26 November 2019 - Daily Current Affairs
1. Constitution Day being celebrated today
- Constitution Day (Samvidhan Divas) is being celebrated today across the country to mark the adopting of the Indian Constitution by the Constituent Assembly on this day in 1949 (came into force on 26th January in 1950).
- The government has planned year-long activities throughout the country to mark 70 years of the adoption of the Constitution.
- A joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha) held today to celebrate the Samvidhan Divas.
- The constitution (longest written constitution of any country) replaced the Government of India Act, 1935 as the country's fundamental governing document, and the Dominion of India became the Republic of India.
- The Chairman of the drafting committee ‘B. R. Ambedkar’ is widely considered to be the chief architect of the Indian Constitution.
- The constitution declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, assuring its citizen's justice, equality and liberty, and endeavours to promote fraternity.
- The Constitution empowers the people as much as the people empower the Constitution.
2. 26th November: National Milk Day
- The National Milk Day (NMD) is being observed every year on 26th November across India to mark the birth anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien (Father of the White Revolution).
- The idea of observing National Milk Day was first mooted by Indian Dairy Association (IDA) in 2014 on the lines of World Milk Day that is observed on 1st June every year under the aegis of UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
- Dr. Kurien he was conferred with many accolades such as Ramon Magsaysay Award, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Krishi Ratna, World Food Prize, Padma Vibhushan, etc.
- He was also given 15 honorary doctorates from various universities from across the world.
- Dr. Verghese Kurien is also known as the Milkman of India and the architect of Operation Flood.
- Dr Kurien was born into an affluent Syrian Christian family in Calicut, Kerala.
International Affairs
3. Global prosperity index 2019
- The first-ever Prosperity & Inclusion City Seal and Awards (PICSA) Index, released in the Basque Country capital of Bilbao in northern Spain.
- The Index is designed to showcase not only the quantity of economic growth of a city but also its quality and distribution across populations.
- Bangalore stood at 83rd rank, while Delhi and Mumbai ranked 101 and 107 among 113 cities in the world in terms of economic and social inclusivity.
- Zurich (number-1) scores strongly across all measures, particularly on the quality of life, work, housing, leisure, safety, and education - with the Swiss higher education system attaining an especially high score.
- Austrian capital (number- 2) scores close to top marks on healthcare. Copenhagen, Luxembourg and Helsinki complete the top five.
- For the index, the cities were assessed on comparable data from the main focus areas by a jury of experts and business leaders.
- These assessments then produced an overall score for each city's inclusive prosperity, allowing them to be ranked based on a wide range of measures.
4. Oxford Dictionary names ‘Climate Emergency’ its 2019 Word of the Year
- Oxford Dictionaries has named “climate emergency” as its 2019 Word of the Year.
- It also included ‘climate action’, ‘climate denial’, ‘eco-anxiety’, ‘extinction’ and ‘flight shame’.
- The word is selected because it shows the increase in usage since 2018.
- Climate emergency defines as “a situation in which urgent action is required to reduce or halt climate change.
State news
5. Delhi Assembly hosts 3-day Commonwealth Youth Parliament
- Delhi Assembly hosted a three-day Commonwealth Youth Parliament.
- Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla addressed the inaugural session of the 10th Commonwealth Youth Parliament in Delhi Assembly.
- It is for the first time that an Indian Legislature is hosting the Commonwealth Youth Parliament.
- As many as 47 participants from 24 Commonwealth countries are participating in the event along with eleven participants from India.
- The event is being organized to enlighten the youth about legislative processes and encourage their participation in legislative procedures and decision making.
6. National Tribal Craft Mela- 2019 being held in Bhubaneswar
- Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has inaugurated the 8th National Tribal Craft Mela at State Tribal Museum Complex in Bhubaneswar.
- As a part of Odisha Government’s ‘5Ts’ initiative, 45 Supplementary Readers prepared in 21 Tribal languages were released simultaneously by CM Patnaik.
- 5Ts’ initiative is aimed at achieving progress through Transparency, Teamwork, Technology, Time and Transformation.
- The objective of the National Tribal Craft Mela is to preserve, promote and popularize traditional tribal art and crafts.
- It helps the artisans to look for better opportunities to develop their skills through cross-cultural interactions for the commercial viability of their products.
