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November 2015 Current Affairs Highlights
- 10th G-20 Summit held at Antalya, Turkey during 15-16 November 2015.
- 2015 is likely to be the warmest year on record according to the report released by World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
- 7th Pay Commission (headed by Justice AK Mathur) has submitted its report to the Government. The Commission was set up in February last year to revise remuneration of about 48 lakh central government employees and 55 lakh pensioners.
- A 25-year-old Prithika Yashini is all set to become India's first transgender Sub Inspector of Police.
- A Committee of Eminent Persons (CEP), headed by Prof Ashok Misra, has recommended major changes in entrance examination structure for prestigious institutes like IIT, including setting up of a National Testing Service, which would hold tests on the basis of which around four lakh students would be shortlisted for Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).
- A Three-member committee constituted by the Delhi Government has recommended the BCCI to suspend Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) over the allegations of financial irregularities within the capital’s cricket administration. This committee was headed by Chetan Sanghi, Principal Secretary of Vigilance Department.
- According to a recently released report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the number of young people aged 15 to 19 dying from AIDS has tripled over the last 15 years.
- Ace shooter Jitu Rai won India's first senior medal at the 13th Asian Shooting Championship, finishing second behind Korea's Park Daehun in the finals of the men's 50m pistol event.
- After being on the run for the past 27 years, One of India's most-wanted criminals, underworld don Chhota Rajan was deported to India from Indonesia by a joint team, headed by the Central Bureau of Investigation officials, to face trials in over 70 cases of murder, extortion and drug smuggling against him in Delhi and Mumbai.
- Andy Murray ended Great Britain's 79-year wait for a 10th Davis Cup title by defeating Belgium's David Goffin today.
- Anil Ambani owned Reliance Communications is merging the telecom business of Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL) with itself in a cashless deal worth around Rs 4,500-5,000 that will lead to the first major consolidation in the intensely competitive sector since 2009.
- ASEAN countries have decided to form ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) to facilitate free flow of goods, capital and skilled labour in region.
- Australia and China inked a deal to share information about sea ice conditions around Antarctica for better navigation and shipping in the Earths southernmost continent.
- Australia and New Zealand have created history by playing first day-night Test match at the Adelaide Oval Cricket Stadium with a pink Kookaburra ball.
- Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson announced that he will retire from all forms of international cricket.
- Australia has won the first ever day-night cricket test by 3 wickets against New Zealand.
- Australian Michelle Payne has become the first female jockey to win Australia's most prestigious horse race, the Melbourne Cup.
- Bangladesh hanged two top opposition leaders from Jamaat-e-Islami and Bangladesh Nationalist Party hanged for war crimes during 1971 Liberation war against Pakistan.
- Boosting the government's ambitious 'Digital India' drive, social media giant Facebook has come forward to facilitate state-run BSNL in setting up 100 wi-fi sites in rural areas of western and southern India.
- Britain will host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2018.
- British bank HSBC announced that it will shut down its private banking business in India, an announcement that came amid an ongoing investigation by India's tax department against individuals who had unaccounted foreign currency accounts in the bank's Swiss branch.
- China and Korea jointly planning to build the world's largest animal cloning factory at Tianjing, China.
- China's Tianhe-2 supercomputer has retained its position as the world's most powerful system for the sixth consecutive time, according to a biannual Top 500 list of supercomputers released at the international supercomputer conference in Austin, Texas.
- China's Xuerui Li has won the China Open Super Series Premier Badminton title by beating India's Saina Nehwal.
- Chinese president XiJinping is on a visit to Vietnam.
- Clamping down on the 'rent-a-womb' practice by foreigners and overseas Indians, the Indian government directed all its missions not to issue visas to those intending to visit India for commissioning surrogacy.
- Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar dedicated the Boeing P8I (Poseidon Eight India) Long Range Maritime Patrol aircraft to the nation at INS Rajali, Arakkonam, a naval air station.
