- Ex-PM Manmohan Singh awarded Indira Gandhi Peace Prize
Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was chosen as the recipient of this year’s Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development.
Singh received the international award, named after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, for “improving India’s stature in the world” and for his “for his contributions to the cause of economic and social development.
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Need To Know |
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| Manmohan Singh | Trustee of Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust (IGMT) |
| Sonia Gandhi | Chairperson of Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust (IGMT) |
| Yasuko Shimizu | Chief of UNHCR India |
- Girish Karnad honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award
Actor-playwright Girish Karnad was conferred with Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution in the field of theatre.
At the eighth edition of Tata Literature Live!, the 79-year-old playwright, famously known for writing ‘Tughalak’, spoke on the topic ‘Playing on Twenty Tongues’ after receiving the honour.
- Veteran journalist Manik Banerjee gets IMF award
Veteran journalist Manik Banerjee, who is also an acclaimed mountaineer was presented with the ‘Life Time Achievement Award’ by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF).
Banerjee was presented the award in recognition of his achievements in mountaineering over a period of four decades.
- Shaji Prabhakaran is new DSA president
Former FIFA South Central Asia Development Officer Shaji Prabhakaran was elected as the president of the Delhi Soccer Association (DSA) for four year tenure.
Besides Prabhakaran, veteran football administrator NK Bhatia was elected at the treasurer in the DSA’a Annual General Body.
- Bambawale takes charge as new Indian envoy to China
India’s new ambassador to China is Gautam Bambawale. Bambawale, a seasoned diplomat who till recently served as high commissioner to Pakistan and earlier as envoy to Bhutan.
A 1984-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, Bambawale succeeded Vijay Gokhale who took over as Secretary (Economic Relations) at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
- Zimbabwe’s ruling party sacks Robert Mugabe
Zimbabwe’s ruling party ZANU-PF has sacked President Robert Mugabe as party leader and replaced him with recently fired vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Zimbabweans have experienced a historic week in which the military seized power and put Mugabe under house arrest in response to his sacking of vice-president Mnangagwa, chief rival of Mugabe’s powerful 52-year-old wife Grace.
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Zimbabwe |
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| Capital | Harare |
| Prime Minister | Morgan Tsvangirai |
- Haryana announces new scheme for domestic power connections
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has announced a new scheme under which one can pay just Rs 200 upfront and get a domestic power connection in any rural area of the state.
Rest of the amount can be paid in easy instalments of Rs 100 to Rs 200. At present, one has to pay anything between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 to get a connection.
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Important WildLife Sanctuary in Haryana |
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- India receives international fund to promote sustainable fishing practices
India has special reason this time to celebrate the World Fisheries Day on November 21, as it received international fund for the promotion of sustainable fishing practices.
The London based Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), an international non-profit organization, has awarded £43,373 (Rs 37,25,740) fund for promoting sustainable practices in the country’s fisheries sector.
WWF-India and the CMFRI will create fishery management and action plans to ensure the sustainability of both baitfish and tuna fisheries in Lakshadweep, a region which depends on fishing for income and as a food source.
- Gujarat recorded most malnourishment deaths in 2016
Gujarat has recorded most deaths due to malnutrition – child and maternal – in 2016, a study has claimed. The other factors are dietary risk and air pollution. The study also reveals a very high percentage of deaths among children in the age group of 0-14 years in 2016.
The report, India: Health of the Nation’s States, prepared by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Public Health Foundation of India and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, says malnutrition caused maximum death and disability in 1990 while maintaining its position till 2016.
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Gujarat |
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| Capital | Gandhi Nagar |
| Chief Minister | Vijay Rupani |
| Governor | Om Prakash Kholi |
- November 19 2017: World Toilet day
World Toilet Day is a day to raise awareness and inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis – a topic often neglected and shrouded in taboos. Today, 2.4 billion people are struggling to stay well, keep their children alive and work their way to a better future – all for the want of a toilet.
The theme for 2017 is “wastewater.” By 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals aim to reach everyone with sanitation, and halve the proportion of untreated wastewater and increase recycling and safe reuse.
- 42nd International Congress of Military Medicine Begins
The 42nd World Congress of the International Committee of Military Medicine (ICMM) organised by the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) began.
The ICMM is an international intergovernmental organisation created in 1921 with its secretariat at Brussels in Belgium and currently has 112 nations as members.
The theme of this 42nd World Congress is “Military Medicine in Transition: Looking Ahead.”
- Canada opens its first highway to the Arctic
Canada’s first all-season highway linking the country’s south to the Arctic Ocean officially opens at 6am. The $300m gravel road stretches from the regional hub of Inuvik to the coastal hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories.
The highway was first conceived in the 1960s, but the Northwest Territories government did not make its first proposal to the federal government until 1998, and was only granted $200m towards the project in 2009.
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Canada |
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| Capital | Ottawa |
| Currency | Canadian dollar |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
- Swiss parliament panel allows info exchange with India
Paving the way for India to get instant access to details on Indians with Swiss accounts, a key parliamentary panel in Switzerland has approved an automatic information exchange pact between the two countries.
The Commission for Economic Affairs and Taxes of the Council of States a key panel of the Swiss Parliament’s Upper House — approved the proposed pact with India as also with 40 other countries, but suggested strengthening the provisions for individual legal claims.
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Switzerland |
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| Capital | Bern |
| Currency | Swiss franc |
| President | Johann Schneider-Amman |
- 3-time Olympic champion ‘Pocket Hercules’ dies aged 50
Former Olympic and world weightlifting champion Naim Suleymanoglu, one of the sport’s most successful athletes, has died aged 50 in Istanbul.
Suleymanoglu, known as the “Pocket Hercules” due to his short height of 1.47 metres. Bulgaria-born Suleymanoglu won three Olympic titles in the 60-kg and 64-kg categories between 1988 and 1996, competing for Turkey and seven world titles, competing for Bulgaria and Turkey.
- Actor Rita Koiral passes away
A familiar face in TV serials and films, Rita Koiral died. She was 58. Koiral had acted in films such as ‘Asukh’ (1999) by Rituparno Ghosh and ‘Paromitar Ekdin’ (2008) by Aparna Sen and ‘Dutta Vs Dutta’ (2012) by Anjan Dutt.
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