Current Affairs - November 30, 2017 Current Affairs

The Chhattisgarh Government imposed a ban on the bursting of firecrackers in six of its cities, including the state capital Raipur, ahead of the wedding season from December 1st to January 31st. According to the statement issued by the State Environment Conservation Board, the decision has been taken to control the pollution, which increases during winters due to the direction of the wind.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik unveiled the logo and mascot for the Hockey Men's World Cup 2018 at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. He also launched the countdown timer for the international event scheduled to be held here from November 28 to December 16, 2018. He gave away cash awards worth Rs 76.75 lakh to 59 sportspersons from the state for their outstanding contributions in their respective sports.

Mirabai Chanu became only the second Indian (after Karnam Malleswari) to win the gold medal at the World Weightlifting Championships in Anaheim, USA. After achieving the feat Chanu was left in tears as he went up to the podium to collect her medal. Since last year's mediocre performance at the Rio Olympics Chanu put in a lot of effort in her game and is deservedly reaping the benefits.

The High-Level Inter-Governmental Mid-Point review meeting of Asia and Pacific Decade for Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022 was held in Beijing, China. A number of countries in the Asia-Pacific region had participated in it. The Indian delegation was led by Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Thawaarchand Gehlot. The meeting was organised by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in cooperation with China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF).

Karen Pierce, the Foreign Office (FCO) political director, has been appointed the first-ever female UK ambassador to the United Nations (UN). She had previously served as Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, and more recently as the Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva. Pierce succeeded Matthew Rycroft under whom UK suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of India in the recent election to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). This is for the first time in 70 years that Britain would have no judge in the 15-member panel of the ICJ.

November 2017 was observed as International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. In 1977, the UN General Assembly called for the annual observance of 29 November as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. This day provides an opportunity for the international community to focus its attention on the fact that the question of Palestine remains unresolved.

Central Government has sanctioned Rs 275 crore for establishing a Global Centre for Security and Counter-Terrorism in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Central Government will allocate Rs. 165 crore and Rajasthan State Government will bear Rs 110 crore for setting-up this centre. It is to be noted that Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government in Rajasthan will complete four years in office on December 13, 2017.

Mumbai is to host the 15th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) for Documentary, Short and Animation films from 28th January - 3rd February 2018. The Organizing Committee of MIFF is headed by the Secretary, I&B and consists of eminent film personalities, documentary makers and film critics. It is organized by theFilms Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B).

Ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth, who won four Super Series titles in 2017, has won the Sportsman of the Year award at the first edition of Indian Sports Honours (ISH) in Mumbai on November 27, 2017. Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu was the Sportswoman of the Year award in the individual sport category. In the Team Sport category. Ravichandran Ashwin, who has became the fastest bowler to reach 'Club 300' in Test cricket, was awarded Sportsman of the Year award while women's cricket team skipper Mithali Raj was awarded Sportswoman of the Year award. The Indian Women's Cricket Team, which ended as runners-up in the ICC Women's World Cup, were named as the Team of the Year.

Abhishek Verma won a gold medal and Jyothi Surekha Vennam a bronze medal at the Asian Archery Championship. The tournament began in 1980 and it was first hosted in India. Countries such as South Korea, China, Japan and India compete, with many of the world's leading archers representing them.

Karnataka Bank Ltd has partnered with the Boston Consulting Group (India) Pvt Ltd for its transformation initiatives and the transformation project 'KBL Vikaas' was launched in Mangaluru on 29th November 2017. It has identified seven major intervention areas for this project. They are: growth aspiration and strategies to achieve growth; rationalisation of service outlets, including digital channels; human resource management structure and strategy; stakeholders' value enhancement initiatives; efficiency enhancement strategy; corporate branding and repositioning; and partnering and collaborating with Fintech companies, startups etc.

Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Defence Minister, has been elected as the new President of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA). The IDSA was set up in 1965 by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as an autonomous think tank, and it is customary to have the Defence Minister as its President. The Minister chairs the Executive Council which governs the Institute. IDSA is funded by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and its faculty conducts research in military, foreign and strategic affairs.

India and Italy signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for enhanced cooperation in the health sector by exchanging and training of medical doctors, officials, other health professionals and experts. The Union Health Minister JP Nadda and Beatrice Lorenzin, Health Minister of Italy signed the MoU in the presence of senior officers from the Health Ministry and a high-level delegation from Italy. He stated that both the countries share a strong and rich traditional relationship which has been enhanced by high-level visits.

West Bengal State Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari has mentioned that the state government has negotiated with the World Bank to avail subsidy to buy 130 electric buses. World Bank has agreed to provide a subsidy of Rs seven lakh per bus. Out of the 130 electric buses, 100 would operate in Kolkata and the remaining 30 will operate in industrial towns of Durgapur and Asansol.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President's adviser Ivanka Trump jointly inaugurated the 8th edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES-2017) in Hyderabad on November 28, 2017. The 3-day event is co-hosted by India and the USA and for the first time it is held in South Asia. The NITI Ayog in partnership with the US State Department and other agencies and in coordination with the Telangana state Government is organising the prestigious event. This year's theme "Women First, Prosperity for All" will demonstrate the commitment of the United States and Indian governments to the principle that when women are economically empowered, their communities and countries thrive. About 1500 delegates from over 150 countries are taking part in the three-day Summit. Ten countries are being represented by all women delegations.