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INDIAN AFFAIRS
Second Edition of Windmill Festival to be held in Mumbai
The second edition of Windmill Festival– ‘India’s First International Children’s Festival’ is scheduled to be held on January 14th and 15th, 2017 at Reliance Jio Garden, BKC in Mumbai. The festival is a joint initiative of Event Capital and Tribe Asia.
Windmill Festival
i. Windmill Festival, is a kind of playful festival that has something to offer for the entire family. It is aimed at children of all age groups, from toddlers to pre-teens and the parents too!
ii. WindMill Festival was the first international children’s festival that was started in 2015 and the first edition was held in Bangalore that focused at the age groups of 0-3, 4-7 and 8-11.
iii. Similar as in the first edition, the second version of the festival will also include a day care centre, play areas, centre for robotics, centre for art, workshops, music and sports arena, and much more, to suit the needs of different age groups of children.
About Event Capital
♦ Event Capital is one of India’s fastest growing live event Intellectual Property (IP) specialist company. It was founded in 2013. Over the past three years, Event Capital has successfully created and acquired over 15 iconic live event IP brands including the Bollywood Music Project, Windmill Festival, Bike Festival of India, India Kids Fashion Week, Manifest, The Edutainment Show and Fulcrum Awards.
About Tribe Asia
♦ Brand Tribe Asia is an independent media sales agency specialized in travel, food and lifestyle media brands. It helps to reach the most dynamic and engaged audience across Asia through specialist media partners. Headquartered in Mumbai, Tribe Asia has operational offices in Bangalore, Delhi and Kathmandu.
Supreme Court Bans Sale of Crackers In New Delhi
i. The Supreme Court on November 25, 2016, banned the sale of firecrackers in Delhi and the NCR region.
ii. The decision was taken to tackle the pollution level, after air pollution increased at an alarming rate in the Capital, to a dangerous level, worst in three years.
iii. However, there is no restriction on bursting crackers as it would be difficult to implement
and monitor.
iv. According to the order, the licenses of the existing firecrackers sellers will be suspended and the government will not issue new licenses to any seller in these region.
v. The Supreme Court has also asked the Central Pollution Control Board to study the harmful effects of the materials used in firecrackers and submit its report.
vi. New Delhi ranks among the world’s most polluted cities, especially during Diwali, and due to burning crops in nearby states.
Rajasthan Govt to launch Annapurna rasoi programme to provide cheap food to weaker sections
i. Rajasthan government has decided to start an initiative “Annapurna rasoi programme” to provide quality meal at cheap price to people belonging to the weaker section and labourers.
ii. Motto of Annapurna rasoi: Food to All and Respect to All
iii. Under the initiative, labourers, rickshaw pullers, auto drivers, students, working women, elders and other weaker section will be provided breakfast at Rs 5 per plate and lunch/dinner at Rs 8 per plate.
iv. The scheme will be started in 12 districts in the first phase which include Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Ajmer, Kota, Bikaner, Bharatpur, Pratapgarh, Dungarpur, Banswara, Baran and Jhalawar.
v. 80 vans will be used to distribute the food in the listed districts and the menu, quantity and rate will be displayed on the van.
vi. The staff of the raso is would be given a specific uniform including an apron, cap, gloves.The remaining 21 districts would be covered in the second phase.
51st Annual Conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of Police 2016 began in Hyderabad.
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 51st Annual Conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of Police of States and UTs and Heads of Central Police Organisations at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad.on November 26,2016.
ii. The 3-day national conference began on November 25 and will continue till November 27, 2016.
iii. PM Modi launched a mobile app ‘Indian Police at Your Call’.Presidents Police Medals and Police Medals also presented to the officers of the Intelligence Bureau during the conference.
iv. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh addressed the conference on the security issue of the country, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, North East and Left Wing extremism affected areas which has improved in the past one year
v. He stressed the need for close co-ordination between central and state forces for improving the situation further and since the elections will be held in some states soon and it is the responsibility of police Chiefs to ensure peaceful completion of the poll process.
vi. The conference focused on issues such as cross-border terrorism and terror funding.
Annual Conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of Police
♦ This Conference was started in the year 1920.Since its inception it was being held at Delhi every year till 2013.
♦ In November, 2014, for the first time, the Conference was organised out of Delhi and held in Guwahati, Assam.Last year the conference was organized in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat.
