Current Affairs Current Affairs - 05 December 2017

General Affairs

Madhya Pradesh Assembly Passes Bill On Death For Rape Of Girls 12 And Below

The Madhya Pradesh Assembly today unanimously passed a bill awarding death to those found guilty of raping girls aged 12 and below.

With the passage of the bill, Madhya Pradesh becomes the first state in the country where those convicted of such rapes will face the gallows.

Introduced in the House by Law and Legislative Affairs Minister Rampal Singh, the bill was discussed in detail and then passed by all parties, including the ruling BJP and opposition Congress.

The bill will now be sent to the President for his assent after which it will become a law, state Home Minister Bhupendra Singh told reporters outside the Assembly.

"It was a historic day for Madhya Pradesh as the state Assembly, as per the wish of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, passed a bill making a provision to award capital punishment to those indulging in such crimes (raping girls aged 12 or younger)," Mr Singh said.

Capital punishment will be awarded to convicts under section 376 (A), which is related to rape, and section 376 (D, A), pertaining to gang rape.

Welcoming the bill, Chief Minister Chouhan said, "There are people in society who can be set right only by severe punishments. It (the legislation) will deal with them. We will also raise awareness in society against such crimes."

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Bats For Reservations In Job Promotions

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today came out in support of the demand for a constitutional amendment that could pave way for introducing reservations in job promotions.

"We have always been for reservations in promotions. We had introduced this provision for the SCs and STs in Bihar. Our decision was challenged and struck down by the high court. Now, the matter is pending before the Supreme Court," he told reporters on the sidelines of his weekly Lok-Samvad programme.

The chief minister was responding to a query on a statement by Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan that his party was planning to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing in a constitutional amendment, which could facilitate reservations in promotions, while taking into account the conditions laid down by the Supreme Court in this regard.

"If Paswan wants to take an initiative in this direction, we welcome it. The issue of reservation in promotions is a long-standing one and it needs to be debated in Parliament," Mr Kumar said.

Rubbishing the speculation that such a move could lead to a compromise as far as merit was concerned, the chief minister said there was nothing wrong in supporting a community which was grossly under-represented in a certain service at a certain rank.

The JD(U) chief also reiterated that he was in favour of reservations in the private sector, "which is providing more jobs nowadays than the public sector", and that "the basis for introducing quotas cannot be economic backwardness, but social and educational backwardness, as has been elucidated in the Constitution".

About the poor among the upper castes, the chief minister said, "They can be supported through measures like scholarships. We are doing that in Bihar.

"But it must be understood that reservation is meant for the limited, though important, purpose of enabling the deprived sections of the society to avail of equal opportunities. The sole objective of the quota system is to create a condition, wherein every segment of the society will become a part of the social mainstream."

After Warning Of Heavy Rain, Odisha Government Cautions Paddy Farmers

With heavy rainfall warning issued by the India Meteorological Department or IMD in many parts of Odisha, the state government today asked farmers to shift their harvested paddy from the fields to safe places to avoid loss or damage.

Rain is likely to lash Odisha for at least three days from December 7 due to a well marked low pressure that lies over southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining south Andaman Sea today, the weather centre in Bhubaneswar said.

It is very likely to become a depression over southeast Bay of Bengal during next 24 hours and further intensify into a deep depression during subsequent 48 hours.

It is likely to move west-northwestwards towards north TamilNadu - south Andhra Pradesh coasts next three days, it said.

While weather is expected to remain dry over Odisha during next 72 hours, rainfall is likely to occur in several parts of of the state by December 7 under its impact, said director of the local Met Centre, Sarat Chandra Sahu.

Low intensity rainfall is likely to occur in districts like Koraput, Malkangiri, Gajapati and Ganjam on December 7, while rainall of higher intensity is expected to pound coastal and adjoining districts on December 8 and 9, he said.

Preliminary reports indicate that around 18 districts of the state are likely to face heavy rainfall due to the system, the MeT office said.

In view of the emerging weather conditions, the Revenue and Disaster Management department has advised the farmers of the districts likely to be affected to shift their harvested paddy to safe places and keep it properly stacked under suitable cover so as to avoid any loss or damage.

Where paddy crops are ready for harvest, the farmers should take steps to harvest the same and store safely to avoid damage due to rains, a senior official said adding necessary measures should also be taken to protect the paddy in mandies, if any, from rain.

Farmers in most parts of the state have already suffered a lot due to crop loss caused by unseasonal rains last month.

Brahmaputra Turning Black Due To Natural Causes, Says Union Minister

A preliminary study has found that the water of the Siang river, which originates in southern Tibet and becomes the Brahmaputra upon entering Assam through Arunachal Pradesh, is turning black due to a recent earthquake in the region, Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal has said.

"We have been getting reports of pollution in the river and its water turning black. The Central Water Commission (CWC) has started looking into the matter recently and people have been sent to the internal areas," the Union minister of state for water resources said in Delhi on Sunday.

He added that according to the preliminary findings, the path of the river was temporarily obstructed after an earthquake in Tibet on November 17.

"There is a strong possibility that the colour (of the river's water) has changed due to natural reasons," the minister said.

Congress MP Ninong Ering, representing the Arunachal East constituency in the Parliament, had recently written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard, noting that the water of the river changing its colour was an unusual phenomenon in the winter months.

In his letter, Mr Ering had also pointed out that there were reports of China constructing a 600-km tunnel in its Yunnan province to divert the Siang water to the Taklamakan desert through the Xinjiang province, even though the neighbouring country had denied any such development.

He had mentioned in the letter that the reports of the Tsangpo (Siang or Brahmaputra) being diverted had appeared a few months back.

Although China had denied it, the matter remained an area of concern for India, the Congress MP had mentioned in his letter to the prime minister.

"After these reports appeared, the water of the river Siang has turned muddy and slushy. It has been two months since the Siang turned black and contaminated. It is an unusual phenomenon.

"The reason for the river getting dirty is unknown. I have already put up questions for discussions in Parliament under rule 377. But since the House is not in session, I am requesting you to use your good office to seek the reason for the river turning muddy in this season, when the water is usually crystal clear," Mr Ering had written in his letter to Modi.

Rahul Gandhi Unchallenged, Set To Be New Congress President

Rahul Gandhi is set to be Congress president in place of his mother Sonia Gandhi, elected unopposed after the last day for filing nominations passed today without any challenger emerging. An official announcement is expected tomorrow as the party is "completing all processes", sources said.

Mr Gandhi, who has been the Congress' vice-president for almost five years, filed nomination papers at the party's 24 Akbar Road headquarters in Delhi in an elaborate process as the party sought to emphasise that he is being democratically elected amid allegations by the BJP of dynastic politics. Outgoing Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was the first to nominate her son, though she signed the papers not at the party office but at her home next door. Sonia Gandhi has been the party's longest serving president, having led the Congress for 19 years since 1998.

A total 89 nominations were filed for Mr Gandhi since Monday morning by various Congress leaders and workers from across the country. The 47-year-old first met former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former President Pranab Mukherjee, to seek their blessings, party sources said, and then went to the party office, where he was seen hugging veteran Congress leaders Sheila Dikshit and Mohsina Kidwai.

"Rahul Gandhi is a darling of the Congress and he will carry forward the great traditions of the party," said Dr Manmohan Singh.

Among those who signed papers to propose Mr Gandhi as party chief was Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, earlier seen as having been opposed to Rahul Gandhi taking his mother's place to lead the party. "Rahul Gandhi has shown his worth. He's been outstanding in his performance. He will make a good PM" Mr Singh said and also added, "This is my 50th year. Elections have always happened. Why are other parties interfering?"

At an election rally in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a swipe at Mr Gandhi. "I congratulate the Congress on their 'Aurangzeb Raj.' For us, the well-being of the people matters and 125 crore Indians are our high command," he said.

PM Modi said he was quoting Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar. "Mani Shankar Aiyar asked 'did elections happen during Mughal rule? After Jehangir, Shahjahan came, was any election held? After Shahjahan it was understood Aurangzeb will be the leader'. So the Congress accepts its a family party? We don't want this Aurangzeb rule," said the Prime Minister who has pitched the Gujarat elections as a battle between "vikaswaad (development) and vanshwad (dynasty).

PM Modi and other top leaders of the BJP have repeatedly attacked the Congress over the Nehru-Gandhi family's control of the party, contrasting it with the BJP, where, they point out, people from the most modest origins have risen to the top, like the Prime Minister himself, who sold tea as a young boy in Gujarat.

Mr Aiyar has said he has been misquoted and that he had meant to "contrast the dynastic succession under the Mughals" with the "totally democratic process" of electing the Congress chief.

Congress leaders say the party's election process allows any member to contest the election for the top post. They said members had a chance since Friday to come forward to challenge Mr Gandhi, but no one had done so.

"This one false narrative that Lutyens liberals have cooked up is that you need the Parivaar (family) to fight the Sangh Parivaar. Why should there be a choice between secularism and dynasty? Can't I have non-dynastic secularism?" said Shehzad Poonawalla, a Congress leader from Maharashtra who last week alleged that the election to elect choose the party chief was "rigged." Mr Poonawalla had indicated he would have liked to contest the election, alleging that it is a sham since Rahul Gandhi enjoys an "unfair advantage".

He also wrote to Mr Gandhi demanding that he resign as party vice president, enter a televised debate and "be judged on merit" rather than on his surname.

Business Affairs

Fitch slashes India's GDP outlook to 6.7%, says growth has 'repeatedly disappointed' in recent quarters

Unlike its earlier projection of 6.9 per cent growth, credit rating agency Fitch on Monday cut India's GDP forecast for the current fiscal to 6.7 per cent. The agency cited weaker rebound as a reason behind the growth rate cut. India has been on a rollercoaster ride in terms of credit ratings and GDP numbers, with credit rating agencies assessing India based on the recent economic decisions taken up by the Narendra Modi government. Days after Moody's upgraded India's credit rating to Baa2 from Baa3, another US-based credit rating agency, S&P, left it unchanged. The New York-based credit rating agency reaffirmed a stable outlook for India. India also received positive news when the recent GDP growth numbers reversed a five-quarter slowdown and jumped to 6.3 per cent. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had also said it will update its growth rate forecast for India in January next year. Fitch, however, said it expects the GDP growth to pick up in the next two years.

"The Indian economy picked up in 3Q17 (July-September), with GDP growing by 6.3 per cent year-on-year, up from 5.7 per cent in 2Q17. However, the rebound was weaker than we expected, and we have reduced our growth forecast for the fiscal year to end- March 2018 (FY18) to 6.7 per cent from 6.9 per cent in the September GEO," Fitch said in its latest GEO.

The US-based ratings agency said growth has "repeatedly disappointed" in recent quarters, partly because of one-off factors including the demonetisation programme of November 2016 and disruptions related to the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in July 2017. Reversing a five-quarter slide in GDP growth, Indian economy bounced back from a three-year low to expand by 6.3 per cent in July-September as manufacturing revved up and businesses adjusted to the new GST tax regime. The GDP growth in the second quarter of 2017-18 compares to 5.7 per cent in April-June, the lowest growth rate since the Narendra Modi government took office, and 7.5 per cent in the September quarter of the previous fiscal.

Stating that it expects GDP growth to pick up in the next two years, Fitch said gradual implementation of the structural reform agenda is expected to contribute to higher growth, as will higher real disposable income. "Recent moves by the government should help support the growth outlook and enhance business confidence," it said. The two-year bank recapitalisation plan of Rs 2.1 lakh crore, or 1.4 per cent of GDP, is likely to help address the capital shortages that have hindered the banks' lending capacity. Also, the Rs 6.9 lakh crore, or 4.5 per cent of GDP, road construction plan may encourage the investment growth outlook.

MGNREGA crisis: 90% funds utilized, 68% percent payments pending, says study

Lack of funds may threaten the smooth functioning of Central government's largest job generation scheme implemented under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Only 32 percent of the labour charges due to the workers for completed jobs have been paid on time during the first two quarters of 2017-18, an analysis carried out by a team of researchers say.

"With nearly 90 percent of the funds being utilised and more than a quarter of the financial year remaining, the problem of delay in payments and non-provision of work is likely to increase sharply" says Rajendran Narayanan, an Assistant Professor in Azim Premji University. Narayanan is one of the co-authors of the study that analysed publically available data on 4.5 million MGNREGA payment transactions for work carried out in 3603 gram panchayats across 10 states during April-September 2017 period. The study also points out that the government's claim that 85 percent of payments are made in time are grossly incorrect because the delays are either completely unaccounted for or only the state responsibility for delay is computed for payment of compensation in the government's MNREGA website.

According to the government's Management Information System, the compensation that is mandated under the Act for delay in payment for the sample size chosen by the researchers were Rs 1.03 crore. However, the calculations made by them points to a compensation of Rs 7.52 crores that is due to the workers. "The Management Information System has only calculated Rs. 1.03 crores - an underestimation of 86%. If this trend holds true for the entire country, then the true payable delay compensation would be Rs. 76 crores", the researchers say.

The researchers point out that over the past three months, only 6% of the budget has been utilized, indicating a severe brake on the running of the programme. "Even though the Ministry had asked for an additional Rs 17,000 crores in September. The Government of India has not provided the funds, leaving the ministry with only 7% of funds for the rest of the financial year. The Ministry of Rural Development is left with only about Rs. 6,000 crores, even as multiple states already have a negative balance amounting to approximately Rs. 3,000 crores", the report says.

The uncertainty in payments is also resulting in lesser interest among rural poor to demand their guaranteed work days from the local administrations.

NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, the civil society collective that revealed the contents of the study wants the central government to clear all pending payments and pay full compensation for the total delay at both state and central level. It also called for making available adequate budget for the programme and provide work to the rural poor as per demand.
Independent researchers Sakina Dhorajiwala and Rajesh Golani were also part of the research team that analysed the MIS data.

No 'ash content' in Maggi, firm fully compliant with food safety regulator norms: Nestle MD Suresh Narayanan

Facing the recent allegations of failing to pass lab test and containing 'ash content', FMCG major Nestle India said on Monday that Maggi complies with all the guidelines of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The company also clarified that there's no 'ash content' above permissible limit in it. India's favourite instant noodle brand has remained in controversies since June 2015 when the lead content was found in it, and the company had to take it off the shelf and then reintroduce in the market after a few months.

This time, Nestle came under heavy media scrutiny after reports emerged that the Shahjahanpur administration in Uttar Pradesh had imposed a fine of Rs 45 lakh on Nestle India Limited, besides imposing a fine of Rs 17 lakh on its distributors in the region for allegedly failing to pass the lab test. The test also found that the ash content was allegedly above the permissible limits for human consumption.

"Nestle wishes to categorically state that we do not add ash in any form whatsoever during the manufacturing process of its Maggi noodles. We are fully compliant with the latest FSSAI guidelines which were issued in August-September this year...," Nestle India Chairman and Managing Director Suresh Narayanan told reporters on Monday, reported PTI. Confirming the company has received the district administration order, he added the company would decide on the future course after studying the order.

Earlier a Nestle spokesperson had said "we have been informed that the samples are of the year 2015 and the issue pertains to 'ash content'. This appears to be a case of application of incorrect standards, and we will file an appeal urgently once we receive the order".

National Pension Scheme benefits: Tax saving, GST advantage, partial withdrawal and more

Last month, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) increased the maximum age of joining the National Pension Scheme (NPS)-private sector from 60 years to 65 years. This move, now allowing a larger segment of senior citizens to adequately plan for retirement, matters because research shows that by 2050, 20% of our population will be above 60. Moreover, coming on the heels of the tax incentives announced in Budget 2017, it is yet another step by the pension regulator to make NPS more attractive for investors.

Yes, the NPS does offer several tax benefits, which unfortunately gets sidelined in the face of the fact that only 40% of the NPS corpus is tax free on maturity, unlike other retirement options like EPF and PPF, which are fully exempt. Here are four advantages that you need to know about, apart from the fact that NPS returns are likely to beat those from the EPF:

Tax benefits beyond Section 80C

Under Sections 80C, 80CC and 80CCC of the Income-Tax Act, investments up to Rs 1.5 lakh are deducted from the taxable income of salaried as well as self-employed individuals. Those investing in NPS can claim an additional deduction of Rs 50,000 under Sec 80CCD(1b).

Moreover, under Section 80CCD(2), any NPS contribution made by the Central Government or any other corporate employer on your behalf is eligible for deduction up to 10% of your basic salary plus dearness allowance, irrespective of the amount.

Ability to manage taxation better

According to Hemant G. Contractor, a well-structured withdrawal strategy coupled with prudent tax planning can effectively reduce your NPS tax liability to zero. "Last year, 40% of the maturity corpus was made tax free. Another 40% of the corpus escapes tax when put in an annuity to earn a monthly pension. However, 20% of the corpus is still subject to tax at maturity, though there are tax-saving options available to the investor," he said to The Economic Times Wealth. According to Contractor, if the balance 20% corpus is also put in the annuity (along with the mandatory 40%), it will not be taxed. For the record, an annuity is a contract aimed at generating steady income during retirement, in which you make a lump sum payment or a series of payments and, in return, receive regular disbursements.

Tax-free partial withdrawals

Though the NPS has a locking period of 60 years-with the option of postponing lumpsum withdrawal till 70 years-you are allowed to make up to 3 premature withdrawals in between. You can withdraw up to 25% of your NPS contribution for medical emergencies and life events like marriage, education etc. These withdrawals are now tax-free and, according to media reports, will come into effect from assessment year 2018-2019.

GST benefits

According to Contractor, another tax friendly feature is that GST is waived on annuities purchased with the NPS corpus. Normally, there is 1.8% GST payable on the value of the annuity, but NPS investors are exempt.

Those new to the workforce need to understand that NPS was started in 2004 with the objective of providing retirement income to citizens. Initially, it was introduced for new government recruits, barring the armed forces but since May 2009, it has extended its reach to all citizens, including the unorganised sector workers on a voluntary basis.

There are two types of retirement accounts under NPS: Tier I account, which is the one that will fetch you the above-mentioned tax benefits, and Tier II Account, which is simply a voluntary savings facility. The minimum contribution in Tier I account is Rs 1,000 per financial year and there is no upper cap on it.

Bombay High Court upholds merger of Rs 5,600 crore-scam hit NSEL and parent FTIL

The Bombay High Court has just upheld the government's order directing the merger of the erstwhile Financial Technologies (India) Ltd (FTIL) and its subsidiary, National Spot Exchange (NSEL).

To refresh your memory, NSEL, a commodities exchange promoted by the Jignesh Shah-led group company, was rocked by a Rs 5,600 crore scam first unearthed in mid-2013. It involved NSEL executing illegal forward contracts along with commodity spot trading along with running a Ponzi scheme, according to Capital Mind. When a notification from the Forward Markets forced the exchange to suspend most contracts in view of violation of regulatory norms, a payment crisis snowballed out of control, leaving over 10,000 investors in the lurch. This was among the biggest commodities markets frauds in the country.

Acting in public interest, in February 2016, the Corporate Affairs Ministry had ordered the merger under section 396 of the Companies Act, 1956. But shortly thereafter, FTIL-now known as 63 Moons Technologies, which owns 99.9% of the defaulting NSEL's equity-had approached the high court challenging the decision, for allegedly vitiating the limited liability concept. FTIL counsels argued that use of section 396 in this way was illegal, considering that the liability of NSEL was yet to be established. "If the power to amalgamate is being used to mulct (extract money from) shareholders and stakeholders of a parent company with putative liabilities of a subsidiary, it could only be done after existence of such a liability is established upon adjudication," an FTIL lawyer had argued.

