which led into a riot on 6
December 1992.
• Consequently, land title case was lodged in the Allahabad High Court, t
• As a result, the three judges of the Allahabad High Court ruled that the 2.77 acres
(1.12 ha) of Ayodhya land should be divided into three parts, with 1⁄3 going to the Ram
Lalla represented by the Hindu Maha Sabha, 1⁄3 going to the Sunni Waqf Board and the
remaining 1⁄3 going to Nirmohi Akhara.
• On 9th November 2019, the five judges Supreme Court bench presided over by CJI
Ranjan Gogoi vacated the previous decision and ruled that the land belonged to the
government per tax records.
• It gave the order that the land is to be handed over to a trust to build Ram Mandir.
• It also ordered that the government must give alternate 5-acre land to Sunni Waqf Board
to build the mosque.
14. The Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development Sanjay
Dhotre launched the Shala Darpan Portal for Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti
(NVS)
Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development Sanjay Dhotre has launched
the Shala Darpan Portal of Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti.
Key Points:
• The portal will integrate all Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas with a common standard
which includes around 636 schools and 2.67 million students.
• It is a single integrated platform which has been developed for information sharing and
knowledge dissemination.
• Shala Darpan will provide an integrated platform to meet the educational and
administrative needs of all stakeholders-students, teachers and parents.
• The major components include integrated content management portal consisting of
636 websites of Navodaya schools across the country.
• It shall also strengthen the budget and finance management system.
• The Navodaya Vidyalayas are co-educational residential schools established and
maintained by the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti.
• Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti is an autonomous organization under MHRD to provide
quality modern education.
15. CSIR-NEERI have launched the country’s first interactive online

repository, called IndAIR
The Council of Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR)’s National Environmental

Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) has recently launched IndAIR (Indian Air quality
studies Interactive Repository)
Key Points:
• IndAIR is India’s first interactive online repository.

• It has been launched to provide a history of air pollution and legislation in the country,
• This online repository has archived approximately 700 scanned documents from 1950
to 1999.
• This whole process involved 22 professionals and it took nearly 11 months to complete.
• Many prominent bodies partnered with CSIR-NEERI, like The Energy Resource Institute
(TERI), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), and Central
Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
• It is the first comprehensive effort to record and list down surviving Indian research and
analysis on the subject of air pollution, its causes and effects
• These studies are available and easily accessible in web format for the media,
researchers and academics.
16. The world's first CNG port terminal
Gujarat Government has given its nod to the world's first CNG port terminal at
Bhavnagar. The U.K. based Foresight group and Mumbai based Padmanabh Mafatlal
group joint venture will invest Rs.1900 Crore in setting up a CNG port terminal at
Bhavnagar port.
Key Points:
• The CNG port terminal will have an annual capacity of 6 million metric ton, which will
increase the total handling capacity of the port to 9 million metric ton. MoU for this
project between Gujarat government arm-Gujarat Maritime Board and London based
Foresight Group was signed during the 2019 Vibrant Gujarat summit.
• The new facility will be developed in the Northen side of the port, under which container
terminal, Ro-Ro terminal and the liquid terminal will be developed in the future.
• The GMB will manage the existing port at Bhavnagar, which has the capacity to handle
three MMTPA cargo. The new terminals would take the overall capacity to nine MMTPA.
17. Suranga Bawadi enters the World Monuments Watch List
In Karnataka’s Vijayapura Suranga Bawadi, an integral part of the ancient Karez system
of supplying water through subterranean tunnels built during the Adil Shahi era, is ready
to get funds for restoration.
Key facts
• A New York-based NGO has included it in the World Monument Watch list for 2020
along with 24 other monuments from all across the world.
• The monument has been elected under the “Ancient Water System of the Deccan
Plateau” by the World Monuments Fund (the NGO).
• The NGO monitors the restoration of ancient monuments across the globe.
• Karez is a water harnessing technology in which groundwater is brought to the surface
by a tunnel. In this system, gravity alone brings the water from the underground source
and no mechanical pump or lift is used. The technology originated in Persia/Iran and
was widely used during the medieval period.
• Karez is believed to be one of the best systems in the world. But owing to lack of
maintenance, it is in bad condition.
• This was built in the 16th century by Ali Adil Shah-I, his successor, Ibrahim Adil Shah-II,
added more structures to strengthen it.
18. SC Verdict: CJI Office under RTI act
The Supreme Court ruled that the office of the Chief Justice of India is a public authority
under the Right to Information Act on 13th November 2019.
• A decision has been pronounced by a five-member constitutional bench of the Supreme
Court. It consists of Supreme Court Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Divi
Chandrachud, Justice NV Ramana, Justice Sanjeev Khanna and Justice Deepak Gupta.
• The high court on January 10, 2010 held that the CJI office comes within the ambit of
the RTI law, saying judicial independence was not a judge's privilege, but a responsibility
cast upon him.
According to Supreme Court verdict
• The decision is based on the question of bringing transparency in the judicial system.
Although, some conditions have been added citing privacy.
• The decision has been taken by the Supreme Court under Article 124 of the
Constitution.
Article 124
• Article 124 deals with the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court of India.
• It talks about the number of judges to the superior Courts, their qualification and the
mode of appointment of Chief Justice of India.
• It also deals with the impeachment of judges and mentions the two conditions (proved
misbehaviour or incapacity) for the impeachment (Article 124 (4)).
Right to Information
• The Right to Information Act, 2005 (“the Act”) has established the necessary practical
regime of right to information.
• Under Article 19 (1) of the Indian Constitution guarantees us the right to freedom of
speech and expression and as recognized by the Supreme Court.
• It can empower citizens to take charge by participating in decision-making and by
challenging corrupt and arbitrary actions at all levels.
19. Dr Ravi Ranjan has sworn in as 13th Chief Justice of Jharkhand High
Court
Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan took oath as the Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court on 17th
Nov 2019. Governor Draupadi Murmi administered him the oath of office in a simple
ceremony at Raj Bhawan. C M Raghuwar Das, judges of the Jharkhand High Court and
other dignitaries were present at the function.
Key Points:
• He has been appointed as the 13th Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court.
• This post was lying vacant since May this year after the former Chief Justice, Anirudh
Bose was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court.
• He was a judge in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
• He was elevated to an Additional Judge of the Patna High Court on July 14, 2008.
• Later, he was appointed as a permanent judge on January 16, 2010. He also served as
the Acting Chief Justice of the Patna High Court for a brief period last year.
20. Darjeeling Green and White Tea gets a Geographical Indication (GI) Tag
Green and white tea of the hills have been registered as GI products in the country.
Key Points:
• Green Tea does not undergo the process of withering and oxidation.
• White Tea, the most delicate tea varieties, is because it is minimally processed and
leaves are harvested before the leaves open completely.
• These two varieties of Darjeeling tea have been registered under Geographical
Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act 1999, with effect from October
2019.
• The Geographical Indications are defined by the WTO’s TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement.
Benefits:
• GI Tag to tea verities will "strengthen the protection of the intellectual property rights of
the Darjeeling tea" which is considered as "niche and luxury" products in the country and
abroad.
• Products sold with the GI tag get premium pricing also.
• Some of the products with GI Tag: Mysore Silk, Mysore Agarbathi, Kancheepuram Silk,
Orissa Ikat, Channapatna Toys & Dolls, and Coimbatore Wet Grinder, Mysore Pak
(sweet), Tanjavur Veena, Pusa Basmati 1 (a high-yielding variety of scented Basmati
rice) etc.
GI Tag:
GI status is an indication that identifies goods as produced from a particular area, which
has special quality or reputation attributable to its geographical origin.
• GI registration confers:
1. Legal protection to the products.
2. Prevents unauthorised use of a GI by others.
3. Helps consumers get quality products of desired traits.
4. Promotes economic prosperity of producers of goods by enhancing demand in national
and international markets.
5. GI registration is essential to get protection in other countries.
21. A landmark of 250th session of Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha has been an integral part of the social and economic transformation of our
country ever since it came into effect in 1952.
Key points:
• From passing the Hindu Marriage and Divorce Bill in 1952 to the Muslim Women i.e, the
Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill in 2019 (Triple Talak Bill), the Industrial Disputes
(Amendment) Bill in the year 1954 to the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill
in the year 2019, clearing the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Bill in the year 1955
to the National Medical Council Bill in the 2019, imposition of additional excise duty on
dhotis in 1953 to introduction of GST in 2017, the passage of the Andhra State Bill in
1953 to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill in 2019, setting up of the University
Grants Commission (UGC) in 1954 to empower the children with the Right to Free and
Compulsory Education in the year 2009 and then passing Preventive Detention (Second
Amendment) Bill in the year 1952 to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill
in 2019.
• Rajya Sabha has actually come a long way in addressing the challenges that are faced
and meets the requirements of the nation from time to time.
• Chairman Shri Venkaiah Naidu informed the leaders of various events that are planned
for celebrating the landmark 250th session of Rajya Sabha which include:
1. To release of a publication, titled “Rajya Sabha: The Journey since
1952” which provides a glimpse of various aspects of the functioning of House and it’s
Hindi version;
2. There will be discussion in the House on the ‘Role of Rajya Sabha in
Indian Polity: Need for Reform’ on the 1st working day; And the release of a
commemorative volume on the evolution of Rajya Sabha and it’s functioning with 44
articles in English and Hindi by the sitting and former members and also those
associated with the functioning of the House; Also to release of a Silver coin of Rs.250;
3. And Release of Postal Stamp of Rs.5.00.
• Shri Naidu informed the leaders that a Joint Sitting of Members of both the Houses of
Parliament would be held in the Central Hall on the 26th Nov which marks the 70th
Anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India by the Constituent Assembly on
November 26, 1949.
22. Ministry of Tourism has taken various steps to minimize the use of
Single-use plastics in tourist sites
Ministry of Tourism has taken various steps to minimise the use of the Single-Use
Plastic (SUP) by creating awareness among the stakeholders to make tourists sites
plastic-free through the offices under its administrative control.
Key Points:
1. Awareness creation for the eradication of SUP among the tourists such as campaign
at iconic places, plastic shramdaan etc.
2. The organisation of cleanliness drives, namely the collection of plastic waste & its
proper disposal at various important tourist destinations/ educational institutes with the
help of local public/volunteers/students/faculty etc.
Further, the Ministry advised all States/UTs to take steps to create awareness among
the locals and tourists about the eradication of SUP in the tourist places and to organise
special plastic shramdaan etc.
23. Parliament passes Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment)

Bill, 2019
The Parliament has passed the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill,
2019. Where the Rajya Sabha approved the bill on 20th Nov 2019 while Lok Sabha had
passed it in the last session.
Key Points:
• This bill seeks to amend the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951. This has a
provision to remove the President of the Congress party as a trustee. It clarifies that in
Lok Sabha when there is no Leader of the Opposition, then the leader of the single
largest Opposition party will become the trustee.
• This Bill also allows the Central Government to terminate a nominated member without
any reason before his term ends.
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

13 April 1919 is one of those dates which India can never forget. In 1919 the Rowlatt
Act was enacted in the country. This act included suppressing freedom of the press,
imprisoning any politician in jail without a warrant and arresting any person without
warrant. People in Jallianwala Bagh were protesting against the bill. The Jallianwala
Bagh had only one entrance.
While Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer of the British Army reached it through a narrow
lane with a contingent of about 90 soldiers. Where he started firing on the people
present there without any warning. Several hundreds of people died on the spot and it
has become one of the biggest incidents of Indian Freedom Movement which can never
be forgotten.
24. IRCTC signs an MoU with KSTDC to run the Golden Chariot Train
Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC), a tourism arm of Indian
Railways, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Karnataka State
Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) to market and operate the Golden Chariot
Train in New Delhi on 19th November 2019 in the presence of Minister of State for
Railways, Shri Suresh C Angadi, and Minister of Tourism, Government of Karnataka, Shri
C. T. Ravi. Chairman, Railway Board, Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav, other Railway Board
Members, Officials from IRCTC & KSTDC were also present on the occasion.
Key Points:
• KSTDC will soon hand over the reins of the train to IRCTC. The new itineraries will be a
mix of history, culture, wildlife and nature.
• It is proposed to include Bandipur, Halebid, Mysore, Hampi, Chikmagalur, Bijapur and
Goa in the itinerary. IRCTC is expected to carry out the internal refurbishment of the
train and commence operations from March 2020.
25. National Intelligence grid
On 20 November 2019, it was announced in Lok Sabha that the National Intelligence
Grid (NATGRID) project will begin by December 31st 2020.
Key Points:
• This network collates data from various agencies and ministries of the Government of
India. The data includes bank account details, credit card transactions, visa, tax details,
immigration records and air travel.
• The National Intelligence Grid will be implemented in four phases, respectively. The first
two phases were approved in the year 2011.
• However, their implementation actually slowed down after 2012, mainly due to the
political conflicts. The third and fourth phases required amendments of many laws and
therefore, were delayed. NATGRID will act as a tool for the security agencies.
26. Kalaburagi Airport inaugurated UDAN–RCS
Recently the first flight from Kalaburagi Airport to Kempegowda International Airport,
Bengaluru took off after the inauguration of Kalaburagi airport by the Chief Minister of
Karnataka.
Key Points:–
• It has been built under the UDAN-RCS Scheme of Govt. of India.
• It is spread across 742 acres and developed at an estimated cost of Rs. 176
crores.
• The Airport is at a distance of 13.8km from Kalaburagi City.
• It is a DGCA licensed Aerodrome for VFR/Day operations.
• There are three flights per week will be operated on Monday, Friday, and Sunday.
• Departure time of the flight for Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) is 12:20
PM and landing time at Kalaburagi is 1:25 PM.
• It will depart from Kalaburagi at 1:55 am and arrive at 3 pm.
• The Ministry of Civil Aviation undertook to develop the Kalaburagi airport.
• Kalaburgi Airport will act as a gateway to tourist destinations including Buddha
Vihar, Sharana Basaveshwara Temple, Khwaja Banda Nawaz Dargah and
Gulbarga Fort.
About UDAN:–
• UDAN-RCS, UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) is a regional airport development
and the civil aviation ministry first announced the UDAN scheme for regional air
connectivity in 2017.
• Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) of the Government of India.
• Under the UDAN scheme there are 230 routes and 42 airports have been
operated.
• UDAN will connect all the states and union territories of India with around 700
routes.
• It is an initiative of the Government to make air travel to India’s tier II and tier III
cities affordable for the aam aadmi.
27. Bharat Net Project
Central Government has set a target to provide internet and broadband connectivity to
two lakh Gram Panchayats by March 2020. Electronics and Information Technology
Ministry has reported that a total of over 1,28,000 Gram Panchayats have been made
service ready.
Nuggets to Remember
• According to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Wi-Fi

hotspots have been installed in 45,000 Gram Panchayats.
• Service is being provided to 16,000 Panchayats.
• The Bharat Net Project was launched in 2017 with the aim of providing
affordable broadband connectivity at a speed of 2 Mbps to 20 Mbps for all . The
project uses underground Optic Fibre Cables (OFC) lines. It is a new element in
the history of connectivity of India. OFC has several advantages like easy
maintenance, low cost, speed implementation, etc.
• The first phase of the project was completed in December 2017 that provided
broadband connectivity to 1 lakh Gram Panchayats. In its second phase the
project intended to connect the remaining 2,50,000 Gram Panchayats by March
2019.
28. Governors Conference in Rashtrapati Bhavan
The two-day Conference of Governors and Lt. Governors started at Rashtrapati Bhavan
on November 23 with the inaugural address of the President of India. It includes the
governors of newly formed Ladakh and Kashmir regions as well. This is the 50th such
Conference held in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• Governors have a very important role in our constitutional system. Currently, the
role becomes even more important as the emphasis is on Cooperative Federalism
and healthy Competitive Federalism in the interest of the progress of the country.
• In an emphatic reference to welfare of tribals, its was discussed that Governors
can give all the proper guidance by using the constitutional powers given to them,
to improve the lives of these people, which have remained relatively behind in
terms of development.
Five subjects of national importance were chosen as agenda of this year after discussion
with senior governors. The optimal use and conservation of water resources is one of the
highest priorities of our country. Motto is to make Jal Shakti Abhiyan a mass movement
like the Swachh Bharat Mission. The other missions are tribal issues; reforms in
agriculture; new education policy for higher education; and governance for ‘Ease of
Living’.
Constitutional Provisions
As per Article 155 and Article 156 of the Constitution, a Governor of a state is an
appointee of the President, and he or she holds office “during the pleasure of the
President”. If a Governor continues to enjoy the “pleasure of the President”, he or she can
be in office for a term of five years.
29. Jammu and Kashmir achieves the highest road length under PMGSY in
2019
Under the Central Government’s rural roads’ programme-Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak
Yojana (PMGSY), the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir have achieved the
highest road length (11,400 km) in the country. The 11,400 km of different road
projects covers 1,838 habitations against the estimated total sanctioned length of
19,700 km that includes about 2,214 habitations.
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)

PMGSY is the flagship programme of the union government with the main objective to
provide functional all-weather road that connects to the unconnected rural areas in
India.
PMGSY I
• Launched in the year 2000 as a 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme
• Completion date: March 2019
• Fund sharing since 2015: 60:40 in plain areas (60% union and 40% state) and
90:10 in North East and Hilly Area (90% union and 10% state)
PMGSY II
• Launched in the year 2013 to upgrade 50000 km rural roads
• Estimated Completion Date: March 2020
30. The Government of India has planned to merge the Union Territories
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
The two Union Territories - Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli will be merged
into a single one, and a bill in this effect would be tabled in Parliament in the next week.
Key Points:
• This came three months after J&K was bifurcated into two UTs Jammu and
Kashmir, and Ladakh.
• The merger of the two UTs are located along the western coast near Gujarat.
This will be done for better administration and also to check duplications of
various work.
• Until now both the UTs have separate budgets and different secretariats even
though they are just 35 km apart.
• Daman and Diu have two districts while Dadra and Nagar Haveli have just one.
• This merged UT would be likely named as Dadra, Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu.
Its headquarters could be Daman and Diu.
• India has currently nine UTs after the creation of the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir,
and Ladakh. However, with the merger of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar
Haveli, the number of UTs will come down to eight.
31. Amaravati finds a place in the political map of India
The Survey of India on released a new political map of India with

Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh. It became the residuary State
after bifurcation of combined Andhra Pradesh in 2014.
Key Points:
• This happened after a political storm with the Opposition TDP and
the ruling YSR Congress Party started blaming each other for the
Centre refusing to recognise Amaravati as the capital of the State.
• YSR Congress Party rebutted the allegation by telling that it was the
failure of the previous TDP government to issue a notification
recognising Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh that
resulted in the fiasco.
• Telangana has Hyderabad as its capital; and currently, it is the
capital for Andhra Pradesh too. This was for a period of 10 years
from the date of bifurcation from 2014.
Facts:
• Amaravati is a city in Andhra Pradesh.
• It is a planned city which is located on the southern banks of the
Krishna river in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh. This is being built
on a 217 sq km riverfront designed to have 51% of green spaces

and 10% of water bodies.
32. Government of India extends ban on Assam-based NDFB by another 5

years
The central government issued orders to extend the ban on Bodo which is an Assam
based insurgent group-National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) by another five
years, citing that the terrorist outfit has continued to indulge in illegal and violent
activities intended to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.
Key Points:
• The ministry of home affairs has extended this ban on NDBF under the provisions
of sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
• The NDFB was formed in the year 1986 which seeks to obtain a sovereign
Bodoland for the Bodo people.
• NDFB has been engaging in an unlawful and violent activity, thereby undermining
the authority of the Government of India and the Government of Assam.
• By spreading terror and panic among the people; indulging in extortion of money
from various sections of the society with a view to financing and executing its
plans for the creation of a separate Bodoland.
32. Logo of Lokpal & Motto launched
Retired Lokpal Chairman Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose on 26th November launched the
new logo for the apex anti-corruption ombudsman-Lokpal. A new motto, “Ma Gridhah
Kasyasvidhanam (Do not be greedy for anyone’s wealth)”, was also adopted.
Key Points:
• Lokpal members and its functionaries were also present on the occasion.
• Previously, there was an open competition which was conducted where it invited
entries for the logo and the motto. A total of 2,236 entries for the logo and 4,705
entries for the motto were received.
• Finally, a logo designed by Prashant Mishra, a resident of Prayagraj in Uttar
Pradesh, was selected.
• This logo symbolises how Lokpal protects and cares for the people of India by
establishing justice as per law.
• The logo figuratively symbolises the soul of Lokpal, with the inclusion of shapes
such as the ombudsman-Judges’ Bench, the people-three human figures,
vigilance-an Ashoka Chakra forming an eye, the law-a shape of the book and the
judicial-two tri-colour hands placed below, forming a unique balance.
33. Parliament passes Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019 has been passed by the
Parliament. The Rajya Sabha passed the bill without any amendments on November 26,
2019, by voice vote. Lok Sabha had already passed the bill during its monsoon session
on August 5, 2019.
Key Points:
• The Transgender Bill was moved in the upper house by Minister for Social
Justice and Empowerment, Thaawarchand Gehlot.
• This bill aims to protect the rights of transgender persons by granting them their
due recognition and making welfare provisions for them. This bill will now be
sent for Presidential assent, after which it will become a law.
• The Transgender Protection Bill defines a transgender person as one whose
gender does not match the gender that was assigned at birth.
• The category of people includes trans-men, trans-women, gender-queers,
persons with intersex variations and persons with socio-cultural identities.
• The Transgender Bill prohibits discrimination and unfair treatment against
transgenders in:
1. Education
2. Healthcare
3. Employment
4. Access to goods, opportunities, facilities available to the public
5. Access to the government or private establishment in whose care or
custody a transgender person is.
6. Right to rent, live or otherwise occupy a property
7. Opportunity to hold public or private office
8. Right to movement
34. Kartavya Portal launched by HRD ministry
On the occasion of 70th Constitution Day also known as Samvidhan Divas

observed on 26 November 2019, Union Human Resource Development (HRD)
Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched the kartavya.ugc.ac.in portal for
holding monthly essay competitions for students.
Key Points:
• In the primary stage, the portal will be used for holding monthly essay
competitions for students. There are many other activities which include
quizzes, poster making, debates pertaining to Nagrik Kartavya Paalan
Abhiyan.
• The Department of Higher Education which is under HRD Ministry, will be
holding 11 rounds of National Essay Competitions during the year. The
essay topics will be based on one Fundamental Duty every month.
• This year marks the 70th year of adoption of the Indian Constitution. The
Centre government, therefore, decided to run a Nagrik Kartavya Palan
Abhiyan from 26 November 2019 to 26 November 2020, to create mass
awareness about Fundamental Duties as enshrined in our Constitution.
• By doing this, it will give directions to the youth of the country to make
them aware that rights will be automatically realised when we certainly
follow our duties in a religious way. This principle will also help the
students to channelise their talents and capabilities in the right path,
which will help them realise their mission with ease.
35. Govt to set up new rocket launch pad near Kulasekarapattinam
Government is planning to set up a new rocket launch pad in Tamil Nadu. At

present, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has two launch pads at
Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. This development comes on the backdrop of
increasing launches from India, both for domestic and international customers.
Key Points:
• This would be set up in Kulasekarapattinam in the state of Tamil Nadu.

• The new launch pad is intended to be used for future Indian rockets like
the Unified Modular Launch Vehicle, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch
Vehicle Mk III and Avatar RLV (Avatar Reusable Launch Vehicle), small
satellite launch vehicle, as well as the older ones like Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle.
• The number of launches every year by the space agency has increased
over 30. In 2018, the space agency launched 17 missions.
• Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR spaceport at Sriharikota is
responsible for the integration of launchers. This houses two operational
launch pads from where all the PSLV and GSLV flights will take place.
• ISRO has actually launched most of its customer satellites with its
workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
• From the year 1994 to 2015, PSLV has launched as many as 84 satellites,
out of which 51 were for the international customers, according to the
agency.
• ISRO is developing its next variant of GSLV which is GSLV Mk III, with its
indigenous high thrust cryogenic engine and stage which have the
capacity of launching 4 tonne class of communication satellites.
• ISRO is also working on small rockets to carry small satellites.
36. Approval of the long-pending demand for development of Loktak Inland

Waterways Project
Union Ministry of Shipping has approved the long pending demand of Government of
Manipur for development of Loktak Inland Waterways Project in the northeastern state.
The request for the development of this project was made by L Susindro Meitei the
Chairman of Loktak Development Authority and MLA Khurai in Manipur.
Key Points:
• The Government of India approved the development of Loktak Inland Waterways

improvement project under its objective of promoting the beautiful region
Northeast, which holds many opportunities for tourism purposes.
• The project is approved under the Central Sector Scheme at an estimated cost of
Rs.25.58 crore.
• This project will boost the development of inland water transport connectivity in
the North-eastern states and will also the tourism sector.
37. BlackBuck partners with IDFC and Yes Bank to provide FASTag
BlackBuck, the online trucking platform, has partnered with private lenders "IDFC
Bank" and "Yes Bank" on 28 November 2019. The partnership aims to provide
FASTags to truck owners free of cost.
Key Points:
• FASTag is an electronic toll collection system. The prepaid rechargeable
tags that employ Radio Frequency Identification technology for making toll
payments directly from the prepaid or any savings account that are linked
to it or directly toll owner.
• With this, the truck owners can order FASTags on BlackBuck's Boss App.
It will be delivered at their doorstep free of cost until 31 December 2019.
• This initiative would help over 3 million trucks in India become FASTag
compliant.
• This move will support the government's national electronic tolling
agenda.
• It is expected that it will reduce tolling times and revolutionise the logistics
sector in India.
• Also, it has been announced that from 1 December 2019 all lanes of free
plazas on national highways will be FASTag lanes.
38. UNDP Launches Accelerator Lab in New Delhi

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched the India chapter of
its new initiative-Accelerator Lab. The objective behind launching this Accelerator Lab is
to address some of the most pressing issues facing India, including air pollution. To
achieve its objectives through innovation, UNDP has also partnered with NITI Aayog’s
Atal Innovation Mission(AIM).
Accelerator Lab
● The Lab will be housed in the office of UNDP in New Delhi.
● The vision of setting up of the Lab is to make quick progress in meeting United
Nations Sustainable Goals(SDGs) by 2030.
● In the Accelerator Lab, innovators will seek to come up with solutions for
common problems facing the country.
● This includes air pollution, sustainable water management, and client-resilient

livelihoods.
● Indian Lab will be among 60 global labs that will test and scale-up innovative
solutions.
● Find solutions helpful in combating climate change and social inequity.
39. Centre Directs States and UTs to Include Anti-Rabies Vaccine And Anti-
Rabies Serum
The government directed the states and Union Territories to undertake the procurement
of ARV and ARS under the Free Drug service initiative under the National Health Mission
(NHM). This announcement was made by Union Minister of State (Health and Family
Welfare) Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey. The National Rabies Control Programme (NRCP)
funds do not provide the procurement of the Anti rabies vaccine(ARV).NRCP funds are
provided only to strengthen the laboratory, surveillance, training, and advocacy.
Aim: Rabies Elimination Drive
● The rabies elimination drive is ongoing globally through 2030.
● Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines are importing ARV and ARS from India.
● Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has been directed to monitor

pharmaceutical firms that produce ARV and ARS. This will ensure the supply of
ARV to the states.
● Quantity of ARV manufactured, exported and sold in the domestic market

monthly will be reported to DCGI.
● Centre has requested that the manufacture of ARV is carried out at full capacity
and demand of the domestic market and government institutions are met with
preference.
40. Former Deputy Governor HR Khan to Chair Microfinance Panel
HR Khan Former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been
appointed as the first Chairman of the Steering Committee panel on Code for
Responsible Lending (CRL) in Micro Credit. Other members of the panel include
P>Satish of Sa-Dhan,Sonia Krishnamurty of L&T Finance, Harsh Shrivastav of MFIN and
Srinivas Bonam of Indusind Bank among others.
About Code For Responsible Lending (CRL)
● This is a self-regulatory step for micro-credit industry.
● The steering committee will regulate Banks, Non-Banking Financial

Companies(NBFC), Micro Finance Institutions and ensure they adhere to
standards of customer protection.
● CRL was launched in September 2019 by Microfinance institution Network and

Sa-Dhan, an RBI recognized the association of Micro-Finance Institutions along
with the Finance Industry Development Council an associate of NBFCs.
States in News
1. Tamil Nadu becomes the first state to enact the law on contract farming
Tamil Nadu becomes the first State in India to enact a law on contract farming with
President Ram Nath Kovind giving his assent.
Key Points:
• The name of the act is the Agricultural Produce and Livestock Contract Farming and
Services (Promotion and Facilitation) Act.
• The law shall safeguard the interests of farmers when there is a bumper crop or during
major fluctuation in market prices.
• In such cases, the farmers will be paid a predetermined price arrived at the time of
signing agreements with buyers.
• Any product which is banned by the Central or the State government or by the Indian
Council of Agricultural Research, would not be covered under contract farming.
2. 2000-year-old trade centre found in Andhra Pradesh
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) unearthed a trade centre of the early historic
period, in Gottiprolu, Andhra Pradesh
Key points:
• ASI found a 2000-year-old brick structure and a Vishnu sculpture at the site.
• ASI has also discovered the remains of a huge settlement surrounded by a massive
brick enclosure
• one life-size Vishnu sculpture and a wide variety of pottery of the early centuries of the
current era are the antiquities unearthed.
• The site of Gottiprolu lies on the bank of river Swarnamukhi.
• These settlements could have been an important trade centre.
• The site could have served as a strategic settlement involved in maritime trade.
3.Bihar State government is to ban all state-owned vehicles that are older than 15
years across the state
Bihar State government is to ban all the state-owned vehicles that are older than 15
years across the state. The proposal aims to combat air pollution. The Andhra Pradesh
State cabinet is expected to approve the proposal. The restriction will be extended to
commercial vehicles, but only for the Patna metropolitan area, which would make it the
first non-metro city to come under such a ban.
Key Points:
• It is aiming to create opportunities for the government to buy electric vehicles as well as
those that meet Bharat Stage VI standards. According to the data provided by the
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Air Quality Index (AQI) for Patna crossed the
severe category at 414.
• The metros of Kolkata and Delhi are in force. Kolkata restricted movement of
commercial vehicles older than 15 years in 2008. And the petrol vehicles older than 15
years and diesel vehicles older than ten years were ordered off the streets of the
national capital region in 2015.
4.Maharashtra: President's Rule Imposed
In Maharashtra President's rule came into force 19 days after the election results.
Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had invited three major parties of the state, BJP, Shiv
Sena and NCP, to form the government, but no party could muster the required strength
to form the government.
Highlights
• The recent imposition of President's rule in Maharashtra is the first such incident in the
state's 59-year history when Article 356 was used after political parties could not form
the government after the Assembly elections.
• Overall, this is the third time Maharashtra has come under President's rule.
• The present Maharashtra came into existence on 1 May 1960.
• The assembly elections in Maharashtra were held on October 21 and the results were
out on October 24.
Under President's Rule
• If the Governor recommends or the President is satisfied that the state cannot run
according to the constitution or form a government and the constitutional system has
completely failed, they can impose President's rule.
• For this, under Article 356 of the Constitution, the Governor sends a report to the Central
Government, the Cabinet gives an approval on this and passes it on to the President.
The final decision is taken by the President.
5.Haryana includes more crops in Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojna Scheme
Recently, the Haryana government has decided to bring more crops under the
'Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojna (BBY)' scheme and this decision was taken at a BBY review
meeting. BBY review meeting was presided by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
About Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojna Scheme:
• Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojna Scheme was started in Haryana from 1 January 2018.
• The scheme was developed for safeguarding the investment of the farmers.
• Under this unique scheme if someone gets a lower price than the protected price, it will
be compensated by the state government.
• The state agricultural department will fix the least selling price of certain crops and if
the farmer gets the price lower than the price fixed by the government, the difference
will be paid as an incentive to the farmers directly into their bank accounts.
• The farmers have to register themselves on ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora (MFMB)’ portal for
getting the scheme benefits.
• The scheme has been running very successfully in the past two years. Now, along with
potato, onion, tomato, and cabbage; carrots, peas, kinnow, guava, capsicum, and brinjal
will also be included under the scheme BBY.
The crops covered under the scheme in the first phase for protected prices and fixed
production:
• Four crops: Tomato, Onion, Potato, and Cauliflower.
• Preserved value and fixed production of identified crops.
Main objectives of the scheme:
• The scheme reduces the risk of farmers by preservation price during low prices of
vegetables and fruits in the market.
• The scheme will encourage farmers to diversify into agriculture.
6. Disqualification of MLAs case: SC's verdict

