Latest Current Affairs – November 22 & 23 2018
1. Former Indian hockey player Sandeep Michael dies aged 33
Former Indian hockey player, Sandeep Michael, who captained the Indian junior team to a gold at the Asia Cup 2003, died at the age of 33 after battling an unspecified neurological problem. “He admitted on November 18. He slipped into a coma and could not be revived,” Karnataka State Hockey Association Secretary K Krishnamurthy said.
2. IAS Vijay Kumar Dev appointed as new Delhi Chief Secretary
The Centre appointed Vijay Kumar Dev, a 1987-batch IAS officer, as the Chief Secretary of Delhi. The officer from the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre is currently posted as the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi. He will replace Anshu Prakash who was transferred to the Department of Telecommunications last week.
3. Beijing’s population falls for the first time in 20 years
The population of China’s capital Beijing fell for the first time in 20 years in 2017, the Chinese state media reported citing official data. The number of permanent residents in Beijing in 2017 was 21.7 million, 22,000 fewer than the previous year. Beijing aims to cap its population at 23 million by the end of the decade.
4. Andhra assembly will be taller than world’s tallest statue: Naidu
CM Chandrababu Naidu has nearly finalised the design for Andhra Pradesh’s 250-metre-high assembly building that would make it taller than the world’s tallest statue, Gujarat’s ‘Statue of Unity’, by 68 metres. The proposed structure is shaped like an upside-down lily flower consisting of three floors, and the state expects the tendering process to take two years, minister P Narayana said.
5. Cabinet approves medical college in Dadra and Nagar Haveli
The Union Cabinet approved the setting up of a medical college at Silvassa in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. “The Cabinet…approved a capital cost of ₹189 crore for the setting up of…medical college,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said. It will increase availability of doctors and address the issue of shortage of doctors, he said.
6. Cyclone-hit Tamil Nadu seeks nearly ₹15,000cr from Centre
Tamil Nadu CM EK Palaniswami met PM Narendra Modi and sought financial assistance of nearly ₹15,000 crore for restoration and rehabilitation works in the districts affected by cyclone Gaja. Out of this, over ₹7,000 crore has been sought as relief for Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation and ₹6,000 crore for huts and houses damaged in the cyclone.
7. Former MP Baishnab Parida passes away at the age of 77
Former MP and writer Baishnab Parida passed away at the age of 77 at a hospital in Odisha. Parida, who was suffering from cancer, began his political career with the Communist Party of India but later left the party. He later held different positions in various political parties, including Congress, Samajwadi Party and Biju Janata Dal.
8. Wasim Jaffer becomes first Indian to touch 11,000-run milestone in Ranji Trophy
Veteran first-class cricketer Wasim Jaffer became the first Indian batsman to touch the 11,000-run figure in the Ranji Trophy. The Vidharbha batsman achieved the milestone during the third-round match against Baroda here at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA). The cricketer, who had made his first-class debut in 1996-97, emerged as one of the legends of the Indian domestic cricket.
9. Jammu and Kashmir governor dissolved the State Assembly
Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik dissolved the State Assembly. The dissolution of assembly is because the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peoples Conference (PC) separately staked claim to form a government. The Governor has passed an order in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by clause (b) of subsection (2) of Section 53 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir to dissolve the Legislative Assembly.
10. Mapletree to buy SP Infocity for Rs. 2,500 crore
Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd., Singapore-headquartered firm, acquires SP Infocity, Tamil Nadu for Rs.2,500 crore. SP Infocity is jointly owned by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Shapoorji Pallonji Investment Advisors Pvt. Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Private Limited.
The SP Infocity is spread over 2.7 million sq. ft., SP Infocity, an IT park on MGR Salai, houses some of the big corporate names from across the globe. Automobile firm Ford runs its global business services from its premises. Other tenants include Athena Health, Sony Ericcson, World Bank, Amazon, HSBC and BNP Paribas. Freshworks, a start-up, has over 1,000 employees working out of the facility.
11. India’s First Justice City To Set Up In Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh is building a world-class and India’s first ‘Justice City’ within its new capital Amaravati with the vision to provide a state-of-the-art ecosystem built on the latest technology for supporting the judicial system in the state. The state provides the necessary infrastructure to provide speedy justice for litigants, easy and better access to justice for the masses and reduce pending cases.
12. ICC teams up with Google
The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced its partnership with Google. The partnership is to offer the fans a great viewing experience of the upcoming semifinals and final of the ICC Women’s World T20. This partnership includes enabling the casting of video content from the ICC mobile app on cast-enabled devices, like Chromecast and Google Home Hub.
13. Indian Navy issued LoR to the U.S. for multi role U.S. copters
Indian Navy has issued the Letter of Request (LoR) to the U.S., under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route, for the purchase of 24 MH-60R Multi-Role Helicopters (MRH) in a deal estimated at $2bn. This is among a series of defence procurements and inductions from the U.S. and Russia in the last two months.
The Navy is presently facing a critical shortage of helicopters and several frontline warships are plying with empty helicopter decks. These helicopters are being procured as a replacement for 15 Sea King ASW helicopters de-inducted from service in 1991 and one Sea King 42B MRH lost in an accident. The current MRHs in service, Sea King 42Bs, were inducted in the 1980s.
14. Swami Vigyananda launches Hindu Economic Forum in New Zealand
Hindu Economic Forum New Zealand (HEFNZ) was officially launched by Swami Vigyananand on Sunday, 18 November 2018 in Auckland, with the vision “Grow Together; Share Together”. Hardik Desai and Raj Tyagi will be taking the lead in organizing the HEF New Zealand. Swami Vigyananda also announced that the first New Zealand Hindu Economic Conference to be organized by Hindu Economic Forum New Zealand in 2019.
15. Third Sayaji Ratna Award received by Film superstar Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan has been awarded the third Sayaji Ratna Award in Laxmi Vilas Palace, Vadodara for his social contribution to pay off the loans of several farmers from Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. He had helped 1,398 farmers from Uttar Pradesh and 350 from Maharashtra through his contribution.
16. India ranked 5th in the list of most vacation deprived nation in the world: Expedia
Expedia Vacation Deprivation Report 2018 was released that stated that India is among the most vacation deprived nation in the world ranking 5th among the 19 surveyed countries. As per data, 53 percent of Indians take fewer vacation days than they get. 35 percent don’t take leave as work schedule does not allow for vacation. 68 percent of Indians have ended up canceling their vacation due to work.
17. Paytm partners with LIC for insurance premium payments
Softbank-backed, digital payments service provider, Paytm (One 97 Communications Limited) partnered with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to offer online insurance premium payments on its platform.
A simpler and faster method of premium payments will be offered through the Paytm app with the freedom of paying premium through debit card, credit card, net banking and Paytm Wallet, besides availing the benefit of several deals and offers. Life insurance sector in India is the biggest in the world in terms of policy count with about 360 million policies. It is expected to increase at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12-15 % over the next five years.
