Dear Readers, We cover some important news in Current Affairs Today Section, which are not covered in Daily Detailed News, More Current Affairs coverage will help you to Score Good Marks in Competitive Exam.
INDIAN AFFAIRS
11 concords signed by India in “International Civil Aviation Negotiation”
As per Press Release of GOI, India has inked MoU, Agreed Minutes and Record of Discussions during ICAN (International Civil Aviation Negotiations), 2015 that was held in Antalya, Turkey from 19th to 23rd October, 2015.
Negotiations – The negotiations were aimed to enhance the international air connectivity from India and to offer the passenger wider choice and seamless connectivity with the help of following:
- Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 6 countries – Finland, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Sweden, Norway &Denmark, Oman and Ethiopia
- Agreed Minutes with 3 countries – Serbia, Greece, European Commission
- Record of Discussions with 2 countries – Brunei Darussalam and Qatar
“Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Bill” assented by President
President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee has given approval to the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Bill that were passed by the Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly) in March 2015 but was reserved for the consideration and assent of the President.
- Cow slaughter in Haryana will invite strict imprisonment ranging from 3 to 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh.
- Any person who attempts to export cows for slaughter would be imprisoned for 3 to 7 years and fine between Rs 30,000 and Rs 70,000 would be imposed.
- Any person who wants to export cows will have to seek permission for the same.
- Sale of beef and beef products is banned.
India’s first gender university to come up in Kerala
Kerala government is going to set up a Nation’s first university for the research-oriented studies related to gender.
- It will be located in in Kozhikode district in the campus of Gender Park, an autonomous institution under the state’s Social Justice Department.
- The South Asian Research Centre at the Gender Park will be developed into a full-fledge university by next year.
The curriculum framework and the syllabus of the proposed university will not be according to the traditional academic patterns. A high-level committee will be formed to discuss and finalise the syllabus and other academic-oriented matters of the gender varsity.
Keys
Kerala Capital –Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala CM – Oommen Chandy
First Women of India Organic Mela begins at Dilli Haat in New Delhi
The Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi and the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh inaugurated the first Women of India Exhibition at Dilli Haat, INA in New Delhi
Theme – Women and organic Products
Motto – Eat Healthy Live Healthy
Aim – To support and encourage women and women-led groups which promote organic farming.
Participated Organisations – Navdanya, PR Grid and Organic Farming Association of (OFAI), HIMVEER, ASMI international, ATP Greentech, AMIRA, Sonal White Cub Dairy-Free Ice Cream
Highlights of Exhibition
- Over 500 women artisans across the country have come together with their organic products like tribal and ethnic foods, pickles and preserves, rice, pulses, spices, vegetables and fruits, fabrics, dyes and dresses, cosmetics and household products.
- Unique features are “Forgotten Foods” like millets such as jhongora, ragi, kuttu, bajra, amaranth, etc. which was earlier regarded as healthy foods eaten by all but have lost their popularity over time.
Annual Hundred Drums Wangala Festival begins in Meghalaya
Annual Hundred Drums Wangala Festival has begun on a cultural fervor at Asanang near Tura town in Meghalaya. Wangala is celebrated in the months from September to December.
- The Wangala is the most important post-harvest festival of the Garo tribe and is a thanksgiving ceremony to God and Goddess “Misi Saljong” and Minima Rokkime, also known as the Great Giver for blessing the people with a rich harvest
Events:
- An inter-locality tug-of-war was held on the first day along with District Industrial Exhibition.
- Indigenous sports and Ajea, Grika and Doroa competitions and Rugala ceremony are held on the second day.
- On concluding day Hundred Drums Dance competition is held.
Keys:
Meghalaya Capital – Guwahati (Judiciary), Shillong
Meghalaya CM – Mukul sangma
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
3 Indian CEO’s named among world’s top 50 business leaders by Fortune
Fortune magazine has released the list of top 50 global business leaders which is marked with the names of three Indian-origin CEOs viz MasterCard’s Ajay Banga, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and Cognizant’s Francisco D’Souza.
- The list has been topped by Nike’s Mark Parker.