On 13th November 2019, the Supreme Court (SC) upheld the order disqualifying 17
Karnataka MLAs in July by former Karnataka Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar.
A bench of three judges reserved their verdict on the petitions filed by these disqualified
MLAs on October 25.
Highlights:
• The term of disqualification was over and the apex court upheld the disqualification of
Congress and the JD (S) MLAs.
• In the upcoming by-elections, the order allows all ineligible legislators to contest
elections. As per the former speaker that MLAs cannot contest elections till the end of
the term of the current assembly in 2023.
ANTI-DEFECTION LAW
The Schedule X of the Indian Constitution lays down the process and procedure by
which legislators can be disqualified on grounds of defection by the presiding officer of
the legislature. The Tenth Schedule was inserted in the Constitution in 1985. An MLA is
deemed to have been defected
• If he voluntarily gives up his membership of the party
• If he disobeys party leadership on a vote
This implies that a legislator defying (abstaining or voting against) the party whip on any
issue can lose his membership of the House. The law applies to both Parliament and
state assemblies.
7. West Bengal celebrates ‘Rosogolla Dibas’
West Bengal (WB) celebrated the ‘Rosogolla Dibas’ or Rasgulla Day on 14th November
2019. This day is to mark the granting of Geographical Indication tag of ‘Banglar
Rosogolla’ or Bengal’s Rasgulla to the state on 14th November two years ago, i.e.,14
November 2017.
On this day the statue of Nobin Chandra Das the inventor of the Bengal variant of the
sweetmeat was garlanded across the state. For the first time in the history of West
Bengal’s sweetmeat industry, almost all the sweet shops in state are dedicated this day
to Rosogolla. At the state government’s ‘Misti Hub’ in the northeastern fringes of
Kolkata city, new varieties of Rosogollas have been displayed at outlets of popular
sweetmeat brands. The hub is run by West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development
Corporation (HIDCO).
Facts:
After years of struggle, West Bengal and Odisha were involved in a tug-of-war to stake a
claim to the origin of the sweetmeat.
Thereby, while West Bengal was granted GI tag for ‘Banglar Rosogulla’ or the Bengal
variant of the sweetmeat in 2017, Odisha got the GI tag for ‘Odisha Rasagola’ or the
Odisha variant earlier in 2019.
About GI tag:
• A geographical indication (GI) is a sign that is used on products that have a specific
geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. In
order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place.
8. Goa to ban plastics and PET bottles from 2020.
Since Plastic pollution has become a major threat to the environment, the Goa
government has decided to impose a complete ban on the use of plastics below 50
microns.
Key Points:
• Plastic packaging which includes sachets, water, soft drinks and other drinks sold in
PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottles of volumes below 500 ml will be banned.
• Officials from various departments like the directorate of panchayats, municipal
administration, Goa state pollution control boards and the department of science and
technology have been involved to frame the rules for more effective implementation of
the plastic ban.
• The Goa government has also decided to form village-level, taluk-level committees
involving government officials to monitor the implementation of the ban.
• Phase wise elimination of plastic use from January 2020 has been encouraged by the
Goa government.
9. Jharkhand celebrates its formation day
Jharkhand celebrated its formation day on November 15. It started celebrating

its formation day since 2000. Before that, it was part of southern Bihar state.
Key Points:
• In the year 2000, BJP led a campaign that led to the passage of the Bihar reorganization
Act, which paved the way for the formation of Jharkhand as the new state.
• Jharkhand accounts for more than 40% of mineral resources in the country and at the
same time, the poverty level is also high in the state.
• Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi is considered as the “city of waterfalls” and sometimes it is
also called “Manchester of the East” due to its mineral reserves.
10. Haryana is to create a new department of foreign cooperation
The Haryana Cabinet is to create a dedicated new department of foreign cooperation

under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. It aims to streamline and
focus on various initiatives taken by the state government for the promotion of
investment, generate employment for the youth and welfare of Non-Resident Indians
(NRIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) from the State.
Key Points:
• This department would work to enhance the international cooperation with provinces of
foreign countries and engagement with cities under the sister provinces and twin cities
programs of ministry of external affairs.
• This would promote investment, employment in the State, education, and skill
development in the State. It will also promote the Haryanvi culture and welfare of the
Haryanvi diaspora in participation with the bilateral and multilateral fora.
• It will mainly deal with participation in bilateral working groups to promote the State's
interest in foreign countries in the area like trade and investment, which includes in-
bound and out-bound in consultation with the ministry of external affairs.
• The Haryana Government has decided to double the House Rent Allowance admissible
to ministers on 18 November 2019 in its first cabinet meeting.
11. R Rajagopal, as the next Chief information commissioner (CIC) of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu State Government has appointed a senior bureaucrat R Rajagopal, as the
next Chief information commissioner (CIC) of the state.
Key Points:
• He will hold office for a period of three years from the date on which he enters upon his
office or the date on which he attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. This post
of Chief Information Commissioner was vacant, ever since retired bureaucrat Sheela
Priya quit in May 2019 after she turned 65.
• He was actually one among the five candidates who were considered by the selection
committee which was headed by the Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami.
• His appointment was issued by the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Secretary S.
Swarna.
About R Rajagopal:
• He belongs to a 1984 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, is the
first serving government officer to be made CIC.
• He is the top-most bureaucrat in Tamil Nadu state. He was an adviser in the Inter-State
Council Secretariat in the Union home ministry, before being moved to Raj Bhavan. He
held posts in various departments, including home, energy, handlooms, and prohibition,
and excise.
• He served as the district collector to Virudhunagar and Kanyakumari. He became an
additional secretary to the ministry of agriculture and farmers' welfare.
12. Devendra Fadnavis takes oath as Maharashtra CM

The BJP has staked a government with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the
midst of a political tussle in Maharashtra.
Key points:–
• 49-year-old Devendra Fadnavis was sworn for the second time as the Chief Minister of
Maharashtra at Raj Bhavan on 23rd November 2019.
• Governor Bhagat Singh Kosari also administered the oath of office to Deputy Chief
Minister of NCP Ajit Pawar.
• The governor has given the Fadnavis government time to prove its majority by 30
November.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar on
taking oath as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
• The NCP and BJP government is in place only after discussions between NCP Chief
Sharad Pawar and PM Narendra Modi.
• The BJP, which contested 164 seats, bagged 105, while the Shiv Sena won 56 in the
288-strong Assembly but the alliance fell apart after the Sena insisted on sharing the
CM's post.
About Devendra Fadnavis:–
• Devendra Fadnavis is a law graduate from Nagpur University.
• He holds a postgraduate degree in business management.
• He was born and raised in Nagpur, home of the headquarters of the RSS.
• The Nagpur born BJP leader with close family links to the RSS has now become the first
non-Congress chief minister to win a second term in office in the state, and only the
second chief minister to complete his term in office.
• He started his political career in the 1990s.
13. Chhattisgarh government to have Guru Ghasidas National Park as its fourth
‘tiger reserve’
Chhattisgarh state government announced that it is set to have Guru Ghasidas National
Park in Kotiya district as its fourth 'tiger reserve'. This decision was taken in the 11th
meeting of Chhattisgarh State Wildlife Board which is chaired by Chief Minister Bhupesh
Baghel.
Key Points:
• In this state, there are currently three tiger reserves which are: Udanti-Sitanadi
Tiger Reserve, Indravati Tiger Reserve and Achanakmar Tiger Reserve.
• With this announcement, the state will have its fourth tiger reserves. Apart from
this, notification regarding the formation of Lemru Elephant Reserve was also
made in this meeting.
• The Lemru Elephant Reserve will shortly come into existence by merging the
forest areas of Katghora, Korba, Raigad and Surguja districts, and Dharamjigarh
and Surguja forest divisions of Korba. The total area records to be of about 1,995
square kilometres.
• The meeting laid a strong emphasis on increasing the number of tigers in the
state. It also focuses on their safety measures such as radio collaring system for
tiger safety and resettlement of more cheetahs from the Barnawapara Sanctuary
to Guru Ghasi Das National Park and Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve.
• There are five unique species of vultures found in Achanakmar Tiger Reserve,
Guru Ghasidas National Park and Mainpat in Surguja district in the state.
Facts:
• The Indian government will conduct a national census of tigers and other wildlife
every four years since 2006.
• As of the 2018 census the top-performing states are Madhya Pradesh with the
highest number of tigers (526) followed by Karnataka (524) and Uttarakhand
(442).
• Global Tiger Day was observed in the year 2010 for the first time at St.
Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia with the commitment of doubling the number
of wild tigers by 2022. It is celebrated annually on July 29th.
14. Filaria Campaign launched by the UP government
Uttar Pradesh government is to launch a massive immunisation campaign against the

filariasis or Filaria. The central government has set the year 2021 as the deadline for
complete eradication of filaria in the country.
Key Points:
• This campaign has more than 65 thousand teams of health workers who will
distribute medicines to around 6.5 crore people till 10 December in 19 districts.
• This campaign will be launched by Health and Family Welfare Minister Jai Pratap
Singh. At present, there are 1.25 lakh cases of filaria in these 19 districts.
• The 19 districts of the state have been divided into two parts.
1. triple-drug
2. double-drug.
• The 11 districts under Triple Drug are Kanpur Nagar, Kanpur Dehat, Unnao,
Sitapur, Prayagraj, Mirzapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Pratapgarh, Chandauli, Fatehpur
and Hardoi. At the same time, under the double drug eight districts are placed:
Kaushambi, Rae Bareli, Auraiya, Sultanpur, Etawah, Farrukhabad, Kannauj and

Ghazipur.
Filariasis:
Filariasis is a parasitic disease caused by an infection with roundworms of the
Filarioidea type. These are spread by blood-feeding Diptera such as mosquitoes and
black flies. This disease belongs to the group of diseases called helminthiases.
Government Policies, Schemes and Programmes
1. Fastag/Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) scheme

Fastag/Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) scheme began at the toll plaza at Hejmady
village in Udupi district for the trial run of 12 lanes.
Key points:
• Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari, will enable all
toll lanes with Fastags.
• The scheme is Initiated by the Ministry to ensure hassle-free movement and also to
facilitate convenient mode of toll payment
• The toll plaza at Hejmady was one of the 10 toll plazas in the State that have been
selected for the trial runs for Fastags/ETC.
• Fastag enables vehicle owners to cross toll plazas quickly.
• FASTag is an e-toll collection system in India, operated by the National Highway
Authority of India (NHAI).
• It uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for making toll payments
directly from the account linked to it.
2. Mihir Shah Committee to draft New National Water Policy

The Union Water Resources Ministry has finalized a committee to draft a new National
Water Policy (NWP). It will be chaired by Mihir Shah and he is a former Planning
Commission member and a water expert. There are 10 principal members in the
committee, including Shashi Shekhar, a former Secretary of Water Resources, and A.B.
Pandya, former chairman of the Central Ground Water Board.
National Water Policy (NWP)

· The National Water Policy currently in force was drafted in 2012 and it is the third
such policy since 1987.
· The major policy innovations in the 2012 policy was the concept of an Integrated
Water Resources Management approach that took the “river basin/ sub-basin” as a unit
for planning, development and management of water resources.
· It proposed that a portion of river flows ought to be kept aside to meet.
Responsibilities of the National Water Policy (NWP)
1.Irrigation reform
2. River rejuvenation
3. Aquifer mapping and participatory groundwater management

4. Water security
5. Urban and industrial water management
6. Water quality
7. Data management and transparency
8. Knowledge management and capacity building
3. National Mission “Nishtha” Launched in J & K
National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA)
launched in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It’s formal inauguration held by
Commissioner Secretary, School Education Department, Sarita Chauhan.
About NISHTHA Programme:
• NISHTHA is a National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement.
• Around 300 teachers, Key Resource Persons (KRPs) and Chief Education Officers, DIET
Principals and Educational Administrators will attend this event.
• The aim of this programme is to motivate and equip teachers to encourage thinking in
students.
• NISHTHA is being launched across the country and a total of 86000 Elementary
teachers of Government Schools being trained in J&K under the programme.
The main aim of this programme is to build the capacities of around 42 lakh
participants covering:
(a) All teachers and heads of elementary Government schools
(b) Faculty members of State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs)
and District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) and
(c) Block Resource Coordinators and Cluster Resource Coordinators in all States and
UTs.
The teachers will develop their skills under the programme, on various aspects related
to:
(a) Learning Outcomes
(b) School Safety and Security
(c) ICT in teaching and learning including Artificial Intelligence
(d) Environmental Concerns and
(e) School-Based Assessment.
Under the scheme the training will be conducted by 33120 Key Resource Persons and
State Resource Persons identified by the respective States and UTs and they will be
trained by 120 National Resource Persons from NCERT, CBSE, NIEPA, Kendriya
Vidyalaya Sangathan, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, NGOs and UNICEF.
4. Arundhati Gold Scheme
The Assam government on 20th November 2019 announced that it would gift 10 grams
of gold to every adult bride if she has studied at least up to class 10 and her marriage is
registered.
Key Points:
• There are also other conditions to avail the benefit of the ''Arundhati Gold Scheme'',
which would cost the state exchequer approximately at Rs. 800 crores per annum.
• The scheme will commence from January 1 2020. Every girl will be given total (10
grams) of gold during her marriage, provided the marriage is registered. The main focus
is to get the marriages registered.
• Approximately 3 Lakh marriages happen every year in Assam, but only 50,000-60,000
are registered.
• Provided the annual family income of the bride should be less than Rs. 5 Lakh to avail
the benefit of the scheme. Once this scheme is launched, the Government will be able to
increase the registration to 2-2.5 lakh.
• It is clarified that the benefit will be given only in case of the first marriage of the girl
and it has to be registered under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
5. National Policy to speed up Gas Infrastructure
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has constituted a high-level
committee to frame a national policy on City Gas Distribution (CGD) with the objective
to speed up the development of infrastructure for supplying piped natural gas to
households as well as Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for automobiles and industrial
units. The committee is constituted especially due to delay that is faced in getting
approvals for new City Gas Distribution (CGD) at the State level.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB)
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has been constituted under
“The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act, 2006”, to protect the interests of
consumers and the entities who are engaged in activities relating to petroleum,
petroleum products, natural gas and to promote competitive markets.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) also regulates the refining,
processing, storage, transportation, distribution, marketing and sale of petroleum,
petroleum products and natural gas excluding production of crude oil and natural gas
and ensures uninterrupted and adequate supply of petroleum, petroleum products and
natural gas in all parts of the country.
Note:
The coverage of geographical areas increased from 78 at the end of 2017 to 229 at
present, covering about 71% of the country’s population as against 20% two years ago.
6. Food Processing Scheme: 271 crores cleared by IMAC
An Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee under the chairmanship of Minister of Food

Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal has approved projects worth Rs 271 crore
under the Creation/Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation Capacities (CEFPPC)
scheme.
Key Points:
• CEFPPC projects cover more than 100 agro-climatic zones in the country. Inter-
Ministerial Approval Committee (IMAC) examined if the applicants have
complied with the basic eligibility criterion, total project cost, eligible project cost
and means of finance.
• The emphasis is to create direct employment for youth as well as contribute
towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal to double farmers’ income by
2022.
• The projects would create direct employment of about 9000 and would
emphasise linking agriculture and marketing with modern food processing
technologies.
• This will also aid in implementing the PM Krishi Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) which
aims at developing agro-processing Clusters and agro-marine processing units.
As per the project, subsidies are provided in terms of grants-in-aid that ranges
between 35% and 75%.
PM Kisan SAMPADA Yojana:

• It is a package which will result in the creation of modern infrastructure with
efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlet.
• It will provide a big boost to the growth of the food processing sector in the
country, and it will also help in providing better returns to farmers. It is a leap
towards doubling of farmers income, reducing wastage of agricultural produce,
creating huge employment opportunities, especially in the rural areas, increasing
the processing level and enhancing the export of the processed foods.
• The following schemes will be implemented under the PM Kisan SAMPADA
Yojana:
1. Mega Food Parks
2. Creation/ Expansion of Food Processing/ Preservation Capacities (Unit
Scheme)
3. Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure
4. Infrastructure for Agro-processing Clusters
5. Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages
6. Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure
7. Human Resources and Institutions
7. Saakshar Bharat Mission (SBM)
Saakshar Bharat Mission (SBM) was launched on 8th September 2009 for the
districts having a low female literacy rate of 50% or below as per the 2001
Census.
Why in news:
• The rate of female literacy in Telangana’s Sangareddy district has
increased rapidly by the district administration’s support and help. The
female literacy rate is 65.46% in India.
• The district administration developed ‘Ammaku Akshara Mala’ -alphabet
garland for mother and involved students in Classes VII to X.
• They were asked to teach their mothers who were mostly members of the
Self-Help Groups and not literate to read and write Telugu alphabets at
home.
Key Points on Saakshar Bharat Mission:

• It is a centrally-sponsored scheme. This seeks to create awareness of
social disparities and a person’s deprivation on the means for its
amelioration and general well-being.
• It has four broader objectives-
1. Imparting functional literacy and numeracy to non-literates.
2. Acquiring equivalency to the formal educational system.
3. Giving relevant skill development programme.
4. To promote a learning society by providing opportunities to continue
education.
• The target of the programme is to impart functional literacy to 70 million
non-literate adults in the age group of 15 years and beyond.
DEFENSE AFFAIRS
1. A first bilateral naval exercise in 2020 will deepen India-Saudi Arabia ties
The first bilateral naval exercise in 2020 and collaboration in research and acquisition of
military hardware will help broaden defence cooperation between India and Saudi
Arabia.
Key points:
• The two sides had agreed to promote ways to ensure the security and safety of
waterways in the Indian Ocean region and the Gulf region
• The exercise strengthens the position of the Indian Navy, whose interest spans from the
Straits of Hormuz to the Strait of Malacca.
• Anti-piracy operations have been conducted by the Indian Navy in the Gulf of Aden since
2008
• The drill will strengthen the Indian Navy’s efforts aimed at force projection and building
inter-operability with the navies of the West Asian countries.
• Memorandum of understanding signed between Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of
Military Industries (GAMI) and the department of defence production under India’s
defence ministry.
• Collaboration in the military acquisition, industries, research, development and
technology is covered in MoU.
2. CARAT- 2019
The biggest US- Bangladesh Navy exercise ‘Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training
(CARAT) – 2019’ is being held in Chattogram (Chittagong City) in Bangladesh. The
CARAT is a yearly exercise that is conducted between the navies of Bangladesh and the
United States in the Bay of Bengal. The 1st edition of this exercise was held in 2011.
Key Points:
• The 2nd phase of the exercise is being held from 4 to 7 November 2019 with different
subject-based exercise and training.
• The opening ceremony of CARAT- 2019 was attended by Assistant chief of naval staff
(operations) Bangladesh Navy and the Commander logistic group, Western Pacific
Command Task Force 73 (CTF-73) of US Navy.
• This exercise provides an opportunity to gain a better understanding of operational

activities of the two Navies (US- Bangladesh) and to get acquainted with advanced
technology through various theoretical and practical training.
3. Defence Research Development Organization Igniter Complex was inaugurated at High

Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Pune.
A Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) Igniter Complex was

inaugurated at High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune. The primary
purpose of the laboratory is to design, process, evaluate ignition systems for any DRDO
projects.
Key Points:
• The new complex is equipped with sieve shaker, granulating machine, planetary mixer,
pelleting machine, etc.
• A design, modelling, simulation laboratory is a part of the complex.
• The complex also has an assembly centre and a testing centre.
• In December 2015, a high-level committee that investigated a fire accident at the igniter
complex had suggested this new complex. The committee found that there are grave
risks to humans in making and designing of ignition systems and recommended the
advanced and remote-controlled facility.
HEMRL:
It develops rocket, pyrotechnic devices, gun propellants, high-explosive systems.
Ignition is a crucial phenomenon in all these systems. HEMRL had developed ignition
system for Prithvi, Agni, Nag, Akash, Pinaka, etc. It has also transferred the technology
to Ordnance Factory, Pune. It also performs research on high-power explosives and
pyrotechnics.
4. ReSAREX-2019
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) conducted the ‘Regional Level Search and Rescue
Workshop and Exercise 2019’: ReSAREX- 19 off Goa coast. The two-day event was
organised by Coast Guard District Headquarters-11 (Goa) to test efficiency and
preparedness of ICG.
Key Points:
• The exercise comprised of a search and rescue workshop and tabletop exercise,
followed by a search and rescue exercise at sea.
• Participants: Dornier aircraft, 5 ICG ships, 2 Chetak helicopters were used for the
workshop.
• Moreover, the resources from Captain of Ports, Indian Mission Control Centre
(Bengaluru), State Marine Police, Goa Medical College, Goa state administration and
Marmugao Port Trust were also pressed into service.
• With the increase in maritime and fishing activities, further complicated by frequent
cyclones, maritime search and rescue services and the need to respond to every
situation with utmost clarity by exercising full coordination with other support agencies
still remain a challenge.
• The workshop also assumes significance in the wake of recent search and rescue
operations carried out during cyclones Kyaar and Maha.
5. Tiger Triumph
The first tri-services India-US exercise 'Tiger Triumph' is scheduled to begin from
November 13 to 21 near Visakhapatnam and Kakinada.
Key points:
• Monumental exercise will include events and field training.

• It is a nine-day exercise
• It is an opportunity for both India and US forces to exchange knowledge and learn from
each other.
• All Tiger Triumph training pertains to developing either counterterrorism or
humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capabilities.
6. MPC for MILAN exercise was concluded in Visakhapatnam
The Mid Planning Conference (MPC) for MILAN exercise was held at the Headquarters
Eastern Naval Command (HQENC) Visakhapatnam from 8-10 November 2019.
MILAN 2020:
This will enhance the professional interaction between foreign navies. The programme
of MILAN 2020 has been scheduled to be conducted at Visakhapatnam in March 2020.
This aims to strengthen and learn from each other's ideas and best practices in the
maritime domain.
Key Points:
• The harbour and the sea phase of the exercise MILAN 2020 was discussed in detail with
the delegates of the participating countries during the conference.
• Over 29 delegates from 17 friendly Foreign Navies participated in this three-day
conference.
• MILAN is a biennial multilateral naval exercise which was established in the year 1995.
It was conducted at Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) until 2018. For the first
time, it has been planned to be held on the mainland at ENC.
7. Ministry of Defence's Def Connect: Innovations of iDEX initiative
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh was the Chief Guest. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is
organising 'Def-Connect' to showcase the accomplishments of the Innovations for
Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiative and to construct a strong outreach towards the
potential future entrepreneurs of the defence sector.
Key Points:
• This conference is aiming to bring together all stakeholders of the iDEX ecosystem, i.e.
MoD,Partner Incubators, iDEX selected startups, Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO),
Nodal agencies (Indian Army, Navy, Airforce), Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO), Indian Ordnance Factories (IOF), MSMEs and Industry
associations, Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) to showcase the growth of
the defence ecosystem in the country and recognise the infinite potential of the
MSMEs/startups for future growth of the defence sector in the country.
• Launch of iDEX Portal, the launch of Defence India Startup Challenge-III are some of the
major activities planned during this day-long event.
• More than 350 startups & innovators who are working on various defence technologies
are expected to participate in this event. The event would lead to better interaction &
also helps to bridge the gap between the stakeholders. It will be a precursor for Startup
showcase during the forthcoming DefExpo 2020, which is to be held in Uttar Pradesh
from February 5-8, 2020.
8. Naval Exercise between Qatar and India
Indian Navy Guided Missile Stealth Frigate INS Trikand and Patrol Aircraft P8-I arrived at
Doha for the inaugural edition of the Bilateral Maritime Exercise Za’ir-Al-Bahr (Roar of
the Sea) is being conducted from 17th-21st Nov 2019 between the Indian Navy and
Qatari Emiri Naval Forces. Za'ir-Al-Bahr 2019 would strengthen the cooperation and
enhance the interoperability between the two navies.
Key Points:
• This Exercise will include a three-day Harbour Phase and Two days Sea Phase. There
will be activities during the harbour phase will consist of a seminar, official visits,
professional interaction, sports fixtures along with social and cultural events.
• The Sea Phase will include of a Tactical Maritime Exercise which involves the domains
of Surface Action, Air Defence, Maritime Surveillance and Interdiction Operation and
anti-terrorism.
• The Qatari Emiri Naval Forces participating in this Exercise includes the versatile Anti-
Ship Missile equipped Barzan Class Fast Attack Craft along with Rafale multi-task
fighter aircraft.
• India and Qatar traditionally have a warm and friendly relation, sharing common
developmental and cultural values. The inaugural edition of the Bilateral Maritime
Exercise between the two navies would further strengthen the robust defence co-
operation between the two countries, especially in fighting against terrorism, maritime
security and maritime piracy.
9. India to buy 13 MK45 Naval guns made by BAE systems in the US
The USA has approved the sale of 13 naval guns and also $1 billion worth of equipment
to India. The aim of the move by the US government is to help it meet the current and
future threats. The announcement was made by the Defence Security Cooperation
Agency (DSCA). This approval came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent US
tour.
Key Points:
• The State Department of the US approved the sale of the anti-surface warfare and anti-
air defence MK45 5inch/62 calibre (MOD 4) naval guns for India. The procurement of
the guns will enhance India's naval capabilities, more in the Arabian Sea.
• MK 45 has been developed and manufactured by the BAE Systems Land and
Armaments.
• This deal helps in growing the defence ties between India and the US.
10.The DRDO has allowed free access to its 450 Patents
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is to grant the Indian industry
free access to patents held for technologies developed by it.
Key Points:
• DRDO's move aims to boost indigenous production and encourage Make in India policy.
• This new policy formulated by the DRDO said no licence fee or royalty would be
applicable to the use of Indian patents held by DRDO.
• There are hundreds of such patents covering aeronautics, combat engineering, naval
systems, armaments, missile technology, life sciences, electronics, and communication
material.
• Earlier, the licence fee for patents and royalty ranged between several lakh rupees to
crore depending upon the type of technology involved.
• As per the new policy, the Indian startups, public and private entities will be granted a
free licence to DRDO patents.
• These firms must have the capacity to absorb technology, production capability and
quality control mechanisms.
11. Lieutenant Shivangi, First Woman Pilot of Indian Navy, to be Join Naval
Operations
First woman pilot of Indian Navy will join Naval operations on December 2, two days
ahead of Navy Day which is on December 4. She hails from Muzzafarpur, Bihar and
completed her schooling from DAV
Public School, Muzzafarpur. After completing school education, Lieutenant Shivangi did
B.Tech from Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology. She will be involved in Operation
Duty in Kochi.
Joined Navy as SAC Pilot
• Shivangi was included at the Indian Naval Academy SAC (Pilot) under the 27 NOC
course. She was formally made part of the Navy in June last year.
• Now Shivangi will fly surveillance aircraft and they are sent on short-range maritime
missions. There are many devices like advanced surveillance radars, electronic sensors
and networking which are equipped on these aircraft.
• The Navy's aviation wing has several women officers posted as air traffic controllers
and observers.
12. National Cadet Corps celebrates its 71st Raising Day
The National Cadet Corps (NCC) which is the largest uniformed youth organisation in
the world, on 24th November, celebrated its 71st Raising Day at Nagrota.
Key Points:
• NCC is the world's largest uniformed youth organisation. Defence Secretary Dr Ajay
Kumar and DG NCC Lt Gen Rajeev Chopra paid homage to the martyrs, who have made
supreme sacrifices in the service of the nation, at the National War Memorial in New
Delhi.
• The NCC Raising Day was celebrated across the country with the cadets participating in
cultural activities, marches, and social development programs.
• The multifaceted activities and various curriculum of NCC provide unique opportunities
to the youth for their development.
• Many cadets have given their best to the nation and made the organisation proud by
their remarkable achievements in the fields of adventure and sports.
13.Exercise SURYA KIRAN XIV To Be Held In December

This is a joint military exercise between India and Nepal to be conducted at Salijhandi,
Rupendehi district, Nepal, from 3rd to 16th December 2019. This exercise is important
in terms of security challenges faced by both the countries in the realm of changing
facets of global terrorism.
Key Points
● The aim is to conduct Battalion level combined training between the Indian
Army and Nepal Army.
● This will increase the interoperability in jungle warfare and counter-terrorism

operations. Around three hundred soldiers from the Indian army and Nepal Army
will participate.
● The events will include various counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism

operations.
● They will also include humanitarian assistance operations by both the armies.
The exercise will also enhance disaster relief operations.
● Bilateral relations and level of defense cooperation will be enhanced due to this
exercise between the two countries.
14.India, Singapore to Hold Joint Training Exercise

Indian Air Force and The Republic of Singapore Air force to hold joint military training
from 31st October to 12th December at Kalaikunda Air Force, West Bengal. The exercise
commemorates the 10th edition of the Joint Military Training (JMT).
JMT:
● For the first time, the exercise was expanded to include an air-sea training
component with assets from the Indian Navy.
● The training included both air-to-air and air-to-surface scenarios.
● JMT will provide realistic training and increase operational readiness for IAF
and RSAF.
● The Air Force bilateral agreement was signed between India and Singapore in
2007.It was renewed in 2017, JMT is held under the renewed agreement.
● RSAF deployed six of its advanced F-16 fighter aircraft whereas IAF deployed
six of its Sukhoi combat aircraft.
15.Indian Navy Commissions Sixth Dornier Aircraft Squadron

The Indian Naval Air Squadron 314, called the Raptors, was commissioned by Deputy
Chief of Naval Staff Vice-Admiral MS Pawar. The Squadron is strategically located in the
city of Porbandar, Gujarat. This will give a boost to coastal security near the sea border
with Pakistan.
Highlights:
● The Squadron 314, called Raptors, will operate with four newly inducted, next-
generation Dornier Aircrafts.
● Commissioning of Squadron 314 marks yet another milestone towards

enhancing maritime security.
● It will also enhance surveillance in the North Arabian Sea.
● Owing to its strategic location, the Squadron will act as the first responder in
this crucial region.
International Affairs
1.Syrian Government to draft the New Constitution
150 delegates representing Syria's government, opposition and various

sectors of civil society will meet in Geneva to try drafting a new constitution.
Key Points:
• Syria's 8-year civil war has claimed more than 3.70,000 lives and created 5.6 million
refugees.
• The fight is still on in parts of the country, particularly the north-west and the north-east.
• In the beginning, many Syrians were complaining about high unemployment, corruption
and a lack of political freedom.
• In March 2011, pro-democracy demonstrations erupted in the southern city of Deraa,
inspired by the "Arab Spring" in neighbouring countries.
• The government used deadly force to crush the dissent leading to nationwide protests.
2.India Germany sign Agreements
Five joint declarations were exchanged between India and Germany along with 20 other
agreements.
Key points:
• 17 agreements were signed between India and Germany in the fields of agriculture,
maritime technology, Ayurveda and yoga.
• The joint declarations of intent were about cooperation on strategic projects,
partnership for green urban mobility, research and development on artificial intelligence
and cooperation in the field of prevention of marine litter.
• Agreements were also signed to promote, establish and expand scientific and
technological research cooperation, academic collaboration in Ayurveda, yoga and
meditation.
• An MoU was signed in the field of occupational diseases, rehabilitation and vocational
training of insured persons and workers with disabilities.
3. India refused to join RCEPs agreement
India has denied joining the mega Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
(RCEP) agreement as RCEP failed to address the negotiations raised by India.
India to not join RCEP Agreement:
• Despite the concerns, India raised a red flag over the move to use 2014 as the base year
for tariff reduction.
• RCEP negotiators are to sign the deal in 2020. The new tariff regime by RCEP will be in
practice from 2022, and the duties will be of 2014 levels.
• RCEP Agreement does not reflect the basic spirit of India and the agreed guiding
principles of RCEP.
• It does not address India's outstanding issues and concerns satisfactorily. Hence, it is
not possible for India to join the RCEP Agreement.
Key Points:
• India raised concerns which include the threat of circumvention of Rules of Origin due
to tariff differential. It failed to address the issues of trade deficits and the opening of
services.
• Indian also questioned the design of the trade agreement along with the previous
services and investment rules. The plan will see the elimination of import duties on 80-
90% of goods.
• The biggest concern of India is goods trade. The domestic industries of India feared
that the lower customs duty would see a flood of imports, especially from China, with
which India has a massive trade deficit.
• India has also raised regarding the issue of unavailability of Most Favoured Nation
(MFN) obligations with which it would be forced to give similar benefits to RCEP
countries that it gave to others.
RCEP:
It aims to create the biggest free-trade region in the world. The RCEP comprises 10
Asean nations and six of its free trade agreement (FTA) partners, namely India, China,
Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
4. Sheikh Khalifa has been reelected as the President of the UAE
Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has been re-elected as the President of the UAE by
the UAE Supreme Council. He has been elected for a fourth five-year term. The Council
would now continue to lead the UAE to strengthen its pillars of the Union and its
prosperity.
Key Points:
• Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan was born in 1948 in Al Muwaiji Fort, Al Ain. In 1966,
he was appointed as Ruler’s Representative in the Eastern Region.
• He was first elected President on 3 November 2004. He was elected after his father’s
death, Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
• On 1st February 1969, he was named Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
• In May 1976, he was named as the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed
Forces.
• President Khalifa led the country towards the achievement stage that contributed to
empowering the Emirati citizens, and the prosperity of the UAE, and its prominence
locally and globally.
5. The ninth edition of the Dhaka Lit-fest
The ninth edition of the Dhaka Lit Fest (DLF) was inaugurated at the Bangla Academy in
Dhaka.
Key Points:
• It is an internationally-recognised literary festival.
• Its main focus is to bring together western and South Asian writers and intellectuals.
• This year the guests include award-winning author and Booker prize finalist Monica Ali,
iconic author of Bangla literature Sankar, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Jeffrey
Gettleman, historian William Dalrymple, writer Shashi Tharoor and DSC Prize-winning
writer HM Naqvi.
• The highlight of this year will be a screening of “Hasina: A Daughter’s Tale”.

