Daily updates 14 November 2019

International News

1. Sri Lanka becomes 1st South Asian country to call match fixing a crime

• Sri Lanka has become the first South Asian nation to bring match-fixing cases to the category of crime as its parliament passed a bill related to ‘Prevention of Offences Related to Sports’.
• This new legislation related to match-fixing and corruption will apply to all sports & if a person is found guilty of corruption in the game, he can be punished for up to 10 years and also be required to pay other fines.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/SSC CGL:

• Sri Lanka Capitals: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte.
• Currency: Sri Lankan rupee.
• Prime minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe; President: Maithripala Sirisena.

State News

2. "Bali Yatra" festival begins in Cuttack, Odisha

• The festival 'Bali Yatra' which is organised every year in memory of the rich maritime history of the state, was inaugurated in Cuttack, Odisha.
• The festival is organised at the bank of Mahanadi River every year to mark the day when ancient mariners from the state would set sail to the distant land of Bali, Sumatra, Java (Jawa) in Indonesia, Borneo and Sri Lanka, for the expansion of trade and Culture.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/SSC CGL:

• Utkal Divas or Odisha Day falls every year on 01st April.
• Governor of Odisha: Ganeshi Lal; Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik.

3. UP govt launches e-Ganna app, web portal

• Uttar Pradesh government has launched a dedicated web portal and a mobile application, e-Ganna App, for sugarcane farmers of the state.
• The portal and the App will ensure transparency in the process of getting slips, and facilitate sugarcane supply by farmers to mills and check irregularities.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS SO 2019:

• Uttar Pradesh CM: Yogi Adityanath, Governor: Anandiben Patel.

Appointments

4. Unilever appoints Nils Andersen as new Chairman

• British-Dutch consumer goods company Unilever named non-executive director Nils Andersen as its new chairman to utilise his deep experience across consumer goods and logistics industries.
• Andersen will replace Marijn Dekkers, who is standing down after more than three years as chairman, to focus on his responsibilities as founder and chairman of investment and advisory firm Novalis LifeSciences.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS SO 2019:

• Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Unilever: Alan Jope.
• Founded: 2 September 1929.
• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom(UK) and Netherlands.

5. ITDC appoints Kamala Vardhana Rao as its new Chairman and MD

• India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) has appointed G Kamala Vardhana Rao as the new Chairman and Managing Director.
• Prior to this, an IAS officer 1990 batch from Kerala Cadre, was the Principal Secretary, Kerala government. He has also served as the Secretary of Kerala Tourism in 2014-15.
• He has also served multiple positions including Chairman of Indian Tobacco Board, Director of Fisheries Department, Director, Department of Tourism and Culture, Andhra Pradesh government.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/SSC CGL:

• India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) Founded: October 1966.

6. Prakash Javadekar takes charge as Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises

• Prakash Javadekar took charge as the Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises. This decision was taken after Shiv Sena leader Arvind Sawant resigned from the Union Cabinet.
• Javadekar also holds information & broadcasting, and environment, forest and climate change portfolios.

7. Justice Muhammad Raffiq takes oath as Chief Justice of Meghalaya HC

• Justice Muhammad Raffiq took oath as Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court. He succeeds Ajay Kumar Mittal who is now the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court.
• Mh. Raffiq will be the 8th Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court. Justice Raffiq started his law practice in 1984. He practised exclusively in Rajasthan High Court in almost all branches of law.
• He has been recognized as an expert on the Indian Constitution, service, land acquisition, tax and company law cases.
• In 2008, he was appointed as Justice at the Rajasthan High Court. He also served as acting Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court twice.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/SSC CGL:

• Meghalaya Capital: Shillong; Chief Minister: Conrad Sangma; Governor: Tathagata Roy.

Science and Technology

8. NASA renames Ultima thule to Arrokoth after Nazi controversy

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has renamed a distant space rock Ultima Thule, to Arrokoth.
• It is the farthest cosmic body ever visited by a spacecraft, Arrokoth or “sky” is a name of the Native American Powhatan language following a significant backlash over the old name’s Nazi connotations.
• The name portrait the co-operation with Powhatan Tribal elders.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS SO 2019:

• Headquarters of NASA: Washington, D.C.
• Established: July 29,1958.

Summit and Conferences

9. India-ASEAN Business Summit 2019

• The Union Minister of State (I/C) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), has addressed the India-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Business Summit 2019 in New Delhi.
• The India- ASEAN Business Summit on the theme: “Today, Tomorrow, Together” is being organised to strengthen trade & investment flows with ASEAN Economies.
• The objective of the conference is to enhance the trade trajectory between India and ASEAN nations to new highs. Senior government officials from India and the ASEAN Nations are interacting with the Business community of India and ASEAN for the promotion of bilateral trade and investments.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS SO 2019:

• 10 ASEAN member countries: Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Laos.

