Daily Current affairs - November 26th and 27th, 2017 for all competitive exams
Constitution Day observe on November 26. On the day in 1949, the constitution was adopted which came into force on January 26, 1950 marking the beginning of a new era in the history of India.
- From 2015, the Government is observing 26th November as Constitution Day.
- The HRD Ministry has launched a Digital Signature campaign to generate awareness on fundamental duties enshrined in the Constitution. People can join the campaign by filling a form online.
- It is also celebrated as the National Law Day.
November 26 - National Milk Day
India celebrates National Milk Day on November 26, the birthday of Verghese Kurien, the Father of White Revolution in India.
- India credits Kurien for his billion-litre idea that made the country among the large-scale producers of milk in the world.
- The Father of Milk Revolution is also the founder of the popular dairy brand in India, Amul.
- India celebrates the 96th anniversary of Kurien remembering his contributions in making India self-sufficient in the production of milk. Born on November 26, 1921, his agricultural development programme changed the agro-industry in the country.
Telugu made compulsory in all schools
The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to implement Telugu as compulsory language in all schools, including the schools following the syllabus framed by the CBSE, the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and the International Baccalaureate.
- The School Education Department sent the proposal to the Law department which in turn said since the schools affiliated to the Boards of the CBSE, the ICSE and the IB were not covered by the provisions of the AP Education Act, 1982, the department may have to confine implementation of the proposed rule to schools governed by the State Board.
A.P. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu inaugurates Real Time Governance centre in Andra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated Asia’s Number One command control room, Real Time Governance (RTG) in the Secretariat complex.
- The innovative experiment would help for proper planning to increase happiness of people using technology. The centre would help to interact with any officials and monitor the situation by sitting at the data centre. It would also fix responsibility among officials.
- As majority of the departments and files were computerized, the centre would help to monitor the administration.
- 15 programmes aimed for family happiness could be monitored from the data centre.
Odisha announces scheme to boost fresh water aquaculture
Odisha government launched a scheme to boost fish production in the state with a budgetary provision of 96 crore rupees.
- The ‘Fish Pond Yojana’ scheme was launched by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
- He made the comments while inaugurating a workshop on ‘Doubling of Farmer Income through Dairy and Allied Farming Practices’ in Bhubaneshwar.
- The scheme aims to create additional 2,200 hectares of fresh water aquaculture farming with 50 per cent financial assistance to farmers.
- The chief minister also inaugurated an animal ambulance service in Berhampur and Cuttack urban areas to provide emergency assistance to sick and injured animals.
Madya Pradesh Cabinet approves death penalty for raping girls aged below 12
The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet has approved a resolution to award death sentence to rape convicts in cases where the victims are girls aged 12 years and below.
- The resolution that awards death sentence to gang rape convicts has also been passed.
- The state Cabinet has also approved a constitutional amendment to increase the fine and punishment for rape convicts.
Assam celebrates ‘Lachit Divas’
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said their government would celebrate ‘Lachit Divas’ at various state capitals in India from next year.
- ‘Lachit Divas’ is celebrated to promote the ideals of Lachit Borphukan – the legendary general of Assam’s history.
- Sarbananda Sonowal took part in the Lachit Divas celebration at the statue of Lachit Borphukan at Brahmaputra riverfront.
Trial courts launch e-mail alerts for updates on case status
Trial courts have launched an e-mail alerts facility wherein litigants are sent updates on the proceedings in their case, the date of next hearing, and reminders before the hearing date via e-mail.
- Launched under the e-courts programme, the automated facility can also be availed by advocates.
- The initiative is aimed at ensuring transparency and efficiency in court proceedings.
Third Indo-UK joint military exercise will be conducted next month
The third Indo-UK joint Army training exercise ‘Ajeya Warrior’ will be conducted in Rajasthan next month.
- The first exercise was conducted in 2013 at Belgaum, Karnataka, where as for the second exercise in 2015, an Indian Army contingent had visited the United Kingdom.
- “A training exercise between the armies of India and the United Kingdom will be held from 1st to 14th December at the Mahajan Field Firing Range. It will be the third joint military exercise between the two countries
- “The aim of the exercise is to build and promote bilateral relations and enhance interoperability while sharing experiences between the Royal British army and the Indian Army,”
UK
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Capital
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London
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Currency
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Pound Sterling
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Prime Minister
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Theresa May
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Nepal holds its first parliamentary elections in 18 years
Nepal witnessed the first phase of the two-phase parliamentary elections, held for the first time since 1999.
- Over 15 million voters will choose representatives for 275 seats in federal parliament and 550 seats in seven provincial assemblies.
- While the second phase of elections is scheduled on December 7, the date for declaration of results has not been announced.