• Many panel sessions will be dedicated to freedom of expression and women’s rights.
• It is going to be the venue for the Gemcon Literary Awards, which will be hosted by DLF.
6. India and Russia to set up cybersecurity
Recently, there have been reports of a cyberattack on the Kudankulam nuclear power
plant which was built by a global nuclear major, Rosatom.
Key points:–
• The Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu is a joint venture between India and
Russia.
• The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited has informed Russian authorities that
the plant is safe and additional steps have been taken to enhance its security further.
The Russian authorities are working with Indian agencies to stop any further attacks.
• Recently, in the BRICS summit it was reiterated that dealing with the challenge of
terrorism will be a focus area, and setting up of a number of working groups to deal with
terror financing and transnational crimes will be on priority.
Kudankulam nuclear power plant

· Kudankulam nuclear power plant commissioned on 22 October 2013.
· It is located 650km south of Chennai, in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, India.
· It is operated by Nuclear Power Corporation of India.
7. First-ever International Buyer-Seller Meet
The first-ever International Buyer-Seller Meet is held in Arunachal Pradesh. It is

organized by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development
Authority (APEDA) under the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and
Industry.
Key Points:
• Ten International buyers from seven countries of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia,
UAE, Sultanate of Oman and Greece participated in the meet and spoke with the
exporters.
• This meeting encourages the world nations to take a look at the products of the nation
and also boosts the trade of the North-eastern region of the country.
• This meeting also provides the market linkages to the Northeastern region and
promotes the exports of agricultural produce.
8. Gotabaya Rajapaksa to be sworn in as new President of Sri Lanka
Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the Sri Lankan presidential election. Gotabaya Rajapaksa
fought against ruling party candidate Sajith Premadasa. Sri Lanka's Election
Commission released the final result. As per the result, Rajapaksa secured victory with
52.25% of the vote. Rajapaksa is to take oath as President of Sri Lanka on 18 November
in a ceremony in the central town of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.
Key Points:
• The 2019 presidential election of Sri Lanka was the 8th presidential election. The
election was held on 16 November 2019.
• The election was held as the incumbent President Maithripala Sirisena's term of office
ends on 9 January 2020.
• The result was announced on 17 November 2019.
• Sri Lanka is a South Asian island country located in the Indian Ocean.
Sri Lanka: President: Maithripala Sirisena

Prime Minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe
Currency: Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
Capital: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
Official languages: Sinhala, Tamil
Economy, Banking & Financial Affairs
1. New IT initiatives called ICEDASH and Atithi
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 4th November 2019 unveiled two new IT
initiatives, Atithi and ICEDASH, to improve monitoring and pace of customs clearance of
imported goods.
Key Points:
• The new measures by the Central Board of Indirect taxes and Customs (CBIC) aim to
leverage technology to provide better service for taxpayers.
• These initiatives would act as key drivers for further improvement as they reduce the
interface and increase the transparency of Customs functioning.
• The significant improvement in India’s global ranking in the trading across the border is
because of the IT and other reforms carried out by CBIC.
About ICEDASH and Atithi:

• Both the initiatives ICEDASH and ATITHI are expected to reduce interface and increase
the transparency of Customs functioning.
• ATITHI would create a tech-savvy image of India Customs. It also aims to encourage
tourism and business travel to India.
• With ICEDASH, Indian Customs is aiming to provide an effective tool that would help the
businesses to compare clearance times across ports and plan their logistics
accordingly. The dashboard was developed by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and
Customs (CBIC) in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
Note:
• CBIC is India’s nodal national agency which is responsible for administering GST,
Central Excise, Customs, Service Tax & Narcotics in the country.
• The National Informatics Centre (NIC) is the premier science and technology
organisation of the Govt of India in informatics services and information and
communication technology applications.
2. The Expenditure Finance Committee has estimated the cost for the
Census 2021 to be around Rs.8,754 crore
The Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) has estimated the cost for the Census for
the year 2021 to be around Rs.8,754 crore. The nationwide exercise would be conducted
in 16 different languages. The announcement about Census 2021 was made by the
Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai.
Key Points:
• Certain suggestions are given by the Technical Advisory Committee, and a few changes
have been made.
• The reference date for the census would be on 1st March 2021. But for regions like
Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, it will be 1st October 2020.
• The Census would be conducted in two phases: House listing and housing census from
April to September 2020; Population Enumeration during 9-28 February 2021.
• This census would be conducted through a mobile phone application, which tries to
move away from the traditional pen and paper to boost Digital India.
3. The authorised capital of Food Corporation of India increased to

Rs.10000 cr from Rs.3500 cr
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which is chaired by the Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, has approved to increase the authorised capital of Food Corporation of
India (FCI) from the existing 3,500 crore rupees to 10,000 crore rupees.
Key Points:
• Additional equity capital would be infused in the FCI through the Union Budget, to
fund the foodgrains stock which is perpetually held by FCI.
• By doing this, it will reduce the borrowings of FCI, save its interest cost and
reduce food subsidy in consequence.
• The operations of the FCI are required to maintain a stock of foodgrains which
needs to be funded by the Government of India through equity or a long-term
loan.
• The present authorised equity capital of it is Rs 3,500 cr and the paid-up equity
capital as on March 31, 2019, is Rs 3,447.58 cr.
About FCI:
• FCI was initiated under the Food Corporations Act 1964, to implement the food
policy of the government.
• The primary objective is to ensure Minimum Support Price (MSP) to farmers,
maintain a buffer stock of foodgrains besides distribution of foodgrains under
the National Food Security Act and other welfare schemes of the central
government.
Geography & Environment
1. Climate emergency
In a paper that was published in the journal Bioscience, around 11,258 signatories out of
which 69 are from India declared Global Climate Emergency. They presented climate
change trends and methods to mitigate the threat. The report was titled “World
Scientists.”
Key Points:
• It is based on a scientific analysis of more than 40 years of publicly available data. It
illustrates several key climate change indicators since the scientists from 50 nations
met at the First World Climate Conference in Geneva in 1979.
• The scientists presented a list of measures called “Vital Signs” that better represent
climate change. It includes measures of human activities that can change climates like
air travel, meat production and fertility rate. These activities have been termed as
backward steps that are worsening climate change further. In 20 years, the world
fertility rate has reduced greatly claims the report.
• They presented 14 measures of impacts of climate change like the number of extreme
weather events, ocean acidity, ocean heat content, etc.
• Massive energy efficiency and conservation practices to cut out “Neither use nor dig out
fossils under the earth.”
• The following are the six key objectives of the report
1.Replacing fossil fuels
2.Restoring and protecting ecosystems
3.Cutting pollutants like methane and soot
4. Stabilising population growth
5.Converting the economy to carbon-free
6. Eating less meat
2. Zero carbon target law
New Zealand makes 'zero carbon' target law. The legislation, which was supported both
sides of the political divide, mandates that the country should produce no greenhouse
gases except for methane by 2050, as part of New Zealand's bid to meet its Paris
climate accord commitments.
Key Points:
• Methane is a by-product of the key agricultural sector will be cut by 24-47% over the
same time frame.
• The bill would help in establishing an independent Climate Change Commission that
would advise the government on how to achieve its targets and to produce "carbon
budgets" every five years saying how many emissions will be allowed in that particular
period.
• New Zealand is one among 65 countries that have pledged to achieve net-zero carbon
emissions by 2050, but not all have enshrined the target in law.
Zero-emission is referred to a motor, engine, or any other energy source, that would emit
no waste products that disrupt the climate or pollute the environment.
3. Dal Lake to be declared Eco-Sensitive Zone
The J&K Government has set up a ten-member committee to declare Dal Lake and its
surrounding areas as an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ), following the concerns over its
shrinking size. The decision is being taken based on the study that was conducted by
the Dredging Corporation of India (DCI).
Key Points:
• Encroachments and Pollution have resulted in the Dal Lake shrinking from its original
area of 22 square kilometres to about 10 square kilometres, according to an
assessment by the Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) in 2017.
• The DCI has found that the world-famous lake’s capacity has shrunk to about 40 per
cent and that its water quality has deteriorated.
• This committee shall finalise the draft notification within a span of one month, all the
facilities and infrastructure to the committee shall be provided by the Housing and
Urban Development Department.
• Night Soil discharge from 800-900 houseboats is polluting the water body.
About Eco-Sensitive Zones:
Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) /Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFAs) are areas within 10 km
around Protected Areas, Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks. Eco-Sensitive Zones
are notified by the MoEFCC, Govt of India under the Environment Protection Act 1986. In
certain cases with sensitive corridors, crucial for landscape linkage, even area beyond
10 km width can also be included in the ESZ. The main aim is to regulate few activities
around the Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks so as to minimise the negative
impacts of such activities on the fragile ecosystem encompassing the protected areas.
4. Researchers have found an aquatic environment on Earth with a complete absence of

any form of life
Researchers have found an aquatic environment on Earth with a complete absence of

any forms of life. This may lead to an improved understanding of the limits of
habitability. Scientists are of the opinion that it is one of the most torrid environments
on the planet with daily temperatures in winter exceeding 45 degrees Celsius.
Key Points:
• The study which was published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution revealed
that any form of microbial life was absent in the hot, saline, hyper acid ponds of the
Dallol geothermal field in Ethiopia.
• The researchers which include those from the Spanish Foundation for Science and
Technology (FECYT) explain Dallol's landscape extends over a volcanic crater full of
salt, which continually releases toxic gases with water boiling especially amid the
intense hydrothermal activity.
• The landscape had abundant hypersaline and hyper acid pools, with pH which is
measured on a scale from 0, i.e., very acidic to 14, i.e., very alkaline even hitting the
negative mark.
• Earlier studies show that certain microorganisms can develop in this multi-extreme
environment and researchers presented this place as an example of the limits of
conditions that can support life.
• They have verified that there's no microbial life in these salty, hot and hyper acid pools
or in the adjacent magnesium-rich brine lakes.
5. Sumatran Rhinos goes extinct
The Sumatran rhinoceros, which is the world’s smallest rhino, became extinct in
Malaysia. The rhino was named Iman which died of cancer on 23rd November. She had
uterine tumours since her capture in March 2014.
Key Points:
• According to estimates, there are fewer than 100 Sumatran rhinos that are left in the
wild. This is because of poaching and industrial-scale deforestation which have
destroyed the natural habitats.
• Approximately there are 24,500 rhinos which are now alive in the wild, while 1250 are
surviving in captivity, of which more than two-thirds are white rhinos.
• The last Sumatran rhino in Malaysia was declared extinct in the year 2015, and
Malaysia’s last male Sumatran rhino died in May this year. Yet another female, Puntung,
had died in captivity in 2017.
• Malaysia had tried to increase the numbers of their Sumatran rhino in captivity through
in-vitro fertilisation since 2011 but failed.
• Now, the Sumatran rhino is almost no more available in the wild. There are only 30 to 80
rhinos surviving, mostly on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and on the Indonesian side
of Borneo.
• The Sumatran, the Javan and the Black rhinoceros are critically endangered, as
identified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) red list.
• Javan and Indian rhinoceros possess a single horn, whereas the African and Sumatran
rhinoceros have two horns.
Threats:
• Rhinos are poached for their horns which are ground up and used for their alleged
medical properties even though they are made of keratin, the same protein that makes
up human hair and nails.
• The rise in the demand for palm oil is another threat for the Sumatran rhino as vast
areas of rainforests in Indonesia and Malaysia were cleared for palm tree plantation.
Government Policies, Schemes and Programmes
1.Fastag/Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) scheme
Fastag/Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) scheme began at the toll plaza at Hejmady
village in Udupi district for the trial run of 12 lanes.
Key points:
• Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari, will
enable all toll lanes with Fastags.
• The scheme is Initiated by the Ministry to ensure hassle-free movement and also
to facilitate convenient mode of toll payment
• The toll plaza at Hejmady was one of the 10 toll plazas in the State that have
been selected for the trial runs for Fastags/ETC.
• Fastag enables vehicle owners to cross toll plazas quickly.
• FASTag is an e-toll collection system in India, operated by the National Highway
Authority of India (NHAI).
• It uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for making toll
payments directly from the account linked to it.
2.Mihir Shah Committee to draft New National Water Policy
• The Union Water Resources Ministry has finalized a committee to draft a new
National Water Policy (NWP). It will be chaired by Mihir Shah and he is a former
Planning Commission member and a water expert.
• There are 10 principal members in the committee, including Shashi Shekhar, a
former Secretary of Water Resources, and A.B. Pandya, former chairman of the
Central Ground Water Board.
National Water Policy (NWP)

· The National Water Policy currently in force was drafted in 2012 and it is the third
such policy since 1987.
· The major policy innovations in the 2012 policy was the concept of an Integrated
Water Resources Management approach that took the “river basin/ sub-basin” as a unit
for planning, development and management of water resources.
· It proposed that a portion of river flows ought to be kept aside to meet.
Responsibilities of the National Water Policy (NWP)
1.Irrigation reform
2. River rejuvenation
3. Aquifer mapping and participatory groundwater management

4. Water security
5. Urban and industrial water management
6. Water quality
7. Data management and transparency
8. Knowledge management and capacity building
3.National Mission “Nishtha” Launched in J & K
National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA)
launched in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It’s formal inauguration held by
Commissioner Secretary, School Education Department, Sarita Chauhan.
About NISHTHA Programme:
• NISHTHA is a National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic

Advancement.
• Around 300 teachers, Key Resource Persons (KRPs) and Chief Education Officers,
DIET Principals and Educational Administrators will attend this event.
• The aim of this programme is to motivate and equip teachers to encourage thinking
in students.
• NISHTHA is being launched across the country and a total of 86000 Elementary
teachers of Government Schools being trained in J&K under the programme.
The main aim of this programme is to build the capacities of around 42 lakh
participants covering:
(a) All teachers and heads of elementary Government schools
(b) Faculty members of State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs)
and District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) and
(c) Block Resource Coordinators and Cluster Resource Coordinators in all States and
UTs.
The teachers will develop their skills under the programme, on various aspects related
to:
(a) Learning Outcomes
(b) School Safety and Security
(c) ICT in teaching and learning including Artificial Intelligence
(d) Environmental Concerns and
(e) School-Based Assessment.
Under the scheme the training will be conducted by 33120 Key Resource Persons and
State Resource Persons identified by the respective States and UTs and they will be
trained by 120 National Resource Persons from NCERT, CBSE, NIEPA, Kendriya
Vidyalaya Sangathan, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, NGOs and UNICEF.
4.Arundhati Gold Scheme
The Assam government on 20th November 2019 announced that it would gift 10 grams
of gold to every adult bride if she has studied at least up to class 10 and her marriage is
registered.
Key Points:
• There are also other conditions to avail the benefit of the ''Arundhati Gold
Scheme'', which would cost the state exchequer approximately at Rs. 800 crores
per annum.
• The scheme will commence from January 1 2020. Every girl will be given total
(10 grams) of gold during her marriage, provided the marriage is registered. The
main focus is to get the marriages registered.
• Approximately 3 Lakh marriages happen every year in Assam, but only 50,000-
60,000 are registered.
• Provided the annual family income of the bride should be less than Rs. 5 Lakh to
avail the benefit of the scheme. Once this scheme is launched, the Government
will be able to increase the registration to 2-2.5 lakh.
• It is clarified that the benefit will be given only in case of the first marriage of the
girl and it has to be registered under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
5.National Policy to speed up Gas Infrastructure
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has constituted a high-level
committee to frame a national policy on City Gas Distribution (CGD) with the objective
to speed up the development of infrastructure for supplying piped natural gas to
households as well as Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for automobiles and industrial
units. The committee is constituted especially due to delay that is faced in getting
approvals for new City Gas Distribution (CGD) at the State level.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB)

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has been constituted under
“The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act, 2006”, to protect the interests of
consumers and the entities who are engaged in activities relating to petroleum,
petroleum products, natural gas and to promote competitive markets.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) also regulates the refining,
processing, storage, transportation, distribution, marketing and sale of petroleum,
petroleum products and natural gas excluding production of crude oil and natural gas
and ensures uninterrupted and adequate supply of petroleum, petroleum products and
natural gas in all parts of the country.
Note:
The coverage of geographical areas increased from 78 at the end of 2017 to 229 at
present, covering about 71% of the country’s population as against 20% two years ago.
6.Food Processing Scheme: 271 crores cleared by IMAC
An Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee under the chairmanship of Minister of Food

Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal has approved projects worth Rs 271 crore
under the Creation/Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation Capacities (CEFPPC)
scheme.
Key Points:
• CEFPPC projects cover more than 100 agro-climatic zones in the country. Inter-
Ministerial Approval Committee (IMAC) examined if the applicants have
complied with the basic eligibility criterion, total project cost, eligible project cost
and means of finance.
• The emphasis is to create direct employment for youth as well as contribute
towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal to double farmers’ income by
2022.
• The projects would create direct employment of about 9000 and would
emphasise linking agriculture and marketing with modern food processing
technologies.
• This will also aid in implementing the PM Krishi Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) which
aims at developing agro-processing Clusters and agro-marine processing units.
As per the project, subsidies are provided in terms of grants-in-aid that ranges
between 35% and 75%.
PM Kisan SAMPADA Yojana:

• It is a package which will result in the creation of modern infrastructure with
efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlet.
• It will provide a big boost to the growth of the food processing sector in the
country, and it will also help in providing better returns to farmers. It is a leap
towards doubling of farmers income, reducing wastage of agricultural produce,
creating huge employment opportunities, especially in the rural areas, increasing
the processing level and enhancing the export of the processed foods.
• The following schemes will be implemented under the PM Kisan SAMPADA
Yojana:
1. Mega Food Parks
2. Creation/ Expansion of Food Processing/ Preservation Capacities (Unit
Scheme)
3. Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure
4. Infrastructure for Agro-processing Clusters
5. Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages
6. Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure
7. Human Resources and Institutions
Science & Technology
1. Change in the name of the farthest cosmic body
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has changed the name of the
farthest cosmic body that has ever visited by an Aircraft to Arrokoth or Sky from its
previous name of Ultima Thule.
Key Points:
• This change has been done due to the following a backlash over the previous
name's Nazi connotations.
• The icy rock is present beyond the dwarf planet Pluto and it orbits in the Kuiper
belt. This has been found by the New horizons which are a NASA spaceship.
• Its technical designation is 2014 MU69, but the New Horizons previously named it
as Ultima Thule after a Mythical Northern land beyond the known borders of the
world.
• The new official name, which was chosen by the New Horizons team and ratified
by the International Astronomical Union, was announced in a ceremony at NASA.
2. NASA unveils its first electric airplane
NASA unveiled its first all-electric aircraft amid efforts by the aviation industry to cut
emissions of carbon dioxide (C02) from planes to tackle climate changes. The US
space agency showcased the X-57 Maxwell in California on 8th November 2019. It has
been developing the small craft since 2015.
Key Points:
• It has two large 14 electric motors that will ultimately propel the plane - powered
by specially designed lithium-ion batteries.
• It has a newly built simulator which will allow engineers, and pilots, to get the feel
of what it will be like to manoeuvre the finished version of the X-57 in flight, even
as the plane remains under development.
• Maxwell is the latest experimental aircraft the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration had developed over decades. It has many purposes, which
includes the bullet-shaped Bell X-1 that first broke the sound barrier and the X-15
rocket plane flown by Neil Armstrong before he joined the Apollo moon team.
• Electric motor systems are more compact with fewer moving parts than internal-
combustion engines; they are simpler to maintain and weigh much less, requiring
less energy to fly. They also are quieter than conventional engines.
3. NASA has confirmed the presence of water vapour on one of the 79

moons of Jupiter
NASA has confirmed the presence of water vapour on one of the 79 moons of
Jupiter. The researchers detected plume-like forms of water vapour above
Europa's icy surface, which were detected as a wavelength of emitted infrared
light.
Key Points:
• Forty years ago, a Voyager spacecraft snapped the first close-up images
of Europa, one of Jupiter’s 79 moons. These revealed brownish cracks
were slicing the moon’s icy surface, which gives Europa the look of a veiny
eyeball.
• Europa released more than 5,000 pounds of water per second. This
amount of water is enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in only
a few minutes.
• These latest findings by the researchers have reignited a longstanding
theory that an ocean twice of the ones on Earth lays hidden under the
frozen shell of the Europa moon. It is believed that the finding will reveal
the location of this massive alien ocean.
4. Saturn's largest moon Titan gets its first global geologic map
The first map which shows the global geology of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, has been
completed and reveals a dynamic world of dunes, plains, lakes, craters and other
terrains.
Key Points:
• Titan is the only planetary body in our solar system other than Earth known to
have stable liquid on its surface. An interesting fact is that instead of water
raining down from the clouds and filling lakes and seas as on Earth, Titan rains
down methane and ethane — hydrocarbons that we think of as gases but that
behave as liquids in Titan's frigid climate.
• Titan has an active methane-based hydrologic cycle that has shaped a complex
geologic landscape which makes its surface one of most geologically diverse in
the solar system.
• The Cassini mission revealed that Titan is a geologically active world, where the
hydrocarbons like ethane and methane take the role that water has on Earth.
These hydrocarbons rain down on the surface, flow in streams and rivers,
accumulate in lakes and seas and evaporate into the atmosphere.
5. Cartosat-3 mission
ISRO has successfully placed remote sensing satellite, 13 US nano satellites in orbit.
PSLV-C47 which was carrying the Cartosat-3 and the nanosatellites lifted off from the
second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 9.28 am on 27th
November 2019, as scheduled.
Key Points:
• Seventeen minutes later the rocket placed the Cartosat-3 in the polar sun-
synchronous orbit.
• This has added one more to its constellation of remote sensing satellites that
can map the earth with better accuracy. ISRO has so far launched eight Cartosat
satellites since 2005.
• It is Isro's 5th launch in the year 2019, which included Chandrayaaan-2 in July. It
is the 21st flight of PSLV with an XL variant and the 74th mission from the
Sriharikota spaceport.
About Cartosat:
• Cartosat, PSLV, in its 49th flight, has placed 13 nanosatellites from the US in their
orbits. With this, ISRO has totally launched 310 foreign satellites.
• Cartosat-3 is the ninth in the Cartosat series and the first of the third-generation
agile advanced earth observation satellites having high resolution imaging
capability.
• Cartosat-3 is the most complex and advanced earth observation satellite
developed by ISRO so far.
• Cartosat-3 will circle the earth at an altitude of 509km with an inclination of 97.5
degrees.
• As per the space agency, the satellite will be able to address the increased user
demands for large scale urban planning, rural resource, infrastructure
development, coastal land use and land cover and many more. This satellite is
also expected to help in military reconnaissance and mapping.
Awards & Personalities
1.28th Vyas Samman for the year 2018
The 28th Vyas Samman for the year 2018 was conferred on well-known Hindi writer in
New Delhi.
Key Points
• It is an award for an outstanding literary work in Hindi.

• The award was given to Leeladhar Jagoori.
• He was conferred upon the award for his poetry – Jitne Log Utne Prem.
• Renowned Author and Scholar Govind Mishra gave away the award to him.
• Vyas Samman started in the year 1991.
• It is given by K.K. Birla foundation.
2.Top 10 Best Performing CEOs in the World 2019
Three Indian-ORIGIN CHIEF EXECUTIVES HAVE MADE THEIR WAY TO THE TOP 10.
Key Points
• The CEO 100, 2019 Edition was published by the Havard Business Review lists
the 100 best-performing CEOs of the world.
• Jensen Huang, co-founder of NVIDIA is at number 1 position.
• Three Indian-origin chief executives have made their way to the top 10.
• All 3 Indian-origin CEOs are of top IT firms in the US.
• They are Shantanu Narayen (Adobe Inc.), Ajay Banga (Mastercard) and Satya
Nadella (Microsoft).
3.Mother Teresa Memorial Awards for Social Justice 2019
Awardees for the Mother Teresa Memorial Awards for Social Justice (MTMA), were
announced, which is an initiative by the Harmony Foundation.
The theme for the year 2019 is “Combating Contemporary Forms of Slavery”.
Key Points:
• It is endorsed by Missionaries of Charities.

• Harmony Award recognises the exemplary work done in various fields and issues
related to modern-day slavery.
• The Awardees this year are Kailash Satyarthi, Ajeet Singh, DAFOH USA, Free A Girl,
Junior Nzita Nsuami and many more.
• The 2019 edition of the award recognises the exemplary and humanitarian work
done by social activists in fields and issues related to modern forms of slavery and
for victim rehabilitation. The awards are in currently in its 15th year.
• The Harmony Foundation was established in October 2005 by Dr Abraham Mathai
to establish social cohesion between various communities, castes and work.
4.Sumant Kathpalia has been selected as the new MD & CEO of IndusInd Bank
IndusInd Bank has chosen Sumant Kathpalia as the successor to Romesh Sobti.
Sumant Kathpalia is the head of consumer loans at Hindujas promoted lender, and his
name has been forwarded to the Reserve Bank for approval.
Key Points:
• Sumant Kathpalia is a chartered accountant by qualification and has been with
the bank since 2008. Before he joined the IndusInd Bank, he was the head of the
consumer banking business of ABN AMRO. He has also worked with Citibank
and Bank of America.
• Sobti was hoping that RBI would extend the age limit for managing directors
(MD) of private sector banks from 70 to 75 years, which would give him
additional time to continue in the bank. Under the Companies Act, registered
companies can have chief executives who are over 70 years of age by passing a
special resolution. But the Central bank turned down the request, and he will
have to step down after having served as the bank"s CEO since FY08.
• After Indusland Bank, the largest private sector lender HDFC Bank will be the next
in appointing a successor to founder chief executive Aditya Puri, who will also be
turning 70 next year.
5.JCB Prize for Literature for 2019
The JCB Prize for Literature 2019 has been bagged by Madhuri Vijay for her debut novel,
The Far Field. Sir Mark Tully announced the winner in a live broadcast on social media.
She has been selected from a shortlist featuring novels from five accomplished writers.
Vijay is also a recipient of Henfield Prize and the Pushcart Prize.
About JCB Prize:

• It is an annual Indian literary award which was founded in 2018. It is the richest
literary honour in the country. It is awarded to a distinguished work of fiction by
an Indian writer working in English or to a translated fiction by an Indian writer.
• Publishers are allowed to enter two novels that are originally written in English
and two novels that are translated into English from any other language. If in
case the winner whose book has been translated into English from a different
language, then the translator will receive an additional prize of Rs.10 lakh.
6.Aditya Mishra appointed as the chairman of the Land Ports Authority of India
Senior IPS officer Aditya Mishra appointed as the chairman of the Land Ports Authority
of India (LPAI). The appointment of Mishra was approved by the Appointments
Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) as the chairman of the LPAI on the recommendations
of a search-cum-selection panel. It was announced by the Ministry of Personnel, Public
Grievances and Pensions.
Key Points:
• He is a 1989 batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. He is appointed for a term
of five years from the date of the assumption of the charge.
• LPAI develops, sanitises, and manages the facilities for cross-border movement
of passengers and goods at designated points along the international borders of
India.
7.Raja Ram Mohan Roy Award by Press Council of India (PCI)
The PCI has awarded this year’s Raja Ram Mohan Roy National Award for Excellence in
Journalism to Gulab Kothari who is Rajasthan's Patrika group chairman. The awards will
be presented on 16 November 2019 on the occasion of National Press Day.
Key Points:
• The awardees were selected by a jury comprising of eminent members of PCI
like Balwinder Singh, Jai Shankar Gupta and Ashok Upadhyaya among others.
• Other Winners of National Awards for Excellence in Journalism 2019 are as
follows:
• These awards carry a citation and a cash prize of Rs.50000.
1. Gender-Based Reporting category: Anuradha Mascarenhas, Indian Express
Senior Editor and Ruby Sarkar of Deshbandhu are the joint winners
2. Rural Journalism category: Sanjay Saini, Correspondent, Dainik Bhaskar,
Mandi, and Raj Chengappa, Group Editorial Director, India Today, are the
joint winners
3. Developmental Reporting category: Shiva Swarup Awasthi, Senior Reporter
of Dainik Jagran, and Anu Abrahim, Sub-Editor of Matrubhumi, Calicut.
4. Financial Reporting category: Sandeep Singh, Indian Express Associate
Editor and Special Correspondent Krishn Kaushik.
5. Photo Journalism-Single News Picture category: PG Unnikrishnan, Senior
Photographer, The Mathrubhumi, and Akhil E S, News Photographer,
Mathrubhumi.
6. Photo Journalism-Photo Feature category: Sipra Das, Consulting Editor
(Photography), India Empire Magazine and Parliamentarian Magazine.
7. Sports Reporting category: Saurabh Duggal, Hindustan Times.
About National Awards for Excellence in Journalism:

These awards are to recognise the outstanding contribution of journalists or
photojournalists of the country in print journalism.
8.First Indian to be elected to the position of General Vice President (GVP),

International Organisation Development Association (IODA)
Dr Vinaya Shetty from Mumbai India is the first Indian who is elected to the position of
General Vice President, International Organisation Development Association (IODA)
since its inception in 1986.
Key Points:
• In 2016, she was the first Indian woman entrepreneur finalist, for the prestigious
Empretech Woman in Business Award, United Nations Conference Trade and
Development (UNCTAD).
• This was the first time in 20 years since the inception of the award that an Indian
made it to the finals. It was indeed no mean fete considering there were 200
applications from 33 Countries that year.
• IODA is a non-profit association which has members from around 50 countries
that are supporting and initiating organisational and societal change processes
all over the world.
• It is a community as well as a platform for OD (Organisational Development)
professionals to connect, share and exchange ideas.
9.The winners of the Infosys Prize 2019 were announced by Infosys Science Foundation
Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) announced the winners of the Infosys Prize 2019 in
six categories.
Key Points:
• The six categories are

a. Engineering and Computer Sciences
b. Humanities
c. Life Sciences
d. Mathematical Sciences
e. Physical Sciences
f. Social Sciences
• The Prize recognizes the achievements of the recipients in science and research
in each category.
• The prize for each category consists of a pure gold medal, a citation and a prize
purse of USD 100,000 (or its equivalent in Rupees).
• The Infosys Prize 2019 for Engineering and Computer Science is given to Sunita
Sarawagi for her research in databases, data mining.
• The Infosys Prize 2019 for Humanities is given to Manu V. Devadevan, for his
original and wide-ranging work on pre-modern South India.
• The Infosys Prize 2019 for Life Sciences is given to Manjula Reddy for her
groundbreaking discoveries which concern the structure of cell walls in bacteria.
• The Infosys Prize 2019 for Mathematical Sciences is given to Siddhartha Mishra
for his outstanding contributions to Applied Mathematics
• The Infosys Prize 2019 for Physical Sciences is given to G. Mugesh for his
seminal work in the chemical synthesis of small molecules and nanomaterial for
biomedical applications.
• The Infosys Prize 2019 for Social Sciences is given to Anand Pandian, for his
imaginative work on ethics, selfhood and the creative process.
10.RBS Earth Heroes Awards
RBS India declared the winners of the 9th edition of the RBS Earth Heroes Awards
(REHA).
Key Points:
• RBS is the innovation and operations hub of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
• The awards were given to those who have played a significant role in combating
climate change, the theme for the 2019 awards.
• The theme for this year was – Climate Change.
• The awards recognise the courage and determination of individuals and
institutions who went beyond their call of duty with an aim to preserve and
protect the environment.
• Some of the winners are – Bholu Abrar Khan, Ela Foundation, Pramila Bishnoy.
11.New Assam NRC Coordinator appointed
Hitesh Dev Sarma is appointed as the new State Coordinator for the National Register of
Citizens (NRC) in Assam.
Key Points:
• He was the Assam Civil Service officer until now.

• The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register which is maintained by
the Government of India.
• NRC contains names relevant information for identification of Indian citizens

of Assam state.
• The register is specifically made for Assam state.
• The North-East Indian state of Assam is the first state in India where
updating the NRC is being taken up.
• Mr Sarma will look into those persons who have been excluded from the
NRC and have 120 days to appeal against it at Foreigners Tribunals.
• If they are not satisfied with the verdict of the tribunals, they will have the
option to move the High Court and the Supreme Court for redress.
• The updated final NRC, which validates bonafide Indian citizens of Assam,
left out over 1.9 million applicants.
• Mr Sarma has replaced Prateek Hajela as NRC coordinator.
12.Former Chief Election Commissioner passes away
Tirunellai Narayana Iyer Seshan, 87 years old was the man behind several electoral
reforms passed away due to a cardiac arrest. He was not well for the past couple of
years. He was the 10th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). He served between 1990
and 1996.
Key Points:
• He was a 1955 batch retired IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre. He was born in
Palakkad district of Kerala. Before becoming a CEC, he served around 18 cabinet
secretaries. He also won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for his services in 1986.
The award is considered as Asia’s Nobel Prize.
• He is credited for introducing Election Commission’s constitutional powers that
keep the politicians under check.
• During his tenure, two additional Election Commissioners were appointed by the
centre.
• The following laws were implemented during his period
1. Implementation of strict Code of Conduct.

