Current Affairs Daily Digest – November 07 2019
1. PCI presented 2019 National Awards For Excellence in Journalism
The Press Council of India (PCI) presented the National Awards For Excellence in Journalism, 2019, on 6 November 2019. Chairman of Rajasthan Patrika Pvt. Limited Ghulab Kothari won the Raja Ram Mohan Roy award. He was awarded for his contribution to journalism.
Other awardees:
- The Rural Journalism category of the award was shared by Raj Chengappa, Group Editorial Director of Publishing, and the Correspondent Sanjay Saini.
- The developmental Reporting category of the award was shared Shiv Swaroop Awasthi, reporter, and Anu Abrahim, sub-editor.
- The financial Reporting category of the award was won by Krishn Kaushik and Sandeep for their work in the ICICI bank fraud series.
- Ruby Sarkar and Anuradha Mascarenhas was awarded for gender-based reporting category of the award.
- Saurabh Duggal won the Sports reporting category of the award.
- The single news picture category of the award was shared by P.G. Unnikrishnan and Akhil E.S.
2. Bihar to ban auto rickshaws running on diesel
Bihar state government has announced a ban on auto-rickshaws running on diesel on 6 November 2019. It will be effective from 31 January 2021. The move comes after Patna recorded the worst air quality of the season in India on 5 November 2019, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching alarmingly high levels. The AQI remained at 324 in Delhi, but it reached 414 in Patna.
3. The 2nd International Conference on Sustainable Water Management was held in Pune
The 2nd International Conference on Sustainable Water Management was held in Pune on 6 November. It was inaugurated by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Union Minister of Jalshakti. He announced that India would achieve the target of providing safe drinking water to everyone by 2024.
4. Sheikh Khalifa reelected as the President of the UAE
His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has been re-elected as the President of the UAE by the UAE Supreme Council. He has been elected for a fourth five-year term. The Council would continue to lead the UAE to strengthen the pillars of the Union and its prosperity and fulfill the aspirations of its honourable people.
5. NASSCOM Foundation’s Social Innovation Forum (NSIF) award
NASSCOM Foundation, the Indian IT industry body’s social arm, and Bangalore based software firm Mphasis announced the winners of the 11th edition of NASSCOM Social Innovation Forum (NSIF) award. The NSIF is an ecosystem of over 2,200 social innovations, awarding over 90 social innovation projects, and has given more than Rs.1.5 crore in catalytic grants.
In 2019 edition of awards, seven organisations were declared winners across a range of categories who will receive catalytic grants for innovatively applying technology for social impact. The winners will receive Rs.10 lakh each as catalytic grants and a 12-month Support to Scale industry mentorship from experts, worth more than Rs.20 lakh.
6. NMCG organized ‘Ganga Utsav’ in New Delhi
The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) organized the ‘Ganga Utsav’ in Major Dhyanchand stadium in New Delhi to mark the 11th anniversary of Ganga being declared as national river. It was organized in coordination with Union Jal Shakti Ministry.
7. Voyager 2: NASA’s Solar System Explorer reaches interstellar space
NASA’s Voyager 2 has exited heliosphere and has entered interstellar space. It is now at 11 billion miles from the earth. Information from the spacecraft takes 16.5 hours to reach earth at the speed of light. (Light from the sun takes 8 minutes to reach earth)
The spacecraft joined its twin voyager 1 on December 10, 2018. The Voyagers were launched to study the outer solar system up close. Voyager 2 will target Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus.
8. IIT-Madras launches country’s first standing wheelchair: Arise
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has launched country’s first indigenously designed standing wheelchair named as ‘Arise’ in presence of Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawarchand Gehlot at the institute.
9. Freedom on Net 2019 report-China the worst abuser of internet freedom
The Freedom of Net report 2019 titled “The Crisis of Social Media” was released by the The Freedom House, an international watchdog. The report recorded an overall decline in global internet freedom status between July 2018 and May 2019.
India obtained an overall score of 55 and was reported to be “partly free”.
10. Smriti Mandhana becomes 2nd fastest Indian to score 2,000 ODI runs
Opener Smriti Mandhana became the second fastest Indian to score 2,000 runs in ODI cricket, achieving the feat during her 74 run knock in the third ODI against West Indies. The 23-year-old reached the landmark in her 51st innings, second only to Shikhar Dhawan (48 innings). Mandhana is the third-fastest player in women’s cricket to achieve the milestone.
11. India to host ‘No Money For Terror’ meet in 2020
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy said that India in 2020 will host the next edition of ‘No Money for Terror’ Ministerial Conference on Terrorism- Financing. This comes as Reddy is currently in Australia’s Melbourne attending the second edition of the same. The conference is a group of countries that focuses on countering terror financing.
12. TVS boss Venu Srinivasan becomes first Indian industrialist to receive prestigious Deming award
TVS Group Chairman Venu Srinivasan was conferred with the prestigious Deming Prize at a ceremony held in Tokyo. Srinivasan becomes the first industrialist from India to be bestowed this award for his contributions in the field of total quality management (TQM), TVS Motor Company said in a statement.
13. Cabinet nod for signing revised DTAC with Brazil
The Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave nod for signing of a revised Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) with Brazil with an aim to provide tax certainty, among other things, to investors and businesses of both countries.
The existing DTAC between India and Brazil, being very old, was required to be amended to bring it in line with international developments and also to implement the recommendations contained in the G-20-OECD Base Erosion and Prof.
14. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank launches Instant Digital Savings and Instant Fixed Deposit Account
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank in an effort to offer distinctive banking and digital services to its customers launched Digital Savings Account along with fixed deposit and privilege savings account.
15. Govt approves Rs 25,000 cr fund to complete stalled housing projects: Nirmala Sitharaman
The government approved a Rs 25,000 crore fund to help complete over 1,600 stalled housing projects, including ones that have been declared NPAs or admitted for insolvency proceedings, as it looks to boost growth by steering consumption in real estate and associated sectors. The move is likely to help 4.59 lakh housing units across the country.
16. China and France sign deals worth $15 billion during Macron’s visit
China and France signed contracts totaling $15 billion during a visit by President Emmanuel Macron, a Chinese government official told a news briefing. Deals were struck in the fields of aeronautics, energy and agriculture, including approval for 20 French companies to export poultry, beef and pork to China.
They also agreed to expand a protocol for poultry exports reached this year to include duck and geese as well as foie gras, and to work on a protocol allowing France to export pig semen to China, said a statement from Macron’s office.
