November 2018 Current Affairs Important Highlights (One-Liners)

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Friends, here are the Major Current Affairs Highlights of November 2018. These one-liners cover all important International, National, MOUs, Indexes, Banking, Technology, Books & Authors, Committees and Sports affairs of November month (from 1st to 30th November 2018). You will get pdf version of this list by tonight. All the Best and Happy Reading :)

November 2018 Current Affairs Highlights (One-Liners) 

• 1st Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health was recently held at WHO Headquarters in Geneva.
  
• 10th November 2018 was observed as World Science Day for Peace and Development (WSDPD) with the theme "Science, a Human Right”.
• 12-day long joint military exercise between India and the United States titled 'Vajra Prahar 2018' recently held at Jaipur.
• 14th November 2018 was observed as World Diabetes Day with the theme "The Family and Diabetes".
• 18th Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council of Ministers Meeting was held in Durban, South Africa. India was represented by the  Minister of State for External Affairs, V K Singh.
• 19th meeting of FSDC was recently held in New Delhi. FSDC - Financial Stability and Development Council.
• 19th November 2018 was observed as International Men's Day with the theme 'Positive Male Role Models'.
• 19th November 2018 was observed as World Toilet Day with the theme 'When nature calls'.
• 19-time world champion Pankaj Advani became the 1st Indian to win an Asian Snooker Tour event after defeating China's Ju Reti in the final held at Jinan, China.  
• 1st ever India-US Dialogue on Intellectual Property (IP) was recently held at New Delhi. Aim of this Dialogue : To deepen bilateral strategic cooperation on IP policy.
• 1st-ever India Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue was held at St. Petersburg in Russia. Aim of this Dialogue : To bring together key business figures from both countries.  India was represented by by Rajiv Kumar (NITI Aayog Vice Chairman). Russia was represented by Maxim Oreshkin (Economic Development Minister).
• 20 November 2018 was observed as Africa Industrialization Day with the theme “Promoting Regional Value Chains in Africa : A pathway for accelerating Africa’s structural transformation, industrialization and pharmaceutical production”.
• 20th November 2018 was observed as Universal Children's Day with the theme "Children are taking over and turning the world blue".
• 24th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) held at Netaji Indoor Stadium, Kolkata. This festival was inaugurated by Bollywood Actor Amitabh Bachchan in the presence of West Bengal chief minister Mamta Banerjee.
• 25th edition of Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise "SIMBEX" held off Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal. SIMBEX 2018 will mark silver jubilee of exercise and will be largest edition since 1994 in terms of scale and complexity.
• 25th November 2018 was observed as International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Theme of the year 2018 : "Orange the World: #HearMeToo".
• 27th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change was held in New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Dr Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India and attended by Edson Duarte, Minister of the Environment of Brazil, Xie Zhenhua, Special Representative for Climate Change Affairs of China, Dr Tsakani Ngomane, Deputy Director General for Climate Change, Air Quality and Sustainable Development, Department of Environmental Affairs of South Arica. [BASIC countries - Brazil, South Africa, India and China].
• 2nd edition of was International Symposium to Promote Innovation & Research in Energy Efficiency (INSPIRE 2018) launched in New Delhi. It was jointly organised by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and World Bank.
• 31-year-old India opener Rohit Sharma smashed a 58-ball century in the second T20I against Windies at Lucknow to become the 1st cricketer in history to reach four hundreds in T20I cricket.  
• 33rd ASEAN Summit recently held at Singapore. The summit was chaired by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. [ASEAN - Association of South East Asian Nations]
• 35 year old Pacer Munaf Patel, who was a part of India's 2011 World Cup winning squad, has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
• 38th edition of India International Trade Fair (IITF) recently held at New Delhi's Pragati Maidan. The 14-day annual event was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Culture Mahesh Sharma. Theme of 38th IITF : 'Rural Enterprises in India'.
• 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) began in Panaji (Goa). Theme of IFFI 2018 : New India through a variety of genres of cinema, including history, action, romance and sports. Jharkhand is focus state for this year, with Jharkhand Day being celebrated on 24th November as part of festival. Israel is the focus country for this year.
• 4-day regional meeting of World Customs Organisation (WCO) was recently held in Jaipur (Rajasthan).  
• 6 States- Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Union Territory of Lakshadweep celebrate their Foundation day on 1st November.
• 6th Indian Social Work Congress was held in New Delhi. Theme of 6th ISWC 2018 : “Human Development and Social Inclusion: Imperatives for Social Work Education and Practice”.
