Current Affairs November – 2019
India
Ayodhya verdict announced
The long-awaited Ayodhya Land Dispute verdict was delivered by the 5-judge Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, on 9 November 2019.
The Bench ruled in favour of the construction of the Ram temple on the 2.77 acres of the disputed land of Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid claimed by the Sunni Waqf Board, Ram Lalla (represented by the Hindu Mahasabha) and Nirmohi Akhara. In its unanimous judgment, the Bench ordered five acres of land to be given to the Sunni Waqf Board in a prominent place in Ayodhya to build a mosque. The Bench asked the Central government to formulate a scheme within three months.
The Constitution bench, which included Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice SA Bobde, Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice S Abdul Nazeer, conducted a marathon hearing of 40 days.
For more details, visit https://www.thehindu.com
Uddhav Thackeray sworn in as Maharashtra CM
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray took oath as the chief minister of Maharashtra at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on 28 November 2019. Along with him, six other ministers took oath as ministers of the new cabinet.
Uddhav Thackeray, son of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, is the first of his family to become the chief minister of Maharashtra. After Narayan Rane and Manohar Joshi, 59-year-old Uddhav Thackeray is the third member of Shiv Sena to become the CM of the richest state in the country. Uddhav Thackeray will lead the Shiv Sena-NCP-Indian National Congress alliance.
Thousands of people were present in the oath-taking ceremony, including industrialist Mukesh Ambani and former CM Devendra Fadnavis.
For more details, visit https://www.indiatoday.in
Assam government to gift 10 grams of gold to every bride
The Assam government announced that it will be launching a new scheme called Arundhati Swarna Yojana from 1 January 2020 where 10 grams of gold will be given to the brides who meet the conditions of the scheme.
Some of the conditions are as follows.
a. The bride should be aged 18 years and above and the groom should be above 21 years of age.
b. The bride should have studied at least till class 10. However, the educational criteria is relaxed for girls belonging to the tea tribes and Adivasi communities.
c. The marriage should be compulsorily registered.
d. The annual income of the bride’s family has to be below ₹5 lakh.
One of the main objectives of the scheme is to make people register marriages. According to Assam Finance Minister, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, this scheme will also help in promoting awareness about the need for education and women’s empowerment, and in preventing child marriages in the state. The scheme is expected to cost the state exchequer around ₹800 crore per year.
For more details, visit https://www.businesstoday.in
India to adopt FASTag
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways announced that India is all set to adopt the new technology, FASTag, and make it mandatory for all vehicles from 15 December 2019.
FASTag is a sticker containing an embedded chip and antenna which will be affixed on the windscreen of the vehicle. It will enable automatic collection of toll charges when the vehicle passes through a National Highway toll plaza, without the need to halt there.
This digital and efficient toll collection process can help save up ₹12,000 worth of fuel and man-hours. Not having a FASTag can cost twice the price, as per the government’s rule. FASTags are currently issued by 22 certified banks in India and is also available on Amazon website.
The maximum cost of a FASTag would be around ₹100. However, the price may vary depending upon the various offers and discounts given by the banks. There are two ways of activating a FASTag. One is by activating it personally and the other is by taking help from the bank.
For more details, visit https://auto.economictimes
Parliament passes Transgender Persons Bill
The Parliament has passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2019. The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 26 November 2019. It was earlier passed in the Lok Sabha on 5 August 2019.
The bill aims to mitigate the stigma, discrimination and abuse against transgender persons, promote inclusiveness and help them become productive members of the society, according to the Press Information Bureau of the Government of India.
The Transgender Protection Bill defines a transgender person as one whose gender does not match the gender that was assigned at birth. It includes trans-men, trans-women, gender-queers, persons with intersex variations and persons with socio-cultural identity issues.
The Transgender Bill prohibits discrimination against a transgender person in: (i) education; (ii) employment; (iii) healthcare; (iv) access to goods, opportunities and facilities available to public; (v) right to movement; (vi) right to rent or occupy property; (vii) opportunity to hold public or private office; and (viii) access to government or private establishment in whose care or custody a transgender person is.
For more details, visit https://www.indiatoday.in
Crime against children in India rise by 20%, says CRY report
The non-governmental organisation Child Rights and You (CRY) has released a report titled ‘How Vulnerable are Children in India to Crime’ which states that crimes against children rose by 20% in India. This analysis is based on the National Crime Records Bureau for 2016-2017.
