02nd-04th December, 2023

1. India has been re-elected to International Maritime Organisation Council for the 2024–25 biennium.
2. Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has released Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment Report 2023.
3. Central Government has approved ₹17 crore recovery plan for Joshimath in Uttarakhand which was affected by landslide and ground subsidence.
4. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti have inaugurated ‘The Hump WWII Museum’ in Pasighat, East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
5. Indian Railways have planned to install AI based surveillance system ‘Gajraj’ to prevent elephant deaths on track.
6. Radhakishan Damani, founder of retail chain D-Mart has topped the IDFC FIRST Private Hurun India’s Top 200 Self-made Entrepreneurs of the Millennia 2023
7. Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has launched a revamped ‘DIGI-PHARMed’ portal.
8. HDFC securities has launched mobile trading app ‘HDFC SKY’ on Amazon Web Services.
9. SEBI has extended the timeline for implementation of linking SEBI complaint redressal (SCORES) with the online dispute resolution platform to April 1, 2024.
10. UNICEF has released Global Snapshot on Children with HIV and AIDS.
11. President Smt Droupadi Murmu has conferred President’s Colour to Armed Forces Medical College on the occasion of its platinum jubilee year.
12. Defence Acquisition Council has approved capital acquisition proposals worth Rs 2.23 lakh crore in respect of Acceptance of Necessity (AoNs).
13. Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has launched first 3 Ships Mahe, Malvan and Mangrol of the 8 Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts (ASW SWC) for the Indian Navy.
14. World Aids Day
15. 59th Raising Day of Border Security Force
16. International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
17. National Pollution Control Day
18. World Computer Literacy Day
19. Indian chess player R Vaishali has become 84th Grandmaster during 4th edition of the Llobregat Open Chess Tournament in Barcelona, Spain.
20. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank has partnered with org to offer water, sanitation and hygiene loans
21. Federal Bank has announced a collaboration with NCDEX e-Markets Limited (NeML) to strengthen the integration of its e-procurement and e-auction systems.
22. Tata Advanced System Limited (TASL) has partnered with Satellogic to develop local space tech capabilities in India.
23. Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX)- Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) has signed 300th contract with Agnit Semiconductor Private Limited.
24. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Bank of England (BoE) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation and exchange of information related to Clearing Corporation of India Ltd (CCIL).
25. Chandra Shekhar Ghosh has been re-appointed as the MD and CEO of Bandhan Bank.

National News

1. India has been re-elected to International Maritime Organisation Council for the 2024–25 biennium.
   • India comes under the Category of 10 states with “the largest interest in international seaborne trade.
   • About IMO Council–
     • It is the executive organ of IMO and is responsible, under the assembly, for supervising the work of the organization.
     • It performs the functions of the assembly, except that of making recommendations to governments on maritime safety and pollution prevention.

2. Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has released Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment Report 2023.
   • Assessment carried by–
     • It is carried jointly by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and States/UTs, which can be used for taking suitable interventions by various stake-holders.
   • Key observations–
     • Analysis indicates improvement in ground water conditions in 226 assessment units in the country compared with 2022 assessment data.
     • Total annual ground water recharge for entire country is 449.08 billion cubic meters (BCM), while extraction is 241.34 BCM.
     • Stage of ground water extraction stands at 59.23%.
     • Out of total 6553 assessment units, 4793 units categorized as ‘Safe’.
       Source: PIB
3. Central Government has approved ₹17 crore recovery plan for Joshimath in Uttarakhand which was affected by landslide and ground subsidence.
   Source: ET

State News

1. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti have inaugurated ‘The Hump WWII Museum’ in Pasighat, East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
   • More about museum–
     • It is 2nd museum in Asia dedicated to fallen airmen of the Allied Forces during WWII.
     • It is named after Hump route, an air route from Assam in India to Yunnan in China.
       Source: ET
     
     

International News

1. Indian Railways have planned to install AI based surveillance system ‘Gajraj’ to prevent elephant deaths on track.
   • More about surveillance system–
     • This surveillance system will be installed with the total cost of 181 crore on 700 kilometres of route passing through forest areas.
     • It will be installed in forest areas of Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, Kerala, Jharkhand and some parts of Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu which are home to elephants.
     • It will alert loco pilots well in time about the presence of elephants on tracks.
     • It was introduced by Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) in December 2022 in 11 elephant corridors.

