10-11 November 2019 - Daily Current Affairs
1. Former CEC TN Seshan passes away
- Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) TN Seshan (86-years) passed away in Chennai.
- Mr Seshan (IAS Officer: 1955 batch) was appointed CEC on 12th December 1990 during the P V Narasimha Rao led Congress government.
- He is widely credited for bringing in electoral reforms that changed the face of Indian elections.
- One of them was the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct, which is a set of guidelines issued to regulate political parties and candidates prior to elections.
- The rules range from issues related to speeches, polling day, polling booths, portfolios, the content of election manifestos, processions and general conduct so that free and fair elections are conducted.
Important Days
2. Nation celebrating National Education Day today
- The nation celebrates the National Education Day on 11th November as a mark of respect to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
- Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was a freedom fighter and independent India’s first Education Minister (served from 1947 to 1958).
- He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1992.
- Human Resources Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has launched SWAYAM 2.0, Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds in New Delhi.
- The SWAYAM programme is initiated by the government to achieve the three cardinal principles of Education Policy - access, equity and quality.
3. 10th November: World Science Day for Peace & Development
- World Science Day for Peace & Development is celebrated every year on 10th November.
- 2019 Theme: "Open science, leaving no one behind"
- The day is observed to highlights the important role of science in society and the need to engage the wider public in debates on emerging scientific issues.
- It also underlines the importance and relevance of science in our daily lives.
Appointment
4. Justice Sanjay Karol sworn in as Chief Justice of Patna High Court
- Justice Sanjay Karol was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Patna High Court.
- Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan administered the oath of office to Justice Karol at the Raj Bhavan.
- Earlier, Justice Karol was posted as Chief Justice of Tripura.
- Patna High Court is the High Court of the state of Bihar, established on 3 February 1916 and later affiliated under the Government of India Act 1915.
Books & Author
5. CJI Ranjan Gogoi releases Assamese version of book 'Courts of India: Past to Present'
- Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has inaugurated the Assamese version of the book Courts of India: Past to Present' in Guwahati.
- The book has captured the historical developments which took place in the history of the nation's courts.
- The book has been published by the Publication division.
- The various chapters of the book narrate the historical events of the court.
Honour & Awards
6. Wildlife biologist K. Ullas Karanth awarded George Schaller Lifetime Award
- Wildlife biologist K. Ullas Karanth was awarded the Wildlife Conservation Society’s George Schaller Lifetime Award in Wildlife Conservation Science for his contribution to the field of conservation.
- His research is described as pioneering and groundbreaking with focus on the ecology of tigers, predator-prey population ecology, sympatric predators and other large mammals, and mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts.
- Currently, He is the Director of Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bengaluru, Karnataka.
- WCS George Schaller Lifetime Award in Wildlife Conservation Science.
- The award is instituted by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), New York.
- It is named after WCS’s Dr. George Schaller, considered to be one of the greatest wildlife scientists and conservationists globally.
- The Lifetime Award was created to honour WCS colleagues for outstanding contributions to saving wildlife and wild places.
7. Shanta Gokhale conferred with Tata Literature Live Lifetime Achievement Award 2019
- writer, translator and film critic Shanta Gokhale (79-year) has been conferred with Tata Literature Live Lifetime Achievement Award 2019 for his outstanding contribution in the field of theatre.
- Poet K Satchidanandan was named the Tata Literature Live! Poet Laureate for 2019.
- Recently, Gokhale published her memoir One Foot on the Ground: A Life Told Through the Body.
- Satchidanandan has represented the country at several literary meetings overseas and headed many national literary institutions.
- Gokhale will be presented with the award on 17th November, while Satchidanandan will be honoured on 14th November 2019.
Art & Culture
8. 25th Kolkata International Film Festival begins
- The 25th Kolkata International Film Festival (eight-day) has begun with the screening of Satyajit Ray-directed 'Gupi Gayen, Bagha Bayen' film at the Netaji Indoor Stadium Kolkata.
- Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan inaugurated the festival at a glittering function at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in the city in presence of a galaxy of cine personalities and dignitaries of cultural and sports field.
- Noted film director Mahesh Bhatt referred the contribution of Bengal’s Movies in the national perspective.
- 213 feature films and 152 short and documentary films from 76 countries will be screened in 17 venues during the film extravaganza.
- Germany is the focus country of this year’s festival.
9. IFFI 2019 to screen three films for differently-abled
- The Golden Jubilee of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2019 will screen three films for differently-abled.