Some key highlights from the report include:
a. Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are first in the list of states for overall crimes against children. 19,000 cases were registered in both the states.
b. Jharkhand witnessed the highest increase of crimes against children at 73.9%, while crimes decreased by 18.7% in Manipur between 2016 to 2017.
c. Child labour saw a substantial increase of 126%.
d. Child marriage increased in the country by 21.7%.
According to the report, kidnapping and abduction continue to be the most widespread crimes in India, accounting for 42% of the total cases of crimes. The report suggests that financial investment in child protection has to be increased.
Priti Mahara, Director of Policy Advocacy and Research at CRY said, ‘We need to facilitate convergence between government and civil society to generate awareness about redressal mechanism in the community, capacity building of officials in the child protection system like police, child welfare committees and facilitate the creation of a conducive, safe environment to increase reporting of crimes against children.’
For more details, visit https://www.thehindubusinessline.com
Fit India school grading system launched by PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Fit India school grading system in schools across India. Fit India movement was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 29 August 2019 to encourage people to make fitness a priority by including it in daily life.
The school rankings have been divided into three categories. The first category is Fit India Schools, followed by Fit India School Three Star (3 star) and Fit India School Five Star (5 star).
The level of ranking will depend on the amount of significance given by a school in inculcating fitness among its students and teachers.
PM Modi said, ‘In the Fit India Movement, schedules have been drawn for ranking schools in accordance with fitness. The schools that achieve this ranking will also be able to use the Fit India logo and flag.’ He also urged all the schools in the country to enroll in Fit India ranking system in order to make it a mass movement.
For more details, visit https://currentaffairs.gktoday.in
Literature
Govt unveils books on Guru Nanak Dev
Three books on Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, were launched in New Delhi on 7 November 2019 to commemorate his 550th birth anniversary. The launch was done at the hands of Union ministers Ramesh Pokhriyal and Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
The books, namely Guru Nanak Bani, Nanak Bani and Sakhian Guru Nanak Dev have been published by the National Book Trust. The books, originally published in Punjabi, are to be translated into 15 major Indian languages so that the teachings of the founder of Sikhism reach as many Indians as possible.
The teachings and philosophy of Guru Nanak Dev are still relevant in today’s world, said Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Ramesh Pokhriyal, Minister of Human Resource Development, also announced the establishment of an Interfaith Centre at Guru Nanak Dev University in Punjab, which will cost ₹493 crores.
For more details, visit http://www.uniindia.com
UNICEF prepares booklet to tackle nutrition-based issues
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has published a booklet titled ‘From Uttapam to Sprouted Dal Parantha’ to help tackle the problems of obesity, anaemia and low weight among children in India.
The 28-page booklet includes recipes of freshly prepared foods along with the cost of preparation, calorie count and detailed nutrient content of each recipe. It suggests that a variety of nutritious meals can be prepared at a cost less than ₹20.
The UNICEF booklet has taken into account the findings of the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey 2016-18 which states that 35% of children under five years of age are stunted (low height-for-age), 17% are wasted (low weight-for-height) and 33% are underweight (low weight-for-age).
The book includes recipes such as potato stuffed paratha, paneer kathi roll and sago cutlets for tackling underweight issues. It also suggests recipes such as sprouted dal parantha, poha and vegetable upma for tackling obesity.
For more details, visit https://www.timesnownews.com
Noted Malayalam poet Akkitham wins 55th Jnanpith Award
Renowned Malayalam poet Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri has been chosen for the 55th Jnanpith Award by the Jnanpith Selection Board. The poet expressed his happiness and said that he is humbled by the honour.
The 93-year-old Akkitham who hails from Kerala, is one of the most celebrated Malayalam poets. Apart from poetry, he has explored various genres, such as drama, children’s literature, short stories, critical essays and translations.
Out of the 55 books he has authored, 45 are collections of poems. He is also an essayist, journalist and social reformer. Akkitham, a Padma Shri awardee, has also won the Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, Mathrubhumi Award, Vayalar Award and Kabir Samman.
For more details, visit https://economictimes.indiatimes.com
Sports
Rohit Sharma becomes first Indian male cricketer to play 100 T20 Internationals
Indian cricket Vice Captain Rohit Sharma set a record by becoming the first Indian male cricketer and second in the world to play 100 T20 Internationals. He achieved the milestone in the second T20 international match against Bangladesh in Rajkot on 7 November 2019.
Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik, who has played 111 T20 international matches, tops the list worldwide, with a strike rate of 136.67 and four 100s and seventeen 50s to his name.
Rohit Sharma scored 648 runs in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, which is a world record. He also scored 529 runs in the recent Test cricket series against South Africa.
