22 November 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

22 November 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. Mahinda Rajapaksa sworn in as new PM of Sri Lanka

• Mahinda Rajapaksa has been sworn in as the new Prime minister of Sri Lanka.
• He was sworn in by President Gotabaya Rajapksa (his younger brother) after Ranil Wickremesinghe resigned from his post.
• Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa served as two-term President from 2005 to 2015 and was barred from contesting Presidential elections because of the two-term limit.
• As per the constitution, parliament cannot be dissolved till February unless two-thirds of members pass a resolution to this effect.

Note:

• The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka is the most senior member of parliament in the cabinet of ministers in Sri Lanka which is collectively accountable for their policies and actions to parliament.

 National Affairs

2. Assam government releases the new Land Policy 2019 after 30 years

• Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has released the new Land Policy 2019 in Guwahati.
• The Land Policy has been prepared by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department after 30 years. (last prepared in 1989).
• According to Mr. Sonowal, the state government has given a lot of emphasis in preparing the Policy to safeguard the interest of the indigenous people.
• The Policy would remove complications regarding land allotments and settlements.

3. Two lakh Gram Panchayats to be connected with internet, broadband by March 2020

• The union Govt. has set a target to provide internet and broadband connectivity to two lakh Gram Panchayats by March 2019.
• According to Ravi Shankar Prasad (Electronics and Information Technology Minister), a total of over 1,28,000 Gram Panchayats has been made Service Ready till 7th November of this month.
• BharatNet project is being implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband and internet connectivity to all 2,50,000 Gram Panchayats in the country.
• As of now, Wi-Fi hotspots have been installed in around 45,000 Gram Panchayats and services are being provided in over 16,000 Gram Panchayats.

Source: AIR News

4. Census 2021 to be conducted in 16 languages

• According to Shri Nityanand Rai (Union Minister of State for Home Affairs), Census 2021(16^th) will be conducted in two phases (House-listing & Housing Census) during April to September 2020 and Population Enumeration during 09-28 February 2021.
• The Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) has recommended an amount of Rs. 8754.23 crore for conducting Census 2021 in 16 languages.
• The reference date for the census will be 1 March 2021.
• It will be 1st October 2020 for Snow-bound Jammu and Kashmir, some areas of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Source: ND TV

5. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates Agro-Vision in Nagpur

• Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has inaugurated an Agro-based Exhibition ‘Agro-Vision’ in Nagpur.
• Agro-Vision (11th edition) aims to cater to the requirements of farmers of Vidarbha region in terms of showcasing new technology in farming.
• It has been suggested for allied business so that farmers earn more and prosper in their initiatives.
• Agro-Vision exhibition comprises of National Agri-Exhibition Workshop for farmers and seminars.
• The concluding function will be graced Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Chaudhari on 25th of November.
• Small entrepreneurs who are engaged in the production of Agricultural machinery and components will be displaying their products at the stalls.

6. ADB to provide USD 91 million loans for Vijayanagara Channel

• The Centre and Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed an agreement to extend 91 million US dollar loan to modernize the Vijayanagara Channel Irrigation Systems.
• It prepares river basin management plans in the Krishna river basin.
• It will help improve irrigation water use efficiency and contribute to improving sustainable water security in Karnataka.
• The investment programme will help Karnataka’s water agencies better draw up and roll out effective river basin management plans.

7. Three-day Global Buddhist Congregation begins in Maharashtra

• A three-day Global Buddhist Congregation has begun at Nagsenvan in Aurangabad Maharashtra.
• Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has delivered two lectures in the Congregation.
• Buddhist monks and followers of the religion from across the globe arrived here to attend this Congregation.

8. Prakash Javadekar inaugurates Film Bazaar on sidelines of IFFI 2019

• The Film Bazaar has been inaugurated by the Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar on the sidelines of the golden jubilee edition of the International Film Festival of India. 
• It has been organised by the National Film Development Corporation.
• The Film Bazaar encourages creative and financial collaboration between the South Asian and International film communities.
• Over the years, films such as Lunch Box, Margarita with A Straw, Chauthi Koot, Qissa, Miss Lovely, Dum Lagake Haisha and Thithi have been through one or more programmes of the Bazaar.

