Current affairs : November 17, 2016 for all competitive exams
World Philosophy Day: 17 November
The World Philosophy Day is
observed globally on the third Thursday of November every year.
- This year, United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) organised the special events.
- The World Philosophy Day was introduced in 2002 by UNESCO to encourage the world to share their philosophical heritage and open their minds to new ideas.
November 17:
World Prematurity Day
World Prematurity Day is
observed on 17 November each year to raise awareness of preterm birth and the
concerns of preterm babies and their families worldwide.
- The first international awareness day for preterm birth on 17 November was created by European parent organizations in 2008. It has been celebrated as World Prematurity Day since 2011.
Successful Maiden Flight of Rustom – II
Heralding a new era in the indigenous development of Unmanned Aerial
Vehicle (UAV), DRDO has successfully carried out the maiden flight of TAPAS 201
(RUSTOM – II), a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV.
- The flight accomplished the main objectives of
proving the flying platform, such as take-off, bank, level flight and
landing etc.
Chhattisgarh: First state to
adopt resolution on demonetisation
Chhattisgarh has become the
first state to adopt a resolution welcoming the demonetization of high-value
currency notes.
- The state Assembly adopted a resolution moved by
Chief Minister Raman Singh on 16th November welcoming the Centre’s
decision.
- The resolution on 16 November 2016 saw 41 votes in favour and 25 against in assembly.
NHRC writes to Centre over foreign funding for NGOs
Concerned about the rights of human rights defenders, the National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Union Home Ministry on the
government’s alleged “draconian approach” in renewing the foreign funding
approval for NGOs.
- The Home Ministry had recently cancelled the FCRA
licences of thousands of NGOs over not applying for renewal in time.
Setting up of Industry Driven SRTMI
Ministry of Steel is planning to set up an Industry driven institutional
mechanism namely Steel Research & Technology Mission of India (SRTMI), to
facilitate joint collaborative research projects in the iron & steel sector
in India.
- The conceptualization of SRTMI was done by a high level task force set up by the Ministry of Steel.
Plea against use of word ‘Dalit’ by media, HC seeks
Centre’s reply
The Delhi High Court has sought the response of the Centre on a plea
seeking a direction to restrain media houses from using the word ‘Dalit’ in
news articles, alleging it creates “inequality” in society.
- The court has issued a notice to the Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting and asked it to take instruction on whether
there is any law to prohibit the use of the word by media houses.
Apex court refuses to lift ban on jallikattu
Questioning the need to tame a domestic animal like the bull, the Supreme
Court has dismissed a plea by Tamil Nadu to review a 2014 apex court judgment
banning jallikattu.
- The event had nothing to do with the exercise of the
fundamental right of religious freedom and runs counter to the concept of
welfare of the animal, which is the basic foundation of the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960.
Soon, search engines to blank sex selection ads
The Supreme Court has directed the Central government to constitute a nodal
agency to monitor and trigger search engines to crack down on online pre-natal
sex determination advertisements.
- The court has ordered that the nodal agency should receive
complaints about illegal online advertisements under the Pre-Conception
and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act of 1994.
Women Commando Team Inducted
In CRPF
A team of women commandos
has been inducted for the first time in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to
counter Naxal insurgency in Jharkhand.
- A Naxal or Naxalite is a member of any of the Communist guerrilla groups in India, mostly associated with the Communist or Leftist ideology.
Twenty Nations sign framework
agreement of International Solar Alliance as process begins
More than 20 countries,
including Brazil, France and India, on 15 November 2016 signed the framework
agreement of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) at Marrakech, Morocco.
- The Framework Agreement of ISA was opened for signature on the sidelines of the CoP22 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
ISRO adopts drought-hit Brahmasandra to help
farmers
Antrix Corporation Limited,
marketing arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has adopted the
Brahmasandra village in the Sira taluk of Tumakuru district in an effort to
improve the quality of life of farmers and prevent suicides caused by acute
financial distress.
- As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, Antrix will implement the endeavour with help from the Bharatia Agro-Industries Foundation, for which it has earmarked Rs. 3.81 crore over a period of five years.
Russia withdraws from
International Criminal Court
President Vladimir Putin has
signed an executive order removing Russia’s signature from the International
Criminal Court’s founding treaty on 16th November.
- Russia in 2000 signed the Rome treaty that established
the Hague-based court but never ratified it.
Nawaz Sharif inaugurates
Gwadar port in Pakistan
Pakistan’s Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif inaugurated a trade route linking the south-western Gwadar port to
Kashgar city in China as part of $46 billion project to jumpstart economic
growth in the South Asian country.
- With the operationalisation of the revamped Gwadar
port, the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),
linking western China to the Arabian Sea, became a reality.
Reliance Group launches IoT
services under venture Unlimit
Reliance Group has partnered
with Cisco Jasper for the launch of a venture called Unlimit, which will
provide Internet of Things (IoT) services to its enterprise customers in India.
- IoT is a network of “things” that include identifiable devices, appliances, equipment, the machinery of all forms and sizes with the intelligence to seamlessly connect, communicate and control or manage each other to perform a set of tasks with minimum intervention.
Post-Truth" Named
Oxford Dictionaries Word of Year Amid 2016 Political Climate
Oxford Dictionaries has
declared "post-truth" to be its international word of the year citing
a 2,000% spike in its usage.
- The word beat competition from "adulting,"
"alt-right," "Brexiteer," "glass cliff" and
"woke". Last year's choice was the "face with tears of
joy" emoji.
- The Word of the Year of Oxford Dictionary is an
expression or word that is chosen to reflect the passing year in
language.
Twinkle Khanna launches her
second book 'The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad'
Actor-turned-author Twinkle
Khanna launched her second book titled 'The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad'.
- Twinkle's first book was 'Mrs Funnybones: She's Just
Like You and a Lot Like Me', which was published in 2015.
India women cricket team won the series against
West Indies:
India beat West Indies by 15
runs in the final 3rd ODI
- Indian women team won cup by 3-0
