30th November, 2022

1. Ministry of Power has launched a scheme for the procurement of aggregate electricity of 4,500 MW for five years under the SHAKTI (Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India) policy.
2. Space tech startup Agnikul has inaugurated India’s first-ever launchpad designed and operated by a private player, situated at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
3. Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has developed KeMapp – a mobile app which will serve as a common platform for accessing the services of e-vehicle charging stations.
4. Odisha government has launched an e-detection portal on national highways with effect from January 1, 2023, to keep a check on vehicles plying without valid documents.
5. Harimau Shakti-2022 – a joint army exercise of India and Malaysia – will be held at Pulai Klang in Malaysia.
6. Indian Navy launched ‘Ikshak‘, the third of the four survey vessels (Large) project, being built by GRSE and L&T at Kattupalli, Chennai.
7. The Ministry of AYUSH has signed an MOU with the Ministry of Science and Technology to explore potential areas of collaboration in the AYUSH sector.
8. World Health Organisation has renamed monkeypox as mpox, citing concerns the original name of the decades-old animal disease could be construed as discriminatory and racist.
9. China is planning to launch its Lunar Space Station by 2028. The space station is expected to be powered by nuclear energy.
10. 22nd Council of Ministers’ meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) was held at Dhaka in Bangladesh.
11. First edition of the India-ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting was held at Siem Reap, Cambodia to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of India-ASEAN relations in 2022, which has also been designated as ‘ASEAN-India Friendship Year’.
12. SpaceX has launched its cargo spacecraft named Dragon to the International Space Station and it has successfully docked itself at the ISS.
13. UK India Business Council has released the annual ‘Doing Business in India’ Report 2022.
14. Sany Bharat has signed an MoU with the Union Bank of India to make equipment financing an easy, efficient, and simple process.
15. Plant bioscience company Absolute has launched do-it-yourself insurance ‘Digifasal’, the first of its kind in the country.
16. Eversource promoted Accretive Cleantech Finance Private Ltd, operating as ‘Ecofy’, has received RBI approval to operate as a non-deposit-taking non-banking financial company (NBFC).
17. RBI has announced that the interest rate for short-term loans up to Rs 3,00,000 through Kisan Credit cards (KCC) will be 7% and interest subsidy will be 1.5% for the current financial year (FY23) and next financial year (FY24).
18. Homegrown e-commerce platform Meesho is the latest to join the government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to help connect buyers with hyperlocal sellers.
19. Indian Overseas Bank has entered into an agreement with broking partner SMC Global for opening 3 in 1 account (Saving Bank, demat account and trading account).
20. SEBI has released a uniform format for reporting the over-the-counter trades in listed Non-Convertible Securities. It will be effectuated from January 1, 2023.
21. SEBI has allowed issuers of municipal debt securities to issue green bonds in compliance with the rules governing the issue and listing of non-convertible securities.
22. VA Tech Wabag (water technology player) has signed an agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to raise Rs 200 crore through unlisted non-convertible debentures (NCDs) carrying a 5-year and 3-month tenor.
23. Indore Municipal Corporation is planning to issue India’s first municipal bonds for setting up solar plants.
24. S&P Global Ratings has lowered India’s GDP forecast to 7% for 2022-23.
25. The current acting chairman of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Meenesh C Shah, has been promoted as managing director.
26. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has been elected as the President of Kazakhstan.
27. November 27 – National Cadet Corps Raising Day (74th edition)
28. At the Turf 2022 and India Sports Awards of FICCI, former Ranji cricketer Sarkar Talwar was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement of the Year award.
29. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar presented Shilp Guru and National Awards to master craftspersons for 2017, 2018, and 2019.
30. The Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) has won the Madrid-based BBVA Foundation’s Worldwide Biodiversity Conservation Award.
31. Felix Auger-Aliassime from Canada won the Davis Cup 2022 (Men’s tennis international tournament) by defeating Australia.
32. Former athlete P T Usha has become first woman president of Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

National News

1. Ministry of Power has launched a scheme for the procurement of aggregate electricity of 4,500 MW for five years under the SHAKTI (Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India) policy.
   • Under the scheme, PFC Consulting Ltd has invited bids for the supply of 4,500 MW. The supply of electricity will commence in April 2023.
2. Space tech startup Agnikul has inaugurated India’s first-ever launchpad designed and operated by a private player, situated at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
   • The facility, designed by Agnikul and executed with the support of ISRO and IN-SPACe, has two sections – the Agnikul launchpad (ALP) and the Agnikul mission control center (AMCC).