Source: AIR News

Science & Defence

9. GRSE Delivers fast patrol vessel ‘ICGS Amrit Kaur’ to Indian Coast Guard

• The Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) delivered ‘ICGS Amrit Kaur’, third in the series of five fast patrol vessels (FPV) to the Indian Coast Guard.
• ICGS Priyadarshini and ICGS Annie Besant are the first two FPV in the series which has already been delivered to ICGS.
• The last two FPVs namely ICGS Kamla Devi and ICGS Kanaklata Barua will be commissioned shortly, after successful sea trials.

10. Global Bio-India Summit begins in Delhi

• Union Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and Shri Dharmendra Pradhan jointly inaugurated the three-day Global Bio-India Summit 2019 begins in at Aerocity New Delhi.
• It will be one of the largest biotechnology stakeholder conglomerates held in India for the first time.
• It will bring academia, innovators, researchers, start-ups, medium and large companies together on the same platform.
• Over three thousand delegates from around 25 countries and over 15 states of India will participate in the mega event.

Note:

• The biotechnology sector is recognized as the key driver for contributing to India's USD 5 Trillion economy target by 2024.

Source: AIR News

Banking & Finance

11. RBI supersedes DHFL board, to initiate insolvency proceedings

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has superseded the board of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) as it "intends to shortly" initiate the process of insolvency.
• In January, a web portal accused the DHFL promoters of committing financial frauds by creating shell companies.
• A total of 32 Indian and foreign banks lent Rs 97,000 crore to DHFL Group companies with many borrower companies having the same addresses, directors, and auditors.

Note:

• DHFL is the fourth-largest Indian housing finance company based on loans outstanding as of March.

Source: Times of India

Honour & Awards

12. Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2019 Awards: Tamil Nadu Top State

• The Union Ministers D V. Sadananda Gowda and Shri Rattan Lal Kataria jointly conferred the Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2019 awards.
• The top-ranked state in the list is Tamil Nadu and the top-ranked district is Peddapalli (Telangana).

Overall Ranking
Top 3 States	Top 3 Districts
1. Tamil Nadu 2. Haryana 3. Gujarat	1. Peddapalli, Telangana 2. Faridabad, Haryana 3. Rewari, Haryana
Maximum citizen participation state: Uttar Pradesh
Corporate’s Swachhata Hi Seva campaign 2019: CMA, Hindustan Unilever Limited and AMUL.

13. Greta Thunberg & Divina Maloum awarded International Children’s Peace Prize 2019

• Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg has been awarded the International Children’s Peace Prize 2019 for her work in the struggle against climate change which has resonated with schoolchildren across the world.
• Cameroonian peace activist Divina Maloum (15-years) also received the International Children's Peace Prize, awarded for her “peaceful struggle” against the Boko Haram jihadist group.
• It is given to a child who has made a significant contribution to advocating children’s rights and improving the situation of vulnerable children such as orphans, child labourers and children with HIV/AIDS.

Note:

• The International Children’s Peace Prize is given annually by the International children’s rights organization Kids Rights based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Source: Economics Times

14. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella tops Fortune's Businessperson of the Year 2019 list

• India-born Satya Nadella (Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft) has occupied the top spot in Fortune's Businessperson of the Year 2019 list.
• The list also includes Ajay Banga (Mastercard CEO) and Jayshree Ullal (Arista head).
• Fortune's annual Businessperson of the Year list features 20 business leaders "who tackled audacious goals, overcame impossible odds, found creative solutions".

Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year 2019 List
Rank	Name
1	Satya Nadella (CEO, Microsoft)
2	Elizabeth Gaines (CEO, Fortescue Metals Group)
3	Brian Niccol (CEO, Chipotle Mexican Grill)
4	Margaret Keane (CEO, Synchrony Financial)
5	Bjorn Gulden (CEO, Puma)

Sports

15. PM Sheikh Hasina reaches Kolkata to watch India-Bangladesh Cricket Test match

• Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reached India for a day-long visit to watch India-Bangladesh Second Cricket Test match at the Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata.
• Board of Control for Cricket in India President Mr. Sourav Ganguly received her at the Kolkata Airport.
• The two countries (India& Bangladesh) are playing their maiden Day-Night Cricket Test match with a pink ball.
•  Bangladesh win toss, opt to bat vs India at Eden Gardens.
• This is also the first Test under lights in India.

India vs Bangladesh Day-night Test

• Playing Hours: 1 PM to 3 PM (1^st -Session), 3:40 PM to 5:40 PM (2^nd -Session) and 6 PM to 8 PM (3^rd Session)
• Lunch: (3 PM to 3:40 PM)
• Tea: (5:40 PM to 6:00 PM)