2. A limit was imposed on the election expenditure of the candidate
3. Issuance of voter IDs
• During his period the CEC, the following was made offensive:
1. Bribing voters
2. Distributing alcohol during elections
3. Approaching voters to appeal on caste or community basis
4. Using official machinery for campaigning
5. Using worship places for campaigning
13.Wildlife biologist K. Ullas Karanth awarded the Wildlife Conservation Society’s

George Schaller Lifetime Award in Wildlife Conservation Science
Wildlife biologist K. Ullas Karanth was awarded the Wildlife Conservation Society’s
George Schaller Lifetime Award in Wildlife Conservation Science for his contribution to
the field of conservation. He is the First Recipient of The Wildlife Conservation Society's
George Schaller Lifetime Award in Wildlife Conservation Science.
About Dr K. Ullas Karanth:
• He joined the WCS in the year 1988 and was inspired to become a wildlife
biologist by the work of Dr Schaller. He is currently the Director of Centre for
Wildlife Studies, Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• His research is described as a pioneering and groundbreaking with focus on the
ecology of tigers, predator-prey population ecology, sympatric predators and
other large mammals, and mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts.
• He has also provided research expertise to projects across many countries which
include Indonesia, Russia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Lao PDR, Africa,
Myanmar and Latin America.
About the Award:

• This award is instituted by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), New York.
• It is named after WCS’s Dr George Schaller who is considered to be one of the
greatest wildlife scientists and conservationists globally.
• The Lifetime Award was created to honour WCS colleagues for outstanding
contributions to saving wildlife and wild places.
14.National Entrepreneurship Award conferred to Mahendra Nath Pandey
The National Entrepreneurship Awards is conferred on entrepreneurs. The Minister of

Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Mahendra Nath Pandey conferred the National
Entrepreneurship Awards 2019 to Enterprises and Ecosystem builders on Saturday in
New Delhi.
Key Points:
• The 4th edition of the award ceremony was organised on 9th November to mark
the completion of 5 years of setting up of the Ministry of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship in 2014.
• This award aims to recognise and honour the outstanding young First-Generation
Entrepreneurs, and Ecosystem builders for their outstanding contribution in
entrepreneurship development. It seeks to instil and entrench the entrepreneurial
attitude among future generations and the Youth of India.
• This award had 6098 applications which were received online. Later 4134 were
eligible applications which then underwent field assessment and regional online
evaluation, which was undertaken by 12 partner institutes, spread across the
country.
• National Jury, chaired by Dr R A Mashelkar and experts from industry, business
and academics then selected the final winners. There were three categories of
competition for entrepreneurs.
1. A1 category for initial investments up to Rs 1 lakh.
2. A2 category for initial investments between Rs 1 lakh -Rs 10 Lakh.
3. A3 category for initial investment between Rs 10 lakh -Rs 1 Crore.
• Various sectors were selected for the awards, and there were four special
categories, which includes Women Entrepreneur, Entrepreneur from People with
Disability category, Entrepreneur from SC/ST Category, Entrepreneur from
difficult areas.
• The Award Winners received a Trophy, Certificate and a Cash Prize of ₹5 lakh for
enterprises/ individuals and ₹10 lakh for organisations/ institutes.
15.Avneet Sidhu was honoured with Guru Nanak Dev Ji Achievers Award
A City-based former international shooter Avneet Sidhu, who is a DSP with the Punjab
Police, was honoured with Guru Nanak Dev Ji Achievers Award during a state-level
function at Sultanpur Lodhi. The state government has acknowledged 550 Punjabis who
achieved success in their fields.
Key Points:
• Chief Minister Amarinder Singh presented the award.
• Avneet was awarded for her contribution to the field of sports.
Avneet Sidhu:
She was born in 1981 and started her shooting career in 2001. In 2006, She secured
gold and silver in the 18th Commonwealth Games that was held in Melbourne. In the
same year, Avneet won a bronze medal in the 15th Asian Games held in Doha, Qatar.
She won bronze in the 11th Asian Shooting Championship held in Kuwait. In March
2008, she won a gold medal AISL Australia Cup II held in Sydney, Australia. She took
part in 28 international competitions and 12 world cups in her shooting career. Avneet
has won over 100 medals in different competitions. On 29 August 2008, she was
conferred Arjuna Award by the President of India. She also received Maharaja Ranjit
Singh Award.
16.Shafqat Mehmood elected as the President of UNESCO’s Education Commission
Shafqat Mehmood, Minister for Education and Professional Training has been
consentaneous elected as President of UNESCO’s prestigious Education Commission in
Paris.
Key points
• It’s an honor for Pakistan and an acknowledgment of its commitment to UNESCO's
work in the field of education as per the Minister term.
• According to the Minister the President of UNESCO's Education Commission, he would
work closely with all delegations in a constructive manner in pursuance of UNESCO's
objectives.
• As per Shafqat Mahmood, he said that at least 1.5 million Kashmiri students were not
able to attend schools since the unilateral and illegal revocation of Kashmir’s autonomy
by India on 5th August.
• There are many bilateral meetings with Ministers of Education of Bangladesh, Norway
and Tunisia held by the Minister separately.
• The Minister met with assistant director generals of UNESCO for Education and Culture.
• Shafqat Mahmood Invocationed UNESCO to use its moral authority to persuade the
Indian government to lift restrictions and restore the fundamental rights of the people of
Indian Occupied Kashmir.
17.Sardar Patel National Unity Award-2020
The online nominations/recommendations process for Sardar Patel National Unity

Award is on and the last date for nominations/recommendations is 30th November
2019. The nominations/recommendations are still being received online in the Ministry
of Home Affairs website.
Key Points:
• Govt of India has instituted the highest civilian award in the field of contribution
to the unity and integrity of India, in the name of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. This
award seeks to recognise notable and inspiring contributions to promote the
cause of national unity and integrity and also to reinforce the value of a strong
and united India.
• All citizens, without distinction of religion, caste, race, gender, age or occupation,
place of birth and any institution or organisation would be eligible for the Award.
• Any Indian National or organisation or institution based in India would be able to
nominate an individual for consideration for this Award. Individual may also
choose themselves. State Governments, UT Administrations and Ministries of
Government of India may also send nominations.
18.Shripad Yesso Naik conferred the Rejoice National Ayush Awards

Ayush Minister Shripad Yesso Naik conferred the Rejoice National Ayush Awards to
health sector entities at a mega event on 17 November 2019.
Key Points:
• This event was organised by the Rejoice Health Foundation, along with its
various partner organisations and universities.
• The mega event aimed to Honour the AYUSH Doctors, Scientists, Colleges, and
Universities to promote and celebrate AYUSH Day.
Rejoice National Ayush Award:

This was initiated by the Rejoice Health Foundation. The organisation is a promoter of
mankind's health services in the country. It has taken many efforts to take care of
specially abled-children through the application of the AYUSH system.
19.Indira Gandhi Peace Prize for 2019
Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2019 will be conferred on
renowned naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.
Key Points:
• Attenborough was selected for the 2019 prize by an international jury chaired
by former President Pranab Mukherjee. He is being awarded the prize for a
lifetime of doing more to reveal the wonders of the natural world to people
than perhaps any other individual.
• Attenborough has worked hard to awaken the humankind about the need to-
preserve and protect the biodiversity of the planet, so as to live in a
sustainable and harmonious way with all life. He also advocated for stopping
what he has called: ‘a plague on earth’.
About the Award:

• It is an annual prestigious award named after the former prime minister Indira
Gandhi. This is conferred each year by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust since
1986. It will consist a citation and a monetary award of Rs.25 lakh.
• The award would recognise the creative efforts that are made by individuals
or organisations that work towards creating a new international economic
order, promoting international peace & development and also ensures that
scientific discoveries would be used for the larger good of humanity and it
would also enlarge the scope of freedom.
20.International Children's Peace Prize
The International Children’s Peace Prize is awarded annually to a child who fights for
children’s rights. Recently Divina Maloum of Cameroon, joint winner of the 2019
Children's Peace Prize with climate change activist Greta Thunberg, poses for a picture
prior to the award ceremony in The Hague, Netherlands, on 20th November 2019.
Greta Thunberg: She is a 16 year old girl who has the climate activist from Sweden and
has been awarded an International Children's Peace Prize. She was awarded for her
work in the struggle against climate change. It had reverberated with school children
across the world.
Divina Maloum: She is a 15 year old girl from Cameroon and she was rewarded for her
efforts in promoting children's rights by visiting the school to warn students against
joining armed groups, such as Boko Haram.
About International Children's Peace Prize:
• Firstly in 2005, Mikhail Gorbachev presented this prize, which was awarded to Nkosi
Johnson, for international attention to children with HIV/AIDS.
• An international children's aid and advocacy organisation located in Amsterdam,
Netherlands.
• The award constitutes a cash prize of €100,000 ($123,000) and the prize is an
initiative of Marc Dullaert, founder of the KidsRights Foundation and the winner also
receives the statuette ‘Nkosi’, which shows how a child sets the world in motion.
21.Manisha Kulshreshtha won 28th Bihari Puraskar Award
Manisha Kulshreshtha has been awarded the 'Bihari Award' of 2018 for her Novel
Swapnapash. 'Bihari Award' is given annually to an outstanding work in Hindi or
Rajasthani published in the past ten years.
Key points:
• Manisha Kulshrestha was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and lives in Jaipur.
• She is a graduate in science and postgraduate in Hindi literature.
• She suffers from schizophrenia.
• This novel written in a very complex mood brings out many aspects of the mental
illness of the heroine, her feelings and hallucinations.
• In this novel, the artistry with which the writer has presented the story to the
readers was considered to be a unique experiment of its kind.
• Before this, three more novels of Manisha 'Shigaf', 'Shalabhanjika' and
'Panchakanya' have been published and she has written a book called 'Birju
Laya'.
• Manisha has received several prestigious awards including the Rajasthani
Raghav Award, Vanamali Award, Ghasiram Verma Award, among others.
• The decision to award Manisha Kulshreshtha has been decided by a committee
headed by Nand Bhardwaj, comprising Hemant Sesha, Muralidhar Vaishnav, Alka
Sarawagi, Om Thanvi, and Foundation Director Suresh Rituparna.
• Prize money of Rs 2.5 lakh will be given to Manisha Kulshrestha.
About 'Bihari Award':–

• This award, instituted in 1991 AD by KK Birla Foundation in the name of Mahakavi
Bihari.
• The award is given for contribution in the field of literature, is given only to a writer
from Rajasthan.
• In this award, a cash prize of Rs. 2.5 lakh, a citation, and a plaque will be given to the
winners.
• The first award was given to Dr. Jaisingh Neeraj in 1991 for his poetry collection
'Dhani Ka Man'.
22.Suman Billa has been appointed as the director in UNWTO
Suman Billa, who is a former director and secretary of Kerala Tourism, has been
appointed as the director, technical cooperation and silk road development at DI level
of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
Key Points:
• He will be joining at UNWTO's headquarters in Madrid, Spain.

• The appointment was approved by the Prime Minister-headed appointments
committee of the Cabinet (ACC) at its meeting held in New Delhi.
• He will hold the post for a tenure of two years, initially. He will assume charge
soon as the director of UNWTO.
• It aims to promote a responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
About UNWTO:
• This is a United Nations specialised agency which constantly works towards
promoting sustainable, responsible and universally accessible tourism.
• This was founded 43 years ago on October 1975 and is headquartered in Madrid,
Spain.
• Parent organization: United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNESCO).
• Members: 158 countries, six territories and more than 500 affiliate members.
• Its members represent the private sector, educational institutions, tourism
associations and local tourism authorities
23. NDTV Wins International Press Institute Of India Award For Excellence in
Journalism
Indias’s private news channel has been awarded the International Press Institute of
India award for excellence in journalism, by the India chapter of the Vienna based
International Press Institute. This award was given to NDTV for its ‘expose of the
conspiracy to scuttle’ the Kathua rape and murder case probe.
Highlights:
● A jury of eminent editors headed by Soli Sorabjee, former Attorney General of

India unanimously selected NDTV for this award.
● NDTV also exposed political hypocrisy across the political spectrum, NDTV
was awarded for this excellence in journalism.
About International Press Institute of India Award
● This award was instituted in 2003 by IPI.
● It recognizes and honors excellence in journalism by an Indian Media,

organization, Journalist in print, TV and internet medium.
● Furtherance of public interest, freedom of the Press and safeguarding human

rights are taken into consideration before giving this award.
● The award comprises a trophy, a citation and a cash prize of Rs 2Lakh.
● The first IPI Award for Excellence in Journalism was given in 2003 to Indian
Express for reporting Gujarat Riots.
● In 2004 NDTV had won this award for exposing baby-swapping racket in
Hyderabad, Telgi Stamp corruption trail.
● Tehelka, Hindustan Times and Karan Thapar are some other awardees.
● The International Press Institute was founded in October 1950, by a group of

editors from 15 countries.
● It has become a truly global organization committed to further freedom of the

press.
● India chapter of IPI has an active forum of editors, publishers, senior executives of
newspapers.
Books & Authors
1.A book titled The Unquiet River to be released
A book titled The Unquiet River: A biography of the Brahmaputra written by historian
Arupjyoti Saikia will be released in the month of November 2019.
Key Points:
• The subject of a new book is The Brahmaputra river that has shaped both the
landscape of the Assam valley and the livelihoods of its inhabitants.
• The book reimagines the layered history of Assam with the river at the centre.
• It is written by historian Arupjyoti Saikia.
• It is published by Oxford University Press (OUP).
• According to the publishers, the book is an "evocative" and "compelling" for
everyone trying to understand the past and the present of the river.
• The book will hit the stands in November.
2.CJI Ranjan Gogoi released the Assamese version of the book "Courts of India" in
Guwahati
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi released the Assamese version of the book
'Courts of India: Past to Present' in Guwahati on 10th Nov 2019. The Publication Division
published this book. Mr Gogoi termed this book as the architecture of justice. He said
the book would explain the Indian justice system.
Key Points:
• He also emphasised that the law students go through the book. Chief Minister of
Assam Sarbananda Sonowal, Chief Justice of India designate Sharad Arvind
Bobde along with other dignitaries also attended the event.
• The book will be provided to all government libraries in Assam. In his address,
Justice Bobde termed the book as one of the most excellent compilations. The
book would also get translated in other languages too.
• This event was also attended by the Principal Director General of All India Radio
News and Publication Division Ira Joshi. The book has captured the historical
developments which took place in the history of the nation's courts. The various
chapters of the book narrate the historical events of the court.
Important Days, Dates & Years
1. World Tsunami Awareness Day
Every year, November 5th is observed as the World Tsunami Day which is marked by the
United Nations (UN). The UN-designated this day in the year 2015. This day will promote
Target of the Sendai Seven Campaign that focuses on reducing disaster damage to
critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services.
History:
This date was chosen in honour of a Japanese farmer of the very popular story
“Inamura-no-hi” which means “burning of the rice sheaves”.
During the year 1854, the farmer saw a tide receding towards them. He understood that
it was a sign of looming Tsunami, he set fire to his entire harvest to warn the villagers
about it. Later he also built an embankment and planted trees as a buffer against the
waves which may occur in the future.
Key Points:
• In December 2015, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) marked 5th
November as the World Tsunami Awareness Day. The UN calls on countries and
international bodies to observe the day to raise awareness and share innovative
approaches to risk reduction.
• The observation of this day was initiated by Japan. Japan has experienced
severe destruction because of the Tsunami over the years.
• Japan has major expertise in areas such as tsunami and has built up public
action, early warning, and building back better after a disaster to reduce future
impacts.
• By the end of 2030, around 50% of World Population living in coastal areas are to
get exposed to storms, tsunamis and flooding.
• Investment towards early warning systems, resilient infrastructure and education
is important to save people and their assets.
Tsunami:
Tsunamis are large waves that approach by crashing on coasts due to seafloor
movement. It is majorly associated with landslides or earthquakes. The word “tsunami”
gets its name from the Japanese “TSU” meaning harbour and “NAMI” meaning wave.
Tsunami is a series of huge waves that are created by disturbance created underwater.
These waves are normally associated with earthquakes that take place under or around
the ocean. Various other causes of Tsunami may be submarine landslides, coastal rock
falls, volcanic eruptions or extra-terrestrial collision.
2. International Day of Radiology

International Day of Radiology was observed all across the world on 8th November 2019.
Key Points:
• International Day of Radiology (IDoR) was recognised in 2012 to celebrate the

changing role of medical imaging in modern healthcare.
• The 8th November is also the anniversary of the discovery of X-rays which was
discovered by Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen in 1895.
• The theme is sports imaging, with musculoskeletal radiology serving as one of
the fastest-growing subspecialties in diagnostic radiology.
• For IDoR 2019 the crucial role of imaging in the diagnosis, prognosis and
treatment of sports injuries will be highlighted.
• IDoR is sponsored by RSNA, the American College of Radiology and European
Society of Radiology,
• The day is aimed at building awareness of the field and its work in research,
diagnosis and patient treatment.
3. Uttarakhand is celebrating its Foundation Day.

Uttarakhand celebrated its 18th Foundation Day on 9th November 2019.
Key Points:
• It became a state after separating from Uttar Pradesh.

• It was formerly known as Uttaranchal.

• It is a state situated in northern India.
• It is also referred to as the "Devabhumi", meaning "Land of the Gods", due to
numerous Hindu temples and pilgrimage centres.
4. World Science Day for Peace and Development
Every year November 10th is celebrated as World Science Day for Peace and
Development. This was established by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization) in 2001 with the objective of highlighting role and importance
of science in our society and our daily lives.
The theme for the World Science Day for Peace and Development 2019 is "Open
Science, leaving no one behind.''
Key Points:
• It aims to strengthen public awareness of the role of science for peaceful and
sustainable societies.
• It promotes national and international solidarity for shared science between
countries.
• It draws attention to the challenges that are faced by science and raising support
for scientific endeavour.
• It also focuses on renewing national and international commitment for use of
science for the benefit of societies.
• The celebrations will include:
1. UNESCO Campus: a conversation on Open Science with school students,
UNESCO Permanent Delegations and other partner organizations.
2. Policy Roundtable on Open Science: Discussion with experts and
policymakers on the benefits and challenges of “opening science to society”
and “opening the society to science”.
3. Moderated dialogue on Open Science with scientists and innovators that
have benefited from Open Science.
• It will also include the award-giving ceremony of the PhosAgro/IUPAC/UNESCO
grants in green chemistry for the young scientists, who aim to support green
chemistry solutions and encourage them to get involved in this field. The grants
programme is a part of the PhosAgro/UNESCO/IUPAC Partnership in Green
Chemistry for Life.
5. National Education Day
National Education Day is an annual day that is observed in India to commemorate the
birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. He was the first education minister of
independent India, who served from 15th August 1947 until 2nd February 1958. This day
is celebrated on 11 November every year.
Key Points:
• Ministry of Human Resource Development had decided on September 11, 2008,
to celebrate November 11 as National Education Day every year.
• Various campaigns and programs are organised on this day to spread awareness
about education so that people can become aware of and attracted to education.
About Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

• His complete name is Maulana Sayyid Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed
bin Khairuddin Al-Hussaini Azad. He learnt Arabic and Persian and studied
philosophy, geometry, mathematics and algebra. He learned the English
language, history of the world and politics by studying himself.
• In the year 1912, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad started a weekly Urdu newspaper
called 'Al-Hilal' to increase the feeling of patriotism among Muslims.
• He was awarded Bharat Ratna in the year 1992 for his contribution as an
educationist and freedom fighter.
• He established the University Grants Commission (UGC) on 28 December
1953. He is also credited for establishment of Indian Institutes of Technology
(IITs) and the School of Architecture and Planning.
• Azad founded the Sangeet Natak Akademi (1953), Sahitya Akademi (1954) and
Lalit Kala Akademi (1954) to promote culture and education in the country.
6. World Pneumonia Day
World Pneumonia Day is observed on 12 November to make people aware of the

pneumonia disease, its causes, symptoms and treatment. Pneumonia is one of the
leading causes of deaths in children under the age of five despite this being preventable
and treatable diseases.
The theme for 2019 is: “Healthy Lungs for all”

Key Points:
• This day was established in the year 2009 by the Global Coalition against Child
Pneumonia.
• Pneumonia was killing approximately 1.2 million children each year when the first
World Pneumonia Day was launched.
• UNICEF and WHO in 2013 released the Integrated Global Action Plan for the
Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea.
• The International Vaccine Access Centre released the first pneumonia and
Diarrhoea Progress Report in 2013.
Pneumonia is an infectious disease that causes infection in one or both lungs. It can be
serious and life-threatening. Due to an infection, inflammation is caused in the air sacs
of lungs known as alveoli.
7. AIR celebrated Public Service Broadcasting Day on 12 November

On 12 November 1947, Mahatma Gandhi had visited All India Radio to address to
displaced people, after partition who had temporarily settled at Kurukshetra in Haryana.
Key points:
• This day is celebrated every year to commemorate the first and only visit of
Mahatma Gandhi, to the studio of All India Radio, Delhi in 1947.
• Jan Prasar of Delhi started celebrating this day as a Mass Broadcasting Day in the
year 1997, to commemorate the completion of fifty years of this historic broadcast of
Gandhiji.
• After that commencement, All India Radio also acknowledged the importance of this
day then this day is celebrated as Public Service Broadcasting Day.
• On this day, a special function was organized at the premises of All India Radio in
New Delhi 12th November 2019 and a cultural program showcased favourite bhajans
of Bapu, 'Vaishnav Jan'.
• The Chairman of Prasar Bharati Dr. A Surya Prakash conveyed his best wishes to
millions of listeners of All India Radio, on Public Service Broadcasting.
8. National Press Day
Press Council of India organized an event in the capital Delhi on National Press Day.
Every year 16 November is celebrated as the National Press Day this is the
establishment day of the Press Council of India.
Key Points:
• Journalists were honored for outstanding work in the field of journalism on this
occasion.
• Chief Guest in the program was Vice President Venkaiah Naidu.
• Raja Ram Mohan Roy Award for Rajasthan Magazine Chairman Gulab Kothari.
• Along with this, 9 other journalists working in the field of journalism were also
honored in various categories.
• There is a seminar that was organized in the capital Delhi on the occasion of Press
Day. And the seminar theme was - “Reporting Interpretation - A journey”.
• For monitoring the work of the press and ensure its independence, the First Press
Commission recommended the constitution of a full-fledged council.
About National Press Day:

• National Press Day was formed on 16 November 1966.
• It is symbolic of a free and responsible press in the country.
• The Press Council of India was first constituted on 4th July 1966.
• It was the day Press Council of India (PCI) assumed the role of the moral watchdog
to the fourth pillar of the country, for ensuring that the press maintains the quality
and high standards.
9. National Epilepsy Day

In India, November 17 is observed every year as National Epilepsy Day to create
awareness about epilepsy which is celebrated by the Epilepsy Foundation.
Key Points:
• Epilepsy is a chronic non-communicable disorder of the brain characterized by
recurrent ‘seizures’ or ‘fits’.
• The seizures are caused as a result of sudden, excessive electrical discharges in
the neurons (brain cells).
• The condition can affect people at any age and each age group has unique
concerns and problems.
• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 50 million people have
epilepsy across the world, out of which 80% of people are living in developing
countries.
• Although epilepsy is treatable, yet three-fourths of affected people in developing
countries do not receive the required treatment.
• In India, about 10 million people suffer from seizures associated with epilepsy.
• Epilepsy is mostly treatable with medications. The critical thing about epilepsy is
that one should not delay its treatment.
10.The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims was observed
on 17 November 2019
The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is observed on 17th November
2019. This day is celebrated every year across the world on the 3rd Sunday of
November. It marks appropriate acknowledgement of victims of road traffic crashes
and their families.
The theme (motto) of this year’s World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims
was “Life is not a car part”. It was based on Pillar 3 of the Global Plan for the Decade of
Action for Road Safety – Safer vehicles.
Key Points:
• It has become an important tool in global efforts to reduce road casualties.
• It offers opportunity for drawing attention to scale of economic and emotional
devastation caused by road crashes and also for giving recognition to the
suffering of road crash victims and work of support and rescue services.
• It was started in the year 1993 by Road Peace which is a national charity for road
crash victims in the United Kingdom.
• Since then this is observed and promoted by the whole world by several Non-
Governmental Organisations (NGOs) which includes the European Federation of
Road Traffic Victims (FEVR) and its associated organisations.
11.World Children’s Day
World Children’s Day was first established in 1954 as Universal Children's Day and is
celebrated on 20th November every year to promote international togetherness,
awareness among children worldwide, and improving children's welfare.
Key Points:
• November 20th is an important date wherein the year 1959 when the UN General
Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.
• It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General Assembly adopted the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• Since the year 1990, World Children's Day also marks the anniversary of the date
that the UN General Assembly adopted both the Declaration and the Convention
on children's rights.
• World Children's Day offers everyone an inspirational entry-point to promote,
advocate and celebrate children's rights.
12.World Toilet Day
World Toilet Day is observed every year on 19 November. The day aims to inspire action
to tackle the global sanitation crisis.
Key Points:
• Toilets can save lives as human waste spreads killer diseases. This day aims to
achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG-6), which promises sanitation for
all by 2030.
• The theme for World Toilet Day 2019, as announced by the United Nations, is
"Leaving No One Behind." The theme aims to tackle the global sanitation crisis.
• According to the UN report, approximately 637 million people across the world
still defecate in the open. It is noted that nearly 2,97,000 children under the age of
five die are estimated to die each year due to diseases such as unsafe drinking
water, hand hygiene, and sanitation.
• The report further said that the lack of sanitation is estimated to cause 4,32,000
diarrhoeal deaths every year. It is also the cause of several diseases, which
include trachoma, intestinal worms, and schistosomiasis.
13.Africa Industrialization Day
Africa Industrialization Day is observed every year on 20th November. On this day, all
the governments and other organisations in many African countries examine ways to
stimulate the industrialisation process of Africa. The day spotlights the problems and
challenges of industrialisation in Africa. The theme for the year 2019 is Positioning
African Industry to supply the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA),
Market. This theme was set to raise awareness in the International community on the
challenges and opportunities for Africa's industrialization within the framework of the
newly created African Continental Free Trade Area.
The Impact of AfCFTA on Africa’s Industrialization are:
• On 21 March 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda, the Agreement establishing an African

Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was signed, creating a single African
market for goods and services and also the world’s largest free trade area by the
number of countries. As part of the African Union's Agenda 2063, the agreement
went into force on May 30 and entered its operational phase on July 7, 2019.
• The African Continental Free Trade Area would slowly eliminate the tariffs on
intra-African trade, which makes it easier for the African businesses to trade
within the continent and contribute and benefit from the growing African market.
The AfCFTA could, therefore, provide business opportunities that will enhance
industrialisation in Africa, marking a pivotal shift in terms of accelerating trade,
investment and industrialisation within the continent.
• The single continental market of more than 1.3 billion people is expected to have
a combined annual output of $2.2 trillion, according to the recent report on the
Economic Development in Africa by the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD).
14.World Television Day
The United Nations (UN) formed the Television Day Forum in December 1996. The UN
decided to recognise this increasing impact. United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
designated 21st November as Television Day. Which mainly represents the symbol of
communication and globalisation in the contemporary world. This year World Television
Day 2019 falls on 21st November 2019, Thursday.
Television History:
• The world’s first television was invented in the year 1928. Further, broadcast
from the General Electric facility in Schenectady. Also, popularly known as WGY
television.
• Primetime television began on colour broadcasting in the year 1964. They are
initially approved for black and white sets compatible with RCA colour. During
1960s increasing fascinated with watching almost exclusively, three major
networks are CBS, NBC, and ABC.
• Television in India initially started with the experiment telecast that began in
Delhi on 15 September 1959 with a small transmitter. Star TV and domestic
channels such as Zee T, Sun TV started with 41 sets in 1962. Then reached 400
million individuals through 100 channels.
15.International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is observed every year
on 25 November. The theme for the year 2019 is “Orange the World: Generation Equality
Stands Against Rape.”
Key Points:
• This day raises awareness of the fact that women around the world are subject
to domestic violence, rape, and other forms of violence as well as to highlight the
scale and true nature of the issue is more often hidden.
• In general terms, it manifests itself in physical, sexual and psychological forms,
encompassing:
1. Intimate partner violence (battering, psychological abuse, marital rape,
femicide);
2. sexual violence and harassment (rape, forced sexual acts, unwanted sexual
advances, child sexual abuse, stalking, forced marriage, street harassment,
cyber- harassment);
3. human trafficking (slavery, sexual exploitation);
4. female genital mutilation; and
5. child marriage.
• Violence against women continues to be an obstacle to achieving development,

equality, peace as well as to fulfil women and girls’ human rights. All in all, the
promise of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cannot be fulfilled without
putting an end to violence against women and girls.
16.Constitution Day
Constitution Day is celebrated in India every year on November 26. On this day,
the Constituent Assembly of India formally adopted the Constitution of India,
which came into effect on January 26, 1950. It is known as National Law Day or
Samvidhan Divas.
Key Points:
• The union government has planned year-long activities throughout the

country to mark 70 years of the adoption of the Constitution.
• To commemorate 70 years of Constituency, President Ram Nath Kovind
will inaugurate a digital exhibition through video conferencing from the
Central Hall of Parliament.
• On this special day, we can never forget Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, who is the
creator of the Constitution. The Constituent Assembly of India then
formally adopted the Constitution of India on 26 November 1949. This
came into effect on 26 January 1950.
• On 19 November 2015, this day was declared by the Government of India
to celebrate 26 November as Constitution Day every year. This
announcement was made while laying the foundation stone of
Ambedkar's Statue of Equality Memorial.
• The Constituent Assembly of India, consisting of indirectly elected
representatives, was established to draft a constitution for India in 1946. A
total of 284 members of the Constituent Assembly signed the document
of Constitution on 24 January 1950. It was implemented two days later on
26 January 1950.
• Dr Ambedkar is considered as the father of the Indian constitution. He has
prepared the world's lengthiest and bulkiest constitution. Once the
constitution was drafted, it became the largest constitution in the world
which comprises 448 Articles, 12 Schedules and 94 Amendments. It took

2 years 11 months and 17 days to prepare the Indian constitution.
17.National Milk Day
Every year National Milk Day is celebrated across the country on November 26. This is
to commemorate the birthday of Dr Verghese Kurien. He was the father of the White
Revolution in India. This day is celebrated to promote benefits related to milk and milk
industry. It also creates awareness among people about the importance of milk and
milk products. India is celebrating 98th birth anniversary of Dr Kurien this year.
Key Points:
• Indian milk production has witnessed a growth of 6.28 per cent during 2014 and
2016.
• Also the per capita, milk consumption capacity increased from 307 gm per day
(2013-14) to 340 gm per day (2015-16).
• The Indian Dairy Association, in 2014, celebrated this day for the first time.
Globally the World Milk Day is observed on 1st June every year by the United
Nations.
• The first National Milk Day was celebrated on 26 November 2014 where various
milk producers from 22 states participated.
Summits & Events
1. Fifth Biennial Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC)

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel co-
chaired the fifth Biennial Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) in New Delhi
Key points:
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived on a three-day visit to India.

• They held talks on bilateral issues including agriculture economic partnership,
trade and investment.
• The two sides discussed the bilateral issues including science, education,
technology, people to people contact and cultural exchanges.
• Discussions on deepening of cooperation in traditional sectors like transport,
skill development and energy, cooperation in newer areas like green urban
mobility and artificial intelligence (AI) also held.
• Two countries signed around 20 agreements.
• Germany is India’s largest trading partner in Europe
• Germany is the seventh-largest foreign direct investor (FDI) in India.
• Over 1,700 German companies active in India and more than 600 Indo-German
joint ventures (JVs) are in operation.
2. PM Modi's visit to Thailand to attend the ASEAN, RCEP and East Asia
Summits
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Bangkok, Thailand to attend the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India, East Asia and Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership (RCEP) summit.
Key Points:
• Prime Minister will attend the 16th ASEAN-India Summit, the 14th East Asia
Summit and the third summit meeting of RCEP which is negotiating the trade deal.
• The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) consists of 10 ASEAN
group members - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore,
Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam and their six Free Trade Agreements
partners - India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
• Security, trade, investment and measures to combat pollution are issues that will
be discussed at the annual meeting of the regional bloc.
• Rotating chair of RCEP is held by Thailand this year.

• The Indian community was addressed by PM Modi at the 'Sawasdee PM Modi'
event in Bangkok.
• ASEAN - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. There are 10
permanent members. The prime objective of the organisation is to promote
economic co-operation in South-East Asia and to ensure economic stability. Its
headquarters is in Jakarta (Indonesia). The countries are Laos, Vietnam,
Cambodia, Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia,
Thailand, Myanmar.
• East Asia Summit - The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a regional platform which is
held annually by leaders of 16 countries in the East Asian, Southeast Asian, and
South Asian regions, based on the ASEAN Plus Six mechanism. After its
establishment, ASEAN has held the central role and leadership in the forum.
3. India-US Economic and Financial Partnership Meeting held
The 7th India - US Economic and Financial Partnership meeting was held in New Delhi.
Key points:
• The chairmen of the meeting were Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and US
Secretary of Treasury Steven T Mnuchin.
• During the meeting, the stock of efforts was undertaken to further improve mutual
cooperation.
• Various subjects like anti-money laundering and combating the financing of
terrorism, Policies to stimulate growth were discussed.
• Significant steps taken by both countries to strengthen the financial sector was
also part of the discussion.
• They discussed capital flows investment in infrastructure and deepening of
financial relations.
4. Vigyanika-International Science Literature Festival
Vigyanika International Science Literature Festival will be organised as a part of the 5th
India International Science Festival (IISF) 2019 at Kolkata during November 5–8, 2019.
It will also feature a Science Book Fair where more than 30 publishers will display their
scientific publications.
Key Points:
• IISF 2019, is an annual event which is organised jointly by the Ministry of Science
& Technology and Earth Sciences and Vijnana Bharati (Vibha).
• This event will be coordinated by the CSIR-NISCAIR (National Institute of Science
Communication and Information Resources), Vigyan Bharati and Vigyan Prasar.
• The event will host panel discussions, paper presentations and invited talks on
themes related to public engagement with science. It will also feature innovative
formats of science communication such as drama, poetry, and magic.
• The Science Book Fair will be the most attractive feature of the event. Several
Scientific institutes will also display their scientific publications that include
journals, encyclopedias, science magazines and other knowledge products. The
fair is also organizing competitions like debates, cartoon, etc on scientific topics.
• Children, innovators, teachers, academicians, scientists, artisans and
entrepreneurs are invited to this grand India International Science Festival.
5. PM Modi's visit to Thailand to attend the ASEAN, RCEP and East Asia
Summits
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Bangkok, Thailand to attend the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India, East Asia and Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership (RCEP) summit.
Key Points:
• Prime Minister will attend the 16th ASEAN-India Summit, the 14th East Asia
Summit and the third summit meeting of RCEP which is negotiating the trade deal.
• The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) consists of 10 ASEAN
group members - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore,
Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam and their six Free Trade Agreements
partners - India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
• Security, trade, investment and measures to combat pollution are issues that will
be discussed at the annual meeting of the regional bloc.
• Rotating chair of RCEP is held by Thailand this year.
• The Indian community was addressed by PM Modi at the 'Sawasdee PM Modi'
event in Bangkok.
• ASEAN - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. There are 10
permanent members. The prime objective of the organisation is to promote
economic co-operation in South-East Asia and to ensure economic stability. Its
headquarters is in Jakarta (Indonesia). The countries are Laos, Vietnam,

Cambodia, Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia,
Thailand, Myanmar.
• East Asia Summit - The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a regional platform which is
held annually by leaders of 16 countries in the East Asian, Southeast Asian, and
South Asian regions, based on the ASEAN Plus Six mechanism. After its
establishment, ASEAN has held the central role and leadership in the forum.
6. India-US Economic and Financial Partnership Meeting held
The 7th India - US Economic and Financial Partnership meeting was held in New Delhi.
Key points:
• The chairmen of the meeting were Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and US
Secretary of Treasury Steven T Mnuchin.
• During the meeting, the stock of efforts was undertaken to further improve mutual
cooperation.
• Various subjects like anti-money laundering and combating the financing of
terrorism, Policies to stimulate growth were discussed.
• Significant steps taken by both countries to strengthen the financial sector was
also part of the discussion.
• They discussed capital flows investment in infrastructure and deepening of
financial relations.
7. 6th Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit of the G20 Countries
An Indian parliamentary delegation which is led by the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is
taking part in the 6th Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit of the G20 countries, which is
being held in Tokyo, Japan from 3-5 November 2019. This summit is being attended by
Presiding Officers of Parliaments of the G20 countries.
Key Points:
• This Parliamentary summit is unofficially called as P20. It was jointly hosted and
organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), an international organisation
(headquartered in Geneva) and the House of Councillors of National Diet of
Japan.
• This summit would have sessions on separate themes about trade, technology
and sustainable development.
• The First Session was based on the theme- "Promotion of Free, Open and Fair
Trade and Investment".
• The second was based on the theme- ‘Utilization of Innovative Technology
towards a human-centred Future Society.’
• Third Session was based on the theme- ‘Efforts towards Resolution of Global
Challenges and Achievement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs: Financing
for Development, Need for Transparent and Effective Government, etc.)’.
• During its three sessions, the Summit reviews topics such as opening
investment, supporting free trade, solving global challenges facing SDGs as well
as taking advantage of technological innovations to support human-centred
future.
8. The Ministry of shipping is hosting the first-ever BIMSTEC Ports’

Conclave
The Ministry of shipping is hosting its first-ever BIMSTEC Ports’ Conclave between
November 7 and November 8, 2019. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral
Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation which
involves South East Asian and South Asian countries. India’s growing interests in the
region make the conclave crucial and significant. Also, the conference will be a pathway
for India’s maritime security measures and its interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
Key Points:
• The investment opportunities and best practices adopted for productivity and
safety of the ports are to be discussed in the event. The Conclave includes
sessions on “Port led Industrial Development and Tourism Development.” The
Conclave will also encourage Cruise Tourism.
• BIMSTEC nations with diverse historical and cultural heritages are ideal places to
develop Cruise Tourism.
• The Conclave will also adopt new technological solutions to maximise efficiency
and productivity of the available spaces, time and resources in the ports.
• With the region being one of the fastest-growing markets in the world, the supply
chain is necessitating expansion beyond national boundaries, resulting in putting
tremendous pressure on existing port infrastructure.
• The other discussions in the conclave are Emergent roles of ports in the global
supply chain, Safe and Secure harbours, Port Services-Delivering Value and Green
Port Operations.
9. 11th BRICS summit

The 2019 BRICS summit is the eleventh annual BRICS summit being held at Itamaraty
Palace, Brazil.
The theme is BRICS: economic growth for an innovative future.
Key Points:
• It is an international relations conference which will be attended by the heads of

state or heads of governments.
• BRICS is a group of five countries.
• The five-member states are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
• In 2019, the conference will be held at the Itamaraty Palace.
10.27th Conference of Central and State Statistical Organizations (COCSSO)
The 27th Conference of Central and State Statistical Organizations (COCSSO) is being
at Kolkata, West Bengal from 11-12 November 2019. This was inaugurated by Prof.
Bimal K Roy, Chairman, National Statistical Commission (NSC).
The theme of the conference was the Sustainable Development Goals, which
highlighted the measures that were taken by Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation (MoSPI) for a robust monitoring mechanism for Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
Key Points:
• The conference showcased all the stakeholders together to discuss statistical

matters of interest.
• The conference highlighted the role that is dynamically changing by the
professional statisticians in the context of technological advancements and
transformations, which would eventually lead to the well-being of the society.
About the conference:
The COCSSO conference is held every year. COCSSO is a major national forum that
creates coordination between the Central and State Statistical Agencies. The aim is to
put in coordinated efforts for making available reliable and timely statistics to planners
and policymakers.
11.India will host the Council of Heads of Governments of SCO in 2020
India will host the 19th council of heads of government of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation (SCO) for the first time in 2020. The high-level meeting of the eight-
member grouping is to be organised by New Delhi. Earlier this month the 18th Council
of SCO heads of state was held in Tashkent and India was represented this by Defense
Minister Rajnath Singh.
Key Points
• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a China-led eight-member

economic and security bloc in which India and Pakistan.
• Its other member countries include Pakistan, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
• In April 1996, at a meeting in Shanghai, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and
Tajikistan agreed to cooperate to deal with each other's racial and religious tensions.
At that time it was known as Shanghai-Five.
• It was founded on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai. The official languages of SCO are
Russian and Chinese. The SCO charter was signed in the year 2002. It came into
force in the year 2003.
• The charter is a constitutional document that includes the structure and major
activities of the organization along with its goals and principles etc.
• India is the third-largest country in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
after China, Russia. India's stature is accrescent internationally.
• Currently, the SCO is considered the largest regional organization in the world.
12.Second edition of Paris Peace Forum held in France

Second Paris Peace Forum event is being held from 11 to 13 November 2019, at the
Grande Halle de La Villette, Paris under the presidency of Pascal Lamy. India was
represented by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and more than 30 heads of state
and government attended the forum.
About Paris Peace Forum
• The Paris Peace Forum is an international event on global governance issues and
multilateralism. It is held annually in Paris, France. It was created on 4 January
2018.
• The purpose of the Paris Peace Forum would be to commemorate the 100th
anniversary of Armistice Day.
An important aspect of the Forum is showcasing of 100+ projects from around the
world.
Presently the projects are in 6 categories:
(1) Peace & Security
(2) Development
(3) Inclusive economy
(4) New technologies
(5) Environment
(6) Culture & Education
• The forum aims to encourage international cooperation and collective action for
a peaceful world. It has ambitions for enhancing, rethinking or creating new rules,
standards and best practices.
13.India International Trade Fair to Begin

On 14th November, India International Trade Fair is to begin in New Delhi.
Key Points
• Many countries, including Australia, Iran, UK, and Vietnam will participate in the India
International Trade Fair 2019.
• Inauguration has been done by Minister of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises
(MSME) Nitin Gadkari.
• It is an important platform for various central and state government departments and
agencies for dissemination of information on progressive reforms, new schemes and
initiatives.
• Participating countries in the fair would be Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan,
China, Egypt, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey,
the UK and Vietnam.
• The focus states will be Bihar and Jharkhand in this fair.
• The theme for the 39th edition of the fair is 'Ease of Doing Business'.
14.6th World Congress on Rural and Agricultural Finance

The 6th World Congress on Rural and Agricultural Finance was recently held in New
Delhi on 12th November 2019.
Key Points:
· It is being jointly hosted by Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association

(APRACA), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and
Ministry of Agriculture Farmers Welfare and Cooperation, Government of India.
· The 6th World Congress was attended by 300 delegates all across the globe, who
engaged in interactive discussions to unleash the potential role of rural and
agricultural finance and bring together the representatives from 150 financial
institutions.
This 6th version of the congress is co-organized by four other global and regional
associations:
· CICA
· AFRACA
· ALIDE
· NENARACA
· The 6th version of this global event will be able to provide pathways to all
stakeholders for extending improved and efficient financial services to the rural and
agricultural sectors.
15.Dhaka Global Dialogue
The first edition of Dhaka Global Dialogue was a three-day-long program (11-13
November 2019) which was held in Bangladesh.
Key Points:
• The program was inaugurated by Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina.