- International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2019 will have the screening of Accessible India Films.
- This is a collaboration between IFFI, Saksham Bharat and UNESCO with the aim to promote the creation of inclusive spaces for the differently-abled to access the joy of cinema through Audio Deion.
- Audio Deion is an additional narration that translates images, visual information or non-dialogue portions of film into spoken words so that visually impaired people can access, enjoy and learn from works of popular films.
- This unique film section will witness the screening of three films, two in Hindi - Lage Raho Munna Bhai and M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story and one in Konkani- Questao De Confusao in Konkani.
International Affairs
10. Iran & Russia inaugurated a new phase of construction for 2nd reactor at Iran's Bushehr
- Iran and Russia inaugurated a new phase of construction for a second reactor at Iran's sole nuclear power plant in Bushehr on the Gulf coast.
- The reactor is one of two officially under construction since 2017 at the Bushehr site.
- The landmark 2015 nuclear deal Iran signed with six major powers, including Russia, placed restrictions on the sort of nuclear reactor Tehran could develop and its production of nuclear fuel.
- As part of the agreement, Moscow provides Tehran with the fuel it needs for its electricity-generating nuclear reactors.
11. Singapore FinTech Festival 2019 begins with Focus on Sustainability
- The Singapore FinTech Festival, one of the biggest of its kind in the world began today(11-15th November).
- The Fintech Festival Being held alongside the ASEAN summit has the strongest Indian presence among exhibiting fintech companies.
- There will be over 400 speakers, more than 900 exhibitors, 41 international pavilions, and about 60,000 participants from 130 countries.
- SFF is organised by MAS, in partnership with The Association of Banks in Singapore, and in collaboration with SingEx Holdings.
12. Dharmendra Pradhan visited UAE for ADIPEC
- Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to attend the inaugural Ministerial session of Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference.
- The Minister is scheduled to meet his UAE counterpart Minister of Energy and Industry, Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei.
- Both the countries will discuss issues of bilateral hydrocarbon as well as steel sector engagements.
- He will also explore the opportunities for steel exports to the middle east countries.
National Affairs
13. Cyclone 'Bulbul' disrupts normal life in Bengal and Bangladesh
- Cyclone Bulbul claims at least ten lives and affected 2.73 lakh families as it hit the coastal districts of West Bengal, smashes into the low-lying areas of neighbouring Bangladesh.
- The cyclone has also damaged hundreds of houses. Nearly two lakh people have been moved to relief camps set up in nine places of the state.
- Hundreds of uprooted trees have blocked thoroughfares in Kolkata and its fringe areas.
Conference
14. 27th Conference of Central and State Statistical Organizations held in Kolkata
- Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has organized the 27th Conference of Central and State Statistical Organizations (COCSSO) at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre, Kolkata (11-12thNovember 2019)
- The Conference has been inaugurated by Shri Pravin Srivastava, Chief Statistician of India cum Secretary, MoSPI.
- The theme of this year’s Conference “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.
Sports
15. Women's boxing icon Adams retires due to medical advice
- Two-time Olympic champion Nicola Adams (37-years) will retire because of fears about her sight
- Nicola Adams became the first-ever women's Olympic boxing champion at London 2012.
- Adams successfully defended her title in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
16. Kento Momota beats Tien Chen to win China Open 2019
- Japan's Kento Momota (world number -1) defeated Taiwan's Tien-chen (world number-2) to retain his Fuzhou China Open Badminton title.
- Momota beat Chou 21-15, 17-21, 21-18.
- Chinese player Chen Yufei successfully defended the women's title with a victory over Japan's Nozomi Okuhara.
- Chen Yufei beat Okuhara 21-9, 21-12, 21-18.
- The 2019 Fuzhou China Open was a badminton tournament which took place at Haixia Olympics Sports Center in Fuzhou, China.
- It had a total prize of USD 700,000.
17. Deepak Chahar becomes second Indian to take T20I hat-trick
- Deepak Chahar became the second Indian bowler (first-Ekta Bisht) to clinch a hat-trick in T20 internationals at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur.
- In women's cricket, Ekta Bisht had taken a hat-trick against Sri Lanka in 2012.
- Chahar recorded the best bowling figures in T20 International cricket, his 6 for 7 in 3.2 overs (earlier Sri Lankan Ajantha Mendis's figures of 6 for 8 against Zimbabwe in 2012).
- Chahar completed his hat-trick by removing Mustafizur Rahman and Aminul Islam off consecutive deliveries in the final over.
