NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. India
Becomes the World’s Second Largest Producer of Steel: India has emerged as the second-largest producer of crude steel by
replacing Japan. The biggest steel producing country is currently China, which
accounted for 57% of world steel production. Govt Efforts:
a) In order to support the domestic steel industry, the Government of India
has notified the National Steel Policy, 2017, and the Policy for Providing
Preference to Domestically Manufactured Iron and Steel (DMI & SP) in the
case of state procurement. These policies have helped create a favorable environment
to improve domestic production and consumption of steel.
b) The Government has also issued quality control orders, prohibiting the
manufacturing and import of cheap and substandard quality of steel. In
addition, India has liberalised the coal mining sector which stands to greatly
benefit the steel industry.
c) India has also been inviting foreign entities to invest in the steel
sector as India’s steel demand is expected to rise by 7.2 per cent in 2019-20.
Going ahead, the demand growth for steel is expected to remain unchanged at 5.2
per cent in 2022-23.
d) the Government of India has launched the Purvodaya programme which aims
accelerated the development of eastern India through the establishment of an
integrated steel hub.
e) The eastern states of India – Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West
Bengal – and the northern part of Andhra Pradesh hold about 80 per cent of the
national iron ore reserves and nearly 100 per cent of coking coal as well as
vast reserves of chromite, bauxite, and dolomite.
Rank-Wise
List:
|
Rank 2018 |
Country |
Qty (mt) |
Rank 2019 |
Country |
Qty (mt) |
|
|
1 |
China |
920 |
1 |
China |
996.3 |
|
|
2 |
India |
109.3 |
2 |
India |
111.2 |
|
|
3 |
Japan |
104.3 |
3 |
Japan |
99.3 |
|
|
4 |
USA |
86.6 |
4 |
USA |
87.9 |
|
|
5 |
South Korea |
72.5 |
5 |
Russia |
71.6 |
2. Uttar
Pradesh To Register Maximum Number of New Companies After Maharashtra Post
Covid: UP has added the most number of new companies
after Maharashtra since the outbreak of Covid-19, beating industrial hubs such
as Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, data combined by the corporate affairs
ministry (MCA) show. Key Points:
a) Uttar Pradesh is the third ranked state in terms of number of active
companies behind Maharashtra and Delhi.
b) Uttar Pradesh is home to 1.08 lakh active companies as of September end
while Maharashtra and Delhi have 3 lakh and 2.2 lakh active companies
respectively.
c) Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are at fourth and fifth with 1.04 lakh and
99,038 active companies respectively.
d) Uttar Pradesh added 30,000 companies in the past three years, which
helped it emerge the third state in terms of number of active companies.
e) Maharashtra on the other hand added 60,000 new companies in the past
three years and continues to be on the top.
3.
President Sh. Murmu appoints Dr CV Ananda Bose as Governor of West Bengal: President Droupadi Murmu has appointed Dr CV Ananda Bose as the
Governor of West Bengal. Bose (71) is a 1977 batch (retired) Indian
Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Kerala cadre. He last served as an
administrator in the National Museum here before superannuating in 2011.
Notably: Manipur
Governor La Ganesan had been holding the additional charge of West Bengal since
July this year after incumbent Jagdeep Dhankhar was nominated as the vice
president candidate by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Prior to his
election as the vice president of India, Dhankhar was the governor of West
Bengal for nearly three years.
4.
International Gita Mahotsav organized at Haryana: International Gita Mahotsav is being organized in Haryana from November
19 to December 6 at Kurukshetra. President Draupadi Murmu attended this grand
festival of Holy Gita in the Gita Yagya at Brahma Sarovar. Renowned
International and National scholars of Shrimad Bhagavad Gita and researchers
from across the country and abroad will present their research papers on ‘world
peace and harmony with the inspiration of Shrimad Bhagavad Gita’. About
International Gita Mahotsav
a) Gita Mahotsav is an event centered around the Bhagavad Gita, celebrated
on the Shukla Ekadashi, the 11th day of the waxing moon of the Margashirsha
(Agrahayan) month of the Hindu calendar.
b) It is believed the Bhagavad Gita was revealed to Arjuna by Krishna on
the battlefield of Kurukshetra Narrated by Sanjaya to King Dhritarashtra as it
transpired between Krishna and Arjuna.
c) Sanjaya, the scribe of the blind King Dhritarashtra, was blessed by his
guru, Ved Vyasa, with the power to remotely view the events taking place on the
battlefield as they transpired.