IEA released World Energy Outlook 2015
International Energy Agency (IEA) has released the 2015 edition of its flagship World Energy Outlook publication (WEO-2015) which indicated that an extended period of lower oil prices would benefit consumers but would trigger energy-security concerns.
India – Oil demand is expected to ↑ by 10m barrels per day (bpd). It is also forecast to become the world’s largest coal importer in 5 years.
- India is also expected to rely on solar and wind power to have a 40% share of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030.
Indo – RoK MoU to enhance bilateral air service cooperation
As per the release by GOI, India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Republic of Korea (RoK) after negotiations in New Delhi on 14th-15th October 2015.
(Union Minister for Civil Aviation – Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati)
- Signing of MoUs will enhance bilateral air service cooperation between the two countries and to boost economic and people-to-people cooperation.
TCS to offer internships to 1,000 UK graduates
As part of an initiative to develop UK talent IT services major Tata Consultancy Services will train 1,000 graduates in the UK.
- British university graduates will have the opportunity to spend a year training and working for TCS at its Innovation Labs and software development centres across India through a new partnership between the British Council and TCS
- 1000 new internships will take place between 2016 and 2020 and will be managed jointly by the British Council and TCS.
- Each internship will last 12 months and will give graduates from British universities an opportunity to work for TCS in India
- Interns will receive training in the technical and commercial skills needed for a career in software development, global consulting, business process management, or human resources.
Pakistan, China kick off ambitious CPEC project
Pakistan and China kicked off their ambitious $46 billion China- Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) project.
- Beijing was handed over 2,000 acres of land in Balochistan to develop the strategic Gwadar port, providing the Communist-giant an opening to the Arabian Sea.
- As a part of project, China is expected to invest $1.62 billion in the Gwadar project, including construction of an expressway linking the harbour and coastline, a rail link, breakwater and other nine projects expected to be completed in 3-5 years.
About CPEC:
The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is an ongoing development megaproject which aims to connect Gwadar Port in Pakistan to China via network of highways, railways and pipelines to transport oil and gas.
BANKING & FINANCE
World Bank approves $500 million loan to Pakistan
The World Bank has approved loan to Pakistan for energy sector reform in the country reeling under frequent power cuts. The loan scheduled to be issued in April. WB’s approval will also pave the way for the sanctioning of a $400 million loan by the Asian Development Bank(ADB) next week and a $50 million grant by Japan.
Amount : $500 million
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGN
Deutsche Bank names new bosses for investment bank, global markets
Deutsche Bank appointed James McMurdo a former Goldman Sachs executive as its head of corporate and investment banking for the Asia Pacific region.He is the current CEO of the German lender in Australia and New Zealand
- He will report to Jeff Urwin, global head of corporate and investment banking at Deutsche Bank and also to Asia Pacific CEO Gunit Chadha.
About Deutsche Bank
- Deutsche Bank AG is a German global banking and financial services company
- CEO:John Cryan
- Headquarters: Frankfurt, Germany
Indian-origin barrister Kalyani Kaul sworn-in as Circuit Judge in the UK
Kalyani Kaul(54), a prominent barrister of Indian-origin has been sworn in as a Circuit Judge in the UK. She has spent much of the past 32 years defending serious and high-profile cases, is known for her extensive and wide-ranging experience in heavy-weight criminal defence work. She was called to the Bar in 1983 and became a Recorder in 2009. She took Silk in 2011.
About Kalyani Kaul :
Kalyani has prosecuted offences of murder, manslaughter, serious sexual offences and fraud.
- She was the third highest-paid barrister in terms of legal aid payments in 2005. She studied law from the London School of Economics (LSE).
- She was the Senior Circuit representative on the Bar Council (2013-14), a vice-president (former chair) of the Association of Women Barristers.
Key points :
Mahendra was the first Asian to be honoured with the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1975.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
2015 International Children’s Peace Prize conferred on Abraham M. Keita
Abraham M. Keita (17) from Liberia has been bestowed with International Children’s Peace Prize 2015 during a ceremony in The Hague. He was presented with the prestigious award for demanding justice for children who are victims of physical or sexual violence and for successfully campaigning for the Liberian parliament to adopt the Children’s Law.
