Daily updates 22 November 2019

National News

1. Jitendra Singh to inaugurate ‘Destination North East’ Festival

• Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Dr Jitendra Singh will inaugurate the ‘Destination North East’ Festival in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh on 23rd November 2019.
• All 8 North East states will be present at the event along with their handicrafts, handloom, organic products and cultural troupes.
• During the festival, the visitors will have live experiences of the artisans and artists from the NE states working on their looms and crafts, performing their songs and dances in the open stage during the day.
• Indigenous games will also be performed where visitors can also participate.

State News

2. Assam government releases the new Land Policy 2019 after 30 years

• Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal released the new Land Policy 2019 prepared by Revenue and Disaster Management Department.
• The Land Policy was approved by Cabinet on 21st October and it has been prepared by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department after 30 years. It was last prepared in 1989.
• The state government has been putting a lot of emphasis in preparing the Land Policy to safeguard the interest of the indigenous people and the Policy would remove complications regarding land allotments and settlements.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS SO 2019:

• Governor of Assam: Jagdish Mukhi.
• Capital of Assam: Dispur.

Awards

3. Swachh Survekshan Grameen Awards 2019

• The Union Minister of the Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizers, conferred the Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2019 awards to top-ranked states, union territories, and districts in the various categories on the occasion of World Toilet Day at Pravasi Bhartiya Kendra, New Delhi.
• The top-ranked state: Tamil Nadu, and the top-ranked district: Peddapalli (Telangana), along with the state with the maximum citizen participation: Uttar Pradesh.

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

• Union Minister of the Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizers: D.V. Sadananda Gowdaand.

Agreements

4. IIM Indore inks MoU with Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy

• IIM Indore has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie.
• The MoU has been signed with a view to exchange faculty members for various training programmes.
• The MoU is in line with the vision to remain socially conscious and contribute to the society and nation.
• The two organisations have agreed for joint participation in research activities of common interest in the areas of public administration, management and public policy.
• The motive behind the training programme is to bring together representatives from these three fields, help them understand one another's problems and find solutions.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS SO 2019:

• Director of LBSNAA: Dr Sanjeev Chopra; Established: 1959; Located: Mussoorie, UK.

Defence

5. Indian Naval Academy awarded President’s Colour

• President Ram Nath Kovind and Supreme Commander of Indian Armed Forces awarded President’s Colour to Indian Naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala at Kochi, Kerala.
• The President’s Colour is the highest honour bestowed upon a military unit.
• It was awarded to INA in recognition of the yeoman service rendered by the institution in training and shaping Indian Naval officers over the last 50 years at three different locations – Goa, Kochi and Ezhimala.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS SO 2019:

• Chief of the Naval Staff: Admiral Karambir Singh.

6. The NIA will host the first-ever counter-terrorism (CT) exercise

• The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will host the first-ever counter-terrorism (CT) exercise for the Quad countries in New Delhi.
• The Quad countries include the United States (US), India, Australia, and Japan.
• According to the NIA, the exercise is to assess and validate CT response mechanisms in the light of emerging terrorist threats.
• It also aims to provide opportunities to share the best practices and to explore areas for enhanced cooperation amongst participating countries.

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

• DG of NIA: Yogesh Chander Modi.
• Headquarters: New Delhi.

Summit and Conferences

7. Global Bio-India Summit begins in Delhi

• Three-day Global Bio-India Summit 2019 begins in New Delhi.
• It will be one of the largest biotechnology stakeholders conglomerate to be held in India for the first time.
• It will bring academia, innovators, researchers, start-ups, medium and large companies together on the same platform. Over three thousand delegates from around 25 countries and over 15 states of India will participate in the mega event.

Banking

8. RBI supersedes DHFL board to initiate insolvency proceedings

• The Reserve Bank of India superseded the board of debt-laden Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) as it intends to shortly initiate the process of resolution of the company under the insolvency and bankruptcy rules.
• The company is all set to become India’s first financier to land up in bankruptcy courts.
• The central bank superseded the board “owing to governance concerns and defaults by DHFL in meeting various payment obligations.
• R Subramaniakumar, ex-MD and CEO of Indian Overseas Bank has been appointed as the administrator.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS SO 2019:

• Headquarters of DHFL: Haryana; CEO of DHFL: Kapil Wadhawan.

Ranks and Reports

9. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella tops Fortune's Businessperson of the Year 2019 list

• Microsoft's India-born Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella has occupied the top spot in Fortune's Businessperson of the Year 2019 list.
• The list also includes Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga and Arista head Jayshree Ullal. Banga is ranked 8th, while Ullal comes in at the 18th spot in the list for which Fortune looked at 10 financial factors ranging from a total return to shareholders to return on capital. Both Banga and Ullal are of Indian-origin.
• Fortune's annual Businessperson of the Year list features 20 business leaders "who tackled audacious goals, overcame impossible odds, found creative solutions".

Sports

10. Elavenil Valarivan, Divyansh Panwar win gold medals at ISSF World Cup

• Elavenil Valarivan and Divyansh Panwar clinching gold medals in their events to give the country its best ever single-day show in the ISSF World Cup Finals in Putian, China.
• The 20-year-old Elavenil claimed the top honours in the women's 10 metres air rifle competition.
• Later, another teen sensation Divyansh finished on top in the men's 10 metres air rifle competition.
• India is currently top of the table with 3 gold medals, followed by China 2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze.

Important Days

11. World Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease(COPD) Day

• The WHO (World Health Organization) and Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) organize World COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) Day on the third Wednesday of November every year.
• It was first launched in 1997 by WHO, GOLD and other institutes in the US.
• This year the day is marked to create awareness in the Theme: All Together to End COPD.
• COPD is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. It causes severe breathlessness and predisposes to exacerbations.

Miscellaneous

12. Russia is the focus country at IFFI 2019

• International Film Festival of India 2019, IFFI features a Country of Focus that brings out the cinematic excellence and contributions of that particular country every year and this year, the country of focus is Russia.
• The section will showcase eight movies from Russia.

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

• President of Russia: Vladimir Putin; Prime Minister(PM) of Russia: Dmitry Medvedev.
• Capital of Russia: Moscow; Currency of Russia: Russian ruble.

13. I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar inaugurates Film Bazaar on IFFI 2019

• The Film Bazaar, which is being organised by the National Film Development Corporation, was inaugurated by the Information and Broadcasting Minister on the sidelines of the golden jubilee edition of the International Film Festival of India.
• The Film Bazaar encourages creative and financial collaboration between the South Asian and International film communities.
• Over the years, films such as Lunch Box, Margarita With A Straw, Chauthi Koot, Qissa, Miss Lovely, Dum Lagake Haisha and Thithi have been through one or more programmes of the Bazaar.

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

• Information and Broadcasting Minister: Prakash Javadekar.