17-18 November 2019 - Daily Current Affairs
1. Justice SA Bobde sworn in as 47th Chief Justice of India
- Supreme Court Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde (63 years) was sworn in as the 47th Chief Justice of India (till April 23, 2021) by President Ram Nath Kovind.
- Justice SA Bobde succeeds Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.
- Justice SA Bobde became the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in October 2012 and was elevated to the Supreme Court in April the following year.
- Justice Bobde was born in Nagpur (Maharashtra) and is the son of Arvind Shriniwas Bobde, an eminent senior advocate.
- He earned a law degree from Nagpur University and was enrolled on the Bar Council of Maharashtra in 1978.
- The chief justice of India (CJI) is the head of the judiciary of India and the Supreme Court of India.
- As head of the supreme court, the chief justice is responsible for the allocation of cases and appointment of constitutional benches which deal with important matters of law.
2. Gotabaya Rajapakasa sworn-in as new President of Sri Lanka
- Gotabaya Rajapakasa (70-years) has been sworn-in as new President of Sri Lanka at the Ruwanweli Seya precincts in the ancient north-central town of Anuradhapura.
- He will succeed President Maithripala Sirisena for a five-year term.
- Rajapaksa secured 52.25% votes (6,924,255) while Sajith Premadasa received 41.99% votes
- Gotabaya is the younger brother of former President (from 2005 to 2015) Mahinda Rajapksa and served as defence secretary during the end of LTTE war.
- The President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the Executive head of state and head of government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and commander-in-chief of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces.
3. Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan takes oath as Chief Justice of Jharkhand HC
- Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan took oath as the 13th Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court.
- Governor Draupadi Murmu administered the oath to Justice Ravi Ranjan at the Raj Bhavan in Ranchi(Jharkhand capital).
- Justice Ranjan was a judge in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
- The post was lying vacant since May this year after the former Chief Justice, Anirudh Bose was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court.
- Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan served as the Acting Chief Justice of the Patna High Court for a brief period last year.
- The Jharkhand High Court was established in the year 2000 under the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000, after the state of Jharkhand was carved out of the state of Bihar.
4. Justice Akil Abdulhamid Kureshi sworn in as Chief Justice of Tripura High Court
- Justice Akil Abdulhamid Kureshi was sworn in as the new Chief Justice of the High Court of Tripura.
- Governor Ramesh Bais administered the oath of office at Raj Bhavan in Agartala.
- The Tripura High Court established on 23 March 2013, after making suitable amendments in the Constitution of India and North-Eastern Areas (Re-organisation) Act, 1971.
Important Days
5. 17th November (3rd Sunday in November): The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims
- The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims takes place on the 3rd Sunday in November every year as the appropriate acknowledgement of victims of road traffic crashes and their families.
- It was started by the British road crash victim charity (Road Peace) in 1993 and was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005.
- The theme is based on Pillar 3 of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety – Safer vehicles.
State Affairs
6. Yediyurappa inaugurates three-day Bengaluru Tech Summit
- Karnataka Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa has inaugurated the three-day Bengaluru Tech Summit at Bengaluru Place.
- More than 3500 delegates, 12,000 visitors and 200 speakers are participating in this Summit.
- 250 Exhibitors will showcase their services, products, and technologies to visitors.
- The summit is expected to be attended by global tech leaders, investors, industry captains, research heads, policymakers and startups from India and 20 foreign countries.
- This IT event will focus on artificial intelligence, Cyber Security, Space and Drone Revolutions, Electric vehicles, 5G, Genomics, Trends in Agriculture etc.
7. Yogi Adityanath inaugurates North India's 1st sugar mill which will produce ethanol
- Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has inaugurated North India's first sugar mill in Pipraich area of Gorakhpur.
- North India's first sugar mill will produce ethanol direct from sugarcane.
- Ethanol is naturally produced by the fermentation of sugars by yeasts or via petrochemical processes and is commonly consumed as a popular recreational drug.
- It also has medical applications as an antiseptic and disinfectant.
National Affairs
8. GoI to extend Visa-on-Arrival facility to UAE nationals
- Government of India (GoI) has decided to extend the Visa-on-Arrival facility to nationals of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a period of up to 60 days with double entry for business, tourism, conference and medical purposes.
- This facility is aimed at further strengthening people to people and trade links as well as strategic ties between the two countries.
- This facility is available at six designated International Airports namely, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai.
- Those UAE nationals going to India for the first time may be advised to apply for e-Visa or a normal paper Visa.
- Visa-on-Arrival is available only to those UAE nationals who have earlier obtained an e-Visa or a normal paper Visa for India.
