The Supermoon was observed after the moon was closest to the Earth at 356,509 km.
This is for the first time moon came closest to Earth since 1948.
Last time, the moon came closer to earth on 26 January 1948.
Next time the supermoon will be observed on 25 November 2034.
During this time moon will be even closer than this year.
Supermoon or perigee full moon is a phenomenon that occurs when a full moon coincides with the moon being the closest to the Earth on its orbit.
During this time, the natural satellite appears roughly 30% larger in area and 30% brighter than the smallest full moons.
Special Task Force led by SS Mundra formed to recalibrate ATMs
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has formed Special Task Force to speed up the process of recalibration of automated teller machines (ATM) to dispense the new denomination notes.
The Special Task Force will be headed by S.S Mundra, Deputy Governor, RBI.
Representatives from the Union Finance and Home ministries, RBI, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will be its members.
Besides, representative from each of ATM original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), cash in transit (CIT) companies and white label ATM (WLA) operators will be invited to the Task Force’s deliberation.
First set of new 500 banknotes rolled out in SBI branches
The State Bank of India (SBI) launched the first set of newly issued 500 rupee notes in their Bhopal branch.
The new notes are expected to help control the havoc caused by demonitisation of high-denomination currency and ease pressure on banks’ cash position.
For SBI, which was only handing out 100 rupee notes until now, the introduction of new 500s will definitely help fasten their work process.
CPEC becomes reality as Pakistan inaugurates Gwadar port
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inaugurated the operational activities of the revamped strategic Gwadar port in the south-western Balochistan Province.
With the operationalisation of the deep sea port, the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), linking western China to the Arabian Sea became a reality.
The port was operationalised after a Chinese commercial ship laden with around 250 containers set off for West Asia and Africa.
The ship was carrying Chinese goods which were ferried by major trade convoy that started from Kashgar in western China on 30 October 2016 reached Gwadar on 12 November 2016.
It was considered as watershed moment in the history of Pakistan and symbol of Pakistan’s commitment to China’s ‘One Belt-One Road’ (OBOR) initiative, of which CPEC is a key port.
Federal Bank to open its first overseas branch in Dubai
Federal Bank said it has received Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s permission to open its first international branch at the Dubai International Financial Centre.
The bank said the permission is subject to other approvals from the host regulator, Dubai Financial Services Authority.
The proposed branch at Dubai will help the Bank serve its Non-Resident clientele better.
India, US launched USD 95 million clean energy projects
As part of its efforts to continue the global transition to zero-and-low carbon energy sources, the United States (US) has announced two financial projects worth 95 million US dollars for India.
The projects announced on 14 November 2016 aims at bringing more energy-efficient appliances to rural sector of the country.
The White House in its statement said the US has committed 75 million dollars in Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) financing for renewable energy projects in India.
The 75 million US dollar OPIC, sponsored by ReNew Power Projects, is for a utility-scale PV project in Telangana.
2016 will be hottest year on record
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the year 2016 was the warmest year on record globally.
It was mentioned in the WMO’s preliminary assessment provided in its ‘Status of the Global Climate in 2016’ report.
WMO is the United Nations’s authoritative voice on Weather, Climate and Water.
Global temperatures for January to September 2016 were 1.2oC above pre-industrial levels and 0.88°C above the average for the 1961-1990 reference period (baseline).
YES Bank appoints Amresh Acharya as Global Indian Banking head
Private sector lender YES Bank has appointed Amresh Acharya as Group President and head of Global Indian Banking.
He will report to Senior Group President, Retail and Business Banking Pralay Mondal.
Mark Zuckerberg named Business Person of the Year
Fortune magazine has named Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as Business Person of the Year for 2016.
The media outlet cites numerous criteria for honoring Zuckerberg, whose social network is used by nearly 1.8 billion people around the world, including the company’s performance year over year as well as his vision for growth and the ability to achieve it.
Coming in second was Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, recognized for dominating e-commerce and for breaking new ground by developing products such as the Amazon Echo, which has pushed the envelope of human-to-computer interaction.
Jackie Chan receives Honorary Oscar at 8th Annual Governors Awards
Action movie star, writer, director and martial artist Jackie Chan was awarded the honorary Academy (Oscar) Award for his extraordinary achievements in the movies.
With this, Chan became the first Chinese actor in history to receive the prestigious honour.
In September 2016, the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science voted to present the award to Jackie Chan, Anne V Coates, Lynn Stalmaster and Frederick Wiseman.
Coates is a British editor; Stalmaster is a Casting Director and Wiseman is a Documentary Maker.
Gulzar named for Tata LitFest’s Poet Laureate 2016 award
Lyricist-writer Gulzar will be honoured with this year’s Tata Literature Live! Poet Laureate Award.
The award which includes a citation, plaque and cash prize, will be presented to Gulzar, an Oscar and Grammy Award winner, at the inaugural of the festival on November 17.
Padmini Rout wins 2016 National Women Premier Chess Championship
International Master Padmini Rout has won the 2016 National Women Premier Chess Championship.
With this win, she has scored a hat-trick in the National Women Premier Chess Championship. Earlier she had won the championship in 2014 and 2015.
She was representing Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) and to secure a hat-trick of title wins after hard fought draw with her PSPB teammate Eesha Karavade.
In this Chess Championship, S Vijayalakshmi of Air India won silver medal while Eesha Karavade of PSPB bagged bronze medal.
The victory has ensured that Padmini will be a part of the Indian women team in the next World team chess championship.
The other two confirmed members of the team are Grandmasters Koneru Humpy and D Harika.
Aditi Ashok becomes first Indian to win Ladies European Tour title
Indian golfer Aditi Ashok became the first Indian woman to win a Ladies European Tour title by clinching the Hero Women’s Indian Open.
Ashok shot an even par-72 in the final round to win the title.
The golfer took her total score to three-under 213, one stroke clear of Brittany Lincicome of the US and Spaniard Belen Mozo who finished tied second.