But while the Bombay High Court has dismissed pleas against the forced merger, the story is far from over. "The Honourable Bombay High Court has dismissed our writ petition. However, it has granted 12-week stay on the operation of the merger order. We will be moving the Supreme Court during this 12-week period. We have full faith in the judiciary and continue to believe that ultimately the truth and justice shall prevail, " said a 63 Moons Technologies spokesperson in an e-mailed statement.

In the meantime, share price of 63 Moons dropped 5% immediately after the news about the High Court was reported in the media, hitting a lower-circuit limit at Rs 131.20 on BSE.

General Awareness

Current Affairs were found in Month - November 2017

Appointments

Acclaimed South African Indian-origin AIDS researcher Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim has been appointed as a UNAIDS Special Ambassador for Adolescents and HIV.

Actor Dia Mirza has been appointed UN (United Nations) Environment’s Goodwill Ambassador for India.

Aegon Life Insurance appointed Vineet Arora as its Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer.

Anand Rajeshwar Baiwar appointed as an executive director of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

Ashwani Kumar has been appointed as Chief Secretary for Puducherry.

Bharti AXA Life Insurance appointed Vikas Seth as its CEO.

Bipin Puri assumed charge as Director General Armed Forces Medical Service (DGAFMS).

Borut Pahor re-elected as President of Slovenia for 2nd term.

Cricketer Gautam Gambhir has been made as a government nominee in Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) managing committee.

Debjani Ghosh has been appointed as first Female President of National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM).

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is elected President of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA).

Government has constituted 15th Finance Commission in pursuance of clause (1) of article 280 of Constitution, to make recommendations for the 5 years commencing on April 1, 2020. It will be headed by N.K.Singh. Currently, 14th finance commission (headed by Y V Reddy) is active.

Hasmukh Adhia Has been appointed as new Finance Secretary of India. He wa previously serving as Revenue secretary.

Additionally, Binoy Kumar has been appointed as Special Secretary in Commerce Ministry.

India' Chakravarthi AVPS has been appointed as global ambassador of World Packaging Organisation (WPO).

India's Dalveer Bhandari has been re-elected as a member of International Court of Justice (The Hague, Netherlands).

For the First Time, Britain will not have any member at ICJ.

Karen Pierce became first women to be appointed Britain’s Ambassador to UN.

Kenneth Juster has been confirmed as Next USA Ambassador to India. He will succeed Richard Verma.

M Mahender Reddy has been appointed as new Director General of Police (DGP) of Telangana State.

N Poonguzhali has become first woman to be appointed as a senior Deputy Director General in Telecom Enforcement Resource Monitoring (TERM) in Department of Telecommunications (DoT). She is elected for Tamil Nadu Circle of TERM (DOT).

N Sambasiva Rao has been appointed as Director-General of Police (DGP) of Andhra Pradesh.

Nasir Kamal has been appointed as Additional Director General in Border Security Force (BSF).

K.K Sharma is current Director General of BSF.

New Appointments Approved -

Badri Narain Sharma - Chairman of Newly Formed National Anti-profiteering Authority under GST.

Pradeep Singh Kharola - Chairman and Managing Director of Air India.

Pritam Singh - Director General in National Archives of India.

Raghvendra Singh - Secretary in Ministry of Culture

Upendra Prasad Singh - Secretary in Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation

Sandeep Beecha - Chief of Naval War College (Goa)

New PSU Appointments -

Jatindra Nath Swain as Managing Director of Solar Energy Corporation of India.

Sundeep Kumar Nayak as Managing Director of NCDCI (National Cooperative Development Corporation of India).

Ira Joshi as director general of Doordarshan News.

Phanindra Sama (Co-founder of RedBus ) has been appointed as Chief Innovation Officer for Telangana state.

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated 10 days Sangai Festival in Imphal (Manipur), during his visit to 3 North Eastern States - Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur. He also opened a 2 day North-East Development Summit in Imphal.

R K Kulshrestha has been appointed as General Manager of Southern Railway.

RBI Governor Urjit Patel has been appointed to Financial Stability Institute Advisory Board of the Bank of International Settlement (BIS), a global financial organisation owned by major central banks from across world. FSI assists financial sector authorities worldwide in strengthening their financial systems.

BIS is based in Basel (Switzerland) with Jaime Caruana as its current Chief (General Manager).

Rajesh Vaishnaw has been appointed as India's next High Commissioner to Malta.

Ravi Bangar has been appointed as Ambassador of India to Ecuador.

Sanjeev Kaushik has been appointed as whole-time member of SEBI.

Sarah Clarke has been appointed as Britain’s first female Black Rod in its over 650-year history, to serve as Lady Usher of the Black Rod.

The Black Rod is responsible for controlling access to and maintaining order within UK’s House of Lords.

Satrughana Pujahari appointed as a Judge of Madras High Court, and Ved Prakash Vaish appointed to Allahabad High Court.

Scientist Vijay Prasad Dimri is appointed as president of 36th International Geological Congress (IGC), to be held in New Delhi in 2020. ICG is a global platform for advancement of earth science.

Sethurathnam Ravi has been appointed as chairman of BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange).

Shaktikanta Das has been appointed as India’s G 20 Sherpa till December 31, 2018 for Development Track of G20.

Sibi George has been appointed as India's Ambassador to Liechtenstein. He is also India's ambassador to Switzerland.

Snehlata Shrivastava has been appointed as new Secretary General of the Lok Sabha (and first woman to hold this post). She will succeed Anup Mishra.

Suresh Chukkapalli has been appointed as Honorary Consul General in Hyderabad by South Korea.

Tata Sons elevated Group CFO Saurabh Agrawal and Titan MD Bhaskar Bhat to its board.

Tata Steel Limited appointed T V Narendran as global CEO and MD.

Tulsi Gabbard (first Hindu lawmaker in US Congress) is named as chairperson of World Hindu Congress (WHC) to be held in Chicago (USA) in 2018.

West Bengal government has set up a Hill Area Development Committee to be headed by Mann Ghising, to oversee work in the Hills.

Awards

48th International Film Festival of India 2017 (IFFI 2017) held in Goa -

Facts -

Canada was the focus country of IFFI Goa 2017.

Beyond the Clouds directed by Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi was opening film this year, while Pablo Cesar-directed Indo-Argentine film Thinking of Him was closing film.

Jahnu Barua was chaitrman of Steering Commitee and Vivek Agnihotri was chairman of Film Preview Commitee.

World’s first Sanskrit 3D film‘Anurakthi’ screened during IFFI 2017.

Awards -

Indian film personality of 2017 - Amitabh Bachchan

Lifetime achievement - Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan.

Best film (Golden Peacock award) - 120 Beats Per Minute (French movie) directed by Robin Campullo.

Best director - Vivian Qu for Angels Wear White (China).

Special Jury Award - Take-off (Malayalam film-India)

Best Actor (Female) - Parvathy for Take Off

Best Actor (Male) - Nahuel Perez Biscayart for 120 Beats Per Minute.

Best Debut Feature Film Director - Kiro Russo for Dark Skull (Spanish).

ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal - Kshitij-A Horizon (Marathi movie) directed by Manouj Kadamh.

67th edition of Miss World Beauty pageant held in Sanya (China) -

India's Manushi Chhillar (Haryana) won the Title, Bringing Miss world Crown back to India After 17 Years (Priyanka Chopra winning in 2000).

AFC Asian Football Awards -

Male Player of the Year - Omar Kharbin (he became First syrian ever to win this title)

Men's Coach of the Year - Takafumi Hori (Japan)

International Player of the Year - Son Heung-min (South Korea)

Women's Player of the Year -Samantha Kerr (Australia)

Actor Trisha Krishnan has been conferred UNICEF celebrity advocate status for child rights, becoming first South Indian actor industry to receive this honour.

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) selected Gopinath R. for Prof. Yashwantrao Kelkar Yuva Puraskar 2017.

Andhra Pradesh state government Announced Nandi Awards 2014 - 2016 -

Nandi Awards are given by AP State Governmemt to honor artists in Telugu Cinema, that were discontinued in 2014 when new state Telangana was born. Awards for 3 successive years (2014-16) are announced now.

Nandi Awards 2014

Best Film: Legend

Best Director: Boyapati

Best Actor: Nandamuri Balakrishna

Best Actress: Anjali

Nandi Awards 2015

Best Film: Baahubali

Best Director : S S Rajamouli

Best Actor: Mahesh Babu

Nandi Awards 2016

Best Film: Pelli Choopulu

Best Director : SatishVegesna

Best Actor: Junior NTR

Best Actress: Ritu Varma

Special Awards

NTR National Award -

2014 - Kamal Hassan

2015 - K Raghhavendra Rao

2016 - Rajanikanth

BN Reddy State Award -

2014 - SS Rajamouli

2015 - Trivikram Srinivas

2016 -Boyapati Srinivas

Nagireddy and Chaprani State Award -

2014 -Narayana Murthy

2015 - Keeravani

2016 - K S Rama Rao

Raghupati Venkaiah State Award -

2014 - Krishnam Raju

2015 - Eshwar

2016 - Chiranjeevi

Special Jury Award -

2014 - Siddala Ashok Teja

2015 - P C Reddy

2016 - Paruchuri Brothers

Argentinian Footballer Lionel Messi Received Golden Shoe award (handed to Europe’s top goalscorer) for his 37 Goals in Spanish Football League in 2016-17. It is fourth time Messi has won this title, equalling Christiano Ronaldo (Portugal).

Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Brisbane, Australia -

Bollywood movie ‘Newton’ secured 2 awards with Rajkummar Rao winning best actor award and Mayank Tewari and Amit V. Masurkar secured best screenplay honour. Newton is directed by Amit V. Masurkar.

Awards for Display at 37th IITF (India International Trade Fair) Delhi 2017 -

Gold - Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation

Silver - Ministry of Power

Bronze - Ministry of Health & Family Welfare

Bengali writer Nabaneeta Dev Sen won Author in Bengali language category at 2nd edition of Big Little Book Awards, under Parag initiative of Tata Trusts to promote children’s literature.

Egyptian journalist Khaled el-Balshy won Individual Activist award of Nelson Mandela – Graca Machel Innovation Awards. He made several attempts to publicly reveal violations by Egyptian government.

Eric Vuillard’s novel L’ordre du jour (in English ‘Agenda’), story of how German industry and finance backed Adolf Hitler, won Goncourt Prize 2017 award (Top Award in French-speaking world).

Former PM Manmohan Singh will receive Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development 2017 for his services as PM between 2004 and 2014. It includes cash prize of INR 25 lakh and a citation.

Indian Actor Ishaan Khattar won Best Actor award for his debut film ‘Beyond The Clouds’ at the International Bosphorus Film Festival in Turkey. Film is directed by Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi, and Music composed by A. R. Rahman.

Indian short film The School Bag won Best Short Film Award at South Asian Film Festival of Montreal (SAFFM). Directed by Dheeraj Jindal, it , tells a Peshawar (Pakistan) based story of relationship between a mother and her 7 year old son.

Indonesia’s Kevin Lilliana has been crowned Miss International 2017 at an event held in Tokyo (Japan). She also won award for as best dressed contestant.

Industrial Awards -

Tata Power Solar won ‘Dun & Bradstreet – Everest Infra Awards 2017’ under Infrastructure Project category for commissioning India’s largest solar project under Domestic Content Requirement for NTPC at Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh.

ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India) honoured CMC Skills’ Founder Ms. Maya Swaminathan Sinha with the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2017’ award.

Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company has been awarded at 21st Asia Insurance Industry Awards in Singapore in General Insurance Company of the Year.

ADI PEC (Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference) Excellence in Energy Awards 2017 adjudged Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) as winner for 2nd position in category social contribution in country value.

Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL) received Kalinga Safety Award in 8th Odisha State Safety Conclave.

Pondicherry University library has bagged the Highest Profile Registration category award for effective utilisation of the J-Gate@eShodhSindhu platform.

Israeli Actress Natalie Portman has been awarded Israel’s 2018 Genesis Prize (Also called Jewish Nobel Prize), for her commitment to social causes and deep connection to her Jewish and Israeli roots.

Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) announced 2nd Edition of National Entrepreneurship Awards 2017, beginning in 2016 with 15 Organizations / Individuals as winners. It includes cash prize of 5 lakh for enterprises and individuals and 10 lakhs for organizations and institutes. Winners are -

S.No

Award (Sub-Category)

Winner

1

Agri, food and forestry products

Rays Culinary Delights

2

Engineering systems

SenseGiz Technologies

3

Renewable energy and waste management

Atomberg Technologies

4

IT & ITES, Financial

Naffa Innovations

5

Education

Simulanis Solutions

6

Hospitality

Oravel Stays

7

E-Commerce, logistics, transport & other services

LogiNext Solutions Pvt Ltd.

8

Social Enterprises

Sampurn(e)arth Environment Solutions

9

Barefoot Enterprises

Thejaswini Coconut Farmers Producer Company

10

Woman Enterprise

SP Robotic Works

(b) Recognition Track

S.No

Award Category

Winner

11

Incubation, mentorship &handholding support (Government)

C-Camp

12

Incubation, mentorship & handholding support (Private)

IKP Knowledge Park, Hyderabad

13

Mentor (Government)

G. Subba Ramaiah

14

Mentor (Government) Jury Special Award

Renu Swaroop

15

Mentor (Private)

Vishwanathan

Miss Universe Beauty Pageant 2017, held in Las Vegas (USA)-

Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa won the contest.

Shraddha Shashidhar represented India in this pageant.

NSE Entity India Index Services & Products (IISL) launched Nifty SME Emerge Index as a new Nifty Index to measure performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) listed on NSE’s EMERGE platform (dedicated NSE platform for small companies).

Nifty SME Emerge Index represents about 62 % of full market capitalisation of all SMEs listed on EMERGE.

Nicaraguan author Sergio Ramirez Mercado won 2017 Cervantes Prize, Spanish-speaking world’s highest literary honor.

Noted Author Ruskin Bond presented with Lifetime Achievement Award by Chandigarh Literary Society during 5th Chandigarh Literature Festival.

Noted Hindi Litterateur Krishna Sobti has been honored with 53rd Jnanpith Award for 2017. She is 8th women to win this prestigious award.

Noted Indian Multilingual Actor Mohan Joshi honoured with vishnudas Bhave award for his contribution to theatre. It is conferred with memory of Vishnudas Bhave, founder of Marathi theatre. It comprises a trophy, a citation and a cash prize worth Rs 25,000.

Noted Malayalam Poet K Satchidanandan selected for 2017 Ezhuthachan Puraskaram award, Kerala government’s highest literary honor.

It award is instituted in name of Ezhuthachan, known as father of Malayalam language. It carries cash prize of Rs 5 lakh and a citation.

Noted journalist Manik Banerjee honored by Life Time Achievement Award by Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF).

President Ram Nath Kovind conferred 3rd ICCR Distinguished Indologist Award on Professor Hiroshi Marui of Japan.

Sri Lankan author Anuk Arudpragasam bags Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize 2017 for his novel The Story of a Brief Marriage.Note that recently he also won $25,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2017 for the same novel.

Sri Lankan author Anuk Arudpragasam’s The Story of a Brief Marriage won $25,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2017, during Dhaka Literature Fest 2017 (Bangladesh).

Sri Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam in Tamil Nadu won UNESCO Asia-Pacific award for cultural heritage conservation programme in Awards of Merit category, for its efforts for protecting and conserving cultural heritage.

Tata Literature Live Literary Awards (Mumbai) -

Non-fiction - Pankaj Mishra’s ‘Age of Anger: A History of the Present’.

First Book – Prayaag Akbar’s ‘Leila’ & Pranay Lal’s ‘Indica: A Deep Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent’

Fiction – Easterine Kire’s ‘Son of the Thundercloud’

Business Book of Year – YV Reddy’s ‘Advice and Dissent: My Life in Public Service’

Publisher of the Year – Penguin Random House India

Big Little Book Award – Nabaneeta Dev Sen

United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is named as recipient of Harmony Foundation’s Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice 2017 with 2017 theme Compassion Beyond Borders.

‘Best Urban Transport Practices’ Awards by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs -

Best City Bus Services Award - Surat Municipal Corporation

Best Non-Motorised Transport - Mysuru’s Public Bicycle Sharing

Best Urban Transport Initiative - Kochi (Kerala)

Books

Book Journey of Women Law Reforms and The Law Commission of India – Some Insights, written by Pavan Sharma has been launched by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu.

Committees

A committee headed by M Vinod Kumar (GST chief commissioner for Karnataka) started review of laws governing Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Environment ministry has set up 7-member panel under Environment Secretary CK Mishra, for suggesting measures to curb air pollution in Delhi.

Finance Ministry constituted a task force Under Arbind Modi, to review Income Tax (IT) Act 1961 and draft new direct tax law in consonance with current economic needs. Task Force will draft appropriate Direct Tax Legislation keeping in view direct tax system prevalent in various countries, international best practices.

Government has set up a 14-member panel to identify and suggest ways to address issues faced in implementation of Insolvency Law, to be headed by Injeti Srinivas. Committee will take stock of implementation of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

Government has set up a committee tasked with simplification of GST returns filing, to make process convenient for businesses that have minimal transactions. It will be headed by GSTN Chairman Ajay Bhushan Pandey.

Government reconstituted Multi-Agency Group (MAG) to investigate cases relating to recent ‘Paradise Papers’ data disclosure which is also probing Panama Papers leak. It will be led by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Sushil Chandra.

Maharashtra State government formed a panel to study feasibility of merging financially weak District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) with Maharashtra State Cooperative (MSC) Bank, to be headed by Yashwant Thorat.

Maharashtra government has set up a committee headed by Sudhir Shrivastava (Additional Chief Secretary (Home) ) to recommend ways to stop custodial deaths.

Power Ministry constituted a Committee headed by P.D. Siwal to investigate into causes of recent NTPC Unchahar Thermal Power Plant accident.

RBI panel under Chandan Sinha recommended a list of commodities which can be hedged in overseas markets by all Indian residents (including gold, silver, zinc, tin, crude oil and its derivatives, coal, natural gas, tea, coffee, sugar and cocoa).

Panel also recommended that domestic banks should be allowed to offer commodity hedging facility to their customers, on both Over The Counter (OTC) as well as international and domestic exchanges.

Sub-Committee of Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), headed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel, reviewed major global and domestic developments that could impinge country’s financial stability.

Days

Nov 01 - World Vegan Day.

Nov 10 - World Science Day for Peace and Development. 2017 theme is Science for Global Understanding.

Nov 11 - National Education Day in India. It marks birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, first education minister of independent India.

Nov 12 - Public Service Broadcasting Day. It marks first and last visit of MK Gandhi to studio of All India Radio, Delhi in 1947. It is also observed as World Pneumonia Day.

Nov 13 - World Kindness Day.

Nov 14 - Children's Day in India. It marks Birth anniversary of First PM of India - Jawahar Lal Nehru.

Biannual International Children’s Film Festival (ICFFI), popularly known as Golden Elephant held in Hyderabad (Telangana).

On this occason, President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated 37th India International Trade Fair (IITF) 2017, today in New Delhi. Ministry of Minority Affairs organized Hunar Haat under Upgrading the Skills & Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development (USTTAD) scheme at IITF 2017.

President also gave away National Child Awards 2017 on this occasion, by honoring 16 children. Master Akash Manoj from Tamil Nadu was the only child winning gold for Innovation.

President also honored Anand Kumar of Super 30 programme with Rashtriya Bal Kalyan Award 2017 for guiding underprivileged students from Bihar to crack IIT JEE examination.