• The Dhaka Global Dialogue program was jointly organized by New Delhi based
Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and Bangladesh Institute of International
and Strategic Studies (BIISS).
• The conference had participants from across 50 countries to discuss the global
imperatives in the context of the Indo-pacific region. Among the participants were
the lawmakers, policymakers, scholars, strategic experts, industry leaders, and
various field professionals.
• Dhaka Global Dialogue will act as a platform for countries in the Indo-pacific region
for achieving environmentally sustainable peace and prosperity.
16.Regional conference on 'Replication of Good Governance Practices' in

J&K and Ladakh concludes
It was resolved to develop the two regions as a model of administrative excellence, with
the two-day conference on the subject of adopting good governance practices in the
Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh concluding from 15-16 November
2019.
The conference theme is - ‘Replication of Good Governance Practices in Union
Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh’.
Key points
• The conference pledged for sustained efforts to create a transparent, accountable
and people-oriented administration in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir
and Ladakh.
• Officers from 19 states and four union territories participated during this period.
• Good Governance Resolution was unanimously adopted to adopt better practices of
successful national governance including digital governance and citizen-centric
grievance resolution.
• Union Minister Jitendra Singh inaugurated the conference in the presence of Jammu
and Kashmir's Lieutenant Governor GC Murmu, Administrative Reforms and Public
Grievances Department C Chandramouli, Jammu Kashmir Chief Secretary BVR
Subramanian and other officials.
17.Inauguration of KPCS Plenary
The Plenary meeting of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is being
hosted by India, which is the present Kimberley Process (KP) Chair will be held from
18th to 22nd November 2019 in New Delhi.
Key Points:
• This meeting was inaugurated by the Commerce Secretary, Dr Anup Wadhawan.
India is a founding member of KP, has been actively involved in the development
of KP as an important protocol in the trade of diamonds which has ensured that

99.8% of the diamonds in the world are conflict-free.
• We need to keep KP efficient and effective as a process to maintain this conflict
diamond free status. India is committed to making this process stronger in terms
of further strengthened administration and implementation, efficient in terms of
delivery of what it promises, more transparent and empathetic towards the living
standards of people who are dependent on the production, trade and
manufacture of diamonds.
• India has given leadership to address the issue of differentiation between Natural
Diamonds and Lab Grown Diamonds. It will take further initiatives to have better
differentiation and ensure responsible business on this front.
• India currently exports around USD 24 billion cut and polished diamonds. It is
expected that India will reach an export target of USD 1 trillion in the coming
years, and the gem and jewellery sector.
• The importance of this KPCS is immense to India as more than one million
people are directly employed by the diamond industry. The industry plays an
important role in sustaining livelihoods of these people.
• Three special forums regarding Financial inclusion and women empowerment
through sustainable livelihood creation, Diamond origin and identification,
Diamond industry - Adapting to change, were also held during the Plenary
meeting.
Facts:
• India is one of the founder members of the Kimberley Process Certification
Scheme and is the Chair of the Kimberley Process for the year 2019. India had
earlier chaired KPCS in 2008. Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce,
B.B. Swain, has been designated as KP Chair 2019 and Ms Rupa Dutta, Economic
Adviser, Department of Commerce has been designated as India’s KP Focal
Point.
• The closing session of the KPCS will be held on 22nd November 2019 in New
Delhi and India will hand over the KP Chair to the Russian Federation.
18.12th Urban Mobility India Conference and Expo 2019

The 12th edition of the Urban Mobility India Conference and Expo 2019 was held in Uttar
Pradesh’s capital city Lucknow from 15th to 17th November 2019. This was organized
by the Institute of Urban Transport (IUT), a professional body under the Union Ministry
of Urban Development.
The theme for the year 2019 was “Accessible and livable Cities”.
Key Points:
• Its objectives are to provide an opportunity for critical decision-makers and
delegates to interact with service providers, academia, experts, professionals,
industry, civil society, technology, as well as other stakeholders in Urban
Transport which includes both domestic and international to develop urban
transport along a sustainable path.
• It also serves as a forum to discuss any critical issues that are relevant to the
sector and suggest measures to address them.
19.2019 World Conference on Access to Medical Products: Achieving the

SDGs 2030”
Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare inaugurated the ‘2019 World Conference on
Access to Medical Products Achieving the SDGs 2030’ along with Union Minister of
State for Health & Family Welfare Shri. Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Mr. Zahid Maleque,
Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of the People’s Republic of
Bangladesh, Ms. Lyonpo Dechen Wangmo, Minister for Health, Royal Government of
Bhutan, Mr. Upendra Yadav, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and
Population, Government of Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, Dr. V K Paul, Member
(Health) Niti Aayog and along with other dignitaries were present.
Key Points:
• Efficient healthcare delivery systems which provide equitable, affordable and
easily accessible healthcare is at the heart of the efforts. This World Conference
thus takes prominence all across the world thinking about path-breaking
technologies of healthcare.
• This Conference will spur innovative thinking around issues surrounding
provisioning of affordable, quality medical products as a part of public health
care delivery systems.
• Medical technologies which are underlying in the latest ideas and pooled-in
knowledge form a critical pillar of healthcare.
• The inaugural session saw the release of the ‘Position Paper-2019 World
Conference on Access to Medical Products–Achieving the SDGs 2030’, ‘White
Paper on Safety of Rotavirus Vaccine in India: Smart Safety Surveillance
Approach’ and the ‘National Guidelines for Gene Therapy Product Development
and Clinical Trials’.
20.2nd edition of “South Asia Safety Summit"
According to the Union Minister of Women and Child Development (WCD) and Textiles,
Smriti Zubin Irani, there is an urgent need to ensure safety for women and children
within their homes and create safe neighborhoods in order to protect women and
children against violence and abuse. Smriti Zubin Irani delivered the keynote address in
the 2nd edition of the South Asia Safety Summit organized by the Ministry of WCD and
FACEBOOK.
Key Points:
• As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data of 2017, 3 lakh crimes
registered against women are committed by husbands and relatives so the
challenges to women and children safety issues lie closer to home. She further
added that as per the NCRB data 42% of men justify domestic violence and 62%
of women support domestic violence.
• The South Asia Safety Summit is organized to highlight the issues of safety while
individuals and communities are connected on the digital platform.
• Participants from 125 civil society organizations, feminist groups, child safety
experts, academics focused on gender and mass communication, safety
practitioners, mental health and suicide prevention organizations, disabilities
rights groups, and partners who have expertise in running digital literacy
programs and creating tools for social-emotional development of young people
are attending the Summit. They are from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and
Afghanistan.
• The Ministry is to set up one-stop centers to service the needs of women in the
locality and informed the gathering that 10 one-stop centers open every month
across the country and by the end of this year every district will have an
operational one-stop center.
• It also aims that every district of India will have anti-trafficking units which are
the first-ever initiative undertaken by the Government. To make police stations
more accessible for women and children Women’s help desks are being set up in
each police station across the county as a police station is the first place that a
woman reaches whenever she faces a threat to her security and life.
• Along with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of WCD has launched the
cyber-crime portal and the Ministry of WCD is helping to strengthen this portal so
that women are able to lodge complaints of cyberbullying, online shaming and
online threats.
• WCD Ministry is digitally listing out all the sex offenders in India so that whenever
background checks of employees need to be conducted, its database will enable
employers.
21.India-ASEAN Inno Tech Summit 2019
India ASEAN InnoTech Summit 2019, is a three-day Technology & Innovation Summit,
B2B and B2G meetings, an exhibition which is being held on 20 - 22 November 2019,
SMX Convention Center, Davao, Philippines. India ASEAN InnoTech Summit:
Accelerating towards innovative development
Key Points:
• Participating ASEAN Member Countries are Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia, Lao
PDR, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand.
• The exhibition is to showcase best Indian Innovative Technologies, with potential
implementation in the ASEAN region.
Objectives are:
• Explores avenues of cross-country partnerships with Indian R&D-based
enterprises.
• Capture global trends in technology management and strategy Connect local and
global research & development community for collaborative engagement.
• Create avenues for industry-academia-government partnerships.
• Promote best practices in financing, strategy, and leadership Advance
progressive ideas for policy reforms and regulatory environment.
• Build capacities for market assessment and rapid commercialisation of
research.
22.India for Humanity-Jaipur Foot event
An event on India's iconic Jaipur foot will be held in the US' Capitol Hill, as part of
the 'India for Humanity campaign', which was supported by the Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
Union Ministry of External Affairs has launched India for Humanity initiative to
commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. It is mainly to
honour his service to humanity.
Key Points:
• This will feature year-long series of artificial limb fitment camps in a number of
countries across the globe.
• This event focused on Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of caring, compassion, and
service to humanity.
About Jaipur Foot:

• Jaipur Foot is a prosthetic limb which was developed in the year 1968 by a group
of eminent orthopaedic surgeons and craftsmen. Medical. The developments in
the technology, since 1975, were under the aegis of Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang
Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS).
• Several lakhs of differently-abled people in India and also across the world have
benefited from the innovative, inexpensive prosthetic limbs.
• The countries include Vietnam (1,075 limbs in two camps), Nepal (520), Iraq
(603), Malawi (551), Senegal (556), Egypt (550), Namibia (400) and Bangladesh
(346 limbs), Tanzania (551). These camps have generated huge goodwill for
India as a compassionate country of Mahatma Gandhi". The Ministry of External
Affairs (MoEA)has also approved similar camps in Ethiopia, Syria and Uganda in
which at least 1,500 amputees will be assisted.
23.AGRO VISION
The Agrovision is scheduled from 22-25 November, 2019 at Reshimbagh Ground,

Nagpur, Maharashtra. It is the 11th edition of Agrovision.
About Agrovision:–
• It was established in the year 2010 with the aim to create a prosperous agrarian
society where farmers are well informed about the latest practices and
agriculture becomes a remunerative and attractive profession.
• Over the years the journey of Agrovision has been appreciable and now it has
become one of India's Premier Agri Summit".
• 11th Agrovision has focused this year will bring the latest technologies and
products to the farmers.
• The theme of the 11th Agrovision has been chosen as "Smart Technologies for
Sustainable Development".
• It is organized under the pilotage of its Chief Patron, Shri Nitin Gadkari, Hon'ble
Minister for Road Transport & Highways; Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises,
GoI and Dr. C. D. Mayee, Chairman - Advisory Council, Agrovision.
• New Initiatives in 11th Agrovision are IT in Agriculture, Start-Ups in Agriculture,
International Pavilion, MSME Pavilion.
• Agrovision is an opportunity to connect with lakhs of farmers from the districts
of Vidarbha and Marathwada in Maharashtra and adjoining districts of MP,
Chhattisgarh, AP and also some from far away states like Haryana, UP, Bihar etc.
Last 10 years Impact of Agrovision are:

1. Dryland farming is turning into horticulture.
2. New avenues are taken up by farmers like Dairy, Poultry and Fisheries
3. Micro-irrigation, automation etc. are increasing demand for new technologies by Agri
community.
4. Farm mechanization market are expanded
5. Young students have taken more interest in Agriculture
6. Now Urban population has become more aware of Agriculture
7. Agri tourism is making momentum in Vidarbha
8. Agri-Business has seen also considerable contribution from Women Entrepreneurs
now
9. Immense growth has seen in Crop Diversification
10. To make farming more economical larger number of farmers have opted for
contract farming
24.‘DEFCOM INDIA 2019’ being held in New Delhi
On 26 November 2019 DEFCOM INDIA 2019 seminar commenced in New

Delhi. The theme is, “Communications: A Decisive Catalyst for Jointness”. This seminar
is devoted to the seminal theme of leveraging communications for achieving jointness
between the three defence services.
Key Points:
• DEFCOM 2019, on the first day, witnessed active participation from the industry,
armed forces, academia and research and development organisations.
• It thus provided an excellent opportunity for the industry to understand the
requirements of the Armed Forces.
• The DEFCOM exhibition showcased the cutting-edge communication solutions

from the industry and gave all the officers from the three services an opportunity
to gain insights on technology and industry capabilities.
• The prestigious DEFCOM journal was also released during the seminar.
25.NuGen Mobility Summit-2019 in Haryana
The NuGen Mobility Summit 2019 was held at the International Centre for
Automotive Technology Centre (ICAT) in Gurugram, Haryana. This summit was
addressed by the Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.
Key Points:
• The summit will be held from 27-29 November 2019.
• There were discussions about Methanol, Ethanol, Bio-diesel, and Bio-CNG
which will support future technology to be utilized in the auto sector.
• It is expected that the new motor vehicle act will encourage innovation
and research.
• Experts from the system and technology companies, the automotive
industry, researchers, policymakers, experts in technology domains, test
houses and agencies, associations and academia from all around the
world are participating in the summit.
• Through this, the experts share their experiences and learn about trends
and innovation in automotive technology.
Reports & Indices
1. 14th National Health Profile
Dr Harsh Vardhan who is Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare recently released
the 14th National Health Profile (NHP)2019 & its e-book (digital version).
Key Points:
• The National Health Profile is prepared by the Central Bureau of Health

Intelligence (CBHI).
• It covers information on demographics, socio-economic health status, health
finance indicators, health infrastructure and health of human resources of the
country.
• The health finance section gives an overview of health insurance and expenditure
on health.
• The human resources section provides information about the availability of
manpower working in the health sector.
• While, the Health infrastructure section gives details of Medical and Dental
Colleges, AYUSH Institutes, Nursing Courses and Paramedical Courses etc.
• According to the profile, Life expectancy has increased from 49.7 years (1970-
75) to 68.7 years (2012-1016).
• 6% of the population suffers from hypertension.
• The National Capital Territory Delhi is most densely populated with 11,000 people
per square kilometres while Arunachal Pradesh is least densely populated with
only 17 persons per square kilometre.
• There has been a decline in birth rate (20.2/1000 live births), the death rate
(6.3/1000 deaths) and natural growth rate (13.9/1000).
• The infant mortality rate has also reduced (33/1000)
2. India's unemployment rate has hit 3-year high

Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) report India's unemployment rate rose to
8.5%, it is the highest since August 2016
Key points:
• The urban unemployment rate is at 8.9%,

• The rural unemployment rate is 8.3%.
• Tripura and Haryana saw the highest unemployment levels of over 20%
• Tamil Nadu has the lowest unemployment rate of 1.1%.
• Periodic Labour Force Survey estimated an unemployment rate of 6.1%
• A decline in growth of automobile sales and industrial output shrinking is at its
fastest rate in more than six years
3. Global Microscope for Financial Inclusion report 2019: EIU
The 2019 edition of ‘Global Microscope: The enabling environment for Financial Inclusion’
report was released by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU).
Key Points:
• The report is a benchmark index which assesses enabling the environment for
financial access.
• The report also underscores the evolving landscape of financial inclusion in
selected countries.
• This year was its 12th edition.
• India, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay have the most favourable conditions
for inclusive finance.
• The 2019 edition of Global Microscope report also features 11 new gender
focussed indicators which measure financial inclusion for both women and men.
• Five parameters on the basis of which countries are assessed-
(a)Government and Policy Support
(b)Products and Outlets
(c)Stability and Integrity
(d)Consumer Protection
(e)Infrastructure.
4. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development released its report

‘Economic Outlook for South-East Asia’
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released its
report in Economic Outlook for South-East Asia. This report was presented at the
ASEAN summit, 2019. This year the title of the report is “Responding to Environmental
Hazards in Cities.”
Key Points:
• The GDP of India will grow at a rate of 6.6% in the coming years 2020-2024. This
is below its average growth of 7.4% in the years 2013-17.
• Sustaining the efforts that are taken in the sectors like health and banking will be
a challenge for India. India will also face difficulties in bridging the disparity
between the urban and rural infrastructure.
• According to the report, China will have to bridge the gap between the supply and
demand of its digital talent when it steps to improve digital literacy and increase
access to digital services.
• Among ASEAN countries, Vietnam and the Philippines will remain as growth
leaders.
• The report predicts that the emerging trade tensions between the USA and China
will affect the emerging Asian market.
• In 2016 coal and oil produced 39% of South East’s energy sector. This is to
increase to 44% in 2040.
5. Wastelands Atlas 2019
Narendra Singh Tomar, the Union Minister for Rural Development, Agriculture and
Farmers Welfare, and Panchayati Raj released the Wastelands Atlas 2019. The Atlas
aims to show the importance of the availability of a reliable database on the wastelands
of the country.
Key Points:
• This Atlas was prepared by the Department of Land Resources in collaboration
with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC).
• Previously, the Department of Space has published Wastelands Atlases of India
in the year 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2011 editions.
• The new wastelands mapping exercise using the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite
data is the 5th edition of Wastelands Atlas 2019.
About Wastelands Atlas 2019:

• The Wastelands Atlas 2019 provides district and state-wise distribution of
different categories of wastelands area. This would include mapping of about
12.08 Mha (Million-hectare meter) so far, in the unmapped area of Jammu &
Kashmir. The Atlas presents the changes in wastelands between 2008-09 and
2015-16.
• India holds 2.4% of the total land area of the World and is supporting 18% of the
World's population. The per capita availability of the agricultural land in India is
0.12 ha, and among the world countries, the per capita agriculture land is 0.29
ha. The pressure on the land beyond it carrying capacity results in the
degradation of the lands in the country.
• The robust geospatial information on wastelands assumes the importance of the
land and helps effectively to roll back the wastelands for productive use through
various land development programmes and schemes.
6. Freedom of Net report 2019
The Freedom of Net report 2019 titled “The Crisis of Social Media” was released by The
Freedom House, an international watchdog. This report recorded an overall decline in
global internet freedom status between July 2018 and May 2019.
India obtained an overall score of 55 and was reported to be “partly free”.
Key Points:
• The report assessed 65 countries and 33 among them showed an overall decline
in internet freedom since June 2018. Only 16 countries showed improvements in
their internet freedom status.
• Some of the countries that showed a decline in internet freedom include Sudan,
Kazakhstan, Brazil, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
• Pakistan is with a score of 26, for the ninth consecutive year and was declared as
“not free” in terms of freedom status.
• China obtained a score of 10 and was adjudged “not free”. Also, China has
termed the worst abuser of internet freedom for the fourth consecutive year.
• Ethiopia recorded the most significant improvement in terms of internet freedom
• The US had an overall score of 77. The online environment of the US was
reported to be free from state censorship and vibrant. However, there was a
decline in overall internet freedom in the US for the third straight year.
• Countries like Malaysia, Armenia showed positive trends in internet freedom
status. Iceland ranked the highest with an overall score of 95. It was recorded as
the world’s best protector of internet freedom. The country had no civil or
criminal cases registered against the users for online expression.
7. ICAR report on Stubble Burning
The ICAR’s Creams Laboratory bulletin on 4th November 2019, stated that there had
been a reduction of 12% in incidents of Stubble Burning as compared to 2018.
Key Points:
• There were 31,402 burning events in the three states Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and
Haryana as on October 1, 2019.
• The state-wise reduction in stubble burning compared to 2018 is as follows
1. Uttar Pradesh-48.2%
2. Haryana-11.7%
3. Punjab-8.7%
• The report says that the reduction is mainly due to the launch of Central Scheme
“Promotional of Agricultural Mechanization of In-Situ Management of Crop
Residue in Punjab, UP and Haryana and NCT of Delhi”. The main agenda of the
scheme is to subsidise the machinery required.
Note:
• New Delhi is worst affected due to stubble burning in the three states. This year
(2019), the Air Quality Index of Delhi reached 999. This is the highest recorded
AQI of Delhi in its history. According to WHO norms the AQI should be under 100.
8. NASSCOM report
The NASSCOM report on Indian Tech Start-Up Ecosystem stated that India continues to
be the third-largest start-up ecosystem after China and the US. In the year 2019, India
has added more than 1300 tech start-ups according to the report. Between January to
September in 2019, there were around 8900 to 9300 start-ups as compared to 7700-
8200 a year ago.
Key Points:
• The investment in start-ups in the period January-September, 2019 touched 4.4

billion USD.
• The indirect jobs created by the start-up ecosystem can jump to 39 to 44 lakh by
2025 from 14 to 16 lakh in 2019.
• The Indian start-ups have the potential to grow about 4 to 5 times by 2025.
• Around 18% of the start-ups are leveraging deep-tech, fin-tech, a retail tech that
are the most mature sectors with strong metrics.
• In 2019, the start-ups created 60,000 direct jobs as compared to 40,000 in 2018.
• Seven new unicorns were added in 2019. This takes the total number of unicorns
in the country to 24, which is the third-highest number of unicorns in a single
country in the world.
• Unicorn refers to a tech start-up that reaches 1 billion USD market value. 71% of
these unicorns are B2B focused.
About NASSCOM:
NASSCOM is the National Association of Software and Services Companies. It is a non-
profit trade association of Indian IT and BPO industries.
9. India Justice Report
Maharashtra has topped the list of 18 large-medium States in the overall justice
delivery, followed by states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Haryana. In this
category, Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are at the bottom. Among seven smaller
States, Goa leads the group.
Key Points:
• This is the first-ever ranking of Indian states on justice delivery.
• The report is based on publicly available data from different government entities
on the four pillars of justice delivery — police, judiciary, prisons and legal aid.
• Even the best performing States have scored less than 60% in their performance
on capacity across the police, prisons, judiciary and legal aid.
• The country has about 18,200 judges with about 23% posts vacant. Women are
poorly represented in these pillars who constitute just 7% of the police. Prisons
are over-occupied at 114%, where 68% are undertrials awaiting investigation,
inquiry or trial.
• Most states are not able to utilise the budgets that are allocated to them by the
Centre, while the increase in spending on the police, prisons and judiciary does
not keep pace with the overall increase in State expenditure. Some pillars also
remain affected by low budgets.
10.National Crime Records Bureau released the “Accidental and Suicidal Deaths in
India report
The Accidental and Suicidal Deaths in India report of the year 2016 was recently
released by the National Crime Records Bureau.
Key Points:
• 11,379 farmers have committed suicide in India in 2016.

• The last report got released in 2015.
• As per the data in the report, the number of farmer suicides in the country has
decreased to 11,379 in 2016 from 12,360 in 2014 and 12,602 in 2015.
• Maharashtra became the top state with 2,550 of the 6,270 farmers' suicides
documented nationwide.
• A large number of farmers who died by suicide in India were men, while women
accounted for just 8.6% of farmer suicides in the country.
11.The Brown to Green Report
The Brown to Green Report is the most comprehensive review of climate actions of G20
nations. This report covers 80 indicators on decarbonisation, climate policies, finance
and vulnerability and is developed by experts from 14 research organisations.
About G20:
There are around 20 members in the G20 grouping, including India. This Grouping was
established with the aim of discussing policies which pertain to the promotion of
international financial stability. Collectively, the grouping accounts for 90% of the world
GDP with two-thirds of the world population and 80% of world trade.
Key Points:
• The Summary of the Report 2019 provides an overview of all the G20 countries,
on how they are doing on the journey to transition towards a net-zero emissions
economy.
• G20 countries are responsible for 80 per cent of global Greenhouse Gas
emissions. To stay within the Paris Agreement temperature limit, the emissions
need to be drastically reduced. Carbon dioxide emissions need to decline to net-
zero by around 2050.
• Between 1998 and 2017, the G20 countries lost 142 billion USD on an average
due to extreme weather events.
• According to the report, India is the only country which is close to 1.5-degree
Celsius temperature rise.
• Around 181 countries were taken for the ranking where Russia, Germany, France,
Italy, and India were the highest-ranked countries that faced economic losses
from extreme weather events.
• According to the report, Australia was seen as the worst-performing country in
terms of climate response.
• Germany and Brazil were the only two countries with long term goals.
12.IIP shrinks by 4.3% to the lowest in 8 years
Because of the slowdown in the manufacturing and mining sector, the country's
industrial production registered a decline of 4.3 percent in September. In the month of
August, the index of industrial production (IIP) declined by 1.1 percent. In the last eight
years, this is the biggest drop.
Key points
• Last year in September, industrial production increased by 4.6 percent as per the
data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (base
year 2011-12)
• The rate of growth of gross industrial production from April to September in the
current financial year was recorded at 1.3 percent as compared to the same
period of the previous year.
• As per the data, the production of the manufacturing sector registered a decline
of 3.9 percent in the month of September, while mining work recorded a decline
of 8.5 percent. Similarly, a 2.6 percent decline in power generation was recorded.
• The IIP estimate for August 2019 has been revised for the first time according to
the updated data obtained from the source agencies. 17 industries have declined
in production out of the 23 industrial clusters in the manufacturing sector. The
manufacturing sector accounts for 77 percent of the IIP.
• Manufacturing of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailer have declined by 24.8
percent respectively and the manufacturing of furniture has come down by 23.6
percent. In September Production of primary goods declined by 5.1 percent.
Alike, there has been a decline of 20.7 percent in the production of capital goods.
13.India’s Electricity Demand falls to a 12-year low according to Central Electricity

Authority Data
Consumption of electricity in India fell 13.2% in October from a year ago, posting its
steepest monthly decline in over 12 years.
Key Points:
• The country's economy needs electricity to expand, but the reduction in demand for
electricity will affect India's industrial activities.
• The Narendra Modi government has set a target of making India's economy by $ 5
trillion by 2024.
• Due to reduced consumer demand and government spending slowed, the GDP rate in
the June quarter has been the weakest in the last 6 years and economists are seeing a
decrease in demand for electricity as a deepening crisis in the economy.
• Except for 4 small states in the north and east of the country, electricity demand has
decreased in all places.
• Industrial production in September was the lowest in the last 14 years, at 5.2%, which
increased the government's concern.
• The fourth consecutive quarter of decline in GDP growth was recorded. While the
growth rate was 8 percent in the first quarter of the financial year 2018-19, this year it
was reduced to 5 percent in the same quarter.
14.Lancet journal published a report on “Health and Climate Change, 2019
The Lancet journal published a report on “Health and Climate Change, 2019" on
November 13, 2019. The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change is a
comprehensive yearly analysis that tracks the progress across 41 indicators. The
project is a collaboration of 120 experts from premier institutions all over the world,
including the WHO and the World Bank.
Key Points:
• Climate change is already damaging the health of the World’s children and is set
to shape the well-being of an entire generation unless the world meets the target
to limit the warming to well below 2˚C.
• As the temperatures rise, the infants will have to bear the greatest burden of
malnutrition and rising food prices — average yield potential of maize and rice
has declined almost 2% in India since the 1960s, with malnutrition already
responsible for two-thirds of under-5 deaths.
• Also, children will suffer most from the rise in infectious diseases — with climatic
suitability for the Vibrio bacteria that cause cholera is rising 3 per cent a year in
India since the early 1980s.
• With its huge population and high rates of healthcare inequality, malnutrition and
poverty, India and few countries are likely to suffer from the health effects of
climate change.
• Diarrhoeal infections which is a major cause of child mortality, will spread into
new areas similar to the one that happened in 2015 that killed thousands of
people in India, could soon become the norm.
Report Highlights:
• Climate Change threats to aquaculture and fisheries according to the report are:
Rise in Sea-level and Sea surface temperature, ocean acidification, intense and
frequent extreme weather events.
WBGT (Wet Bulb Globe Temperature measurement):
• It is the measure of heat stress that takes into account temperature, humidity,
cloud cover, sun angle and wind speed.
• This report warned us that according to WBGT, 22 billion additional hours of work
will be lost due to extreme heat. The rise in temperature will lead to productivity
loss at 0.8 to 5%.
15.UNICEF Report: India Second largest in Pneumonia deaths
According to a new report by the UN, India had the second-highest number of deaths of
children under the age of five in 2018 due to pneumonia, a curable and preventable
disease that claimed the life of one child every 39 seconds globally.
Key Points:
• Globally more than 800,000 children died due to Pneumonia under the age of 5.
• The report stated that though the disease is preventable through vaccines, more
than 10 million die annually due to the disease.
• The five countries that were responsible for more than half of child deaths due to
Pneumonia were India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo and
Ethiopia. Pneumonia is responsible for 15% of deaths in children under the age of
5.
• This report has named the disease a “Forgotten Epidemic”. Around half of
pneumonia deaths are actually associated with air pollution.
• The report mentions the following as the causes of Pneumonia in children under
the age of 5 as Inadequate Health Care, Lack of access to drinking water, Indoor
Air Pollution, Burden of undernutrition.
16.Bribery Risk Index,2019
The TRACE Bribery Risk Matrix (TRACE Matrix) measures business bribery risk in
200 countries, territories, and autonomous and semi-autonomous regions. The overall
country risk score is a combined and weighted score of four domains: Business
Interactions with Government; Anti-Bribery Deterrence and Enforcement; Government and
Civil Service Transparency; and Capacity for Civil Society Oversight, including the role of
the media.
Key Points:
• According to this year’s data, Somalia, South Sudan, North Korea, Yemen, and
Venezuela presented the highest risk of bribe demands. New Zealand, Norway,
Denmark, Sweden, and Finland presented the lowest bribery risk.
• In the South Asian region, Bangladesh has the highest bribery risk ranking at 178
while India with a score of 48 ranked at 78th position.
• India is ahead of China and among the BRICS nations, South Africa is doing pretty
well with a score of 42.
17.Water quality report for state capitals and New Delhi

Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan has released Water quality
report. According to this report is in line with the Water Life Mission which was
launched by 2024 to provide clean and safe drinking water to all.
Key Points:
• According to the report the water being supplied by the Delhi Jal Board is not
drinkable.
• The conclusion was made by the Indian Standards Organization (BIS) after
examining the Samples were collected from 11 locations including 12 Janpath
and Krishi Bhavan in Delhi.
• As per Indian Standard 10500:2012 (Specification for Drinking Water) the
samples of drinking water were tested.
• According to Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan
released the water quality rankings of 21 cities recently according to the
parameters of the report the water in the national capital Delhi is not drinkable.
• According to the ranking, the best drinking water facility in the country is in
Mumbai.
• One or more samples did not comply with the requirements of the Standard in
the cities of Hyderabad, Bhubaneshwar, Ranchi, Raipur, Amravati and Shimla.
• None of the samples drawn from Chandigarh, Thiruvananthapuram, Patna,
Bhopal, Guwahati, Bengaluru, Gandhinagar, Lucknow, Jammu, Jaipur, Dehradun,
Chennai, Kolkata complied with the requirements of the Indian Standard.
What is Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)?