Nepal
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Capital
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Kathmandu
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Currency
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Nepalese Rupee
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Prime Minister
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Sher Bahadur Deuba
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Russian government approves Uber merger with Yandex
The Russian government has given an approval to merge US-based Uber and Russia-based Yandex’s ride-sharing businesses.
- As part of the deal, Uber will invest $225 million and Yandex will contribute $100 million into the new company.
- Uber announced the deal in July this year and will have a 36.6% ownership stake in the merged company.
- Ordering rides from smartphone apps is driving growth in the Russian taxi market but the Yandex-Uber joint venture is required not to prevent its passengers, drivers and partners from working with other ride-hailing services
WHO releases guidelines on responding to child sex abuse
For the first time, WHO has published guidelines to help (primarily) front-line healthcare providers give high-quality, compassionate, and respectful care to children and adolescents (up to age 18) who have or may have experienced sexual abuse, including sexual assault or rape.
- Girls and boys who experience abuse often face a number of short and long term negative consequences for their mental, physical, sexual, and reproductive health and well-being.
The new guidelines address an important gap in providing quality and trauma-informed care to survivors by placing emphasis on the safety, wishes, autonomy of children and adolescents.
- Provide first line support that is child or adolescent-centred and gender sensitive in response to disclosure of sexual abuse.
- Minimize additional trauma and distress while taking medical history, conducting the examination and documenting the findings.
- Offer HIV post-exposure prophylaxis and adherence support to those who have been raped and who present within 72 hours.
- Offer emergency contraception to girls who have been raped and who present within 120 hours/ 5 days.
- The presence of guidelines and following them is extremely essential. But, there is more than just guidelines required in the country. These should be followed with ground training of all first line respondents. However, guidelines and training is not the end of the issue.
World’s first Artificial Intelligence politician developed
Scientists have developed the world’s first artificial intelligence politician, called SAM. The virtual politician, called SAM, was created by Nick Gerritsen, a 49-year-old entrepreneur in New Zealand.
- SAM can answer a person’s queries regarding local issues such as policies around housing, education and immigration.
- The AI politician is constantly learning to respond to people through Facebook Messenger as well as a survey on its homepage.
ISRO Planning to launch Aditya-L1 in 2019
ISRO is planning to launch Aditya-L1, India’s maiden mission to the Sun, in 2019.
It is India’s first solar mission. It will study the sun’s outer most layers, the corona and the chromospheres and collect data about coronal mass ejection, which will also yield information for space weather prediction.
- The data from Aditya mission will be immensely helpful in discriminating between different models for the origin of solar storms and also for constraining how the storms evolve and what path they take through the interplanetary space from the Sun to the Earth.
EPFO may lower interest rate for 2017-18
Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) may lower the interest rate on provident fund deposits this fiscal compared with 8.65% provided to its members for 2016-17, a Labour Ministry official said.
- EPFO is likely to cut the interest rate on the grounds that it is directly crediting exchange trade funds units into provident fund accounts and lower yields on its other investments.
IndiaFirst Life introduces first-ever micro-insurance plan ‘insurance khata’
IndiaFirst Life Insurance (IndiaFirst Life) has launched an unique micro-insurance plan ‘insurance khata’ targeted at those in the informal sector and agricultural labourers with seasonal incomes.
- This micro-insurance plan will be distributed exclusively through the 2.4 lakh common service centres (CSC) across the country.
- Alphons Kannanthanam, Minister of state for Electronics & IT, was present on the occasion.
- The novelty of this new micro-insurance plan, which has been primarily designed for distribution across CSC, is that it provides individuals with the flexibility to pay premium in parts, as and when possible.
- “At an individual platform with an entry level minimum premium of Rs 500, this is the first of its kind product in the industry and not just with us”, Vishaka told Business Line here.
IndiaFirst Life Insurance
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Headquarters
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Mumbai
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MD and CEO
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R. M. Vishakha
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Gautam Lahiri elected as Press Club of India president
Gautam Lahiri was elected as the president of the Press Club of India while Manoranjan Bharati became its new vice-president.
- Lahiri, a senior journalist with the Millennium Post daily, has been elected president for a second time in a row. Bharti works with the NDTV. The post of secretary general went to Vinay Kumar while Sanjay Singh was elected as the joint secretary.
- Mohua Chaterjee was elected PCI’s treasurer. Besides, 16 managing committee members were also elected. The PCI is one of the largest representative body of scribes in the country.
Aegon Life Insurance appoints new MD & CEO
Aegon Life Insurance has appointed Vineet Arora as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, effective January 2018.
- Arora will replace K S Gopalakrishnan who had left the company on November 17, 2017.
- Chief People Officer of Aegon Life Insurance, Saba Adil, will serve as the interim In-charge and Principal Officer.