Nov 14 - World Diabetes Day. 2017 Theme is Women and diabetes – Our right to a healthy future.

Nov 15 - Jharkhand Statehood Day. It was carved out of Bihar on this day in 2000.

On This Occasion, President Ram Nath Kovind launched various schemes worth INR 3455 crores in Jharkhand.

Nov 16 - International Day of Tolerance.

Nov 16 - National Press Day in India.

Nov 16, 2017 - World Philosophy (Observed Every Year on 3rd Thursday of November).

Nov 17 - International Students Day.

Nov 19 - 100th Birth Anniversary of Former Indian PM Indira Gandhi. It is observed as National Integration Day. It is also observed as World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

Nov 19 - International Men’s Day. 2017 theme is Celebrate Men and Boys.

Nov 19 - World Toilet Day. 2017 Theme is Wastewater.

On this occasion, world’s biggest toilet pot model unveiled at Marora, popularly known as Trump villagein Haryana.

Nov 20 - UN Africa Industrialization Day.

Nov 20 - Universal Child Rights Day with 2017 theme It’s a #KidsTakeOver.

Ministry of Women and Child Development celebrated Child Rights Week (Hausla 2017) from 16th - 20th November, 2017.

Nov 21 - World Fisheries Day AND World Televisi0n Day.

Nov 25 - International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (IDEVAW). 2017 theme is Leave no one behind: end violence against women and girls.

Nov 26 - Constitution Day in India.

It commemorates 26 November 1949, when the Constituent Assembly adopted Constitution of India, and it came into effect on 26 January 1950.

Nov 26 - National Law Day in India. a 2 day conference on National Law Day held in New Delhi.

Nov 29 - UN International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

Nov 5 - World Tsunami Awareness Day. 2017 thems is Reduce the Number of Affected People. First WTAD was observed across the world in 2016.

Nov 8 - International Day of Radiology (IDoR). 2017 theme is Emergency Radiology.

Nov 9 - Legal Service Day in India, stared by Supreme Court in 1995 to offer help and support to weaker and poor group of sections of people.

Nov 9 - Uttarakhand Day. The state was created on Nov 9, 2000.

Nov 9, 2017 - Government Observed this day as National Entrepreneurship Day.

On this occasion, 2 MoUs signed between Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), Atal Innovation Mission – Niti Ayog and Haryana Vishwakarma Skill University. Haryana Government also signed MoU with Vyakti Vikas Kendra (Art of Living Foundation) for helping jail inmates to improve their health and reduce physical and mental stress.

Oct 6 - International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict .

Defence

FIPSPHYSIOCON 2017 - Conference on Human Physiology - VII Congress of Federation of Indian Physiological Societies (FIPS) and XXIX Annual Conference of Physiological Society of India (PSI) organised at University of Delhi.

14 day joint training exercise PRABAL DOSTYK – 2017 between Indian and Kazakhstan Armies commenced at Bakloh (Himachal Pradesh)

2 day Coastal Security Exercise of Coast Guard, Sagar Kavach held in Goa, to provide smooth seaward cover along Goa Coast.

7th Joint Army exercise of Indian and Bangladeshi armies - Sampriti 2017 began at Vairengte in Mizoram. It will last till Nov 18, 2017.

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman accorded acceptance of necessity (AoN) for procurement 111 naval utility helicopters (NUHs) worth Rs 21,738 crore for Indian Navy.

DAC is Defence Ministry’s highest decision-making body on procurement. After DAC gives AoN, request for proposal can be issued to firms, seeking their bids.

Defence Ministry approved procurement of 260 Software Defined Radios (SDR) for Indian Navy at cost of 490 crores to ramp up surveillance on high seas, Developed by DRDO's Defence Electronics & Applications Laboratory (DEAL). These SDRs will be first batch of indigenously designed and developed software defined radio sets to be procured by any of three services.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully tested India’s first indigenously developed Long Range Sub-Sonic Cruise Missile - NIRBHAY. It has operational range of 1000 - 1500 KM.

Defence of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Exercise (DANX) conducted by Army's Andaman & Nicobar Command.

First India-Myanmar Bilateral Military Exercise 2017 (IMBAX 2017) started at Umroi Joint Training Node in Meghalaya (6 days long).

INS Sarvekshak arrived Tanzania for undertaking joint Hydrographic Survey along with Tanzanian Navy.

India Successfully tseted an indigenously developed lightweight ‘Glide’ bomb as bomb – SAAW (Smart Anti Airfield Weapon).

India cancelled a $500 million deal for procuring Spike ATGM (Anti-Tank Guided Missile) from Israel, keeping in view the fact that importing a foreign ATGM would negatively impact indigenous development of weapon system by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Indian Air Force successfully fired BrahMos air version anti shipping missile from Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft.

BrahMos missile is a 2.5 ton supersonic air to surface cruise missile with ranges of more than 400 kms. IAF is first Air Force in world to have successfully fired an air launched 2.8 Mach surface attack missile of this category.

Indian Army launched Integrated Quarter Master Package (IQMP) software application for automating various logistics related functions of an Army Unit, developed by Army Software Development Centre in association with TCS.

It will replace numerous legacy applications such as ‘Vastra’ and ‘Quarter Master Package’ and will automate all logistics functions of Indian Army at unit level.

IQMP willhelp in effective logistics management and decision making, assisting Indian Army units to be battle ready all time.

Indian Army launched an independent and fully-integrated Joint Training Node (JTN) at Umroi cantonment in Shillong, aimed at hosting foreign armies in joint military exercises. It is the first of its kind in eastern command and is different from other joint training centres in Belgaum, Varangte and Bakloh.

Indian Coast Guard conducted Regional Level Marine Oil Pollution Response Exercise Clean Sea - 2017 at sea off Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands).

Indian Navy signed contract with Tata Power SED under Buy and Make category, through which Tata Power SED will supply Portable Diver Detection Sonar (PDDS) for Indian Navy.

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) conducted Multi State Mega Mock Tsunami Exercise 2017 along entire East Coast in 31 coastal districts across four States - West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (UT).

Odisha and West Bengal held joint coast guard security exercise Sagar Kavach, to tighten existing coastal security mechanism.

Shubhangi Swaroop from Uttar Pradesh became first-ever female pilot to be inducted into Indian Navy.

Economy

IndiaFirst Life Insurance launched India’s first-ever micro-insurance plan ‘insurance khata’ for those in informal sector and agricultural labourers with seasonal incomes.

It provides flexibility to pay premium in parts depending on periodicity of income, with minimum premium INR 500.

AU Small Finance Bank received Reserved Bank of India (RBI) approval to operate as Scheduled Commercial Bank.

With this, AU SFB's has been included in 2nd Schedule of Reserve Bank of India Act 1934. Now, it can do borrowing and lending with RBI under Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) and Marginal Standing Facility (MSF).

Air India received loan worth of Rs 1,500 crore from Bank of India to meet urgent working capital needs.

Amazon India collaborated with hardware accelerator “HAX” and crowd-funding community “Kickstarter” to announce “Startup C-Cube” as a multi-level challenge for startups, to bring companies together to work towards building the product startup ecosystem.

Andhra Bank launched a new scheme for self-help groups (SHGs) to encourage entrepreneurship, named Pattabhi Sitaramayya — Self Business Group (PS-SBG). Under this, SHGs having five years of association with Andhra Bank and having successfully completed 3 credit rotations with good repayment record, will be eligible for a loan.

As Per Govt Data, GDP Growth Rate for 2nd quarter (July-September) Q2 of 2017-18 remained 6.3 %, as compared to 5.7% in First quarter of FY 2017-18.

As per report titled India 2028 by Bank of America Merrill Lynch -

India will emerge as third-largest economy, overtaking Japan in nominal GDP by 2028. By 2019, India will overtake France and Britain to emerge as world’s fifth largest economy.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced to increase annual funding to India to up to $4 billion from existing $2.7 billion from next year to accelerate inclusive economic transformation. India is largest recipient of ADB Loans and will get about $20 billion over next 5 years.

ADB approves $500 mn loan under Second Rural Connectivity Investment Programme to improve Over 12000 KM rural roads in West Bengal, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh.

Axis Bank and Mumbai Police Launch new Campaign #MuhPeTaala During International Fraud Awareness week (12 – 18 November 2017), to promote safe banking. It aims to raise awareness about how to keep oneself safe from falling prey to fraudulent calls asking information such as pin code, CVV, OTP etc.

Axis Bank launched an instant international payment services using Ripple’s enterprise blockchain technology solution for its customers.

Though an international offer, Axis Bank is offering facility only to its retail customers in country to receive payments from UAE-based Rak Bank and for its corporate customers to receive payments from Standard Chartered (Singapore).

BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) launched BEST (BSE Electronic Smart Trader)as an advanced hosted trading solution built on Thomson Reuters Omnesys NEST platform. It will facilitate smooth trading for BSE customers across multiple exchanges, including BSE, NSE, MCX and NCDEX for a wide range of investment categories like equity, equity derivatives, bonds etc.

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance launched Pro-fit platform that will act as a one-stop solution to all health-record tracking needs of customers.

Bank of Baroda launched digital Supply Chain Finance solution which aims to accelerate working capital loan opportunities for the small and medium enterprises and large corporate clients. BoB’s digital Supply Chain Finance solution has been designed to ensure faster approvals, smoother transaction processing and availability of finance to the Small and Medium Enterprises.

Based on massive drive undertaken by Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), around 2.24 lakh companies have been disqualified till date for remaining inactive for a period of two (2) years or more (Betwe FY 2013 - 14 to FY 2015-16).

Bharti Group Founder Sunil Bharti Mittal announced INR 7000 Donation for social causes, which includes setting up a university that will provide high quality professional education, preferably to socially and financially weaker sections of society.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved implementation of Special Banking Arrangement (SBA) with SBI (State Bank of India) for INR 10000 crores for payment of outstanding claims on account of fertilizer subsidy in year 2016-17.

Government is making available P&K fertilizers and Urea to farmers at subsidized prices through fertilizer manufacturers and importers. For making funds available to fertilizer companies against subsidy claims, Finance Ministry approved SBA for amount of 10000 crores Government interest liability limited to G-Sec rate.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved revision in price of ethanol under Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme for supply to Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) at INR 40.85 per litre.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved continuation of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) as Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana- Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied sector Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR) for 2017-18 to 2019-20 with Financial allocation if INR 15,722 crores, aimed at making farming as a remunerative economic activity through strengthening farmer's effort and promoting agribusiness entrepreneurship.

RKVY-RAFTAAR funds would be provided to the States as 60:40 grants between Centre and States (90:10 for North Eastern States and Himalayan States).

RKVY is continuing scheme from XI Five Year Plan and provides considerable flexibility and autonomy to states in planning and executing programmes for incentivizing investment in agriculture and allied sectors.

Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) doubled import duty on wheat to 20% from 10% to curb cheap shipments and give positive price signal to farmers in ongoing Rabi season. It also imposed import duty of 50% on peas to check cheaper shipments.

Central Government has set INR 10000 minimum balance in bank account as one of 21 parameters to assess poverty in gram panchayats under ‘Mission Antyodaya’, that aims to create 50000 poverty-free gram panchayats.

China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) approved USD 2 Billion loan (Rs. 13,000 crores) for 5 projects in Andhra Pradesh.

Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) and Asean Development Bank reviewed $13.5 billion ADB Sponsered Project Portfolio in India -

Works worth $9.6 billion is ongoing and $5.4 billion has been disbursed.

Best project implementation performance awards -

Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission and Distribution System Improvement Project

Kolkata Environmental Improvement Investment Program (Tranche-1)

Uttarakhand Emergency Assistance Project.

Directorate General of Foreign Trade (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) doubled rates for incentives under Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) from 2% to 4% of value of exports, for two subsectors of textiles - readymade garments and made-ups.

Eminent classical singer late Girija Devi will be honoured with Sumitra Charat Ram Award for Lifetime Achievement. She has Passed Away Recently.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley officially launched the Paytm Payments Bank as 4th Payments Bank in India, along with Airtel Payments Bank, India Post Payments Bank, Fino Payments Bank. Features of Paytm Payments Bank Include -

Money Transfer services such as IMPS, NEFT, RTGS, UPI are all free on Paytm Payments Bank.

Paytm Payments Bank offers free personalised RuPay digital debit card. A physical debit card can be provided on request.

Paytm Payments Bank offers interest of 4 % on savings, payable monthly.

Account holders will also be offered a free insurance cover of up to Rs 2 lakh in case of death or permanent disability.

Finance Ministry Approved Granting Infrastructure status to Logistics Sector, in view of the fact that the logistics cost in India is very high compared to developed countries and it reduces competitiveness of Indian goods in domestic and export market. It will enable Logistics Sector to avail infrastructure lending at easier terms with enhanced limits, access to larger amounts of funds, longer tenor funds from insurance companies etc.

Financial services firm JM Financial received apprval from National Housing Bank (NHB) for carrying out housing finance activities through its subsidiary JM Financial Home Loans.

GST Council 23rd Meeting (Guwahati) -

Under GST Composition Scheme - Annual turnover eligibility increased to 2 crore from 1 crore Presently, Making eligibility for composition increased to 1.5 Crore per annum.

Major Changes in GST Rates for several goods / services (213 Headings (Items / Class of Items)) -

28 % to 18% - 178 Headings . Now Only 50 Headings are in 28 % Slab.

28 % to 12% - 2 Headings

18 t0 12 % - 13 Headings

18 % to 5 % - 6 Headings

12 % to 5 % - 8 Headings

5 % to 0 % - 6 Headings

Global Environment Facility (GEF) partnered with India's Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) for project named Creating and Sustaining Markets for Energy Efficiency, as a result of India’s efforts towards energy efficiency programmes.

Project will receive a composite funding of $454 million comprised of GEF grant of $20 million and co-financing of $434 million as loans. It includes a $200 million loan from Asian Development Bank (ADB).

EESL proposed Energy Efficiency Revolving Fund (EERF) for sustainable funding mechanism of energy efficiency projects in country.

It aims to mitigate 60 million tons of CO2 that will enable a total direct energy savings of 38.3 million GJ by 2022 and 137.5 million GJ by 2032.

About GEF -

Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established on eve of 1992 Rio Earth Summit to help tackle most pressing environmental problems.

GEF is located in Washington (USA) with as Naoko Ishii as CEO and Chairperson.

Government approved ONGC's acquiring 51.11 % stake in HPCL, to create an integrated energy major with businesses spread across hydrocarbon value chain. Government’s stake in HPCL is sold to ONGC for approx INR 28,000 crores.

Government launched Bharat 22 exchange traded fund (ETF) managed by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, targeting initial amount of INR 14500 crores (increased from 8000 Crores earlier). This ETF is open for subscription till 17 November and a discount of 3% is being offered to all investors.

The fund aims to replicate S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index, which will invest in 22 stocks in CPSE universe, stakes held under Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI), and state-run banks.

S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index

This index has stocks representation of 39 % Private and 61 % Government Firms in 6 sectors - Finance, Industry, Energy, Utilities, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and Basic Materials. This index was launched in August 2017 and since then it has performed better than Sensex and NIFTY-50.

Government raised import duty on crude palm oil to 30 % from 15 % and refined oil to 40 % from 20 %, to curb cheaper shipments and boost local prices for supporting farmers and refiners.

HDFC Bank Removed Services Charges on Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and the National Electronics Funds Transfer (NEFT) Online transactions to promote digital economy. HDFC Bank also limited availability of cheque book to 25 Cheques per year.

ICICI Bank launched India's first voice-based international remittance service to enable non-resident Indians (NRIs) to send money to any bank in India. Now, an NRI customer can instantly initiate a remittance to India with just a simple voice command to Apple's virtual voice assistant, Siri, on their iPhone/iPad, using ICICI Bank's Money2India app.

IDFC Bank sigend agreemnt mobile wallet firm MobiKwik to launch a co-branded virtual Visa prepaid card for MobiKwik customers. The co-branded pre-paid card can be used by non IDFC Bank Customers also.

Income Tax Department clarified that cash sales of agricultural produce by a cultivator to a trader for less than 2 lakh rupees will not attract tax under Income Tax Act and PAN is not needed for them.

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) will become operational in all 650 districts of the country by April 2018 to facilitate financial inclusion.

Payments Banks may accept Deposit upto INR 1 Lakh. IPPB will offer Interest Rates Upto 5.5%.

Other Payments Banks in India - Paytm PB (upto 4 %), Fino PB (upto 4 %), Airtel PB (Upto 7.25%)

India signed Financing Agreement for IBRD loan of US$ 119 million for Odisha Higher Education Programme for Excellence & Equity (OHEPEE) Project.

India signed a Loan agreement worth $100 Million with World Bank for increase solar generation capacity through establishment of large-scale parks in India.

It Includes Grant Agreement for USD 2 million for Shared Infrastructure for Solar Parks Project and IBRD/CTF loan of USD 98 million.

It will help in government’s plan to install 100 Gigawatts (GW) of solar power out of a total renewable-energy target of 175 GW by 2022.

Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) under Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology organized 15th Asia Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team (APCERT) Conference in New Delhi with theme Building Trust in the Digital Economy. It is first ever APCERT conference held in India.

Indian NBFC Centrum Capital acquired South Africa-based First Rand Bank’s (FRB’s) microfinance business in India, aimed at boosting its lending operations focused on retail and small & medium enterprises (SMEs).

Indian online payments firm BillDesk-owned Hatio Innovations launched cryptocurrency exchange ‘Coinome’ in India offering trading of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.

Coinome allows users to register via an instant e-KYC process by using Aadhaar number.

Unlike many other cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinome is an open order book cryptocurrency exchange which enables direct deals between buyers and sellers just like conventional stocks and commodities exchanges.

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) made Aadhaar linkage Manadatory for insurance policies. At present, 24 life insurance and 33 general insurance companies are operating in India.

Insurance firm Bajaj Allianz launched India’s first ever insurance cover for individual victims of cyber crime. Under this, insurance cover (1 Lakh to 1 Crore) will be provided against online fraud, identity theft, cyber-stalking and extortion, phishing and malware attack.

Karnataka Bank partnered with Boston Consulting Group (India) Pvt Ltd for its transformation project ‘KBL Vikaas’.

Kerala Government signed a MOU with Intel and UST Global for exploring possibility of transforming the state into an electronic hardware manufacturing hub. Additionally, Cab Aggregatgor Ola partnered with Microsoft To choose microsoft as its preferred cloud provider.

Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak) launched Smart Banking 24X7 e-lobbies in Mumbai, that will give customers freedom to complete banking transactions at any hour of day.

Messaging app Hike tied-up with Airtel Payments Bank for its mobile wallet product.

Minister of Communications Manoj Sinha today Pan India scholarship program for school children called Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana to increase reach of Philately (collection and study of postage stamps). SPARSH stands for Scholarship for Promotion of Aptitude & Research in Stamps as a Hobby.

Under this, annual scholarships will be given to children of Standard VI to IX with good academic record and pursuing Philately as a hobby through a competitive selection process in all postal circles.

Every Postal Circle will select a maximum of 40 scholarships representing 10 students each from Standard VI, VII, VIII & IX. Amount of Scholarship will be Rs. 6000 per annum.

Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs announced that 30.76 lakh houses for urban poor have been sanctioned so far since launch of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) Scheme in June 2015.

Ministry of Shipping extended period of Coastal Berth scheme of flagship Sagarmala Programme for three years upto March, 2020. Its scope was also expanded to cover capital dredging at Major Ports and preparation of detailed project report (DPR) for coastal berth project.

