14th-15th November, 2023

1. Coal Ministry has amended SHAKTI (Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala) policy to expand coal linkage and promote market transparency.
2. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has implemented Digital Advertisement Policy 2023 to enable and empower Central Bureau of Communication.
3. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has launched ‘AAINA Dashboard for Cities’ portal to create a robust database of the key performance metrics of Urban Local Bodies.
4. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and theGlobal Environment Facility (GEF) have announced the establishment of Natural Capital Fund (NCF).
5. ICICI Bank has received approval from RBI to make ICICI Securities a wholly owned subsidiary.
6. Ashok Leyland has become the first Indian Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to unveil an in-house LNG engine.
7. National Highway Authority of India has accepted first Insurance Surety Bond for the monetization program of the upcoming bid of Toll Operate Transfer (TOT) Bundle.
8. India has been ranked 117th among 129 nations in inclusiveness index published by Othering and Belonging Institute (OBI) at California University, United States.
9. WHO has unveiled a new Operational framework for building climate resilient and low carbon health systems.
10. Moody’s has retained India’s GDP growth rate at 7% in its Global Macro Outlook 2024-25 report on the basis of strong domestic demand.
11. India and Bangladesh navies have conducted 4th edition of Bilateral Exercise between Indian Navy and Bangladesh Navy (BONGOSAGAR-23), and the 5th edition of Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT).
12. India and Russia have signed a contract on supply and production of Igla Air Defence Systems.
13. Konkani singer, lyricist, and composer Apolinaris D’Souza has been honoured with the 19th edition of the ‘Kalakar Puraskar’ Award.
14. Falguni Shah’s ‘Abundance in Millets’ has been nominated in the best global music performance category at the 2024 Grammy Awards.
15. World Usability Day
16. National Education Day
17. Public Service Broadcasting Day
18. World Pneumonia Day
19. World Diabetes Day

National News

1. Coal Ministry has amended SHAKTI (Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala) policy to expand coal linkage and promote market transparency.
   • Objective–
     • To create more transparent coal allocation mechanism by selling generated power through power exchanges
     • To sell power through transparent bidding processes on Discovery of Efficient Energy Price (DEEP) portal.
   • The amendment allows all private and government owned power plants to get coal linkage for a minimum 3 months and up to a maximum of 1 year.
     Source: ET

2. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has implemented Digital Advertisement Policy 2023 to enable and empower Central Bureau of Communication.
   • Objectives–
     • To enable and empower the Central Bureau of Communication (CBC) to undertake digital media campaigns for disseminating information about various government schemes, programs, and policies.
     • To responds to the evolving media landscape and the increased digitalization of media consumption.
     • To leverage the subscriber base in the digital universe and technology-enabled messaging options for effective delivery of citizen-centric messages in a targeted manner.
     • To enable CBC to empanel agencies and organizations in the OTT and Video-on-demand space and audio format

3. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has launched ‘AAINA Dashboard for Cities’ portal to create a robust database of the key performance metrics of Urban Local Bodies.
   • About AAINA Dashboard for Cities–
     • It is a database where Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across the country can voluntarily submit their key data on a regular basis, through a simple, easy-to-fill, data entry form on the portal.

   • Pillars of dashboard–
     • Political & Administrative Structure
     • Finance
     • Planning
     • Citizen Centric Governance
     • Delivery of Basic Services

   • Objectives–
     • To see how ULB’s are performing in comparison to other cities
     • To inspire ULB’s by pointing to possibilities and areas of improvement
     • To provide opportunity to learn and engage with frontrunners
       Source: PIB
     
     

Banking and Economy

1. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and theGlobal Environment Facility (GEF) have announced the establishment of Natural Capital Fund (NCF).
   • Objective–
     • to support projects that enhance food security while also protecting and restoring natural capital in ADB’s developing member countries (DMCs)

   • Funding amount–
     • GEF is supporting the NCF with an investment of $15 million.

     
     
   
   

2. ICICI Bank has received approval from RBI to make ICICI Securities a wholly owned subsidiary.
   Source: ET
3. Ashok Leyland has become the first Indian Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to unveil an in-house LNG engine.
   • The engine is complaint with BS6 Stage 2 emission norms.
     Source: ET

   
   
4. National Highway Authority of India has accepted first Insurance Surety Bond for the monetization program of the upcoming bid of Toll Operate Transfer (TOT) Bundle.
   • For the first time Insurance Surety Bond has been utilized as a Bank Guarantee (BG) in the road infrastructure sector for monetization of bids.
   • This initiative is implemented by SBI General Insurance and AON India Insurance.
   
   
   
   

Source: PIB

Reports and Indices

1. India has been ranked 117th among 129 nations in inclusiveness index published by Othering and Belonging Institute (OBI) at California University, United States.
   • Top 3 performers–
     • New Zealand (Rank 1), Portugal (Rank 2), Netherland (Rank 3)
   • Bangladesh has been ranked 106 and Iran is placed at bottom 129th

6. WHO has unveiled a new Operational framework for building climate resilient and low carbon health systems.
   • It is designed to enhance the resilience of health systems while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions to help safeguard the health of communities worldwide.
   • The key objectives of the WHO Framework are:
     • to guide health sector professionals in addressing climate-related health risks through collaboration;
     • to strengthen health system functions for climate resilience and low carbon health approaches;
     • to support development of specific interventions for climate risk reduction and emissions reduction; and
     • to define roles and responsibilities for health decision-makers in climate resilience.

