21 November 2017 - Daily Current Affair

21 November 2017 - Daily Current Affair

India’s nominee Dalveer Bhandari re-elected to International Court of Justice

• India's nominee to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Mr. Dalveer Bhandari (70-year) has been re-elected to the world court after Britain withdrew its candidate from the election.
• Justice Bhandari received 183-193 votes in the General Assembly, secured all the 15 votes in the Security Council at the UN headquarters, New York.
• Justice Bhandari and Britain's Christopher Greenwood were locked in a neck-and-neck fight for re-election for the nine-year term.
• It will be the first time since the ICJ was established in 1946 that there will be no British judge

Note:

• The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial branch of the United Nations (UN) seated in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands.
• The court settles legal disputes submitted to it by states and provides advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by duly authorized international branches, agencies, and the UN General Assembly.

World Fisheries day is being observed today

• Today, the World Fisheries day is being celebrated throughout the world by the fisherfolk communities to highlight the importance of maintaining the world's fisheries.
• The Day helps in highlighting the critical importance to human lives, of water and the lives it sustains, both in and out of water.
• The Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has inaugurated the World Fisheries Day celebrations in New Delhi.
• The theme of 2017 is “2022 Ka Hai Sapna … Kisan Ki Aay Ho Dugna - Sankalp Se Siddhi”.

21^st November: World Television Day

• United Nations (UN) General Assembly proclaimed 21 November as World Television Day commemorating the date on which the first World Television Forum was held in 1996.
• The day recognizes that television plays a major role in presenting the different issue that affects people.

Note: In December 1996, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21st November as the World Television Day.

Former I&B Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi passes away

• Veteran Congress leader Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi (72-year) passed away at a private hospital in New Delhi.
• Mr. Dasmunsi was elected to Lok Sabha five times and served as Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting (I&B) and Parliamentary Affairs.
• He is survived by his wife former Union Minister Deepa Dasmunsi and son Priyadeep Dasmuni.
• He also headed All India Football Federation (AIFF) for almost 20 years.

Former Wimbledon Champion Jana Novotna Passes Away

• Three-time Olympic medallist, professional Tennis player Jana Novotna (Czech Republic) passed away after long battle with cancer.
• She won the women's singles title at Wimbledon in 1998 also won 12 Grand Slam women's doubles titles and four mixed doubles titles
• Novotna reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 in 1997 and achieved the No. 1 ranking in doubles.
• In 2005, Novotna entered the tennis Hall of Fame.

Global Entrepreneurship Summit- 2017 to be held at Hyderabad from Nov 28

• The 8th edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit-2017 will be held at Hyderabad from 28th Nov 2017.
• The event will focus on supporting women entrepreneurs and fostering economic growth globally.
• The summit is being co-hosted by India and the USA and for the first time, it is being held in South Asia.
• This year the theme of the Summit is Women First, Prosperity for All.
• The summit will have participation from 150 countries and women from 127 countries are participating.

Note: It will focus on four areas- Energy and Infrastructure, Digital Economy and Financial Technology, Health and Life Sciences and Media and Entertainment.

Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe arrives in India on four-day visit

• Today, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has arrived in Bengaluru on four-day visit to India.
• Mr. Wickremesinghe will have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind.
• He will be taking part in the opening ceremony of the 5th Global Conference on Cyberspace.
• A host of bilateral issues are likely to figure during a discussion at the bilateral meeting between the two leaders.

India-Myanmar joint Army exercise begins in Meghalaya

• The week-long Army warfare exercise by India & Myanmar has begun at the Joint Warfare Centre at Umroi near Shillong in Meghalaya.
• The exercise aims to train the officers of Myanmar Army in various United Nations Peacekeeping roles and tasks.
• The exercise code-named India-Myanmar Bilateral Army Exercise (IMBAX) is aimed at building and promoting closer relations with armies of the neighboring countries.

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurates Manipur Sangai Festival in Imphal

• Today, President Ram Nath Kovind has inaugurated the Manipur Sangai Festival at Palace Compound in Imphal, Manipur.
• Galaxy of foreign dignitaries including ambassadors of South-East Asian countries and some western countries will attend the inaugural function.
• A two-day North-East Development Summit will also be opened by the President as a part of the festival.
• As many as 175 delegates including official representatives of foreign countries and multi-national corporate firms are also attending the Summit.

Maharashtra Govt. setting up of Gender Budget Cell for various schemes

• According to the Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, Gender Budget Cell for better implementation of various schemes of the Women and Child Development (WCD) by other government departments.
• The Budget Cell will be responsible for coordination between various departments for effective implementation of the schemes.
• A nodal officer will be appointed in each administrative department to monitor the implementation of the schemes of WCD.
• Every department implementing WCD schemes will have to bear responsibility for the effective implementation of the schemes.

NASA tests Supersonic Parachute for Mars 2020 mission

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency (NASA) has successfully tested a supersonic landing parachute that will be deployed in its Mars rover mission set to launch in 2020.
• The mission will rely on a special parachute to slow the spacecraft down as it enters the Martian atmosphere at over 5.4 kilometers per second.
• The Mars 2020 mission will seek signs of ancient Martian life by investigating evidence in place and by caching drilled samples of Martian rocks for potential future return to Earth.
• This is the first of several tests in support of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission.

Note: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.