Ministry of Shipping also undertook projects worth INR 2302 crore for financial assistance under Coastal Berth Scheme.

Mobile Wallet Firm Paytm tied-up with ICICI Bank to launch Paytm-ICICI Bank Postpaid short-term credit facility to ICICI customers using Paytm App. Current Borrowing Limit is INR 20000, to be repaid in 45 days.

Paytm also accquired undisclosed stake in Urja Money Pvt. Ltd, that evaluates creditworthiness of people seeking loans to buy two-wheelers., under Brand name CreditMate.

Moody's Investors Service upgraded India's local and foreign currency issuer ratings to Baa2 from Baa3 and changed outlook on rating to stable from positive. India’s rating has been upgraded after a period of 13 years, that was last upgraded in January 2004 to Baa3 (from Ba1).

Moody's also upgraded ratings of 9 Indian PSUs -

BPCL, HPCL, IOC and Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL) -upgraded to Baa2 from Baa3.

ONGC’s rating upgraded to Baa1 from Baa2.

NTPC, NHPC, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and GAIL India upgraded to Baa2. As Per CRISIL, NHAI reforms resulted in doubling of daily highways construction rate from 12 km to 23 km in 2017.

PNB MetLife tied up with Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) to sell retail and group insurance products to BBK’s customers in India.

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) will conduct State specific APY mobilization Campaigns under name People First, to Increase APY Outreach.

Campaign is being launched from Uttar Pradesh with over 17,000 APY touch points (Including banks and post offices).

Price Stabilisation Fund Management Committee (headed by Avinash K Srivastava) decided to import onions through a government agency, To keep a check on the prices of onions.

Private Bank RBL inaugurated Its all women branch in Chennai (Tamil Nadu), aimed at promoting Gender Equality.

Private Sector's Federal Bank obtained RBI approval to open representative offices at Kuwait and Singapore.

Private sector lender Yes Bank signed an agreement with the government to provide Rs 1,000 crore financing for food processing projects. The funding will be provided to around 100 food processing projects with an average ticket size of Rs 10 crore each.

Yes Bank also recently updated its BHIM Yes Pay app and integrated 3 other products of National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI)– RuPay Virtual Card, BharatQR and Bharat Bill Payment Service (BBPS) in addition to other payment infrastructures like UPI and IMPS.

RBI asked banks to provide doorstep banking facilities to senior citizens who are more than 70 years of age and differently-abled persons by December 2017. RBI also asked banks to provide a minimum of 25 cheque leaves every year for a savings bank account free of charge.

RBI decided not to introduce Islamic banking in India, that prohibits charging interest as it is not accepted under Islam. It has been decided in view of keeping equal opportunities available to all citizens to access banking & financial services.

Ratings firm Crisil and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) signed MoU to launch CriSidEx - a sentiment Index for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). Iindex will provide insights into employment, business environment and foreign trade trends in MSME sector. CriSidEx will be compiled on basis of real-time, ground-level information procured directly from MSMEs.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) fixed purchase price for latest Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) series at INR 2,945 per gram.goldi. These bonds can be subscribed from Monday to Wednesday every week. Investors applying online and making payment digitally will be eligible for a discount of Rs 50 per gram.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked co-operative societies not use the word ‘Bank’ in their names as it violates Section 7 of the Banking Regulation Act 1949.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) simplified Foreign Exchange Management Regulations to ease up norms for foreign investors to invest in India-

All 93 amendments have been put under one notification. New regulation combines earlier two regulations on foreign investments - FEMA 20 (investment in Indian company or partnership or in a limited liability partnership) or FEMA 24 (investment in a partnership firm).

Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA)

FEMA was passed by Parliament in 1999 and so far was amended 93 times. It replaced FERA (Foreign Exchange Regulations Act), 1973 that become incompatible after economic reforms and pro-liberalization policies of Government.

Reserve Bank of India rejected HDFC Bank's plea to declassify its parent Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC) as a foreign institutional investor (FII), impacting HDFC Bank's fundraising program from qualified institutional placement (QIP).

Reserve bank of India (RBI) allowed Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) to hold more than 26% post-conversion of debt into equity in companies undergoing restructuring.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will bring Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) under its existing legal framework.

Recenly, popularity of crypto currencies (bitcoin, ethereum etc) has increased rapidly and number of entities looking at raising funds through ICO. RBI beliwves that these instruments are securities and so SEBI should be regulating body. But crypto-currencies are neither ‘commodities derivatives’ nor ‘securities’ under Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act 1956.

Initial Coin Offering (ICO) -

Its an unregulated means of crowd funding for project via use of cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin etc. ICOs are not controlled by any legal entity, unlike IPOs that are regulated by SEBI.

In ICO, rights of ownership are offered to investors in form of digital coins in exchange for legal tender or other cryptocurrencies.

China’s Central Bank recently banned ICO as dubbed it as an illegal public finance mechanism used for issue of securities and money laundering.

Singapore’s DBS Bank lowered India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for current fiscal (FY 2017-18) to 6.6
% from the previous 6.8 %.

Smallest paper denomination note from India of INR 1, completed 100 years of existence, since it was first printed on November 30, 1917, with photo of King George V.

State Bank of India (SBI) slashed marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) by 0.05 percent across maturities.

State Bank of India launched a unified integrated app called YONO (You Need Only One), that offers all kinds of financial and lifestyle products from 14 categories.

Syndicate Bank formed a human chain to create awareness among the public to fight corruption, in Bengaluru (Karnataka).

TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) announced that Reliance Communications will shut down voice call service from 1st December 2017 and its customers can move to other networks by the end 2017.

UN Agency International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) approved USD 30 million soft loans for 4th phase of North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Project (NERCORMP).

United Arab Emirates (UAE’s) second largest bank, Emirates NBD started operations in India by opening a branch in Mumbai. It is Emirates NBD’s fifth international branch.

United Bank of India (UBI) received SEBI’s approval for issue of equity shares worth Rs 1,000 crore by way of institutional placement.

Uttar Pradesh tops in opening new Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts in past 1 year, followed by Bihar and Maharashtra.

World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva said India will be a high-middle income country by 2047.

Note that Morgan Stanley recently predicted that India will grow to a 6-trillion-dollar economy and achieve upper-middle income status by 2026-27.

Yes Bank signed MoU with Innovation Centre Denmark – India (ICDK India), to bring financial technology innovations and startups from Denmark to India, and facilitate entry of Indian startups in Denmark.

YES Bank also signed bancassurance agreement with Reliance General Insurance.

e-Wallet Firm Paytm Added BHIM-UPI feature in its App, to enable users to make UPI payments without loading money into wallet.

Paytm Payments bank appointed Sudhanshu Jain as its CFO (Chief Financial Officer).

International

3rd Protocol for amendment of Convention between India and New Zealand for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income has been notified.

5 Day youth film festival of Nordic-Baltic European nations started at India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.

Nordic-Baltic countries are Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. They are tied together geographically and historically through trade, culture and many other value systems.

Government at a Glance 2017 report by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) -

Indian government is ranked 3rd most trusted government in world, with 74 % Indians trusting their current PM Modi led Government.

List is topped by Switzerland, followed by Indonesia.

Transport for London has been given 2017 Bad Grammar Award by Idler Academy in Britain, to highlight the incorrect use of English by people and institutions who should know better.

A Sweden-India ‘Startup Sambandh’ initiative has been launched by Invest India and Founders Alliance in Sweden for higher cooperation among start-ups.

A painting of Christ by Italian Renaissance painter Leonardo da Vinci is sold for USD 450 million, breaking all previous records of artworks sold or auctioned. Previously, Highest price ever for a work of art at auction was USD 179.4 million for Pablo Picasso’s painting ‘Women of Algiers (Version O)’ in May 2015. While, highest sale price for any artwork was USD 300 million for Willem de kooning’s painting ‘Interchange’.

According to global airlines’ grouping IATA -

India’s domestic aviation sector grew the fastest and India topped domestic growth chart again in September with 15.5 % Growth, compared to 5.7 % Globally. China is at 2nd place.

According to global climate risk index (CRI) report by Germanwatch -

India is sixth most vulnerable country in world in terms of facing extreme weather events, after Haiti, Zimbabwe, Fiji, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Adani Power signed 25 year Power purchase agreement (PPA) for net capacity of 1,496 MW with Bangladesh Power Development Board to supply electricity from its upcoming 1,600 MW plant at Godda in Jharkhand.

Agricultural Minister Radha Mohan Singh sent a proposal to United Nations for declaring 2018 as International Year of Millets.

Mr. Radha Mohan also stated that total fish production in India remaiend 11.41 million tonnes in 2016-17, makig India 2nd largest fish producing country.

Air New Zealand has been named 2018 Airline of the Year for 5th consecutive year. It is followed by Qantas Airways, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Australia and Virgin Atlantic.

American digital payments company PayPal launched domestic operations in India.

Merchants offering PayPal will be able to process both local and global payments through the platform, getting access to PayPal’s more than 20 Crore customers across world.

As per Peer Review report by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

India slipped from a rating of ‘compliant’ to an overall rating of ‘largely compliant’ in meeting international standards for exchange of tax information.

It suggests that Indian tax authorities should ensure the quality of the exchange of information (EoI) requests sent to foreign tax authorities and should carry out efficient communication with its EoI partners for all cases.

As per Asian tourism market research firm Euromonitor International -

Hong Kong remained world’s most visited city by international travelers in 2017 with over 2.5 Crore Arrivals, despite strained relations with neighboring China.

As per Online Streaming Platform Netflix, Indians are 2nd highest Binge watchers (89 %), just behind Mexico (89 %).

Binge Watching Means watching multiple episodes of a television programme in rapid succession.

As per a Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) Report -

Bengaluru is best host among 45 cities worldwide in terms of highest confidence in their digital environment based on people and skills, financial environment, innovation and entrepreneurship and new technology development.

San Francisco (USA) is second followed by Mumbai and New Delhi.

As per a report by UN Women and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Latin America and Caribbean is most violent region in world for women.

As per consultancy and research firm Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) -

India will 3rd largest aviation market for departures by 2019, up from 4th place with 131 Million passengers in 2016.

USA is largest aviation market with 815 million passengers, followed by China (490 million) and Japan(141 million).

As per rankings released by Fortune Magazine, Qatar is World’s Richest Country in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Per Capita. Top 5 Nations -

Rank Country GDP Per Capita

1 Qatar $124930

2 Luxembourg $109190

3 Singapore $90530

4 Brunei $76740

5 Ireland $72630

India is Ranked 126th with USD 7170 GDP Per Capita.

Asia Index Pvt Ltd (joint venture of S&P Dow Jones Indices and BSE) launched Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) index, to measure exposure to securities meeting sustainability investing criteria.

Assam government signed MoU with Singapore for skilling youth of state. Additionally, Indiana (USA State) and Karnataka signed agreement to establish sister-state ties for cooperation in economic, educational and cultural fields.

BRICS Nations' New Development Bank (NDB) approved 2 development projects in India and Russia with loans of $400 million -

In India, funds procured by means of NDB loan will be used to rehabilitate the Indira Gandhi canal system.

In Russia, loan will be used to build a toll transport corridor connecting M-5 federal highway to Ufa city centre.

New Development Bank is Headquartered in Shanghai (China) with India's K V Kamath as Current President.

Bangladesh and Myanmar signed MOU on return of Rohingya Muslims who fled the Rakhine state in Myanmar to escape a military crackdown.

Bank of China formally launched its operations in Pakistan by opening its first branch in Karachi.

Bilateral meetings -

India-US Ocean Dialogue hosted by Ministry of External Affairs at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO) in Goa.

4th Indo - US Joint Working Group on Aircraft Carrier Technology Cooperation (JWGACTC) held in Goa. Possibilities of using USA's catapult-based aircraft launch mechanism (CATOBAR) for India's 2nd indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-II) have been discussed.

Cab Aggregator Uber approved SoftBank Group Corp.’s offer to buy a multibillion-dollar stake in UBER. It will let SoftBank and other firms to invest up to $1 billion in Uber.

Cabinet Approvals -

Trade Agreement with Ethiopia for strengthening and promoting trade and economic cooperation.

Agreement with Armenia on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters.

China approved making disrespect of national anthem a criminal offense punishable by up to three years in prison.

China launched BeiDou-3 M1 and BeiDou-3 M2 Navigation satellites on board Long March-3B rocket.

China launched world’s first all-electric ship, which can travel up to 80 km with 2000-tonnes cargo after a two-hour charge. It is 70.5-metre-long and weighs about 600 tonnes.

China today launched three remote sensing satellites to improve observation capability to promote commercial use for remote sensing industry. Satellites are Jilin-1 04, Jilin-1 05 and Jilin-1 06.

China unveiled Asia’s largest artificial island-building ship named magic island maker, with 140-metre lenght and capable of digging 6,000 cubic metres an hour.

Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2018 by environmental organisation Germanwatch (56 Nations) -

India - Ranked 14th This year, up from 20th Rank Last Year.

Top 5 - Sweden (1), Lithuania (2), Morocco (3), Norway (4), UK (5)

Bottom 5 - Russia , USA, Australia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia (Last)

BRICS - Brazil (19), Russia (53), China (41), South Africa (48)

Cross Border Train Service between India & Bangladesh, Kolkata-Khulna Bandhan Express has been inaugurated.

Delhi Government signed twin city agreement with Seoul (South Korea), to strengthen cooperation i fields of smart city, e-governance, climate change and transportation.

Dubai police officers set a Guinness World Record by pulling the world’s largest passenger airliner Airbus A380 for a distance of 100 metres.

Plane that weighs 3.02 lakh kg was dragged by 56 police officers to break previous record set by 100 people who pulled a 2.18-lakh kg airplane at Hong Kong International Airport in 2011.

European Union Election Observation Mission (EUEOM) launched to monitor general and provincial polls in Nepal to be held in Nov - Dec 2017, with 3.5 million euros allocated for entire election observation process.

Extremism Affected Nation Syria signed Paris Agreement on climate change, leaving USA as only one left to sign this global climate pact.

Facebook Launched new tools (called Facebook Creator App) for video creators to join its platform Watch in an attempt to take on Google-owned YouTube. It will help creating original video, go live with exclusive features and connect with their community on Facebook.

Forbes list of top-earning dead celebrities -

Michael Jackson remained at top for 5th straight year, with $75 million earnings.

Golf legend Arnold Palmer claims No. 2 spot with $40 million and Peanuts creator Charles Schulz ranks third with $38 million income.

Forbes' Highest Paid Models List 2017 -

American model Kendall Jenner remained at top with earnings $22 million, followed by Gisele ($17.5 million).

Forbes' Highest Paid Women in Music List 2017 -

American singer Beyonce at top with earnings of $105 million (Rs682 crore).

Top 5 - Beyonce ($105 million-USA), Adele ($69 million-ENG), Taylor Swift ($44 million-USA), Celine Dion ($42 million-Canada), Jennifer Lopez ($38 million-USA).

Government of India will assist Mauritius to develop and set up digital locker services, under DigiLocker (a key initiative of Indian government under its flagship Digital India program).

This service provides citizens a shareable private space on a public cloud wherein they can store their documents, aimed at paperless governance.

Grant Thornton’s International Quarterly Business Report (IBR) -

India remained 7th in business optimism index In Jul - Sep 2017 quarter, compared to 2nd slot in previous Quaeter.

Indonesia is at top, followed by Finland and the Netherlands.

Guinea became a member of International Solar Alliance (ISA) as it handed over It’s instrument accession to India-initiated ISA (headquarters in Gurugram (Haryana)).

Additionally, International Solar Alliance (ISA) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed Joint Financial Partnership Declaration for cooperation on renewable energy projects around world.

HSBC (Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) Pledged to provide $100billion of finance for low-carbon technology and sustainable development by 2025 as part its commitment to tackling climate change and other “green” goals.

Haryana Agriculture University (HAU) and Netherlands government will jointly work on a project to tackle issues like crop residue management, bio-defence strategy, protected cultivation, peri-urban and urban horticulture, floriculture and hydroponic vegetables. An Indo-Dutch Horticulture Centre at Jhajhar would also be set up.

IMD Talent Rankings 2017 (63 Nations)

India ranked 51st (as compared to 54th rank last year). Rankings based on performance in three categories — investment and development, appeal, and readiness.

Top 5 - Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Finland. Leading Asian economies in rankings are Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

India and Russia will implement visa free entry of crew of chartered and scheduled flights between two countries.

India and South Africa will jointly work for tracing evolution of galaxies as India is e participating in multi-nation Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Project. SKA is a large multi radio telescope project planned to be built in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

India donated 500 metric tonnes of rice to Kingdom of Lesotho, in Southern Africa, which is facing acute food shortage due to famine.

India pledged additional US $100 million towards UN-India Partnership Fund to significantly scale up its support to sustainable development projects across developing world, in addition to US $10 million already contributed by India to various UN programmes.

India-UN Development Partnership FundThe fund was set up as partnership between India and United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) on 9 June 2017 (World Oceans Day).

India remained biggest importer of Ukraine's agriculture products in 2017 so far, importing 11.3 % of $14.7 Billion worth of exports of Ukraine's Agricultural Produce.

India will provide USD 2.87 million to Afghanistan for renovation of 350 buses that will help in strengthening the public transport system of Kabul (Afghanistan).

Indian Automobile Major Mahindra opened its new manufacturing plant with an investment of $230 million in Detroit (USA), Known as world’s car capital. It is Detroit's first automotive production facility in 25 years.

Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) will set up a Centre of Excellence in Kochi (Kerala), to facilitate exchange of research findings and studies in field of fisheries and ocean studies among IORA member countries.

Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is an international organisation consisting of 21 coastal states bordering Indian Ocean. Coordinating Secretariat of IORA is located at Ebene, Mauritius. India's K V Bhagirath is current Secretary General of IORA.

India’s Ambani family topped Forbes list of Asia’s Richest Families for first time with a net worth of $44.8 billion, up $19 billion from previous year. 2nd is South Korea’s Lee family ($40.8 billion) and Hong Kong’s Kwok family ($40.4 billion).

International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has released The Paradise Papers as global investigation that reveals offshore activities of some of most powerful people and companies.

Among 180 countries represented in data, India ranks 19th in terms of number of names. In all, 714 Indians have been figured in this largest ever black money data leak.

International Solar Alliance (ISA) announced target to support setting up 1000GW of solar energy capacity by 2030 across its member countries, during a ceremony in Bonn (Germany). This target does not take into account renewable energy targets or projects that countries are pursuing on their own as part of their national efforts 16 countries have ratified framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and it will come into force on 6 December 2017.

Israeli Consulate in Bengaluru launched Israel Centre at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) to mark 25 years of India-Israel partnership.

Japan will relax its visa rules for Indians from 1 January, 2018 and will issue multiple- entry-visa for short-term stay. It will benefit tourists, business persons and repeat visitors.

Japanese Emperor Akihito will abdicate on April 30, 2019, becoming the first Japanese monarch to leave the post in 200 years. Afterewards, Crown Prince Naruhito will take the post of Japanese emperor.

Jet Airways and Air France-KLM partnered to route more traffic through Europe and on to North America.

Mass attacks of ransomware called Bad Rabbit were observed recently in Russia. It also flight delays at Odessa airport in Ukraine and disrupted electronic payments in Kiev metro.

Middle Asean Nation Kazakhstan will change its name to Qazaqstan, as part of a transition from Cyrillic to a Latin-based script. A national commission will oversee this transition and will complete it by 2025.

Morocco launched an earth observation satellite called ‘Mohammed VI-A’, aboard European consortium Arianespace’s Vega rocket from French Guyana Space Centre.

