Current Affairs Daily Digest – November 17 2019
1. World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is observed on 16 November
The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is observed on 16 November 2019. It is observed on the third Sunday in November every year. The day marks the appropriate acknowledgment of victims of road traffic crashes and their families.
2. Five Indian students won prizes at Oxford Big Read Asia Prize
Five students from India won prizes at Oxford Big Read Asia Prize at the Asia level. Among the five students, four were from Nagpur while one from Madurai. A total of 6000 submissions from schools from China, Malaysia, Pakistan, and India participated in the competition.
This competition provides students with an opportunity to augment the ambit of their reading and also demonstrate their literary and creative skills.
3. Dhaka International Folk Festival was celebrated at Bangladesh
The fifth edition of the Dhaka International Folk Festival was held at Bangladesh Army Stadium, Bangladesh. It was inaugurated by the Information Minister of Bangladesh, Dr. Hasan Mahmud. More than 200 artistes from 6 countries performed in the largest folk festival in Asia. The event was held from 14-16 November 2019.
4. National Epilepsy Day is observed on 17 November
National Epilepsy Day is observed on 17 November every year. The day aims to create awareness about epilepsy, its causes, and treatment. Seminars, debates, and other events are organized to educate people about epilepsy disease and its treatment methods.
5. Sand Artist Sudarsan Pattnaik-The first Indian to win Italian Golden Sand Art Award
Sudarsan Pattnaik becomes the first Indian to win the Italian Golden Sand Art Award, 2019. He was felicitated at the International Scorrna Sand Nativity Fete in Italy. Mr Pattnaik created a 10-foot-high sand sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi along with Russian artist Pavel Minilkov. Around 8 sculptors from different countries participated in the event.
6. GoI conducts first ever National Agro Chemicals Congress in New Delhi
The National Agro Chemical Congress was conducted for four days in New Delhi. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare hosted the event. It was the first of its kind. It is to be conducted once in three years. The Theme of the Congress was : Country’s Status on various fronts of Agro chemicals
7. Darjeeling Green Tea & White Tea receive GI Tag
On November 16, 2019, two tea varieties of Darjeeling were registered under “Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999”. It includes Green Tea and White Tea of Darjeeling.Darjeeling produces 85 lakh kilograms of tea. Of this Green Tea constitutes 10 lakh kilo grams and White Tea constitutes 1 lakh kilo grams.
8. Pakistan: First Country to introduce WHO approved Typhoid Vaccine
Pakistan becomes the first country to introduce WHO approved typhoid vaccine. The Vaccine is to be used in southern Sindh province as more than 10,000 cases of Typhoid were documented since 2017.
9. India completes Agni II test fire successfully
India on November 11, 2019, conducted its first night trial of AGNI II missile successfully. It is the first night trial being tested by the country. The nuclear capable missile was tested at the Abdul Kalam Island of Odisha Coast.
10. AIIB to invest 100 million USD in solar and wind projects in India
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) which is headquartered at Beijing expects an investment of 100 million USD in India in a year. The foreign investment is to enter India through the bank in Wind and solar projects.AIIB has so far invested 2.9 billion USD. It amounts to 30% of the total investment. India is the largest borrower of AIIB.
11. Mumbai tops ranking for tap water quality; Delhi finishes at bottom
Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan said that tap water in Delhi and several other cities did not comply with the requirements according to a study conducted by the Bureau of Indian standards.
“Mumbai tops ranking released by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for quality of tap water. Delhi is at the bottom, with 11 out of 11 samples failing on 19 parameters,” Paswan said while addressing a press conference here on Saturday.
12. Akil Kureshi sworn in as new chief justice of Tripura High Court
Justice Akil Abdulhamid Kureshi was sworn in as the new Chief Justice of the High Court of Tripura. He was previously serving with the Gujarat High Court. Governor Ramesh Bais administered the oath of office and secrecy to Kureshi at Old Raj Bhawan in Agartala. Justice Kureshi has succeeded Chief Justice Sanjoy Karol, who was has been appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Patna.
13. Rezwana Choudhury Bannya gets ICCR Alumni award in Dhaka
Renowned Rabindra Sangeet exponent from Bangladesh Rezwana Choudhury Bannya was conferred the ICCR distinguished alumni award in Dhaka. The award was given away by the High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das in a musical function organised by the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC).
14. Microsoft’s Bill Gates beats Amazon’s Jeff Bezos as the world’s richest person
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates overtook Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos as the world’s richest person, reclaiming the top ranking for the first time in more than two years.
Gates may have been helped in part by the Pentagon’s surprise decision announced on October 25 to award a US$10 billion cloud-computing contract to Microsoft over Amazon.
15. 63rd National Shotgun Shooting Championship kicks off in New Delhi
The 63rd National Shotgun Shooting Championship Competitions 2019 began in New Delhi . The Women’s Trap qualification kicked off the competition at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range. The women’s events have seen 71 entries across the senior and junior categories. The Women’s Trap finals are scheduled for tomorrow.