- Delhi assembly passes CrPC (Delhi Amendment) Bill, 2015. This bill proposes amendments in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
- Doing its share as part of the global effort to tackle climate change, India is going to anchor a global solar alliance, International Agency for Solar Technologies and Applications (INSTA), which will bring together 122 solar resource rich countries all located between the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn.
- Ending 10 years of Conservative rule, Canada's new leader Justin Trudeau has been sworn in as new Prime minister.
- Ending 12 years of leftist rule, Conservative opposition candidate Mauricio Macri of Republican Proposal Party has won Argentina’s Presidential election.
- FIFA, the governing body of football, has banned Nepal's football chief Ganesh Thapa for 10 years for corruption.
- 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.
- Former BCCI President N Srinivasan has been removed from his post as ICC chairman.
- Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik has announced his retirement from Test cricket.
- Former RBI Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn was appointed as an Executive Director on the board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- France and Russia have agreed to coordinate their military and security services in an unusual alliance against Islamic State militants in Syria after Friday’s devastating attacks on Paris and the recent bombing of a Russian plane in Egypt.
- French President Francois Hollande will be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade of January 26, 2016.
- Fulfilling his poll promise, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced that, Alcohol will be banned in Bihar from 1st April 2016.
- German Formula 1 driver Nico Rosberg has won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
- German racing driver for Mercedes Formula One Nico Rosberg has won Brazilian Grand Prix title.
- Government is planning to set up one billion dollar private equity fund for the renewable energy sector.
- Government 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.
- Govternment has started imposing Swachh Bharat Cess of half a per cent (0.5 %) on all services liable for Service Tax from 15th November 2015.
- Heena Sidhu wins Gold medal in 10m air pistol women's event at the 13th Asian Shooting Championship in Kuwait City.
- Home Minister Rajnath Singh wason a 5-day visit to China.
- 'ICGS C-422’, A Coast Guard interceptor boat has been commissioned at Karaikal further enhancing vigil along Puducherry and South Tamil Nadu coast.
- In a bid to tackle the threat posed by e-commerce sites to small traders, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has launched a portal named ‘e-lala’.
- In a major setback for many women across the country, the Supreme Court has said that a Daughter's right to ancestral property does not arise if the father died before the amendment to Hindu law came into force in 2005.
- In a move to reduce the demand for physical gold, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Three gold related schemes, including ‘India gold coin’ bearing Ashok Chakra, Gold monetisation and Sovereign gold bond schemes to tap the festive season ahead of Dhanteras and Diwali.
- In a recently released report, the World Bank has said that the Climate change could push more than 100 million people into extreme poverty by 2030 by disrupting agriculture and fueling the spread of malaria and other diseases.
- In order to protect the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles that arrive during winters for nesting, the Odisha government imposed a seven-month ban on fishing along the coast.
- In the annual 2015 Prosperity Index by London-based international think tank Legatum Institute, Norway stood at the top position. Singapore topped in Asian region.
- 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 and Australia announce completion of procedures for implementation of civil nuclear deal.
- India and Britain signed a Civil Nuclear Agreement after the two sides held delegation level talks at London on the first day of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's three-day visit to Britain.
- India and China have agreed to form a Ministerial-level mechanism to step up cooperation and coordination on a host of security-related issues, including cross-border terrorism, security and law enforcement, trans-border crimes, cyber crimes and drug trafficking.
- India and Indonesia signed two agreements in the fields of renewable energy and culture and discussed possibilities of expanding cooperation in counter-terrorism and defence.
- India and Malaysia signed Three MoUs for cooperation in cyber security, public administration and culture.
- India and Singapore signed 10 agreements on mutual co-operation. These agreements include- Joint Declaration on Strategic partnership, Agreement on defense cooperation, MoU between Airports Authority of India & Singapore Cooperation Enterprise in civil aviation.
- India has been reelected by the UN General Assembly to a Six year term on the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
- India has improved its ranking to 108th position among 145 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI).