7. Etawah Lion Safari in Uttar Pradesh opened for public
- Etawah Lion Safari (Uttar Pradesh) which was formerly known as Etawah Safari Park has been opened for public without the lion segment.
- The Safari has been inaugurated by the Uttar Pradesh Forest Minister Dara Singh Chauhan.
- It is spread in 350 hectares of land and has been developed as an educative tourist destination for children as well as youths
- It is one of the biggest safari parks in Asia, spread over an area of 350 hectares (860 acres).
- The Etawah lion safari is the first in India to have a lion breeding centre set up with an aim to develop a research facility on Asiatic lions.
- The Safari project was envisioned by then Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav in 2005.
Honour & Award
8. Thunberg, Cameroon peace activist receives International Children’s Peace Prize
- Young activist Greta Thunberg was awarded the prestigious 2019 International Children's Peace Prize along with Cameroon peace campaigner Divina Maloum.
- Greta Thunberg had initiated ‘Fridays for Future’ campaign against climate change along with the school children across the world.
- Maloum campaigns for the rights and education of Cameroon children preyed upon by extremist groups.
- The International Children’s Peace Prize is awarded annually to a child who has made a significant contribution to advocating children's rights and improving the situation of vulnerable children.
- The prize is an initiative of Marc Dullaert, founder of the KidsRights Foundation based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Science & Defence
9. Indian scientists identify a protein that helps regulate blood sugar levels
- Scientists at the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad have demonstrated the role of a protein secretagogin (SCGN) in increasing insulin action in obesity-induced diabetes.
- SCGN works as a functional insulin-binding protein with therapeutic potential against diabetes.
- SCGN binds to insulin and protects it from various stresses, increases its stability and adds to its action.
- Diabetes and neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease are often linked with each other.
- SCGN is found in lower quantities in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
National Affairs
10. CBDT inaugurates Web Portal for exchange of information on Income Tax
- Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has inaugurated the Web Portal for Exchange of Information on Income Tax which will consolidate all relevant Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) related information at one place.
- This portal will help inconvenient access by the public, financial institutions as well as departmental officers at large.
- The Web Portal would be a repository of policy and technical circulars, guidance, notifications issued by the CBDT.
- It would provide links to relevant circulars, guidance issued by regulatory authorities in India and other international bodies.
11. Govt launches Credit-linked Subsidy Services Awas Portal
- Hardeep Singh Puri (Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs) has launched Credit-linked Subsidy Services Awas Portal (CLAP) in New Delhi.
- The portal provides a transparent and robust real-time web-based monitoring system for credit-linked Subsidy Services (CLSS) beneficiaries.
- Using the portal, a beneficiary can track his application status in real-time.
- The initiative would also benefit other stakeholders to work in synergy to release subsidy to beneficiaries on time.
- The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) aims to address the housing needs of the population of the Urban Economy.
12. Railways plans to cover its entire network with automatic train protection system
- The Indian Railways has decided to introduce an automatic train protection system in its entire network of 68,000 km route.
- As a pilot project, the system would be implemented on 650 route km of the golden quadrilateral corridor connecting the four metros - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.
Sports
13. Sangram Dahiya, Varsha Varman win double trap national titles
- Sangram Dahiya (Haryana) and Varsha Varman (Madhya Pradesh) clinched double trap titles, winning gold at the 63rd National Shotgun Shooting Championship in New Delhi.
- In the men's category, Sangram shot 142 out of 150 targets to clinch the gold medal.
- Former world champion Ankur Mittal has won Silver and Prithvi Singh Chahal bronze.
- Varsha clinches the gold ahead of state-mate Manisha Keer, winning Silver.
- Both Sangram and Varsha also won the team gold for their respective States.
14. Marathon man Kipchoge, hurdle heroine Muhammad win Athlete of the Year 2019
- Eliud Kipchoge (Kenyan’s long-distance runner) & Dalilah Muhammad (American track and field athlete) won the World Athlete of the Year awards.
- Kipchoge claimed the prize in Monaco after making history last month when he ran the marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres (26.219 miles) in 1hr 59min 40.2sec.
- American Muhammad won her award after a magnificent year that saw her set a world record of 52.20 seconds at the US Trials in Iowa in July breaking a record that had stood since 2003.
- The winners were chosen following a vote shared 50% by World Athletics, 25% by athletes, coaches and journalists and 25% by the general public.
