DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: NOVEMBER 23, 2018

Daily Current Affairs ( November 23, 2018) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness , Static GK and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

NATIONAL

Sangai Festival 2018 begins in Manipur

The 10-day Manipur Sangai Festival was formally started in Imphal. It aims to promote Manipur as a world class tourism destination.

The formal inaugural function was held at well-decorated Hafta Kangjeibung ground in Imphal as the main venue. The festival will conclude on November 30, 2018.

The ‘Festival‘ is named after the State animal, Sangai, the brow-antlered deer found only in Manipur.Every edition of the festival showcases the tourism potential of the state in the field of Arts & Culture, Handloom, Handicrafts, Indigenous Sports, Cuisine, Music and Adventure sports of the state etc.

Manipur

Capital: Imphal

Chief minister: N. Biren Singh

Governor: Najma Heptulla

Andhra Pradesh Launches ‘Bhudaar’ Portal

Andhra Pradesh has launched a web portal which makes land records available to people with unique identification numbers just like Aadhar number.

The “Bhudaar’’ is an 11-digit unique identification code assigned to each agriculture land holding and rural and urban properties in the state.

The integration of verified and updated land records will end litigation and corruption in land records and prevent tampering.

With this, the land records will be available to people on the lines of Aadhar card enabling the people to carry their land records in their pocket.

The Chief Minister also launched Bhudaar security policy to provide security to the land records of farmers.

President Kovind signed 4 MoUs With Vietnam

India and Vietnam agreed to further strengthen bilateral strategic cooperation in defence and oil and gas sectors as President Ram Nath Kovind held productive and extensive talks with his counterpart Nguyen Phu Trong.

This is Kovind’s first visit to South-East Asia and to the ASEAN region as the president.

The two nations also signed three MoUs in the fields of communications, education and trade and investment to take the bilateral agenda forward.

Vietnam

Capital: Hanoi

Currency: Vietnamese dong

27th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change Held in New Delhi

The 27th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change was held in New Delhi, India. The meeting was chaired by H.E. Dr Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India.

The meeting has urged the advanced countries to enhance their support to the developing nations in effectively implementing the Paris Agreement to combat climate change. The BASIC countries asserted that the Global Stocktake (GST) should be conducted in the light of equity and the best available science.

Brazil to host the 28th BASIC Ministerial Meeting in the first half of 2019.The BASIC countries (also Basic countries or BASIC) are a bloc of four large newly industrialized countries – Brazil, South Africa, India and China – formed by an agreement on 28 November 2009.

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.

The vision is to provide a state-of-the-art ecosystem built on latest technology for supporting the judicial system in the state.

will comprise integrated judicial hub spread across 3,309 acres with an estimated population of 2.5 lacs. The Justice City is expected to generate employment for more than 1.3 lac people.

BANKING AND ECONOMY

Paytm partners with LIC for insurance premium payments

Paytm (One97 Communications Limited) and arch rival Mobikwik, have simultaneously announced entry into online insurance payments and purchase of digital insurance on their platforms, respectively.

Paytm has partnered with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to offer online insurance premium payments on its platform.

Softbank-backed Paytm will provide premium payment solutions from over 30 insurance companies including LIC, ICICI Prudential Life, Reliance Life and Max Life Insurance among others.

Mobikwik, which is targeting a 4X growth in the current financial year, will also be providing purchase of insurance policies on its mobile application and website.

SEBI simplifies regulations for reclassifying promoter as public investor

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has come out with new rules for re-classification of a promoter as a public investor, wherein an outgoing promoter will have to relinquish special rights as well as control over the affairs of the listed firm and not be allowed to hold over 10% stake.

The promoter would not be allowed to have any representation on the board of directors or act as a key managerial person in the listed entity.

Further, the promoter seeking re-classification must not be a wilful defaulter or a fugitive economic offender, the SEBI said in a notification dated November 16. These norms will prevent the outgoing promoters from continuing to exercise their control on the company directly or indirectly.

