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Saturday, 23 November 2013

Current Affairs November- 2013


Latest Current GK

1. Haryana Launched its First Food Bank at Gurgaon with Support from Cargill
Haryana  launched its first food bank in order to give assistance to the different feeding programmes in Gurgaon as well as nearby areas. The food bank received support by global food major Cargill and India Food Banking Network (IFBN), which is initiated by Sam Pitroda, Advisor to Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations.
2. Yogesh Agarwal, the Chairman of PFRDA Resigned; Anup Wadhawan Took Over
The Chairman of Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), Yogesh Agarwal resigned from the post of Chairman on 13 November 2013. He resigned because of the Government’s decision to not allow him to be a part of the selection panel for members of the regulator.
In the meanwhile, Joint Secretary Anup Wadhawan was appointed as the new Chairman of PFRDA by the Finance Ministry. It is important to note that Yogesh Agarwal had one and half years more as his tenure of the Chairman.

3. Shiraz Naval Minwalla won New Horizons in Physics Prize 2014

Shiraz Naval Minwalla, Professor of Physics in TIFR, Mumbai selected for the 2014 New Horizons in Physics Prize on 5 November 2013. He was awarded "for his pioneering contributions to the study of string theory and quantum field theory; and in particular his work on the connection between the equations of fluid dynamics and Albert Einstein’s equations of general relativity". The New Horizons for Physics Prize awarded to promising junior researchers by Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation. The award carries prize money of 100000 US Dollars.
About Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation The Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation established by the Milner Foundation, Russia in 2012 and dedicated to advancing our knowledge of the Universe at the deepest level by awarding annual prizes for scientific breakthroughs, as well as communicating the excitement of fundamental physics to the public.

4. Krishna Tirath gave away National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement

Krishna Tirath, the union Minister for Women and Child Development on 14 November 2013 gave away the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement to 22 children on Children’s Day during the opening ceremony of Vatsalya Mela at Dilli Haat.
 The awards initiated in 1996 are presented every year to the children between the age group 4-15 years for their exceptional achievements in various fields including academics, art, culture and sports etc.
The Vatsalya Mela is celebrated on the day of Jawahar Lal Nehru’s birth anniversary, which also marks the Children’s Day.
The Gold Medal was presented to Harshal Shahi from Delhi for his exceptional achievement in the field of chess.

5. Veteran Journalist R.K. Mukker Passed Away at 88

Veteran journalist R.K. Mukker passed away on 13 November 2013 after prolonged illness. He was 88 years old. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. He died at Sahibabad in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district.

6. Kenichi Ito set his new Quadruped Record

Kenichi Ito, a Japanese man broke his own Guinness World Record for the 100 meter dash on 14 November 2013. He runs on his arms and legs broke.
ITO of 30 years finished the dash in 16.87 seconds by saving about 30 seconds of his 2012 run of 17.47 seconds.

7. India-Republic of Korea Joint Commission Meeting was held

The 7th India-Republic of Korea (South Korea) Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was held in New Delhi on 8 November 2013. The Indian side was led by External Affairs Minister, Salman Khurshid, while the Republic of Korea (ROK) side was led by Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.

8. Fifth Session of India-Ukraine Inter-Governmental Commission held in New Delhi

The fifth session of India-Ukraine Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological, Industrial and Cultural Cooperation held in New Delhi on 13 November 2013. The Commission was chaired by E. Ahamed, the Minister of State for External Affairs.
The Ukrainian delegation was led by Ihor Mykolayovych Prasolov, the Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine. He was accompanied by a 15 member official and 12 member business delegations from Ukraine.
India and Ukraine also agreed to increase trade beyond the existing level of 3.2 billion US dollars.
The fourth session was held in Kyiv in June 2012 and the sixth session of the Commission will take place in 2014 at Kyiv.

9. Ram Kripalu Tripathi, Popularly Known as Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj, Died

Ram Kripalu Tripathi, popularly known as Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj passed away on 15 November 2013 at New Delhi. He was 91 years old. He was given the title of Jagadguru (the world teacher) at the age of 34 years, in 1957.

10. 33rd India International Trade Fair opened at New Delhi

The 33rd India International Trade Fair began at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on 14 November 2013. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the India International Trade Fair (IITF). The trade fair aimed to spur international trade while highlighting India's economic growth. The Theme of IITF 2013 is Inclusive Growth. The 14-day event scheduled from 14 to 27 th November 2013. About 6000 exhibitors including 250 from foreign countries are participating in the fair. This year Japan is a partner country and South Africa, the focus country. While Bihar is a partner state, Odisha is the focus state.

11. International Day for Tolerance observed on 16 November

International Day for Tolerance was observed on 16 November 2013 across the world to educate people about the need for tolerance in society and to aware them about the dangers of intolerance.
About International Day for Tolerance
International Day for Tolerance is celebrated worldwide every year on 16 November to promote the Tolerance among the public. The day was first observed in 1995.

12. Lord Swraj Paul presented with International Indian of the Decade Award

Lord Swraj Paul, a leading NRI industrialist and educationist was presented with the International Indian of the Decade award on 15 November 2013. Swraj Paul was presented the award for his outstanding achievements in the fields of industry, education and philanthropy.
Virender Paul, the acting High Commissioner of India to the UK presented the award to Lord Swraj Paul at the 20th anniversary of the publication of India Link International (a monthly magazine).
About Lord Swraj Paul 
• Lord Swraj Paul is the founder of the UK-based steel and engineering multinational company Caparo, which at present employs about 10000 people worldwide from UK, USA and India.
• He was made the Life Peer is a member of the House of Lords in 1996.
• In 1983 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India
• In 1998, he was granted the freedom of the city of London.

13. 22nd Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting (CHOGM) began in Colombo, Sri Lanka

The 22nd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, CHOGM began in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 15 November 2013. The Summit was inaugurated by Prince Charles of England, who is representing Queen Elizabeth at the Commonwealth Summit. The theme for CHOGM 2013 is Growth with Equity; Inclusive Development.
The official symbol for CHOGM is Water lily flower. The logo symbolises the blue water lily (Nil Manel), the national flower of Sri Lanka.
About CHOGAM
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is held every two years to enable leaders of Commonwealth countries to come together to discuss global and Commonwealth issues, and to decide on collective policies and initiatives.
Commonwealth leaders have been coming together for discussions since 1949, but the title Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was adopted during a session in Singapore in 1971.
The theme of the 2011 CHOGM in Perth, Australia, was Building National Resilience, Building Global Resilience.
Member countries
Fifty-three countries are members of the Commonwealth. These Countries are from Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific and are diverse – they are amongst the world’s largest, smallest, richest and poorest countries. Thirty-two of our members are classified as small states – countries with a population size of 1.5million people or less and larger member states that share similar characteristics with them.
Leaders of member countries shape Commonwealth policies and priorities. Every two years, they meet to discuss issues affecting the Commonwealth and the wider world at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
All members have an equal say regardless of size or economic stature. This ensures even the smallest member countries have a voice in shaping the Commonwealth.
The last two countries to join The Commonwealth - Rwanda and Mozambique - have no historical ties to the British Empire.Four countries - Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Fiji and Pakistan - have been suspended from the Commonwealth in the past.
The Gambian Government on 2 October 2013 announced that it is pulling out of the Commonwealth with immediate effect.  Gambian, a West African country joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1965.