State News

1. Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has developed KeMapp – a mobile app which will serve as a common platform for accessing the services of e-vehicle charging stations.
2. Odisha government has launched an e-detection portal on national highways with effect from January 1, 2023, to keep a check on vehicles plying without valid documents.
   • The objective of the portal is to collect data from various toll gates on national highways.

Defence News

1. Harimau Shakti-2022 – a joint army exercise of India and Malaysia – will be held at Pulai Klang in Malaysia.
   • HARIMAU SHAKTI is an annual training event between Indian and Malaysian armies which has been conducted since 2012.

2. Indian Navy launched ‘Ikshak‘, the third of the four survey vessels (Large) project, being built by GRSE and L&T at Kattupalli, Chennai.
   • The initial contract for the construction of four SVL ships was awarded to GRSE by the Indian MoD in 2018. Later on, L&T was also included in the contract.
   • The first SVL, named Sandhayak, was launched in December 2021 while the second ship, Nirdeshak, was launched earlier this year.
   • Once constructed, the four ships will replace the Indian Navy’s Sandhayak-class survey ships.

Memorandum of Understanding

1. The Ministry of AYUSH has signed an MOU with the Ministry of Science and Technology to explore potential areas of collaboration in the AYUSH sector.

International News

1. World Health Organisation has renamed monkeypox as mpox, citing concerns the original name of the decades-old animal disease could be construed as discriminatory and racist.
2. China is planning to launch its Lunar Space Station by 2028. The space station is expected to be powered by nuclear energy.

3. 22nd Council of Ministers’ meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) was held at Dhaka in Bangladesh.
   • Indian delegation was led by Minister of State for External Affairs Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh.
   • IORA is the largest and pre-eminent organization in the Indian Ocean Region with 23 Members and 10 Dialogue Partners.
   • India is setting up an e-Office at the IORA Secretariat in

4. First edition of the India-ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting was held at Siem Reap, Cambodia to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of India-ASEAN relations in 2022, which has also been designated as ‘ASEAN-India Friendship Year’.
   • The 9th ASEAN-Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) Plus was also held.
   • Recently, the ASEAN-India Summit was held in Cambodia.
   • Defence Minister Rajnath Singh proposed two initiatives, first is the launch of ‘India-ASEAN Initiative for Women in UN Peace Keeping Operations’ and conduct of a ‘Table Top Exercise’ in India for women officers from ASEAN incorporating facets of UN peacekeeping challenges.
   • The second initiative is ‘India-ASEAN Initiative on Marine Plastic Pollution’ which includes channelising of the energy of the youth towards addressing the critical issue of marine pollution.

5. SpaceX has launched its cargo spacecraft named Dragon to the International Space Station and it has successfully docked itself at the ISS.
   • This cargo mission was named CRS-26 Mission.

