25th November 2015 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• Today (25th November) is International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
• Aim : to raise awareness of the fact that women around the world are subject to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence
• Theme of the year 2015 : Prevention

National Affairs

• Government today reduced the deadline for completion of rural connectivity through all- weather roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana by three years from 2022 to 2019 and increased annual allocation to the states by Rs 5,000 crore. 
  
• The government has also decided to increase the annual allocation of the Central release for PMGSY works during year 2015-16 by Rs 5,000 crore and with this the total Central allocation to states would now be Rs 15,100 crore.
• It was Rs 9960 crore during 2014-15, Rs 5196 crore in 2013-14 and Rs 4313 crore in 2012-13.
• Union Rural Development minister : Chaudhary Birender Singh
• The Maharashtra government has announced the launching of Gopinath Munde Farmers Accident Insurance Scheme 2015-16.
• The scheme will cover accidental death of handicap of the farmers.
• The insurance scheme is aimed at ensuring social and economic security to farmers and their families.
• The scheme is likely to benefit 1.37 crore farmers in the 10-75 year age group whose names are registered in the land records.

New Appointments

• Former long jump world champion Anju Bobby George, was appointed as the chairperson of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). 
• She will be replacing Anurag Thakur, and will be assuming the charge in the first week of December 2015.
• Direct-to-home (DTH) service provider Dish TV appointed Arun Kumar Kapoor as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Science & Technology

• India today successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile with a strike range of 350 km from a naval ship off the Odisha coast.
• The surface-to-surface Dhanush was test fired from INS Subhadra in the Bay of Bengal.
• Important Note : It is a naval variant of India's indigenously-developed Prithvi missile.
• China and Korea jointly planning to build the world's largest animal cloning factory at Tianjing, China.
• This plant will clone animals which like pet dogs, beef cattle and racehorses and 'non-human primates'.
• Note : The 31.3 million dollar commercial facility is a follow up on the technique which made Dolly the Sheep, the first cloned mammal from Scotland on the 1996.
• Japan has successfully launched its first commercial satellite as part its national space programme. 
• Japanese H-IIA rocket carrying Canadian TELSTAR 12V communications and broadcasting satellite for operator Telesat was successfully lifted off from Tanegashima Space Centre (TSC). 
• With this, Japan is entered into the commercial satellite launch business which is mainly dominated by European and Russian companies.

Business & Economy

• Income tax returns e-filing website ClearTax has announced the launching of mobile application ’TaxCloud’ to make the process of e-filing of returns more easier.
• India's 3rd largest telecom services provider, Idea Cellular, will buy spectrum in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh (West) from Videocon Telecommunications for Rs 3,310 crore ($499 million) to boost its high-speed data services.
• Note : This is  India’s first telecom spectrum trading transaction.
• Food ordering portal Foodpanda has tied up with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), Indian Railways’ catering, tourism and online ticketing platform, for order and delivery of food to the passengers.
• Foodpanda CEO : Saurabh Kochhar
• Railway Minister : Suresh Prabhu

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