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Important Days

Date Day Extra Info

1 November World Vegan Day

2 November International Day to End Impunity for

Crimes against

Journalists

5 November World Tsunami Awareness Day

7 November National Cancer Awareness Day

8 November International Day Of Radiology or World Radiography Day

Theme: ‘Emergency Radiology’

10 November World Science Day for Peace and Development

Theme: ‘Science for Global Understanding’

11 November National Education Day

12 November World Pneumonia Day

13 November World Kindness Day

14 November Children’s Day

14 November World Diabetes Day Theme: ‘Women and diabetes – our right

to a healthy future’

16 November International Day for Tolerance, National Press Day

16 November 2017 World Philosophy Day Commemorated on 3rd Thursday of November

17 November International Students Day

19 November World Toilet Day Theme: ‘Wastewater’

19 November International Men’s Day Theme: ‘Celebrate Men and Boys’

19 November 2017 World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

Commemorated on 3rd Sunday of November. Theme: ‘2020 Target: reduce road fatalities AND serious injuries by 50%’

19th to 25th November, 2017

“Qaumi Ekta Week” (National Integration Week)

20 November Universal Children’s Day

21 November World Fisheries Day Theme: ‘2022 Ka Hai Sapna … Kisan Ki Aay Ho Dugna – Sankalp Se Siddhi’

21 November World Television Day

25 November International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

Theme: ‘Leave no one behind: end violence against women and girls’

26 November Constitution Day/Samvidhan Divas

MOU/Agreement Countries

Countries Purpose

India Russia Russia will assist India to set up a national crisis management centre in the country to handle disaster and other emergency situations.

India Mauritius India will offer technical support and advisory services in implementing DigiLocker service in Mauritius.

Myanmar Bangladesh For the return of over six lakh Rohingya Muslims who had fled to Bangladesh to escape a violent crackdown by the Myanmar military.

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MOU Industry/States/Others

Companies/Organizations Purpose

Punjab National Bank Action Construction Equipment Ltd (ACE)

For augmenting tractors/agricultural implements financing to the farmers across the country through PNB’s branch network

Yes Bank Innovation Centre Denmark India (ICDK India)

To bring fintech innovations and startups from Denmark to India, and facilitate entry of Indian startups to the region.

Reliance General Insurance YES Bank A comprehensive banc assurance-corporate agency agreement has been signed between the two.

Paytm ICICI Bank To jointly launch ‘Paytm-ICICI Bank Postpaid’, the most seamless way to access interest-free short-term digital credit.

Karnataka Bank Boston Consulting Group (India)Pvt. Ltd

MoU for transformation initiatives of banks. Project - ‘KBL Vikaas’ – was launched for same.

Appointments and Resignations

Name Post Institution/Other Info

Hasmukh Adhia Finance Secretary India

Nirmala Sitharaman President Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA)

Shaktikanta Das India’s G 20 Sherpa She is former Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs

Dalveer Bhandari Judge International Court of Justice (ICJ)

Snehlata Shrivastava Secretary General Lok Sabha

RBI Governor Urjit Patel has been appointed to the Financial Stability Institute Advisory Board or the Bank of International Settlement (BIS).

Mary Kom Ambassador Youth World Championships

Vikas Seth Chief Executive Officer Bharti AXA Life Insurance

Sudhanshu Jain Chief Financial Officer Paytm Payments Bank (PPB)

Sethurathnam Ravi Chairman Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)

Y.C. Modi Director-General National Investigation Agency (NIA)

Ira Joshi Director-General Doordarshan News

Ajay Bisaria Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan

Navtej Sarna Indian Ambassador to the US He was supposed to retire November 2017 end, has been given a year extended.

Neelamani N. Raju Karnataka’s first woman Director General and Inspector General of Police

Kenneth Juster US Ambassador To India

S Y Qureshi Ombudsmen to formulate the AIFF Constitution within eight weeks.

Tulsi Gabbard Chairperson World Hindu Congress 2018

Debjani Ghosh 1st woman President National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom)

Pradeep Singh Kharola Chairman and Managing Director (CMD)

Air India

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B.N. Sharma Chairman National Anti-profiteering Authority – which is under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act

Actor Trisha Krishnan UNICEF celebrity advocate for child rights

She is the first actor from the South Indian film industry to receive this honour, which was previously bestowed upon Bollywood celebrities like Nandita Das, Madhuri Dixit, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Raveena Tandon.

AVPS Chakravarthi Ambassador World Packaging Organisation

Professor Abdool Karim Ambassador UNAIDS Special Ambassador for Adolescents and HIV

Audrey Azoula Head United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Uhuru Kenyatta President Kenya

Borut Pahor President Slovenia

Emmerson Mnangagwa President Zimbabwe

Union Minister of State for Tourism and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader K.J. Alphons Kannathanam was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan

Robert Mugabe, who ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980 and once proclaimed that “only God will remove me,” resigned as president

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned

Awards and Recognitions

Award Name Person/Institution Extra Knowledge

Miss World 2017 Manushi Chillar India’s Manushi Chillar won the coveted Miss World 2017 pageant held in China, 17 years after Priyanka Chopra won the title in 2000.