- Arora has had a long association with the ICICI Group, working with ICICI Prudential Life and later helped build a profitable multi-channel distribution business as the Senior General Manager and Head of Product, Distribution, Marketing and Wealth Management at ICICI Securities
Aegon Life Insurance
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Headquarters
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Mumbai
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India, Greece signs Air Services Agreement
India and Greece signed Air Services Agreement and MoU on Cooperation in the field of New and Renewable Energy in New Delhi.
- The pacts were inked after talks between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and visiting Minister for Foreign Affairs of Greece Nikos Kotzias.
- The two leaders held a detailed discussion on all aspects of the bilateral relationship.
- They also re-affirmed commitment to further expand cooperation in mutually beneficial spheres.
Greece
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Capital
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Athens
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Currency
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Euro
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President
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Prokopis Pavlopoulos
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South Africa’s Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters wins Miss Universe 2017
South Africa’s Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters has been crowned Miss Universe 2017, becoming the second woman from South Africa to win the title.
- Laura González from Colombia was named the first runner-up while Miss Jamaica Davina Bennett stood third at the pageant which was held in Las Vegas, USA.
- India was represented by 21-year-old Shraddha Shashidhar, who didn’t qualify for top 16.
- Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, 22, who helps train women in self-defense, unleashed a big smile when she won.
- She hails from Western Cape Province and recently earned a business management degree from North-West University.
Ishaan Khatter wins best actor award at Bosphorus International Film Festival
Actor Shahid Kapoor’s half-brother Ishaan Khatter won the Best Actor Award for his debut film ‘Beyond the Clouds’ at Istanbul’s 5th International Bosphorus Film Festival.
- The Majid Majidi directorial also won the Best Editing Award at the event.
- Set in the slums of Mumbai, ‘Beyond the Clouds’ also stars Malavika Mohanan and is said to revolve around a brother-sister relationship.
Kohli sets record for most international tons in a year as captain
Indian captain Virat Kohli set the record for the most number of international centuries in a year as captain after registering his 10th international ton of the year against Sri Lanka.
- Kohli also set the record for the most number of Test tons as India’s captain after posting his 12th Test ton as captain.
- He scored his 51st career hundred in international cricket. He had equaled Sunil Gavaskar’s record for most hundreds (11) as an India Test captain in the last Test in Kolkata.
Indian men’s team beats Pakistan to win Asian Kabaddi Championship
The Indian men’s kabaddi team defeated Pakistan 36-22 in the finals of the Asian Kabaddi Championship 2017 in Iran to win the gold medal.
- The Indian men’s team remained undefeated in the tournament, having defeated Iraq 61-21, Japan 82-16, and Afghanistan 103-25 in earlier rounds.
India women’s team beat South Korea to win Asian Kabaddi Championship
The Indian women’s team beat South Korea 42-20, in the finals of the Asian Kabaddi Championship 2017 in Iran to win the gold medal.
- India started brightly and kept the score ticking with multiple touch points and took a narrow but deserved 19-12 lead at half time.
- In the second half, India increased the tempo and intensity to add more points to the tally and made things tougher for their Asian counterparts.
India bags 10 medals in Para Badminton World Championships
India clinched 10 medals, including two Gold, at the Para Badminton World Championships that concluded at Ulsan in South Korea
- Both the Gold medals were bagged by Parul Parmar who won the Women’s Singles Standing Lower (SL3) Final and also the title clash of Women’s Doubles (SL 3-4) section.
- India bagged 2 Silver medals through Tarun Dhillon in Men’s Singles (SL-4) and Manoj Sarkar in SL-3 section. Besides this, India won six Bronze medals.
India claims five gold, become champions at Women’s World Youth Boxing
India topped the medals’ chart after claiming five gold medals on the final day of the AIBA World Women’s Youth Boxing Championships.
- Earlier India has won two bronze medals.
- It was the biggest medal haul in the championship, followed by Russia.
Veteran Hollywod actor Rance Howard dead
Veteran Hollywood actor Rance Howard, who was the father of director Ron Howard, passed away.
- He was 89.
Gopi Thonakal becomes 1st Indian man to win Asian Marathon Championship
Gopi Thonakal became the first Indian man to win the Asian Marathon Championship held at China’s Dongguan.
- Thonakal finished the race in 2 hours 15 minutes and 48 seconds to clinch the gold medal at the 16th edition of the event
- Andrey Petrov of Uzbekistan bagged the silver medal while Byambalev Tseveenravdan of Mongolia won the bronze.
- Earlier, Asha Agarwal won the women’s title when it was part of the biennial Asian Track and Field Championships.
PV Sindhu won silver in Hong Kong Open Superseries
Indian shuttler PV Sindhu has lost the title clash of Hong Kong Open Superseries tournament at Kowloon.
- She lost the final 18-21, 18-21 against Chinese Taipei Tai Tzu Ying.
- Sindhu walked away with silver after finishing her campaign as the runner up.
- In the semi-finals, while Sindhu had defeated Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand, Tai beat South Korea’s Sung Ji-hyun.