14. Prof. CNR Rao and Sachin Tendulkar Selected for Bharat Ratna Award

The Government of India on 16 November 2013 decided to confer, the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award on eminent scientist Prof CNR Rao and cricket player Sachin Tendulkar.
Sachin Tendulkar is the first sports person to win the Bharat Ratna Award.
The Bharat Ratna award so far, given only to eminent personalities from the field of dance, music, art, literature and the social sector. In the year 2011, the Government of India modified the eligibility criteria for Bharat Ratna Award - to enable eminent Sports-persons to receive the Nation’s highest civilian award.
About Prof. CNR Rao
Prof. Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao (CNR Rao) was born on 30 June 1934, Bangalore, India. He is an eminent scientist and a well recognized international authority on solid state and materials chemistry.
Prof, CNR Rao is presently serving as the head of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India.
About Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian Batsman who is considered one of the greatest batsmen of the cricket world.
Sachin Tendulkar who belongs to Mumbai Maharashtra made his appearance in six world cups for India and was the member of the 2011 World Cup winning squad of the nation.
Sachin Tendulkar made his Test debut against arch-rival Pakistan at Karachi in 1989. He made his ODI debut against Pakistan in 1989 in Gujranwala. He currently holds the record for most hundreds in both Tests and One Day Internationals.
In 198 Test matches, Sachin Tendulkar scored over Fifteen Thousand Eight hundred runs at an average of 53.86. He slammed 51 Test centuries and an unbeaten 248 against Bangladesh in Dhaka in 2004 was his best ever.
He made 49 hundreds in the one-day format, including a double hundred which is the first in this form of cricket and 96 half centuries.
In 2012, Sachin Tendulkar became the first player to score 100 international centuries.
Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement from Test cricket after playing his landmark 200th Test match against the West Indies on 15 November 2013. Earlier, Sachin Tendulkar announced retirement form one day cricket on 23 December 2012 and from Twenty20 cricket format on 26 May 2013.
About Bharat Ratna award
·         Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian Award of the country was instituted in the year 1954.
·         The first three Indians, who received the Bharat Ratna were Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari and Sarvapali Radhakrishnan in 1954.
·         There is no written provision that Bharat Ratna should be awarded to Indian citizens only.
·         The award has been conferred to a naturalised Indian citizen Mother Teresa (1980) and to two non-Indians Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Nelson Mandela (1990).

15. INS Vikramaditya commissioned in Indian Navy

INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier was inducted into the Indian Navy on 16 November 2013 giving a boost to the India’s maritime warfare capabilities. The INS Vikramaditya (44500 tonne carrier Admiral Gorshkov) was commissioned by the Union Defence Minister, AK Antony and the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Rogozin in a ceremony at the sub zero temperature in the wind-swept Sevmash Shipyard in the city of Severodvinsk port in the northern Arctic region of Russia.

16. Abdullah Yameen won Maldives Presidential Polls

Abdulla Yameen, the candidate of Progressive Party of Maldives on 16 November 2013 defeated the former premier, Mohammed Nasheed to win the Maldivian Presidential elections. Election Commission of Maldives announced the result of the election on 16 November 2013, in which Yameen defeated Mohamed Nasheed of Maldivian Democratic Party with a margin of six thousand votes.
Yameen secured 51.39 percent (1 lakh 11 thousand) of votes, whereas Mohamed Nasheed received 48.61 (1 lakh 5 thousand votes).

17. Bengal topped the medal list of the 23rd G V Mavalankar Shooting Championship

West Bengal, the host of the 23rd All India G V Mavalankar Shooting Championship topped the medals tally on 16 November 2013. The championship concluded at the Chandmari Range in West Bengal. This is the first time that West Bengal topped the medal table of national level of shooting championship.



West Bengal, shooters won five gold, five silver and a bronze to top the 10 day long championship. Maharashtra stood at the second position in the championship with four gold, five silver and three bronze medals. Whereas, Chandigarh was third in the list as it won three gold, one silver and one bronze medal.

18. India moved to second position in ICC test ranking

In the latest ICC test ranking, India moved to the second position, following the 2-0 victory over West Indies on 16 November 2013. South Africa stood at the top position with 131 points, which is followed by India with 119 ratings point. England stands at third position with 116 points.
Test rankings of other nations:
Rank
Team
Matches
Points
Rating
1
South Africa
27
3531
131
2
India
33
3920
119
3
England
38
4407
116
4
Pakistan
25
2538
102
5
Australia
33
3318
101
6
West Indies
25
2366
95
7
Sri Lanka
26
2295
88
8
New Zealand
30
2243
75
9
Zimbabwe
11
372
34
10
Bangladesh
16
285
18

19. First Integrated Checkpost along India-Bangladesh border inaugurated

The first Integrated Checkpost along Agartala-Akhaura, India-Bangladesh border was jointly inaugurated on 17 November 2013 by Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and his Bangladeshi counterpart Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir. The chief Mister of Tripura, Manik Sarkar was also present on the occasion.
The Agartala-Akhaura Integrated checkpost is the first of the seven Land Customs Border Stations has been upgraded by the Land Port Authority of India along the 4096 km border.

20. Waheeda Rehman to receive first Centenary film award at IFFI

Waheeda Rehman, the veteran actress of Bollywood will be conferred with the inaugural Centenary Award for the Indian Film Personality of the Year 2013 at the 44th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa on 20 November 2013. The award will be given to her in recognition of her contributions to the film industry.
The award has been instituted by the Government of India to mark the 100 years of Indian Cinema. It includes a prize amount of 10 lakh rupees and a citation.

21. Doris Lessing, Nobel Prize-Winning Author, Died at 94

British Nobel Prize-winning author Doris Lessing was died on 17 November 2013 at London.She was 94 years old. Her best-known works are The Golden Notebook, Memoirs of a Survivor and The Summer Before the Dark. In her life time she wrote more than 80 books, including poetry, two operas, short stories, plays and non-fiction. In 2007, the 88-year-old Doris Lessing became the oldest recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. and only the 11th woman to win the award.

22. Malta to Host Next Commonwealth Summit in 2015

Malta, a Southern European country was on 17 November 2013 unanimously chosen as the host of the next Commonwealth summit in 2015.
The decision was made at the retreat session of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo, Sri Lanka after Mauritius withdrew as host of the 2015 Commonwealth summit as a result of its prime minister's boycott of the Colombo summit over Sri Lanka's human rights concerns.
This is second time for Malta to host the Commonwealth summit. Before this, Malta hosted a Commonwealth Summit in 
2005.
About Malta  
Malta is a southern European country in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of Malta is Valletta which is also the smallest capital in the EU. Malta has two official languages: Maltese and English. Malta got independence from the United Kingdom in 1964 and became a republic in 1974 and joined the European Union in May 2004. Malta joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1964.

23. Bolt and Fraser-Pryce were crowned World Athletes of 2013

The Jamaican sprinters, Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce were crowned the male and female World Athletes of the Year, 2013 on 16 November 2013. They were selected as the world athletes of the year by the sport's governing IAAF at a ceremony in Monaco.

24. Sebastian Vettel won the United States Grand Prix for record 8th successive victory

Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull’s team on 17 November 2013 won United States Grand Prix. France's Romain Grosjean in Lotus was second with Red Bull's Mark Webber took the third place.
This was his eighth successive race of Vettel in a season. With this win he succeeded ahead of Michael Schumacher’s previous record of winning seven races in a row in the same season, which was set in 2004.
This was also vettel’s 12th win of the season and if he wins the year-ender in Brazil than he will tie with Michael Schumacher Formulae one record of 13 victories in a single season. The win in the Brazil grand prix that is scheduled to happen on 24 November 2013 will bring to him ninth victory in a row, which was set by Alberto Ascari.
The Mark Webber (37) of Red Bulls will be driving last time in the Brazil grand prix, as it will be his last race in the Formulae one.