Mount Agung, a volcano In Bali (Indonesia) erupted for the first time in over 54 years.

Nepal Electricity Authority signed a joint venture agreement with China Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC) to construct 750 MW West Seti Hydropower Project, with expenses estimated at 1.8 billion USD. CTGC will have 75% stake and NEA will hold remaining 25% in JV.

Nepal cancelled a $2.5 billion deal with China's Gezhouba Group Corporation to build Nepal's biggest hydropower plant of 1200 MW Capacity - Budhi Gandaki hydroelectric project. The project has been repportedly cancelled amid delays and lack of transparency in processes.

Nepal inaugurated a bridge built with India’s financial assistance of USD 430,626 (Approx 2.4 Crore Indian Rupees) on Kaligandaki river near China border. It provides motorable connectivity to people of Mustang and also benefits pilgrims visiting famous Muktinath temple.

North Korea successfully launched nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-15, said to be North Korea's most powerful Missile Yet. It has operational range of over 5000 KMs.

Qatar appointed four women to Shura Council, one of its most important consultative bodies, for the first time in Nation’s history.

Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) University Rankings : BRICS 2018 () -

Top 10 Universities in BRICS Nations -

Tsinghua University (China)

Peking University (China)

Fudan University (China)

University of Science and Technology of China (China)

Lomonosov Moscow State University (Russia)

Zhejiang University (China)

Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China)

Nanjing University (China)

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB)

Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore

India Facts -

Top 10 Public Institutions in India

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB)

Indian Institute of Science (IISC) Bangalore

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD)

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM)

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK)

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IITKGP)

University of Delhi

Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR)

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG)

University of Calcutta

Private Universities in India

BITS Pilani, Thapar University and Symbiosis International University are Top 3 private universities in India.

O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) entered BRICS Universities list for the first time (ranked 251 - 300).

Report by Cushman & Wakefield -

Delhi’s Khan Market is most expensive retail location in India and 24th most expensive retail location across the world, ranked 11th in Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

Global ranking is topped by Upper 5th Avenue in New York, followed by Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay and London’s Bond Street.

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) become first Canadian bank to be added to Financial Stability Board’s (FSB’s) list of 30 global systemically important banks (G-SIB) deemed ‘too big to fail’.

Financial Stability Board (FSB) is an international financial body based in Basel (Switzerland). Apart from adding RBC, FSB also removed French bank Groupe BPCE from the list.

Russian government will develop an ‘independent internet’ that operates separately from the Domain Name System used worldwide, that would continue services in the event of a global internet infrastructure collapse. It would be totally independent of international bodies and international infrastructure, yet still remaining linked to the global internet.

Sarajevo Haggadah, 14th- century richly illuminated Hebrew manuscript, has been included in UNESCO’s Memory of World Register. Sarajevo Haggadah has been kept at the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1894, after being brought to Sarajevo through efforts of Jews fleeing persecution in Spain.

Saudi Arabian government approved practice of yoga as a sports activity. Yoga can now be freely practiced as a sport in Saudi Arabia.

Scientists from New Zealand have developed world’s first artificial intelligence politician named SAM, that can answer queries regarding local issues such as policies around housing, education and immigration.

South Korean and USA air forces held Vigilant Ace joint exercises.

Tencent became first Chinese company to be valued at more than $500 billion in Asia. Alibaba is Asia’s second-highest-valued firm at $474 billion.

Term Fake news has been named the word of the year by Collins dictionary due to its widespread use around the world. Note that it has been heavily used and popularised by USA President Donald Trump.

Top 150 universities on Global University Employability Ranking 2017 published by Times Higher Education -

1 California Institute of Technology United States

2 Harvard University United States

3 Columbia University United States

4 Massachusetts Institute of Technology United States

5 University of Cambridge United Kingdom

6 Boston University United States

7 Stanford University United States

8 Technical University of Munich Germany

9 University of Tokyo Japan

10 Yale University United States

Indian Universities in List -

Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru (29th)

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (145th)

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (148th)

Travel publication Travel+Leisure named Canada as destination of the year, based on data from polls conducted on travel agents, arrival statistics and cultural relevance for 2017.

Turkey Approved a controversial legislation to let state - approved clerics (Muftis / Civil Servants) to conduct and register marriage ceremonies. It will pave way for child marriages.

Twitter officially increased number of characters in tweets from 140 to 280, except tweets in Japanese, Chinese and Korean lamguages that can convey more information in a single character.

Typhoon Damrey hits Vietnam as strongest cyclone in Vietnam in 16 years.

US Consulate General, Kolkata launched Youth for Business-Y4BIZ, a support programme for young entrepreneurs in eastern region of India.

US media company Meredith Corporation acquired US Based Publishing Brand Time Inc. for USD 2.8 billion. Time Inc. is a multinational mass media corporation owns over 100 magazine brands including Time, Sports Illustrated, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, Fortune, People, InStyle, Life, Golf Magazine, Southern Living, Essence, Real Simple, and Entertainment Weekly.

US-India Business Council (USIBC) launched a collaborative initiative for Women Entrepreneurs titled 'Women for Women Innovators, Social Leaders & Entrepreneurs' (WISE), launched during USIBC’s Road to GES event 'Creating the Foundations of Innovation'.

WISE will be led by Country Head of Intel, Nivruti Rai and will comprise prominent female business person like Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Vanitha Narayanan and Amita Vyas.

US-backed Iraqi forces reclaimed town of Rawa from terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS).

USA Congress authorised $700 million in Coalition Support Fund (CSF) to reimburse Pakistan for activities carried out in support of US operations in Afghanistan.

USA announced grant of nearly USD 500,000 for organisations that work to promote religious freedom in India and Sri Lanka.

USA as approved $1.1 billion contract to service Qatar’s F-15 fighter jets despite diplomatic stand-off between Gulf emirate and its neighbours.

Uber partnered with NASA to work on Project UberAir, aimed at launching flying taxis by 2023. Los Angeles will join previous Cities Including Dallas Fort-Worth, Texas, and Dubai.

United Nations (UN) General Assembly passed a Pakistan-sponsored resolution that considers right of peoples to self-determination as a fundamental condition for the effective guarantee and observance of human rights.

Victoria became first Australian state to legalise assisted dying (euthanasia), as lawmakers voted to allow terminally ill patients the right to request a lethal drug to end their lives from June 2019.

World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap index 2017 (144 Nations) -

India - India came down 21 places to ranked 108 in 2017 List, due to less participation of women in economy and low wages.

Top 5 - Iceland (1), Norway(2), Finland (3), Rwanda (4), Sweden (5)

Bottom 5 - Iran (140), Chad (141), Syria (142), Pakistan (143), Yemen (144)

BRICS - Brazil (90), Russia (71), India (108), China (100), South Afirca (19)

Neighbours - Bangladesh (47), Sri Lanka (109), Nepal (111), Pakistan (143)

World Health Organisation (WHO) for first time has formulated clinical guidelines on responding to children and adolescents who have been sexually abused. These guidelines provide first line support to child or adolescent in response to the disclosure of sexual abuse.

World Trade Organization (WTO) formed a panel to look into Qatar’s complaint against measures imposed on it by UAE for Qatar's alleged financial support for militant groups.

World's 3rd Largest Book Fair, Sharjah International Book Fair opened in UAE with theme A World in My Book. It has over 1.5 million book titles and 1,650 publishing houses from 60 countries.

World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list 2017 by Forbes -

CEO of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar is most powerful woman in India, 32nd globally.

List is topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, making it her 7th consecutive year at top and 12th overall. She is followed by UK Prime Minister Theresa May (rank 2).

Zimbabwe’s military seized control of nation by placing longtime leader Robert Mugabe under house arrest.

Meetings

11th meeting of Conference of the Parties to Vienna Convention and 29th Meeting of Parties to Montreal Protocol held in Canada -

During this, UN Environment pledged $540 million to developing countries to continue their work in phasing out ozone-depleting chemicals, for 3 years starting from 2018. Funds will be provided through the Multilateral Fund for Implementation of Montreal Protocol, which has disbursed over $3.7 billion to developing countries since 1991 for phasing out ozone-depleting chemicals.

8th Global Entrepreneurship Summit-2017 (GES 2017) held in Hyderabad (Telangana) -

It was jointly organized by NITI Aayog and USA Government.

Theme for 2017 GES is Women First, Prosperity for All.

10th South Asia Economic Summit (SAES) held in Kathmandu (Nepal) with theme Deepening Economic Integration for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in South Asia.

13th Asia-Europe (ASEM) foreign ministers' meeting Held in Naypyidaw (Myanmar).

21st World Congress of Mental Health organized in New Delhi, in association with World Federation for Mental Health. Theme of conference is ‘Partnerships for Mental Health’.

23rd United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) began in Bonn (Germany). India is being represented by Harsh Vardhan (Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change), who inugurated Indian Pavilion at Conference of Parties (COP) 23 with theme Conserving Now, Preserving Future.

24th Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF-24) meet held in Bengaluru (Karnataka) with theme Space Technology for Enhanced Governance and Development.

3 Day Organic World Congress 2017 organized by International Federation of Organic Farming Movements (IFOAM) and OAFI at India Expo Centre in Greater Noida (UP).

OWC is organized every 3 years in different countries with last edition held in 2014 in Turkey. 55 seeds group from 15 Indian states showcased 4,000 varieties of seeds.

39th Bi-annual General Conference of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) held in Paris (France). It was attended by Prakesh Javedkar (Minister of Human Resource Development) on India's Behalf.

India has been re-elected to UNESCO's Executive Board. European Nation Finland has been elected to UNESCO's Executive Board after 20 years.

42nd World Congress of International Committee of Military Medicine (ICMM) organised by Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) in New Delhi with Theme Military Medicine in Transition: Looking Ahead.

5th Global Conference on Cyber Space 2017 (GCCS 2017) hosted by New Delhi with theme Cyber4All.

9th CMS Vatavaran global film festival on environment and wildlife held in New Delhi with Theme Conservation 4 Water.

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting held in Da Nang (Vietnam) with theme Creating New Dynamism, Fostering a Shared Future.

APEC is 21 Pacific Rim countries Grouping. APEC summit for 2018 will be held in Papua New Guinea.

First 5-day International Symposium to Promote Innovation & Research in Energy Efficiency (INSPIRE 2017) started in Jaipur (Rajasthan), organized by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) in partnership with World Bank, and Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE).

Global Clubfoot Conference organised by CURE India and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in New Delhi. Clubfoot is one of most common orthopaedic birth defects where one or both feet are rotated inwards and downwards.

Interim Meeting of Steering Committee of International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Centre (SARTTAC) held in New Delhi.

It is first IMF Regional Capacity Development Centre to fully integrate training and technical assistance activities, located in New Delhi.

International Cooperative Alliance (ICA)’s Global Conference and General Assembly 2017 held in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). During it, Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) retained its seat as Director on Global Board of ICA, for 2nd time in a row.

International Energy Agency (IEA) Ministerial meeting held in Paris (France). It was attended by Raj Kumar Singh (Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy) on India's Behalf.

J P Nadda, Minister of Health and Family Welfare visited Moscw (Russia) to attend 1st WHO Global Ministerial Conference on Ending TB. He reaffirmed India’s commitment to eliminating TB by 2025. The conference focused on eliminating TB across globe by 2030.

Minister of Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi Visited Argentina for attending 4th Global Conference on Sustained Eradication of Child Labour held in Buenos Aires.

UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) held in Geneva (Switzerland). UN held its first official talks on use of autonomous weapons, including killer robots.

UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial Conference 2017 held in Vancouver (Canada).

UNFCCC Climate Change Conference (COP23) held in Bonn (Germany), presided over by Government of Fiji.

It concluded with countries putting in place a roadmap for ‘Talanoa Dialogue’, a year-long process to assess countries’ progress on climate actions. Talanoa is a traditional approach used in Fiji and other Pacific islands to engage in an inclusive, participatory and transparent dialogue to resolve differences without putting any blame on any one.

Next UNFCCC Climatye Change Conference will be held in 2018 in Poland.

World Youth Forum 2017 held in Egypt with Minister of State (IC) of Youth Affairs and Sports, Rajyavardhan Rathore attending on India's Behalf.

National

Government also asked Odisha government to enhance its rural road construction target under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) from 7,000 km to 10,000 km during the current fiscal year.

1.5-mw small hydropower plant in Biaras Drass of Kargil became first project to be commissioned under Prime Minister's Ladakh Renewable Energy Initiative (LREI), developed at cost of approx INR 17 crores.

15th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) for Documentary, Short and Animation films will be held in January – February 2018, to be organized by Films Division of Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B).

2 day Korea festival showcasing Korea’s rich art, culture and heritage held by Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) in Gurugram (Haryana).

3-Day World Food India 2017 Organized in New Delhi with Theme Transforming the Food Economy, Inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi -

Purpose is to transform food economy and double farmers’ income by establishing India as a preferred investment destination for global food processing industry. This is first such grand event hosted by India in Food processing sector.

PM Modi launched “Nivesh Bandhu”, an Investor Facilitation Portal in Food Sector.

Germany, Japan and Denmark are partner countries to World Food India, while Italy and the Netherlands are the focus countries.

Team of 50 chefs created a world record by cooking 918 kg “khichdi” live at the World Food India 2017 event, led by Noted Chef Sanjeev Kapoor.

MoU worth INR 10, 000 Crore signed between Government and Patanjali Ayurved Limited.

Telangana Government launched its ‘Food Processing Policy’. Salient Features of Telangana Government’s Food Processing Policy:

5th biennial State Ranking Survey by hospitality consulting firm Hotelivate and World Travel & Tourism Council-India Initiative (WTTC-II) -

Delhi is the top tourist destination of India. Followed by Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.

7 commodities have been granted Geographical Indication (GI) this year by Indian patent office - Banaganapalle mangoes (Andhra Pradesh), Tulaipanji rice (West Bengal), Pochampally Ikat (Telangana), Gobindobhog rice (West Bengal), Durgi stone carvings and Etikoppaka toys (Andhra Pradesh) and Chakshesang shawl (Nagaland).

Geographical Indication is given to agricultural, natural or manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a geographical territory for 10 years at a time.

According to state-wise analysis of state of women entrepreneurship in India by Sheatwork -

Tamil Nadu has highest number of women entrepreneurs in India, followed by Kerala and West Bengal.

Air India Express obtained Category III-B certification from Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), enabling it to land and takeoff in low visibility conditions up to an RVR (runway visual range) as low as up to 50 meters.

Air India also commissioned its first ATR simulator ‘ATR 72-600 full-flight simulator (FFS)’ at its Central Training Establishment (CTE) in Hyderabad.

Annual Tribal cultural Festival Odisha - Parab-2017, held in Koraput.

Annual ‘Balijatra’ festival held in Odisha on banks of river Mahanadi.

As per an agreement between Uttar Pradesh and South Korea Government, Ayodhya Mahotsav would be held in Seoul and Gimhe cities of South Korea in 2018, depicting Its cultural heritage. In return, a ‘Korea Festival’ will be held in Lucknow and Ayodhya in 2018.

As per data from Central Pollution Control Board -

Varanasi (UP) is most polluted Indian city among 42 cities, with Air Quality Index (AQI) of 491 on 500-point scale.

Gurugram (Haryana) is 2nd most polluted with an AQI of 480. Delhi at 468, Lucknow at 462 and Kanpur at 461.

As per statement submitted by Central Government to Supreme Court, Aadhaar-Mobile SIM linking should be completed by February 6, 2018.

As per ‘India State-level Disease Burden Initiative Report’ prepared by ICMR, Public Health Foundation of India and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation - child and maternal malnutrition were responsible for 15 % of total disease burden in 2016 across India.

Assam Government rolled out 647 schemes entailing an investment of Rs 24.57 crore for development of world's largest river island Majuli.

Assam Goverment also launched a web portal Assam Darpan where details of government schemes and projects would be available to the people. URL - https://as.cmdashboard.nic.in

Assam government would celebrate ‘Lachit Divas’ at various state capitals in India from 2018, to promote ideals of Lachit Borphukan – the legendary general of Assam’s history.

Lachit Borphukan was a commander and Borphukan in Ahom kingdom known for his leadership in the 1671 Battle of Saraighat that thwarted a drawn-out attempt by Mughal forces under the command of Ramsingh I to take back Kamrup.

BSE Institute Limited (subsidiary of BSE) signed MOU with DLT Labs to set up the India’s first state-of-the-art Block Chain Lab in Mumbai. It aims to provide knowledge driven, in class education and training in the field of financial technology, with a special emphasis on Block Chain.

Bengaluru joined 91 cities across the globe in Datacity programme to collate data on climate change, that was launched in Paris in 2015 to develop data which can help resolve climate challenges. Bengaluru joined this network by signing an MoU with French Implementation firm NUMA.

Bihar Government will set up State Ayush Society to promote usage of alternative medicine in state.

Border Roads Organisation (BRO) constructed world’s highest motorable road in cold desert of Ladakh, at over 19000 Feet and 54 KM Length, under Project Himank. It will boost troop movement along Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern sector.

Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) procured six eco-friendly, battery-operated buses at a cost of Rs.10 crore, aimed at reducing air and noise pollution in Mumbai.

CVC (Central Vigilance Commission) Observed 30-10-2017 to 04-11-2017 as Vigilance Awareness Week 2017, to promote transparency and probity in public governance. During This, EPFO organized a national seminar on Fraud Risk Management – The New Initiatives in New Delhi.

Cabinet Approvals -

Establishment of National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) under GST, to ensure that benefits of the reduction in GST rates on goods or services are passed on to the ultimate consumers by way of a reduction in prices. It has been done soon after recent sharp reduction in the GST rates of a large number of items of mass consumption.

Agreement with Belarus on Scientific and Technological Cooperation.

MOU with Poland for promotion of Civil Aviation Cooperation.

CCEA approved continuation of sub schemes Under ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) till Nov 30, 2018 with outlay of over INR 41,000 crores. Approved Schemes include -

Anganwadi Services

Scheme for Adolescent Girls

Child Protection Services

National Crèche Scheme

Cabinet approved increase in carpet area of houses eligible for interest subsidy under Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) for Middle Income Group (MIG) under Pradhan Mantri AwasYojana (Urban).

Increasing carpet area in MIG I category of CLSS from existing 90 sq.m. to up to 120 sq.m. Under MIG-I, 4% interest subsidy is provided to beneficiaries with annual income between 6 - 12 lakh on loan of up to Rs 9 lakh.

Increasing carpet area in MIG II category of CLSS from 110 sq.m. to 150 sq.m. Under MIG-II, beneficiaries with annual income 12 - 18 lakh get an interest subsidy of 3% on loan of up to Rs 12 lakh.

Cabinet Approvals -

MoU with Philippines on agriculture and related fields.

MOU with Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China and Kyrgyzstan for Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income.

Joint Interpretative Declaration with Colombia regarding Agreement for Promotion and Protection of Investments.

Appointment of Second National Judicial Pay Commission (SNJPC) for Subordinate Judiciary in country, under J P.Venkatrama Reddi.

Following proposals of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion are approved -

Development of Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre at Dwarka (Delhi) at an estimated cost of INR 25703 crore by 2025.

Incorporation of a new Government company as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for implementation of project with 100% equity from Government through Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.

Creation of National Testing Agency (NTA) as a Society registered under Indian Societies Registration Act 1860 as a premier testing organization to conduct entrance examinations for higher educational institutions. NTA will be given a one-time grant of 25 crores from Government and will be financially self-sustainable after 1st year.

