28 November 2017 - Daily Current Affair

28 November 2017 - Daily Current Affair

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates Hyderabad Metro Rail

• Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the first phase of the 30 km-long (24 stations) Hyderabad Metro Rail from Miyapur to Nagole.
• The Hyderabad Metro Rail Project will cover a total distance of 72 kilometers across three corridors.
• Its second and final phase is expected to be completed by the end of next year.
• The stretch will be thrown open for commercial operations from tomorrow 
• A minimum fare of Rs 10 (for two km) and the maximum fare is Rs 60 (more than 26 km) has been fixed.

Note:

• The project, estimated to cost Rs 15,000 crore, is implemented entirely on a public-private partnership basis.
• Currently, The Metro train is moving into the country only in Delhi NCR, Lucknow, Jaipur, Kochi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata.

Odisha govt. announces a scheme to boost freshwater aquaculture

• The Odisha’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched a 'Fish Pond Yojana' scheme to boost fish production in the state with a budgetary provision of 96 crore rupees in Bhubaneshwar.
• The scheme aims to create additional 2,200 hectares of freshwater aquaculture farming with 50% financial assistance to farmers.
• The chief minister has also inaugurated an animal ambulance service in Berhampur and Cuttack urban areas to provide emergency assistance to sick and injured animals.

NGT directs all states to submit Coastal Zone Management Plan before 30th April 2018

• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) headed by Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar, directed all states and Union territories (UT) to submit a Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) to the Union Ministry of Environment & Forests before 30th April next year.
• They will be liable for an exemplary cost of Rs 5 lakh (if fail to submit a plan), which will be recovered from the salary of the concerned defaulting officers.
• The Coastal zone management involves managing of coastal areas to balance environmental, economic and human health-related activities.

Odisha to get three Passport Seva Kendras within a fortnight

• Odisha state will get three Passport Seva Kendras (PSK) within two weeks and 20 such facilities by the end of 2018.
• The three PSKs will come up in Balasore, Bhawanipatna, and Berhampur by the next fortnight.
• Earlier, Chief Minister Patnaik requested Dnyaneshwar Mulay to begin e-VISA service at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar.

Miss South Africa is crowned Miss Universe 2017

• Miss South Africa Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters (22-year) has been crowned Miss Universe 2017 at Planet Hollywood casino-resort on the Las Vegas Strip.
• Nel-Peters beat out first runner-up Laura González (Miss Colombia) and second runner-up Davina Bennett (Miss Jamaica) for the crown.
• Nearly 100 women from across the globe travel to compete in the 66th Miss Universe competition.

Note:

• Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by the Miss Universe Organization.
• It is held in more than 190 countries worldwide and seen by more than half a billion people annually.

PM Modi inaugurates Global Entrepreneurship Summit

• Today, The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the eighth edition of Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Hyderabad.
• The three-day summit hosted by India and the United States is being held for the first time in South Asia.
• More than 10 countries are represented by an all-female delegation, including from Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Israel.
• US President's Advisor, Ivanka Trump will lead the US contingent.
• This will be the first Global Entrepreneurship Summit in which over 52.5% of the participants are women and theme is ‘Women First, Prosperity for All’.

Asian Development Bank to provide a 150 million USD loan to Nepal

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a 150 million USD loan to Nepal to improve its urban infrastructure.
• The agreement for investment will cover eight municipalities located in southern Terai and far west of Nepal.
• The project will be completed within five years and is expected to enhance urban infrastructure in the Terai region.

Union Govt. constitutes 15th Finance Commission under the chairmanship of NK Singh

• Former bureaucrat and ex-Member of Parliament NK Singh will chair the 15^th Finance Commission which will make recommendations for the five years commencing 1st April 2020.
• The commission will recommend devolution of shareable central taxes to the States, also review several important aspects of federal fiscal finance.
• Shaktikanta Das (Former Secretary Economic Affairs) & Dr. Anoop Singh (Adjunct Professor of Georgetown University) will be the members of the Commission
• The measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the resources of the Panchayats and Municipalities in the State on the basis of the recommendations made by the Finance Commission of the State.
• The Commission will make its report available by 30th October 2019.

Finance Commission: It is a body set up under Article 280 of the Constitution. Its primary job is to recommend measures and methods on how revenues need to be distributed between the Centre and states.

Britain appoints Karen Pierce as its new Ambassador to UN

• Britain has appointed Karen Pierce as its new Ambassador to the UN.
• He replaced incumbent Matthew Rycroft under whom it suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of India in the recent election to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
• Earlier, she had served as Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in New York and Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva.
• This is for the first time in 70 years that Britain would have no judge in the 15-member panel of the ICJ.

Indian Sports Honours: Srikanth, Sindhu win top awards

• Ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth bagged the Sportsman of the Year award at the inaugural edition of Indian Sports Honours held in Mumbai.
• Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu was the Sportswoman of the Year award in the individual sports category.
• Ravichandran Ashwin was awarded Sportsman of the Year award while women's cricket team skipper Mithali Raj was awarded Sportswoman of the Year award in the Team Sport category.
• The Indian Women's Cricket Team (runners-up in the ICC Women's World Cup) were named as the Team of the Year.
• Tennis player Sania Mirza was awarded the Inspirational Honour by the jury.
• Country's first Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra was honored with the Transformational Contribution to Sports award.

Note: Indian Sports Honours is an initiative partnered with India skipper Virat Kohli and Sanjiv Goenka, in line with their vision to support the development of Indian sports.

India win five golds at World Women’s Youth Boxing C’ships

• The country's pugilists grabbed five top positions to finish overall champions for the first time at the AIBA World Women's Youth Boxing Championships in Guwahati.
• Nitu in the 48kg category, Jyoti Gulia in 51kg, Sakshi Choudhury in 54kg, Shashi Chopra in the 57kg and Ankushita Boro in 64kg category won the coveted yellow metals.
• Two bronze medals secured by Neha Yadav in the Plus 81kg and Anupama in 81kg.
• The championship has been hosted by India for the first time.

Bajrang Punia & Vinod Kumar settle for silver medals at U-23 Worlds Wrestling

• Asian champion Bajrang Punia and Vinod Kumar settled for silver medals at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championship in Poland.
• Bajrang lost the 65kg final 6-17 to Russian grappler Kuular while Vinod lost 1-3 to American Richard Lewis.
• Earlier, Ritu Phogat had won a silver medal in the women's 48kg final.
• India finished with three medals at the event.