• 7th edition of the ‘International Tourism Mart’ is being held in Agartala (Tripura). Theme of 7th International Tourism Mart 2018 : “Adventure Tourism”.
• 8 countries namely, India, China, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey have been granted temporary waivers from the US' sanctions on Iranian oil.
• 8th November 2018 was observed as World Usability Day with the theme 'Design For Good Or Evil'.
• 9th Annual Defence and Security Dialogue between India and China recently held in Beijing. India's defence delegation was headed by : Sanjay Mitra (Defence secretary).
• A 2-day National Seminar on Entrepreneurship and Business Development in Ayurveda recently held at New Delhi.
• A ministerial panel led by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has decided to sell 100% of Air India's ground handling arm Air India Air Transport Services (AIATSL). The proceeds will be used to retire a part of Air India's debt.
• According to data released by the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, India has the highest percentage of Female Airline Pilots in the world.
• According to recently released Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas prepared by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), India among nations that face grave danger to soil biodiversity.
• After United States President Donald Trump rejected India's R-Day invite citing scheduling conflicts, India is now planning to invite South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as the Chief Guest for India's Republic Day celebrations 2019.
• American business and financial services company Moody's has downgraded Yes Bank's ratings to non-investment grade and changed outlook to negative citing corporate governance concerns.
• American payments processor Visa announced that it is taking a minority stake in Indian payment gateway BillDesk.
• Andhra Pradesh state is building a world-class and India’s first ‘Justice City’ within its new capital Amaravati with the vision to provide a state-of-the-art ecosystem built on the latest technology for supporting the judicial system in the state.
• Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat announced that Indian Army is observing the year 2018 as the Year of  the Disabled Soldier
• As per the draft agreement reached between Britain and the European Union (EU) on post-Brexit relations, the transition period of Brexit due to end in December 2020, can now be extended until 2022.
• Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy, has been released from prison.
• Asia’s oldest bourse BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) has decided to snap ties with S&P Dow Jones, which manages and operates benchmark Sensex. Now BSE it is planning to develop indices through its own in-house development team.
• Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold medalist Bajrang Punia has become the world number one wrestler in the 65-kg category.
• Astronomers at Hawaii's Keck Observatory announced that they have detected water in the atmosphere of a planet 129 light-years away from the Earth. The discovery was made while studying a young giant gas planet called HR 8799c, which is about 7 times the mass of Jupiter and has a radius that is 20% larger.
• Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar unveiled a 70-foot-tall statue of Lord Buddha in Bihar's Rajgir. The statue has been installed above a 16-metre radius pedestal in the middle of the lake Ghora Katora.
• Bihar government has approved a proposal to pay Rs 25000 to every girl graduating in 2018 and onwards.
• Brazil's President-elect Jair Bolsonaro has announced that he is going to move the country's embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem once he assumes office.
• Britain allowed foreign nationals from Commonwealth nations to join the Armed Forces despite them having never lived in the country.
• British bank HSBC has executed India's first overseas financial transaction using blockchain by making a payment for Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries in an export deal involving an American client.
• By the end of this year, the Indian Railways is going to install at least 100-foot-tall national flags on the premises of 75 of the busiest stations in the country.
• Captain Harmanpreet Kaur became the 1st ever Indian woman to smash a hundred in T20I cricket, achieving the feat against New Zealand in the Women's World T20 2018.
• China and Myanmar have signed an agreement to build a port in Myanmar's Kyaukpyu town along the Bay of Bengal. China will fund 70% of the project, while the remaining 30% will be funded by Myanmar.
• China and Pakistan launched a bus service passing through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The bus service connecting Pakistan's Lahore and Kashgar in China is a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project.
• China disclosed the technical details of its supersonic cruise missile, HD-1, leading military experts to believe that it has the potential to compete with the BrahMos missile jointly developed by India and Russia.
• China has backed Pakistan's bid for membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), praising its "anti-nuclear proliferation record". Earlier, China has prevented India from joining the NSG, which aims to curb nuclear arms proliferation.
• China recently unveiled a model of its 'Heavenly Palace' space station, as the International Space Station (ISS) is set to retire in 2024.
• China's largest lender ICBC's Indian unit has set up a $200-million fund for investing in small and medium-sized Indian businesses.
• Chinese press agency Xinhua unveiled the 1st ever AI-based anchor in the World that can read the news in English and Chinese.
