NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Rajnath to inaugurate 3rd edition of Military
Literature Festival: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate
the 3-day-long Military Literature Festival (MLF) on 13 December 2019 at
Chandigarh. The event would present an international level forum to foster and
preserve the exchange of knowledge related to military literature and
associated works. The 10 books of noted defence and literary authors would also
be released on occasion. This year, the event would commemorate Indian
participation in the Burma Campaign in World War II, the 75th anniversary of
which falls next year.
2. G K Reddy inaugurates 1st Intl. Conf on
“Landslides Risk Reduction and Resilience”: Minister
of State for Home Affairs, inaugurated the 1st International Conference on
“Landslides Risk Reduction and Resilience” in New Delhi. The Conference called
for developing technology to anticipate disasters like landslides and develop
infrastructure to quickly respond to minimise the damage. The landslides have
attracted global attention as they may cause huge havoc on communities,
livestock, environment leading to huge loss of lives. This conference will go a
long way in finding long term solutions to natural disasters.
Note: Minister
of State for Home Affairs: G Kishan Reddy.
3. Global Exhibition on Services-2019 organised
in Bengaluru: Union Minister Piyush Goyal has inaugurated the
2019 Global Exhibition on Services (5th edition) in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The
inaugural function was also attended by Chief Minister of Karnataka B. S.
Yediyurappa. GES is an annual event established by the Department of Commerce,
Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry in association with Services Export
Promotion Council (SEPC) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
4. ISRO transfer space-grade Li-Ion cell
technology to BHEL: ISRO has transferred its indigenous technology to
produce space-grade Li-Ion cells to Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). In
March 2018, BHEL signed the Technology Transfer Agreement with ISRO for
acquiring the Li-Ion Cell production technology. This production facility is
primarily targeting to meet Li-Ion Cell requirements for ISRO and other
strategic sectors. BHEL can also produce and sell Li-Ion cells for meeting
other national/commercial applications by suitably modifying the space-grade
cell which can lead to cost reduction. BHEL is in the process of establishing
the Li-Ion production facility near Bangalore in Karnataka.
Note: Chairman
& MD of BHEL: Nalin Shinghal; Founded in: 1964; Headquarters: New Delhi,
India.
5. MHRD launches 3 books for children namely
Kumbh, Garam Pahad and Dilli ki Bulbul: Union HRD
Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched 3 books which are a collection of
stories for Children namelyKumbh, Garam Pahad and Dilli ki Bulbul (Sindhi
edition) in New Delhi. Authored by a popular writer of children’s books and
travelogues Dr Anita Bhatnagar Jain. She is an officer of Indian Administrative
Services (1985 batch). The three books are a collection of stories for children
and have brought out environmental issues and topics like socio-cultural
unity& cultural heritage in a very simple and interesting manner.
6. Tata Comm board appoints A S Lakshminarayanan
as MD and CEO: The Board of Tata Communications (Tata Comm)
appointed Amur Swaminathan Lakshminarayanan as the managing director (MD) and
chief executive officer (CEO) of the telecom company for a term of five years
with effect from 26 November 2019. Prior to joining Tata Comm, Lakshminarayanan
was the president and CEO of TCS, Japan where he was in charge of accelerating
the company’s market opportunity and developing the brand in the region.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. EU Parliament declares climate emergency: The European Union’s legislature has declared a climate emergency, in
a symbolic move aimed at increasing pressure on the incoming European
Commission to take a stronger stance on climate change. The parliament voted
429/225 with 19 abstentions to call the increasing environmental challenges
linked to climate change an emergency. The climate declaration was passed in
Strasbourg during a European Parliament debate on the upcoming United Nations’
COP25 climate summit. The summit kicks off on 2nd December in Madrid. EU
lawmakers urged the European Commission to fully ensure all relevant
legislative and budgetary proposals are fully aligned with the
1.5-degrees-Celsius target limit on global warming. The resolution calls on the
EU to cut emissions by 55 per cent by 2030 to become climate neutral by 2050.
Note: European
Union Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium; European Parliament president:
David-Maria Sassoli.
2. Maldives' former president Abdulla Yameen
sentenced to 5 yrs in jail: Maldives’ former
president Abdulla Yameen (served from 2013 to 2018) has been found guilty of
money laundering and sentenced to five years in prison. The five-judge bench of
the criminal court unanimously concurred that Yameen is guilty on the charge of
laundering state funds for personal gain. He was accused of over 1 million
dollars deposit in his bank account by a company that was used to channel
resort acquisition fees.
3. Pak SC grants 6 months conditional extension
to Army Chief Gen Bajwa: Pakistan's Supreme Court
granted a six-month conditional extension to Army chief General Qamar Javed
Bajwa. Current Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army Mr. Bajwa (since 29
November 2016) continue as the Army chief for another six months. Pakistan's
government withdrew the 19th August orders after the top court's observations
in the case and issued a fresh notification which was also rejected by the
court.