Miss Universe 2017 Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters She is from South Africa

Miss International 2017 Kevin Lilliana She is from Indonesia

Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development

Former PM Manmohan Singh

General Insurance Company of the Year

Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company

Veteran actors Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth and film director K. Raghvendra Rao have bagged the NTR National Film Awards for 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Jnanpith award 2017 Krishna Sobti He is an eminent Hindi Litterateur

Rashtriya Bal Kalyan Award Anand Kumar President Ram Nath Kovind awarded this year’s “Rashtriya Bal Kalyan Award” to Super 30 founder Anand Kumar for his contributions in the field of teaching and education.

Tata Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award 2017

Girish Karnad

Best film at International Film Festival of India (IFFI)

120 Beats Per Minute It is a French film, directed by Robin Campillo.

3rd ICCR Distinguished Indologist award

Hiroshi Marui He is a Professor from Japan.

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2017 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature

Anuk Arudpragasam He is from Sri Lanka. He won for the book - “The Story of a Brief Marriage”

Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice, 2017

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Airline of the Year for 2018 Air New Zealand

ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India) bestowed CMC Skills’ Founder Ms. Maya Swaminathan Sinha with the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2017’

RECOGNITIONS:

CEO of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar was named the most powerful woman in India as she ranked 32nd in

World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list by Forbes. This year’s list is topped by German Chancellor Angela

Merkel.

With a net worth of $38 billion, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani has topped Forbes’

annual list of India’s 100 richest tycoons of 2017. He is followed by Wipro’s Azim Premji and Hinduja family.

Tata Power Solar has won ‘Dun & Bradstreet – Everest Infra Awards 2017’ under Infrastructure Project

category for commissioning India’s largest solar project under Domestic Content Requirement for NTPC at

Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh.

The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, the sacred shrine temple has won the UNESCO Asia Pacific

Award of Merit 2017 for cultural heritage conservation following the massive renovation and restoration

work .

Indian short film “The School Bag”, which tells a story based in Pakistan, has won the Best Short Film Award

at the South Asian Film Festival of Montreal (SAFFM). The film is directed by Dheeraj Jindal.

Shri Harmandir Sahib also known as Golden Temple and the Darbar Sahib has been awarded as the most

visited place of the world. The holy Sikh Shrine is situated in Amritsar, Punjab. It is surrounded by a Sarovar

which is fed by river Ravi. Book of World Records, London Awards Harmandir Sahib as the Most Visited Place

of the World.

India’s Ambani family has topped the Forbes list of Asia’s 50 Richest Families for the first time, with a net worth of $44.8 billion.

Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan honoured with personality of the year award at the International Film

Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.

India’s foreign-language Oscar hopeful ‘Newton’ bagged two wins at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards in

Brisbane, with Rajkummar Rao winning the best actor, and writer Mayank Tewari and director Amit V.

Masurkar grabbing the best screenplay honour.

In a first, a woman has been inducted as a pilot in the Indian Navy. Shubhangi Swaroop, who hails from Uttar

Pradesh, will soon be flying Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft.

Conference and Summits

Summit Place Extra Info

First ever Nordic-Baltic youth film festival New Delhi

Island Development Agency (IDA) Meet New Delhi

Three-Day International Conference – ‘FIPSPHYSIOCON 2017’

New Delhi

Global Clubfoot Conference New Delhi

21st World Congress of Mental Health New Delhi

World Food India 2017 New Delhi

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1st Heli Expo India and International Civil Helicopter Conclave-2017

New Delhi

India Disaster Response Summit New Delhi Jointly by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Facebook

Asean-India business and investment summit New Delhi To be held in January 2018

36th International Geological Congress (IGC) New Delhi To be held in year 2020

Hindustan Times Leadership Summit New Delhi

Seminar on cyber security in the context of Indian Navy

New Delhi

Global Conference on Cyber Space (GCCS) New Delhi Theme – ‘Cyber4All: A Secure and Inclusive Cyberspace for Sustainable Development’

12th North East Business Summit New Delhi

15th Asia Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team (APCERT) Conference

New Delhi

South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) Meet

New Delhi It was Interim Meeting of the Steering Committee of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC)

42nd World Congress of the International Committee of Military Medicine (ICMM)

New Delhi Theme - “Military Medicine in Transition: Looking Ahead.”

