Current Affairs Updates - 15 November 2017

Current Affairs Updates - 15 November 2017

Important Days

14 November: World Diabetes Day

• World Diabetes Day is the primary global awareness campaign focusing on diabetes mellitus and is held on November 14 each year.
• Led by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), each World Diabetes Day focuses on a theme related to diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes is largely preventable and treatable non-communicable disease that is rapidly increasing in numbers worldwide. Type 1 Diabetes is not preventable but can be managed with insulin injections. While the campaigns last the whole year, the day itself marks the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with Charles Best and John James Rickard Macleod, first conceived the idea which led to the discovery of insulin in 1922.[2]

New Appointments: National

Kenneth Juster has been sworn in as the US ambassador to India. Juster replaces Indian-American Richard Verma as the top American diplomat to India.

• The position has been lying vacant since January 20 after Verma resigned from the post after the swearing in of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the US.
• His nomination was confirmed by the US Senate unanimously on November 2. Juster founded and served as the US Chair of the US-India high technology cooperation group, and was one of the key architects of the 'next steps in strategic partnership initiative' between the US and India.

Rankings

India is likely to achieve strong growth over the next decade and will overtake Japan in nominal GDP by 2028, to emerge as the world’s third-largest economy, says a foreign brokerage report named 'India 2028: The last BRICK in the Wall'.

• The country has already overtaken Brazil and Russia to emerge as the second-largest Brics economy after China and is well on track to cross France and Britain to emerge as the world’s fifth-largest economy after Germany by 2019.

National Affairs

Northeast is all set to get India’s first-ever "Air Dispensary" based in a helicopter and the Union Ministry of Development of Northeast (DONER) has already contributed Rs. 25 crore as part of the initial funding for this initiative.

• After a meeting with the representatives of Aviation Sector and helicopter service/Pawan Hans, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said, for quite a few months, the DoNER Ministry had been exploring the idea of introducing a helicopter based Dispensary/OPD service in such far flung and remote areas, where no doctor or medical facility was available and the patient, in need, also did not have any access to any medical care. The proposal put forward by the Ministry of DoNER, he said, has been accepted and is in the final stages of process in the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge) Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore here today released the India Youth Development Index and Report 2017.

• The objective of constructing the India Youth Development Index (YDI) 2017 is to track the trends in Youth Development across the States. The Index enables recognizing the high and low performing states, identifies the weak domains and informs the policy makers the priority areas of intervention for youth development in the states.
• The Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD), Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, an Institute of National Importance has come out with Youth Development Index and Report 2017. This is a pioneering attempt made by the Institute in 2010 which it followed up with the India Youth Development Index in 2017. 

India is set to become the third largest aviation market one year earlier than originally expected, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a report

• IATA, which represents about 85% of the global airline traffic, projects India to overtake the UK to become the third largest air passenger market by 2025. China will be the top market, followed by the US.
• In a similar report last year, IATA had projected India to overtake the UK by 2026.
• “The biggest driver of demand will be the Asia-Pacific region. The region will be the source of more than half the new passengers over the next two decades...the UK will fall to fifth place, surpassed by India in 2025, and Indonesia in 2030,” IATA said in the report.

The government has set a 2020 deadline to redevelop 10 railway stations into world classsmart facilities with airport-like amenities at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore. The stations selected for the project are Delhi Sarai Rohilla, Lucknow, Gomti Nagar, Kota, Tirupati, Nellore, Ernakulam, Puducherry, Madgaon and Thane. 

• The redevelopment of stations will be carried out under a self-financing model through land monetisation by state-run NBCC. "The redevelopment work will start at a few stations by December-end or early next year. The concept designs are already being worked out,” NBCC chairman AK Mittal told ET. “We're targeting the completion in another two to two-and-a-half years. The monetisation would be done through commercial exploitation of the land that railway provides.” 

The prime minister visited the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Banos, an urban locality situated at a distance of around 65 kms from Manila -- the capital of the Philippines -- and interacted with a large number of Indian scientists working there. 

• A number of scientists at the IRRI briefed the prime minister on flood-tolerant rice varieties which they said can withstand 14-18 days of submergence and can provide 1-3 tonnes more yield per hectare in flood affected areas. 
• A 'rice field laboratory' named after Prime Minister Modi was also inaugurated by him at the institute. 
• He unveiled a plaque marking the inauguration of the Shri Narendra Modi Resilient Rice Field Laboratory. 

International Affairs

Bangladesh chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha resigns after graft allegations

• Bangladesh on Saturday said its chief justice has tendered his resignation from overseas in the wake of government corruption allegations, as opposition groups raised fears that his departure was a blow to judicial independence.
• Surendra Kumar Sinha, who led the Supreme Court to a landmark verdict on judicial oversight in August that went against the government, left Bangladesh last month amid widespread rumours that he had been pressured to step aside.
• The row with the government began after the top court scrapped the 16th constitutional amendment, stripping the parliament of its power to impeach apex court judges. He had drawn criticism from the ruling party for his observations made in the verdict, according to the Dhaka Tribune. 

