Latest Current Affairs – November 08 & 09 2018
1. Harmanpreet Kaur 1st Indian woman to slam a ton in T20I cricket
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur became the first ever Indian woman to smash a hundred in T20I cricket, achieving the feat against New Zealand in the Women’s World T20 2018. The 29-year-old scored 103 runs off 51 balls, which included eight sixes and seven fours. Further, Harmanpreet is only the third cricketer to smash a century in Women’s World T20.
2. Bangladesh to use EVMs for 1st time in general polls next month
Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be used for the first time on a limited scale in Bangladesh’s general elections to be held on December 23. The traditional system of vote casting will also be used. Nearly 10.4 crore people, including more than 5.1 crore women, are registered as voters in Bangladesh.
3. Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Trivandrum among 6 airports to be privatised
The Union Cabinet gave its approval for leasing out six airports for operating, managing and developing under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. The airports chosen are Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Trivandrum, and Guwahati. The government said that PPP model has helped Airports Authority of India in enhancing its revenue and developing airports in rest of the country.
4. Veteran Marathi actress Lalan Sarang passes away at 79
Veteran Marathi actress Lalan Sarang passed away at 79 after keeping unwell for many days. Confirming the news, her son Rakesh said, “Her final rites will be performed at Shivaji Park where my father Kamlakar Sarang was also cremated.” She was known for acting in plays like ‘Kamla’, ‘Sakharam Binder’, ‘Gidhade’ and ‘Rathchakra’ and films like ‘Samna’.
5. Indian-American elected Mayor of US’ Anaheim city
Indian-American Sikh businessman Harry Singh Sidhu has been elected as the Mayor of the Anaheim city in California, US. Sidhu moved to the US along with his parents in 1974 and has previously served as a member of the Anaheim City Council. He will be the first Sikh Mayor of Anaheim.
6. In a first, DRS to be used in ICC Women’s T20 tournament
The Decision Review System (DRS), using ball-tracking and edge detection technology, will be implemented from this year’s International Cricket Council (ICC) women’s World Twenty20 edition, which is slated to be held from November 9 to November 24 in the West Indies.
10 teams – Windies, Australia, England, India, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Ireland will take part in the tournament.
7. China unveiled ‘Heavenly Palace’ space station, as International Space Station retires in 2024
With a lifespan of roughly 10 years, China’s Tiangong space station, otherwise known as Heavenly Palace is set to become the replacement of the International Space Station, which is due to retire in 2024.
Three astronauts will be permanently stationed in the 60-tonne orbiting lab, which will enable the crew to conduct biological and microgravity research.
The International Space Station (ISS) – a collaboration between the United States, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan – has been in operation since 1998, but is due to be retired in 2024.
8. N Ram chosen for Raja Ram Mohan Roy Award by Press Council of India (PCI)
The award will be presented on November 16, 2018, on the occasion of the National Press Day. Award winners under various categories are listed below:
- Rural Journalism: Ruby Sarkar, Chief Correspondent, Deshbandhu, Bhopal & Rajesh Parshuram Joshte, Daily Pudhari, Ratnagiri
- Developmental Reporting: VS Rajesh, Deputy Editor, Kerala Kaumudi
- Photojournalism-Single News: Subhash Paul, Rashtriya Sahara, Delhi
- Photojournalism-Photo Feature: Mihir Singh of the Punjab Kesari, Delhi.
9. Reserve Bank of India initiates process to set up Digital Public Credit Registry
Reserve Bank of India initiated the process to set up a digital Public Credit Registry (PCR) to capture all the details of borrowers including wilful defaulters and also the pending legal suits in order to check financial delinquencies.
10. World Bank and Centre and Andhra govt signed an MOU to $172 million loan to make farming viable in Andhra Pradesh
To work with 1000 Small-Scale Community-Based Irrigation (SSCBI) systems spread over an area of 90,000 hectares (ha), covering over 1000 villages across 12 most climate vulnerable districts of Andhra Pradesh.
The project will improve the capacity of Farmer Producers Organizations to operate as sustainable, market-oriented, agri-enterprises. This will benefit the Andhra Pradesh Integrated Irrigation and Agriculture Transformation Project (API ATP) and over 200,000 families of poor and marginalized farmers.
11. Robyn Denholm replaces Elon Musk as Tesla’s Chairman with immediate effect
In September, Elon Musk had agreed to step down as chairman of Electric carmaker Tesla as part of a settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Robyn Denholm will leave her Chief Financial Officer (CFO) post at Telstra and take over Musk’s position, which he’s been holding for 14 years. However, Musk will remain on the board as a director and Tesla CEO.
12. World’s first AI news anchor unveiled in China
Chinese press agency Xinhua unveiled AI-based anchor that can read the news in English and Chinese, as naturally as a professional news anchor. The system, developed with Beijing-based search engine operator Sogou, produces realistic-looking speech, lip movements and facial expressions.
13. India economic growth to slow to 7.3% in 2019: Moodys
Indian economy will expand 7.4 percent in 2018, but the growth will slow down to 7.3 percent in the next fiscal. The economy grew 7.9 percent in the first half (January-June) of 2018, reflecting post demonetization base effect.