- Pakistan Origin UAE nationals will not be eligible for Visa-on-Arrival Scheme.
9. CBI sets up OCSAE Unit to counter the growing menace of child porn
- The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has a set up an Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (OCSAE) Prevention and Investigation Unit at its headquarter in New Delhi.
- It has been set up to counter the growing menace of child porn on the internet.
- The new specialized unit under the Special Crime Investigation Wing of the agency will collect intelligence on those who are allegedly creating and transmitting such material on the internet.
- The unit also looks an eye on who is browsing and downloading such material.
- The perpetrators will be booked under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 and the Information Technology Act, 2000.
International Affairs
10. 6th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus begins in Bangkok
- The 6th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) has begun in Bangkok, Thailand.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh along with 17 other Defence Ministers of ADMM-Plus countries are attending the meeting.
- Earlier, Mr Singh reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral defence relations with the respective leaders and discussed ways to further improve the ties.
Honour & Awards
11. Rezwana Choudhury Bannya gets ICCR Alumni award in Dhaka
- Renowned Rabindra Sangeet exponent from Bangladesh Rezwana Choudhury Bannya has conferred the ICCR distinguished alumni award in Dhaka.
- The award was given away by the Riva Ganguly Das (High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh) in a musical function organised by the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC).
- Rezwana Choudhury Bannya is widely recognised as a great exponent of Rabindra Sangeet.
- She has established a musical school 'Shurer Dhara' in Bangladesh to carry forward the Guru-Shishya tradition as practised in Shantiniketan.
- ICCR Alumni Award was instituted in 2015 to recognise foreign students who have studied in various Indian Universities under the ICCR sponsored scholarship schemes and made an exemplary contribution in varied fields.
12. Sarita Devi elected as a member of AIBA athletes commission
- Sarita Devi of Manipur is among the six boxers from 5 continents who were elected as members of AIBA Athletes Commission.
- Laishram Sarita Devi was inspired by Muhammad Ali's achievements, and turned professional in boxing in the year 2000. She is DSP in Manipur Police.
- The election of the Athletes Commission members was organized during AIBA Men and Women World Boxing Championships 2019 in Russia.
- Boxers from all over the world voted for new members - one per continent, except Europe which has two representatives.
13. Veteran actors Sridevi and Rekha conferred with ANR National Award
- Late actor Sridevi Sridevi and veteran actor Rekha were conferred with the Akkineni Nageswara Rao National Award for 2018 and 2019 respectively.
- The award was presented by Chiranjeevi (Telugu actor).
- The award is instituted by the Akkineni International Foundation and honours those who have made a lasting impact on Indian cinema.
- The ANR National Awards were instituted in the year 2005 by late actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR).
Sports
14. England qualifies for UEFA Euro 2020 football tournament
- England has qualified for the UEFA Euro 2020 football tournament.
- Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 99th international goal as Portugal secured its place at the Euro 2020 finals.
- Portugal are the defending champions, having won the 2016 edition.
- For the first time, the video assistant referee (VAR) system will be used at the UEFA European Championship.
- The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship (UEFA Euro 2020) is scheduled to be held in 12 cities in 12 European countries from 12 June to 12 July 2020.
15. Stefanos Tsitsipas beats Dominic Thiem to win ATP Finals title
- Greek tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas has won the ATP Finals beating Austria's Dominic Thiem 6-7, 6-2, 7-6 in London.
- It is Tsitsipas's third title of the season and comes a year after he was crowned champion at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.
- Tsitsipas had qualified for the finals after defeating six-time champion Roger Federer in the semi-finals.
16. Indian women clinch five gold medals in Asian Youth Boxing C'ship
- Indian women have clinched five gold, while men bagged two silver at Asian Youth Boxing Championship in Mongolia.
- All five women finalists, Naorem Chanu (51kg), Vinka (64kg) Sanamacha Chanu (75kg), Poonam (54kg) and Sushma (81kg) won Gold for the country in a phenomenal sweep.
- Among the men, Selay Soy (49kg) and Ankit Narwal (60kg) settled for the second place after going down in their respective summit clashes.
- India signed off with 12 medals in the event with bronze coming from Arundhati Choudhury (69kg), Komalpreet Kaur (81kg), Jasmine (57kg), Satender Singh (91kg) and Aman (91kg).
17. Harmeet Desai claims Indonesia Open TT Championship 2019
- Indian paddler Harmeet Desai won men’s singles Gold medal at International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Challenge Indonesia Open 2019 Table Tennis tournament at Batam, Indonesia.
- Harmeet defeated compatriot Amalraj Anthony by 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9 score.