5.
Ex-Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Virmani named as full-time member of NITI
Aayog: Former Chief Economic Advisor, Arvind Virmani has
been appointed as a full time member of NITI Aayog. The other existing Members
of NITI Aayog are VK Saraswat, Ramesh Chand and VK Paul. While Suman Bery is
the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, Parameswaran is the incumbent CEO of the think
tank.
Arvind
Virmani: Virmani was Chief Economic Advisor in the Finance
Ministry from 2007-09. He was Executive Director at the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) till end 2012. He served as a member of the Technical Advisory
Committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on monetary policy from February
2013 to August 2016.
Note: NITI Aayog
Vice Chairman: Suman Bery; NITI Aayog CEO: Parameswaran Iyer.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
India-Russia-Iran Holds Trilateral Meet on Afghanistan on Sidelines of Moscow
Format: India participated in the fourth Meeting of the
Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan, which was held in Moscow on
November 16. Special envoys and senior officials from Russia, China, Pakistan,
Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan also
participated in the meeting.
“During the
meeting, the participants discussed issues related to Afghanistan, including
the current humanitarian situation and the ongoing efforts of various
stakeholders to provide assistance, intra-Afghan talks, formation of an
inclusive and representative government, efforts to counter threats of
terrorism and ensuring regional security,” Ministry of External Affairs said.
About
Moscow Format: It was introduced in 2017 on the basis of the
six-party mechanism for consultations among special representatives from
Russia, Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Iran and India. The Moscow format
meeting’s main objective is to facilitate the national reconciliation process
in Afghanistan and secure peace in that country as soon as possible.
2. US
space agency NASA launches Artemis-1 rocket on a mission to the moon: The United States space agency NASA has launched its Artemis-1 mission
from Kennedy Space Centre, Florida. About eight minutes after launch, the core
stage’s engines cut off and the core stage separated from the rest of the
rocket. After this, the Orion spacecraft was propelled by the Interim Cryogenic
Propulsion Stage (ICPS). NASA also deployed the four solar arrays of the Orion
spacecraft. After completing “translunar injection”, Orion separated itself
from the ICPS and is now on its way to lunar orbit. About Artemis-1 mission:
a) For the first time in 50 years since the end of the Apollo program, the
launch of Artemis 1 is an ambitious US mission to return astronauts to the
surface of the Moon.
b) The Artemis 1 launch will also be the first flight of NASA’s 21st
century moon-exploration program.
c) With Artemis 1 on the surface of the Moon, NASA aims to demonstrate new
technologies, business approaches and capabilities that are essential for
future explorations, including Mars. The launch aims to further aid in the
study of the Moon, its origin and history.
Note: NASA
administrator: Bill Nelson; Headquarters of NASA: Washington D.C., United
States; NASA Founded: 1 October 1958.
3. World
Children’s Day: 20th November: World
Children’s Day is celebrated on November 20 annually. The day aims to promote
international togetherness and awareness among children as well as to improve
their welfare. November 20 marks the anniversary of the UN General Assembly
adopted a Declaration and Convention on children’s rights. This year, the
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) wants to remind world leaders to
“fulfil the promise of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child”. The theme
for International children’s day is, “Inclusion, for every child”. This theme
means that every child belonging to any society, community or nationality is
entitled to equal rights.
World
Children’s Day History: The date 20 November marks
the day on which the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the
Child, in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989.
Universal Children’s Day was established by the United Nations in 1954, it wasn’t
until November 20, 1959 that the UN General Assembly adopted an extended form
of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. Originally acquired in 1924 by
the League of Nations, the UN adopted this document as its own statement of
children’s rights.