     
     
   • How does the system work?
     • Every time an elephant steps on to the track, it generates an alert to the train controller, station master, train drivers etc.
       Source: livemint

   
   

Banking and Economy

1. Radhakishan Damani, founder of retail chain D-Mart has topped the IDFC FIRST Private Hurun India’s Top 200 Self-made Entrepreneurs of the Millennia 2023
   • Key observations–
     • Status and valuation–
       • Eight of the Top 10 most valuable companies in the list are startups.
       • The cumulative value of all the companies in the list is Rs 30 trillion, which is equivalent to the gross domestic product of Denmark
     • Diversity in Entrepreneurship–
       • The list showcases the vibrancy of Indian entrepreneurship across various parameters such as age, gender, and geography.
       • One-third of the entrepreneurs on the list are under the age of 40.
       • The eldest entrepreneur on the list is 80 years old.

       
       
     • Geographical Distribution–
       • The entrepreneurs are from 23 cities in India.
       • Bengaluru leads with 129 entrepreneurs, followed by Mumbai (78), Gurugram, and New Delhi (49).

       
       
     • Youngest Entrepreneur-
       • The youngest entrepreneur on the list is Kaivalya Vohra of Zepto, aged 21.

     • Top Women Entrepreneurs–
       • Falguni Nayar of Nykaa tops the list of women entrepreneurs.
       • Ghazal Alagh of Mamaearth and Saumya Singh Rathore of Winzo, both aged 35, are the youngest women on the list.

2. Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has launched a revamped ‘DIGI-PHARMed’ portal.
   • Objective–
     • To regulate the Pharmacy education in the country by enrolment/ registration of Pharmacy institutions/ Pharmacist/ Pharmacy student /Pharmacist jobseeker across India.

   • About DIGI-PHARMed’ portal–
     • It is a cloud-based application to provide end-to-end services to stakeholders
     • It will help in improving user satisfaction, promoting ease of doing business and improving productivity and transparency in administrative functioning

3. HDFC securities has launched mobile trading app ‘HDFC SKY’ on Amazon Web Services.
   • Key features–
     • It will provide secure and low-latency trading services to retail investors who prefer mobile trading.
     • It will enable investors to access the stock market at a scale of thousands of transactions per second.
     • With AWS, HDFC Securities will reduce its annual Information technology (IT) infrastructure and management costs by up to 50%.
       Source: TOI
4. SEBI has extended the timeline for implementation of linking SEBI complaint redressal (SCORES) with the online dispute resolution platform to April 1, 2024.
   • Earlier, the deadline for linking both the platforms was December 4.

   
   

Source: ET

Reports and Indices

1. UNICEF has released Global Snapshot on Children with HIV and AIDS.
   • Key observations–
     • Nearly 98,000 adolescent girls aged 10-19 were infected with HIV in 2022 – or 1,900 new infections every week
     • While total infections among girls aged 10-19 have almost halved since 2010 – from 190,000 to 98,000 – girls were still more than twice as likely to contract HIV last year, than boys.
     • Globally, there were 270,000 new HIV infections among all children and adolescents aged 0-19 in 2022, bringing the total number of young people living with HIV to 2.6 million.

   
   
   
   

Source: UNICEF

Defence News

1. President Smt Droupadi Murmu has conferred President’s Colour to Armed Forces Medical College on the occasion of its platinum jubilee year.
   • Key events–
     • President has released a special cover & stamp and a commemorative coin.
     • President will also e-inaugurate the ‘Prajna’, the Armed Forces Centre for Computational Medicine.

     
     
   • About Prajna–
     • It will place AFMC in league with leading global institutes undertaking cutting-edge healthcare research using Artificial Intelligence.

2. Defence Acquisition Council has approved capital acquisition proposals worth Rs 2.23 lakh crore in respect of Acceptance of Necessity (AoNs).
   • Objective–
     • To enhance the operational capabilities of the Armed Forces.