• Chinese Scientists announced that their Nuclear fusion reactor (famously known as Artificial Sun) reached 100 million°C, the temperature required to carry out fusion on Earth.  This record-high temperature is 6 times the temperature of Sun's core (15 million°C).
• Complying with US sanctions, global provider of secure financial messaging services, SWIFT, has cut several Iranian banks, including the country's central bank, off from its services.
• Delhi's Signature Bridge, built over the Yamuna river, was inaugurated  by the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, 14 years after it was announced in 2004. It'll reduce the travel time between north and northeast Delhi.
• Elon Musk-led space exploration startup SpaceX has launched Qatar's Es’hail-2 telecommunications satellite aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.
• English Premier League side Chelsea's former striker Didier Drogba, who hails from the Ivory Coast, has announced his retirement from professional football.
• English professional footballer Joe Cole announced his retirement after making more than 700 appearances for seven clubs including West Ham and Chelsea.
• English word 'Toxic' has been chosen as the 'Word of the Year 2018' by Oxford Dictionaries.
• Fitch Ratings retained India's sovereign rating at the lowest investment grade of 'BBB-' with a stable outlook, same as that of Standard and Poor's.
• Flipkart Group CEO Binny Bansal  announced his resignation from the role.
• For the 1st time in the world, the Scotland government has mandated a curriculum that will teach about LGBTI rights at all public schools. LGBTI - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex.
• For the first time, Bangladesh is going to use Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) on a limited scale in the country's general elections to be held on December 23.
• Former Australia captain Mark Taylor resigned from Cricket Australia’s (CA) board of directors.
• Former India captain Rahul Dravid received the ICC Hall of Fame Commemorative Cap from former captain Sunil Gavaskar ahead of the fifth India-Windies ODI at Thiruvananthapuram's Greenfield International Stadium.
• Fulfilling the long-standing demand of the Odisha government, the Union Cabinet recently approved the renaming of Jharsuguda Airport, Odisha as “Veer Surendra Sai Airport, Jharsuguda”. Veer Surendra Sai is a well-known freedom fighter of Odisha.
• Germany's Alexander Zverev has won his maiden ATP World Tour Finals title by defeating world number one Novak Djokovic.
• Haryana's Manu Bhaker has won a double Gold in junior sport pistol while Ravi Kumar and Rahi Sarnobat were crowned national champions in the men and women’s events respectively in Thiruvananthapuram.  
• Himachal Pradesh became the 1st Indian state to launch a single emergency number "112". This number will connect to Police (100), Fire (101), Health (108) and Women helplines (1090)  through an Emergency Response Centre (ERC) in the state.
• IIM Calcutta Innovation Park and Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for energising start-up ecosystem in East and Northeast India.
• In order to simplify the GST calculations for tax payers, Japanese electronics company ‘CASIO’ has launched world’s first Goods and Services Tax (GST) calculator in India. The company has two variants of GST calculators MJ-120GST and MJ-12GST in the Indian market.
• India and China signed a protocol to amend the existing Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between the two countries.
• India and China signed protocol on hygiene and inspection requirements for exports of fish meal, fish oil imports from India to China.
• India and Japan signed a loan agreement of Rs 18.17 bn for the construction of the Turga Pumped Storage in West Bengal.
• India and Morocco signed an agreement to help each other in criminal matters and provide legal assistance wherever required.
• India and Russia signed a $500-million deal to build two warships in Goa for the Indian Navy.
• India and South Korea have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for strengthening cooperation in the field of Tourism. This agreement was signed during official four-day visit of First Lady of South Korea Kim Jung-sook (wife of incumbent South Korean President Moon Jae-in) to India.
• India and United Kingdom have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for collaboration in cancer research.   
• India announced contributions of $13.36 million (over ₹97.2 crore) for various United Nations (UN) agencies and development activities at the 2018 United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities.
• India defeated Windies by 9 wickets in the fifth ODI at Thiruvananthapuram to clinch the five-match series 3-1. This is India's 8th consecutive ODI series win against Windies.
• India has successfully carried out night user trial of Agni-I short-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile. This is the second known nighttime trial of Agni-I since its first such successful test in April 2014.
• India hosted AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships from 15th to 24th November 2018 at New Delhi.
• India is going to export 2 million tonnes of raw sugar to China from next year.
• India signed an MoU with ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) for storage of crude oil at Padur in Karnataka.
• India’s Lakshya Sen won a Bronze medal in the BWF World junior badminton championship at Markham, Canada.
• India’s Pankaj Advani won his 3rd straight IBSF billiards crown in the 150-up format by defeating Myanmar's Nay Thway Oo.