• It is established by the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986.
• It’s Headquarter situated in New Delhi.
• It has 25 members drawn from Central or State Governments, industry, scientific and
research institutions, and consumer organisations.
• The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the national Standards Body of India working
under the aegis of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government
of India.
18.India's Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index ranking has improved since
2013
Improvement in India's ranking in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index is an

encouragement for the tourism sector in the country. The rankings are as follows:
In the year 2013 India's rank was 65. In 2015 the rank was 52. In 2017 the rank was 40.
In 2019 the rank was 34.
Key Points:
Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, has taken several steps for the creation of
tourism infrastructure in the country to attract more tourists, which inter-alia include:
i. Launch of two flagship schemes: Swadesh Darshan - Integrated Development of

Theme-Based Tourist Circuits and PRASHAD- Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual,
Heritage Augmentation Drive. The projects under these schemes are identified for
development in consultation with the State Governments/UT Administrations. They are
sanctioned subject to availability of funds, submission of suitably detailed project
reports, adherence to scheme guidelines and utilisation of funds released earlier.
ii. Under the Budget Announcements of the year 2018-19, this Ministry has identified 17
sites in 12 clusters in the country for development as Iconic Tourist Sites.
iii. The Adopt A Heritage: Apni Dharohar, Apni Pehchaan, a collaborative effort by
Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI),
State/UTs Governments, envisages developing heritage sites and making them tourist-
friendly, to enhance tourism potential and cultural importance in a planned and phased
manner.
iv. Ministry provides Assistance to Central Agencies for the development of tourism-
related infrastructure in the country.
Further, Ministry of Tourism regularly coordinates with Ministry of Home Affairs and as
a result Ministry of Home Affairs has relaxed the Protected Area Permit
(PAP)/Restricted Area Permit (RAP) for a period of 5 Years, i.e. till 31.12.2022 in the
states of Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland and for 29 Islands of Union Territory of
Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
19.NITI Aayog released a report on “Health Systems for a New India"
Government think tank Niti Aayog released a report ‘Health Systems for a New India:
Building Blocks-Potential Pathways to Reforms,’ on 18th November 2019 in New Delhi.
Key Points:
• The report, synthesis of one-year-long exercise, was released by Niti Aayog Vice
Chairman Rajiv Kumar in the presence of co-founder of Microsoft and co-
chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates.
• The report identified five focus areas of the future health system which would
help in delivering on unfinished public health agenda, change health financing
away from out of pocket so spend into large insurers, integrate service delivery
vertically and horizontally, empower citizens to become better buyers of health,
harness the power of digital health.
• Niti Aayog recommended that the health system financing structure should
actually be changed in such a way that the predominant undesirable out-of-
pocket expenditure should be reduced, and spending is directed towards a large
risk-pools with strong strategic purchasing capabilities.
• This has stressed on best practices adopted by the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha
Trust of Karnataka which was launched in 2010, which went on to empanel
hospitals from neighbouring states, for patients living in border areas for their
state health insurance scheme and are now aiming for providing the health
scheme for their entire 6.4 crore population. Karnataka is also looking at bringing
all schemes under a single umbrella. Another example that has been cited for its
best practices is in Meghalaya.
20.The IMD World Talent Ranking 2019
It is released by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD). IMD is a

business education school based in Switzerland. The ranking is based on the
performance in three main categories — investment and development, appeal and
readiness.
Key Points:
• The top is still led by the European small and mid-sized economies. These
countries share a high level of investments in education and a superior quality of
life.
• Switzerland in the first row and Denmark in the second position firmly lead the
ranking for the seventh year in a row, followed by Sweden, Austria, and
Luxembourg.
• India has slipped six places to 59th rank. This is due to the low quality of life and
expenditure on education.
• India is also lagging behind BRICs countries – China ranked 42nd on the list,
Russia (47th), and South Africa (50th).
• India also witnessed a sharp decline among Asian economies owing to the low
quality of life, the negative impact of brain drain, and the low priority of its
economy on attracting and retaining talents.
21.International Energy Agency releases World Energy Outlook, 2019
World Energy Outlook 2019 explores these widening fractures in detail. It explains the
impact of today’s decisions on tomorrow’s energy systems and describes a pathway
that enables the world to meet climate, energy access and air quality goals while
maintaining a strong focus on the reliability and affordability of energy for a growing
global population.
Key Points:
• The Paris based International Energy Agency recently released its report on
World Energy Outlook. The Agency has projected that the installed solar power in
the world will increase by 3,142 GW by 2040. As per the report, at present, the
world uses 495 GW of installed solar power.
• The Oil demand will slow down after the year 2025, and the world will transit
towards electric vehicles. However, the oil demand for the next decade will keep
increasing with 85% of the increase coming from the US. In states like Africa, gas
and renewable sources will power future energy. Yet, the demand for coal in
these countries are still raising.
• This report tells that currently the energy demand in the world is growing at a rate
of 2% per year.
22.NSO survey on drinking water, hygiene, sanitation and housing condition
Around 71.3 per cent of rural homes and 96.2 percent of urban households’ access to
toilets during 2018, according to NSO's “Drinking Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and
Housing Condition in India” report as a part of 76th round of National Sample Survey
(NSS) released on 23rd November 2019.
Key Points:
• The main objective of this survey was to collect information on facilities of
sanitation, drinking water along with housing facilities available to the
households and the microenvironment which surrounds the houses which are
important determinants of the overall quality of living conditions of the people.
• The important aspects on which the information was collected in the survey are:
type of the dwelling unit (viz. independent house, flat etc.), tenurial status of the
dwelling unit (viz. owned, hired, no dwelling etc.), structure of the dwelling unit
(viz. pucca, semi-pucca, Katcha), condition of the structure (viz. good,
satisfactory, bad), floor area of the dwelling unit, age of the house owned by the
household, facilities available to the households in respect of drinking water,
bathroom, latrine etc., and microenvironment surrounding the house like
drainage system of the house, system of disposal of household wastewater,
system of disposal of household garbage, problems of flies and mosquitoes.
• The present survey was spread across the country. For the central sample, data
were collected from 1,06,838 households (63,736 in rural areas and 43,102 in
urban areas) from 5,378 sample villages in rural areas and 3,614 sample UFS
blocks in urban areas, following a scientific survey methodology.
• This report is based on the central sample data collected through the survey on
Drinking Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Housing Condition during NSS 76th
round.
23.The National Statistical Office conducted a survey of persons with disabilities in

the country
The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation has conducted a Survey of Persons with Disabilities during July 2018 to
December 2018 as a part of 76th round of National Sample Survey (NSS). Prior to this,
the survey on the same subject was carried out by NSO during the 58th round (July-
December 2002).
Key Points:
• The main objective of the ‘Survey of Persons with Disabilities,’ conducted by NSO
in its 76th round, was to estimate the indicators of incidence and prevalence of
disability, age at onset of disability, cause of disability, facilities available to
persons with disability, difficulties faced by persons with disability in
accessing/public transport/using public building, arrangement of regular
caregiver, out-of-pocket expenses relating to disability, etc.
• In NSS 76th round survey, for classification of disabilities, all the specified
disabilities as stated in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 have
been considered.
• The present survey was spread across the country. For the central sample, data
were collected from 1,18,152 households (81,004 in rural areas and 37,148 in
urban areas) and 5,76,569 persons (4,02,589 in rural areas and 1,73,980 in urban
areas), following a scientific survey methodology, were enumerated. In this
survey, the total number of persons with disabilities surveyed was 1,06,894
(74,946 in rural areas and 31,948 in urban areas) persons with disabilities were
interviewed. The report is based on the central sample data of the Survey of
Persons with Disabilities during NSS 76th round.
• Some significant findings of the survey, based on the response of the
households, were on:
1. Prevalence and incidence of disability
2. Level of education among persons with disabilities
3. The living arrangement, caregiver, receipt of aid/help, certificate of disability
4. Labour Force Participation Rate, Worker Population Ratio and Unemployment
Rate in usual status among persons with disabilities.
24.Nomura’s Food Vulnerability Index
Nomura’s Food Vulnerability Index (NFVI) ranks countries based on their exposure to
large swings in food prices.
Key Points:
• India has been ranked 44 out of 110 countries, which is still at a higher risk. The
top 50 countries are the most vulnerable to food price surges in the coming years
which largely belong to the Emerging Market group. The top 50 together account
for almost 60 percent of the global population.
• At 4.6%, India’s retail inflation for October has touched a 16-month high because
of the leap in food prices. Food inflation grew by almost 8%, which is nearly
double the rate of overall retail inflation.
• The essential items which have contributed to this rise were pulses with the
Inflation rate at 12% and vegetables with the inflation rate at 26% and fish and
meat with the inflation rate at 10%, the Asia-headquartered financial services
group with an integrated global network spanning over 30 countries.
NFVI It has three components:
(1) The country’s GDP per person,

(2) the net food imports and
(3) the share of food in household consumption.
Lower per capita GDP, higher the percentage of food in household consumption, and
top net food imports will actually make a country more vulnerable to spikes in food
prices.
25.According to NSO Survey, 77.7% literacy rate among those above 7 yrs of age
during July 2017 to June 2018
The literacy rate among those who are in the age group of seven years and above was
recorded at 77.7 percent during July 2017-June 2018 in India. This was shown by the
National Statistical Office (NSO) survey.
Key Points:
• The literacy rate is 73.5 per cent in rural and 87.7 per cent in urban areas.
• The study further showed that among persons in the age group of 15 years and
above, 30.6 percent has completed secondary or above level of education in
villages, 57.5 per cent in urban areas.
• Approximately 10.6 per cent of the persons of age 15 years and above in the
country has completed graduation and above level of education. This rate is 5.7
per cent in villages and 21.7 per cent in cities.
• Among persons of age 3 to 35 years, 13.6 percent were never enrolled, 42.5
percent enrolled but currently not attending while 43.9 percent were currently
attending.
26.MoSPI: Unemployment rates fall in second quarter
The National Statistics Office which works under the Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation, released its Quarterly Bulletin on November 23,
2019. This report presents the Labor Force Participation Rate, unemployment
status.
Key Points:
• The urban unemployment rate was 9.3% between January and March
2019 (2nd Quarter, Q2). In 2018, during the same quarter, the
unemployment rate was 9.9%.
• As per the report unemployment among the youth between 15 years and
29 years account for over a third of India’s population.
• The Labor Force Participation Rate among males is estimated to be 56.2%
in the urban area. It was 56% in April-June, 2018.
27.Report on “How Vulnerable are Children in India to crime”

This is an analysis by Child Relief and You (CRY), which is based on the analysis of the
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for 2016-17. As per the report, the states of
Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have topped the list of states for crimes against
children. Both the state stood at 14.8 per cent with over 19,000 cases.
Key Points:
• States like Jharkhand saw the highest increase in crimes against children at
73.9% while Manipur had a remarkable decline of 18.7% between 2016 and 2017.
• There are various crimes against children, but the most prevalent ones were
kidnapping and abduction, which accounted for 42% of the total 1,29,032 cases
of crime reported.
• The other major crimes against children include violations of the Protection of
Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, rape, sexual assault, and procuring
of minor girls.
• Child labour also saw a considerable increase of 126%, with the NCRB report
listing 462 cases of child labour in 2017 against 204 in 2016. As for child
marriage NCRB records 395 cases registered under the Prohibition of Child
Marriage Act (PCMA) 2006.
• The CRY analysis sees this as a positive development. “The increase in reported
cases of child marriage and child labour can be deemed as a positive
development since both the issues often get social sanction and go unreported."
There is a critical need for increased attention to the issue of child protection,
given the increasing rate of crime against children.
28.“Annual Emissions Gap” report
This is the tenth edition of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Emissions Gap Report. This provides the latest assessment of scientific studies on
current and estimated future greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and later compares
these with the emission levels that are permissible for the world to progress on a least-
cost pathway to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. The difference between
“where we are likely to be and where we need to be” has come to be known as the
‘emissions gap’.
Key Points:
• The main agenda is to cut the global emissions by 7.6% every year for the next
decade and meet the 1.5°C Paris target. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change has warned that going beyond 1.5°C would increase the frequency and
intensity of climate impacts. There are various technologies and policy
knowledge that exist to cut emissions. But all the transformations must start
immediately.
• To limit temperatures, the annual emissions in 2030 need to be 15 Gigatonnes of
CO2 equivalent or lower than the current unconditional Nationally Determined
Contributions (NDCs) which imply for the 2°C goal. On an annual basis, this
means to cut down the emissions of 7.6% per year from 2020 to 2030 to meet
the 1.5°C goal and also the 2.7 per cent per year for the 2°C goal.
• The G20 nations account for 78 per cent of all emissions. But 15 of the G20
members have not committed to a timeline for net-zero emissions.
• According to the UNEP’s Report even if all the present unconditional
commitments that are under the Paris Agreement are implemented,
temperatures are expected to rise by 3.2°C, which would bring even wider-
ranging and more destructive climate impacts.
• For ten years, the Emissions Gap Report has sounded the alarm, but the world
has only increased its emissions. If failed to heed these warnings and take action
to reverse emissions means we will continue to witness deadly and catastrophic
storms, heatwaves and pollution.
29.2019 Global Diplomacy Index
The 2019 Global Diplomacy Index was released on 27th November 2019 by the Sydney-
based Lowy Institute which gives the latest statistics, marking how the world’s
diplomatic networks are expanding and, in some instances, shrinking.
Key Points:
• China now has more diplomatic posts across the world than the US, which is a
marker of its growing international clout and ambition.
• France, Japan, and Russia occupy the next three spots.
• China has overtaken the US in the year 2019 with 276 embassies and consulates
worldwide, which is three more than the US, but Beijing has three more
consulates.
• India is ranked 12th among the 61 countries which are ranked by the Lowy
Institute.
• India too has expanded its diplomatic footprint. Currently, New Delhi has 123
embassies and high commissions and 54 consulates globally as of 2019.
• In two years, Beijing has grown its network by five diplomatic posts, following the
opening of seven new missions and the shutdown of two. It's ascent to the top
spot has been rapid. In 2016, China was in third place behind the US and France,
and by 2017 it had moved to second place ahead of France.
• Taiwan has seen the biggest drop in diplomatic posts, down from 22 embassies
in 2016 to 15 this year.
Art & Culture
1. The Eleventh edition of Bal Sangam festival

National School of Drama all is all prepared to host the 11th edition of 'Bal Sangam'.
Key Points:
• 'Bal Sangam' will begin from November 9 and continue till 12th November.
• The National School of Drama (NSD) shall provide a stage to traditional
performing arts and folk theatre from 12 states dedicated to children.
• 'Sanskaar Rang Toli' is being held every alternate year and
• It also brings forward the heritage and legacy of art forms that are presented by
children belonging to traditional performing families.
• The festival shall feature folk dances, martial arts, acrobatics and street play
performances, along with jugglery, puppetry and magic shows.
2. Bali Yatra festival
Bali Yatra festival is being celebrated in Cuttack, Odisha. The festival is organised every
year in the memory of the rich maritime history of the state.
Key Points:
• The festival is being organised at the bank of Mahanadi River every year to mark
the day when ancient mariners from the state would set sail to the distant land of
Bali, Sumatra, Java (Jawa) in Indonesia, Borneo and Sri Lanka, for the expansion
of trade and Culture.
• The Odisha Assembly Speaker SN Patro inaugurated the festival.
• Over 1000 stalls have come up to showcase the traditional items, food items, art,
household craft from the state and outside the state to celebrate the eight-day
festival.
• For the first time in history, the Bali Yatra festival has a maritime corner that
exhibits the model of the maritime voyage of ancient sea traders, who were
travelling to the different parts of South-East Asia for Trade and culture
extension.
Highlights of the Festival:

• It is one of the biggest festivals in Odisha, Bali Jatra receives nearly three lakh
tourists every year.
• This festival also includes a national-level Pallishree Mela that houses
traditional goods from 24 states of India.
3. Aadi Mahotsav or Tribal Festival organised in Delhi
The Aadi Mahotsav will be organised between 16th to 30th November 2019 at Delhi-Haat,
INA. That is 15 days mega event. The inauguration ceremony will be presided by Home
Minister Shri Amit Shah who will be the Chief Guest and Tribal Affairs Minister Shri
Arjun Munda will preside over the program.
Key Points:
• The guest of Honour of this event will be Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Smt
Renuka Singh Saruta.
• The festival will showcase tribal handicrafts, art, paintings, textiles, jewellery, etc.
through 200 stalls and will be offered for sale.
• More than one thousand tribal artisans and artists from 27 states will participate
during this festival. The culture and tribal customs, festivals, martial arts, etc. of 20
states of the country will be demonstrated during this period.
• 26 such festivals have been planned, during the current financial year.
• Among these, eight festivals have been organized in Shimla, Ooty, Leh-Ladakh,
Visakhapatnam, Noida, Indore, Pune and Bhubaneswar.
• There are around 900 tribal artisans participated in these and sold more than 5 crore
rupees.
• For the First time, this Aadi Mahotsav will showcase a wide range of products from
the tribal artisans from Leh (Ladakh).
• The theme of the Aadi Mahotsav festival is “a celebration of the Spirit of Tribal
Crafts, Culture and Commerce”.
What is TRIFED?
• The existence year of The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of
India (TRIFED) is 1987.
• It’s Head Office is situated in New Delhi
• It has a network of 13 Regional Offices located at various places in the country.
• TRIFED an organisation of Ministry of Tribal Affairs, the Government of India has
introduced a new idea of organising “Aadi Mahotsav – National Tribal Festival” so
that tribal masters and women have direct access to the markets of metros and
state capitals.
4. Manipur Sangai Festival 2019
In Manipur a week-long Manipur Sangai Festival 2019 started on 24th November 2019.
The festival is organised by the State Tourism Department, and this festival is held
annually to promote tourism. The formal inaugural function of the festival was held at
Hapta Kangjeibung at Imphal.
Key Points:
• Manipur's Chief Minister, N. Biren Singh attended the inaugural function as the
Chief Guest. State Ministers, dignitaries from foreign countries, etc. also
attended the function.
• The festival will be held in different parts of Manipur. The festival will conclude
on the 30th of this month.
• During the festival, cultural programmes, folk dance, traditional games, and
classical music will be performed by different communities of the State as well
as from other States.
• It is one of the largest Government-sponsored tourism fests.
• This exhibits the best of Manipur, in various terms like : art and culture, scenic
beauty of the land, handloom and fine arts, cuisine and music, indigenous sports,
eco and adventure tourism activities such as trekking, white water rafting and
parasailing etc. along with its indigenous martial arts- Thang Ta (a combination
Spear & Sword skills) and many more.
About the festival:

This Festival was started in the year 2010. This is known as the grandest festival of
Manipur
which helps to promote Manipur as a world-class tourism destination.
Sports
1. Rohit Sharma became the first Indian man and second in world cricket to
complete 100 T-20 Internationals.
Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma became the first Indian cricketer and second in the world
cricket to complete 100 T20 Internationals.
Key Points:
• He achieved this feat at the second match against Bangladesh in Saurashtra

Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot recently.
• The only player who has played more than 100 T20 Internationals is Shoaib Malik
with 111 games from Pakistan.
• Rohit is, at present, the top-scorer in this format with 2452 runs
2. Kabaddi World Cup 2019
India is all set to conduct the kabaddi World Cup 2019 in the month of December
from 1 to 9 in Punjab. This year will be organized by the Punjab Government and it is
dedicated to the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
This year’s World Cup might be held among nine international teams and still Pakistan,
and Canada is yet to get the clearance from the Indian Government.
The inauguration will be on December 1 in Sultanpur Lodhi at Guru Nanak stadium.
3. Veteran Indian boxer L Sarita Devi elected to AIBA first Athletes

Commission
Veteran Indian boxer L Sarita Devi has been elected to the International Boxing
Association’s (AIBA) first-ever athletes commission to represent the Asian bloc. She
was in the running for the position as the sole candidate from the region.
Key Points:
• She was among the six boxers who was selected as the members of the
commission from 5 continents.
• The election of this AIBA Athletes Commission members was conducted during
the AIBA men’s and women’s Boxing Championships 2019 in Russia.
• The new members were elected through a voting process that saw participation
by boxers from across the globe. One member was elected per continent, except
in the case of Europe, which has two elected representatives.
About L Sarita Devi:

Sarita Devi became a professional boxer in the year 2000. She is a DSP with Manipur
Police and an eight-time Asian Championship medalist, which includes 5 Gold medals.
Currently, she is an athlete representative in the Boxing Federation of India’s Executive
Committee. This federation had nominated her for the position in the world boxing
body.
4. 13th Edition of Hero I-League launched

The 13th edition of the Hero I-League was officially launched on 30 November 2019 the
League will start with former champions Mohun Bagan FC and Aizawl FC locking horns
at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium in Aizawl, Mizoram.
Key Points:
• This season, 11 teams will participate in the league including the winner of the
previous stage Hero Second Division, TRAU FC.
• In this season there are 11 teams from eight states and one Union Territory at the
13th Hero I-League are – Defending Champions Chennai City FC (Chennai), Punjab
FC (Punjab), Aizawl FC (Mizoram), NEROCA FC (Manipur), TRAU FC (Manipur),
Mohun Bagan & Quess East Bengal (West Bengal), Gokulam Kerala FC (Kerala),
Churchill Brothers FC Goa (Goa), Indian Arrows (Goa), and Real Kashmir FC
(Kashmir).
• At this time all across the country’s fans will witness two local derbies, the legendary
Kolkata derby between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, and the Imphal derby
featuring Neroca FC and TRAU FC.
• The league 2019-20 will be broadcast live exclusively on DSPORT.
Top four teams prize money are as follows:
• Winners - Rs. 1 Crore

• Runners up – Rs. 60 Lakh

• Third Place – Rs. 40 Lakh
• Fourth Place – Rs. 25 Lakh.
NOVEMBER MONTH ONE LINERS
DAYS OF THE WEEK
1. Foundation Day of Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and

Punjab – 1 November.
2. International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists - 2 November.
3. World Tsunami Awareness Day - 5 November.
4. International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and
Armed Conflict - 6 November.
5. National Cancer Awareness Day in India - 7 November.
6. Theme of International Radiology Day 2019 (9 November) - Sports Imaging.
7. Legal Services Day - 9 November.
8. Theme for the World Science Day for Peace and Development (World Science Day)
on 10 November 2019 - "Open Science, Leaving No One Behind".
9. World Immunization Day - 10 November.
10. National Education Day – 11 November.
11. Public Service Broadcasting Day - 12 November.
12. Theme for 2019 World Pneumonia Day (12 November) - Healthy lungs for all.
13. World Kindness Day - 13 November.
14. Children's Day in India – 14 November.
15. Day of the Imprisoned Writer – 15 November.
16. World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (17 November) - Third Sunday
in November.
17. National Epilepsy Day - 17 November.
18. World Prematurity Day - 17 November.
19. International Students' Day - 17 November.
20. Naturopathy Day in India - 18 November.
21. Theme for World Toilet Day 2019 (19 November) - Leaving No One Behind.
22. International Men's Day - 19 November.
23. World Children’s Day - 20 November.
24. World Philosophy Day (21 November 2019) - third Thursday of November.
25. World Fisheries’ Day - 21 November.
26. World Television Day - 21 November.
27. Evolution Day - 24 November.
28. 2019 theme for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
(25 November) - Orange the World: Generation Equality Stands Against Rape.
29. National Milk Day – 26 November.
30. Constitution Day of India – 26 November.
31. UNESCO’s World Heritage Week – 19 to 25 November.
32. International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People – 29 November.
DEFENCE
1. New Director-General of Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) - Lt Gen

Anup Banerji.
2. The first bilateral naval exercise between India and Saudi Arabia will be
conducted in - 2020.
3. The Indian Army will have the first regiment of indigenously upgraded
Dhanush artillery guns including 114 guns by - March 2020.
4. A naval exercise between the US and Bangladesh which began in Chattogram
(Bangladesh) on 4 November - ‘Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training
(CARAT) 2019’.
5. Indian–Indonesian Naval Bilateral Exercise conduced from 06 Nov to 07
November in the Bay of Bengal - ‘Samudra Shakti’.
6. On 6 November, the 19th India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on
Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) meeting was held
in - Moscow.
7. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) conducted the ‘Regional Level Search and
Rescue Workshop and Exercise 2019’ (ReSAREX-19) off - Goa coast.
8. First tri-services India-US exercise which will be scheduled during 13-21
November near Visakhapatnam and Kakinada in AP - 'Tiger Triumph'.
9. On 8 November, Air Marshal H.S. Arora launched the multiplayer version of its
upgraded3D Air Combat Mobile Game - “Indian Air Force: A Cut Above”.
10. At Doha, the inaugural edition of the Bilateral Maritime Exercise Za’ir-Al-Bahr
(Roar of the Sea) is being conducted from 17 to 21 November between - India
and Qatar.
11. On 20 November 2019, President of India will award the President’s Colour to
- Indian Naval Academy.
12. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is using this technology for the first
time to build an all-weather road at extremely high-altitude regions over
19,000-feet above sea level to Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) - Micropile or
Cementaceous Sub Base (CTSB) technology.
13. DRDO planned to extend the range of this weather beyond-visual-range air-to-
air missile to nearly double to 160 km of its existing range – ASTRA missile.
14. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) gave free access to
this many patents for commercial exploitation. Now, industries can use
patents - 450.
15. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) hosted the first-ever counter-
terrorism table-top exercise (CT-TTX) for the Quad countries (India, the US,
Japan and Australia) on 21-22 November in - Delhi.
16. First woman pilot of Indian Navy - Lieutenant Shivangi.

17. First Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) - General Bipin Rawat.
18. Joint military exercise between India and Nepal, which will be conducted at
Salijhandi, Rupendehi district of Nepal from 03 to 16 December 2019 -
‘SURYA KIRAN – XIV’.
19. The Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) are
to conduct the Joint Military Training (JMT) from 31 October to 12 December
at - Kalaikunda Air Force Station, West Bengal.
ECONOMY
1. On 1 November, Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has signed MoU with - Indian

Bank and Canara Bank.
2. Singapore-based Qoo10 Pte Ltd has acquired Gurugram-based e-commerce
platform, named - ShopClues.
3. Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has developed an internet-based
system for workers to get registered on its digital platform to get the - Universal
Account Number.
4. The new name of the Weizmann Forex Limited - Ebixcash World Money India
Limited.
5. As per the World Gold Council's (WGC) data, India has 10th largest gold reserves
in the world with - 618.2 tonnes (6.9% of total foreign reserves).
6. As per the World Gold Council's (WGC) data, the largest holding with 8133.5
tonnes gold by - United States (US).
7. This software company has inked a multi-year deal with Siemens Gamesa
Renewable Energy (SGRE) to enable its digital transformation - Infosys.
8. The Reserve Bank of India on November 4 issued compensation guidelines for

whole-time directors and chief executives of foreign, private, small finance,
payments banks and local area banks mandating the cash component of variable
pay at - 67 percent (effective from April 2020).
9. MSTC Ltd has signed an agreement with this bank for the development of a
dedicated e-Auction platform directly linked with the Indian Banking
Association's portal for sale of non-performing assets (NPAs) - Allahabad Bank.
10. According to the World Gold Council (WGC), India's gold demand is expected to
fall to its lowest level in three years in 2019 that could drop to - around 700
tonnes (8% fall).
11. According to a new report by Nasscom, titled ‘Indian Tech Start-up Ecosystem -
Leading Tech in the 20s’, India is home to 3rd largest number of unicorns in a
single country in the world with – 24 unicorns.
12. On 7 November, the High Level Advisory Group (HLAG) set up by the Minister of
Commerce has recommended this amnesty scheme to bring black money back
in India - Elephant Bond (unaccounted wealth holders can disclose their assets
by paying minimum tax and have to invest 40 percent of such wealth).
13. Finance Ministery on 6 November declared that this much amount will be
provided to the stressed housing sector - Rs 25000 Cr.
14. As per an analysis of India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra), Labour productivity in
India during fiscal year 2015-16 to 2017-18 has fell down over the last eight years
to a low of average - 3.7%.
15. On 8 November, Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) provided a $30 million
line of credit to - Ghana (for the potable water projects).
16. This PSB signed a memorandum of understanding with Muthoot Microfinance to
serve micro, small, and medium enterprises - Indian Bank.
17. Moody's Investors Service has changed the outlook on India's ratings to negative
from stable and affirmed the - Baa2 foreign-currency and local-currency long-
term issuer ratings.
18. On 9 November, Reserve Bank of India has increased the household income
limits in rural areas for borrowers of Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs)
and microfinance institutions (MFIs) from 1 lakh to - 1.25 lakh rupees (for urban
or semi-urban areas - 2 lakh rupees).
19. NCAER's Business Confidence Index (BCI) shows that the business confidence
index of the country, during the August-October 2019 quarter compared to the
previous quarter, declined by - 15.3 percent.
20. This India's leading business software provider has signed a MoU with The
Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) - Tally Solutions.
21. The World’s 1st Regulated Tokenised Hybrid Investment Fund launched by -
GMEX Group (regulated by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority).
22. On 13 November, the Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) has signed a MoU
with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for boosting the Small Medium
Enterprise (SME) exports from India to key international markets though a
landmark online trade platform called - BSB.
23. Wholesale prices based inflation in October 2019 - 0.16 percent
24. Retail inflation for October 2019 - 4.62 percent (16-month high).
25. For building skills and talent for Finance of the Future, KPMG in India and NIIT
Limited have entered into an exclusive partnership to launch - KPMG NIIT
Finance Academy.
26. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has allocated $570 million to help
develop the infrastructure of - Mumbai.
27. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has suggested the government to
impose this type of price for products, alleging that e-tailers practicing unethical
& unfair business - "minimum operative price".
28. 9th fastest growing prime residential market in world, according to the Knight
Frank’s report 'Prime Global Cities Index' - Delhi.
29. First place in the Knight Frank’s report 'Prime Global Cities Index' – Moscow,
Russia (prime home prices rising by 11.1% over the 12 months to September
2019).
30. This Indian company has overtaken BP Plc (British company) to become the
sixth-largest energy company in the world - Reliance Industries (valued at $138
billion).
31. This Indian digital asset platform has been acquired by Binance, the world’s
largest cryptocurrency exchange and Blockchain ecosystem – WazirX (India’s
first-ever cryptocurrency exchange to be acquired by an international one).
32. On 22 November, the RBI expanded the scope of this type of accounts by
permitting non-residents to open such accounts for rupee-denominated overseas
borrowings, trade credit and trade invoicing for popularising cross-border
transactions in the domestic currency - Special Non-Resident Rupee Accounts
(SNRR account).
33. Razorpay launched corporate credit cards for SMEs and startups in partnership
with - RBL.
34. On 25 November, Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri
launched Credit-linked Subsidy Services Awas Portal, called - CLAP.
35. First place in the list of 20 fastest growing prime office markets in the Asia-
Pacific region, made by global property consultant Knight Frank - Bengaluru's
central business district (highest office rental growth at 17.6% during July-
September quarter of 2019) (CBDs of Melbourne and Bangkok on the 2nd and
3rd).
36. SBI Card and Vistara launched co-branded credit card, called - 'Club Vistara SBI'
card.
37. The Union Cabinet has extended the term of 15th Finance Commission by - one-
year (to 30 October 2020).
38. This FMCG company has setup a Rs 200 crore environmental sustainability fund
to offer environment friendly business solutions - Procter & Gamble (P&G) India.
39. First Indian company to hit the Rs 10 lakh crore market valuation level in intra-day
- Reliance Industries.
40. This Chinese handset maker will launch its Mi Credit platform for personal loans
in India on 3 December 2019 - Xiaomi.
41. India's annual economic growth in the July-September quarter slowed to - 4.5%.
42. Hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts will be made mandatory across the
country from – 15 January 2021.
43. On 29 November, the Reserve Bank of India sent this troubled mortgage lender to
National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for bankruptcy proceedings, making it
the first financial services player to go NCLT for a possible debt resolution -
Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL).
ENVIRONMENT
1. Cyclone in the Arabian Sea in November 2019 -