For more details, visit https://www.news18.com
Smriti Mandhana becomes second fastest Indian to score 2000 ODI runs
Smriti Mandhana became the second fastest Indian cricketer and third fastest female cricketer to score 2000 ODI runs. She achieved the feat in 51 innings playing against against West Indies on 6 November 2019.
While scoring a winning half century, Smriti managed 74 runs in 63 balls in India’s 6-wicket victory over West Indies in the 3rd ODI in Antigua. Till now, Smriti has scored four centuries and 17 half centuries in her ODI career.
Smriti, a 23-year-old left-handed batswoman is behind Shikhar Dhawan, who is the fastest Indian cricketer to score 2000 ODI runs in 48 innings.
In women’s cricket, Australia’s Belinda Clark is the fastest batswoman to score 2000 ODI runs in 41 innings. Meg Lanning, another cricketer from Australia, is the second fastest, who took 45 innings to reach the milestone. In men’s cricket, South Africa’s Hashim Amla is the fastest cricketer to score 2000 ODI runs in just 40 innings.
For more details, visit https://sportstar.thehindu.com
Indian boxer Sarita Devi elected unopposed to AIBA athletes commission
Veteran Indian boxer, Laishram Sarita Devi, has been elected as a member of the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) first-ever athletes commission.
Boxers from all over the world participated in the election that took place during the AIBA men’s and women’s Boxing Championships 2019 in Russia. One member was selected from each continent except for Europe which had two elected representatives. Sarita Devi was elected unopposed as she was the sole candidate from the Asian region.
37-year-old Sarita Devi from Manipur, has won eight Asian Championship medals, which includes five gold medals. She is also an athlete representative in the Executive Committee of the Boxing Federation of India.
For more details, visit https://www.business-standard.com
Manu Bhaker bags India’s first gold at 2019 ISSF World Cup, breaks junior world record
17-year-old Indian shooter, Manu Bhaker won India’s first gold medal in the women’s 10m air pistol event at the 2019 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup held in China on 21 November 2019.
She also broke the junior world record with a total score of 244.7. She is now the youngest and the second Indian shooter after Heena Sidhu to win gold at the ISSF World Cup in the same category.
Serbian shooter, Zorana Arunovic, bagged the second position with a score of 241.9, while Chinese shooter Quian Wang stood third with a score of 221.8.
Abhishek Verma won the gold in the men’s 10m air pistol category. Both Abhishek and Manu will represent India at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
For more details, visit https://www.indiatoday.in/sports
India’s Lakshya Sen wins Scottish Open
Indian badminton player Lakshya Sen won the Scottish Open men’s singles title in Glasgow on 24 November 2019. He is the fourth Indian to win the title after Pullela Gopichand, Arvind Bhatt and Anand Pawar.
Lakshya Sen won the title defeating Brazil’s Ygor Coelho in three sets (18-21, 21-18, 21-19) in 56 minutes.
Besides the Scottish Open, the 18-year-old player from Almora has won three other badminton tournaments he has played since September, which includes the SaarLorLux Open, Dutch Open and Belgian International.
Lakshya Sen belongs to a family of badminton players. His father, D. K. Sen, is an Indian badminton coach and his brother, Chirag Sen, is also an international badminton player.
For more details, visit http://ddnews.gov.in
India wins its first day-night cricket Test
India won its first-ever day-night pink ball test match against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 22 November 2019. With this match, India became the last major cricket playing nation to enter the pink-ball Test era.
BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly, convinced both India and Bangladesh to play a pink ball test match. A pink ball test match is a day and night match played partly under floodlights. This format is intended to make Test matches more interesting and draw more crowds.
The first-ever day-night test match was played between Australia and New Zealand at the Oval, Australia from 27 November to 1 December 2015. Other countries who have played such matches include England, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe.
For more details, visit https://www.indiatoday.in
Indian women clinch T20 international title with a 5-0 clean sweep
The Indian women’s cricket team won the five-match T20 international series against West Indies on 21 November 2019. India whitewashed the opponent with a 5-0 victory by winning the fifth match by 61 runs.
In the final match, the Indian team batted first. India got off to a poor start, losing two wickets in the first four overs and scoring only 17 runs. Captain Smriti Mandhana could manage only seven runs and Shefali Verma got out at nine.
However, Veda Krishnamurthy hit four boundaries and scored an unbeaten 57, while Jemima Rodriguez scored 50 runs in 56 balls. India scored a total of 134 runs for three wickets while West Indies managed to score only 73 for seven wickets.
For more details, visit https://www.business-standard.com
Environment
Sea level along Indian coast increased by 8.5 cm in the last five decades
Environment Ministry: The water level in the Indian Ocean has risen by 8.5 centimetres in the last 50 years, says the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Every year, on an average, the sea level along the Indian coast rises by 1.70 millimetres.
