18th November, 2022

1. National Investigation Agency has announced the establishment of Offices in every state by 2024.
2. A total of 11 career researchers from India and Germany have received the ‘Paired Early Career Fellowship in Applied Research’ (PECFAR).
3. Chief Election Commissioner of India Shri Rajiv Kumar has been invited by the Election Commission of Nepal as the International Observer for the forthcoming elections to Nepal’s House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly.
4. The 4th edition of Indian Chemicals Council (ICC) Sustainability Conclave was inaugurated in New Delhi on the theme of ‘boardrooms to Community-ESG, Carbon Neutrality, Operational Safety, Greener Solutions’.
5. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organized the “11th big Picture summit 2022” at Hotel le Meridien, New Delhi.
6. Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha launched the g-SAM (Gram Panchayat Spatial Assets Mapper) mobile app.
7. Maharashtra has received $400 million loan from Asian Development Bank to bring in 5,000 electric buses.
8. Tamil Nadu introduced the Elephant Death Audit Framework to boost transparency in the cases of elephant mortality.
9. The Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture (KJWA) is a landmark decision under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that recognizes the unique potential of agriculture in tackling climate change.
10. InsuranceDekho has partnered with Life Insurance Corp. of India to allow it to offer LIC products to its customers on its platform pan-India.
11. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned 57 flood protection projects and one rural bridge amounting to Rs 220.5 crore for Odisha under its Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF).
12. SEBI has introduced a new option for the appointment and removal of independent directors from the boards of companies.
13. State Bank of India has signed a 150 million Euro (Rs 1,240 crore) loan agreement with the German development bank KfW for funding solar projects.
14. According to the World Steel Association, India has become the world’s 2nd largest producer of crude steel after China in 2018 and 2019.
15. Electoral bonds worth Rs 10,246 crores have been sold by the State Bank of India (SBI) since the instrument was launched in March 2018.
16. According to the ‘Micro Matters: Macro View – India Microfinance Review FY 2021-22’ report by Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), the microfinance industry grew over 16-times in the last decade with a loan portfolio of Rs 2.85 lakh crore.
17. Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 5th meeting of the Governing Council (GC) of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), in New Delhi.
18. The central government has extended the term of Dr VG Somani, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) by 3 more months. The extension period will come to effect from November 11.
19. V. Ananda Bose has been appointed as the new Governor of West Bengal.
20. November 16 – World GIS Day; Theme – Enhancing Food Security and Climate Resilience
21. World Philosophy Day (3rd Thursday of November); Theme – The Human of the Future
22. Fortune magazine has released its annual 40 under 40 list. Indians on the list –
23. The 8th FICCI Higher Education Excellence Awards 2022 has been presented by the Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad.
24. NTPC has won the “GOLD” award in the 47th International Convention on Quality Control Circle (ICQCC-2022) in Jakarta, Indonesia.
25. 2nd edition of the North East Olympic Games has concluded in Shilllong, Meghalaya.

National News

1. National Investigation Agency has announced the establishment of Offices in every state by 2024.
2. A total of 11 career researchers from India and Germany have received the ‘Paired Early Career Fellowship in Applied Research’ (PECFAR).
   • The initiative has been launched by the Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC), a bilateral institution established by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany to promote Science and Technology collaborations with a focus on applied research.
   • In the fellowship, a researcher from India and a researcher from Germany are paired for collaboration.
   • This is the first time, researchers have received this award under the PECFAR, which was launched to facilitate a two-way exchange between early-career researchers from India and German.
3. Chief Election Commissioner of India Shri Rajiv Kumar has been invited by the Election Commission of Nepal as the International Observer for the forthcoming elections to Nepal’s House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly.
   • India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) of the Election Commission of India will conduct a capacity building program for 25 officials from Election Commission of Nepal in 2023.

4. The 4th edition of Indian Chemicals Council (ICC) Sustainability Conclave was inaugurated in New Delhi on the theme of ‘boardrooms to Community-ESG, Carbon Neutrality, Operational Safety, Greener Solutions’.
   • It is being organized jointly with United Nations Environment Program and International Council of Chemical Associations with support of Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
5. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organized the “11th big Picture summit 2022” at Hotel le Meridien, New Delhi.
   • This year’s summit discussions focused on emerging trends, technological advancements, and opportunities for various industries, led by internationally renowned experts in entertainment, broadcasting, streaming, filming, advertisement, and many others.
   • CII represents India at Cannes Film Market, Berlin Film Festival, and at the Toronto Film Festival.