Note: UNICEF
Headquarters: New York, New York, United States; UNICEF Founded: 11 December
1946; UNICEF Head: Catherine M. Russell.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Paris
Olympics 2024: Phrygian cap chosen as Paris 2024 mascot: The Phrygian cap, the symbol of the French republic but wearing sneakers
as a nod to the present, was unveiled as the mascot for the 2024 Paris
Olympics. The Olympic Phryge (pronounced fri-jee-uhs) is a bit smaller, the
Paralympic Phryge is a bit slimmer and has a blade on his right leg because it
is a Phyrge with an impairment.
The Paralympic
mascot is different in that one of the legs is a runner’s blade. The Paris
Games organisers defended the fact that the toy replicas of the mascot are
almost all made in China. One of the mascot’s eyes is blue and one of the two
is draped in two ribbons in the colours of the French flag, in the style of a
cockade, or knot of ribbons, which was another symbol of republicanism during
the Revolution.
The mascots were
unveiled in a press conference in Paris-by-Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet,
Beijing 2008 wheelchair tennis men’s doubles champion Michael Jeremiasz and
Gwladys Epangue, a bronze medallist in taekwondo from Beijing 2008.
2.
Formula-1 Racing: Mercedes’ George Russell won Brazilian F1 GP 2022: Mercedes’ George Russell has won his maiden F1 race in Brazilian Grand
Prix in Sao Paulo. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton & Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz came
at the second and third positions respectively. With Red Bull’s Max Verstappen
finishing fourth. It was also Mercedes’ maiden win in the F1 2022 season. The
2022 season’s final race will be held in Abu Dhabi from November 18 to 20 at
Yas Marina Circuit.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. RBI
Chooses 5 Banks for Retail Digital Currency Pilot: State bank Of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, IDFC First Bank, HDFC Bank and
Yes Bank are among a shortlist of at least five lenders that the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) has roped in to work on the retail pilot project of the central
bank digital currency (CBDC).
The report said,
citing people familiar with the matter, that the Reserve Bank of India could
add more banks to run the pilot, which is expected to launch soon. “Five banks
have been shortlisted to run the pilot along with the help of NPCI (National
Payments Corporation of India) and RBI. Some customer and merchant accounts
will be chosen to roll out the retail digital rupee pilot soon,”. RBI’s
Strong Push:
a) The RBI is working on two fronts to test the central bank digital
currency (CBDC): one for the wholesale market, for which a pilot project is
already underway, and the other for retail (CBDC-R).
b) The central banker is also weighing whether to build a new framework for
its digital currency or make retail CBDC interoperable with the current digital
payments system.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1. Jeff
Bezos Amazon Company Becomes the First Company in History to Lose $1 trillion
Market Cap: Amazon.com Inc. is the world’s first public company
to lose a trillion dollars in market value as a combination of rising
inflation, tightening monetary policies and disappointing earnings updates
triggered a historic selloff in the stock this year.
Shares in the
e-commerce and cloud company fell 4.3%, pushing its market value to about $879
billion from a record close at $1.88 trillion on July 2021. The stock has lost
around 48% of its value this year alone, and is a far cry from July 2021 when
the company’s market cap almost touched $1.9 trillion. Amazon’s market value
fell below the $1 trillion mark on November 1, days after the company posted
mixed third-quarter earnings and projected the company’s slowest fourth-quarter
growth ever.
Across US
Tech Firms: It’s not just Amazon that’s bleeding money, the
top five US tech companies by revenue have already lost nearly $4 trillion in
market value so far this year, thanks to rising inflation and macroeconomic
headwinds. Amazon and Microsoft Corp. were neck-and-neck in the race to breach
the unwelcome milestone, with the Windows software maker close behind after
having lost $889 billion from a November 2021 peak.
2.
WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose step down: WhatsApp
India head Abhijit Bose and Meta India’s director of public policy Rajiv
Aggarwal have left the company, less than two weeks after the departure of Meta
India’s country head Ajit Mohan. These developments come against the backdrop
of Facebook’s parent company laying off 11,000 people worldwide on November 9.