The ministry also notified that the northern Indian Ocean has experienced a rise of 6.1 millimetres in its water level from 2003 to 2013. Diamond Harbour, Port Blair, Kandla and Haldia are at high risk of submersion due to their larger land subsidence.
This rise in sea level poses a life-threatening risk to the people living in the low lying areas due to natural calamities, such as tsunamis, floods and coastal erosions. Thus, there is an urgent need to address climate change and global warming and make them our top priority.
For more details, visit https://www.indiatoday.in
Earth will be 3.2°C hotter by 2100: UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2019
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released its annual Emissions Gap Report 2019 which states that the global temperature will rise by 3.2 degrees Celsius by 2100. The report is a 68-page document compiled by 57 leading scientists from 33 institutions across 25 countries.
The world leaders, who signed the Paris Agreement in 2015, agreed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.
However, according to the report, we are far from the goal and the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) has not been controlled, and has in fact increased.
Some key highlights of the report:
a. China, USA, EU28 and India are the top four emitters of greenhouse gases in the world.
b. The target of reducing the global temperature can only be achieved when the GHG emissions are reduced by 7.6% every year from 2020 to 2030.
c. India is one of the leading countries interested in electric vehicle development.
d. Complete decarbonisation of the energy sector is necessary and it is also possible.
e. All countries must strive to reduce GHG emissions by up to five times in order to achieve the target of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
For more details, visit https://currentaffairs.gktoday.in
Last Sumatran Rhino extinct in Malaysia
Malaysia’s only Sumatran rhino, Iman died of cancer on the island of Borneo on 23 November 2019. According to zoologists, the species is now extinct in the country.
Iman was a 25-year-old female who was captured from the Danum Valley in Malaysia in 2014. She was living in the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary since then. Iman died six months after the last male Rhino, 35 year-old Tam, died following a prolonged illness.
The Sumatran rhino is the smallest rhinoceros species. According to veteran naturalist, Anwaruddin Choudhury, the Sumatran rhino was once found in Northeast India. However, due to deforestation and poaching, only 80 Sumatran rhinos are left in the world, mostly on Sumatra Island in Indonesia.
For more details, visit https://www.downtoearth.org.in
Science & Technology
ISRO launches earth observation Cartosat-3 and 13 commercial nanosatellites
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched Cartosat-3 and 13 other commercial nanosatellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on 27 November 2019.
PSLV-C47, the heavy-lift rocket, carried the Cartosat-3 satellite from India along with the 13 other nanosatellites from the US. It successfully injected all the satellites in the desired orbit of 509 kilometres from the Earth.
Cartosat-3 is India’s highest resolution civilian satellite, and the most complex and advanced earth observation satellite ISRO has built so far, said ISRO Chairman K Sivan. Cartosat-3 can take high-resolution photos of the Earth.
With this launch, India crossed a key milestone by launching 300 foreign satellites in two decades.
For more details, visit https://www.ndtv.com
World
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan re-elected President of UAE
The UAE Supreme Council elected His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the President of the country on 6 November 2019 for a fourth five-year term.
President Sheikh Khalifa was first elected for the position on 3 November 2004 by the Supreme Council of the Union, following the death of his father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Gulf News reported that the Council expressed its deep confidence in the wise leadership of the President, and wished him luck to continue the journey of prosperity and development of the country.
‘[He] led the country towards the achievement stage that contributed to empowering the Emirati citizens, and the prosperity of the UAE, and its prominence locally and globally,’ the Council statement added.
For more details, visit https://gulfnews.com
Israel-Palestine attacks continue
The Defence Force of Israel announced in a tweet that they have killed Bahaa Abu al-Ata, and his wife on 12 November 2019.
Shortly after the killings, 200 rockets were launched on Israel from the Gaza Strip, which included long-range rockets targeted at Tel Aviv. In response to it, dozens of air raids were launched by Israel on the northern Gaza Strip, killing 32 people so far. Dozens of houses and agricultural lands have been destroyed in Gaza by more than 50 air raids by Israel, said the officials of Gaza.
Neftali Bennett, Defence Minister of Israel said, ‘Over the past 24 hours, the Jihad Islamic terrorists shot over 250 rockets and missiles on Israelis…Israeli security forces will hunt down every terrorist, until our children are secure and safe’.
Meanwhile, some sources confirmed that a Gaza Strip ceasefire has been agreed and came into effect on 14 November 2019.