♦ This is the third time that the conference is being organized outside Delhi.
Army launches full fledged bench of Armed Forces Tribunal in Jammu
i. Chief Justice of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir, N Paul Vasanthakumar inaugurated the full fledged Bench of the AFT at the Sunjuwan Military Station in Jammu Kashmir on November 25, 2016
ii. Union Government in the second phase has sanctioned two Regional Benches, one at Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh and another one at Jammu
iii. The J & K Bench also functioned as a circuit Bench of Chandigarh Bench to mitigated the problem relating to long journey to Chandigarh faced by the Armed Forces Personnel and their families, he added.
iv. First time, Bench and the free Legal Aid Clinic have been inaugurated on the same day.
BANKING & FINANCE
Canara bank and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance sign agreement to sell insurance product
i. Public sector bank Canara Bank has signed a corporate agency agreement Bajaj Allianz General Insurance for the distribution of Bajaj Allianz’s general insurance products through its branches.
ii. As per the agreement Bajaj Allianz General Insurance will offer its leading general insurance plans to the customers of Canara Bank.
iii. Both institutions have set a target of Rs 400 crore in the Financial year 2017-18 by selling general insurance plans through the 5,920 branches of Canara Bank.
iv. Motor insurance, home insurance, health insurance, travel insurance, fire insurance, marine insurance, and engineering insurance are some of the insurance products that will be sold by Bajaj Allianz .
Canara Bank :
♦ Headquarter : Bangalore, Karnataka
♦ Canara Bank MD and CEO : Shri Rakesh Sharma
♦ Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Chairman : Sanjiv Bajaj
INOX partners with SBI for cash withdrawal at its multiplex.
i. INOX Leisure, multiplex chain in India has parterned with State Bank of India(SBI) to enable cash withdrawal of Rs 2000 at their multiplex.
ii. The initiative has been taken to reduce the loads on ATMs and banks for cash withdrawal and
ease the process of cash withdrawal and support the demonetization move of government.
iii. As per the RBI guidelines a citizen can withdraw cash from INOX multiplex by swiping their debit cards, entering the PIN and can withdraw upto a limit of Rs 2000 per card per day.
iv. The facility has been started on 25 November 2016, at 17 properties of INOX, and in due course it will be made available at the remaining 89 properties.
About INOX Leisure Limited
♦ Headquarter : Mumbai
♦ CEO : Mr. Alok Tandon
♦ It has 113 multiplexes, 446 screens spread in 57 cities.
BUSINESS
Google Launchpad Accelerator Programme to mentor 7 Indian Startups.
i. Google on November 23, 2016, announced the seven Indian startups that will join the third edition of Launchpad Accelerator programme at Google Headquarters in Silicon Valley, California.
ii. The seven Indian startups selected to be a part of the programme includes Flyrobe, HashLearn, Rentomojo, KaptureCRM, Curofy, Happy Adda Studios, and Playment.
iii. The selected startups will join the six-month mentorship programme for mid to late stage startups organized by Google.
iv. The programme includes a two-week all expense paid boot camp that will begin from January 30, 2017 at Launchpad Spacein San Francisco and each startup will get $50,000in equity-free funding.
v. The seven start-ups will receive expert guidance from Google engineers, product managers and other mentors from top technology companies and VCs in Silicon Valley.
vi. These startups will join other startups from Brazil, Indonesia, Colombia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Mexico.
vii. The two-week boot camp will start by determining each startup’s critical challenges, and then provide precise mentorship, actionable solutions, and Google resources that enable their product/app to go high.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
AIBA Honours Mary Kom with Legends Award
i. M C Mary Kom, a celebrated Indian boxer, will be honored with the ‘Legends Award’ from the International Boxing Association (AIBA) on its 70th anniversary ceremony which is to be held in Switzerland on December 20, 2016.
ii. Mary has been recognized for the award for her outstanding achievements during her early boxing career in the world boxing championships and for setting up an example for millions of youths all around the world along with inspiring them.
iii. The boxer feels that this recognition from AIBA will boost morale of female boxers across India.