State News

1. Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha launched the g-SAM (Gram Panchayat Spatial Assets Mapper) mobile app.
   • Jammu and Kashmir Remote Sensing Information System (JKRIS), a spatial data infrastructure initiative, was also launched.
2. Maharashtra has received $400 million loan from Asian Development Bank to bring in 5,000 electric buses.
   • Separately, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and GreenCell Express Private Limited (GEPL) signed a $40 million funding agreement for the development of 255 electric battery-powered buses with a focus on women’s safety.
3. Tamil Nadu introduced the Elephant Death Audit Framework to boost transparency in the cases of elephant mortality.

International News

1. The Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture (KJWA) is a landmark decision under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that recognizes the unique potential of agriculture in tackling climate change.
   • The Koronivia decision addresses six interrelated topics on soils, nutrient use, water, livestock, methods for assessing adaptation, and the socio-economic and food security dimensions of climate change across the agricultural sectors.
   • India opposed the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture, which has sought to expand efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouses gases to the agriculture sector.

Banking and Economy

1. InsuranceDekho has partnered with Life Insurance Corp. of India to allow it to offer LIC products to its customers on its platform pan-India.
2. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned 57 flood protection projects and one rural bridge amounting to Rs 220.5 crore for Odisha under its Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF).
3. SEBI has introduced a new option for the appointment and removal of independent directors from the boards of companies.
   • Under this, the appointment and removal of independent directors could be done by way of two parameters—threshold for ordinary resolution and threshold for majority of minority shareholders.
4. State Bank of India has signed a 150 million Euro (Rs 1,240 crore) loan agreement with the German development bank KfW for funding solar projects.
   • The long-term loan, under the Indo-German solar partnership, will facilitate new and upcoming capacities in the solar sector and further contribute to the country’s goals announced during COP26.
5. According to the World Steel Association, India has become the world’s 2nd largest producer of crude steel after China in 2018 and 2019.
   • India has replaced Japan.
6. Electoral bonds worth Rs 10,246 crores have been sold by the State Bank of India (SBI) since the instrument was launched in March 2018.
   • An electoral bond is valid for 15 days from the date of issuance. No payment can be made to any political party if the bond is deposited after the expiry of the validity period.
   • Electoral bonds can be purchased by Indian citizens or entities incorporated or established in the country.
7. According to the ‘Micro Matters: Macro View – India Microfinance Review FY 2021-22’ report by Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), the microfinance industry grew over 16-times in the last decade with a loan portfolio of Rs 2.85 lakh crore.
8. Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 5th meeting of the Governing Council (GC) of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), in New Delhi.
   • In November 2022, the NIIF has signed an MOU with Japan Bank for International Development (JBIC) to set up its first bilateral fund – an “India Japan Fund”.
   • The NIIF currently manages three funds, which are the Master Fund, the Fund of Funds (FoF), and the Strategic Opportunities Fund (SoF), to make investments.

Appointments

1. The central government has extended the term of Dr VG Somani, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) by 3 more months. The extension period will come to effect from November 11.
2. V. Ananda Bose has been appointed as the new Governor of West Bengal.

Important Days

1. November 16 – World GIS Day; Theme – Enhancing Food Security and Climate Resilience
2. November 17 –
   • World Philosophy Day (3rd Thursday of November); Theme – The Human of the Future
   • International Student’s Day
   • National Epilepsy Day
     • November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month. The theme of the month is “There is no NEAM without Me”.

Awards

1. Fortune magazine has released its annual 40 under 40 list. Indians on the list –
   • Ankit Gupta (founder of Bicycle Health) in the Health and Bioscience category
   • Kanav Kariya (President of Jump Crypto) in the Finance and Crypto category
2. The 8th FICCI Higher Education Excellence Awards 2022 has been presented by the Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad.

4. NTPC has won the “GOLD” award in the 47th International Convention on Quality Control Circle (ICQCC-2022) in Jakarta, Indonesia.
   • Theme of the convention – “Built Back Better through Quality Efforts”
   • In March 2022, NTPC had been declared the “Dream Employer of the Year” at the 30th Session of the World HRD Congress in Mumbai.

Sports

1. The 2nd edition of the North East Olympic Games has concluded in Shilllong, Meghalaya.
   • Manipur emerged as the overall team champion with a total of 240 medals which included 88 gold medal 75 silver and 77 bronze medals.
   • Assam is in the second position, followed by Arunachal Pradesh at the third position.

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