Current Affairs - November 30, 2019 Current Affairs

Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray took oath as Maharashtra's new Chief Minister on November 28 in front of a packed Shivaji Park, the iconic grounds where his father late Bal Thackeray was cremated. He is the 19th chief minister of Maharashtra.

Yasuhiro Nakasone, one of Japan's longest reigning premiers and known for his friendship with Ronald Reagan, has died at the age of 101 on November 29. Nakasone, prime minister from 1982 to 1987, hobnobbed on the world stage with Reagan and Margaret Thatcher while battling with bureaucrats over domestic reforms.

Saudi Arabia was elected to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee for the first time on 28 November 2019.

Drummer Sivamani undertook the annual pilgrimage to the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple this year too. He said this was his 35th consecutive pilgrimage. Accompanied by keyboard artist Prakash Ulliyeri, Mr. Sivamani reached the hillock.

Seeking to address some of the most pressing issues facing India, including air pollution, through innovation, the United Nations Development Programme on November 28 launched the country chapter of its Accelerator Lab in New Delhi.

Two IITs and the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) have joined hands to develop Gandhipedia, an online repository of books, letters and speeches written by Mahatma Gandhi, to commemorate his 150th birth anniversary. IIT Gandhinagar is also a part of the project along with IIT Kharagpur and NSCM, an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Culture.

Transparency International India (TII) and Local Circles conducted the 'India Corruption Survey 2019' in 20 states. With a shameful 67% of respondents of a survey conducted by Transparency International (TI) admitting to having paid bribes to accomplish work in government offices, the state of Telangana leads south India in terms of corruption this year. This is followed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

Researchers from the National Astronomical Observatory of China have discovered a black hole in the Milky Way. The black hole is so huge that it challenged the existing models of the evolution of stars. The black hole was discovered by an international team of scientists using China's sophisticated Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) telescope.

A 2-day All India Police Science Congress (AIPSC) has started at Lucknow on November 28. It is the 47th session of the AIPSC. The objective of this programme is to focus on various issues related to the police. It has five related topics on challenges in policing.

The 50th Film Festival of India concluded in Panaji, Goa. The festival had various categories of films like sports, history, action. The film festival featured 200 films from 76 countries.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) transferred its indigenous technology to produce space-grade lithium-ion cells (Li-ion cells) to Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) as per the TTA signed in March 2018. BHEL is setting up the Li-Ion production facility near Bangalore in Karnataka.

2019 Gold-Medalist from Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT-R) & founder of International Changemaker Olympiad Rahul Adhikari, was conferred with 2019 Karmaveer Chakra Award REX Karmaveer Global Fellowship at the REX CONCLiVE held in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

Particles, the French-Swiss film directed by Blaise Harrison won the Golden Peacock Award at the 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. The IFFI 2019 concluded on November 28, 2019.

The Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare is an annual event held November 30 as a "tribute to the victims of chemical warfare, as well as to reaffirm the commitment of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to the elimination of the threat of chemical weapon.

India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Vietnam to improve the field of education. The agreement came after the meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Vietnam's Chief of the General Staff General Phan Van Giang.

Following the Telangana's government's decision to allow them to resume duty without imposing any conditions, workers of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) joined work on November 29.

The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs(MoHUA) has approved construction of nearly 331,000 more houses, taking the total number of houses being funded under Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana (Urban)I.e., PMAY(U) to 9.6 million. The approval was done during the 49th Meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) under PMAY(U).

BrahMos missile was successfully test-fired by Indian Navy with a strike range of 290 km. BrahMos is a medium-range supersonic missile. Now, it can be used by the Indian Navy, Military and Air Force.

The Central Pollution Control Board has issued a show-cause notice to the Panipat Thermal Power Station (PTPS) in Haryana, warning that one of its units could be shut down for failing to comply with the deadline to meet emission norms.

Veteran Tamil actor and theatre artist Bala Singh passed away at the age of 67 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu due to illness.