• India’s Sameer Verma has won Syed Modi India Grand Prix Gold badminton title 2018 in men’s singles category.
• Indian Army  inducted 3 major globally combat proven artillery gun systems at Deolali Field Firing Range in Maharashtra. They are : M777 A2 Ultra Light Howitzers (ULH), K-9 Vajra-tracked self-propelled guns, Composite Gun Towing Vehicle.
• Indian Army  inducted three major artillery gun systems and equipments, including the M777 American Ultra-Light Howitzer and the K-9 Vajra at Deolali artillery centre in Maharashtra's Nashik. It's the first major induction of such guns since Bofors were inducted around 30 years ago.
• Indian Army has picked Russia’s Igla-S missile system as choice for its multibillion dollar contract for MAN-Portable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS).  
• Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan is going to play for Delhi Daredevils in the 2019 Indian Premier League after being traded by SunRisers Hyderabad.
• Indian Navy has successfully completed refitted Maldivian Coast Guard Ship (MCGS) Huravee at Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam and was formally handed over.
• Indian President Ram Nath Kovind was on a 4 day visit to Australia. With this, Kovind became the 1st Indian head of state to visit Australia.
• Indian professional cricketer Ambati Rayudu has retired from 1st-class cricket to focus on 50-over and T20 cricket.
• Indian Railways unveiled a new software titled ‘eDrishti’. This software will help Union Railway Minister to keep track of punctuality of trains as well as freight and passenger earnings and much more from anywhere in the country.
• India's first nuclear-powered submarine INS Arihant has completed its first deterrence patrol. The submarine completes India's nuclear triad by adding sea-based strike capability to land and air-based delivery platforms.
• India's first specialized hospital for Elephants was inaugurated by Agra Divisional Commissioner Anil Kumar in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh.
• India's largest bank State Bank of India (SBI) has increased Fixed Deposit (FD) interest rates for select maturity periods with effect from 28th November 2018. FDs below ₹1 crore with maturity period of one to two years will fetch 6.8% as compared to 6.7% earlier. The interest rate on FDs with maturity period of two to three years has been hiked from 6.75% to 6.8%.
• India's Mary Kom has become the 1st ever boxer to win six AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship titles. She achieved the feat by defeating Hanna Okhota (Ukraine) in the final of the 48-kg category in Delhi .
• India's second-largest heavy truck maker Ashok Leyland  announced the resignation of its Managing Director and CEO Vinod K Dasari effective March 31 next year.
• India's Shubhankar Sharma became the 1st Indian to emerge as the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year on the European Tour.
• India's top two women's tennis players, Ankita Raina and Karman Kaur Thandi, won their 1st doubles title together as they lifted the OEC Open trophy in Taipei .
• Jammu and Kashmir's 30-year-old pacer Mohammed Mudhasir has become the 1st bowler in professional cricket history to dismiss four batsmen LBW in four successive deliveries.  
• Konkan 18, a Naval Exercise between India and United Kingdom was recently held at Goa.
• Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis-led government passed the Maratha Reservation Bill and created a new category titled SEBC (Socially and Economically Backward Category) as per the recommendation of Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission.
• Maharashtra state cabinet approved plan for conversion of Indian Navy’s longest-serving aircraft carrier INS Viraat, into India’s first-ever moored maritime museum-cum-marine adventure centre. At present, INS Viraat is at Mumbai’s Naval dockyard after it was decommissioned (retired) in 2017.
• Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton has won the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
• Morocco successfully launched its second earth observation satellite named Mohammed VI-B on board of Arianespace Vega rocket from launch pad at Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana in South America.  
• Mumbai based IndusInd Bank has launched 1st interactive Credit Card in India with buttons titled Nexxt Credit Card.  
• Music composer A R Rahman is making the Anthem for upcoming released the promo video of the Hockey World Cup 2018. This anthem features Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan. The lyrics of this video are penned by Bollywood lyricist Gulzar. The heme track titled "Jai Hind, Jai India".
• NASA's InSight spacecraft landed on Mars after nearly a seven-month, 458-million-kilometre journey. The 360-kg lander also shared its first photo from Mars, showing an area called Elysium Planitia, where it will dig five metres below the surface.
• Natural gas is expected to overtake coal as the world's second largest energy source after oil by 2030 due to a drive to cut air pollution and the rise in liquefied natural gas use, the International Energy Agency has announced in it's recent report.