Cyclone Maha.
2. ‘Red Atlas Action Plan Map’ atlas and the ‘Coastal Flood
Warning System App launched for flood mitigation in –
Chennai.
3. 3This many scientists from across the world warned that the planet is facing a
'climate emergency', according to the study, called the ‘World Scientists warning of a
climate emergency’ - Over 11,000.
4. According to the Capgemini’s World Energy Markets Observatory report, in the world,
Greenhouse gas emissions was highest in 2018 in – India (emission jumped 6.3%)
5. According to the Capgemini’s World Energy Markets Observatory report, India’s
energy consumption in 2018 grew by - 4% (with around 59% of its power generation
coming from coal).
6. For the First time, this Indian institute along with the Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR) launched the web-repository regarding the air quality for
the last 60 years - National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI).
7. The Sumatran rhinoceros has become extinct in – Malaysia (last rhino, named
Iman).
8. AIRA study said the industrial age swings in the tropical Pacific wind and ocean
temperatures called El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is this much stronger than
in the pre-industrial records - 25 percent.
9. Researchers have found an aquatic environment on the Earth with complete
absence of any form of (microbial) life in – Ethiopia (in the hot, saline, hyperacid
ponds of the Dallol geothermal field).
10. As per the UN Environment Programme's annual Emissions Gap Report, Global
temperatures are expected to rise by this much degree Celsius by the end of the
century even if all current unconditional commitments under the Paris deal are
implemented - 3.2 degree celsius.
INTERNATIONAL
1. Two new countries which have signed the International Solar Alliance's (ISA)
Framework Agreement on 31 October - Eritrea and Saint Kittis and Nevis (Now
total 83 member countries).
2. Host country of the UN’s COP-25 climate summit after Chile abandoned plans to
hold - Spain.
3. This country tops list of nations with most favourable environment for financial
inclusion, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2019 Global
Microscope on Financial Inclusion report – India.
4. India and Germany have launched Indo-German Partnership for Green Urban
Mobility and this much amount has been earmarked for it - one billion dollars.
5. Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri has
inaugurated a new Guru Nanak Chair at the - University of Birmingham (UK).
6. First position in the list for being the most polluted city in the world, according to
a real-time air quality ranking report by IQ Air Visual - New Delhi (AQI of 422)
(followed by Lahore in Pakistan and Hanoi in Vietnam).
7. Political party of this country has launched the world's first environment friendly
election campaign by setting up a system that will measure carbon emission
released from vehicles used during campaigning - Sri Lanka (SLPP party, headed
by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa).
8. On 31 October, India lost a case filed by this country at the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) against domestic export incentives - the US.
9. World's best restaurant, according to TripAdvisor - Beijing's ‘The TRB Hutong’
restaurant.
10. A “Nazi Emergency” has been declared in the city of Dresden of this country in an
attempt to tackle the growth of far-right extremism - German.
11. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Joint Exercise on Urban Earthquake
Search & Rescue (SCOJtEx-2019) inaugurated on 04 November 2019 in - New
Delhi.
12. World’s best cheese - Rogue River blue cheese (comes from Oregon in the
United States).
13. World's First Menstrual Hygiene Management Summit organised in - New Delhi,
India (by Gramalaya for Eco-friendly alternatives).
14. As per a study of internet freedom by Freedom on the Net, the world's most
censored internet and the world's worst abuser of internet freedom - China (for
the fourth year in a row).
15. The country that granting the most internet freedom, as per a study of internet
freedom by Freedom on the Net – Iceland (Estonia is second and third is
Canada).
16. Global Village which will become the world's first 5G-powered entertainment
destination, is situated at - Dubai (UAE).
17. From 4 to 7 November, the biennial Commonwealth Law Ministers’ Conference
under the theme ‘Equal Access to Justice and the Rule of Law’ held in - Colombo,
Sri Lanka.
18. Winner of the Asia Society’s prestigious Game Changer Award 2019 in New York
for their path-breaking work to empower women and dismantle gender
stereotypes in the Himalayas - Kung Fu Nuns (Drukpa Order).
19. On 4 November, India decided against joining the 16-nation - Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade deal.
20. On the eighth death anniversary of the State’s cultural icon ‘Bhupen Hazarika’,
this country has given a Sanskrit makeover to its National Anthem – Bangladesh
(Anthem "Amar Sonar Bangla").
21. The 6th Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit of the G20 countries held in - Tokyo,
Japan (during 3-5 November 2019).
22. World's oldest post office, which is recognised by Guinness World Records,
facing closure after more than 300 years in business - Sanquhar post office,
Scotland (opened in 1712).
23. According to Credit Suisse Research Institute's Global annual wealth report, the
world's three richest nationalities - Switzerland, Hong Kong and the United
States.
24. According to Credit Suisse Research Institute's Global annual wealth report,
global wealth has grown by 2.6% in the past year and is now at - USD 360 trillion.
25. World’s first service using artificial intelligence to issue fatwas, or Islamic rulings
on religious matters - ‘Virtual Ifta’ (Launched in Dubai, UAE).
26. From 4 November 2019, the World Travel Market (WTM) launched in - London,
UK.
27. The first ever ‘BIMSTEC Ports’ Conclave’ held on 7-8 November 2019 in –
Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
28. On 7 November, the 'No Money For Terror' Ministerial Conference was held in -
Melbourne, Australia.
29. Host of the next 'No Money For Terror' Conference in 2020 - India.
30. Island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean passed a bill to reduce its
carbon emissions to zero by 2050 - New Zealand.
31. This Asian country has begun a process to research and develop 6G networks
just days after the commercial launch of 5G services in the country – China.
32. This airline company signed a one-way codeshare agreement with Qatar Airways
to start flights between Doha and Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad - IndiGo.
33. The 15th governing council meeting (GCM) of the South Asia Co-operative
Environment Programme (SACEP) was held in - Dhaka, Bangladesh.
34. Place of the 2019 BRICS summit - Brasilia, Brazil.
35. The 4th Edition of the International Association for the Performing Arts and
Research (IAPAR) International theatre festival is held in – Pune, MS, India.
36. Opening on 13 November 2019, the ''World Tolerance Summit'' will organise in –
Dubai (United Arab Emirates).
37. This Asian country is planning for World’s Biggest Facial Recognition System in
Public Places – India.
38. Country with highest number of Child Brides in the world, according to the United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) – India (second - Nigeria).
39. After the anti-government protests in this country, President Evo Morales
stepped down after almost 14 years in power - Bolivia.
40. The eight-session of the Governing Body of International Treaty of Plant Genetic
Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) organised in - Rome, Italy (from
11-16 November).
41. New app-based business banking service of British Investment banking
companies HSBC and RBS - HSBC Kinetic.
42. Host of the 5th edition of IUPHAR world conference on Pharmacology of Natural
products from 4 to 7 December 2019 - National Institute of Nutrition (NIN),
Hyderabad, India.
43. From 2 to 5 September 2020, the annual Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) will be
organised in – Vladivostok, Russia.
44. Diriyah Gate, a new cultural and lifestyle tourism destination with a UNESCO
World Heritage Site, is situated in - Saudi Arabia (near Riyadh).
45. First place in a list of the world’s most innovative cities 2019 - New York, USA
(Tokyo and London took second and third places).
46. Host of the 19th council of heads of government of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation (SCO) in 2020 - India.
47. The 6th World Congress on Rural and Agriculture Finance was held in - New
Delhi, India.
48. This country, Russia, and China have partnered to explore an alternative to the
US-dominated Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication
(SWIFT) payment mechanism - India.
49. Country that has the lowest risk of bribery on the index in South Asia, according
to the Trace Bribery Matrix ranking - Bhutan (52nd) (highest in Bangladesh).
50. The 2nd Summit of World Religious Leaders held from 14-15 November 2019 in -
Baku, Azerbaijan.
51. Host of the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on
Migratory Species (CMS COP13) from 17 to 22 February 2020 – India.
52. India has pledged to contribute this much fund for various operational activities
of development across the UN agencies for the year 2020 - USD 13.5 million.
53. The 8th International Conference on Agricultural Statistics (ICAS-VIII) will be
organized from 18th to 21st November 2019 in - New Delhi, India.
54. Winner of the Golden Leaf Award in the Most Impressive Public Service Initiative
category at Tab Expo 2019 event in Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Tobacco
Board of India.
55. The 6th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) held in - Bangkok,
Thailand.
56. The Plenary meeting of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is
being hosted from 18th to 22nd November in - New Delhi.
57. The Chair of Kimberley Process for the year 2019 – India (“KP Chair” - B. B.
Swain; “KP Focal Point” - Rupa Dutta).
58. This country has sent its first domestically manufactured aircraft carrier, known
as 002, across the Taiwan Strait - China.
59. This Indian institute has signed a memorandum of understanding with Brunel
University London to join forces on Education and Research Collaboration -
Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIM-K).
60. The largest producer of Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) or Sponge Iron (30.36MT) in
the world - India.
61. The 29th Regional Contact Points (RCP) meeting of Asia Pacific (A/P) region of
the World Customs Organization (WCO) held at - Puducherry.
62. First place in the 2019 IMD World Talent Ranking - Switzerland.
63. The 2019 World Science Forum will take place between 20 and 23 November in -
Budapest, Hungary.
64. The 2nd edition of South Asia Safety Summit organized in – Delhi, India.
65. During 20-22 November 2019, the Second Edition of India ASEAN InnoTech
Summit held in - Davao, Philippines.
66. On 21 November, a MoU was signed for strengthening cooperation in the field of
Tourism between India and - Finland.
67. Best nationality in the world, according to the Kälin and Kochenov’s Quality of
Nationality Index (QNI) - France (followed by Germany, the Netherlands).
68. First place in the first-ever Prosperity & Inclusion City Seal and Awards (PICSA)
Index (Spain) - Zurich, Switzerland (followed by Vienna, Copenhagen).
69. On 22 November, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously
passed a declaration proposed by this country expressing support for the
Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and
Use of Chemical Weapons - Britain.
70. On 22 November, the 5th Meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
Member States’ Heads of Ministries and Departments of Science and
Technology and Permanent Working Group on S&T Cooperation concluded in -
Moscow, Russia.
71. Host country of Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of SCO

Member States in 2020 – India.
72. Proposed world's newest nation in the Pacific island chain after voting on
referendum on independence from Papua New Guinea – Bougainville.
73. India and this Asian country will jointly release commemorative stamps and
noble metal coins to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of
diplomatic ties - China.
74. On 22-23 November, the G20 foreign ministers meet organised in - Nagoya,
Japan.
75. The 5th Australia-India Education Council (AIEC) meeting held in - New Delhi.
76. According to the report 'Main Streets Across the World 2019' of Cushman &
Wakefield, world’s most expensive retail location – Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
(annual rent of USD 2,745 per sq ft) (New York's 5th Avenue - second).
77. Floating school project in this country won Aga Khan Architecture Award of the
Aga Khan Foundation – Bangladesh (named ‘The Arcadia Education Project’).
78. Host of a three-day Commonwealth Youth Parliament starting on 25 November
2019 - Delhi Assembly.
79. Klaus Iohannis was elected as President of this country for a second term in the
presidential election - Romania.
80. The WHO - International Experts Consultation Meeting (IECM) on Traditional

Medicine will be held from 26th to 29th November 2019 in – Gujarat.
81. The WHO Working Group Meeting (WGM) on Traditional Medicine literary
research will be held from 2nd to 4th December 2019 - New Delhi.
82. Winner of the prestigious Brand of the Year award at the World Branding Awards
2019 - Milton.
83. On 25 November, India and this Asian country signed a MoU for cooperation in
the field of education and scientific research - Vietnam.
84. On 26 November, The Commonwealth has announced a new partnership
designed to reduce domestic violence in member countries, including India and
signed a MoU with the - NO MORE Foundation.
85. Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has signed a pact with this
this association for cooperation and support in promoting a sustainable, safe,
clean, affordable and efficient automobile industry - Korea Automobile
Manufacturers Association (KAMA).
86. First place in the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2020 - National University
of Singapore (2nd - Nanyang Technological University).
87. International Council for Film Television and Audio-visual Communication (ICFT)
will award ICFT-UNESCO Fellini medal to - International Film Festival of India
(IFFI).
88. With the theme of 'Bridging the Gap', the ‘Ocean Dance Festival 2019’ ended on
27 November in - Bangladesh.
89. According to Comscore’s latest report titled ‘Trends in Online News

Consumption’, World’s largest online news consuming nation - China (with 617
mn UVs).
90. ‘Sperm Positive’, World's first HIV positive online sperm bank is in - New Zealand.
91. On 28 November, the Fifth Dialogue of NITI Aayog and Development Research
Centre (DRC) of China was held in - Wuhan, China.
92. According to the Lowy Institute, country with the most diplomatic posts across
the world - China.
93. Gulf country that was elected to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee for the first time -
Saudi Arabia (for the term 2019-2023).
94. On 27 November, The UK-India Business Council has announced the
establishment of an - Aerospace and Defence Industry Group.
95. The 31st session of International Maritime Organization (IMO) held from 25
November to 4 December 2019 in - London, UK.
NATIONAL
1. The company that ranks highest in the J.D. Power 2019 India Sales Satisfaction
Index (Mass Market) Study – Hyundai.
2. Winner of the ASSOCHAM Emerging Digital Technology Award 2019 for
innovative use of digital marketing automation - Mirum India (Salesforce Gold
Consulting Partner).
3. At the United Nations Climate Action Summit 2019, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi pledged to increase renewable energy capacity to 175 Giga Watt by – 2022.
4. India is going to participate in the Programme for International Student
Assessment (PISA) competition to be held in - 2021.
5. On 31 October, the four-day megacultural and literary youth extravaganza “KVS-
Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Parv” inaugurated in - New Delhi.
6. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is set to come up with 100
Swavalamban Connect Kendras (SCK) in - Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand,
Odisha and Telangana.
7. Indian cities which are among the 66 urban settlements designated as creative
cities by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO) on 31 October - Mumbai (contribution in the world of film) and
Hyderabad (for gastronomy).
8. According to the world's air pollution real air quality index, India has come -
Second.
9. India's unemployment rate in October 2019 - 8.5% (which is the highest since
August 2016).
10. India’s first-ever Arts Exposition for Artists "eCAPA 2019 - Art from the Heart"
organised in - New Delhi.
11. Union Minister of State Santosh Kumar Gangwar launched UAN REGISTRATION
App which is developed by - Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO)
(UAN - Universal Account Number).
12. On 2 November, the UNESCO instituted World Bioethics Day under the theme of -
“Respect for cultural diversity” (celebrated by the UNESCO chair of bioethics unit
at Christian Medical College, Ludhiana).
13. Under the theme of ‘RISEN India –Research, Innovation and Science Empowering
the Nation’, the 5th India International Science Festival (IISF) will be organised by
Department of Science & Technology on 5 November 2019 in - Kolkata.
14. The 8th meeting of the Indo – German Energy Forum concluded on 1 November
2019 in - New Delhi.
15. The Government has announced setting up anti-human trafficking units in all
districts with the help of - Nirbhaya Fund.
16. ‘TP Renewable Microgrid’ will be the new arm of - Tata Power (in collaboration
with Rockefeller Foundation).
17. Ministry of AYUSH launched the National Research Institute of Unani Medicine
for Skin Disorders (NRIUMSD) at - Erragadda, Hyderabad.
18. On 03 November, Vigyanika-International Science Literature Festival inaugurated
in - Kolkata.
19. India’s rank regarding the internet freedom, as per a study of internet freedom by
Freedom on the Net - 19 (Country with 'partly free' internet access).
20. Tata Trusts has partnered with Cisco to implement Program Saksham aimed to
create 3,500 rural women entrepreneurs in sixteen districts of - Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar.
21. The Women Scientists’ and Entrepreneurs’ Conclave 2019 held on 4 November in
- Kolkata.
22. The third edition of women scientists’ conclave will be organized on 7 and 8
November in - Kolkata.
23. India’s first-ever global Mega-Science exhibition, ‘Vigyan Samagam’, was
inaugurated on 4 November in - Kolkata.
24. The ‘Mission Innovation (MI) Face to Face meeting of Innovation Challenges(IC)’
held on 4 November in – Delhi.
25. On 4 November, the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE)
announced the launch of SkillsBuild platform in collaboration with - IBM.
26. Annual ‘Sustainable Water Management Conference 2019’ is being hosted during
6-8 November 2019 in – Pune (by Water Resources Department, Government of
Maharashtra).
27. As per the fifth edition of ‘Wastelands Atlas – 2019’, India’s share of total land
area of the World - 2.4% (supporting 18% of the World’s population).
28. The 5th Global Exhibition on Services (GES) will be held from 26th – 28th
November in - Bengaluru.
29. The International Conference on Soil and Water Resources Management for
Climate Smart Agriculture and Global Food and Livelihood Security began in -
New Delhi (on 5 November 2019).
30. Indian Start-Up Innovation Camp 2019, a first-of-its-kind competition in India, will
be held on 17-18 December 2019 in – Bangalore (In collaboration with Tata
Trusts, IHCL, Swissnex India and the Global Himalayan Expedition).
31. Annual Human Resource (HR) World Summit 2019 will be held in – Mumbai (on
21 November).
32. First World Assembly on Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy ‘Ayuryog Expo 2019’
will be held from 7 November to 10 November in - Greater Noida (UP).
33. The first day of India International Science Festival (IISF) 2019 created the
Guinness World Records for the largest astrophysics lesson, with a time duration
of 45 minutes, and assembly of spectroscopes with the participation of over -
1,598 students.
34. A Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) Igniter Complex was

inaugurated at High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) in – Pune
(laboratory is to design, process, evaluate ignition systems for any DRDO
projects).
35. An E-Governance school automation and management system for Navodaya
VidyalayaSamiti (NVS) - ShaalaDarpan portal.
36. Opening Film of the 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa which
takes place from 20th - 28th November 2019 - “Despite the Fog” (directed by
Goran Paskaljevic).
37. The ministry of commerce and industries has allocated separate HS code for
signature fabric of India, called – Khadi.
38. The 11th edition of Bal Sangam from 9th-12th November 2019 will be organised
at - National School of Drama, New Delhi.
39. The Documentation Identification Number (DIN) system of Central Board of
Indirect Taxes (CBIC) will come into existence from - 8th November 2019.
40. Indian Railways, on the auspicious occasion of 69th Foundation Day of Western
Railway on 5 November 2019, introduced the state-of-the-art “UTTAM RAKE” in
its inaugural run as Ladies Special local train from - Churchgate to Virar.
41. To mark the 11th anniversary of Ganga for getting the tag of national river, Ganga
Utsav celebrated in – Delhi (on 6 November).
42. Winner of the National CSR Award (NCSRA) in the category of Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) in Challenging Circumstances, West Zone - TechnipFMC.
43. The Indian Railways (IR) has installed two Health ATMs (promoted by YOLO
Health ATM) at the - Charbagh railway station in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
44. Under the theme “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”, the 27th Conference
of Central and State Statistical Organizations (COCSSO) during 11-12th
November 2019 will be organised in - Kolkata.
45. Theme of the inaugural conclave “NCR-2041” which will be held in Delhi on 11th
November 2019 - “Planning for Tomorrow’s Greatest Capital Region”.
46. First place among the large-medium states on justice delivery, according to the
‘India Justice Report 2019’ - Maharashtra.
47. According to the IAMAI’ report titled “India Internet 2019”, Internet penetration
rate is highest in the country in - Delhi.
48. FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) will host the 12th Annual Awards and
Conference of International Women's Entrepreneurial Challenge Foundation
(IWEC 2019) on 11-12 November 2019 in - New Delhi.
49. “Shilpostav- 2019”, which began on 1st November and will continue till
15th November 2019, organised in - New Delhi.
50. On 9 November, Sanskrit Bharati Vishwa Sammelan began in - New Delhi.
51. This Indian institute hosted a grand modelling show as ‘United Nations World
Finale- 2019 which was conducted by United Nations Pageant - Lovely
Professional University, Jalandhar, Punjab.
52. According to the USA’s Country Report on Terrorism 2018, this Indian party is the
world’s sixth deadliest terrorist organisation - Communist Party of India (Maoist).
53. This city hosted 'Zoohackathon' on 9-10 November - Kolkata.
54. Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi inaugurated this language-based version of
the book Courts of India on 10 November – Assamese version.
55. India’s first interactive online repository about Air quality - IndAIR (Indian Air
quality studies Interactive Repository).
56. From 11th to 17th November 2019, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and
Climate Change are undertaking a mass cleanliness-cum-awareness drive in 50
identified beaches under the - “Swachh – Nirmal Tat Abhiyaan”.
57. Under the theme: “Today, Tomorrow, Together”, the Inaugural Session of India-
ASEAN Business Summit 2019 organised in – Delhi (on 11-12 November).
58. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) approved the
Environment Clearance to
59. Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) will setup its second 2G Ethanol plant at -
Panipat, Haryana.
60. Suranga Bawadi (integral part of the ancient Karez System) has entered the
World Monuments Watch List under the Ancient Water System of the Deccan
Plateau of the World Monument Funds, which is situated in - Bijapur, Karnataka.
61. Indian winner of the award for IPTV Innovation at the World Communication
Awards 2019 in London - JioTV.
62. On 13 November, the Supreme Court held that this office is a public authority
under Right to Information (RTI) Act - office of Chief Justice of India.
63. In the backdrop of cyber-attack on the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, India is
to setup cybersecurity cooperation with - Russia.
64. The 7th edition of the North East Festival concluded on 11 November 2019 in -
New Delhi.
65. The International Symposium on Lighting (iSoL) organised at International Centre
for Automotive Technology (ICAT) in - Gurugram.
66. Ministry of AYUSH is organizing the International Conference on Yoga under the
theme of ‘Yoga for Heart Care’ on 15-16 November 2019 at - Mysuru, Karnataka.
67. The 3rd Edition of Digital Enterprise Summit 2019 concluded in – Mumbai.
68. Winner of the Women Achievers Award 2019, given by the Associated Chambers
of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) - Jindal Steel and Power Ltd
(JSPL).
69. The Women Leadership and Empowerment Summit 2019 held on 13 November
2019 in - New Delhi.
70. For vision planning in design, engineering and manufacturing of lighter, smarter,
value-added, safe and faster premium bicycles, Department for Promotion of
Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry,
Government of India, has setup - Development Council for Bicycle.
71. A video campaign 'Let Them Shine', aims to bridge the gap between parents'
aspirations and kids' dreams, launched by - Bharti AXA Life Insurance.
72. The Inkpot India Conclave organised on 18 November 2019 in - New Delhi.
73. Election Commission will establish a visiting chair on Interdisciplinary Approach
to Electoral Studies in memory of former Chief Election Commissioner - T N
Seshan (which will be established in the Centre for Curriculum Development at
India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management, New Delhi
from 2020-2025).
74. Theme of the National Agrochemicals Congress that concluded in Delhi on 16
November 2019 – “Country's Status on Various Fronts of Agrochemicals”.
75. On 16 November 2019, the NHM National Summit in - Gandhinagar (Gujarat).
76. A campaign that was launched at the NHM National Summit 2019 to control
Pneumonia - SAANS (Social Awareness and Action to Neutralise Pneumonia
Successfully).
77. This institution released the report on ‘Health Systems for a New India: Building
Blocks—Potential Pathways to Reforms’ - NITI Aayog.
78. The first Winter-Grade Diesel outlet was launched for - Ladakh region.
79. India’s rank in the 2019 IMD World Talent Ranking – 59th.
80. Winner of the 2019 UNESCO Sultan Qaboos Prize for environmental conservation
- Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE),
Bengaluru.
81. This State tourism department and stakeholders were awarded the Best
Emerging Green Tourist Destination Award by Travel & Leisure magazine -
Arunachal Pradesh.
82. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India today signed a
$91 million loan to modernize the Vijayanagara Channel irrigation systems in -
Karnataka.
83. The International Principal’s Education Conference (IPEC) inaugurated on 19
November at – Nagpur, Maharashtra.
84. The ‘2019 World Conference on Access to Medical Products Achieving the SDGs
2030’ inaugurated on 19 November in – Delhi.
85. Next Census is in – 2021 (during 9-28 February).
86. The second Edition of “ISA – Steel Conclave 2019” will organise on 21st – 22nd
November in - New Delhi.
87. A global digital literacy programme 'We Think Digital' launched by – Facebook.
88. The Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference and Expo 2019 organised in - Uttar
Pradesh, Lucknow.
89. On 19 November, the Parliament passed - Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial
(Amendment) Bill, 2019.
90. The Government is to implement the National Food Security Mission (NFSM)–
Oilseeds and Oil Palm (OS&OP) in six more States, namely - Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.
91. The Global Bio-India Summit 2019 organised in - New Delhi.
92. The National Institute for Sowa-Rigpa will be established in – Leh (under the
Ministry of AYUSH).
93. Approved by the Union Cabinet on 20 November, For the first time, the Indian
Patent Office is entering into a pilot programme on Bilateral Patent Prosecution
Highway (PPH) with -Japan Patent Office (JPO).
94. Quality Council of India (QCI) will organise the 10th Regional Quality Conclave on
the theme “Quality & Manufacturing Excellence for Sustainable Growth” on 29
November 2019 in – Kolkata, WB.
95. Awake Bangalore organised an International Women Entrepreneurs' Day in
Bengaluru on - 20 November 2019.
96. The International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) is organizing the
NuGen Mobility Summit 2019 from 27-29 November 2019 in - Manesar,
Gurugram.
97. The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India organised the “International

Tourism Mart” (ITM) at - Imphal, Manipur (23-25 November).
98. On 21 November, for cooperation in the field of Research & Development and
Training in Ayurveda & Traditional Medicine, Central Council for Research in
Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) has entered a MoU with JawaharLal Nehru
University (JNU) and - Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS).
99. The ‘Destination North East’ Festival inaugurated in - Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (on
23rd November).
100. First place in the 'Top 10 Full-Time Data Science Courses in India - 2019'
by Analytics India Magazine (AIM) - Post-Graduate Diploma in Business
Analytics Jointly offered By IIM Calcutta, ISI Kolkata, IIT Kharagpur.
101. First place in the Great Place to Work® Institute’s 'India's Best Workplaces
in IT and IT-BPM 2019 - TO THE NEW (amongst the world’s Top 25).
102. India's highest-ranked city in the first-ever Prosperity & Inclusion City Seal
and Awards (PICSA) Index (Spain) - Bangalore (83rd) (Delhi and Mumbai ranked
101 and 107).
103. On 23 November, All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) has signed a MoU
with this university of Australia for the collaboration in research and developing
guidelines for integrating Ayurveda principles with modern medicine - Western
Sydney University.
104. Government's new health insurance program which offers families health
cover of up to 500,000 rupees a year of severe ailments - Medicare Program.
105. The third edition of Military Literature Festival (MLF) will be held from 13-
15 December 2019 in – Chandigarh, Punjab.
106. On 22 November, Deakin University of this country hosted an event in New
Delhi to highlight the importance of government, industry and academic
partnerships to develop sport in India – Australia (celebrating 25 years of
engagement in India).
107. Indian place which become the world's 20th most expensive retail
location, according to the report 'Main Streets Across the World 2019' of
Cushman & Wakefield - Delhi's Khan Market (an annual rent of USD 243 per sq
ft).
108. The third edition of Parallel literature festival (PLF) will be held in February
2020 in – Jaipur, Rajasthan.
109. A 'turban bank' has been started at - Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, New Delhi.
110. Under the Bharat Net Project, Central Government has set a target to
provide internet and broadband connectivity to two lakh Gram Panchayats by -
March 2020.
111. According to NITI Aayog, this much percentage of children in the age
group 6 to 24 months gets adequate nutrition in India - only 9% (including in rich
and poor families).
112. The Government of India has planned to merge the Union Territories of
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and - Daman and Diu.
113. The 27th Quality Summit organised by CII Institute of Quality in -
Bengaluru.
114. The 'Fit India School grading system' in schools across the country
launched on 24 November and rankings have been divided into three categories -
The Fit India Schools, Fit India School (3 star) and Fit India School (5 star).
115. India’s rank in the Nomura’s Food Vulnerability Index (NFVI) – 44th.
116. The Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth (SIFFCY 2019)
will be organised by Smile Foundation in – Delhi (opens on 9 December 2019).
117. The second edition of "Verve De L'Art" will start on 1 December 2019 in -
Delhi.
118. Parliament gave its nod to the National Institute of Design (Amendment)
Bill, 2019 which seeks to declare four National Institutes of Design in these
states as institutions of national importance - Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Assam and Haryana.
119. As per National Statistical Office (NSO) survey, the literacy rate among
those who are in the age group of 7 years and above during July 2017-June 2018
in India - 77.7 percent (73.5% in rural and 87.7% in urban areas).
120. Indian institute that topped in India in the QS World University Rankings:
Asia 2020 - IIT Bombay (34th place) (96 Indian universities in the list).
121. On 27 November, the 15th FICCI Higher Education Summit inaugurated in -
New Delhi.
122. On 27 November, Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) and
Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) signed a Memorandum of
Understanding to organise to organise “National Organic Festival of Women
Entrepreneurs” at - NIFTEM, Kundli, Sonepat, Haryana.
123. The 1st International Conference on “Landslides Risk Reduction and
Resilience" organised in – Delhi (on 28 November).
124. Under the theme of "Women Entrepreneurship", National Institute of Rural
Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) will hold the 17th rural technology
and crafts mela from 29 November in – Hyderabad.
125. ‘Aquabe 2019’, India’s very first international conference on blue economy
and aquatic resources, will begin on 28 November in - Kochi, Kerala.
126. The 'EcoCinema: A Greener World Through Art' festival organised at the
US Consulate in – Kolkata, WB.
127. 47th ‘All India Police Science Congress (AIPSC) started from 27 November
in – Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
128. Government has proposal to set up rocket launching pad in the State of -
Tamil Nadu (near Kulasekarapattinam).
129. The two-day Conference on ‘Jal Shakti and Disaster Management’ will be
organised from 30 Nov to 1 December in – Jammu.
130. On 27 November, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has
approved to increase the authorized capital of Food Corporation of India (FCI)
from existing Rs.3,500 crore to - Rs.10,000 crore.
131. On 28 November, Parliament passed ‘Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2019’
which seeks to raise the maximum chit amount for those managed by individuals
or less than four partners from Rs 1 lakh to - Rs 3 lakh (for firms with four or
more partners :- from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 18 lakh).
132. 9th International Conference on Sustainable Waste Management held in –
Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
133. According to Comscore’s latest report titled ‘Trends in Online News

Consumption’, India’s position in the list of largest online news consuming
nations in the world - Second (with 282 mn unique visitors).
134. According to the Lowy Institute, India’s rank in terms of number of
diplomatic posts across the world - 12th.
135. Winner of the Golden Peacock Award at the 50th International Film
Festival of India (IFFI) 2019 – Film ‘Particles’ (directed by Blaise Harrison).
136. Winner of the ICFT –UNESCO Gandhi Medal at the IFFI 2019 – Italian film
‘Rwanda’ (directed by Riccardo Salvetti).
137. The government has earmarked a budget of this much fund for the
'POSHAN Abhiyaan', a three- year nutritional programme for children and women
- Rs 9,046 crore.
138. These two IITs and the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM)
have joined hands to develop 'Gandhipedia' - IIT Kharagpur and IIT Gandhinagar.
139. This IT services company has inked an agreement with Australian federal
government's Services Australia to transform the entitlement calculation engine
for the nation's welfare system - Infosys.
140. Winner of the International Press Institute India award 2019 for excellence
in journalism - NDTV.
141. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched Accelerator
Lab in - New Delhi.
142. Winner of the CII EXIM Bank Award for Business Excellence 2019 -
Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited (KOEL).
143. This mass media agency has set up a fact-checking unit to verify news
related to the government's ministries, departments and schemes and to alert
the public about fake news in circulation - Press Information Bureau (PIB).
144. India’s university that will provide education on police-related issues -
Raksha Shakti University.
145. Labour Ministry has decided to celebrate Pension Week during - 30th
November 2019 - 6th December 2019.
PERSON IN NEWS
1. Winner of the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration 2019 of the Congress
- Chandi Prasad Bhatt (the Chipko movement).
2. Former Karnataka Lokayukta and retired Supreme Court judge who passed away
on 30 October in Bengaluru - Justice Nanje Gowda Venkatachala.
3. New Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IndusInd Bank Ltd. -
Sumant Kathpalia (successor to Romesh Sobti).
4. This Indian-origin researcher has been given the 'Early Career Researcher of the
Year' award by the Australian government for developing next-generation battery
systems such as sodium-ion battery that will leave minimal environmental
impact - Neeraj Sharma.
5. Present German Chancellor - Angela Merkel.
6. Winner of the Special Icon award at the 50th International Film Festival of India
(IFFI) 2019 - Actor Rajinikanth.
7. Winner of the Life Time Achievement Award for a Foreign Artiste at the 50th
International Film Festival of India (IFFI) - French Actress Isabelle Hupert.
8. Winner of the JCB Prize for Literature 2019 - Madhuri Vijay (for the novel ‘The
Far Field’).
9. Winner of the highest literary award ‘Ezhuthachan Award 2019’ given by the
Kerala government - Anand.
10. Winner of the prestigious Italian Golden Sand Art Award 2019 at the International
Scorrana Sand Nativity in Italy - Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik.
11. Winner of the Udyog Rattan Award 2019, given by ‘Institute of Economic Studies’
- Sarabjit Singh (MD, Akal Information Systems Ltd).
12. Winner of the lifetime achievement award at the Hindi poetry festival 'Anubhuti'
organised by Paasbaan-e-Adab - Hindi poet Dr Uday Pratap Singh.
13. An eight-year-old girl who has won accolades for setting two new world records
in breaking 350 ceramic tiles in a span of 20 minutes and another in painting
continuously for five hours and made 102 paper boats in one hour - P.V. Sahruda
(show organised by Elite World Records at Geetanjali High School, Hyderabad).
14. New chairman of the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) - Aditya Mishra.
15. First Indian to be elected to the position of General Vice President (GVP),
International Organisation Development Association (IODA) since its inception in
1986 - Dr Vinaya Shetty (Mumbai, India).
16. Winners of the Infosys Science Prize 2019 - G. Mugesh (Physical Sciences),
Sunita Sarawagi (Databases, Machine learning), Manu V. Devadevan (pre-
modern South India), Manjula Reddy (structure of bacteria cell walls), Siddhartha
Mishra (at Swiss University ETH Zurich, applied mathematics), Anand Pandian
(ethics, selfhood).
17. In present, Chairman of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) -
Vinai Kumar Saxena.
18. Elected President of UAE - Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
19. Winner of the Raja Ram Mohan Roy Award for the year 2019 in journalism - Gulab
Kothari (given by the Press Council Of India).
20. First Industrialist from India who won the prestigious Deming 'Distinguished
Service Award for Dissemination and Promotion Overseas' in Tokyo - Venu
Srinivasan (Chairman of TVS Motor Company).
21. Winner of the Great People Manager Awards 2019 - Virendra D Sanghavi (MD of
Aarvi Encon Limited).
22. Author of the book ‘Simplicity and Wisdom’ - Dinesh Shahra.
23. New president of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) - Witold Banka (Poland)
(Yang Yang - vice-president).
24. Indian artist who create Guinness record with pencil drawing portrait of Mahatma
Gandhi on a canvas spread over 410.26 square meters - Aman Singh Gulati (age
18 years, from Uttar Pradesh).
25. Indian winner of Asia's Most Influential Designer award at the Designer of the
Year Awards (DOTY) 2019 at in Kuala Lumpur - Sussanne Khan.
26. New elected Prime Minister of Mauritius - Pravind Jugnauth.
27. Person who is the chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, conferred the ABLF Global
Asian Award 2019 - Kumar Mangalam Birla.
28. New State Coordinator for the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam -
Hitesh Dev Sarma.
29. Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) who passed away on 10 November
2019 - Tirunellai Narayana Iyer Seshan.
30. Winner of the ‘Most Powerful Business Women Of The Year 2019’ Award from
Fortune India Awards - Ekta Kapoor.
31. Gold medallist in the 100+ kg category at the 11th World Bodybuilding
Championship 2019 in Jeju Island, South Korea - Havildar Anuj Kumar Taliyan.
32. New Chief Justice of High Court (HC) of Tripura - Justice Akil Abdulhamid
Kureshi (from 16 November).
33. New Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court - Justice Mohammed Rafiq.
34. Winner of the Munin Barkotoki Literary Award 2019 - Ankur Ranjan Phukan (poet)
and Monoranjan Bori (short story writer).
35. Winner of the 'Most Promising Business Leaders of Asia 2019 Award' at the 4th
edition of The Economic Times Asian Business Leaders Conclave held in
Singapore - Dr Soumitro Chakraborty (CEO, Fiinovation).
36. Person who won the BRICS Young Innovator Prize at the fourth BRICS-Young
Scientist Forum (YSF) 2019 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Ravi Prakash.
37. Person who took charge of office in the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public
Enterprises - Prakash Javadekar (Union Minister of Information and
Broadcasting & Environment, Forest and Climate Change).
38. First woman chief secretary of bifurcated Andhra Pradesh - Nilam Sawhney.
39. Noted mathematician who had challenged Einstein's theory of relativity, passed
away on 14 November in Patna - Vashishth Narayan Singh.
40. Winner of the Guru Nanak Dev Ji Achievers Award 2019 - Avneet Sidhu (Shooter).
41. India boxer who was conferred the Haryana Gaurav award by the Haryana in UK
Association - Amit Panghal.
42. Winner of the ABLF Lifetime Achievement Award at the 12th edition of the Asian
Business Leadership Forum (ABLF) in Dubai - Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla.
43. First woman Judge Advocate General of the Indian Army to be deployed on a
foreign mission, as a military legal expert with the Government of Seychelles -
Lieutenant Colonel Jyoti Sharma.
44. First person from northeast as the Chief Justice of India - Justice Ranjan Gogoi
(retired on 17 November).
45. Newly sworn-in President of Sri Lanka - Gotabaya Rajapakasa.
46. Four newly-elected Members of Parliament who took oath in the Lok Sabha on 18
November 2019 - Prince Raj (Bihar), Himadri Singh (Madhya Pradesh),
Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil (Maharashtra) and D.M. Kathir Anand (Tamil Nadu).
47. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has conferred a Lifetime
Achievement Award to - Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Biocon chairperson).
48. New director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific at UN Development
Programme (UNDP) - Kanni Wignaraja (Sri Lanka).
49. New director of UNDP's Bureau for Policy and Programme Support - Haoliang Xu
(China).
50. New Chief information commissioner (CIC) of Tamil Nadu State - R Rajagopal.
51. Longest-serving Prime Minister in Japan's history - Shinzo Abe (2,887 days).
52. Winner of the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for
the year 2019 - Sir David Attenborough (Renowned broadcaster and naturalist).
53. Next Prime Minister of Sri Lanka - Mahinda Rajapaksa.
54. Recipients of the International Children's Peace Prize 2019 - Greta Thunberg
(Sweden) and Divina Maloum (Cameroonian).
55. Indian who was awarded People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
India's Person of the Year for 2019 - Virat Kohli.
56. New chairperson of the NIIT University (NU) - K. Kasturirangan (Former ISRO
Chairman).
57. Winner of the 28th Bihari Puraskar for 2018 for novel ‘Swapnapash’ - Manisha
Kulshreshtha (presented by the KK Birla Foundation to work in Hindi or
Rajasthani).
58. For the first time, this Indo-Canadian named the minister of public services and
procurement in the new cabinet of Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau - Anita Anand.
59. Author of the book, "RN Kao: Gentle Spymaster" - Nitin A. Gokhale.
60. Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh (1977-1978) who died on 24

November - Kailash Joshi (called 'saint of politics').
61. First Indian who won Mr. Universe (Pro) 2019 in the 90kg category at the 11th
World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championship (WBPF) in South Korea -
Chitahresh Natesan (33yr old former hockey player).
62. Miss Teen India 2019 - Nisha Kumari Singh.