Continuation of National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) wit Outlay INR 23050 crores approved for programme for 14th Finance Commission (FFC) period 2017-18 to 2019-20.

14th Finance Commission is headed by Y V Reddy.

Government revised House Building Advance (HBA) rules for Central Government Employees -

Total amount of advance that a central government employee can borrow has been revised up to 34 months of basic pay (max 25 lakhs), compared to earlier limit of INR 7.50 lakhs.

Amount for expansion of house is revised to max INR 10 lakhs or 34 months of basic pay (whichever is least), compared to earlier limit of INR 1.80 lakhs.

Cabinet Approvals -

Philippines on co-operation and mutual assistance in customs matters.

India's Membership for European Bank for Reconstruction & Development.

India - Russia Agreement on cooperation in combating terrorism and organized crime.

Continuation of the scheme on Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) for another 3 years (FYs 2017-18 to 2019-20) , providing aid of INR 18 crore to Institute to make It self-sustainable by end of 2019-20.

Govt approved setting up of 15thFinance Commission Under Article 280 (1) of Constitution, to be enacted from 01-04-2020. Currently, 14th finance commission (headed by Y V Reddy) is active.

Schemes Expansion (Total Outlay of 3636.85 Crores) -

Expansion of schemes of Ministry of Women and Child Development under Umbrella Scheme Mission for Protection and Empowerment for Women, with outlay of Over 3500 Crores between 2017-18 to 2019-20.

New Scheme Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra has been approved, which will empower rural women through community participation to create an environment in which they realize their full potential, through Mahila shakti kendras in 115 backward districts.

Expansion under Beti Bachao Beti Padhao t0 all 640 Districts, based on successful implementation in 161 districts, for a pan India coverage from 2017-18 to 2019-20.

Cabinet Approvals -

MoU with Italy for cooperation in Agriculture and Phytosanitary issues.

Investment cooperation and facilitation treaty with Brazil.

Car Manufacturers Toyota and Suzuki partnered to develo electric cars in India and make it commercially available by 2020.

Cab Aggregator Uber also partnered with Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) to add electric vehicles on its platform in India.

Central Government approved assistance of INR 10,000 crores to fund 107 irrigation projects in drought-hit Vidarbha and Maratha regions of Maharashtra.

Central Government sanctioned INR 275 crores for establishing a Global Centre for Security and Counter-Terrorism in Jaipur (Rajasthan).

Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) joined hands with ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) to identify Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ), an area in sea where fishes are seen in abundance, under project Samudra. It is aimed at helping fishermen easily locate fish without wasting time and fuel.

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) became Third Indian City to be Included United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO’s) Creative Cities Network for Contribution in Music.

Now, UNESCO Creative Cities Network has gone up to 180 cities in 72 countries.

India's Jaipur (added as City of Music) and Varanasi (City of Crafts and Folk Art) were added in 2016.

Chhattisgarh Government imposed ban on bursting of firecrackers in six of its cities - Raipur, Bilaspur, Bhilai, Durg, Raigarh and Korba.

Competition Commission of India (CCI) penaliized Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for INR 52 Crores for Anti-Competitive conduct through abusing dominant position in sport for imposing restriction that deny access to market for organization of Professional Domestic Cricket League/ Events.

Delhi Government approved setting up Delhi Village Development Board (DVDB) for civic works in 300 rural and urban villages of Delhi. It will subsume Delhi Rural Development Board (DRDB) that carried related works so far.

Delhi Government will form Mahila Suraksha Dals in each district of (women protection groups) to curb crimes against women in the national capital.

Delhi government will re-introduce odd-even scheme on a trial basis between Nov 13 - 17, 2017, in view of severe pollution levels in Delhi-NCR.

Delta Corp Limited have set up first casino game training course centre in India, at Goa.

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) signed agreement with Anna University to establish India’s 2nd Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) at Centre for Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR) in Anna University, Under World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) TISC program.

TISC aims to to stimulate a dynamic and balanced Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) system in India to foster creativity and innovation, thereby promoting entrepreneurship and enhancing social, economic and cultural development.

India's First Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) has been set up at Patent Information Centre (Punjab).

Eastern Railways brought into service, the first rake of upgraded Sealdah – New Delhi ‘Swarna’ Rajdhani, under Project ‘Swarna’ that gives a free hand to Zonal Railways to develop and create aesthetic and passenger friendly coach interiors on running rakes of Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains.

Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of India (FOGSI) launched Manyata as a nationwide movement emphasising the need for quality care for mothers during and immediately after childbirth.

First Namami Barak festival held at Silchar in Assam, to pay tribute to River Barak and to showcase its potential to emerge as hub of trade and commerce.

Assam government also inaugurated its air ambulance services for people, equipped with emergency medical equipment to take care of patients.

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has asked companies to put in place a proper plan to recall food products from markets, if found unsafe.

Foundation stone for a Butterfly Conservatory Park laid in Gurugram (Haryana), to conserve species of butterflies that are near extinction due to urbanisation. This conservatory park will be developed on 15 acres and will be largest Butterfly Conservatory Park in North India.

Gender Vulnerability Index (GVI) by Child development NGO Plan India -

Goa is at top, followed by Kerala and Mizoram.

Bihar is at bottom with Uttar Pradesh as second worst.

Index is developed after analysing situation of girls and women in on the basis of Health, Education, Protection and Poverty.

General Conferences (Nov 1 - 10) -

India offered sharing intelligence of maritime movements in Indian Ocean in real-time with 10 Indian Ocean littoral states, during Goa Maritime Conclave (GMC).

Hyderabad hosted 3 day Conference to discuss urban transport challenges and solutions.

International Conference on “Ramayan Circuit and Mithila-Awadh Relations” held at Janakpur in Nepal.

1st Heli Expo India and International Civil Helicopter Conclave-2017 held at Pawan Hans Heliport in New Delhi.

Goverment Decided to develop an airport at at Minicoy Island (Lakshadweep) and use Naval air station at Shibpur (Andaman & Nicobar Islands) as a Joint User Airport, during 2nd meeting of Island Development Agency (IDA) in Delhi.

India Disaster Response Summit held in Delhi by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Facebook. Facebook rolled out Disaster Maps for India to help communities across recover and rebuild from natural disasters faster by sharing critical pieces of data sets with humanitarian agencies in a timely manner.

General Conferences (Nov 11 - 20) -

6th China-India Forum meet hosted in Bengaluru (Karnataka).

First Military Literature Festival would be held in Chandigarh (Punjab) in Nov - Dec 2017.

Sainik Sankshema Sabha will be organised in all districts of Andhra and Telangana.

3rd Russian film festival Russian Film Days held in New Delhi.

Mumbai hosted will 34th annual conference of Asian Bankers Association (ABA), as first ever Hosting of this Conference by Mumbai.

NITI Aayog in partnership with USA government organized India’s first Tribal Entrepreneurship Summit at Dantewada (Chhattisgarh), To promote spirit of entrepreneurship in tribal youth.

International Buffalo Symposium 2017 held in Nepal.

Andhra Pradesh's first Hot Air Balloon Festival held in Araku Valley.

12th North East Business Summit held in New Delhi.

Andhra Pradesh AgTech Summit 2017 held in Visakhapatnam with American Tech Firm Microsoft Co-Funder Bill Gates as Chief Guest.

Karnataka State Government launched ambitious project to install Wi-Fi facility in 2500 gram panchayats across state by end of 2017. It was announced at Bengaluru Tech Summit 2017.

12th Biennial International Conference & Exposition of Society of Petroleum Geophysicists (SPG) India helt at Jaipur (Rajasthan).

Conference Build The Ship – 2017 held in Cochin. Shipping and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari -

Laid foundation for INR 970-crore International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) for Cochin Shipyard Limited.

Launched Center of Excellence in Maritime and Shipbuilding (CEMS) as a start up in skill development for maritime and shipbuilding sector, to have campuses at Vishakhapatnam and Mumbai. It is being set up by Shipping Ministry with Siemens under Sagarmala programme.

International Seminar on Indian Space Programme - Trends and Opportunities for Industry organized in Delhi by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Antrix Corporation and FICC.

Indian National Bar Association (INBA) organised Bar Leadership Summit on Reforms in the Indian Legal Sector in New Delhi

General Conferences (Nov 21 - 30) -

International Gita Mahotsava 2017 held in Kurukshetra (Haryana).

Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas organised a consultative workshop on New National Policy on Biofuels & Pradhan Mantri Ji- Van Yojana (VGF for 2nd Generation Ethanol Bio Refineries) in New Delhi.

12th meeting of Standing Committee of Inter-State Council held in Delhi.

International Ambedkar Conclave, organised by Forum of SC and ST Legislators and Parliamentarians in New Delhi.

1st World Conference on Access to Medical Products and International Laws for Trade and Health held in New Delhi.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare observed Vasectomy Fortnight to raise awareness about male sterilisation and to promote the participation of men in family planning.

Conference of all Commanders of Eastern Air Command held at Shillong (Meghalaya).

Inaugural edition of Proffer Hackathon held at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – New Delhi. Proffer is a blockchain startup founded by graduates of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard. During it, Researchers from Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-Kerala (IIITM-K) won a special recognition prize from NITI Aayog.

Zurich (Switzerland) based global think-tank Horasis’ first Asia Meet held in Kolkata (West Bengal).

Aadi Mahotsav, a celebration of the spirit of Tribal Culture, Craft, Cuisine and Commerce Organized in New Delhi, with theme A Celebration of the Spirit of Tribal Culture, Cuisine and Commerce.

7th Kathakar: International Storytellers Festival held at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) in New Delhi.

Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh chaired 22nd meeting of Board of Mangement (BOM) of Small Farmers’ Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC) in New Delhi.

India-Myanmar media interaction programme held in Imphal (Capital of Myanmar).

Geographical Indication Registry (GIR) gave Geographical Indication (GI) tag to traditional Etikoppaka toys (Etikoppaka Bommalu) from Andhra Pradesh, made by artisans in Etikoppaka village located on banks of river Varaha in Visakhapatnam district.

Global Retailing Major Walmart launched its first fulfillment centre in India in Mumbai.

Goa CM Manohar Parrikar launched Jai Kisaan App as a farmer engagement app containing features and functions to fulfill the needs of the farmer community.

Goa government executed MoU with Central Government and Nobel Media (Sweden) to hold Nobel Prize Series – India 2018 (Science Impacts Life) in February 2018, along with a month-long exhibition brought from Nobel Museum, Sweden.

Government approved Highway and Shipping Projects worth over Rs 1 lakh crore for the state of Tamil Nadu.

Government approved setting up India’s first mega coastal economic zone (CEZ) at Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) in Maharashtra. It will stretch along north Konkan region spread across Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nashik and Raigarh.

CEZs are spatial economic regions comprising group of coastal districts or districts with strong linkage to ports in region to tap into synergies with planned industrial corridor projects.

Government has set Minimum Export Price of onion at 850 dollars per tonne to ensure its availability in domestic market.

Government launched phase 2 of BharatNet project to connect 1.5 lakh gram panchayats with high-speed broadband by March 2019.

Bharat Net (formerly National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN)) launched by Government in October 2011, to deploy high-speed optical fibre cables across rural areas of India to provide broadband connectivity to all 2.5 Lakh Gram Panchayats in India. Project cost of BharatNet is estimated to be around 45000 crore, out of which Rs. 11200 crore have been used for the phase 1.

Under Phase One, 1 lakh gram panchayats will have broadband connectivity by end of 2017.

Government signed 4 MoUs under Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) Scheme with Nagaland and UTs of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra & Nagar Haveli & Daman & Diu, taking number of signatories to 27 States and 4 UTs.

These State/UTs have joined only for operational improvement and shall not undergo financial restructuring and issue of bonds under UDAY.

Government will give proxy voting rights to over 2.5 crore non-resident Indians (NRIs) across world, in response to Election Commission directing government to take necessary steps to amend law for NRI voters.

Govt initiated formulating comprehensive ‘safe-city’ plans for women in eight metropolitan cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow and Hyderabad.

Haryana became first state in India to treat Hepatitis-C patients through oral medicine.

Haryana government announced lifetime monthly pension of Rs 10,000 for ‘Hindi Satyagrahis’ and those from state who were jailed during Emergency (21-month period from 1975 to 1977).

Haryana government signed MoU Worth INR 20000 Crores with an integrated trade facilitation services organisation - Verbind - to set up a logistics and trading hub in state. State will assist the organisation in obtaining necessary approvals and clearances with reference to projects from relevant departments, in line with existing rules and regulations.

Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA) approved projects worth INR 2,066 Crores for IITs Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Kharagpur, Kanpur and NIT Suratkal. These funds would be used to improve research infrastructure in these institutions to further improve their global standings.

Home Ministry has formed two new divisions to exclusively deal with emerging security challenges such as radicalization and cyber crime - Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Radicalization (CTCR) and Cyber and Information Security (CIS).

CTCR is modified version of the Home Ministry’s internal security-II division. It will focus on tracking and assessing the online reach of global terrorist outfits and devising strategies to counter their propaganda.

CIS division will monitor online crimes and threats, including cyber fraud and hacking, and suggest ways to minimize and fight them.

India Road Assessment Programme (IndiaRAP) launched by FedEx Express to rate highways’ safety levels and to eliminate most unsafe roads. It aims to make Indian roads safer and curb fatalities. It will be hosted by Asian Institute of Transport Development.

India will have its first Cartoon Network-branded theme park, to be developed by Turner International Indiain Surat (Gujarat). It will be launched in 2019 with cost approx INR 450 crores.

Indian Army signed MoU with Rajasthan State Government to improve infrastructure for their posts near the India-Pakistan border.

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) launched India’s first Electric Vehicle (EV) charging station at a petrol pump in Nagpur, in collaboration with cab aggregator Ola.

Indian Railways installed Asia’s largest Solid State Interlocking (SSI) system in Kharagpur (West Bengal), which will enable station masters to set 800 different routes for trains in a few minutes.

Interlocking railway signal prevents conflicting movements of trains.

New technology has beet set up at cost of 39 Crores and replaces pre-1989 route relay system that only allowed operators to set maximum 423 routes.

Indian Railways launched Project Saksham as its largest time-bound upskilling exercise for its 13 lakh employees. It will start in January 2018 and go on till September 2018. Railways Ministry also advanced target for completion of installing human waste discharge free Bio-toilets in coaches to December 2018, compared to deadline of September 2019.

Indian Railways launched main arch of world's highest bridge on the River Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district which will provide direct connectivity to Kashmir Valley. This bridge with height 359 metres above bed of the River Chenab and will be 30 metres higher than Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani flagged off Digital Rath in New Delhi to create awareness among people for cashless transactions. Travel 0f around 20 thousand KMs will reach approx 10 lakh people.

Inter-State Council has been reconstituted with P Narendra Modi as its Chairman and 6 Union ministers and all chief ministers as members. Member Union Ministers - Rajnath Singh (Home), Sushma Swaraj (External Affairs), .Arun Jaitley (Finance), Nitin Gadkari (Road Transport), Thaawar Chand Gehlot (Social Justice and Empowerment) AND Nirmala Sitharaman (Defence).

Jammu and Kashmir Govt Observed Heritage Week from November 19 to 25, 2017 to generate awareness on preservation of state’s ancient culture and environment.

Karnataka Assembly passed Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Bill 2017, aimed at eradicating inhuman evil practices propagated and performed in name of black magic by conman to exploit the common people.

Karnataka Assembly also approved Reservation for SC / ST in Promotions in State Civil Service Jobs as it passed Karnataka Extension of Consequential Seniority to Government Servants Promoted on the Basis of Reservation Bill 2017’.

Karnataka Govt approved Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (KESDM) Policy 2017-22 to promote electronic design and manufacturing in state.

State govt also passed a diluted version of law that aims to to regulate pricing and certain policies at private hospitals and medical establishments in state.

Karnataka government appointed K Ratna Prabha as new chief secretary of Karnataka.

Karnataka government launched a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for data science and artificial intelligence, with Nasscom as programme and implementation partner, aimed at accelerating development of data science and artificial intelligence.

Karnataka government partnered with Intel company Mobileye to launch a project for automotive safety called Automotive Safety Innovation, which will create a repository of road and traffic information.

Karnataka government will creating an ecosystem to bring all stakeholders to use nanotechnology across verticals including energy, medicine, engineering, transport and communication.

Kerala Government formulated a trauma-care scheme, under which all emergency care and treatment will be provided to accident victims free-of-cost for first 48 hours.

Kerala government launched new sanitary napkins distribution scheme for school girls named She Pad.

Labour commission of Karnataka certified formation of Karnataka State IT/ITES Employees Union (KITU) under Trade Union Act 1926, and Karnataka Trade Unions Regulations 1958.

Madhya Pradesh partnered with Nagaland and Manipur, to strengthen cultural relations between them Under Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat scheme. It aims to bolster sentimental bonds between people of different states.

Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) approved State government’s application to increase height of planned Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Statue from 192 Metres to 210 Metres, making it Highest statue in world.

Currently, Spring Temple Buddha statue (208 metres) in China is highest in world.

Maharashtra Government launched a new initiative against childhood obesity, by making 6,000 children in Pune aware of their Body Mass Index (BMI). The campaign will ensure that childhood obesity will not hamper growth or development of our future generations.

Maharashtra governemnt would raise INR 25,000 crore project on 800 acres at Heti (Kundi) village in Vidarbha, in association with Ayurveda Products Brand Patanjali. Patanjali will purchase 10,000 cows to develop a breeding centre and to carry out dairy and allied activities.

Maharashtra government banned packaged water bottles in government offices, to become plastic-free state from March 2018.

Maharashtra government will set up a committee for the implementation of a Rs.4,000-crore project on climate resilience agriculture in 5,000 villages of 15 districts in state. The project would be funded by the World Bank.

Maharashtra govt has set up of a Gender Budget Cell for better implementation of various schemes of Women and Child Development (WCD) by other government departments. It will enable coordination between various departments for effective implementation of schemes.

Minister of Railways & Coal Piyush Goyal launched Grahak Sadak Koyla Vitaran App, aimed at benefitting customers of Coal India Limited (CIL) lifting coal through road mode. It will help achieve transparency in despatch operations.

Minister of State (IC) for Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), Jitendra Singh announced North East Rural Livelihood Project as an exclusive rural Livelihood scheme for North-eastern states. It aims at helping tribals and lower socioeconomic groups, Initially in Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. Assistance will be provided to over 10000 Self Help Groups (SHGs).

Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel inaugurated National Biomaterial Centre (National Tissue Bank) at National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) in Delhi.

Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports (IC) Rajyavardhan Rathore released Indian Youth Development Index (YDI) and Report 2017 in New Delhi, developed by Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD) in Tamil Nadu. Its aims to track trends in Youth Developmenty across states.

Ministry of Development of Northeast (DONER) contributed Rs. 25 crore as initial funding for launching India’s first-ever Helicopter based Air Dispensary in Northeast India.

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare launched daily regimen for TB patients under The Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP), updating frequeny of regimen for treatment of tuberculosis (TB) from 3 weekly to daily.

Daily FDC anti-TB drugs will be made available free of cost to private pharmacy / practitioners to dispense to TB patients.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) launched India Hypertension Management Initiative (IHMI), that aims to reduce disability and death related to cardiovascular disease (CVD). It also aims to strengthen CVD component of Health Ministry’s National Program for Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS).

Ministry of Power launched Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA) in Manipur, aiming to include 1.75 lakh households of state under this scheme. Government will provide financial assistance for strengthening power infrastructure, under Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA) that was launched in September 2017.

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways made FASTag mandatory for all new four-wheelers from December 1, 2017, amending Central Motor Vehicle (CMV) Rules 1989 as per Motor Vehicles Act 1989.