• Nearly 5 years after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the state has finalised its new emblem for official use. This emblem consists of "Dhamma Chakka (The Wheel of Law)" embllished with a ring of Triratnas alternating with pinnate leaves and precious stones.
• New Zealand became the 1st cricket team to win a Test match with a margin of four runs in the format's 141-year history.
• Newly appointed Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa ended his five-decade-long association with Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and joined newly-formed Sri Lanka People’s Party (SLPP).  
• Ohio will become the 1st US state to accept payment of taxes by businesses in Bitcoin.
• Oscar winning musician A R Rahman's biography "Notes of a Dream: The Authorized Biography of AR Rahman" was recently launched. This book has been authored by Krishna Trilok.
• Playing in her first AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship, India's 21-year-old boxer Sonia Chahal won Silver medal after losing to Germany's OG Wahner in the 57-kg category.
• PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the 1st of the four multi-modal 'Inland Waterways Terminal' at Varanasi, which is being built on Ganga.
• President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the 1st Gyan Kumbh, billed as a premier event of higher education in Uttarakhand. The higher education ministers of 18 states, the Union HRD minister as well as over 200 academicians from across the country attended the event.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the swearing-in ceremony of Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the Maldives' President-elect on November 17.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi constituted National Implementation Committee (NIC) to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in the country and abroad. Head of the committee : Rajnath Singh (Union Home Minister).
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarks on 2-day visit to Singapore. During this visit, he participated in ASEAN-INDIA informal meet,  13th EastAsia Summit and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a 59-minute approval portal for loans of up to ₹1 crore to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Argentina with an aim to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties between the two countries.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a visit to Argentina to attend the G20 summit.
• Punjab became 3rd state in the country after Maharashtra and Gujarat  to ban Hookah bars or lounges.
• Reliance Jio will replace Airtel as the telecom service provider for Indian Railways from 1st January 2018, after it emerged as the lowest bidder.
• Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu was on an official visit to India. During this visit, he held delegation level talks with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi.
• Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have pledged $500 million in aid to war-torn Yemen as millions of people in the country face starvation.
• Scientists unanimously voted to redefine Kilogram, retiring the 130 year old platinum alloy cylinder conceived in Paris in 1889. Redefined by the Planck constant, the new system determines the unit of mass through the electrical force needed to counteract the weight of a kilogram on a Kibble balance.
• Senior Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali (33) announced his retirement from limited overs cricket in order to concentrate on Test cricket.  
• Shillong (Meghalaya's capital) hosted the 3rd edition of the India International Cherry Blossom Festival from 14th to 17th November 2018.
• South Korea's First Lady Kim Jung-sook was on a 4 day visit to India. During this visit, she met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and held bilateral talks.
• Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved the Parliament after his party announced that it did not have the majority to secure support for PM Mahinda Rajapaksa.  
• State-run Allahabad Bank  announced that it will receive a capital infusion of ₹3,054 crore from the government. The bank received ₹1,790 crore as capital from the government in July this year.
• Taiwan voters have rejected same-sex marriages. They backed the definition of marriage as the union of a man and woman.
• Tamil Nadu Police has banned officials below the rank of sub-inspector from using mobile phones while on an important duty.  
• Telangana based 13-year-old shooter Esha Singh beat the likes of Manu Bhaker and Heena Sidhu to win 3 Gold medals in women's air pistol events at the 62nd National Shooting Championships.
• The 14th edition of JashneBachpan, a theatre festival for children was recently held in New Delhi.
• The 1st passenger train to run on broad gauge between India and Nepal is likely to run from December this year. The train will run from Jaynagar in Bihar to Kurtha in Dhanusa district in Janakpur Zone of south-eastern Nepal.
• The 1st Sustainable Blue Economy Conference was held in Nairobi (Kenya). Theme of Sustainable Blue Economy Conference 2018 : ‘The Blue Economy and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.’
• The 2 day South Asian Regional Conference on Urban Infrastructure : New Approaches to Public and Private Partnerships (PPPs) and Municipal Finance Innovations was recently held in New Delhi. Objective : To discuss the key issues, perspectives and way forward in the Urban Infrastructure.
• The 26th meeting of the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) was recently at Palais des Congrés, Versailles, France.
• The 3 day South Asia Regional Youth Peace Conference was held in New Delhi as part 150th birth anniversary celebrations of father of nation Mahatma Gandhi. Objective of this conference : To eliminate stereotypes, prejudices across all borders to understand micro-macro aspect of issues, identify common challenges and develop plan of action and to build network of youth leaders.