25. Redek Stepanek clinched Davis Cup for Czech Republic

The Czech Republic on 17 November 2013 defended the Davis Cup title 2013 after Redek Stepanek defeated the Serbian Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 in the fifth rubber of the final by BNP Paribas Final in Belgrade. With the win Stepanek handed the win too Czech Republic 3-2.
With this win, Stepanek became the third player in the history to win Two Davis Cup Finals live fifth singles rubbers. He is also the first man to do so on consecutive occasions after bypassing Serbian youngster Dusan Lajovic for the loss of just five games.
26. National Press Day observed on 16 November
National Press Day is celebrated across the country on 16 November 2013. The day is symbolic of a free and responsible press in India.
It is the day on which the Press Council of India started functioning as a moral watchdog to ensure that not only the press maintains the high standards expected from this powerful medium but also that it was not fettered by the influence or threats of any extraneous factors.
The Press Council of India was first constituted on 4 July 1966 as an autonomous, statutory, quasi-judicial body, and it started functioning from 16 November 1966 with Justice J R Mudholkar, then a Judge of the Supreme Court, as Chairman.

27. India successfully Test Fired Advanced Version of BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile

India on 18 November 2013 successfully test-fired the advanced version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the Pokhran test firing range in Rajasthan.
The block III variant of BrahMos with deep penetration capability was test launched from a Mobile Autonomous Launcher (MAL).
The 290-km range BrahMos flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach and carries a conventional warhead of up to 300 kg. The missile can be launched from multiple platforms including land, sea, sub-sea and air.

28. NASA Launched MAVEN Mission to study Mars Atmosphere

The US space agency NASA on 18 November 2013 launched its MAVEN orbiter Mission to Mars planet. The orbiter mission was launched on an Atlas V rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station The probe will have a 10-month cruise to the Red Planet- Mars. MAVEN is going to study Mars' atmosphere. During the course of the long cruise, Maven will perform four trajectory corrections, with the first scheduled to occur on 3rd December 2013.
About MAVEN Mission
The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission is part of NASA's Mars Scout program. The mission will explore the Red Planet’s upper atmosphere, ionosphere and interactions with the sun and solar wind.

29. National Integration Day observed on 19 November

19 November: National Integration Day (Birth anniversary of Indira Gandhi) National Integration Day is observed on 19 November 2013 all over India. It is celebrated as the birth anniversary of the first woman Prime Minister of the India, Indira Gandhi. The National Integration day is celebrated to enhance the love and unity among people all across the India.

30. World Toilet Day observed on 19 November

The World Toilet Day (WTD) was observed across the world on 19 November 2013. In the world about a third of the world’s people don’t have an access to a decent toilet.
World Toilet Summit
Earlier the World Toilet Summit in 2013 was observed from 2 to 4 October 2013 in Central Java, Indonesia. The 13th session of the World Toilet Summit was held in support of the World Toilet Organization and the Indonesia Toilet Association (ATI), and supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia and the Ministry of Public Works and the Government of Surakarta.

31. Birth of Cinema authored by N. Gopal Krishna Released

The book entitled Birth of Cinema written by N. Gopal Krishna was released at ICFFI media centre by a Journalist T. Udayawarluon 18 November 2013. The book comprises of details related to the advanced cinematic technologies like the 3D shootings and Voice enhancements and others, which were popularized by the Hollywood directors. He is a film maker of Andhra Pradesh.

32. Angela Merkel, German Chancellor selected for Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace 2013

Dr. Angela Merkel, German Chancellor on 19 November 2013 selected for Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for the year 2013.
The International Jury for the Prize was chaired by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, which made this announcement on 19 November 2013 on the birth anniversary of Indira Gandhi.

Dr. Angela Merkel is nominated for her exemplary leadership in Europe and the world during the financial crises, her commitment to universal peace and disarmament and her leadership role in strengthening productive and mutually beneficial relations with India and other developing countries.
About Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development 
v  The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development was instituted (in 1986) in the name of former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. It celebrates the values that she stood and fought for in the service of our nation and its people.
v  The Indiara Gandhi Award is constituted by Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust.
v  Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Liberian President was conferred with the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for the year 2012.

33. Iran unveiled New Biggest Drone with 2000Km Range

Iran on 18 November 2013 unveiled a biggest missile-equipped drone with a range of 2000 km, which would enable it to cover much of the Middle East, including Israel.

The drone named Fotros has an operational range of 2000 kilometres and can fly at an altitude of 25000 feet, with a flight time of 16 to 30 hours. The drone could carry out reconnaissance missions or launch air-to-surface missile strikes. In September 2013, Iran announced the mass production of the Shahed 129 drone, which it said has a range of 1700 kilometres, is capable of carrying eight missiles and can fly for 24 hours. In the same month, Iran unveiled a reconnaissance drone named Yasseer, which was said to be capable of flying for eight hours with a range of 200 kilometres and at an altitude of 4500 meters.

34. Mangalore University Presented with Indira Gandhi NSS Best University Award 2012-13

President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 19 November 2013 presented Indira Gandhi National Service Scheme Best University Award 2012-13 to Mangalore University of Karnataka.
Mangalore University is fourth in the row of universities winning Indira Gandhi NSS Award in Karnataka. Prior to this university, RGUHS, Bangalore University, and UAS Dharwad had received this award.

35. India and Russia decided to held a Joint Air Force Exercise in 2014

India and Russia on 18 November 2013 agreed to expand the range of strategic partnership in a significant manner in Moscow. The two countries will also hold a Joint Air Force Level exercise for the first time in 2014.
The Agreements 
• The two countries agreed to hold a joint Air Force level exercise for the first time, which will happen in 2014 with a joint Navy Exercise in the Peter the Great Bay in the Sea of Japan. Recently, the armies of the two countries held an Exercise Indra in Rajasthan with a focus on anti-terrorism.

36. Lionel Messi awarded third Golden Shoe

Lionel Messi, the Barcelonan forward footballer on 20 November 2013 won the Golden Shoe award. Messi won the award in recognition of his 46 goals in 32 leagues appearances in the Europe’s domestic football league in the 2012-13 season.
This is the third Golden Shoe award of Messi and with this win he became the first footballer win the show three times. Earlier Messi won the award in 2009-10 for 34 goals and a Spanish record 50 in 2011-12.
About Lionel Messi
Lionel Andres Messi (26) is an Argentine Footballer and a captain to the national team of Argentina. At present he plays for FC Barcelona in Spain. He is the fourth footballer to win 3 Ballons d’Or. He is the second player to win three Ballon’s d’Or consecutively after Michele Platini.

37. SPMCIL conferred with Engineering Excellence Award 2013

Engineering Excellence Award 2013 was conferred on the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL), a Public Sector Unit under the Ministry of Finance, and Government of India on 19 November 2013. The award was given by Engineering Watch at SCOPE Convention Centre in Delhi.
Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited
Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL) was formed after corporatization of nine units including four mints, four presses and one paper mill, which were earlier functioning under the Ministry of Finance. The Company was incorporated on 13 January 2006 under the Companies Act, 1956 with its headquarters at New Delhi. SPMCIL is a Miniratna Category-I CPSE, and wholly owned Schedule ‘A’ Company of Government of India. It is engaged in the manufacture of security paper, minting of coins, printing of currency and bank notes, non-judicial stamp papers, postage stamps, travel documents and others.

38. RBI Directed Public Sector Banks to give loans to women SHGs at 7 percent

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 19 November 2013 directed Public Sector Banks (PSBs) to provide loans to women self-help groups (SHGs) at 7 per cent per annum to avail the benefit of interest rate subvention scheme under the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana-Aajeevika (SGSY) scheme.

v  All women SHGs will be eligible for interest subvention to avail the credit upto 3 lakh Rupees at 7 per cent per annum.

Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana-Aajeevika (SGSY) is an initiative by the government to provide sustainable income to poor people living in rural areas of the country.

39. Anjolie Ela Menon awarded with Dayawati Modi Award

Anjolie Ela Menon, a contemporary artist was awarded with Dayawati Modi Award for Art and Culture and Education by Dayawati Foundation on 19 November 2013. The award comprised of a cash price of 2.51 lakh rupees, a silver shield and a scroll of hounour. It was presented to her by the Minister of state for Prime Minister Office, Department of personnel and Training, Government of India.
She was awarded Padma Shree in 2000.

40. Kauwboy won the Golden Elephant Award in International Children's Film Festival

The 18th International Children's Film Festival concluded on 20 November 2013 in Hyderabad. A Dutch Film named Kauwboy, directed by Boudewijn Koole won the Golden Elephant Award for best film in the 'International Live Action' category. The film is about a 10 year old boy and a bird.

41. 3rd BRICS International Competition Conference inaugurated by Prime Minister of India

Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh on 21 November 2013 inaugurated the 3rd BRICS International Competition Conference in New Delhi. The theme of the conference is: Competition Enforcement in BRICS Countries: Issues and Challenges. The participating countries are BRICS Nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The two-day conference is organised by Competition Commission of India (CCI) on behalf of BRICS countries.
BRICS International Competition Conference is one of the most prestigious conferences in the field of competition law and policy.
The conference is third in the series with the earlier two BRICS International Competition Conferences having been organised in Kazan, Russia and Beijing, China respectively.
About BRICS Nations
BRICS is an acronym for the powerful grouping of the world’s leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The first BRIC Summit took place in Yekateringburg, Russia in 2009, where the elected leaders of the four countries formally declared the membership of the BRIC economic bloc. South Africa joined the bloc in 2010, resulting in BRICS.
The BRICS mechanism aims to achieve peace, security, development and cooperation. It also seeks to contribute significantly to the development of humanity and establish a more equitable and fair world.

42. Malala Yousafzai Received EU's Sakharov Human Rights Prize 2013

Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani teenage activist on 20 November 2013 received the EU's Sakharov human rights prize for her brave crusade for the right of the children to education.
The European Parliament President Martin Schulz presented the award to the 16-year-old Malala at a ceremony in Strasbourg, France. Malala Yousafzai dedicated the award to "the unsung heroes of Pakistan" and to human rights campaigners worldwide.
About Sakharov Prize
v  The Sakharov Prize for free speech is awarded by the European Parliament annually in memory of Soviet physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov.
v  The prize was set up in 1988 to honour individuals or organisations for their efforts on behalf of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The 50000-Euro prize is considered Europe's top human rights award.
v  In 2012 the award went to detained Iranians, lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and film maker Jafar Panahi, to honour those standing up for a better Iran. with this award Malala joins a distinguished list of winners of the prize that includes South Africa's Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar.

43. V. Baskaran appointed as Coach of the Senior Men Hockey Team

Hockey India on 20 November 2013 appointed the former Olympic gold-medallist V Baskaran as Coach of the Senior Men Hockey Team. Baskaran will work under the recently appointed Chief Coach Terence Walsh. Hockey India on 15 October 2013 appointed the Terence Walsh as Chief Coach of the Senior Men National Hockey Team.
About V Baskaran : Vasudevan Baskaran who was the captain of the team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.

44. Frederick Sanger the two time Chemistry Nobel Prize winner died

Frederick Sanger, a British biochemist who is the only person to win Nobel Prize two times for Chemistry died on 19 November 2013 in Cambridge, eastern England. He was aged 95.
For the first time, he won the Nobel Prize in 1958 for development of the methods, which helped to unravel the chemical structure of Protein, mainly insulin. Second Nobel Prize was given to him in 1980, jointly with Walter Gilbert and Paul Berg for the development of the techniques to read the sequences of DNA, which carries the basic code for life.
By winning two Nobel, Sanger became one of the four people who had won the Nobel Prizes two times. The other winners of Nobel Prize two times are Marie Curie, John Bardeen and Linus Pauling.



45. Indian Senior Women Hockey Team Coach Inderjit Singh Gill Died
India's senior women's hockey team coach Inderjit Singh Gill passed away in a fatal road accident near Sangrur in Punjab on 20 November 2013. Gill died at the age of 59. He was a Sports Authority of India (SAI) coach.
Inderjit Singh Gill, started his coaching career in 1986 and was working with the Junior & Senior Women hockey teams since 1999.

46. Darvis Patton, the US sprinter and two time Olympic Medalist retired

Darvis Patton, the US sprinter on 18 November 2013 announced his retirement after 13 years career. He won the Olympic silver medal as part of the 4x100 relay teams in the 2004 Athens Olympics and in London Olympics in 2012.
He was a part of the team of US that won the sprint relay gold at the Paris world championship and Osaka in 2003 and 2007, respectively.
About Darvis Patton
• He became the sixth fastest man to run 100 meters at the 2013 Texas Relays

47. MCX signed MoU with China’s DCE

Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) signed an agreement with China based Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) on 20 November 2013. Both Commodity future exchanges alliance will boost the strategic co-operation. The agreement is designed to facilitate potential collaboration in areas such as knowledge sharing, research and price risk management.
About MCX
The Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX), India’s first listed exchange, is a state-of-the-art, commodity futures exchange that facilitates online trading. The Multi Commodity Exchange, which started operations in November 2003, operates within the regulatory framework of the Forward Contracts Regulation Act, 1952 (FCRA, 1952).
About DCE
Founded on 18 November 1993, Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) is one of the four futures exchanges under the supervision and administration of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) upon the approval of the State Council, and also the only futures exchange in Northeast China.

48. Hamid Ansari released book entitled Maimaar-E-Qaun-Dr A.R. Kidwai

Maimaar-E-Qaun-Dr. A. R. Kidwai edited by Mufti Ataur Rahman Ansari
Hamid Ansari, the Vice President of India on 21 November 2013 released a book entitled Maimaar-E-Qaun-Dr. A. R. Kidwai. The book has been edited by Mufti Ataur Rahman Ansari.
Dr A.R. Kidwai has been compiled in the book creatively. He was a learned scientist and served as a professor at Aligarh Muslim University. He contributed in the formation of Mewat Development Board in Haryana.
• He served West Bengal as its Governor from 1998-99
• He became the member of Rajya Sabha from January 2000 to July 2004.

49. Virat Kohli became Fastest Batsman to Score 5000 Runs in ODIs

Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli became the fastest batsman to score 5000 runs in one-day internationals when he scored 86 against the West Indies in the first ODI in Kochi on 21 November 2013.
Virat Kohli achieved the feat in just 120 matches and 114 innings. He has so far scored 5005 runs, which included 17 centuries and 27 fifties in his short career.
Before Kohli, former captain Sourav Ganguly was the fastest to achieve the feat among Indian batsmen in 131 matches and 126 innings. From India, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (135 innings), Gautam Gambhir (135 innings) and Sachin Tendulkar (138 innings) are the next fastest batsmen to reach the 5000 runs in ODIs.

50. Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu reappointed as India Boxing Coach

Gurbax Singh Sandhu was on 20 November 2013 reappoint 
1. Haryana Launched its First Food Bank at Gurgaon with Support from Cargill

Haryana  launched its first food bank in order to give assistance to the different feeding programmes in Gurgaon as well as nearby areas. The food bank received support by global food major Cargill and India Food Banking Network (IFBN), which is initiated by Sam Pitroda, Advisor to Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations.

