28th November 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

sponsored links

International Affairs

• Ending months-long deadlock, the WTO today approved a trade facilitation pact while agreeing to India's demand for continuing the peace clause till a permanent solution is found to the food stockpiling issue, crucial for continuing food security scheme.

National Affairs

• 24x7 All India Security Helpline for Train Passengers is Operational Now.

• An All India Security Helpline ‘1800-111-322’ has been operational at railway Board to enable passengers to seek security related assistance round the clock.
• On vulnerable and identified routes/section, on an average 1300 trains are escorted by Railway Protection Force (RPF) daily, in addition to 2200 trains escorted by Government Railway police of difference states daily. All the ladies special trains running in metropolitan cities are being escorted by lady RPF constables to ensure proper security to the lady passengers. 
• The massive operation to locate and arrest controversial 'godman' Rampal cost the exchequer over Rs 26 crore, the Punjab and Haryana high court was said today.
• A day after the Centre stood by its decision to scrap German as a third language in Kenridya Vidyalayas, the Supreme Court asked the Human Resource Development Ministry to consider continuing the European language for the present academic session.
• The Delhi high court today upheld the Ganguly committee recommendations on nursery admissions and said that private unaided schools should have administrative autonomy to decide on admissions.
• A bill to include more castes under Scheduled Castes category in four states and exclude one from it in Sikkim was passed in Lok Sabha today amid demand by some parties that Christian and Muslims Dalits too should be given SC benefits, which government rejected.
• The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2014 was passed with a voice vote with almost all parties supporting it, will bring these castes in the SC list of Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Tripura.
• India’s more developed states, especially its southern states, have seen improvements in child nutrition over the last five years, but have a patchy record on immunisation, new official data shows.
• The government may amend the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to deal with the much-talked about black money issue, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said.

MOUs

• A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between India and Mozambique was signed today bwteen Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s minister for petroleum and natural gas, and Oldemiro Julio Marques Baloi, Mozambique’s minister of foreign affairs, in New Delhi
• The objective of the MOU is to enhance bilateral cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, said the Indian petroleum industry in a statement.

New Appointments 

• P K Gupta, a 1981 batch IAS officer appointed as new Chief Secretary of Haryana.

Books & Authors

• Indian writer critic Shamsur Rahman Faruqi and Indian-American author Jhumpa Lahiri are among five authors shortlisted for next year's USD 50,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature.
• Lahiri's novel "The Lowland", an intimate portrayal of two brothers and political passion was earlier on the 2013 Man Booker Prize shortlist as well.
• Poet, novelist and literary critic Faruqi has been shortlisted for his novel "The Mirror of Beauty" which he translated from Urdu and deals with the sunset of the Mughal Empire.

Business & Economy

• Capital Market regulator SEBI today imposed Rs 1 crore fine on six merchant bankers for disclosure-related lapses in the IPO of credit rating agency CARE. 
• The merchant bankers fined by Sebi are Kotak Mahindra Capital, DSP Merrill Lynch, Edelweiss, ICICI Sec, IDBI Capital Market and SBI Cap. 
• Asian Development Bank will provide $100 million loan to improve job prospects of higher secondary and under graduate students in Kerala by funding state government's skill development programme.
• India's economic growth declines to 5.3% during July to September, from the previous quarter's 5.7%.
• Department of Telecommunications decides to lay an exclusive submarine cable network for Andaman and Nicobar Islands from Chennai, at an estimated cost of 1,000 crore Rupees.

Sports

• Pankaj Advani storms into quarterfinals of the World Snooker Championship.
• P V Sindhu and H S Prannoy enter quarterfinals of the Singles events of Macau Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament.

Read more Daily Current Affairs updates from here

sponsored links