Current Affairs         25^th November,2023

• 25^th November- International day for the elimination of violence against women.
  • Theme:  UNiTE! Invest to Prevent Violence Against Women & Girls! #NoExcuse
• India has bagged two awards at the Stars Asian Film Festival (SAIFF) in Los Angeles. Ishwak Singh won the Best Actor award for his film ‘Berlin’. And Manoj Bajpayee’s ‘Joram’ has won the esteemed Jury Award.
• Anahat Singh (15) of Delhi became the second youngest to win National Squash Championship at the Indian Squash and Triathlon Academy (ISTA). Joshna Chinappa was 14 when she won this title in 2000 for the first time. Velavan Senthilkumar is the winner in the men’s category.
• Marlon Samuels of West Indies receives a 6 year ban from the International Cricket Council (ICC) for not disclosing benefits from the Abu Dhabi T10 league.
• Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has joined IPL Franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as its new mentor.
• Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur has announced the first ever Khelo India Para Games (KIPG) that will be held in New Delhi from Dec 10 to Dec 17.
• Lakshmi Ramakrishna Srinivas, associated with the banking sector has been appointed as Additional Director of South Indian Bank.
• 16^th World Wushu Championship:
  • Wushu is basically a competitive martial art sports originating as a compilation of various Chinese martial art forms such as Shaolin KungFu, Tai-chi and Kung Fu.
  •  India finished 18^th in the medal table in this competition, winning a total of three medals with one Silver and two Bronze.
  • China has topped the list with 15 medals, all of them being Gold Medals.
• Telangana has unveiled the world’s first 3D-printed temple in Siddipet district. A Modak for Lord Ganesha, Square Shivalay for lord Shiva and a Lotus shaped sanctuary for Goddess Parvati are the structures being made over 4000 sq ft. area with 35.5ft average height.
• Bengaluru is set to host the famous Nmma ‘Kambala’ festival of the Karnataka. It is a buffalo race, part of Agricultural festival of the coastal districts of Karnataka in Winter. It was depicted nicely in the famous Karnataka film ‘Kantara’.
• Kerala’s pioneering Responsible Tourism Mission has achieved a global acclaim by securing a spot on a prestigious list of Case Studies curated by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), placing India alongside only seven other G20 Nations – Mexico, Germany, Mauritius, Turkey, Italy, Brazil and Canada.
  • Maharashtra’s Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve project is another such case study included in this prestigious list.
  • United Nations World Tourism Organisation: HQ- Madrid, Spain. Estd: 1975.
• Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma launched the ‘Meghalaya Water Smart Kid Campaign’. This initiative, operating under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM),that aims to educate children about the vital importance of water conservation, comes under Jal Shakti Ministry.
• Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu inaugurated the ‘Vidya Samiksha Kendra’ in Shimla. It is an AI-powered data depository that will contain data of all the schemes run by the Ministry of Education(MoE).
• National Gopal Ratna Awards:
  • Shri Purushottam Rupala, Union Minister for Fisheries and Animal Husbandry and Dairy will present the National Gopal Ratna Award on 26^th November, 2023 in Assam on the occasion of National Milk Day (Birth anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien, the father of India’s White Revolution).
  • The Ntional Gopal Ratna Award, aiming to inspire the dairy ecosystem of our country is usually given in three categories, namely,
    • Best Diry Farmer Rearing Indigenous Cattle/Buffalo Breeds
    • Milk Producer Company/ Best Dairy Cooperative/ Dairy Farmer Producer Organisation.
    • Best Artificial Insemination Technician.
• UAE, which is going to host the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) has inaugurated the world’s largest single-site solar power plant with a capacity of 2 Gigawatt at Al Dharfa. It is expected to reduce 2.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually – a part of UAE’s Net Zero 2050 Goal.
• The Indian Navy flagged off the second edition of Inter Command Ocean Sailing Race 2023 from Kochi to Goa in a ceremony held at Naval Base, Kochi, recently.
• India tops the medal tally of Asian Para Archery Championships, held in Bangkok, with their best ever performance having a total of 9 gold medals including 4 Gold medals.
• The Bihar government is working to get Chhath Puja – the biggest festival of the state, dedicated to the worship of the Sun God – included in the UNESCO ‘list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity’.
  • The 14 Indian festivals that are already included in this list –
    • Calcutta’s Durga Puja
    • the Kumbh Mela
    • Navruz festival
    • YOGA
    • traditional brass and copper craft pf utensil making among bthe thantheras of Jandiala Guru in Punjab
    • Sankirtana of Mnipur
    • Buddhist chanting of Ladakh
    • Chhau dance
    • Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan
    • Mudiyettu ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala
    • Ramman religious festival and ritual theatre of Garhwal Himalayas
    • Kuttiyattam Sanskrit theatre
    • tradition of Vedic chanting during Ramlila