2. Yogesh Agarwal, the Chairman of PFRDA Resigned; Anup Wadhawan Took Over

The Chairman of Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), Yogesh Agarwal resigned from the post of Chairman on 13 November 2013. He resigned because of the Government’s decision to not allow him to be a part of the selection panel for members of the regulator.

In the meanwhile, Joint Secretary Anup Wadhawan was appointed as the new Chairman of PFRDA by the Finance Ministry. It is important to note that Yogesh Agarwal had one and half years more as his tenure of the Chairman.

3. Shiraz Naval Minwalla won New Horizons in Physics Prize 2014


Shiraz Naval Minwalla, Professor of Physics in TIFR, Mumbai selected for the 2014 New Horizons in Physics Prize on 5 November 2013. He was awarded "for his pioneering contributions to the study of string theory and quantum field theory; and in particular his work on the connection between the equations of fluid dynamics and Albert Einstein’s equations of general relativity". The New Horizons for Physics Prize awarded to promising junior researchers by Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation. The award carries prize money of 100000 US Dollars.

About Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation The Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation established by the Milner Foundation, Russia in 2012 and dedicated to advancing our knowledge of the Universe at the deepest level by awarding annual prizes for scientific breakthroughs, as well as communicating the excitement of fundamental physics to the public.

4. Krishna Tirath gave away National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement


Krishna Tirath, the union Minister for Women and Child Development on 14 November 2013 gave away the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement to 22 children on Children’s Day during the opening ceremony of Vatsalya Mela at Dilli Haat.
 The awards initiated in 1996 are presented every year to the children between the age group 4-15 years for their exceptional achievements in various fields including academics, art, culture and sports etc.

The Vatsalya Mela is celebrated on the day of Jawahar Lal Nehru’s birth anniversary, which also marks the Children’s Day.
The Gold Medal was presented to Harshal Shahi from Delhi for his exceptional achievement in the field of chess.

5. Veteran Journalist R.K. Mukker Passed Away at 88


Veteran journalist R.K. Mukker passed away on 13 November 2013 after prolonged illness. He was 88 years old. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. He died at Sahibabad in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district.

6. Kenichi Ito set his new Quadruped Record


Kenichi Ito, a Japanese man broke his own Guinness World Record for the 100 meter dash on 14 November 2013. He runs on his arms and legs broke.
ITO of 30 years finished the dash in 16.87 seconds by saving about 30 seconds of his 2012 run of 17.47 seconds.

7. India-Republic of Korea Joint Commission Meeting was held


The 7th India-Republic of Korea (South Korea) Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was held in New Delhi on 8 November 2013. The Indian side was led by External Affairs Minister, Salman Khurshid, while the Republic of Korea (ROK) side was led by Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.

8. Fifth Session of India-Ukraine Inter-Governmental Commission held in New Delhi


The fifth session of India-Ukraine Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological, Industrial and Cultural Cooperation held in New Delhi on 13 November 2013. The Commission was chaired by E. Ahamed, the Minister of State for External Affairs.
The Ukrainian delegation was led by Ihor Mykolayovych Prasolov, the Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine. He was accompanied by a 15 member official and 12 member business delegations from Ukraine.

India and Ukraine also agreed to increase trade beyond the existing level of 3.2 billion US dollars.
The fourth session was held in Kyiv in June 2012 and the sixth session of the Commission will take place in 2014 at Kyiv.

9. Ram Kripalu Tripathi, Popularly Known as Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj, Died


Ram Kripalu Tripathi, popularly known as Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj passed away on 15 November 2013 at New Delhi. He was 91 years old. He was given the title of Jagadguru (the world teacher) at the age of 34 years, in 1957.

10. 33rd India International Trade Fair opened at New Delhi


The 33rd India International Trade Fair began at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on 14 November 2013. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the India International Trade Fair (IITF). The trade fair aimed to spur international trade while highlighting India's economic growth. The Theme of IITF 2013 is Inclusive Growth. The 14-day event scheduled from 14 to 27 th November 2013. About 6000 exhibitors including 250 from foreign countries are participating in the fair. This year Japan is a partner country and South Africa, the focus country. While Bihar is a partner state, Odisha is the focus state.


11. International Day for Tolerance observed on 16 November

International Day for Tolerance was observed on 16 November 2013 across the world to educate people about the need for tolerance in society and to aware them about the dangers of intolerance.

About International Day for Tolerance

International Day for Tolerance is celebrated worldwide every year on 16 November to promote the Tolerance among the public. The day was first observed in 1995.

12. Lord Swraj Paul presented with International Indian of the Decade Award


Lord Swraj Paul, a leading NRI industrialist and educationist was presented with the International Indian of the Decade award on 15 November 2013. Swraj Paul was presented the award for his outstanding achievements in the fields of industry, education and philanthropy.
Virender Paul, the acting High Commissioner of India to the UK presented the award to Lord Swraj Paul at the 20th anniversary of the publication of India Link International (a monthly magazine).

About Lord Swraj Paul 
• Lord Swraj Paul is the founder of the UK-based steel and engineering multinational company Caparo, which at present employs about 10000 people worldwide from UK, USA and India.
• He was made the Life Peer is a member of the House of Lords in 1996.

• In 1983 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India
• In 1998, he was granted the freedom of the city of London.

13. 22nd Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting (CHOGM) began in Colombo, Sri Lanka


The 22nd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, CHOGM began in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 15 November 2013. The Summit was inaugurated by Prince Charles of England, who is representing Queen Elizabeth at the Commonwealth Summit. The theme for CHOGM 2013 is Growth with Equity; Inclusive Development.

The official symbol for CHOGM is Water lily flower. The logo symbolises the blue water lily (Nil Manel), the national flower of Sri Lanka.

About CHOGAM

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is held every two years to enable leaders of Commonwealth countries to come together to discuss global and Commonwealth issues, and to decide on collective policies and initiatives.

Commonwealth leaders have been coming together for discussions since 1949, but the title Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was adopted during a session in Singapore in 1971.

The theme of the 2011 CHOGM in Perth, Australia, was Building National Resilience, Building Global Resilience.

Member countries

Fifty-three countries are members of the Commonwealth. These Countries are from Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific and are diverse – they are amongst the world’s largest, smallest, richest and poorest countries. Thirty-two of our members are classified as small states – countries with a population size of 1.5million people or less and larger member states that share similar characteristics with them.

Leaders of member countries shape Commonwealth policies and priorities. Every two years, they meet to discuss issues affecting the Commonwealth and the wider world at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

All members have an equal say regardless of size or economic stature. This ensures even the smallest member countries have a voice in shaping the Commonwealth.

The last two countries to join The Commonwealth - Rwanda and Mozambique - have no historical ties to the British Empire.Four countries - Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Fiji and Pakistan - have been suspended from the Commonwealth in the past.

The Gambian Government on 2 October 2013 announced that it is pulling out of the Commonwealth with immediate effect.  Gambian, a West African country joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1965.

14. Prof. CNR Rao and Sachin Tendulkar Selected for Bharat Ratna Award


The Government of India on 16 November 2013 decided to confer, the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award on eminent scientist Prof CNR Rao and cricket player Sachin Tendulkar.

Sachin Tendulkar is the first sports person to win the Bharat Ratna Award.

The Bharat Ratna award so far, given only to eminent personalities from the field of dance, music, art, literature and the social sector. In the year 2011, the Government of India modified the eligibility criteria for Bharat Ratna Award - to enable eminent Sports-persons to receive the Nation’s highest civilian award.

About Prof. CNR Rao

Prof. Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao (CNR Rao) was born on 30 June 1934, Bangalore, India. He is an eminent scientist and a well recognized international authority on solid state and materials chemistry.