SEBI

Headquarters: Mumbai

Agency executive: Ajay Tyagi

APPOINTMENTS

SBM Bank India appoints Sidharth Rath as managing director & CEO

Sidharth Rath has taken over as the Managing Director & CEO of State Bank of Mauritius. Before joining SBM Bank (India), Rath was with Axis Bank as Group Executive and Head of Corporate, Transaction Banking and International Banking.

SBM Bank (India) said it has been granted licence by the RBI to carry on business as a scheduled commercial bank under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, with effect from December 1.

It will provide universal banking services, with focus on wholesale banking, trade finance, capital markets and retail banking.

SBM Bank

CEO: Raj Dussoye

Headquarters: Port Louis, Mauritius

WhatsApp appoints Abhijit Bose as Head of WhatsApp India

WhatsApp has appointed Abhijit Bose as head of WhatsApp India. Bose, who joins WhatsApp from Ezetap where he has served as co-founder and CEO will build WhatsApp’s first full country team outside of California and will be based in Gurgaon.

Bose and his team will focus on helping businesses, both large and small connect with their customers. Bose is a graduate of Harvard Business School and Cornell University.

Earlier this year, WhatsApp released the WhatsApp Business app for small business owners and the WhatsApp Business API to serve larger businesses that engage with customers at scale.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

India gets UN Environment award for combating trans-boundary environmental crime

The United Nations Environment has awarded India’s Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) with the Asia Environment Enforcement Award, 2018 for the excellent work done by the Bureau in combating transboundary environmental crime.

India’s Wildlife Crime Control Bureau has been conferred the award in the Innovation category.

The bureau has adopted innovative enforcement techniques that have dramatically increased enforcement of transboundary environmental crimes in India.

Nine institutions and individuals from across Asia have been recognized by the United Nations, USAID, Interpol, and the Freeland Foundation for outstanding work in preventing transboundary environmental crime in an annual award ceremony in Bangkok.

Amitabh Bachchan honoured with Sayaji Ratna Award for contribution to social causes

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan was awarded the third Sayaji Ratna Award, established in the memory of erstwhile Baroda ruler Sayajirao Gaekwad III.

The Baroda Management Association had, in 2013, instituted the award to mark the 150th birth anniversary of the ruler, known for undertaking major social reform measures during his rule in the early twentieth century.

Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy and noted industrialist Ratan Tata have been given the award earlier.

RANKINGS

India second-fastest growing innovator among major Asian countries

According to India Innovation Report, India is now the second-fastest growing innovator after China among major Asian countries.

India is fourth among the major Asian countries in terms of overall patent publication volume, and second in terms of growth rate.

The analysis is based on patent data from Derwent Innovation, a patent research application that provides access to patent intelligence and scientific literature.

OBITUARY

India-born Pakistani poet Fahmida Riaz passes away

Noted India-born Pakistani poet and human rights activist Fahmida Riaz has passed away.

She always raised her voice for women rights and democracy in Pakistan. Ms Riaz, a well-known progressive Urdu writer, poet, human rights activist and feminist, worked with Radio Pakistan and BBC Urdu service (Radio).

Noted classical musician Ustad Imrat Khan passes away in U.S.

Classical music stalwart Ustad Imrat Khan, who dedicated his life to promoting the sitar and the surbahar worldwide has passed away.

Ustad Imrat Khan toured the world with his music and performed at the Cannes Film Festival in 1970 for a Merchant-Ivory partnership. He was also a regular at various music festivals in India.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Hello Day – Nov 22

World Hello Day is a secular holiday observed annually on November 21, to express that conflicts should be resolved through communication rather than the use of force.

World Hello Day was founded in 1973 by Brian McCormack and Michael McCormack in response to the Yom Kippur War.

World Fisheries Day – Nov 21

The World Fisheries day is celebrated every year on November 21 throughout world.

It is to highlight critical importance to human lives, of water and lives it sustains, both in and out of water.

This years theme is 2022 Ka Hai Sapna Kisan Ki Aay Ho Dugna – Sankalp Se Siddhi”.