63. Winner of the 'Quality Ratna' award, given by Confederation of Indian Industry -
Suresh Krishna (Chairman of Sundram Fasteners Ltd).
64. Chairman of Lokpal - Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose.

65. Winner of the best drama series award at the 47th International Emmy Awards in
New York - "McMafia" (Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer).
66. Author of fantasy novel "Children of Blood and Bone" - Tomi Adeyemi.
67. Indian cartoonist who died on 26 November 2019 - Sudhir Dar.
68. Person who appointed as a non-permanent member of the Economic Advisory
Council to the Prime Minister for two years – V. Anantha Nageswaran (dean of
IFMR Graduate School of Business, Korea University).
69. Author of the book titled “Hemant Karkare: A Daughter’s Memoir” - Jui Karkare.
70. New director, technical cooperation and silk road development at DI level of the
United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) at UNWTO's headquarters
in Madrid, Spain - Suman Billa.
71. First female president of European Commission - Ursula von der Leyen
(Germany).
72. Former Navy Chief who passed away in New Delhi on 27 November - Admiral
Sushil Kumar.
73. Indian journalist who was awarded the 2019 International Press Freedom Award
by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) - Neha Dixit.
74. Indian who was awarded the Honorary Fellowship by the Royal Aeronautical
Society of the United Kingdom - G Satheesh Reddy (Chairman of DRDO).
75. New Managing Director, South West Asia at the InterContinental Hotels Group
(IHG) - Sudeep Jain (wef 1 January 2020).
76. New Chief Financial Officer of State-owned SJVN, Himachal Pradesh -

Akhileshwar Singh.
77. New Chief Financial Officer of Indian Overseas Bank - Bhuwan Chandra (wef
December 1).
78. Winner of the Best Director Award at the IFFI 2019 - Lijo Jose Pellissery (for
‘Jallikattu’).
79. Winner of the Best Actor (Male) Award at the IFFI 2019 - Seu Jorge (Brazil).
80. Winner of the Best Actor (Female) Award at the IFFI 2019 - Usha Jadhav (for the
Marathi film ‘Mai Ghatt: Crime No. 103/2005).
81. Indian who is the ninth richest person in the world, according to 'Forbes’ The
Real-Time Billionaires List' - Mukesh Ambani ($60.8 billion).
82. Richest person in the world, according to 'Forbes’ The Real-Time Billionaires List'
- Jeff Bezos ($113 billion).
83. Winner of the 2019 Jnanpith Award - Akkitam Achuthan Namboothiri

(Philosopher-Poet).
SPORTS
1. India’s first Day-Night Test (for Bangladesh & India teams) will be played at -
Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
2. Indian player who will represent Asian bloc in athlete ambassadors group at the
Tokyo Olympics 2020 - M C Mary Kom.
3. Indian wrestler who won the silver medal in the 61kg category at the U-23 World
Wrestling Championship 2019 in Budapest - Ravindar.
4. Indian pair of men which get placed in the top 10 in the latest world badminton
rankings - Satvikraj-Chirag Shetty.
5. First place in Women’s singles category in the latest world badminton rankings –
Taipei’s Tei Teju Ying (PV Sindhu third).
6. First place in Men’s singles category in the latest world badminton rankings -
Japan's Kenta Momota (Kidambi Srikanth eighth).
7. The host country of the ICC Men and Women's T20 World Cup 2020 - Australia
(in Melbourne).
8. Host country of FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2020 - India.
9. Indian wrestler claimed silver medal in the Women’s 53kg category at the finals
of the UWW Under-23 World Championships 2019 in Budapest - Pooja Gehlot.
10. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between All India Football
Federation (AIFF) and – Germany’s DFB.
11. Winner of the Rugby World Cup 2019 - South Africa (third-time champions) (beat
England in final).
12. F1 racer who clinched 6th F1 World Championship title at US Grand Prix 2019 -
Lewis Hamilton.
13. The winner cricket team of the Deodhar Trophy 2019 - India B.
14. Indian player who won the SaarLorLux Open badminton tournament 2019 at
Saarbrücken in Germany - Lakshya Sen (defeated Sen Weng Hong Yang of
China).
15. The Indian men’s table tennis team entered the top 10 in the latest International
Table Tennis Federation rankings list for the first time that was released on 4
November 2019 and ranked – 9th (above Austria).
16. First place in the latest International Table Tennis Federation rankings list that
was released on 4 November 2019 - China (Japan remain second and Germany
is third).
17. Rank of the Indian women’s table tennis team in the latest International Table
Tennis Federation rankings list – 21st (first is China).
18. A documentary on this Football club has bagged the prestigious British Academy
of Film and Television Awards (BAFTA) and Scotland Awards in Glasgow,
Scotland - Real Kashmir Football Club.
19. Indian who claimed the women's 10m air pistol gold medal in the 14th Asian
Championship at Doha, Qatar - Manu Bhaker.
20. Host of the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 – India.
21. Indian who has been formally inducted into the Asia Pacific Golf Hall of Fame - Dr
Pawan Munjal.
22. First Indian man and second in world cricket who completed 100 T-20
Internationals - Rohit Sharma.
23. Indian Javelin thrower who won Gold medal with the new world record at the
World Para Athletics Championship held in Doha in the F44 category - Sandeep
Chaudhary.
24. 15-year-old woman cricketer from Haryana who made 73 runs and become the
youngest cricketer to score an international half-century, breaking the 30-year-old
record set by Sachin Tendulkar - Shafali Verma.
25. Player who won gold in the men's F46 javelin throw event at World Para Athletics
Championships 2019 in Dubai - Sundar Singh Gurjar.
26. To help make snooker a truly global sport, India Business Group (IBG) has joined
forces with the - UK-based World Snooker.
27. First South Asian nation that criminalise the offences for match-fixing - Sri
Lanka.
28. Indian who won three gold medals in the junior men's 10m air rifle individual,
mixed-gender and team events at the Asian Shooting Championships in Doha -
Dhanush Srikanth.
29. The Kabaddi World Cup will be held from 1 to 9 December in – Punjab.
30. Indian boxer who was elected as members of AIBA Athletes Commission -
Laishram Sarita Devi.
31. Host city of India's home matches during the 2020 Hockey Pro League which will
be played between January 11 and June 28 - Bhubaneswar.
32. The Hindi platform of Madrid-based this sports channel launched on 13
November 2019 - Olympic Channel.
33. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Airbnb announced an agreement
to support the Olympic Movement through to - 2028.
34. World’s No. 1 ATP Tennis player of the year 2019 - Rafael Nadal (Spain) (for the
fifth time).
35. Shooter who won gold with a junior world record with 244.7 score points in the
women's 10 metres air pistol event at the ISSF World Cup Finals 2019 in Putian,
China - Manu Bhaker.
36. 13th edition of the I-League (Football) will commence on 30 November 2019 at
Rajiv Gandhi stadium in - Aizawl, Mizoram.
37. First cricket association to announce contracts to its first class cricketers and
scholarships for both under 16 and under 19 men and women cricketers -
Uttarakhand cricket association.
38. Indian badminton player who won Scottish Open 2019 - Lakshya Sen.
39. Winner of the Davis Cup 2019 (Tenis) - Rafael Nadal (Spain).
40. Indian pair who won doubles event in the Infosys Foundation-India International
Challenge 2019 in Mumbai - Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy.
41. Winner of the Men's Singles event in the Infosys Foundation-India International
Challenge 2019 - Xiaodong Sheng (Canada) (beat Kaushal Dharmamer).
42. Winner of the Women's Singles event in the Infosys Foundation-India
International Challenge 2019 - Porntip Buranaprasertsuk (Thailand).
43. India's first and third T20 Internationals between India and West Indies is
scheduled to be played in - Mumbai (on 6 December).
44. Indian pair who claimed the gold in compound mixed pair event at the 21st Asian
Archery Championships in Bangkok - Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha
Vennam.
45. World's Highest Valued Football Club - Manchester City FC.
46. Winner of the Tata Steel Rapid and Blitz chess tournament 2019 - Magnus
Carlsen (Norway).
47. New Chief Executive Officer of the World Squash Federation (WSF) - William
Louis-Marie.
STATE CURRENT AFFAIRS
1. In a first-of-its-kind initiative, this state government launched a job helpline under

the ‘Ghar Ghar Rozgar’ programme to aid the unemployed job seekers of the
state - Punjab.
2. On 2-3 November, this state host its 1st Multilingual Writers’ Meet - town
Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh.
3. Ladakh's first police chief - Satish Khandare.
4. On 2 November, This state bank in collaboration with Stock Holdings Corporation
of India Ltd. has launched an e-Stamp Counter - Tripura Gramin Bank.
5. Districts in UT of Ladakh – Kargil and Leh.
6. On 6 November, Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVNL) signed a pact with
Himachal Pradesh for commissioning the 430 megawatt (MW) Reoli Dugli Hydro
Electric Project on the - Chenab river basin.
7. This State government is to ban all the state-owned vehicles that are older than
15 years across the state - Bihar.
8. Govt of Maharashtra partnered with this international institution and others to
make Mumbai the 'fintech gateway for India' - World Bank.
9. Gujarat Government has given approval to the world’s first CNG terminal at -
Bhavnagar port.
10. On 12 November, President's rule was imposed in - Maharashtra.
11. ‘e-Ganna’ App launched by - Uttar Pradesh Government.
12. On 15 November, the National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic
Advancement (NISHTHA) was launched in - Union Territory of Jammu and
Kashmir.
13. This state government planned to create a dedicated new department of foreign
cooperation - Haryana.
14. This state administration is all set to launch the second phase of ‘Back to Village
programme’ from 25th to 30th November - Jammu and Kashmir administration.
15. This state government will start Arundhati gold scheme under which an amount
of Rs. 30,000 will be given to the bride to purchase gold – Assam (launched by
January 2020).
16. This state cabinet has made sanitary napkins mandatory for all the industries
and factories for their women staff - Assam.
17. Winner of the IT Ratna award of Karnataka for the year 2019 – Infosys.
18. New Director-General of Police (DGP) of Odisha - Abhay.
19. The Mukhyamantri Septic Tank Safai Yojana was launched in the Union Territory
of - Delhi.
20. First daily newspaper in Hindi that published in Arunachal Pradesh State and
North-East India - Aruna Bhoomi.
21. This state cabinet has taken decision that the manufacture, sale and storage of
one-time-use plastic items will be banned from 1st January 2020 - Kerala.
22. New Chief Minister of Maharashtra - Devendra Fadnavis (Deputy Chief Minister –
Ajit Pawar).
23. North East Frontier Railway achieved success in avoiding deaths of wild animals
in – Assam (Rangia Division, using special honey bee sound system).
24. The Etawah Lion Safari opened for public in - Uttar Pradesh.
25. Manipur Sangai Festival 2019 organized in - Imphal.
26. The Chhattisgarh government has decided to declare Guru Ghasidas National
Park in the state's Korea district as a - Tiger reserve.
27. The Etawah Lion Safari opened for public in - Uttar Pradesh.
28. Manipur Sangai Festival 2019 organized in - Imphal.
29. The Chhattisgarh government has decided to declare Guru Ghasidas National
Park in the state's Korea district as a - Tiger reserve.
30. Appointed pro-tem Speaker of the Assembly of Maharashtra - Kalidas

Kolambkar.
31. The Uttar Pradesh government will setup state's first vulture conservation and
breeding centre in farenda area of - Maharajganj district.
32. Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission is popularly known as – UMEED
(launched in 2011).
33. On 28 November, the Ministry of Shipping have given approval for the
development of Loktak Inland Waterways improvement project in - Manipur
(under the central sector scheme).
34. Chief Minister of Maharashtra - Uddhav Thackeray.

35. The Punjab government will develop its first Life Sciences Park at - Mohali.
36. State Party of Haryana that recognized by the Election Commission - Jannayak
Janta Party (JJP).
37. On 30 November, Gujarat state has decided to setup seawater reverse osmosis
desalination plant at - Dahej.
38. Next Director General of Police (In-charge) of Assam - Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta.
SCIENCE
1. This Indian institute will set up a space technology cell in collaboration with the
Indian Space Research Organization - Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
2. An autonomous regional satellite navigation system of India - Indian Regional
Navigation Satellite System (brand name: NAVigation with Indian Constellation –
NavIC)
3.This company is testing AI-based automated driving license testing system ‘HAMS’
(Harnessing Automobile Systems) in India - Microsoft.
4. As per the prediction made by research firm Gartner, new form of an addictive
disorder which will identify by the World Health Organisation (WHO) by 2024 - Online
shopping.
5. This Indian institute developed ‘Arise-A Standing Wheelchair’ for the disabled to stand
without any help - IIT Madras.
6. This American university will expand genetic testing in India in partnership with the All
India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi and the Kasturba Medical College in Manipal
- University of Michigan.
7. First-ever satellite of Sudan - SRSS-1.
8. NASA’s first all-electric experimental aircraft - X-57 Maxwell.
9. The world's first case of sexually-transmitted dengue has just been confirmed in –
Spain (presence of the virus in sperm).
10. Microsoft-owned this professional networking platform launched "Open for
Business" in India - LinkedIn.
39. To beam broadband Internet services, US’s SpaceX company has launched 60
"Starlink" satellites into low-Earth orbit under project - SpaceXs broadband
Internet mega constellation.
40. World's First Ebola Vaccine, which is developed by European pharmaceutical
company ‘Merck’ - 'Ervebo'.
41. Official name of Ultima Thule, the most distant world ever explored 4 billion miles
away, given by NASA - Arrokoth.
42. This Indian company has announced it is working with Microsoft to help speed
up the development of new innovative connected car applications - Tata
Communications.
43. A special winter-grade diesel (pour point of – 33 degree Celsius) for the high-
altitude regions is developed by - Indian Oil Corporation (Indian Oil).
44. ‘Kirin A1’, world’s first dedicated chipset for ‘wearables’ is developed by – Huawei
(China-based).
45. ISRO’s PSLV-C47 mission - Cartosat-3.
46. To transport documents from one place to another, the modern railway coach
factory is using a humanoid robot - Sona 1.5 (built by Najavunjpavad, Jaipur).
47. Wipro IT has tied up with this university of Finland to develop 5G technologies -
University of Oulu.
48. Prevention of Epilepsy by Reducing Neonatal Encephalopathy (PREVENT), a

world’s largest study on newborns with brain injuries has been began in – India
(led by Imperial College London, UK).
49. The researchers of this Swedish university have developed a potential Diarrhea
vaccine - University of Gothenburg.
50. NVIDIA has announced a new kind of GPU-accelerated supercomputer, named as
- NDv2 supercomputer (uses up to 800 NVIDIA V100 Tensor Core GPUs).
51. Scientists at this Indian research institute have demonstrated the role of a
protein secretagogin (SCGN) in increasing insulin action in obesity-induced
diabetes - CSIR-CCMB, Hyderabad.
52. On 23 November, this country successfully launched into the orbit the 50th and
51st satellites of its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System – China.
53. A team from this IIT has developed a catalytic converter for cars using Rajasthani
clay which will be cheaper and more effective in reducing pollution - IIT Jodhpur
(team led by Prof. Rakesh K Sharma).
54. The first map which shows the global geology has been completed for Titan
which is the largest moon of - Saturn.
55. Singapore’s Kacific Broadband Satellites Group has selected this Indian digital
infrastructure provider to provide terrestrial connectivity services as it readies for
the launch of its first satellite ‘Kacific1’ - Tata Communications.
56. Scientists of this Indian institute have developed a tomato species, named
“Namdhari-4266”, which can yield up to 1,400 quintals per hectare - Chandra
Shekhar Azad University for Agriculture and Technology (CSA), Kanpur, Uttar
Pradesh. (common species - 400 to 600 Q/hect)
57. World's first blockchain-powered smartphone - Blok on Blok (BOB).

58. New fish species that has been discovered at Twahdidoh stream, a tributary of
Wahblei river in Meghalaya's West Khasi Hills district - Schistura syngkai
(golden-brown bodies with blackish lateral stripes).
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
1. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is organized by the

- Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
2. Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) -
Founded: 1920; Headquarters: New Delhi.
3.Foundation Day of Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and
Punjab – 1 November.
4. Haryana - Founded: 1966 (1 November); Capital: Chandigarh.
5. Karnataka - Founded: 1956 (1 November); Capital: Bangalore.
48. Kerala - Founded: 1956 (1 November); Capital: Thiruvananthapuram.
49. Madhya Pradesh - Founded: 1956 (1 November); Capital: Bhopal.
50. Chhattisgarh - Founded: 2000 (1 November); Capital: Raipur.
51. Punjab - Founded: 1966 (1 November); Capital: Chandigarh.
52. India - 28 States and 9 Union Territories (after statehood status abolished for
Jammu & Kashmir and created Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh UTs).
53. Coal India - Founded: 1975 (1 November); Headquarters: Kolkata, WB.
54. UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created in - 2004.
55. 2nd Prime Minister of India - Lal Bahadur Shastri.
56. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) - Founded: 1962 (03 November);
Headquarters: New Delhi.
57. All India Football Federation (AIFF) - Founded: 1937 (23 June); Present President:
Praful Patel.
58. United World Wrestling - Founded: 1912; Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland.
59. Nirbhaya Fund for the safety of women was announced by the Government of
India in - 2013.
60. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) – Founded: 1986 (27 October);
Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
61. National Green Tribunal (NGT) was formed in – 2010.
62. Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) was established in – 1920.
63. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) - Founded: 1969 (15 August);
Headquarters: Bengaluru.
64. National Waterway-1 in India - Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system.
65. The Indian Army was founded in – 1895 (01 April).
66. The Indian Navy was founded in – 1612.
67. The Indian Air Force was founded in – 1932 (08 October).
68. The Asia Society Game Changer Awards was instituted by the Asia Society (New
York) in - 1956.
69. Only Buddhist nuns in the world to practice Kung Fu, called - Kung Fu Nuns
(community of 700 nuns and growing with a thousand year-old Drukpa legacy in
the Himalayas; Tagline - ‘BE YOUR OWN HERO’).
70. Spiritual leader and founder of the Drukpa order to train in Kung Fu - Gyalwang
Drukpa.
71. MSTC Ltd. (Metal Scrap Trade Corporation Limited) (a Mini Ratna Grade-I, Public
Sector enterprise under Ministry of steel, Government of India) – Established:
1964 (9 September); Headquarters: Kolkata.
72. World Health Organisation (WHO) - Founder: Brock Chisholm; Founded: 1948 (07
April); Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
73. Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) – Founded: 2012 (1 March); Headquarters:
New Delhi.
74. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) - Founded: 1889; Headquarters: Geneva,
Switzerland; Founder: Frédéric Passy, William Randal Cremer.
75. National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) -
Founded: 1988 (01 March); Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
76. International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) - Founded: 1926; Headquarters:
Lausanne, Switzerland.
77. National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO) is located in - Hyderabad, Telangana.
78. Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
(BIMSTEC) - Founded: 1997 (06 June); Secretariat: Dhaka, Bangladesh.
79. The BIMSTEC member states - Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand
, Nepal and Bhutan.
80. World Tourism Forum Lucerne (WTFL) (the leading interactive platform in the
industry) - Founded: 2008; Location: Lucerne, Switzerland.
81. Some famous folk dance - Yakshagana (in Karnataka), Chhau (Odisha), Kanniyar
Kali (Kerala), Lavani (Maharashtra).
82. A six digit identification code which was developed by the World Customs
Organization (WCO) and custom officers use it to clear every commodity that
enters or crosses any international border - HS (Harmonized System) Code
(follows the Kyoto Convention of 1974).
83. The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is a statutory body
established in - April 1957 (replaced former All India Khadi and Village Industries
Board).
84. Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) is an apex-level body
constituted by the government of India and was first mooted by - Raghuram
Rajan Committee (in 2008).
85. World’s first ever Ladies Special local train was introduced by - Western Railways
(on 5 May 1992).
86. India’s first ever Air-Conditioned EMU train was introduced by - Western Railways
(on 25 December 2017 on Mumbai Suburban section).
87. National Cancer Awareness Day is observed in India to coincide with the birth
anniversary of the eminent scientist - Madam Curie.
88. National Cancer Control Programme was initiated in India in - 1975.
89. World Customs Organization - Founded: 1952 (26 January); Headquarters:
Brussels, Belgium.
90. The CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) –
Established: 1958; Location: Nagpur.
91. South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP) is an inter-
governmental organisation established in – 1982.
92. National School of Drama - Founded: 1959; Location: New Delhi.
93. International Organisation Development Association (IODA), an international
network of organization development professionals, consultants, practitioners,
academics, students and social scientists, was founded in - 1986.
94. International Hockey Federation (FIH) - Founded: 1924 (7 January);

Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland.
95. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) - Founded: 1999 (10 November);
Headquarters: Montreal, Canada; Founder: Dick Pound.
96. Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) – Established:
1927; Founder: G.D. Birla.
97. Internet and Mobile Association of India (IMAI) - Founded: 2004; Headquarters:
Mumbai, India.
98. The Indian Coast Guard was formally established on - 18 August 1978.
99. Uttarakhand - Founded: 2000 (08 November); Capital: Dehradun.
100. Legal Services Day which first started by the Supreme Court of India in the
year – 1995.
101. BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) was formed in –
2006.
102. Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) - Founded: 1982 (01 January);
Headquarters: Mumbai.
103. World Economic Forum (WEF) - Founded: 1971 (01 January);
Headquarters: Cologny, Switzerland.
104. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC, CROC, or UNCRC) - Signed:
1989 (20 November); Effective: 1990 (2 September).
105. The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) was
established in Nagpur in – 1958.
106. The National Register of Citizens (NRC) was first prepared in – 1951.
107. International Paralympic Committee (IPC) - Founded: 1989 (22 Sept);
Headquarters: Bonn, Germany.
108. The Election Commission of India (ECI) was established in – 1950 (25
January).
109. Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - Founded: 1967 (08
August); Headquarters: South Jakarta, Indonesia.
110. National Education Day is an annual observance in India to commemorate
the birth anniversary of - Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
111. The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi
was established in – 1956.
112. World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF) - Founded: 1990 (15 September);
Founder: Vince McMahon.
113. Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) - Founded: 1949 (01
July); Location: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
114. World Monument Funds - Founded: 1965; Headquarters: New York, USA.
115. International Treaty of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
(ITPGRFA) (International Seed Treaty) – Signed: 2001; Effective: 2004.
116. Right to Information (RTI) Act in India was enacted in – 2005 (15 June).
117. Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – formed in: 2001;
Headquarters: Beijing (China).
118. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- Founded: 1945 (4 November); Headquarters: Paris, France.
119. Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) is an international forum held each year in
- Vladivostok, Russia (Founded in 2015).
120. First Prime Minister of India - Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

121. Davis Cup is related to – Tennis.
122. International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) – Established:
2006; Location: Manesar, Haryana.
123. Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) -
Founded: 1973 (03 May); Headquarters: La Hulpe, Belgium.
124. An apex trade and investment promotion organization notified in the
Foreign Trade Policy of India - Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI).
125. Jharkhand - Statehood: 15 November 2000; Capital: Ranchi.

126. Convention on Migratory Species (Convention on the Conservation of
Migratory Species of Wild Animals Or Bonn Convention) – Signed: 1979;
Effective: 1983 (1 November).
127. The Asian Business Leadership Forum (ABLF) was established in – 2007.
128. Article of the Constitution of India provides the matter of appointing

judges of the Supreme Court - Article 124.
129. First Chief Justice of India after independence - H. J. Kania (during 14
August 1947 - 26 January 1950).
130. The National Health Mission (NHM) was launched by the government of
India in – 2013.
131. Election Commission of India - Founded: 1950 (25 January);
132. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) - Founded: 2016 (16 January);
Headquarters: Beijing, China.
133. The Indian Naval Academy found its permanent home at Ezhimala, Kerala
and was inaugurated on - 08 January 2009.
134. World Transplant Games Federation - Founded: 1978; Headquarters:
Winchester, United Kingdom; Founder: Dr Maurice Slapak.
135. International Hockey Federation (FIH) - Founded: 1924 (07 January);
Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland; current President: Narinder Batra.
136. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme is the process established in
-2003.
137. The Kimberley Process (KP) is a commitment to remove this item from
the global supply chain - Conflict diamonds.
138. Border Roads Organisation - Founded: 1960 (7 May); Founder: Jawaharlal
Nehru.
139. First and the only female Prime Minister of India (1966-1977) - Indira
Gandhi (Born: 19 November 1917).
140. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) - Founded: 1944 (26
January); Headquarters: New Delhi.
141. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - Founded: 1948;
142. World Customs Organization (WCO) - Founded: 1952 (26 January);
Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium.
143. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was adopted by the UN
General Assembly in – 1989 (20 November).
144. The Declaration of the Rights of the Child was adopted by the UN General
Assembly in – 1959 (20 November).
145. Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) – Established: 1985 (19
November); Location: New Delhi.
146. The Government of India is implementing the National Mental Health
Programme (NMHP) since - 1982.
147. Jansankhya Sthirtha Kosh (JSK) (National Population Stabilization Fund),
an autonomous body under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, was
established in the year - 2004-05.
148. International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) – founded in:
1912 (17 July); Headquarters: Monte Carlo (Monaco).
149. A Traditional Medical system of the Himalayan belt in India - Sowa-Rigpa.

150. Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - Founded: 1967 (08
August); Headquarters: South Jakarta, Indonesia.
151. Quality Council of India (QCI) - Founded: 1997; Headquarters: New Delhi.
152. Sri Lanka – Capital: Colombo; Currency: Sri Lankan Rupee.
153. International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) - founded in: 1907;
Headquarters: Munich (Germany).
154. The first electronic television with the use of cathode-ray tubes was
created by – A.A. Campbell-Swinton (Scottish) (around 1903).
155. I-League (Football), formerly known as National Football League in India,
was founded in – 2007.
156. National Investigation Agency (NIA) of India - Founded: 2009; Founder: P.
Chidambaram; Headquarters: New Delhi.
157. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) – Formed:
1958; Headquarters: New Delhi
158. Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling
and Use of Chemical Weapons – Signed: 1993; Effective: 1997.
159. These countries have not signed the Convention on the Prohibition of the
Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons - North
Korea, Egypt and South Sudan (Israel - signed but not ratified).
160. Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons - Founded: 1997
(29 April); Headquarters: The Hague, Netherlands.
161. United Nations Security Council (UNSC) – founded in: 1945; Headquarters:
New York, US.
162. Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – formed in: 2001;
Headquarters: Beijing (China).
163. G20 (group of 19 countries and the European Union) - Founded: 1999 (26
September); Present Chairman: Shinzo Abe (Japan).
164. All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) - Established: 2015 (10 October);
Location: New Delhi.
165. Canada – Capital: Ottawa; Currency: Canadian dollar.
166. National Cadet Corps (NCC) was founded in – 1948.
167. Global Navigation Satellite System of the United States - Global
Positioning System (GPS).
168. Global Navigation Satellite System of Russia – GLONASS (GLObal
NAvigation Satellite System).
169. Global Satellite Navigation System of the European Union - Galileo.
170. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – Established in:
1948 (5 October); Headquarter: Gland (Switzerland).
171. Evolution Day is a celebration to commemorate the anniversary of the

initial publication of On the Origin of Species by - Charles Darwin (24 November
1859).
172. Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) - Founded: 1956 (15 September);

Founder: Jawaharlal Nehru.
173. Chhattisgarh - Capital: Nawa Raipur; Founded: 2000 (01 November).
174. India International Challenge became an international tournament since -
2010.
175. Davis Cup related with – Tennis.
176. Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) was founded as the
Empire Parliamentary Association in – 1911 (changed its to the current name in
1948).
177. Position of Saturn from the Sun - Sixth.

178. Motto of Lokpal - “मा गृधः कस्यस्विद्धनम्”.
179. Capital of Andhra Pradesh - Amaravati.
180. Survey of India - Founded: 1767; Headquarters: Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
181. Telangana was bifurcated from Andhra Pradesh in - 2014.
182. Lokpal - Founded: 2019 (19 March); Headquarters: New Delhi.
183. National Milk Day is celebrated to commemorate the birthday of - Dr.
Verghese Kurien (father of India’s White Revolution).
184. Indian Parliamentary Group was founded in – 1949.
185. Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has been implementing Youth Parliament
programme since - 1966.
186. First Speaker of Parliament of India - Ganesh V. Mavalankar.
187. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) came into effect on - 23 December 1986.
188. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- Founded: 1945 (4 November); Headquarters: Paris, France.
189. National Institute of Disaster management (NIDM) - Established: 1995;
Location: New Delhi.
190. Largest fresh water lake in North east - Loktak Lake (located at Moirang,
Manipur).
191. International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication
(ICFT) – Founded: 1958; Location: Paris, France.
192. Food Corporation of India (FCI) – Founded: 1965; Headquarters: New
Delhi.
193. Number of member states in the European Union (EU) – 28.
194. European Union (EU) – founded in: 1993; Headquarter: Brussels
(Belgium).
195. Nepal – Capital: Kathmandu; Currency: Nepalese rupee.

196. Maharashtra - Founded: 1960 (01 May); Capital: Mumbai.

197. NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) - Founded: 2015
(01 January); Headquarters: New Delhi.
198. National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) - Formation: 1978 (4 April);
Location: Kolkata, West Bengal.
199. World Squash Federation (WSF) - Founded: 1967; Headquarters: Hastings,
England (UK).
200. Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) was established in - 1916.

201. The Nationwide Artificial Insemination Programme (N.A.I.P) which was
launched on - 11th September 2019.
202. India's First Formula 1 Driver - Narain Karthikeyan.
203. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted the Hong Kong
International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of
Ships in - 2009.
204. International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) - Founded: 1881 (23 July);
Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland.
205. International Maritime Organization (IMO) - Founded: 1948 (17 March);
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom.

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1 CURRENT AFFAIRS NOVEMBER 2019

2 CURRENT AFFAIRS NOVEMBER 2019

1. National Symposium to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis

Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurated National Symposium to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis

• DR HARSH VARDHAN HAS ALSO SIGNED THE ‘CALL TO ACTION TO

2. Bamboo Technology Parks in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh

• Bamboo grows naturally in Kathua and neighbouring districts adjoining Punjab.

• Department of Agriculture & Cooperation (DAC), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers

3. Public Health emergency declared in the Capital

4. Government vehicles to be converted into e-vehicles

• 5 lakh government vehicles which run on conventional fuel will be converted.

6. Researchers at IIT Kharagpur generated electricity from wet clothes

About the process:

The newly formed maps:

Participants on the first-day session:

9.Centre, IBM to launch the Skills Build platform

About Skills Build platform:

10.World Customs Organization recognised HS Code for India’s Signature Fabrics

India’s Signature Fabric:

12.National Steel Policy

• Vision is to make a globally competitive steel industry that promotes inter-sectoral

13. Ayodhya dispute

15. CSIR-NEERI have launched the country’s first interactive online

The Council of Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR)’s National Environmental

• IndAIR is India’s first interactive online repository.

16. The world's first CNG port terminal

17. Suranga Bawadi enters the World Monuments Watch List

18. SC Verdict: CJI Office under RTI act

According to Supreme Court verdict

21. A landmark of 250th session of Rajya Sabha

special plastic shramdaan etc.

23. Parliament passes Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment)

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

25. National Intelligence grid

26. Kalaburagi Airport inaugurated UDAN–RCS

27. Bharat Net Project

• According to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Wi-Fi

28. Governors Conference in Rashtrapati Bhavan

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)

31. Amaravati finds a place in the political map of India

The Survey of India on released a new political map of India with

on a 217 sq km riverfront designed to have 51% of green spaces

32. Government of India extends ban on Assam-based NDFB by another 5

32. Logo of Lokpal & Motto launched

33. Parliament passes Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019

34. Kartavya Portal launched by HRD ministry

On the occasion of 70th Constitution Day also known as Samvidhan Divas

35. Govt to set up new rocket launch pad near Kulasekarapattinam

Government is planning to set up a new rocket launch pad in Tamil Nadu. At

• This would be set up in Kulasekarapattinam in the state of Tamil Nadu.

36. Approval of the long-pending demand for development of Loktak Inland

• The Government of India approved the development of Loktak Inland Waterways

38. UNDP Launches Accelerator Lab in New Delhi

● The Lab will be housed in the office of UNDP in New Delhi.

● This includes air pollution, sustainable water management, and client-resilient

● Find solutions helpful in combating climate change and social inequity.

Aim: Rabies Elimination Drive

● The rabies elimination drive is ongoing globally through 2030.

● Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has been directed to monitor

● Quantity of ARV manufactured, exported and sold in the domestic market

40. Former Deputy Governor HR Khan to Chair Microfinance Panel

About Code For Responsible Lending (CRL)

● This is a self-regulatory step for micro-credit industry.