Prof, CNR Rao is presently serving as the head of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India.

About Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian Batsman who is considered one of the greatest batsmen of the cricket world.

Sachin Tendulkar who belongs to Mumbai Maharashtra made his appearance in six world cups for India and was the member of the 2011 World Cup winning squad of the nation.

Sachin Tendulkar made his Test debut against arch-rival Pakistan at Karachi in 1989. He made his ODI debut against Pakistan in 1989 in Gujranwala. He currently holds the record for most hundreds in both Tests and One Day Internationals.
In 198 Test matches, Sachin Tendulkar scored over Fifteen Thousand Eight hundred runs at an average of 53.86. He slammed 51 Test centuries and an unbeaten 248 against Bangladesh in Dhaka in 2004 was his best ever.
He made 49 hundreds in the one-day format, including a double hundred which is the first in this form of cricket and 96 half centuries.
In 2012, Sachin Tendulkar became the first player to score 100 international centuries.
Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement from Test cricket after playing his landmark 200th Test match against the West Indies on 15 November 2013. Earlier, Sachin Tendulkar announced retirement form one day cricket on 23 December 2012 and from Twenty20 cricket format on 26 May 2013.

About Bharat Ratna award

·         Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian Award of the country was instituted in the year 1954.

·         The first three Indians, who received the Bharat Ratna were Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari and Sarvapali Radhakrishnan in 1954.

·         There is no written provision that Bharat Ratna should be awarded to Indian citizens only.

·         The award has been conferred to a naturalised Indian citizen Mother Teresa (1980) and to two non-Indians Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Nelson Mandela (1990).

15. INS Vikramaditya commissioned in Indian Navy


INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier was inducted into the Indian Navy on 16 November 2013 giving a boost to the India’s maritime warfare capabilities. The INS Vikramaditya (44500 tonne carrier Admiral Gorshkov) was commissioned by the Union Defence Minister, AK Antony and the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Rogozin in a ceremony at the sub zero temperature in the wind-swept Sevmash Shipyard in the city of Severodvinsk port in the northern Arctic region of Russia.


16. Abdullah Yameen won Maldives Presidential Polls

Abdulla Yameen, the candidate of Progressive Party of Maldives on 16 November 2013 defeated the former premier, Mohammed Nasheed to win the Maldivian Presidential elections. Election Commission of Maldives announced the result of the election on 16 November 2013, in which Yameen defeated Mohamed Nasheed of Maldivian Democratic Party with a margin of six thousand votes.

Yameen secured 51.39 percent (1 lakh 11 thousand) of votes, whereas Mohamed Nasheed received 48.61 (1 lakh 5 thousand votes).

17. Bengal topped the medal list of the 23rd G V Mavalankar Shooting Championship


West Bengal, the host of the 23rd All India G V Mavalankar Shooting Championship topped the medals tally on 16 November 2013. The championship concluded at the Chandmari Range in West Bengal. This is the first time that West Bengal topped the medal table of national level of shooting championship.




West Bengal, shooters won five gold, five silver and a bronze to top the 10 day long championship. Maharashtra stood at the second position in the championship with four gold, five silver and three bronze medals. Whereas, Chandigarh was third in the list as it won three gold, one silver and one bronze medal.

18. India moved to second position in ICC test ranking


In the latest ICC test ranking, India moved to the second position, following the 2-0 victory over West Indies on 16 November 2013. South Africa stood at the top position with 131 points, which is followed by India with 119 ratings point. England stands at third position with 116 points.

Test rankings of other nations:

Rank
Team
Matches
Points
Rating
1
South Africa
27
3531
131
2
India
33
3920
119
3
England
38
4407
116
4
Pakistan
25
2538
102
5
Australia
33
3318
101
6
West Indies
25
2366
95
7
Sri Lanka
26
2295
88
8
New Zealand
30
2243
75
9
Zimbabwe
11
372
34
10
Bangladesh
16
285
18

19. First Integrated Checkpost along India-Bangladesh border inaugurated


The first Integrated Checkpost along Agartala-Akhaura, India-Bangladesh border was jointly inaugurated on 17 November 2013 by Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and his Bangladeshi counterpart Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir. The chief Mister of Tripura, Manik Sarkar was also present on the occasion.
The Agartala-Akhaura Integrated checkpost is the first of the seven Land Customs Border Stations has been upgraded by the Land Port Authority of India along the 4096 km border.

20. Waheeda Rehman to receive first Centenary film award at IFFI


Waheeda Rehman, the veteran actress of Bollywood will be conferred with the inaugural Centenary Award for the Indian Film Personality of the Year 2013 at the 44th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa on 20 November 2013. The award will be given to her in recognition of her contributions to the film industry.

The award has been instituted by the Government of India to mark the 100 years of Indian Cinema. It includes a prize amount of 10 lakh rupees and a citation.

21. Doris Lessing, Nobel Prize-Winning Author, Died at 94


British Nobel Prize-winning author Doris Lessing was died on 17 November 2013 at London.She was 94 years old. Her best-known works are The Golden Notebook, Memoirs of a Survivor and The Summer Before the Dark. In her life time she wrote more than 80 books, including poetry, two operas, short stories, plays and non-fiction. In 2007, the 88-year-old Doris Lessing became the oldest recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. and only the 11th woman to win the award.


22. Malta to Host Next Commonwealth Summit in 2015


Malta, a Southern European country was on 17 November 2013 unanimously chosen as the host of the next Commonwealth summit in 2015.

The decision was made at the retreat session of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo, Sri Lanka after Mauritius withdrew as host of the 2015 Commonwealth summit as a result of its prime minister's boycott of the Colombo summit over Sri Lanka's human rights concerns.
This is second time for Malta to host the Commonwealth summit. Before this, Malta hosted a Commonwealth Summit in 
2005.

About Malta  

Malta is a southern European country in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of Malta is Valletta which is also the smallest capital in the EU. Malta has two official languages: Maltese and English. Malta got independence from the United Kingdom in 1964 and became a republic in 1974 and joined the European Union in May 2004. Malta joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1964.

23. Bolt and Fraser-Pryce were crowned World Athletes of 2013


The Jamaican sprinters, Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce were crowned the male and female World Athletes of the Year, 2013 on 16 November 2013. They were selected as the world athletes of the year by the sport's governing IAAF at a ceremony in Monaco.

24. Sebastian Vettel won the United States Grand Prix for record 8th successive victory


Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull’s team on 17 November 2013 won United States Grand Prix. France's Romain Grosjean in Lotus was second with Red Bull's Mark Webber took the third place.
This was his eighth successive race of Vettel in a season. With this win he succeeded ahead of Michael Schumacher’s previous record of winning seven races in a row in the same season, which was set in 2004.

This was also vettel’s 12th win of the season and if he wins the year-ender in Brazil than he will tie with Michael Schumacher Formulae one record of 13 victories in a single season. The win in the Brazil grand prix that is scheduled to happen on 24 November 2013 will bring to him ninth victory in a row, which was set by Alberto Ascari.
The Mark Webber (37) of Red Bulls will be driving last time in the Brazil grand prix, as it will be his last race in the Formulae one.

25. Redek Stepanek clinched Davis Cup for Czech Republic


The Czech Republic on 17 November 2013 defended the Davis Cup title 2013 after Redek Stepanek defeated the Serbian Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 in the fifth rubber of the final by BNP Paribas Final in Belgrade. With the win Stepanek handed the win too Czech Republic 3-2.
With this win, Stepanek became the third player in the history to win Two Davis Cup Finals live fifth singles rubbers. He is also the first man to do so on consecutive occasions after bypassing Serbian youngster Dusan Lajovic for the loss of just five games.
26. National Press Day observed on 16 November

National Press Day is celebrated across the country on 16 November 2013. The day is symbolic of a free and responsible press in India.