- India lift the 8th Men's Junior Asia Hockey Cup by beating Pakistan 6 goals to 2 in the finals at Kuantan in Malaysia.
- India ranks 4th among world’s most vacation-deprived nations. UAE topped the list of most vacation-deprived countries in 2015 (76%), followed by Malaysia (73%) , Singapore (71%) and India (65%).
- India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, as part of a user trial by the army.
- India successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile with a strike range of 350 km from a naval ship off the Odisha coast.
- India successfully test-fires indigenously developed nuclear capable surface to surface ballistic missile Agni-I from Dr Abdul Kalam Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast.
- India test-fired its indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile from the Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast.
- India test-fired its nuclear-capable strategic ballistic missile Agni-IV, from the Integrated Test Range at Abdul Kalam Island in the Odisha coast.
- India will hold the BRICS Chairmanship from 1st February to 31 December 2016.
- Indian Army successfully testfired 300 kilometres range Brahmos supersonic land attack cruise missile at Pokhran (Rajasthan).
- Indian Badminton star PV Sindhu has won Macau Open (Women's Singles) for the third consecutive time by beating Minatsu Mitani of Japan.
- Indian boxer Shiva Thapa attains 2nd position in International rankings in the 56-kilogram category.
- Indian boxer Vijender Singh wins 2nd professional bout beating England's Dean Gillen.
- Indian Navy gets 2nd indigenous anti-submarine warship 'Kadmatt'.
- Indian Railways emerged champions for the first time in 32nd Indian Oil Servo Surjit Hockey Tournament by beating defending champions Indian Oil Corporation of Mumbai at the Olympian Surjit Hockey stadium.
- Indian Railways has doubled the ticket cancellation charge as it has proposed to change the refund rules to help genuine passengers getting confirmed tickets (w.e.f 12th November).
- Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis lifted their ninth title together this year, beating the Spanish pair of Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro to clinch the WTA Finals women’s doubles trophy.
- India's latest communications satellite GSAT-15 launched successfully from Kourou space port in French Guiana.
- India's most successful cueist Pankaj Advani added another feather in his cap by winning the IBSF World Snooker Championship in Egypt. This is his 15th World Title.
- Iran has appointed its first woman ambassador since the 1979 Islamic revolution, naming foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham to head its embassy in Malaysia.
- Israeli military has successfully test fired the Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM) for the first time from an Israeli Naval Platform.
- Japan has successfully launched its first commercial satellite (TELSTAR 12V ) as part its national space programme.
- Jharkhand government has announced a package of nearly 1,400 crore rupees for drought-hit farmers.
- Mahagathbandhan’s (Grand Alliance) wins over two-third majority in Bihar Assembly elections
- Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched a network of 1200 CCTV Cameras Phase I of Mumbai City Surveillance Project.
- Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg (Germany) has won the 2015 Mexican Gand Prix title of Formula One (F1) by beating Lewis Hamilton.
- New Zealand has lifted the Rugby World Cup 2015 for a record third time by defeating Australia.
- Nigeria has won the FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
- Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party wins a majority in Myanmar's historic polls.
- Novak Djokovic becomes the first player to win the ATP World Tour Finals for the fourth consecutive time.
- Odisha government implements National Food Security Act in 14 of the 30 districts of the state in first phase covering 26 lakh families.
- Pakistan and China kicked off their ambitious 46 billion US Dollar China- Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) with Beijing acquiring over 2,000 acres of land in restive Balochistan to develop the strategic Gwadar port.
- Pakistan has banned media coverage of militant groups like Jamaat-ud-Dawa, JuD, run by 2008 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed, as part of a crackdown on terror enforced under UN restrictions.
- Pakistan's veteran batsman Younis Khan has announced his retirement from one-day international cricket. He is the first Pakistani batsman to score 9000 Test runs.
- Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska beat former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in three sets to win her first WTA Finals title in Singapore.
- President Pranab Mukherjee has given assent to Haryana's cow slaughter Bill / Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Bill. With this bill, cow slaughter in Haryana will now attract a rigorous imprisonment ranging from three years to 10 years.
