24 November 2016 - Current Affairs

Malini Subramaniam wins International Press Freedom Award 2016

  • Indian journalist Malini Subramaniam has won the International Press Freedom Awards-2016
  • The award  has been established in 1991 and given by Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.
  • She has been honoured for her reporting from the Naxal-infested Bastar area and for the commitment to a free press.

Note:
  • The International Press Freedom Award (IPFA) honour journalists or their publications around the world for showing courage in defending press freedom despite facing attacks, threats or imprisonment.

Union Cabinet approves 62 new Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya

  • The Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the opening of one Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) in each of the 62 uncovered district.
  • The aim to provide good quality modern education to talented children prominently from rural areas.
  • The project comes with an outlay of two thousand 871 crore rupees and expected that nearly 35,000 students will be benefitted.
Note:
  • JNVs are fully residential and co-educational schools affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), New Delhi, with classes from VI to XII standard.
  • There are 598 sanctioned JNVs in 576 districts spread across 35 States and Union Territories of which 591 are functional.

Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu launches water distribution monitoring portal

  • Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu has launched the ‘Smart Water Distribution Monitoring’ web interface through which people can check the status of drinking water in the water tanks nearby
  • The Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system helps in reduction of water wastage as well as ensure seamless supply to the households.
  • The monitoring portal is a part of ourvmc.org from where it can be accessed.

Archaeologists uncover 7000-year old city in Egypt

  • Archaeologists have unearthed a city dating back more than 7,000 years, containing houses, tools, pottery and huge graves in Egypt.
  • The discovery was made by an archaeological mission of Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry.
  • The city lies by River Nile, close to the Temple of Seti the First in Abydos.
  • According to Experts, the city was home to important officials and tomb builders who may have been engaged in the construction of royal graves.

IFFI 2016: Open Forum to exchange ideas on films begins in Goa

  • The Open Forum, an integral part of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) for the past 28 years  has begun at Panaji ( Goa).
  • It is a vital platform for filmmakers and the IFFI delegates to exchange views and ideas in a free and frank manner.
  • The Forum is being organised by the Federation of Film Societies of India in collaboration with the Directorate of Film Festivals and the Entertainment Society of Goa.
Note:The Open Forum was introduced at the Thiruvananthapuram Filmotsav in 1988 at the initiative of local film societies and the Federation of Film Societies of India.

Airtel launches India’s 1st payments bank

  • Airtel has launched India’s first live payments bank, the company will provide an interest of 7.25% per annum on deposits in saving accounts.
  • Airtel Payments Bank (a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel) has rolled out a pilot of its banking services in Rajasthan.
  • Now, any user can open an account with Aadhaar based paperless e-KYC.
  • No extra documents required and customer’s Airtel mobile number would be his bank account number.
  • The customers will also get a personal accidental insurance of  1 lakh rupees with every savings account.

Renowned Hindi & Bhojpuri writer Dr Viveki Rai passes away

  • Renowned Hindi and Bhojpuri litterateur Dr Viveki Rai (92-year) passed away in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
  • He belongs to Sonwani village in Ghazipur (UP).
  • He was presented with the Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan Award in 2001 and the Yash Bharati Award in 2006 in recognition of his contributions to Hindi literature.

Renowned Scientist MGK Menon passes away

  • Renowned physicist and ex- Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief Prof. Mambillikalathil Govind Kumar Menon (88-year) passed away.
  • Menon was Scientist, Science & Technology policy-maker, scholar, parliamentarian, Cabinet Minister.
  • One of his most important contributions was nurturing the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, which his mentor Homi J. Bhabha founded in 1945.

Yudhvir Singh Malik appointed as new Chairman of NHAI

  • The Union government has appointed Yudhvir Singh Malik (1983-batch IAS) as the Chairman of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
  • Earlier, he was the special secretary in Niti Aayog.
  • It is a nodal agency of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Note:NHAI is an autonomous agency of the Union Government, responsible for management of a network of over 70,000 km of national highways in India.

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