Defence & Railway

The Indian Railways will launch the country’s largest time-bound “upskilling” exercise project named 'Saksham' for government employees to upgrade the skillsets of its 13 lakh-strong workforce with a single drive spanning nine months.

•  Named Project Saksham, the exercise will start in January 2018 and go on till September, putting through training courses and specially designed skill-upgrade modules. Employees from the rank of a peon to the Railway Board Members and everyone in between will undergo the training.
• Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani has sent instructions to all General Managers of zones and production units to identify the training courses and formulate the plan on priority.

Agreements (MoU)

India and Philippines have signed four agreements in areas of defence, agriculture, small and medium enterprises and tie-up between think-tanks.

• The two leaders had detailed interactions with the latest developments in the Korean Peninsula, the Gulf, the Middle East and the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. 
• The issues of proliferation linkages and terrorism also came up for detailed interaction between the two leaders. They discussed at length about the current situation in Afghanistan. 
• Prime Minister Modi highlighted the dispatch of wheat consignments to Afghanistan through the sea route and India’s commitments in improving irrigation, training and the housing needs of Afghan refugees who wish to return back. 

Summit /Conference / Events / Host

Aiming to promote the spirit of entrepreneurship among tribal youths, NITI Aayog in association with US government is hosting India’s first Tribal Entrepreneurship Summit in insurgency-hit Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, which is scheduled to be starting today.

• According to officials, the move is going to inspire and inculcate the spirit of entrepreneurship in tribal youth. This ensures yet another step towards tribal-centric sustainable and inclusive development.
• The summit will see the participation of tribal entrepreneurs from various sectors across the country and abroad. The summit will be addressed by eminent speakers from NITI Aayog, health and agri-pharma sectors.
• The summit not only provides a platform to tribal youth but also addresses the issues faced by the tribal community in pragmatic and progressive ways.

President Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate the 37th India International Trade Fair (IITF) on Tuesday at Pragati Maidan, marking the beginning of the 14-day event in the national capital. Theme: “Startup India: Stand Up India”

• After Digital India in 2016, this year the theme of the fair will celebrate another pet project of the Union government —“Startup India: Stand Up India”. Jharkhand and Vietnam will be the partner state and the country respectively.
• However, people will have to get their tickets in advance either online or at Metro stations, as the number of visitors per day has been capped at 60,000. There will be no ticket sales at the gates of Pragati Maidan.

The 10th South Asia Economic Summit (SAES) will begin at Kathmandu from Tuesday. The theme of three day summit is "Deepening Economic Integration for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in South Asia".

• The summit is being organised by National Planning Commission and Ministry of Commerce of Nepal and South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment, Nepal.
• Vice Chairman of National Planning Commission of Nepal Dr. Swarnim Wagle told media persons at Kathmandu this evening that thrust of the summit will be on development of South Asia.
• He said that 200 participants including ministers, member of parliaments, former MPs, ambassadors, government officials,researchers, eminent experts and thinkers will attend the summit.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development will celebrate Child Rights Week by hosting an inter CCI Festival “Hausala 2017” between 16th to 20th November 

• The Ministry of Women and Child Development will celebrate the Child Rights Week (Hausla 2017) from 16th to 20th November, 2017. The country celebrates the Children’s Day on 14th November and the International Child Rights Day is celebrated on 20th November every year. The period between the two important events will be celebrated as Child Rights Week by WCD Ministry by hosting an Inter CCI Festival for the children who reside in Child Care Institutions (CCIs).
• The commemoration of the festival “Hausala 2017” will provide an occasion to showcase the talents of children from CCIs   from various child care institutions across the country and provide them with a space to express their dreams and aspiration.   Children will be participating in various events like Bal Sansad, painting competition, athletics meet, football, chess competition and speech writing. 

Army organised a mega event Youth Fest : 2017 on 13 Nov 2017 at the historic  Chowgan ground of Kishtwar.

• The Fest was an amalgamation of varied programmes highlighting the rich culture of  different regions of India and stalls of food, entertainment and games for people of all the age groups to rejoice & cherish. The event also encompassed display of various ethnic specialities from across the country.
• Students from various schools of Kishtwar district & professional artists from other parts of the country participated in the event to showcase their talent and performed folk dances of Rajasthani, Punjabi & Kashmiri culture. Kalbeliya, Gatka, Bhangra and an electrifying performance by the rock band were the highlights of the day.

Sports: Awards & Honours

Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani on Sunday clinched his 17th world title after he thrashed his arch-rival Mike Russell of England in the IBSF World Billiards Championship in Doha.

• Advani beat Russell 6-2 (0-155, 150-128, 92-151, 151-0, 151-6, 151-0, 150-58, 150-21) to defend the 150-up format title he had won in Bengaluru last year. The Indian did not have an ideal start to the best-of-11 summit clash as Russell drew first blood with a well-crafted break of 155.