It is the day on which the Press Council of India started functioning as a moral watchdog to ensure that not only the press maintains the high standards expected from this powerful medium but also that it was not fettered by the influence or threats of any extraneous factors.

The Press Council of India was first constituted on 4 July 1966 as an autonomous, statutory, quasi-judicial body, and it started functioning from 16 November 1966 with Justice J R Mudholkar, then a Judge of the Supreme Court, as Chairman.

27. India successfully Test Fired Advanced Version of BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile


India on 18 November 2013 successfully test-fired the advanced version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the Pokhran test firing range in Rajasthan.

The block III variant of BrahMos with deep penetration capability was test launched from a Mobile Autonomous Launcher (MAL).

The 290-km range BrahMos flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach and carries a conventional warhead of up to 300 kg. The missile can be launched from multiple platforms including land, sea, sub-sea and air.

28. NASA Launched MAVEN Mission to study Mars Atmosphere


The US space agency NASA on 18 November 2013 launched its MAVEN orbiter Mission to Mars planet. The orbiter mission was launched on an Atlas V rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station The probe will have a 10-month cruise to the Red Planet- Mars. MAVEN is going to study Mars' atmosphere. During the course of the long cruise, Maven will perform four trajectory corrections, with the first scheduled to occur on 3rd December 2013.

About MAVEN Mission

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission is part of NASA's Mars Scout program. The mission will explore the Red Planet’s upper atmosphere, ionosphere and interactions with the sun and solar wind.

29. National Integration Day observed on 19 November


19 November: National Integration Day (Birth anniversary of Indira Gandhi) National Integration Day is observed on 19 November 2013 all over India. It is celebrated as the birth anniversary of the first woman Prime Minister of the India, Indira Gandhi. The National Integration day is celebrated to enhance the love and unity among people all across the India.

30. World Toilet Day observed on 19 November


The World Toilet Day (WTD) was observed across the world on 19 November 2013. In the world about a third of the world’s people don’t have an access to a decent toilet.

World Toilet Summit
Earlier the World Toilet Summit in 2013 was observed from 2 to 4 October 2013 in Central Java, Indonesia. The 13th session of the World Toilet Summit was held in support of the World Toilet Organization and the Indonesia Toilet Association (ATI), and supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia and the Ministry of Public Works and the Government of Surakarta.

31. Birth of Cinema authored by N. Gopal Krishna Released


The book entitled Birth of Cinema written by N. Gopal Krishna was released at ICFFI media centre by a Journalist T. Udayawarluon 18 November 2013. The book comprises of details related to the advanced cinematic technologies like the 3D shootings and Voice enhancements and others, which were popularized by the Hollywood directors. He is a film maker of Andhra Pradesh.

32. Angela Merkel, German Chancellor selected for Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace 2013


Dr. Angela Merkel, German Chancellor on 19 November 2013 selected for Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for the year 2013.
The International Jury for the Prize was chaired by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, which made this announcement on 19 November 2013 on the birth anniversary of Indira Gandhi.

Dr. Angela Merkel is nominated for her exemplary leadership in Europe and the world during the financial crises, her commitment to universal peace and disarmament and her leadership role in strengthening productive and mutually beneficial relations with India and other developing countries.

About Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development 

v  The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development was instituted (in 1986) in the name of former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. It celebrates the values that she stood and fought for in the service of our nation and its people.

v  The Indiara Gandhi Award is constituted by Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust.

v  Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Liberian President was conferred with the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for the year 2012.

33. Iran unveiled New Biggest Drone with 2000Km Range


Iran on 18 November 2013 unveiled a biggest missile-equipped drone with a range of 2000 km, which would enable it to cover much of the Middle East, including Israel.


The drone named Fotros has an operational range of 2000 kilometres and can fly at an altitude of 25000 feet, with a flight time of 16 to 30 hours. The drone could carry out reconnaissance missions or launch air-to-surface missile strikes. In September 2013, Iran announced the mass production of the Shahed 129 drone, which it said has a range of 1700 kilometres, is capable of carrying eight missiles and can fly for 24 hours. In the same month, Iran unveiled a reconnaissance drone named Yasseer, which was said to be capable of flying for eight hours with a range of 200 kilometres and at an altitude of 4500 meters.


34. Mangalore University Presented with Indira Gandhi NSS Best University Award 2012-13

President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 19 November 2013 presented Indira Gandhi National Service Scheme Best University Award 2012-13 to Mangalore University of Karnataka.
Mangalore University is fourth in the row of universities winning Indira Gandhi NSS Award in Karnataka. Prior to this university, RGUHS, Bangalore University, and UAS Dharwad had received this award.

35. India and Russia decided to held a Joint Air Force Exercise in 2014


India and Russia on 18 November 2013 agreed to expand the range of strategic partnership in a significant manner in Moscow. The two countries will also hold a Joint Air Force Level exercise for the first time in 2014.
The Agreements 
• The two countries agreed to hold a joint Air Force level exercise for the first time, which will happen in 2014 with a joint Navy Exercise in the Peter the Great Bay in the Sea of Japan. Recently, the armies of the two countries held an Exercise Indra in Rajasthan with a focus on anti-terrorism.


36. Lionel Messi awarded third Golden Shoe


Lionel Messi, the Barcelonan forward footballer on 20 November 2013 won the Golden Shoe award. Messi won the award in recognition of his 46 goals in 32 leagues appearances in the Europe’s domestic football league in the 2012-13 season.
This is the third Golden Shoe award of Messi and with this win he became the first footballer win the show three times. Earlier Messi won the award in 2009-10 for 34 goals and a Spanish record 50 in 2011-12.
About Lionel Messi
Lionel Andres Messi (26) is an Argentine Footballer and a captain to the national team of Argentina. At present he plays for FC Barcelona in Spain. He is the fourth footballer to win 3 Ballons d’Or. He is the second player to win three Ballon’s d’Or consecutively after Michele Platini.

37. SPMCIL conferred with Engineering Excellence Award 2013


Engineering Excellence Award 2013 was conferred on the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL), a Public Sector Unit under the Ministry of Finance, and Government of India on 19 November 2013. The award was given by Engineering Watch at SCOPE Convention Centre in Delhi.
Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited
Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL) was formed after corporatization of nine units including four mints, four presses and one paper mill, which were earlier functioning under the Ministry of Finance. The Company was incorporated on 13 January 2006 under the Companies Act, 1956 with its headquarters at New Delhi. SPMCIL is a Miniratna Category-I CPSE, and wholly owned Schedule ‘A’ Company of Government of India. It is engaged in the manufacture of security paper, minting of coins, printing of currency and bank notes, non-judicial stamp papers, postage stamps, travel documents and others.

38. RBI Directed Public Sector Banks to give loans to women SHGs at 7 percent


The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 19 November 2013 directed Public Sector Banks (PSBs) to provide loans to women self-help groups (SHGs) at 7 per cent per annum to avail the benefit of interest rate subvention scheme under the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana-Aajeevika (SGSY) scheme.


v  All women SHGs will be eligible for interest subvention to avail the credit upto 3 lakh Rupees at 7 per cent per annum.


Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana-Aajeevika (SGSY) is an initiative by the government to provide sustainable income to poor people living in rural areas of the country.