FASTag is device that employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for making toll payments directly from savings account linked to it. It is affixed on windscreen of vehicle and enables commuter to drive through toll plazas, without stopping for cash transactions.

MoU signed between Tourism and Hospitality Sector Skill Council (THSC), National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) AND Airbnb (community-driven hospitality company), to promote entreprenuership under Government’s Skill India Programme.

NCERT Conducted National Achievement Survey (NAS) as assessment survey in national and amongst largest in world, for Classes 3, 5 and 8 in government and government aided schools. Learning levels of over 25 lakhs students from 1,10,000 across all 700 districts were assessed.

Nagaland became first North Eastern state to launch Point of Sale (PoS) for electricity bill payment, launched at Kohima Electrical Sub-division-1.

National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed that only 50,000 pilgrims will be allowed to visit Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu to avoid any unwanted incidents.

NGT directed state government of Delhi to seize 10-year-old diesel taxis without any delay as they cause air pollution.

NGT Directed Amarnath Shrine Board to submit a status report by December 2017, about reasons for not providing proper infrastructure facilities to pilgrims travelling to Amarnath Shrine.

National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) (Ministry of Women and Child Development) launched intensive training program for Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Master Trainers in New Delhi. It aims to train 20000 EWRs covering 50 EWRs from each district by March 2018.

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) capped prices of 51 essential medicines, as it notified ceiling prices of 36 medicines and revised ceiling prices of 15 medicines within range 6 to 53%.

Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA) and Singapore-based ITE Education Services (ITEES) signed a MoU for skill development in State.

Odisha government imposed 7 month ban on sea fishing, to protect Olive Ridley sea turtles, as breeding season of endangered marine animals is approaching.

Odisha government launched Arpana Portal for online processing of applications for pension revision in respect of pre-2016 pensioners.

Odisha government launched a scheme to boost fish production named Fish Pond Yojana, with provision of 96 crores. It aims to create additional 2,200 hectare of fresh water aquaculture farming with 50 per cent financial assistance to farmers.

Odisha government also released approx 365 crore rupees for rain-hit farmers in 19 districts of State.

Odisha government will launch Nabakrushna Choudhury Seccha Unnayan Yojana to provide irrigation facility to about 55,000 hectare of agricultural land across Odisha, named after former CM Nabakrushna Choudhury. It will have an outlay of INR 635 crores over 3 years.

PM Narendra Modi inaugurated 1st phase of Hyderabad Metro Rail project, with 30-km stretch between Miyapur and Nagole. PM Modi also launched mobile app named 'T Savari' for Metro passengers.

PM Narendra Modi launched Umang mobile application as an integrated platform for government to citizen services.

Umang is an acronym for unified mobile app for new age. It currently hosts around 162 services from 33 government departments.

POWERGRID completed 220 kV Leh - Khalsti Line as first time in India that any 220kV voltage level substation is built at such a high altitude of over 11500 ft, as part of Government's ambitious Project for extending Grid connectivity to difficult Geographical areas of Leh- Ladhakh (J&K).

Petroleum Ministry preponed introduction of BS (Bharat Stage)-VI grade auto fuels in National Capital Terrirtory, Delhi with effect from 1 April 2018 instead of 1 April 2020, Considering serious pollution levels in Delhi and adjoining areas. It is aimed at reducing vehicular emissions and improving the fuel efficiency to reduce the carbon footprints and keep a healthy environment.

President Ram Nath Kovind promulgated an ordinance under Article 123 of Constitute to amend Indian Forest Act 1927 to encourage bamboo plantation by farmers in private lands.

This ordinance omits bamboo (taxonomically a grass) grown in non-forest areas from definition of trees, exempting it from requiring permits for felling or transportation of bamboo grown in non-forest areas.

Punjab Govt approved Victim or Their Dependents Compensation Scheme which will provide min compensation of Rs 3 lakh to an acid attack victim.

Punjab Government also approved amending state Co-operative Societies Act 1961, a legislation governing co-operative societies, to allow people to contest mergers of some societies.

Punjab State Government notified Punjab Goods Carriages (Regulation and Prevention of Cartelization Rules), 2017, banning goods carriage operators from forming cartels in state, aimed at creating a favourable environment for industries and business houses in state.

Punjab government will organise village-level sports tournaments, aimed at ruling out problem of drugs from Punjab.

Qaumi Ekta Week (National Integration Week) observed during November 19 - 25, 2017 -

November 19 - National Integration Day.

November 20 - Welfare of Minorities Day.

November 21 - Linguistic Harmony Day.

November 22 - Weaker Sections Day.

November 23 - Cultural Unity Day.

November 24 - Women’s Day.

November 25 - Conservation Day.

R.K. Singh (Minister of New and Renewable Energy (IC) launched Saubhagya Web-Portal at URL – http://saubhagya.gov.in, as a platform for monitoring household electrification progress, which would disseminate information on Household Electrification Status.

R.K. Singh, Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, launched National Power Portal (NPP) at URL http://npp.gov.in as a centralised system data capture / input system for Indian Power Sector.

Rail Land Development Authority signed MoU with NBCC to redevelop 10 railway stations with airport-like amenities by 2020 - Delhi Sarai Rohilla, Lucknow (UP), Gomti Nagar (UP), Kota (Rajsthan), Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Nellore (Andhra Pradesh), Ernakulam (Kerala), Puducherry, Madgaon (Goa) and Thane (Maharashra).

Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Western Railway (WR) launched mobile application ‘Eyewatch Railways’ for security of women commuters travelling in Mumbai.

Rajasthan government launched Dishari mobile app that provides free study materials for youths preparing for competitive examinations.

Rajasthan’s Chief Electoral Officer Ashwini Bhagat launched Election Commission’s web-based project ERO-Net, using which voters can register their names on electoral rolls.

It replaces Electoral Roll Management System (ERMS) software that could not identify multiple entries of a voter.

Restored Royal Opera House in Mumbai received Award of Merit from 2017 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.

Samsung partnered with Uttar Pradesh State Government for Smart Healthcare Programme, which will include setting up 20 healthcare centres to offer affordable and quality healthcare to patients from the economically and socially weaker sections of society.

Shri Harmandir Sahib (Punjab, also known as Golden Temple) has been awarded as most visited place in world by Book of World Records (London).

Sikkim will get its first airport by end of November 2017, located over 30 kilometres from capital Gangtok.

Airport has been built at approx INR 300 crores and was supposed to completed in 2012, but faced repeated delays. It is at an altitude of 4,700 feet, and will be among 5 highest Indian airports.

Social network Facebook unveiled 2 programmes designed for individuals and start-ups - Facebook Digital Training and Facebook Startup Training Hubs, aiming to train about five lakh people in India on digital skills by 2020.

Sonepur Cattle Fair (Kshetra Mela), one of biggest cattle fair in Asia began in Bihar. It attracts cattle traders from all over Asia.

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) kept its sovereign rating for India unchanged at ‘BBB-‘, with outlook for he nation as ‘stable’. BBB- rating is the lowest investment grade and just one notch above junk status.

Note that recently another rating agency, Moody’s upgraded India’s sovereign ratings to Baa2 with outlook for the nation as ‘positive’.

Supreme Court refused to ban traditional buffalo slush track race in Karnataka Named Kambala, as SC Refused to stay a State Government Ordinance of Feb 2017 allowing kambala after Karnataka High Court banned it.

Swedish home furnishing major IKEA launched its first experiential centre Hej HOME in Hyderabad (Telangana), ahead of opening its first store in India in 2018 in Telangana.

Tata Power Solar Systems has commissioned India’s first rooftop solar carport at 70000 sq. mtr. Unity One Mall, in Delhi. Electricity generated through this solar carport is estimated to set off 438 tons of carbon emission annually and will make the mall self sufficient in terms of energy requirement.

Tata Steel established India’s largest Coke Dry Quenching (CDQ) facility, capable of handling 200 metric tonnes per hour, at its steel plant in Jajpur district of Odisha.

CDQ is a heat recovery system to cool hot coke from coke ovens. It is most energy-efficient and environment-friendly facility in steel production where hot coke removed from coke ovens at a temperature of 1,000 degree Celsius is cooled and kept dry with inert gas.

Telangana State Assembly passed Several Bills -

Prevention of Dangerous Activities (Amendment) Bill, 2017

Road Development Corporation (Amendment) Bill 2017

Shops and Establishments (Amendment) Act 2017 to give instant licenses to shops and commercial establishments.

State Govt also declared Urdu as state’s second official language.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) upheld basic principles of an open and free internet in its recommendations on Net Neutrality.

Net neutrality means that telecom service providers must treat all internet traffic equally, without any regard to the type, origin or destination of the content or the means of its transmission.

Proponents of net neutrality hold that all traffic on internet should be treated equally i.e. service providers should allow access to all content without favouring any particular product or website.

Telegnana Government will Implement Telugu as a compulsory subject from 1 - 12th, from next academic year.

Third Trump Tower in India launched in Kolkata, comprising 140 ultra-luxury apartments aimed at raising 700 Crores in Sales.

Traditional Indian Sweet Rasgulla got Geographical Indications (GI) Tag, credited to West Bengal. This ended a 3 year long rift among Odisha and West Bengal and originator of Rasgulla.

Traditional International Lavi fair held in Rampur (Himachal Pradesh).

Lavi Fair has been an important point of trade between India and Tibet for centuries.

Tripical Cycone OCKHI Hits South Indian States Kerala and Tamilnadu, causing heavy rains and tides.

Uttar Pradesh Government approved creating India's first Blackbuck Conservation Reserve in trans-Yamuna belt near Allahabad, on over 126 hectares in Meja forest division. Approx 350 blackbucks are estimated to be inhabiting the region.

Uttar pradesh Government will Provided Free WI-FI Facility on entire 302 KM Stretch of Agra to Lucknow expressway, by laying Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) along it. It is India's longest Expressway.

West Bengal will receive Subsidy from world bank to buy 130 electric buses, at a rate of INR 7 Lakh/ Unit.

Women and Child Welfare Minister Maneka Sanjay Gandhi launched SHe-Box online complaint Management System for women working in both public and private organizations to lodge complaints of sexual harassment at workplace.

It aims at effective implementation of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act (SH Act), 2013.

Once a complaint is submitted to the portal, it will be directly sent to the Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) or Local Complaint Committee (LCC) of concerned employer. WCD will monitor the progress of inquiry conducted by the ICC/LCC.

URL to Portal is - shebox.nic.in

Persons

Visits to India (Nov 1 - 10) -

King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck Visited India.

Prime Minister of Latvia, Maris Kucinskis Visited India.

President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan Visited India.

Prince of Wales (UK), Charles Philip Arthur George Visited India.

Leo Heller, United Nations Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on human rights Visited India. His statement on M K Gandhi - Now is a critical time to replace the lens of those glasses (Gandhi’s glasses) with the human rights lens, has triggered objections from India's side.

Visits to India (Nov 11 - 20) -

Canadian International Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne visited India to attend 4th Joint Annual Ministerial Dialogue (AMD).

Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France visited India.

Visits to India (Nov 21 - 30) -

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe Visited India.

Finland's Foreign Minister Timo Soini visited India.

Italian Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin Visited India and signed MoU with India for enhanced cooperation in health sector.

Defence Minister opf Singapore, Ng Eng Hen visited India for 2nd Defence Ministers’ Dialogue between India and Singapore. During This, India and Singapore signed Agreement for Navy Cooperation that will allow Indian Navy ships logistical support at Singapore’s Changi Naval Base located near disputed South China Sea (SCS).

First India-New Zealand Cyber Dialogue held in New Delhi, attended by Paul Ash, Director of National Cyber Policy Office of New Zealand.

Minister of Culture and Information of Afghanistan, Moh. Rasool Bawari Visited India for India-Afghan Cultural Festival in New Delhi.

Britain’s first Indian-origin Cabinet Minister Priti Patel resigned as International Development Secretary, amid controversies over her secret meetings with Israeli politicians. Additionally, Indian Origin Person Ravinder Singh Bhalla became first ever Sikh mayor of New Jersey’s Hoboken city.

Chairman of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani overtook China’s Hui Ka Yan (Evergrande Group Chairman) to become Asia’s richest person with total wealth of $42.1 billion, according to Forbes’ real time billionaire’s list. Globally, Ambani is at 14th spot.

First Ever Hindu Chief Justice of Bangladesh, Surendra Sinha resigned amid criticism over a verdict that scrapped Parliament’s power to remove judges on grounds of misconduct & incapacity.

Former India women’s cricket team coach and batswoman Sreerupa Bose (Mukherjee) passed away.

Former Union Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi Passed Away.

Former cricketer A G Milkha Singh passed away.

Ganga Kumari became first transgender to be inducted into Rajasthan Police.

India’s gymnast Dipa Karmakar has been conferred an Honorary D.Litt. degree by National Institute of Technology (NIT) Agartala.

Jon Hendricks, Noted American Jazz Singer and Lyricist Passed Away.

Lebanon’s prime minister Saad al-Hariri resigned, citing assassination plot against him created by Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni inaugurated his first global cricket academy in Dubai (UAE), as MS Dhoni Cricket Academy (MSDCA).

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is elected as a foreign academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) along with 17 other foreigners.

Nepal’s three-time Prime Minister Kirti Nidhi Bista passed away.

Noted Assamese actor Biju Phukan passed away.

Noted Classical Singer Pandit Narayanrao Bodas passed away.

Noted Czech Republic tennis player Jana Novotna passed Away. She won Women's Singles Wimbledon in 1998 and was 16-time Grand Slam winner in doubles and mixed doubles.

Noted Hindi author and Padma Shri awardee Manu Sharma passed away.

Noted Hindi poet and Jnanpith awardee Kunwar Narayan passed away.

Noted Iranian Photographer Shahrokh Hatami passed away.

Noted Malayalam actor Thodupuzha Vasanthi passed away.

Noted Malayalam actor Vettoor Purushan passed away.

Noted Rajasthani folk singer Mangi Bai Arya passed away.

Noted Turkish weightlifter and 3 Time Olympic Gold Medalist Naim Suleymanoglu passed away.

Noted freedom fighter and lawyer Gaur Kishore Ganguli passed away.

Noted journalist Virendra Sanghi passed away.

Noted jurist Habibullah Basha passed away.

Noted vocalist Jagdish Mohan Passed Away.

Pakistani Cricketer Saeed Ajmal announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

Preet Didbal became First First Sikh woman to be elected as Mayor of an American City, after she was appointed Mayor of Yuba (California).

Robert Mugabe Resigned as President of African Nation Zimbabwe, after recent large scale Military Upset.

Mugabe has been ruling Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980. Now, Emmerson Mnangagwa will be appointed as President.

Search engine Google celebrated 151st birthday of Cornelia Sorabji with a with as doodle dedicated to her. She helped open up higher education as well as legal profession to women as She was first woman to graduate in law from India as early as 1892 and first Indian national to attend British University.

Visits From India (Nov 11 - 20) -

PM Narendra Modi Visited Philippines-

He Attended 31st ASEAN Summit in Manila with Theme Partnering for Change, Engaging the World.

PM Modi also attended 12th East Asia Summit, 15th India-Asean Summit, ASEAN Business & Investment Summit and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Leaders’ Meetings that were held alongwith.

ASEAN Grouping also observed 50 years of existence this year.

PM Modi also visited International Rice Research Institute in Laguna and inaugurated Resilient Rice Field Laboratory.

PM Modi also met USA Prez Donald Trump, who was on an Official Visit to China, Vietnam and Philippines. India, USA, Japan and Australia held their first official-level talks to focus on keeping India-Pacific region free and open.

India and Philippines signed 4 agreements in defence, agriculture, small and medium enterprises and tie-up between think-tanks.

ASEAN -

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional organisation 10 Southeast Asian Nations - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Observers - Papua New Guinea, East Timor.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley visited Singapore.

Minister of Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi Visited Argentina for attending 4th Global Conference on Sustained Eradication of Child Labour held in Buenos Aires.

Minister of Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu visited Russia to participate in Shanghai Cooperation Organization Meeting of the Ministers of Member States responsible for Foreign Economic and Foreign Trade.

J P Nadda, Minister of Health and Family Welfare visited Moscw (Russia) to attend 1st WHO Global Ministerial Conference on Ending TB. He reaffirmed India’s commitment to eliminating TB by 2025. The conference focused on eliminating TB across globe by 2030.

Visits From India (Nov 21 - 30) -

Indian Navy Chief Sunil Lanba visited Bangladesh to participate in International Multilateral Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise (IMMSAREX), first ever operational exercise held under aegis of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) in Bangladesh.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh Visited Russia. Russia agreed to assist India to set up a national crisis management centre to handle disaster and other emergency situations.

Nitin Gadkari (Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation) visited United Kingdom. India and UK decided to sign an MoU in urban transport sector for cooperation in policy planning, technology transfer and institutional organisation.

Inter-Governmental Mid-Point review meeting of Asia and Pacific Decade for Persons with Disabilities 2013-2022 held in Beijing (China). It was attended by Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot, on India's Behalf.

Visits from India (Nov 1 - 10) -

Commerce & Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu visited Caribbean Nation Cuba to explore bilateral trade and investment opportunities in Latin American and Caribbean regions.

Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan visited Thailand for attending 7th Asian Energy Ministers’ Round Table organised by International Energy Forum (IEF) in Bangkok.

Prakesh Javedkar (Minister of Human Resource Development) Visited Paris (France) to attend 39th Bi-annual General Conference of UNESCO.

Minister of State (IC) of Youth Affairs and Sports, Rajyavardhan Rathore attended World Youth Forum 2017 in Egypt.

Harsh Vardhan (Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) visited Germany for 23rd United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Ayush Minister Sripad Naik visited UAE to participate in first International Ayush Conference and Exhibition in Dubai. He Announced that India will provide full scholarship to 100 non-Indian students for studying Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (Ayush) in any of public institutions across India.

Science

A new species of orang-utan named Pongo tapanuliensis identified in North Sumatra. It is most endangered great ape in world with just 800 individuals left.

As per a study by University of Maryland (USA), India is overtaking China as the World’s largest emitter of Anthropogenic Sulphur Dioxide (SO2). Sulphur dioxide causes acid rain, haze and many health-related problems.

India's emissions of SO2 pollutant increased 50 % since 2007 while China's fell by 75 % (owing to excellent emission control measures undertaken by China).

Botanists discovered new species of wild banana named Musa paramjitiana in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, named in honour of Paramjit Singh, director of Botanical Survey of India (BSI).

Columbia University (USA) researchers converted a bacterial immune system into world’s smallest data recorder, by modifying an ordinary laboratory strain of human gut microbe Escherichia coli, using CRISPR gene-editing method. It enabled bacteria to record their interactions with environment and also time-stamp the events. It has several possible applications such as disease diagnosis, environmental monitoring and basic studies in ecology and microbiology.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of USA approved Abilify MyCite as first drug in USA with a digital ingestion tracking system, to ensure that patients with mental illness take the medicine prescribed for them.

Hyderabad based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR) developed Improved Samba Masuri (ISM) variety rice with low Glycemic Index (50.99 against normal value of 53 - 70).

Rice with low GI is considered suitable for people with diabetics and it results in slow release of glucose into blood.

India's First wave-powered navigational buoy developed by National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), has been deployed at Ennore Kamarajar Port (Chennai) to guide ships in and out of ports. Buoy's ship guiding beacon is powered by wave energy while conventional ones use solar power.

National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) will also build India’s first offshore desalination plant about 40km from Chennai coast, with capacity of 10 million litres water / day.

