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Monday, November 13, 2017

Daily GK Updates - 12th November, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES
1. Home Ministry sets up two new divisions: Union Home Ministry has formed 2 new divisions to exclusively deal with emerging security challenges such as radicalisation & cyber crime. CTCR wing will focus on tracking & assessing online reach of global terrorist outfits & devising strategies to counter their propaganda. CIS division will monitor online crimes & threats including cyber fraud, hacking & suggest ways to minimise & fight them.

2. Varanasi is the most polluted city-Report: A report by the Central Pollution Control Board has found that the air quality of holy city Varanasi is most polluted among the 42 cities monitored recently. Varanasi’s Air Quality Index was at an alarming 491, followed by Gurugram at 480, and Delhi at 468. Stubble burning by farmers in Punjab & Haryana are speculated to have added to the factors causing pollution in northern belt of India.

3. First Nordic-Baltic youth film festival to begin at Delhi: The first Nordic-Baltic youth film festival will begin in Delhi on 13th November, showcasing a diverse mix of some of the most celebrated and Oscar nominated movies from the region. The festival will give the Indian audience an opportunity to connect with these countries and strengthen the cultural bond. The festival will open with Land of Mine from Denmark, an Oscar-nominated film.

4. Creation of National Testing Agency (NTA) approved: The Union Cabinet has approved the creation of a National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct entrance examinations for higher educational institutions. Its creation will relieve CBSE which conducts exams like the NEET and AICTE of the burden of conducting entrance tests. The NTA will begin by conducting exams managed by the CBSE and gradually conduct other examinations too.

5. Second National Judicial Pay Commission approved: Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi approved the appointment of  2nd National Judicial pay commission for subordinate judiciary. Commission will decide on a salary hike for almost 21,000 judges of the subordinate judiciary level. Commission is to be headed by retired Justice of Supreme Court, J.P.Venkatrama Reddi. R. Basant, a former judge of Kerala high court is also a member of the commission.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES
1. UNESCO confirms Audrey Azoulay as its new chief: UNESCO’s member States have voted to confirm nomination of former French Culture Minister Audrey Azoulay as the body’s new leader. Her nomination was confirmed in Oct by members of the agency’s board, making her the organization’s 2nd woman director-general.

OTHER UPDATES
BUSINESS & ECONOMY:
1. Debjani to be the first woman President of NASSCOM: National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has named Debjani Ghosh as its President-Designate, who will succeed R Chandrashekhar after completion of his tenure in March next year. She has been the Managing Director of Intel South Asia and will be the first woman President of NASSCOM.

2. Twitter doubles length of display name: Twitter has more than doubled its count for users’ display names from 20 to 50 characters. It comes days after the social media giant ended the iconic 140-character tweet limit.

BANKING & FINANCE:
1. Federal Bank gets RBI nod to open offices in Kuwait and Singapore: Federal Bank has obtained RBI approval to open representative offices at Kuwait and Singapore. With the opening of these offices, the Bank will be able to widen its services to NRI diaspora and also enhance the international visibility of the Bank.

SPORTS:
1. MS Dhoni launches his first global cricket academy in Dubai: Mahendra Singh Dhoni has inaugurated his first global cricket academy in the bustling metropolis of Dubai. The facility named the MS Dhoni Cricket Academy (MSDCA) will have coaches from India to train the wards.

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