- Prize has been presented to Keita by Nobel Laureate Leymah Gbowee, who was the first Liberian to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Nilekani promoted EkStep to pilot its first app for education survey
EkStep a social venture launched by Nandan and Rohini Nilekani to address learning challenges in the primary education space, Its first app during the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) survey.
As a part of the survey which has been christened as Lakhon Mein Ek this year, ASER Centre intends to cover 100,000 villages with the help of around 10,000 volunteers. This year, the volunteers would use smartphones powered by ASER App developed by EkStep
EkStep :
- EkStep set up by the Nilekanis with an initial commitment of $10 million, It looks at solving the ‘learning problem’ by creating a technology-led platform.
- The backbone is ‘EkStep Genie‘, a meta-app which will contain lots of gamified apps for which EkStep is working with an external partner organization.
CEO : Shankar Maruwada.
Ola launches Ola Money app for mobile recharges, transfers
Ola launched its mobile wallet “Ola Money” as an independent app that will like the Paytm, Mobikwik and Freecharge in the booming digital payment market in India.
- Earlier available within the Ola app, Ola Money enabled users to pay for their taxi and auto fares.
- A new Ola Money app, users can pay partner merchants as well as get mobile recharges and money transfers done.
About OLA :
- Ola is a mobile app for personal transportation in India. Ola started as an online cab aggregator in Mumbai, 2010.
- In August, the company announced its partnerships with a host of online platforms like Oyo Rooms, Lenskart and Saavn to allow customers to make cashless transactions.
- OLA CEO : Bhavish Aggarwal
SIC Global launches Stockal, India’s first mobile-based platform for global investments
SIC Global a Bangalore based brokerage to launch, India’s first mobile-based platform ‘Stockal’ to facilitate global investments for domestic retail investors.
About Stockal :
- This app aggregates, curates and analyzes information for more than 6000 stocks listed in US from various online sources such as analyst platforms, social media, news websites, blogs and discussion forums.
- This analysis is converted into signals and indicators that enable efficient decision making.
Key points :
- All resident individuals are allowed to freely remit upto $ 2.5 lakhs per financial year for any permissible current or capital account transaction or a combination of both under FEM (CAT) Amendment Rules 2015.
ENVIRONMENT
First exclusive hospital for elephants established in Assam
- In Assam the first exclusive hospital for elephants has been established at the Kaziranga National Park.
- Founding Patron of the UK-based charity Elephant Family Sir Evelyn de Rothschild inaugurated it.
Kaziranga National Park :
It is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India.
SPORTS
India beat Guam by a solitary goal in 2018 World Cup qualifiers
India finally achieved victory against Guam after five straight losses in their 2018 football World Cup qualifying campaign as they beat Guam by a solitary goal.
- India has put them in a good position to qualify for the 2019 Asian Cup.
Highlights :
- The group winners and four best runners-up teams will advance to the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
- Robin put India ahead early in the match. Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh ,Sandhu also did a great job in this event.
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Affairs plans to reconstitute the TOP Identification Committee with senior sportspersons of repute
BCCI has informed that it will not be possible to devote time to TOP. Therefore, the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports Affairs is planning to reconstitute the TOP Identification Committee with senior sports persons of repute.
- Target Olympic Podium (TOP) Scheme has been reviewed recently by the Department of Sports to make it more focused and effective. This has been done on the basis of inputs received from federations, sports persons and coaches. The scheme will cover 12 disciplines.
12 disciplines :
Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Shooting, Wrestling, Sailing, Gymnastics, Swimming, Lawn Tennis, Para athletics and Para swimming.
Who received the TOP Scheme :
The scheme aims to provide world class training facilities and preparation for potential medal winners for the forthcoming Rio Olympics 2016.
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Kindness Day
World Kindness Day is an international observance on 13 November. It was introduced in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement a coalition of nations kindness NGOs.
- The World Kindness day encourages individuals to overlook boundaries, race and religion.