India’s First mission to Sun will be launched in 2019, aiming to improve our understanding of dynamical processes of the sun and help resolve some outstanding questions in solar physics. It will be launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on PSLV- XL launch vehicle.

The mission will put 1500-kg heavy class Aditya-L1 satellite into halo orbit around Lagrangian point L1, a point between Sun and Earth.

India’s multi-wavelength space telescope AstroSat accomplished difficult task of measuring X-ray polarisation. It did 18 month long study of Crab pulsar in Taurus Constellation and measured variations of polarisation as this highly magnetised object spins 30 times per second. This measurement puts up a strong challenge to prevailing theories of high energy X-ray emission from pulsars.

Lakhs of migratory birds made their way to Chilika Lake (Odisha) after a long flight of thousands of miles, to wetlands of Nalabana Bird Sanctuary inside Chilika and Mangalajodi (Odisha).

During winters, migratory birds fly across continents from Caspian Sea, Baikal Lake and remote parts of Russia, Mongolia and Siberia and flock to marshy lands of Nalabana Bird Sanctuary inside Chilika Lake.

NASA Stated That ozone hole that forms over Antarctica every year in September is smallest this year since 1988. It Declined gradually after reaching its extent on September 11.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1) as first of 4 multi-day weather forecasts satellites.

JPSS-1 is joint venture between NASA and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). It will be renamed NOAA-20 when it reaches its final orbit. It is designed to monitor weather around world and help improve forecasts.

Palaeontologists from University of Portsmouth (UK) discovered remains of humankind’s oldest mammal ancestor — a tiny rat-like creature that lived 145 million years ago.

Researchers at Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology have developed a flexible material that generates electricity when stretched or compressed, paving way for smart clothing or self-powered pacemakers -

It is a composite material made of polar nanoparticles and an elastomer - silicone and can convert mechanical movements into electrical charges. Trick is internal polarisation that changes while rubber film is being mechanically stressed.

Researchers discovered species of ant in Periyar Tiger Reserve (Kerala), as one of world’s ‘hottest hotspots’ of biological diversity. It has been named Tyrannomyrmex alii (or T. alii), after eminent myrmecologist Musthak Ali, who is regarded as the India’s ‘ant man’.

Researchers from University of British Columbia (Canada) developed earthquake-proof fibre-reinforced concrete that can enhance earthquake resistance of seismically vulnerable structures.

Cement Material is made of eco-friendly ductile cementitious composite (EDCC) which combines cement with polymer-based fibres, flyash and other industrial additives, making it highly sustainable.

Researchers from University of Tasmania (Australia) discovered rare, living specimens of stromatolites, oldest evidence of life on Earth, deep within a remote and protected World Heritage Area in Australia.

Scientists at Cornell University (USA) spotted 2 hyper-luminous starburst galaxies, extremely bright and spectacularly massive galaxies, collectively known as ADFS-27, reported to have approximately 50 times amount of star-forming gas as Milky Way.

Scientists detected dust belts around Proxima Centauri, indicating presence of elaborate planetary system hosted by closest star to solar system. These observations were made by Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) observatory in Chile.

Scientists discovered most ancient spiral galaxy known as A1689B11, recorded so far in universe. It was detected using powerful technique that combines gravitational lensing with Near-infrared Integral Field Spectrograph (NIFS) on Gemini North telescope in Hawaii.

A1689B11 galaxy was born 11 billion years ago and existed just 2.6 billion years after Big Bang, when universe was only one-fifth of its present age.

Scientists discovered new species of gecko in Eastern Ghats in northern Andhra Pradesh, named Hemidactylus sushilduttai or Dutta’s Mahendragiri gecko, after eminent herpetologist Sushil Kumar Dutta from Odisha.

Scientists from Botanical Survey of India (BSI) discovered a new species of parasitic flowering plant named Gleadovia konyakianorum near Tobu town of Mon district in eastern Nagaland, named in honour of Konyak tribe of Nagas.

Space Kingdom of Asgardia (virtual nation) launched its first satellite ‘Asgardia-1’ into space from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Asgardia (virtual nation) project was poroposed in 2016 by Russian scientist and billionaire Igor Ashurbeyli.

USA's NASA tested supersonic landing parachute that will be deployed in its Mars rover mission set to launch in 2020, called Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment (ASPIRE). Mission will rely on special parachute to slow spacecraft down as it enters Martian atmosphere at over 5.4 kilometres per second.

Sports

10th Men's and 5th Women's Senior Asian Kabaddi Championships, hosted by Iran -

India won title in both contests, defeating Pakistan in men's and South korea in Women's titles.

1st Indian Sports Honours Awards 2017, jointly launched by Cricketer Virat Kohli and businessperson Sanjeev Goenka. Winners are -

Sportsman of the year (Individual sport) – Srikanth Kidambi (Badminton)

Sportswoman of the year (Individual sport) – P.V. Sindhu(Badminton)

Sportsman of the year (Team sport) – Ravichandran Ashwin (Cricket)

Sportswoman of the year (Team sport) – Mithali Raj(Cricket)

Team of the year (Men/Women) – Indian Women’s Cricket Team

Coach of the year – Bisveshwar Nandi (Coach of Olympian Gymnast Dipa Karmakar)

Emerging Sportsperson – Female - Aditi Ashok (Golf), Male - Neeraj Chopra (Javelin Throw)

Differently abled Sportsperson – Devendra Jhajaria (Male), Deepa Malik (Female)

Jury Honours -

Inspirational Honour – Sania Mirza (Tennis)

Transformational Contribution to Sport – Abhinav Bindra (Shooting)

Keep Walking Honour for Lifetime achievement – Balbir Singh (Hockey)

Popular choice Honours

Breakthrough performance – Hardik Pandya (Cricket)

Star Sports ‘Believe’ Honour (Comeback of the year) – Saina Nehwal (Badminton)

Spirit of Sport – Yogeshwar Dutt (Wrestling)

Player of the year – Sunil Chhetri (Football)

Club of the year – Mumbai Indians (Cricket)

2017 ASBC Asian Confederation Women’s Elite Boxing Championships held in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) -

Noted Indian boxer MC Mary Kom won Gold Medal in 48 kg category by defeating North Korea’s Hyang Mi Kim.

2017 ATP Finals men's tennis (London (UK)) -

Singles - Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) (Defeated David Goffin of Belgium)

Doubles Henri Kontinen (Finland) AND John Peers (Australia)

4 Times world Champion Italy failed to qualify for FIFA World Cup for first time since 1958, which will be held in Russia in June 2018.

61st National Shooting Championships 2017 held in (New Delhi).

62nd National Wrestling championship held in Indore (Madhya Pradesh).

Haryana Remained at top with total 36 Medals in all (men and women) categories.

Wrestler Sandeep Tulsi Yadav has been handed a four-year ban by Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel of the NADA.

6th Swimmathon(India's Premier open water swimming championships) will be held in Goa in December 2017, organized by Square Off Sports.

7th international military games will be held in Wuhan (China), by International Military Sports Council (CISM).

82nd Senior National Badminton Championship 2017 (Nagpur (Maharashtra)) -

Women's Singles - Saina Nehwal (defeating PV Sindhu). Nehwal became National Champion for 3rd Time.

Men's Singles - H.S. Prannoy (defeating Kidambi Srikanth)

AIBA (International Boxing Championships) Youth World Boxing Championships 2017 held in Guwahati (Assam) -

India led the medal tally with 5 gold medals - Nitu , Jyoti Gulia , Sakshi Choudhury, Shashi Chopra and Ankushita Boro.

Ankushita Boro won The Best Boxer title in World Youth Women’s boxing Championship held in Guwahati.

ATP World Tour Awards 2017

Swiss Player Roger Federer won 3 ATP World Tour Awards -

Selected by fans as ATP WorldTour.com Fans’ Favourite for 15th straight year.

voted by fellow players as winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award

Comeback Player of the Year.

Coach of the Year - Neville Godwin

Aditi Ashok became first Indian to qualify for season-ending CME Group Tour Championship on LPGA. It is considered one of biggest fields in women’s golf.

Afghanistan won maiden Under-19 Asia Cup Cricket Tournament held in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), defeating Pakistan.

Asian Archery Championships 2017, Organized in Dhaka (Bangladesh), with India scoring 9 medals.

Gold - Akash (Reuurve Cadet Men), Abhishek Verma (Compound Men) and Compound Women Team

Australian bowler Mitchell became first ever to take two hat-tricks in same game. He achieved it in a first-class Sheffield Shield game against Western Australia.

BWF Para-Badminton World Championships held Ulsan (South Korea) -

India won 10 medals, including 2 golds. Parul Parmar won women’s singles and also won women's doubles by pairing up with Japan’s Akiko Sugino.

Basel (Switzerland) will become first city to jointly host Badminton and Para-Badminton World Championships in 2019.

Bharat Khandare became first India-born fighter to be signed by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as the Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter.

Boxing Federation of India (BFI) was recognised as a national body by Indian Olympic Association, removing Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) as its affiliate.

Commonwealth Shooting Championships and oceanina shooting championshsips 2017 Held in Gold coast (Australia) -

India won 20 medals with 6 gold, 7 silver and 7 bronze. Gold Medals -

Satyendra Singh won in men’s 50m rifle 3 positions.

Heena Sidhu won in women’s 10m Air Pistol event.

Shahzar Rizvi won in men’s 10m air pistol event.

Pooja Ghatkar won in 10m women’s air rifle event.

Prakash Nanjappa won in men’s 50m pistol event.

Ankur Mittal won in Men’s double trap event.

India will host next Commonwealth Shooting Championships in 2019.

Delhi Half Marathon 2017 winners -

Men - Birhanu Legese (Ethiopia).

Women - Almaz Ayana (Ethiopia).

Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium renamed Its Gate 2 after Noted Cricketer Virendra Sehwag and Gate 3, 4 after Female Cricketer Anjum Chopra.

Ferrari Racer Sebastian Vettel (Germany) won Brazilian Grand Prix -

Britain’s Lewis Hamilton has already been crowned Formula One world champion 2017.

2017 Formula 1 Season -

Round Grand Prix Winner Date

1 Australian Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel (Germany) 26 March

2 Chinese Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 9 April

3 Bahrain Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel (Germany) 16 April

4 Russian Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 30 April

5 Spanish Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 14 May

6 Monaco Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel (Germany) 28 May

7 Canadian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 11 June

8 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) 25 June

9 Austrian Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 9 July

10 British Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 16 July

11 Hungarian Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel (Germany) 30 July

12 Belgian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 27 August

13 Italian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 3 September

14 Singapore Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 17 September

15 Malaysian Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Belgian - Dutch) 1 October

16 Japanese Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 8 October

17 United States Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 22 October

18 Mexican Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Belgian - Dutch) 29 October

19 Brazilian Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel (Germany) 12 November

20 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 26 November

France has been announced as host of 2023 Rugby World Cup. Note that Next Rugby World Cup is to be held in Japan in 2019.

France won its 10th Davis Cup Tennis title after France’s Lucas Pouille beat Belgium’s Steve Darcis in Final. It was 106th Edition of Davis Cup and was hosted by France.

Gopi Thonakal became first Indian man to win Asian Marathon Championship, after he won Gold medal at 16th Asian Marathon Championships in China.

Hockey Karnataka won Hockey India's 2nd 5-a-side Senior Men’s National Championship 2017, defeating Haryana.

Hong Kong Badminton Open 2017 -

Men's Singles - Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia)

Women's Singles - Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei), defeated India's P V Sindhu

Men's Doubles - Indonesia's Marcus Fernaldi Gideon AND Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo

Women's Doubles - China's Chen Qingchen AND Jia Yifan

India at Recent Sports Events -

Indian Golfer Shiv Kapur won his first Asian Tour title in as he won Panasonic Open 2017.

Indian Female golfer Aditi Ashok won Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open in Abu Dhabi, as her 3rd Ladies European Tour win in under 12 months.

Satbir Singh and T Manorama Devi won in Elite Men’s and Elite Women’s events at ‘Saksham Pedal Delhi’ Cyclothon, organized by Petroleum Conservation & Research Association (PCRA).

Rohan Bopanna (India) and Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay) won Erste Open Tennis Tournament's Doubles Title in Vienna (Austria).

India's Saketh Myneni AND Vijay Sundar won Vietnam Open's Doubles Tennis Title. Russia's Mikhail Youzhny won singles's Title.

Indian table tennis players Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran won bronze medal in men’s doubles category of 2017 Challenge Belgium Open.

India won 2017 Women's Hockey Asia Cup by Defeating China in Final. Japan was the Host Nation.

With this, India Qualified for 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup (14th edition) to be held in London (England).

Note that 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup (14th) will be held in November - December 2018 in Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar (India).

Indian Billiards Player Pankaj Advani won his 17th world title after defeating Mike Russell of England in IBSF World Billiards Championship at Doha (Qatar).

Indian Billiards Player Pankaj Advani won his 18th IBSF World Snooker Championship Title, after defeating Iran's Amir Sarkhosh in Qatar.

Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli became first captain to score 10 international hundreds in a calendar year.

Indian Table Tennis Player G Sathiyan defeated Japan’s Kazuhiro Yoshimura to win men’s singles at 2017 ITTF Challenge Spanish Open.

Indian table tennis player Diya Chitale won silver medal in girls’ doubles category of 2017 ITTF World Cadet Challenge in Suva (Fiji).

India’s Achanta Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan won bronze medal each at 2017 Challenge Belgium Open Table Tennis tournament in De Haan.

India’s tennis Players Leander Paes Purav Raja won Knoxville Challenger men’s doubles title at Tennessee in USA.

Iran allowed its women weightlifters to compete internationally for the first time, wearing special clothes for Muslim athletes.

Judo World Championships Open 2017 held in Morocco (Marrakech) -

French judoka Teddy Rinner won his tenth World title and remained undefeated so far in his career.

Leander Paes and Purav Raja won JSM Champaign Challenger Tennis trophy in Illinois (USA).

Mercedes Racer Serene Valtteri (Finland) won Abu Dhabi Grand Prix -

Britain’s Lewis Hamilton has already been crowned Formula One world champion 2017.

2017 Formula 1 Season -

Round Grand Prix Winner Date

1 Australian Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel (Germany) 26 March

2 Chinese Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 9 April

3 Bahrain Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel (Germany) 16 April

4 Russian Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 30 April

5 Spanish Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 14 May

6 Monaco Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel (Germany) 28 May

7 Canadian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 11 June

8 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) 25 June

9 Austrian Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 9 July

10 British Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 16 July

11 Hungarian Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel (Germany) 30 July

12 Belgian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 27 August

13 Italian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 3 September

14 Singapore Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 17 September

15 Malaysian Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Belgian - Dutch) 1 October

16 Japanese Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 8 October

17 United States Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (Britain) 22 October

18 Mexican Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Belgian - Dutch) 29 October

19 Brazilian Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel (Germany) 12 November

20 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Serene Valtteri (Finland) 26 November

Noted Indian Female Boxer MC Mary Kom named as ambassador of upcoming AIBA Women’s Youth World Championships to be hosted in Guwahati in November 2017.

Noted Indian racer Gaurav Gill won his 3rd FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) title as he won 2017 Championship race in Chikmaglur (Karnataka).

Noted Swiss Female Tennis Player, Martina Hingis announced her retirement from Professional Tennis.

She held world No. 1 ranking for 209 weeks during her career, winning 43 WTA singles titles and 64 doubles titles.

Official logo, mascot and anthem for 2017 AIBA Youth Women’s World Boxing Championship to be held in Guwahati (Assam) in Nov 2017 has been unveiled. Official mascot is named Guppy (female version of Assam’s one-horned rhino) and anthem is ‘Make Some Noise’.

Pakistan will host next Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Emerging Nations Cup in April 2018.

Ravichandran Ashwin became Fastest to take 300 Test Cricket wickets (in 54 tests), getting past Australia's Dennis Lillee who achieved this in 56 Tests.

Round 3 of FIM Asia Cup of Road Racing (ACRR) held at Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh).

Shooting Para Sport World Cup 2017 held in Bangkok (Thailand).

Spanish tennis Player Rafael Nadal secured a year-end top position in ATP Rankings, as his fourth time to be crowned world No.1 at end of the season, after 2008, 2010 and 2013.

He will be presented ATP World Number 1 award on court, at ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena, in London.

Supreme Court appointed SY Quraishi (former Chief Election Commissioner) and former India footballer Bhaskar Ganguly as ombudsmen to formulate AIFF (All India Football Federation) constitution within eight weeks.

U23 Senior World Wrestling Championships in Bydgoszcz (Poland) -

India's won 3 silver medals - Bajrang (65 kg Men's Freestyle), Vinod Omprakash Kumar (70 kg Men's Freestyle), Ritu Phogat (Women's 48 kg Freestyle)

UK’s Southall Football Club will jointly set up an international level football academy with Cordia Institutes at its campus at Sanghol in Punjab.

Yuki Bhambri won KPIT-MSLTA Challenger Tennis title in Pune after defeating Ramkumar Ramanathan (India).

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Current Affairs - 05 December 2017

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S.No	Award (Sub-Category)	Winner
1	Agri, food and forestry products	Rays Culinary Delights
2	Engineering systems	SenseGiz Technologies
3	Renewable energy and waste management	Atomberg Technologies
4	IT & ITES, Financial	Naffa Innovations
5	Education	Simulanis Solutions
6	Hospitality	Oravel Stays
7	E-Commerce, logistics, transport & other services	LogiNext Solutions Pvt Ltd.
8	Social Enterprises	Sampurn(e)arth Environment Solutions
9	Barefoot Enterprises	Thejaswini Coconut Farmers Producer Company
10	Woman Enterprise	SP Robotic Works

S.No	Award Category	Winner
11	Incubation, mentorship &handholding support (Government)	C-Camp
12	Incubation, mentorship & handholding support (Private)	IKP Knowledge Park, Hyderabad
13	Mentor (Government)	G. Subba Ramaiah
14	Mentor (Government) Jury Special Award	Renu Swaroop
15	Mentor (Private)	Vishwanathan

Rank	Country	GDP Per Capita
1	Qatar	$124930
2	Luxembourg	$109190
3	Singapore	$90530
4	Brunei	$76740
5	Ireland	$72630

1	California Institute of Technology	United States
2	Harvard University	United States
3	Columbia University	United States
4	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	United States
5	University of Cambridge	United Kingdom
6	Boston University	United States
7	Stanford University	United States
8	Technical University of Munich	Germany
9	University of Tokyo	Japan
10	Yale University	United States

Round	Grand Prix	Winner	Date
1	Australian Grand Prix	Sebastian Vettel (Germany)	26 March
2	Chinese Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (Britain)	9 April
3	Bahrain Grand Prix	Sebastian Vettel (Germany)	16 April
4	Russian Grand Prix	Valtteri Bottas (Finland)	30 April
5	Spanish Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (Britain)	14 May
6	Monaco Grand Prix	Sebastian Vettel (Germany)	28 May
7	Canadian Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	11 June
8	Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Daniel Ricciardo (Australia)	25 June
9	Austrian Grand Prix	Valtteri Bottas (Finland)	9 July
10	British Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (Britain)	16 July
11	Hungarian Grand Prix	Sebastian Vettel (Germany)	30 July
12	Belgian Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (Britain)	27 August
13	Italian Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (Britain)	3 September
14	Singapore Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (Britain)	17 September
15	Malaysian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Belgian - Dutch)	1 October
16	Japanese Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (Britain)	8 October
17	United States Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (Britain)	22 October
18	Mexican Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Belgian - Dutch)	29 October
19	Brazilian Grand Prix	Sebastian Vettel (Germany)	12 November
20	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix		26 November