Current Affairs             26^th November

• Constitution Day of India: 26^th November is the Constitution Day of India. On 26^th November 1949 our constitution was adopted by the people of India and it became active on 26^th January 1950.
  • The Constitution of India is the lengthiest handwritten law book in the world. It was decorated by Nandalal Bose and Prem Behari Nariain Raizada.
  • The Calligraphy was done by Beohar Ram Manohar Sinha.
  • The Indian Constitution took over 2 years 11 months and 18 days to be fully prepared.
• National Milk Day: 26^th November is celebrated as National Milk Day every year by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), the Indian Dairy Association (IDA), and 22 state milk federations on the birth anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien.
  • Dr. Verghese Kurien is known as the Milk Man of India and Father of White Revolution. He is known for his ‘Operation Flood’, which is known as the world’s largest agricultural program.
  • Dr. Kurien was honoured with several awards: Ramon Magsaysay in 1963, Krishi Ratna award 1986) , World Food Prize (1989)  and India’s highest Civilian awards like Padma Shri (1965)’ Padma Bhusan (1966) and Padma Vibhusan (1999).
• Head of the Mumbai based Dawoodi Bohra sect of Islam, Dr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin becomes the fourth Indian to be honoured with Pakistan’s Highest civilian award ‘Nishan-e-Pakistan’.
  • Morarji Desai was the first to be honoured with Pakistan’s highest civilian award in 1990. The other two Indians are Dilip Kumar in 1998 and Kashmiri Separatist Leader Ali Geelani in 2020.
  • Other world famous leaders like Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro are other such persons to be awarded the same.
• Mahindra Group CEO Anish Shah is to assume the Presidency of FICCI (The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry), the country’s largest and oldest industry body.
  • Anish Shah will succeed Subhrakant Panda.
  • FICCI is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation established in 1927.
• Justice Bibek Chaudhary, till now working as a judge in the Calcutta High Court, has taken oath as the Judge of Patna High Court by Bihar Governor Rajendra Arlekar.
• The 17^th Joint Military Exercise Surya Kiran between the armies of Indian Aand Nepal is being organised in Pithorgarh, Uttarakhand.
  • Indian Army is being represented by a battalion from the Kumaon Regiment and the Nepal Army is being represented by Tara Dal Battallion.
• India was named the Chair of International Sugar Organisation for 2024 by the International Sugar Organisation (ISO) during its 63^rd annual meeting in London headquarter.
  • India is the largest consumer and second largest producer of sugar in the world.
  • Top Sugarcane producing states in India: Uttar Pradesh > Mahrashtra > Karnataka
  • ISO: ISO is a unique intergovernmental organisation established in 1968 by the International Sugar Agreement. HQ – London
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI ) has broadened the scope of the Payments Infrastructure Development  Fund (PIDF) scheme to include beneficiaries of the PM Vishwakarma scheme and has extended it for  an additional two years until 31^st December, 2025.
  • PIDF Scheme: Launch date- Jan 2021 by RBI. Objective: Increasing the number of payment acceptance devices  in the country.
  • PM Vishwakarma Scheme: It is a central sector scheme launched ON 17^TH Sept 2023 with a financial outlay of 13000 crore.
  • Objective:-This initiative supports small businesses, focusing on traditional artists and crafts people by providing them with financial help, training, improved methods and skill mentoring.
• The People’s Bank of China and the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia recently inked a local currency swap deal. This bilateral currency swap agreement is anticipated to bolster financial collaboration between the two nations, enhance the utilization of the local currencies and foster increased trade and investment thus strengthening China’s presence in the Middle Eastern economy.
  • Currency Swap:- Currency swap is a mutual agreement based on two countries contracting loan to each other a specified amount in local currencies or any major currency.
• Agriculture and Processed Food Products Development Authority (APEDA) facilitates Cashew exports on National Cashew Day (23 Nov) to Bangladesh, Qatar, Malayasia, Japan and Saudi Arabia.
  • After Cote d’Ivorie , India is the second largest producer of cashew nut. Vietnam is third.
  • India’s top cashew exporting destinations: UAE, Netherlands., Japan and Saudi Arabia.
  • Top Cashew nut producing states in India: 1^ST – Maharashtra, 2^ND—Andhra Pradesh,

3^rd –  Odisa.

• World’s largest iceberg Named A23a has started moving and embarking on a rare journey after being stationary for nearly three decades. 4000 sq KM spanned this colossal iceberg being propelled by strong winds and ocean currents  is moving past Antarctica peninsula’s southern tip.
• Berkshire Hathaway – the legendary investor Warren Buffet led investing company – has disinvested its entire 2.46% stake in One97, the Parent company of PayTM.

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