• The 66th Nehru Trophy Boat Race (also known as Vallam Kali) was recently held on the Punnamada Lake, near Alappuzha, Kerala. Payippadan Chundan of Pallathuruthi Boat Club has won the race.
• The American multinational financial services corporation, American Express won approval to clear card payments in China. With this, the company became 1st foreign payments company allowed to build a network in China.
• The Andhra Pradesh state has finalised the design 250-metre-high assembly building, which will make it taller than the world's tallest statue, Gujarat's 'Statue of Unity' (182 meters), by 68 metres.
• The annual Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) was held at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The 4-day event is one of the world’s largest oil and gas exhibitions. India was represented by : Dharmendra Pradhan (Minister of Petroleum & Natural Ga).
• The annual Sangai Festival was celebrated in northeastern state of Manipur. Aim of Sangai Festiavl : To promote Manipur as world class tourism destination.
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $200 million loan agreement to finance widening and upgrading of about 230 Kilometers State Highways in Bihar to all-weather standards with road safety features.
• The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has announced the creation of a new division within its Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment to list startups. Startups seeking listing should have existed for at least two years at the time of filing.
• The Cabinet has approved a plan to allow foreign oil companies to store oil in the Padur Strategic Petroleum Reserve (Karnataka).
• The cabinet has approved continuation of 9 sub-schemes of umbrella scheme “Atmosphere & Climate Research-Modelling Observing Systems & Services (ACROSS)” during 2017-2020.
• The Cabinet has cleared the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and South Korea for strengthening cooperation in the field of tourism.
• The Central and Andhra Pradesh governments and the World Bank have signed the loan agreement for a $172.20 million project to enhance agricultural productivity, profitability, and climate resilience of poor and marginalized farmers in Andhra Pradesh.
• The Central Information Commission (CIC) issued a show-cause notice to RBI Governor Urjit Patel for "dishonouring" Supreme Court judgement on disclosure of the wilful defaulters’ list. Patel denied information on the list that names wilful defaulters who took loans of ₹50 crore and above.
• The Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) has signed MoU with US-based Research Institute for Fragrant Materials (RIFM) for improving the quality of fragrant oils. This agreement was signed at the conclusion of 2-day annual conference of International Fragrance Association (IFA) in Paris, France.
• The Centre has amended its Haj policy to make the differently-abled people perform the annual pilgrimage.
• The Defence Ministry has signed contract worth Rs 2,435.15 crore with public sector Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata for manufacturing of four survey vessels aimed at boosting to capabilities of Indian Navy.
• The Environment Pollution Control Authority is planning to place a ban on private vehicles on Delhi streets to control air pollution. Note : Cities like Colombian capital Bogota and Germany's Hamburg have implemented such bans earlier.
• The Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities (GITC) 2018 was recently held in New Delhi.
• The government has approved to expand the scope of mandatory packaging norms under Jute Packaging Material (JPM) Act, 1987. It has approved that 100% of the food grains and 20% of sugar shall be mandatorily packed in diversified jute bags.
• The government is planning to combine two state-run power sector lenders, Rural Electrification Corporation and Power Finance Corporation.
• The Himachal Pradesh government accorded its approval to implement Sashakt Mahila Yojna in the state with a vision to empower rural women by providing them an interface for organization and socio-economic development.
• The inaugural edition of India, Indonesia Bilateral Naval Exercise ‘Samudra Shakti’ was held at the Surabaya port, Indonesia. Aim of Samudra Shakti : To strengthen bilateral relations, expand maritime co-operation, enhance interoperability and exchange best practices.
• The Income Tax Department announced that quoting of father's name in PAN application forms will not be mandatory in cases where the applicant's mother is a single parent.
• The Indian Air Force (IAF) and US Air Force (USAF) are going to participate in bilateral exercise ‘COPE INDIA 2019’ – scheduled to be held during 3rd to 14th December 2019 in West Bengal.  
• The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) launches new Offshore patrol vessel (OPV) ICGS Varaha at L&T Kattupalli shipyard near Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is 4th in the series of 98 M OPVs designed and built indigenously by Larsen & Toubro (L&T).
• The Indian government is going to release a Rs. 75 coin on the occasion of 75th anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose hoisting the Tricolour for the 1st time at Port Blair.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has invited international proposals for scientific payloads for its 2nd interplanetary mission to Venus in mid-2023.
• The Indian Space Research organisation (ISRO) successfully launched GSAT-29 satellite from Sriharikota. This is India's heaviest satellite.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched India's Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite (HySIS) along with 30 Micro and Nanosatellites of eight other countries after a 16-hour countdown.  