With over 400 million users, India is the largest market for the Meta-owned
messaging app. November 1 that the app is on track to generate $1 billion in
revenue in India by next year.
3. Navi
Technologies named MS Dhoni as brand ambassador: Navi Technologies Ltd which sells financial products like personal
loans, home loans, and general insurance etc., has appointed Mahendra Singh
Dhoni as its brand ambassador. Dhoni will be the face of the company’s branding
initiatives. The association with the former team India captain strengthens the
brand’s trustworthiness as it works to fulfill customer goals by providing
simple, affordable, and easily accessible financial services across India. Company
Vision:
a) The company has launched its first digital advertisement with the
cricketer on Hotstar. The goal of this campaign is to promote its financial
services by dismantling the old and conventional ways of this sector.
b) The campaign will initially run-on social media platforms like Facebook,
Instagram, and YouTube before moving on to print and out-of-home (OOH)
advertising in the second phase.
c) Dhoni said: “Today’s India is intelligent, aspirational, and always
working toward its goal. It is crucial for billions of Indians to achieve and
surpass their life goals, which is why we have teamed up to make this vision a
reality. Its mission is to make financial services easily accessible whenever
needed.
DEFENCE
1. ‘Yudh
Abhyas’, India-US joint military exercise to start in Uttrakhand: The Yudh Abhyas is a 15-day-long exercise that will focus on high
altitude and extremely cold climate warfare. Exercise Yudh Abhyas is conducted
annually between India and US to exchange best practices, Tactics, Techniques,
and Procedures between the two nations’ Armies.
Key
Points:
a) The previous edition of the exercise was conducted at Joint Base
Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska (USA) in October 2021.
b) US Army soldiers of the 2nd Brigade of the 11th Airborne Division and
Indian Army soldiers from the Assam Regiment will be participating in the
exercise.
c) The schedule will include all operations related to peacekeeping and
peace enforcement.
d) The joint exercise will also focus on Humanitarian Assistance and
Disaster Relief (HADR) operations.
e) Auli is situated just 95 km from the LAC. The exercise, thus, indicates
a joint endorsement against China’s aggression in Ladakh at the western sector
of the LAC in the past two years.
f)
The vast extent of the exercises between the two
armies will also include the formation of integrated battle groups, force
multipliers, establishment and functioning of surveillance grids, validation of
operational logistics, mountain warfare skills, casualty evacuation, and combat
medical aid in adverse terrains and climates.
2. Indian
Army celebrates 242nd Corps of Engineers Day on 18 November: Indian Army celebrates the 242nd Corps of Engineers Day on 18th
November. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil
Chauhan and Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande have conveyed their best
wishes to all ranks of the Corps of Engineers on the occasion. On the occasion
of Corps day, Engineer-in-Chief and Senior Colonel Commandant of the Corps of
Engineers Lt Gen Harpal Singh has called upon the Corps to put in bigger
efforts to be prepared for the future challenges and rededicate towards being a
reliable, versatile and omnipresent arm of the Army.
Corps of
Engineers in Indian Army:
a) The Corps of Engineers provides combat engineering support, develops
infrastructure for armed forces and other defence organisations and maintains
connectivity along our vast borders besides providing succour to populace
during natural disasters. These tasks are executed through four pillars of the
Corps – Combat Engineers, Military Engineer Service, Border Road Organisation
and Military Survey.
b) The Corps of Engineers has three groups, i.e. Madras Sappers, Bengal
Sappers and Bombay Sappers which were amalgamated into the Corps on 18 Nov
1932. Since its inception, history is replete with colossal exemplary contributions
of the Corps of Engineers both in war and peace.
Note: Indian Army Corps of Engineers HQ: New Delhi, India; Indian Army Corps of Engineers Branch: Indian Army; Indian Army Corps of Engineers Colors: Maroon and blue; Indian Army Corps of Engineers Engineer-in-Chief: Lt Gen Harpal Singh; Indian Army Corps of Engineers Motto(s): Sarvatra (Ubique, Everywhere).
No comments:
Post a Comment