24thNovember 2016 Important Daily Current Affairs

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Dear Great Ambitionists, here are today's (24th November 2016) Important Current Affairs updates. Happy Reading :)

Daily Current Affairs of 24th November 2016

International Current Affairs

• Japan has sent 350 combat-authorised troops to South Sudan for a UN peacekeeping mission for the first time since the end of World War II, under the government's new powers. 
• This comes as Japan has been increasing involvement in UN peacekeeping missions. 
• Note : Japan had adopted a pacifist constitution and disbanded its standing army after their defeat in World War II.

National Current Affairs

• Rajasthan government has decided to launch 'Annapurna Rasoi Programme', a project to provide quality meals at cheap prices to people belonging to the weaker sections of the society. 
  • Under this scheme, labourers, rickshaw pullers, auto drivers, students and working women among others will be provided breakfast at ₹5 per plate and lunch and dinner at ₹8 per plate.
• Indian Railways is going to introduce an advanced monitoring system named 'Tri-Netra' that will keep a record of track maintenance and provide better visibility during foggy days.
• The system, which provides a clear view up to 1-kilometre even during bad weather, has been used on a trial basis and had produced good results.
• Hundreds of Garo tribals gathered in Guwahati to celebrate the harvest festival of Wangala.
• This festival marks the end of a period of toil for farmers. 
• While men play the drums during the festival, women perform the Wangala Dance.
• The Cabinet today approved the opening of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNV) in 62 uncovered districts with an outlay of ₹2,871 crore. 
• Chhattisgarh (11) will get the highest number of JNVs, followed by Gujarat (8) and Delhi (7).
• Madame Tussauds is set to open in New Delhi by mid-2017, Merlin Entertainments announced today. 
• The 22nd Madame Tussauds branch, to be located at the Regal Cinema complex in Connaught Place, will be spread out over two floors. 
• It will feature wax figurines of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, and icons that have shaped India and the world.

Science & Technology

• The Russian Defence Ministry has unveiled a remotely controlled robot tank, Platforma-M, to defend its missile launchers near its border with Poland. 
• The robot has the ability to direct weapons and hit targets in automatic and semi-automatic modes. 
• The Platforma-M is equipped with a radar system to allow troops to carry out operations at night.

New Appointments

• US President-elect Donald Trump has named South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as the country's ambassador to the UN. 
• Haley, daughter of Indian immigrants, is the first woman appointed to a top-level administration post during Trump's White House transition so far.

Business & Economic Affairs

• In the wake of demonetisation, bank deposits with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have reached a record high of ₹4.3 trillion, beating the earlier record of ₹1.7 trillion in May 2009. 
• The RBI accepts money from various banks by offering government securities as collateral. 
• Note : The Indian banking system had collected deposits worth ₹5.12 trillion as of 18 November.
• The Indian rupee plunged 30 paise to as low as 68.86 today to hit an all-time low against the dollar. 
• This follows the government's decision to demonetise old ₹500 and ₹1,000 currency notes. 
• This also comes amid expectations of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve under the newly elected US President Donald Trump.

Awards & Honors

• US President Barack Obama presented American basketball legend Michael Jordan with USA's highest civilian honour in the form of the Presidential Medal of Freedom today. 
• The award was presented to a total of 21 recipients, including philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates, comedian Ellen DeGeneres, basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and actors Tom Hanks and Robert De Niro.
• Arunachal Pradesh's sports department has renamed the state-level Chief Minister's Trophy for men's and women's football and volleyball after martyred jawan Hangpan Dada. 
• Dada died in Kupwara on May 27 this year after killing three terrorists. 
• For the second time in a row, IIT Kharagpur has been named the top university in India in terms of jobs and placements, by QS Employability Ranking of top 200 universities across the world. 
• IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Delhi and Delhi University also feature on the list. 
• Note : Stanford University in the US has topped the list globally.

Sports Current Affairs

• Saina Nehwal has entered the quarterfinals of the Hong Kong Open badminton championship today. 
• Saina defeated Japan's Sayaka Sato 21-18, 9-21, 21-16 in a 51-minute-long second round match. 

Question of the Day

• What are Payment Banks ?
• Payments banks are those which can undertake restricted banking functions like issuing debit cards and offering internet banking, but cannot offer loans or credit cards. 
• The banks can only accept deposits of up to ₹1 lakh per account. 
• RBI issued guidelines for payments banks in 2014.
• Important Note : The first of which has been launched in India on 23rd November 2016 by Airtel.

This is the end of today's Daily Current Affairs session friends. Good Day :)

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