• The Indian women's football team qualified for the Olympic Qualifiers second round for the first time.
• The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that the World T20 will be called T20 World Cup from the 2020 edition onwards.
• The International Energy Agency in its latest report titled ‘World Energy Outlook’ stated that India will overtake the U.S. to become the world’s 2nd-biggest emitter of carbon dioxide from the power sector before 2030. China will remain the biggest emitter.
• The International Gita Festival 2018 will be organised in Kurukshetra in Haryana from December 7 to 23, 2018.
• The joint military exercise between India and Russia "INDRA 2018" began on 18th November 2018 at Babina Field Firing Ranges, Babina Military Station Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh). Aim of INDRA 2018 : Combating insurgency under the aegis of United Nations (UN).
• The Karnataka government has proposed to build a 125-foot tall statue of Mother Cauvery in Krishnarajasagara Reservoir in Mandya district.
• The Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressway, also known as Western Peripheral Expressway, became fully operational after PM Narendra Modi inaugurated its Kundli-Manesar stretch in Gurugram.
• The Maharashtra assembly has unanimously approved 16% reservation for the Maratha community in jobs and educational institutes. Following this, the total reservation in the state for OBC, SC/ST groups, other minor social groups, and the Marathas will be 68%.
• The Maharashtra government has approved the hyperloop project between Pune and Mumbai as a public infrastructure project. This project aims to cut the travel time between the two destinations to 25 minutes.
• The Maldives is going to rejoin the Commonwealth after 2 years following the cabinet's approval backing the move.
• The Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region, Dr. Jitendra Singh released a book titled ‘Radio Kashmir – In Times of Peace & War’ written by Dr Rajesh Bhat.
• The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has organised a Seminar on Gandhian thoughts and Swachhta to make India a Swacch Bharat by 2019 -150 the birthday celebration of Mahatma Gandhi. Theme of this Seminar : Swachh evam Swawalambhi Sankul.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs has authorised Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Public Sectors Banks to request for lookout circulars against wilful defaulters in order to prevent them from leaving the country.
• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs  launched a centralised electronic platform titled 'PaiSA', for processing interest subvention on bank loans to beneficiaries under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM). PAISA – Portal for Affordable Credit and Interest Subvention Access.
• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has approved the sale of Quadricycles for personal use. A quadricycle is a 4-wheel motor vehicle of the size of a three-wheeler but with less power and a lower maximum speed than a conventional small car.  
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced a 3.6 billion-year-old crater called Jezero Crater as the landing site for its 2020 rover mission to Mars.
• The National Projects Construction Corporation Limited (NPCC) has been conferred with the status of Miniratna : Category –I by the Government of India. The empowerment of Miniratna Status to NPCC will help the company in taking speedy decisions by enhancing the delegation of powers to the Board.
• The Netherlands women’s hockey team won its 7th Women’s Hockey Champions Trophy at the Wujin Hockey Stadium in Changzhou, China by defeating Australia.  
• The Pakistan Cricket Board is going to conduct a 3 match test series trophy titled 'Oye Hoye Cup 2018' between Pakistan and New Zealand.
• The Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan was on the 1st official visit to China. During this visit, he seek financial assistance to avoid an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.
• The rating agency Crisil has recently announced that the state-owned banks will need ₹1.2 lakh crore in fresh capital by March 2019 to meet regulatory requirements.
• The researchers of IIT, Madras have designed India's first indigenously developed microprocessor titled "Shakti".
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) agreed to inject ₹8,000 crore into the market by purchasing government bonds by November 22. RBI will buy these securities through multi-security auction using multiple price method.
• The Shri Ramayana Express, a train covering key destinations associated with Lord Ram's life, was flagged off from the Safdarjung Railway Station in Delhi.
• The Summit of APEC Countries was recently held in Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). This is the 1st time Papua New Guinea (PNG), the poorest of the 21 countries in APEC, has hosted the summit.
• The Supreme Court has allowed candidates aged above 25 to take National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2019.
• The Third Committee of the UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution on sexual harassment. This is the 1st of its kind resolution on sexual harassment at the world body.
• The trial run of India's first engine-less train, Train 18, was successfully conducted on a standard railway track of Bareilly-Moradabad section, New Dwlhi.
• The UK government has announced plans to launch its 1st Driverless public transport services by 2021. The £25 million ($33 million) project would include autonomous buses in Scotland and self-driving taxis in several London boroughs.