   • Key Acceptance of Necessity (AoNs) granted–
     • For Area Denial Munition (ADM) Types 2 and 3.
     • To replace Indian Field Gun (IFG).
     • For enhancing artillery lethality.
     • For Automatic Target Tracker (ATT) and Digital Basaltic Computer (DBC) integration.
     • For lightweight Surface-to-Surface Missile.
     • For Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk 1A.

3. Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has launched first 3 Ships Mahe, Malvan and Mangrol of the 8 Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts (ASW SWC) for the Indian Navy.
   • Key features–
     • Ships are equipped with indigenously developed, state-of-the-art underwater sensors, and are envisaged to undertake anti-submarine operations in coastal waters as well as Low Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO) and Mine Laying Operations.
     • The ASW SWC ships are 78 m long and displacement is approx 900 tons, with a maximum speed of 25 knots.
       Source: PIB

Important Days

1. December 1– World Aids Day; Theme– Let Communities lead
   Source: WHO
2. December 1– 59th Raising Day of Border Security Force
   Source: The print
3. December 2– International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
   Source: UN
4. December 2- National Pollution Control Day
   • It is observed in the memory of those who died in Bhopal Gas Tragedy, 1984.
     Source: ET

   
   
5. December 2- World Computer Literacy Day
   Source: HT

Sports

1. Indian chess player R Vaishali has become 84th Grandmaster during 4th edition of the Llobregat Open Chess Tournament in Barcelona, Spain.
   • More about R Vaishali–
     • She is the third Indian Female after Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli.
     • Vaishali and her brother R Praggnanandhaa became the world’s first sister-brother pair to become Grandmasters.
       Source: ET
     
     

Memorandum of Understanding

1. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank has partnered with org to offer water, sanitation and hygiene loans.
   • More about partnership–
     • org will assist Ujjivan SFB in identifying areas that require financing for clean water and hygienic sanitation.
     • org will provide technical assistance, market assessment, development of Information, Education and Communication (IEC) material, monitoring and evaluation support.
     • Ujjivan SFB is backing the cause by providing loans ranging from Rs 6,000 to Rs 1,00,000. This initiative supports both existing and new customers in constructing or renovating water and sanitation facilities.
       Source: The Print
2. Federal Bank has announced a collaboration with NCDEX e-Markets Limited (NeML) to strengthen the integration of its e-procurement and e-auction systems.
   • Objective–
     • To safeguard against cartel formations, allowing participants to enhance their bid value based on market scenarios
     • More about collaboration–
     • The alliance is expected to facilitate an advanced e-procurement solution, specifically targeting Central and State government organizations.
     • Farmers can list details of their crops on the NeML platform.
   • Benefits for Participants–
     • Improved price discovery mechanisms are expected.
       Source: Hindu Business Line
3. Tata Advanced System Limited (TASL) has partnered with Satellogic to develop local space tech capabilities in India.
   • More about collaboration–
     • TASL and Satellogic will collaborate on the development of a new satellite design and
     • They work together to integrate multiple payloads on a single satellite that will generate a diverse range of data over India.
   • Focus areas–
     • The focus will be on manufacturing satellites.
     • Developing imagery in India for national defence and commercial applications, toward which TASL is commissioning a satellite AIT plant at its Vemagal facility in Karnataka, it added.
       Source: ET
4. Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX)- Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) has signed 300th contract with Agnit Semiconductor Private Limited.
   • Objective–
     • To design and develop advance Gallium Nitride (Gan) semiconductors essential for the next generation of wireless transmitters in defence applications ranging from radars to electronic warfare jammers.

5. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Bank of England (BoE) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation and exchange of information related to Clearing Corporation of India Ltd (CCIL).
   • More about MoU–
     • It establishes a framework for the BoE to place reliance on RBI’s regulatory and supervisory activities while safeguarding UK financial stability.
     • It also demonstrates the importance of cross-border cooperation to facilitate international clearing activities and the BoE’s commitment to deference to other regulators.

   
   
   
   

Source: Indian Express

Appointments

1. Chandra Shekhar Ghosh has been re-appointed as the MD and CEO of Bandhan Bank.
   • Tenure of appointment– 3 years

Source: ET

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