For more details, visit https://www.aljazeera.com
Former Bolivian President granted asylum by Mexico
Evo Morales, former President of Bolivia, was granted political asylum by the Mexican government.
Morales left for Mexico a day after resigning as Bolivian President following allegations of manipulation of presidential election results.
Morales tweeted, ‘Sisters and brothers, I leave for Mexico, grateful for the detachment of the government of that brother town that gave us asylum to take care of our lives…It hurts to leave the country for political reasons, but I will always be alert.’ The tweet also included a photo of him seated on the plane where he was draped in the Mexican flag.
For more details, visit https://edition.cnn.com
Sri Lanka: Gotabaya Rajapaksa becomes President, Mahinda Rajapaksa elected PM
Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected President of Sri Lanka while his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, the former President of the island country, took oath as the new Prime Minister on 21 November 2019. A 15-member cabinet was sworn in the next day.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa won this year’s presidential elections with 52.25% votes after defeating UNP’s Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa.
Mahindra Rajapaksa, who describes himself as ‘a rebel with a cause’, will function as the prime minister of the caretaker cabinet until the parliamentary elections in August next year. He has earlier served as the country’s president from 2005-2015.
For more details, visit https://www.indiatoday.in
Pneumonia kills one child every 39 seconds
UNICEF report: According to a recent report released by UNICEF, one child dies every 39 seconds in the world due to pneumonia, even though it is preventable and curable. The report also says that around eight lakh children in the world died last year due to pneumonia.
Pneumonia is an infection caused by viruses, bacteria or fungi, which results in fluid accumulation in the lungs, making it difficult to breathe. Its main victims are infants, children and adults aged 65 and above.
Nigeria tops the list of pneumonia-related deaths of children below five years of age followed by India. The disease killed 1,27,000 children in India in 2018.
Six leading health and children’s organisations launched an appeal for global action on World Pneumonia Day, which is marked on 12 November every year. They urged the governments to invest in vaccines, health services and medicines to prevent and treat the disease.
For more details, visit http://www.xinhuanet.com
Miscellaneous
David Attenborough receives Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace
Renowned naturalist David Attenborough was awarded the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for his ceaseless efforts towards preserving and protecting the biodiversity of our planet.
David Attenborough is a 93-year-old natural historian and broadcaster from Isleworth, UK. He is the man behind the writing, production and presentation of nine compelling visual documentary series on animal and plant life on earth.
He has also authored a few enthralling books on the environment, with the main aim of driving attention to the threat posed by humankind on nature.
According to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, the international jury which was chaired by former President Pranab Mukherjee selected his name for this year’s prize.
‘Few individuals have come to be as identified with the well-being of our planet, of all living creatures, and their relationship with human beings, as Sir David,’ the Trust said in a statement.
For more details, visit https://www.indiatoday.in
Indian scholar wins BRICS-Young Innovator Prize
Ravi Prakash, a PhD scholar from India, won the $25,000 BRICS-Young Innovator Prize for inventing an affordable milk chilling unit for small and marginal rural dairy farmers.
Ravi Prakash, who is pursuing his PhD in dairy engineering at ICAR-NDRI, Bangalore, was a part of the 21-member delegation sent to Brazil to attend the 4th BRICS-Young Scientist Forum (YSF) from 6 to 8 November 2019.
His innovation is focused at using nano-fluid based phase change materials to chill raw milk from its ambient temperature (37°C) to 7°C within 30 minutes. According to the young scholar, it is of great socio-economic significance for the developing countries as it will help preserve milk right after its production.
‘Around 80 per cent dairy farmers are still in the unorganised sector and this unit can help them save time and money. I designed this unit, having capacity of 5-6 litres, for Rs 5,000,’ he said. He has also received the Gandhian Young Technological Innovation Award from President Ram Nath Kovind in 2018.
For more details, visit https://www.tribuneindia.com
Greta Thunberg and Divina Maloum awarded International Children’s Peace Prize
Renowned child environmental activist Greta Thunberg from Sweden and peace activist from Cameroon, Divina Maloum were awarded the International Children’s Peace Prize on 20 November 2019. While Greta received the award for her efforts to bring global attention to climate change, 15-year-old Divina received the prize for her struggle against Boko Haram. The peace prize is instituted by KidsRight Foundation, an international children’s aid and advocacy organisation based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The prize includes a €1,10,000 grant to benefit the projects linked to the winners’ causes.
The awards were presented by the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi in The Hague. Thunberg could not attend the ceremony as she was on her way to attend the international climate conference in Madrid.
Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan won this prize in 2013 for her active involvement in female education.
For more details, visit https://www.abnamro.com