• The union cabinet approved Agreement between India and Morocco on Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters.
• The Union Cabinet has approved agreement between India and Morocco on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. This MoU will provide broad legal framework for bilateral cooperation between India and Morocco in investigation and prosecution of crime, restraint, tracing, forfeiture or confiscation or proceeds and instruments of crime.
• The United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) has issued special stamps with Diyas lamps (special event sheet) to commemorate Indian festival of Diwali.
• The United States has removed at least 50 Indian products from the list of items eligible for duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) the largest and oldest US trade preference programme. Note : India is the largest beneficiary of GSP.
• The Uttar Pradesh government has cleared the plans to build a 221-metre-tall bronze statue of Lord Ram in Ayodhya, which will be the world's tallest statue. The Lord Ram statue would consist of a 151-metre statue, a 20-metre umbrella overhead, and a 50-metre pedestal; the total being 221 metre.
• The Uttarakhand government has approved a proposal to rename capital Dehradun's Jolly Grant Airport after late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
• The Women and Child Development Ministry has approved setting up over 1000 Fast Track Special Courts to dispose off pending cases of rape and POCSO Act across the country. The project has a total financial implication of over 767 crore rupees.
• The world's largest neuromorphic supercomputer SpiNNaker, which was designed and built to work like a human brain, has been switched on for the first time. Made up of one million processors, SpiNNaker can complete over 200 million-million actions per second.
• To boost Intellectual Property Right (IPR) culture in indigenous defence industry, the Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched ‘Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti’ in New Delhi. Aim of Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti : To provide a boost to IPR culture in indigenous defence industry.  
• To capture loan information of individuals and corporate borrowers, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated steps to set up wide-based digital Public Credit Registry (PCR).
• To develop leadership capacities in women and make them vocal for their rights, the Uttar Pradesh Government recently launched Women Empowerment Resolution Campaign. This campaign was launched by Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister) in Lucknow.
• To enable seamless booking of unreserved tickets including season tickets and also platform tickets all over Indian Railways, the Union Ministry of Railways has launched Unreserved Mobile Ticketing facility (UTS on Mobile). This will remove the need for passengers to wait in queues for purchasing the tickets.
• To ensure sustainable development of Indian Himalayan region, NITI Aayog has constituted Himalayan State Regional Council. Head of this Council : Dr VK Saraswat (Member, NITI Aayog).
• To give land rights to enclave dwellers in north Bengal, the West Bengal Assembly unanimously passed West Bengal Land Reforms (Amendment) Bill, 2018.
• To promote efficient energy usage in India, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is going to provide US $13 million loan to Energy Efficiency Services (EESL).
• Twitter India has launched #PowerOf18 campaign aimed at encouraging youth to contribute in public debates and participate in civic engagement for the 2019 general elections.
• U S Vice President Mike Pence met Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his 4 nation tour. Pence travelled to Japan, Singapore, Australia and Papua New Guinea from November 11 to 18.
• Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ujjivan Financial Services Limited, launched personal loan facility for salaried professionals making it the 1st small finance bank in India to offer this.
• Union Cabinet has approved extension of term of Commission to examine issue of Sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Central List for six months beyond 30th November, 2018 and till 31st May 2019.
• Union Cabinet has approved setting up of Central Tribal University in Andhra Pradesh.
• United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group signed an agreement to support efforts eliminate hunger globally by 2030. Under this agreement, Alibaba will lend its cutting-edge technology and resources to support digital transformation of WFP’s operations.
• Uttar Pradesh Government has approved renaming of Faizabad and Allahabad divisions as Ayodhya and Prayagraj respectively.
• Veteran first-class cricketer Wasim Jaffer became the 1st Indian batsman to touch the 11,000-run figure in the Ranji Trophy.
• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu  inaugurated the Indian Armed Forces Memorial in France, as a tribute to Indian soldiers who lost their lives during World War I. This is the 1st India-built war memorial in the country.
• Walmart, which bought a 77% stake in Flipkart for $16 billion in May, has increased its stake in Flipkart to 81.3%.
• With an aim to provide free WiFi service worldwide, Chinese internet technology company LinkSure Network has unveiled plans to launch a constellation of 272 satellites by 2026.
• Yes Bank independent director Rentala Chandrashekhar resigned from the post, marking the third exit from the private lender's board in a week. On November 14, the bank's Non-Executive Chairman Ashok Chawla and another independent director Vasant Gujarathi tendered their resignations.

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