39. Anjolie Ela Menon awarded with Dayawati Modi Award

Anjolie Ela Menon, a contemporary artist was awarded with Dayawati Modi Award for Art and Culture and Education by Dayawati Foundation on 19 November 2013. The award comprised of a cash price of 2.51 lakh rupees, a silver shield and a scroll of hounour. It was presented to her by the Minister of state for Prime Minister Office, Department of personnel and Training, Government of India.

She was awarded Padma Shree in 2000.

40. Kauwboy won the Golden Elephant Award in International Children's Film Festival


The 18th International Children's Film Festival concluded on 20 November 2013 in Hyderabad. A Dutch Film named Kauwboy, directed by Boudewijn Koole won the Golden Elephant Award for best film in the 'International Live Action' category. The film is about a 10 year old boy and a bird.

41. 3rd BRICS International Competition Conference inaugurated by Prime Minister of India


Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh on 21 November 2013 inaugurated the 3rd BRICS International Competition Conference in New Delhi. The theme of the conference is: Competition Enforcement in BRICS Countries: Issues and Challenges. The participating countries are BRICS Nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The two-day conference is organised by Competition Commission of India (CCI) on behalf of BRICS countries.

BRICS International Competition Conference is one of the most prestigious conferences in the field of competition law and policy.

The conference is third in the series with the earlier two BRICS International Competition Conferences having been organised in Kazan, Russia and Beijing, China respectively.

About BRICS Nations
BRICS is an acronym for the powerful grouping of the world’s leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The first BRIC Summit took place in Yekateringburg, Russia in 2009, where the elected leaders of the four countries formally declared the membership of the BRIC economic bloc. South Africa joined the bloc in 2010, resulting in BRICS.
The BRICS mechanism aims to achieve peace, security, development and cooperation. It also seeks to contribute significantly to the development of humanity and establish a more equitable and fair world.

42. Malala Yousafzai Received EU's Sakharov Human Rights Prize 2013


Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani teenage activist on 20 November 2013 received the EU's Sakharov human rights prize for her brave crusade for the right of the children to education.

The European Parliament President Martin Schulz presented the award to the 16-year-old Malala at a ceremony in Strasbourg, France. Malala Yousafzai dedicated the award to "the unsung heroes of Pakistan" and to human rights campaigners worldwide.

About Sakharov Prize

v  The Sakharov Prize for free speech is awarded by the European Parliament annually in memory of Soviet physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov.

v  The prize was set up in 1988 to honour individuals or organisations for their efforts on behalf of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The 50000-Euro prize is considered Europe's top human rights award.

v  In 2012 the award went to detained Iranians, lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and film maker Jafar Panahi, to honour those standing up for a better Iran. with this award Malala joins a distinguished list of winners of the prize that includes South Africa's Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar.

43. V. Baskaran appointed as Coach of the Senior Men Hockey Team


Hockey India on 20 November 2013 appointed the former Olympic gold-medallist V Baskaran as Coach of the Senior Men Hockey Team. Baskaran will work under the recently appointed Chief Coach Terence Walsh. Hockey India on 15 October 2013 appointed the Terence Walsh as Chief Coach of the Senior Men National Hockey Team.

About V Baskaran : Vasudevan Baskaran who was the captain of the team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.

44. Frederick Sanger the two time Chemistry Nobel Prize winner died


Frederick Sanger, a British biochemist who is the only person to win Nobel Prize two times for Chemistry died on 19 November 2013 in Cambridge, eastern England. He was aged 95.
For the first time, he won the Nobel Prize in 1958 for development of the methods, which helped to unravel the chemical structure of Protein, mainly insulin. Second Nobel Prize was given to him in 1980, jointly with Walter Gilbert and Paul Berg for the development of the techniques to read the sequences of DNA, which carries the basic code for life.
By winning two Nobel, Sanger became one of the four people who had won the Nobel Prizes two times. The other winners of Nobel Prize two times are Marie Curie, John Bardeen and Linus Pauling.




45. Indian Senior Women Hockey Team Coach Inderjit Singh Gill Died

India's senior women's hockey team coach Inderjit Singh Gill passed away in a fatal road accident near Sangrur in Punjab on 20 November 2013. Gill died at the age of 59. He was a Sports Authority of India (SAI) coach.

Inderjit Singh Gill, started his coaching career in 1986 and was working with the Junior & Senior Women hockey teams since 1999.


46. Darvis Patton, the US sprinter and two time Olympic Medalist retired


Darvis Patton, the US sprinter on 18 November 2013 announced his retirement after 13 years career. He won the Olympic silver medal as part of the 4x100 relay teams in the 2004 Athens Olympics and in London Olympics in 2012.
He was a part of the team of US that won the sprint relay gold at the Paris world championship and Osaka in 2003 and 2007, respectively.
About Darvis Patton
• He became the sixth fastest man to run 100 meters at the 2013 Texas Relays


47. MCX signed MoU with China’s DCE


Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) signed an agreement with China based Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) on 20 November 2013. Both Commodity future exchanges alliance will boost the strategic co-operation. The agreement is designed to facilitate potential collaboration in areas such as knowledge sharing, research and price risk management.

About MCX
The Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX), India’s first listed exchange, is a state-of-the-art, commodity futures exchange that facilitates online trading. The Multi Commodity Exchange, which started operations in November 2003, operates within the regulatory framework of the Forward Contracts Regulation Act, 1952 (FCRA, 1952).

About DCE

Founded on 18 November 1993, Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) is one of the four futures exchanges under the supervision and administration of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) upon the approval of the State Council, and also the only futures exchange in Northeast China.


48. Hamid Ansari released book entitled Maimaar-E-Qaun-Dr A.R. Kidwai


Maimaar-E-Qaun-Dr. A. R. Kidwai edited by Mufti Ataur Rahman Ansari
Hamid Ansari, the Vice President of India on 21 November 2013 released a book entitled Maimaar-E-Qaun-Dr. A. R. Kidwai. The book has been edited by Mufti Ataur Rahman Ansari.
Dr A.R. Kidwai has been compiled in the book creatively. He was a learned scientist and served as a professor at Aligarh Muslim University. He contributed in the formation of Mewat Development Board in Haryana.

• He served West Bengal as its Governor from 1998-99
• He became the member of Rajya Sabha from January 2000 to July 2004.


49. Virat Kohli became Fastest Batsman to Score 5000 Runs in ODIs


Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli became the fastest batsman to score 5000 runs in one-day internationals when he scored 86 against the West Indies in the first ODI in Kochi on 21 November 2013.
Virat Kohli achieved the feat in just 120 matches and 114 innings. He has so far scored 5005 runs, which included 17 centuries and 27 fifties in his short career.

Before Kohli, former captain Sourav Ganguly was the fastest to achieve the feat among Indian batsmen in 131 matches and 126 innings. From India, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (135 innings), Gautam Gambhir (135 innings) and Sachin Tendulkar (138 innings) are the next fastest batsmen to reach the 5000 runs in ODIs.

50. Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu reappointed as India Boxing Coach


Gurbax Singh Sandhu was on 20 November 2013 reappointed as the national coach of the men's Indian boxing team till the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. This decision was taken in consultation with the Sports Authority of India at New Delhi.
First appointed as coach in 1993, Gurbax Singh Sandhu has ably served for almost two decades during which Indian boxers have made ground-breaking progress in the international arena including winning the country's first Olympic medal, and first World Championship medal, through Vijender Singh (75kg category). 

 ed as the national coach of the men's Indian boxing team till the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. This decision was taken in consultation with the Sports Authority of India at New Delhi.
First appointed as coach in 1993, Gurbax Singh Sandhu has ably served for almost two decades during which Indian boxers have made ground-breaking progress in the international arena including winning the country's first Olympic medal, and first World Championship medal, through Vijender Singh (75kg category). 


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