Banking and Economy

1. UK India Business Council has released the annual ‘Doing Business in India’ Report 2022.
   • UK businesses in India have rated Maharashtra as the highest amongst States in terms of the operating environment, followed by Gujarat, Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh.
2. Sany Bharat has signed an MoU with the Union Bank of India to make equipment financing an easy, efficient, and simple process.
   • As per the agreement, the network of Union Bank will extend equipment finance to customers of Sany Bharat across the country and in turn, the Bank’s portfolio under equipment finance is likely to strengthen and get a wider reach.
3. Plant bioscience company Absolute has launched do-it-yourself insurance ‘Digifasal’, the first of its kind in the country.
   • The ‘Digifasal’ insurance will be introduced on Upaj platform of Absolute.
   • Upaj is a one-stop solution to assist farmers at every stage of crop production.
4. Eversource promoted Accretive Cleantech Finance Private Ltd, operating as ‘Ecofy’, has received RBI approval to operate as a non-deposit-taking non-banking financial company (NBFC).
   • This makes Ecofy among the early green retail NBFCs.
   • Eversource Capital is a climate-impact investor.
   • Co-Founder and CEO of Ecofy – Rajashree Nambiar
5. RBI has announced that the interest rate for short-term loans up to Rs 3,00,000 through Kisan Credit cards (KCC) will be 7% and interest subsidy will be 1.5% for the current financial year (FY23) and next financial year (FY24).
   • The farmers who repay loans promptly will get an additional 3% subsidy. Thus, the interest rate charged to these farmers will be 4%.
   • The subvention will be provided to lenders including Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and Private Sector Banks (rural and semi-urban branches), Small Finance Banks (SFBs) and computerized Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS) on the use of their own resources.
6. Homegrown e-commerce platform Meesho is the latest to join the government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to help connect buyers with hyperlocal sellers.
   • Paytm has also joined Meesho.
7. Indian Overseas Bank has entered into an agreement with broking partner SMC Global for opening 3 in 1 account (Saving Bank, demat account and trading account).
   • While SB and demat account will be with IOB, the trading account will be with SMC Global.
8. SEBI has released a uniform format for reporting the over-the-counter trades in listed Non-Convertible Securities. It will be effectuated from January 1, 2023.
   • Over-the-counter or off-exchange trading or pink sheet trading is done directly between two parties, without the supervision of an exchange. The OTC transactions take place via a broker-dealer network.
9. SEBI has allowed issuers of municipal debt securities to issue green bonds in compliance with the rules governing the issue and listing of non-convertible securities.
   • SEBI (Issue and Listing of Municipal Debt Securities) rules provide the framework for issuance and listing of municipal debt securities.
10. VA Tech Wabag (water technology player) has signed an agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to raise Rs 200 crore through unlisted non-convertible debentures (NCDs) carrying a 5-year and 3-month tenor.
    • This NCD will be subscribed by ADB over a 12-month period.
    • The Rs 200 crore capital raised through this NCD issuance will be used towards the working capital requirements of Wabag.
11. Indore Municipal Corporation is planning to issue India’s first municipal bonds for setting up solar plants.

GDP Forecasts

1. S&P Global Ratings has lowered India’s GDP forecast to 7% for 2022-23.
   • S&P has also projected the Indian economy to grow 6% in 2023 and 6.9% in 2024.

Appointments

1. The current acting chairman of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Meenesh C Shah, has been promoted as managing director.
2. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has been elected as the President of Kazakhstan.

Important Days

1. November 27 – National Cadet Corps Raising Day (74th edition)

Awards

1. At the Turf 2022 and India Sports Awards of FICCI, former Ranji cricketer Sarkar Talwar was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement of the Year award.
   • Para Sports Person of the Year – Avani Lekhara
   • Dronacharya Lifetime Award – Manav Rachna Education Institutions
   • Special Sportsperson of the Year – Shrey Kadyan
   • Best State for Promoting Sports – Odisha
   • All India Chess Federation won the National Sports Federation of the Year Award for hosting another successful edition of the Chess Olympiad this year.
2. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar presented Shilp Guru and National Awards to master craftspersons for 2017, 2018, and
3. The Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) has won the Madrid-based BBVA Foundation’s Worldwide Biodiversity Conservation Award.
   • The GSLEP is a first-of-its-kind intergovernmental alliance for the conservation of the snow leopard and its unique ecosystem.

Sports

1. Felix Auger-Aliassime from Canada won the Davis Cup 2022 (Men’s tennis international tournament) by defeating Australia.
2. Former athlete P T Usha has become first woman president of Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

Start Quiz of 30th November 2022 on Mobile

Start Quiz of 30th November 2022 on Desktop