10. 27th Conference of COCSSO inaugurated at Kolkata, West Bengal

• National Statistical Commission inaugurated the 27th Conference of Central and State Statistical Organizations (COCSSO) at Kolkata, West Bengal. 27th COCSSO is a Conference organized by MoSPI, Government of India every year.
• COCSSO is a major national forum for coordination between the Central and State Statistical Agencies with the objectives of putting in coordinated efforts for making available reliable and timely statistics to planners and policymakers. The theme of this conference was “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” which highlights the actions taken by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) for a strong observing mechanism for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/SSC CGL:

• Chairman of National statistical commission: Prof. Bimal K Roy.

11. International Conference on Yoga for Heart care to be organised at Karnataka

• Ministry of AYUSH is organizing the International Conference on Yoga on 15-16 November 2019 at Mysuru, Karnataka.
• The theme of the conference is ‘Yoga for Heart Care’. This conference is 5th in the series to commemorate the unanimous adoption of Resolution by the United Nations General Assembly during its 69th Session for observing 21st June as International Day of Yoga.
• After the UN declaration of International Day of Yoga since 2014, overwhelming interest towards Yoga has been witnessed from the international communities across the globe.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS SO 2019:

• Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH): Shripad Yesso Naik.

Sports

12. FIFA bans three football officials for life for corruption

• FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) has banned 3 South American football officials for a lifetime for connection with a 2015 corruption scandal in football.
• The three officials who were banned were Former Peru Football Federation Manuel Burga and Argentinian officials Eduardo Deluca and Jose Luis Meiszner.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS SO 2019:

• President of FIFA: Gianni Infantino; Founded: 21 May 1904.
• Headquarters: Zürich, Switzerland.

Important Days

13. World Diabetes Day: 14 November

• The World Diabetes Day (WDD) was observed globally on 14 November.
• The theme for diabetes awareness month and World Diabetes Day 2019 "Family and Diabetes". World Diabetes Day (WDD) was created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat posed by diabetes.
• World Diabetes Day became an official United Nations Day in 2006. It is marked every year on 14 November, the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin along with Charles Best in 1922.

14. Children’s Day: 14th November

• On 14th November, Children’s Day is celebrated every year to mark the birth anniversary of our first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru.
• Pandit Nehru had a great love for children. He wanted to be among them, talk to them and play with them.
• The children also loved and respected him and called him CHACHA NEHRU. Children's Day is celebrated across India to increase awareness of the rights, care and education of children.

Miscellaneous

15. Nita Ambani to join board of Metropolitan Museum of Art

• Chairperson of the Reliance Foundation, Nita Ambani has been named an honorary trustee of "The Metropolitan Museum of Art".
• This decision was taken due to her commitment to preserve and encourage Indian art and culture. She is the first Indian to be so honoured.
• In 2017, the museum honoured her at The Met Winter Party, an event celebrating the achievements of those who foster greater diversity and inclusion in the world of art.
• In 2017, Nita Ambani received the prestigious Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Award from the President of India for the work of Reliance Foundation in the area of sports for development. In 2016, Forbes listed her as one of the 50 most powerful businesswomen in Asia.
• She is a member of the International Olympic Committee and is the first Indian woman to serve in that role.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/SSC CGL:

• Chairman of Metropolitan Museum of Art: Mr Daniel Brodsky
• Established: April 13, 1870.
• President & CEO: Daniel Weiss.

16. 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) Theme song unveiled

• The Information and Broadcasting Ministry launched the official anthem and radio jingle for the golden jubilee edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI), scheduled to take place in Goa from November 20 to 28.
• The anthem, inspired by the 9 'rasas' (emotions) of the Natya Shashtra and an amalgamation of scenes from prominent movies and dance 'mudras', has been developed by noted dancer Geeta Chandran and Grammy Award-winning composer Ricky Cage.
• The audio-visuals of the anthem have been directed and produced by National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) under the guidance of the I&B Ministry and the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF).
• The 50th International Film Festival of India, 2019 will witness over 200 films from 76 countries. With the screening of 26 feature films and 15 non-feature films in the Indian panorama section, around 10,000 people and film lovers are expected to attend and participate in the golden jubilee edition.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS SO 2019:

• Minister of Information and Broadcasting: Prakash Javadekar.