4. International Day of Solidarity with the
Palestinian People: 29 November: In 1977, the
General Assembly called for the annual observance of 29 November as the
International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. On that day, in
1947, the Assembly adopted the resolution on the partition of Palestine. This
date, which was chosen because of its meaning and significance to the
Palestinian people, is based on the call by the United Nations General Assembly
for an annual observance of the resolution on the partition of Palestine. The
International Day of Solidarity traditionally provides an opportunity for the
international community to focus its attention on the fact that the question of
Palestine remains unresolved and that the Palestinian people have yet to attain
their inalienable rights as defined by the General Assembly, namely, the right
to self-determination without external interference, the right to national
independence and sovereignty, and the right to return to their homes and
property, from which they have been displaced.
Note:
Palestine is a de jure sovereign state in the Middle East claiming the West
Bank (bordering Israel and Jordan) and Gaza Strip (bordering Israel and Egypt)
with East Jerusalem as the designated capital.
Palestinian
Capital: Ramallah, East Jerusalem; Currencies: Israeli new
shekel, Jordanian dinar.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Deepika wins gold, Ankita bags silver in Asian
archery Championships: Indian archers Deepika
Kumari won gold while Ankita Bhakat bagged the silver medal in the women's
individual recurve event of the 21st Asian Championships in Bangkok. Deepika
defeated Ankita 6-0 in the one-sided final. Earlier, the duo had secured an
individual Olympic quota for the country by storming into the semi-finals of
the event.
Note: Asian
Archery Championships is the archery championship organized by the World
Archery Asia.
2. Sports Ministry constitutes a committee to
review Draft National Sports Code: Sports
Ministry has constituted a 13-member expert committee headed by former Supreme
Court judge Justice Mukundakam Sharma to review the Draft National Sports Code.
Former sports persons Gagan Narang, Bhaichung Bhutia, Anju Bobby George and
national badminton coach Pulella Gopichand are part of the panel. The panel has
been formed to suggest measures to make the Sports Code acceptable to all the
stakeholders. It will try to strike a balance between the autonomy of National
Sports Federations vis-a-vis need for transparency and autonomy.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1. Moody’s expects Centre’s fiscal deficit to
rise to 3.7%: Global rating agency Moody’s expects the Centre’s
fiscal deficit to touch 3.7% of the GDP. The Centre has targeted to keep the
deficit at 3.3 per cent for the current fiscal (2019-20), but it has already
reached 92.6 per cent of the Budget estimate in first six months of the current
fiscal. For all the state governments, the fiscal deficit estimated to be
around 3 %. A fiscal deficit is a shortfall in a government’s income compared
with its spending. It is calculated as a percentage of GDP, or simply as total
dollars spent in excess of income.
Note: Moody’s
founder: John Moody; Headquarters: New York City, United States; Moody’s
founded: 1909.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. French film ‘Particles’ wins the Golden
Peacock Award at IFFI 2019: French film
‘Particles’ has won the coveted Golden Peacock Award at the 50th International
Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. Particles is a 2019 French-Swiss
co-produced drama film directed by Blaise Harrison and produced by Estelle
Fialon. The Golden Peacock Award carries a cash prize of Rs 40 lakhs to be
shared equally between the Director and the Producer, Trophy and the citation.
The IFFI 2019 ‘Best Director Award’ was conferred to Lijo Jose Pellissery for
his Malayalam film ‘Jallikattu’. The Best Director award carries a Silver
Peacock trophy, a citation and a cash prize worth Rs 15 lakh. The Best Actor
(Male) Award went to Seu Jorge for his role in Marighella and Best Actor
(Female) Award went to Usha Jadhav for her role in a Marathi crime film, Mai
Ghatt: Crime No. 103/2005.
DEFENCE
1. Indian Army successfully test-fired 2 Spike LR
missile in MP: The Indian Army has successfully test-fired 2
Spike long-range anti-tank missiles at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh. Spike is a
4th-generation missile which can engage any target with precision at ranges up
to 4 km. India became the 33rd country to have the Spike missile as part of its
inventory. The missile has the ability to fire, observe and update, providing
substantial flexibility to the firer to pinpoint the impact point. It also has
the ability to switch to a different target mid-flight. The firer has the
option of firing from a low or high trajectory.
Note:
Headquarters: New Delhi; Commander-in-Chief: President Ram Nath Kovind.
OBITUARIES
1. World-renowned rock climber Brad Gobright
passes away in Mexico fall: A
world-renowned rock climber, US national Brad Gobright, fell to his death while
climbing a sheer rock face in northern Mexico. He was known for his
gravity-defying solo ascents with no ropes. US national Gobright (31-years) and
fellow American Aidan Jacobson (26-years) were climbing a route known as the
Shining Path in the northern state of Nuevo Leon
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