- President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the first ever three-day World Indology Conference at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
- President Pranab Mukherjee launched IMPRINT India to boost research in the country (IMPRINT - Impacting Research Innovation and Technology).
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a Rs 80,000-crore package for all-round development of Jammu and Kashmir.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ranked as the world's ninth most powerful person by Forbes magazine in a 2015 list which is topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled 12th century social reformer Basaveshwara's statue in London.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a visit to Malaysia and Singapore to attend the 10th East Asia-India Summit and Asean Summit in KualaLumpur.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a three day visit to United Kingdom.
- Railways launched a new scheme 'VIKALP', under this scheme, wait-listed passengers can get confirmed accommodation in next alternative train if they opt for the option while booking their tickets online.
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is allowing foreign investors to buy corporate bonds that are either totally or partly in default, a potential boost to the country's nascent distressed debt market.
- Roger Federer has won 2015 Swiss Indoors Basel Title (Tennis) in men’s single category.
- Russia has decided to suspend its visa-free travel agreement with Turkey from 1st January 2016 amid fears of terrorism spreading.
- Russia provisionally suspended from International athletics including Olympic games for its alleged involvement in doping.
- Russia signed two agreements with Egypt. According to the first agreement, Russia will finance and build Egypt's first nuclear power plant. Under the second deal, Russia will grant a 35-year loan to the Cairo.
- Russia successfully launched the first satellite for its newest early warning system, named EKS or Integrated Space System. The satellite was officially named Kosmos 2510 (Tundra 11L).
- Russia’s anti-doping agency (RUSADA) was suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), raising the possibility of Russian track stars being barred from the Olympics if the country does not fall back into line with accepted international rules.
- South Australia signed a historic 'sister-state agreement' with Rajasthan that would pave new ways to boost export and investment opportunities between the two states.
- State Bank of India (SBI), the largest public sector lender, has propelled its position from 39th to 35th in the Brand Equity's Most Trusted Brands survey 2015.
- State-run Union Bank of India tied up with Maharashtra for Over-The-Counter (OTC) collection of taxes and receipts.
- Tenniss player Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna have been selected under Target Olympic Podium (TOP) Scheme for financial assistance from National Sports Development Fund for training as part of preparation for Olympic 2016.
- The 10th East Asia Summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during 21st and 22nd November 2015.
- The 19th Edition of the International Children’s Film Festival was held from 14th November 2015 at Hyderabad.
- The 2nd World Congress for Disaster Management was held at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
- The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere hit a new record high in 2014, according to a new report released by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
- The BTRC (Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission) blocks social media platform Facebook and online messaging and calling services WhatsApp and Viber on security grounds.
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for second extension to the Indian Development and Economic Assistance Scheme (IDEAS).
- The Cabinet has approved the long-awaited Interest subvention scheme. This scheme will allow exporters, mostly in the labour-intensive and small and medium sectors, to avail of loans from banks at a 3 per cent lower rate.
- The Central Government approved Rs 2,100 crore funds under the National Disaster Relief Fund for Karnataka and Gujarat, which recently faced drought and floods respectively.
- The Central government has sanctioned Rs 456 crore to Odisha under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme for 2015-16.
- The Delhi government cleared the Jan Lokpal Bill, paving the way towards creating the post of an anti-graft ombudsman, which it claimed was similar to the one proposed during the Anna Hazare movement, and will table it in the assembly soon.
- The Government declared the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) (NSCNK), all its formations and front organizations as a terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
- The Government has liberalised Foreign Direct Investment, FDI norms in 15 major sectors of the economy to further boost the investment environment and to bring in more foreign investment in the country. These sectors include mining, civil aviation, defence, broadcasting, construction, manufacturing and private sector banking.
- The government is planning to set up a South Asian Regional Intelligence Coordination centre to curb "illicit" financial flow, and once it is operational, it will allow South Asian countries to connect with other countries.