Source: WHO

GDP Forecasts

1. Moody’s has retained India’s GDP growth rate at 6.7% in its Global Macro Outlook 2024-25 report on the basis of strong domestic demand.
   • GDP Growth Projections for India:
     • The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow by 6.7% in the year 2023
     • The growth rate is expected to slightly slow down to 6.1% in 2024
     • The GDP growth is then anticipated to rebound to 6.3% in 2025
   • Growth Projection of G20 emerging markets:
     • Moody’s anticipates a slowdown in the growth of G20 emerging markets, with a projected growth rate of 3.7% in 2024.
     • This marks a decline from the growth rate of 4.3% forecasted for 2023.
     • The growth is expected to rebound slightly to 3.8% in 2025.
   • Overall Trend:
     • The projections indicate a general deceleration in economic growth for both advanced G20 economies and emerging markets in the specified time frame.

Source: livemint

Defence News

1. India and Bangladesh navies have conducted 4th edition of Bilateral Exercise between Indian Navy and Bangladesh Navy (BONGOSAGAR-23), and the 5th edition of Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT).
   • Location– Northern Bay of Bengal
   • Date of exercise: 7th -9th November
   • Military assets participated–
     • Indian Navy Ships involved: INS Kuthar, INS Kiltan, and Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) Dornier.
     • Bangladesh Navy Ships involved: Abu Bakr, Abu Ubaidah, and MPA.
   • Key features of Exercise–
     • Navies undertook joint patrolling along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL)
     • CORPAT-23 (Coordinated Patrol) included the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) drills for the first time.
     • The HADR drills involved a Search and Rescue scenario at sea, showcasing joint capabilities in responding to humanitarian crises.

2. India and Russia have signed a contract on supply and production of Igla Air Defence Systems.
   • Under the contract Russia will supply Igla-S hand-held anti-aircraft missiles to India and allow production of the Igla there under licence.
     Source: Hindu Business Line
   
   

Awards

1. Konkani singer, lyricist, and composer Apolinaris D’Souza has been honoured with the 19th edition of the ‘Kalakar Puraskar’ Award.

2. Falguni Shah’s ‘Abundance in Millets’ has been nominated in the best global music performance category at the 2024 Grammy Awards.
   • The song ‘Abundance in Millets’ features Prime Minister Narendra Modi and it is sung by Falguni Shah and her husband Gaurav Shah.
   • Abundance in Millets was created to raise awareness of the super-grain as another potential key to minimizing world hunger.

Source: livemint

Important Days

1. November 9– World Usability Day; Theme– Collaboration and Cooperation
   Source: wud
2. November 11– National Education Day; Theme– Embracing Innovation
   • It is observed every year after the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad who was the first Educational Minister of Independent India.
     Source: gdly

3. November 12– Public Service Broadcasting Day
   Source: PB
4. November 12– World Pneumonia Day; Theme– Every Breath Counts: Stop Pneumonia in its Track
   Source: PH
5. November 14– World Diabetes Day
   Source: UN

Sports

1. India has won 7 medals in Asian Archery Championship 2023 held in Bangkok, Thailand.
   • India has been ranked 2nd in overall tournament, South Korea has secured 1st place.
     • Rank and Medal tally–

2. Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag, Diana Edulji and Sri Lanka’s Aravinda de Silva have been inducted into ICC Hall of Fame.
   • Former captain Diana Edulji has become the first Indian woman cricketer to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.

Source: HT

Memorandum of Understanding

1. The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) has signed an MoU with Lean Campus Startups (Trust) & WEICI India to empower corporate and women entrepreneurs through various training programmes.
   • Objective–
     • To enhance various aspects of entrepreneurship such as-
       • knowledge about industry trends,
       • skills relevant to effective business management,
       • strategies needed to establish and manage a diverse workforce
       • and competencies required for success in a dynamic business environment.

   
   

2. Government of India has signed a $400 million policy-based loan with Asian Development Bank (ADB).
   • Objective–
     • To support its urban reform agenda for creating high quality urban infrastructure, improving service delivery, and promoting efficient governance systems
     • It is signed under sub-programme 2 for supporting investment planning and reform actions at the state and urban local body (ULB) levels.
     • The development will be done under flagship programme of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation(AMRUT) 2.0 targeted for universal access of water supply and sanitation
     • It also includes integrated town planning.
       Source: PIB
     
     

3. Odisha government has signed an MoU with Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel (AMNS) to establish a High-Performance Centre in Kho-Kho at Kalinga stadium in Bhubaneshwar.
   • Under the agreement Odisha will contribute infrastructure support and AMNS will provide experienced and dedicated coaches to elevate the level of Kho-Kho in state.
     Source: ANI

Appointments

1. Rear Admiral CR Praveen Nair has been appointed has been appointed as the Commander of the Western Fleet of Indian Navy.
   • Western fleet s also known as ‘Swords Arm’.
   • Headquarters of Western Fleet- Mumbai
     Source: PIB
   
   

Miscellaneous

1. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has incorporated a joint venture (JV) with France-based Safran Helicopter Engines under the name “Safhal Helicopter Engines Pvt Ltd“.
   • Objective–
     • To design, develop, certify, produce, sell, and support helicopter engines.

   • First project under JV–
     • The first project is identified are engines for the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH) and Deck-Based Multi-Role Helicopter (DBMRH)
       Source: moneycontrol

2. SpaceX has launched next robotic cargo mission to the International Space Station—Crew Supply Mission-29 (CRS-29).
   • The mission has been launched on a Falcon 9 from the Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
     Source: Indian Express

Start Quiz of 14th-15th November 2023 on Mobile

Start Quiz of 14th-15th November 2023 on Desktop