Current Affairs - November 28, 2018 Current Affairs

'9th Indian Organ Donation Day' was organized by the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) in Delhi. Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare stated that People's participation and people's awareness is the key to encouraging organ donation. The best performing State of Tamil Nadu was also felicitated. The State of Maharashtra received an award for being the best State for promoting awareness of organ donations. Dr. Subramania Iyer K, Kochi was felicitated for conducting first hand transplant in the country and Dr. Shailesh Puntambekar, Pune, received the award for conducting 1st Uterine Transplant in India.

Tamil Nadu bagged the Best State Award in cadaveric organ donation from the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The State has been awarded for the fourth consecutive year. Health Minister C.Vijaya Baskar received the award from the Ministers of State, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ashwini Kumar Choubey and Anupriya Patel during the 9th Indian Organ Donation Day programme in New Delhi 28th November 2018.

Tech magnate and philanthropist Premji will receive the Knight of the Legion of Honour or Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur from Ambassador of France to India, Alexandre Ziegler. The renowned entrepreneur will be bestowed with this distinction for his contribution to developing the IT industry in India and his economic outreach in France. Indian recipients who have received this prestigious award include Shah Rukh Khan as well as Bengali actor Soumitra Charrerjee

Harmanpreet Kaur has been named captain of the ICC Women's World Twenty20 XI, which also featured opener Smriti Mandhana and leg-spinner Poonam Yadav. A selection panel of ICC in Dubai picked up the team on the basis of the players' performances in the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty-20 tournament , which concluded recently with Australia winning the title.Three players from England, two from Australia and one each from Pakistan, New Zealand and the Windies have also been named in the eleven. The next ICC World T20 tournament will take place in Australia in 2020.

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (IDEVAW) is observed every year on 25th of November to raise public awareness on issues of violence against women and girls, including how men and boys can play a more active role in eliminating this violence. The day also marks the start of the "16 Days of Activism". The 2018 UN theme for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence under the UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign is "Orange the World: #HearMeToo". The aim of #HearMeToo is to bring to the forefront the voices of women and girls who have survived violence, who are defending women's rights every day and taking action, many of them very far away from the limelight or media headlines.

The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) has nominated 12 movies for this year's International Council for Film, Television and Audio-visual Communication (ICFT) UNESCO Gandhi Medal. Of these 12 films, two are from India and the rest are foreign movies. The two Indian movies competing for the honour are Tamil film Baaram and Ladakhi movie Walking with the Wind.

Ohio will become the first US state to accept payment of taxes by businesses in Bitcoin, beginning this week. Businesses can pay 23 different taxes with Bitcoin, from employee withholding tax to fuel and sales tax, through an online cryptocurrency portal. The state will use BitPay, a cryptocurrency global payment system, to complete the process.

The government launched a centralised electronic platform for processing interest subvention on bank loans to beneficiaries under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), called 'Paisa'. PAiSA, or `Portal for Affordable Credit and Interest Subvention Access', is a web platform designed and developed by Allahabad Bank, which is the nodal bank.

The Centre and Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a 200 million dollar loan agreement to finance widening and upgrading of about 230 Kilometers State Highways in Bihar to all-weather standards with road safety features. The agreement was signed by Additional Secretary in the Finance Ministry Sameer Kumar Khare and Officer-in-Charge of ADB's India Resident Mission, Rajeev P Singh in New Delhi.

The Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju has inaugurated the 14th Formation Day of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on 27th November 2018 in New Delhi. The theme of this year's Formation Day is 'Early Warning for Disasters'. On the occasion, NDMA also released a training manual for masons on Hazard-Resistant Construction. A study report on "Gujarat floods 2017: A Case Study" will also be released.

The top five Fortune India's Most Powerful Women list 2018: 1. Zia Mody - Co-founder, AZB & Partners; 2. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw - Chairperson and MD, Biocon; 3. Suneeta Reddy - Managing director, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise; 4. Alice G. Vaidyan - Chairman and managing director, General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re); 5. Mallika Srinivasan - Chairman and CEO, Tractors and Farm Equipment (TAFE). Shah Rukh Khan's wife and Renowned interior designer and co-owner of Red Chillies Entertainment, Gauri Khan debuts on the list of 'Fortune India's 50 Most Powerful Women' in business' this year. Being the founder and chief executive office of Gauri Khan Designs, Gauri gained the 42nd spot.

Delhi-based artist Anupam Roy has won the FICA Emerging Artist Award 2018, which is granted by Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA) for his large-scale drawings and paintings speak about systemic violence and injustice. As part of the award, he would receive a 90-day residency in Switzerland in 2019, supported by Pro Helvetia, which would help develop his practice and in forging further artistic collaborations. The FICA award, granted annually in collaboration with Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council, seeks to promote young artists who are studying or practising in India, and demonstrate extraordinary skill and promise in the visual arts. The FICA is a non-profit organization that aims to broaden the audience for contemporary Indian art, enhance opportunities for artists, and establish a continuous dialogue between the arts and the public through education and active participation in public art projects and funding.

World number nine Saina Nehwal bagged silver at Syed Modi International Badminton Championships 2018 after losing to world number 27 Han Yue. India's Sameer Verma defeated Lu Guangzu of China in the men's singles final to successfully defend and win the Syed Modi International Championships in Lucknow.

ISRO is all set to launch its workhorse rocket PSLV-C43 carrying India's earth observation satellite Hyper Spectral Imaging Satellite (HysIS) and 30 co-passenger satellites, including 23 from the US, from Sriharikota on November 29. HysIS is an earth observation satellite developed by ISRO. It is the primary satellite of the PSLV-C43 mission. The mission life of the satellite is five years. The co-passengers of HysIS include one micro and 29 nano satellites from eight different countries - United States of America (23 satellites), Australia, Canada, Columbia, Finland, Malaysia, Netherlands and Spain (one satellite each). PSLV is ISRO's third generation launch vehicle. It can carry upto 1,750 kg of payload into polar SSO of 600 km altitude.

The Uttarakhand government chaired by Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, approved a total of 27 proposals including renaming the Dehradun airport after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. As per the approved proposal, the Jolly Grant airport in Uttarakhand will be renamed after Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The cabinet also gave its approval to the setting up of the Uttarakhand State Agency For Public Services to ensure time-bound delivery of services and redressal of complaints.

Nepal government has launched a Social Security Scheme for formal sector workers of the country. PM of Nepal KP Sharma Oli stated that it was very necessary to strengthen the system in which the government is accountable to its people. People of all ages and categories would be included in the scheme. The new social security scheme is contribution based and it will cover health and medical facilities, safe motherhood, accident, and physical incapacity security, security to dependent family members and security at old age.

Odisha is hosting the Hockey World Cup 2018. The opening ceremony of Men's Hockey World Cup took place at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar. The opening ceremony, which was almost a three-hour long, conveyed a powerful message of "oneness of humanity". India is hosting the FIH Hockey World Cup for the third time, earlier Mumbai in 1982 and New Delhi in 2010 have hosted the event. World's top 16 teams will fight for the coveted title in the 14th edition of the tournament.