- The Indian Cultural Centre in Kuala Lumpur will be named after freedom fighter and commander of the Indian National Army Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
- The Indian Government Signs $273 Million Loan Agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) under Rural Connectivity Investment Program for Improving Rural Roads in 5 States.
- The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore broke India's poor ranking spell by making a debut in the world's top 100 universities for engineering and technology.
- The International Space Station (ISS) achieved 15 years of a continuous human presence in orbit.
- The long-pending ‘One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) scheme for ex-servicemen was brought into force with government issuing a notification which will benefit over 25 lakh veterans and war widows.
- The Maharashtra government has announced the launching of Gopinath Munde Farmers Accident Insurance Scheme 2015-16.
- The Maharashtra Government has approved a revised scheme, named APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Yojna, for pregnant and lactating women in the tribal areas of the state.
- The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) approved a pilot project for developing greenbelts along the national highways (NHs).
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted in-principle approval to three entities including Axis Bank, Gurgaon-based Mynd Solutions and a joint bid by NSE Strategic Investment Corporation Limited and Small Industries Development Bank of India for setting up Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS).
- The Reserve Bank of India has doubled the limit for short-term loans extended by MicroFinance Institutions (MFIs) in an effort to boost credit to the poor.
- The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) on co-operation and technical assistance.
- The UN Security Council unanimously approved a French-sponsored resolution calling on all nations to redouble and coordinate action to prevent further attacks by Islamic State terrorists and other extremist groups.
- The Union Cabinet has decided to provide 3000 state government jobs to the Kashmiri migrants with financial assistance from the Government of India.
- The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has constituted a 13 member expert committee exclusively on Sanskrit in its attempt to revive interest in the ancient Indian classical language Sanskrit. This committee will be headed by N Gopalaswami [former chief election commissioner (CEC)]
- The Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani has launched 3 web portals / mobile apps. They are, E-Pathshala, Shaala Siddhi and Saransh.
- The Uttar Pradesh tourism organized 3 day Taj Balloon Festival, a hot air balloon festival in Agra with 14 colourful inflatables dotting the city’s skyline.
- The World Health Organization announced that the Ebola-ravaged Sierra Leone had beaten an 18-month outbreak that killed almost 4,000 citizens including more than 200 health workers and plunged the economy into severe recession.
- To cover inland fisheries, aquaculture, marine fisheries, including deep sea fishing and mariculture, the Centre proposed to formulate an umbrella scheme ‘Blue Revolution: Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries’ with an outlay of Rs 3,000 crore.
- Turkey hosted the G20 Leader's Summit which is going to be held on 15th and 16th November 2015 in its southern city of Antalya.
- Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was on a two-day visit to United Arab Emirates (UAE) to impress on investors various attractive investment opportunities that India provides.
- Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda launched the country’s first Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) programme. India’s first AMRIT outlet has been inaugurated at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) where drugs will be sold at highly discounted rates.
- Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the landmark Silchar-Lumding broad gauge rail line in Assam.
- Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram inaugurated National Tribal Crafts Mela Aadishilp in New Delhi. This mela was organized by Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd. (TRIFED)
- Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu has announced a Rs 3,250 crore special assistance for de-congestion of roads and development of Delhi.
- US regulators have given the go-ahead to genetically modified Salmon (a type of Fish), making it the first GM animal destined for human consumption.
- Uttar Pradesh has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for planting the most number of saplings in one day.
- Vice President Hamid Ansari was on a five-day two-nation official visit to Indonesia and Brunei.
- Vidarbha opener Wasim Jaffer became the first cricketer in Ranji Trophy history to reach the milestone of 10,000 runs.
- West Indies off spinner Sunil Narine was suspended from international cricket after his bowling action was found ‘illegal’ by the International Cricket Council (ICC) today.
- Young Indian shuttler Siril Verma clinched a silver medal at the BWF World Junior Championships after suffering a narrow defeat against Chinese Taipei's Chia Hung Lu.
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