The Man Who Knew: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan by Sebastian Mallaby Wins 2016 FT Business Book Award
i. Eminent Journalist and Author Sebastian Mallaby has won the Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year 2016 for his ‘The Man Who Knew: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan’ on November 22, 2016 at a ceremony in London.
ii. The Man Who Knew, is the first biography to win the prize, and the 12th winner of the award with £30,000 reward.
iii. It is colourful and exhaustive biography of Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, which reveals all Mr Greenspan’s human qualities and professional contradictions in an easy way”.
iv. The 800-page book was published in October by Bloomsbury and Penguin Press, and was ranked as “exceptional” in an FT review.
v. The book had a strong competition from five other shortlisted books. Each of the other shortlisted titles won £10,000.
Other Shorlisted book :
1.The Rise and Fall of American Growth by economist Robert Gordon;
2.What Works by Iris Bohnet;
3.The 100-Year Life by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott’s;
4.Makers and Takers by Rana Foroohar;
5. Alibaba by Duncan Clark.
vi. Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award is an annual award given to the best business book of the year by the Financial Times and McKinsey & Company. It aims to find the book that has ‘the most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues. The award was established in 2005 and is worth £30,000.
1,668 martyrs of the Indian Army to be honored by Bangladesh
i. Liberation War Affairs Minister, Bangladesh, A.K.M. Mozammel Huq on November 26, 2016, announced that Bangladesh will honour 1,668 members of the Indian Army, who were martyred during the Bangladesh Liberation War.
ii. Each family will receive a Rs. 5 lakh as a mark of respect from the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina who will be in Delhi between 18-20 December to give away the money, in Indian currency, to the martyrs’ family members.
iii. Apart from money a letter of gratitude from Ms. Hasina written in Bengali, English and Hindi, and a plaque, will also be given. A book on the contribution of the martyrs will be published, too.
iv. Bangladeshi taka will be converted into dollars (about INR 100 crore) for 1,668 martyrs and handed over to High Commission in Delhi. They will convert it to Indian currency and the PM Sheikh Hasina will give it to the family members of the Indian martyrs.
v. A war memorial will also be set up in the Brahmanbaria district in Bangladesh to pay homage to the Indian soldiers who laid down their lives for our war of liberation and independence.
Bangladesh:
♦ Capital: Dhaka
♦ Currency: Bangladeshi taka
♦ Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina
♦ President: Abdul Hamid
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS
Mariamma Koshy appointed as New president of Hockey India
i. Mariamma Koshy was appointed as President of Hockey India (HI) during the 41st Hockey India Executive Board meeting on November 25, 2016 in New Delhi.
ii. He replaced Narinder Dhruv Batra who was recently elected as the 15th chief of FIH(International Hockey Federation)
iii. Mohd. Mushtaque Ahmad, HI Secretary General has been appointed as the chairman of the Hockey India League Governing Board.
Hockey India(HI):
♦ Hockey India is the governing body of field hockey in India. It was formed in 2008 by IOA(Indian Olympic Association)
♦ Headquarters: New Delhi, India
Tata Steel removes Cyrus Mistry as chairman
i. Cyrus Mistry removed as Tata Steel chairman during board meeting held in Mumbai on November 25, 2016. He was replaced by former head of SBI, O P Bhatt
ii. The board has also decided to appoint independent director Nusli Wadia as directors on the board of the company.
Tata Steel :
♦ Tata Steel Limited is an Indian multinational steel-making company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
♦ Founder: Jamsetji Tata
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Civil Aviation Ministry launched ‘AirSewa Portal’ For Hassle-Free Air Travel
i. Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajpathi Raju has launched the AirSewa portal and mobile app on November 25, 2016 in New Delhi.
ii. Aim: to offer convenient and hassle-free air travel experience to people.
iii. The new initiative will operate through an interactive web portal as well as a mobile app for both android and iOS platforms.
iv. The AirSewa portal and app is an attempt to provide a systematic mechanism for redressing passengers grievance such as flight delays, problem in refunds, long queues and lack of proper facilities at airports and complaints of lost baggage, back office operations, flight status, schedule and airport information.
v. With the launch of AirSewa, passengers will be able to register their grievances through the mobile app or a web portal. The users will have the facility to upload voice or video complain along with an elaborate description of their issues. They will be given a unique reference number for each of their reported grievances which would also be communicated through an email as well as an SMS.
vi. Each grievance will be directed to the responsible nodal agency, for which officers have been appointed, who will address the grievance in a time bound manner.
Scientists from Czech Republic develop artificial 3D lung model
i. A team of researchers from Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic have developed an artificial human lung. The team was lead by scientist Miroslav Jicha. The lung model has been developed using series of latest technologies including 3D Printing.
ii. Using the 3d model of artificial lung, various new researches can be performed eliminating the risk that a real lung involves. The researchers will be using the model to stimulate asthma and other diseases. These simulations will help in creating more accurate treatment method and drugs for the lung disease.
iii. Using the model now the scientists can ensure that an inhaled drug settles in the part of the lung where it is supposed to settle. Hence creating a better treatment system. Apart from this the model can be used for studying incurable lung disease like idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in easier and better way than before.
iv. The research team has already received three patents for the artificial lung model. The team is also of the view that in future the model will become the European standard for testing.
SPORTS
Sachin Singh wins GOLD at the Aiba Youth World Boxing Championship
i. Sachin Singh (49kg) wins Gold Medal at the Aiba Youth World Boxing Championships St Petersburg 2016 held at St Peterburg, Russia on 26 November 2016. He defeated Jorge Grinan of Cuba.
ii. 16 year old Sachin became the third Indian boxer ever to win gold at the AIBA Youth World Championships. Earlier in 2008 Thokchom Nanao Singh had won a Gold and in 2010 Vikas Krishanwon a Gold for India.
iii. Naman Tanwar (91kg) won a Bronze medal at Aiba Youth World Boxing Championships. Thus India finished with 1 Gold and 1 Bronze.
iv. Boxing Federation of India has announced acash reward of Rs 1 Lac for Sachin and Rs 25,000 for Naman.
OBITUARY
Revolutionary Cuban leader, Fidel Castro passes away at 90.
i. Fidel Castro, political leader from Cuba died on 25 November 2016 due to illness at the age of 90.
ii. He has served as Prime Minister of Cuba for 17 years and President of Cuba for 32 years.
iii.Cuba has declared 9 days national mourning in respect of the leader.
Cuba :
♦ Capital: Havana
♦ Currencies: Cuban peso, Cuban convertible peso
Russian Co-Creator of MiG-29 Fighter Jet Ivan Mikoyan Dies at 89
i. Famous Russian aircraft designer and co-creator of the MiG-29 fighter jet Ivan Mikoyan was passed away in on November 25, 2016. He was 89.
ii. Mikoyan started his career as the chief engineer, later he became an adviser of the Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG.
iii. He took part in the development of the design of the MiG-21 and the MiG-29 fighters. He received the USSR State Prize state honor twice for his work on the MiG-29.
MiG-29 Fighter Jet :
♦ MiG-29 was developed in the Soviet Union by the Mikoyan design bureau in the 1970s to counter US fighters .
♦ It entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1982.
IMPORTANT DAYS
26 November Celebrated as Constitution Day Across the Nation
i. India on November 26, 2016 observed it’s Constitution Day, as it was on this day in 1949 that the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution, which, it came into force in 1950.The Government of India declared 26 November as Constitution Day on 19 November 2015 by a gazette notification to honor our Constitution and its promulgation.
ii. Constitution Day (Samvidhan Divas) is celebrated in India in honour of Dr.B.R. Ambedkar. He was Independent India’s first law minister.
iii. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi releases two books “an updated version of the Constitution of India; and Making of the Constitution” to commemorate Constitution Day.
iv. Gujarati edition of a book on the late RSS leader Lakshmanrao Madhavrao Inamdar, co-authored by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi also released on November 26, 2016.
National Milk Day – 95th birth anniversary of Verghese Kurien
Every year National Milk day is observed on 26th November in the memory of Father of the White Revolution Verghese Kurien on his birth anniversary.First National Milk day was observed on November 26, 2014.
Celebrations :
i. First time in the world, portal named ‘e-pashuhaat’ launched by Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh for connecting breeders and farmers regarding availability of bovine germplasm under National Mission on Bovine Productivity.
ii. Through the portal breeders /farmers can sell and purchase breeding stock, information on all forms of germplasm will be available in this portal.
iii. Rashtriya Goukul Mission also launched for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development as a part of National Milk Day Celebration
iii. The milk production has increased at a growth rate of 6.28% during last two years 2014-15 and 2015-16, which is 4% greater than the previous years
Keys :
♦ Verghese Kurien is a Co-founder of Amul and founder NDDB( National Dairy Development Board ) and IRMA( Institute of Rural Management Anand )
♦ World Milk Day – June 1