Consultative Workshop on New National Policy on Biofuels

New Delhi

12th meeting of the Standing Committee of Inter- State Council (ISC)

New Delhi

International Seminar on Indian Space Programme: ‘Trends and Opportunities for Industry’

New Delhi

Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017 Hyderabad, Telangana

Theme - ‘Women First, Prosperity for All’

Skill Seeds International MSME and Startup Expo 2017

Hyderabad

20th International Children’s Film Festival Hyderabad

International Symposium to Promote Innovation & Research in Energy Efficiency (INSPIRE 2017)

Jaipur, Rajasthan

12th Biennial International Conference & Exposition of Society of Petroleum Geophysicists (SPG)

Jaipur, Rajasthan

Asian Bankers Association (ABA) Mumbai Hosted by State Bank, with the theme of ‘Asia’s turn to transform’.

1st Tribal Entrepreneurship Summit Dantewada, Chhattisgarh

Sangai International Festival Manipur

First ever North East Development Summit (NEDS) 2017

Imphal, Manipur

‘Nobel Prize Series — India 2018 (Science Impacts Life)’

Goa

India’s first Military Literature Festival Chandigarh

Organic World Congress – 2017 Greater Noida

APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit 2017

Da Nang, Vietnam

Theme - ‘Creating New Dynamism, Fostering a Shared Future’

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2017 UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial Conference

Vancouver, Canada

International Energy Agency (IEA) Ministerial Meet Paris, France

23rd Conference of Parties (COP-23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Bonn, Germany India Pavilion at COP 23 was also inaugurated there. India’s theme for COP 23 is“Conserving Now, Preserving Future”

World Youth Forum 2017 Sharm El sheikh, Egypt

International Conference on “Ramayan Circuit and Mithila-Awadh Relations”

Janakpur, Nepal

ASEAN Summit 2017 Manila, Philippines

East Asia Summit 2017 Manila, Philippines

South Asia Economic Summit Kathmandu, Nepal

1st WHO Global Ministerial Conference on Ending TB in Sustainable Development Era

Moscow, Russia The conference was themed “Ending TB in the Sustainable Development Era: A Multisectoral Response”.

13th Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers’ Meeting Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar

International News PM Narendra Modi visited the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Banos, Philippines and

inaugurated ‘Shri Narendra Modi Resilient Rice Field Laboratory’.

‘Ayodhya Mahotsav’, depicting the cultural heritage of the temple town, would be staged in Seoul and

Gimhe cities of South Korea next year. In return, a ‘Korea Festival’ will be held in Lucknow and Ayodhya.

India has pledged to contribute about USD 2.87 million to Afghanistan in its latest financial assistance to the

neighbouring country.

Developing countries will receive $540 million to continue their work in phasing out ozone-depleting

chemicals, according to UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

Fake news, a term heavily popularised by US President Donald Trump, has been named the word of the year

by Collins dictionary due to its widespread use around the world. It was found that the use of this word

registered a 365 per cent rise in the last 12 months. Fake News - “false, often sensational, information

disseminated under the guise of news reporting”. Last year, term selected was – BREXIT.

US grants $500k to promote religious freedom in India, Sri Lanka

United Nations hosts first talks on use of killer robots in Geneva

A Curtain Raiser Event for the Founding Ceremony of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) was held in Bonn,

Germany.

Sarajevo Haggadah, the 14th- century richly illuminated Hebrew manuscript, which was brought to Sarajevo

through the efforts of Jews fleeing persecution in Spain, has been included in UNESCO’s Memory of the

World Register.

Kazakhstan is changing its name to Qazaqstan as part of a transition from Cyrillic to a Latin-based script. A

national commission will be set up to oversee the transition, which will be completed by 2025.

A female bottlenose dolphin named ‘Nana’, thought to be around 47 years old, has died at a Japanese

aquarium

A five-ship Indian naval training flotilla, based in Kerala is on a visit to Sri Lanka to foster “bridges of

friendship” between the two countries and expose their trainees to foreign waters.

China unveiled one of the world’s coolest library with more than one million books to readers. It is located in

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the Binhai Cultural District in Tianjin, China.

China has unveiled Asia’s largest artificial island-building ship.

China has launched world’s first all-electric ship that can travel up to 80 km with 2000-tonnes cargo after a

two- hour charge.

China, which on its way to emerge as a Space Superpower, has claimed be the first nation to make contact

with alien life using the world’s largest radio dish.

Guinea becomes new member of International Solar Alliance

Typhoon Damrey arrives in Vietnam

Nepal inaugurated a bridge built with India’s financial assistance of USD 430,626 on the Kaligandaki river

near China border.

Nepal scraps 1200-MW Budhigandaki Hydroelectric project with China

Nepal Electricity Authority, NEA has signed a joint venture agreement with a Chinese company to construct

750 MW West Seti hydropower Project.

Scientists have developed the world’s first artificial intelligence politician that can answer a person’s queries

regarding local issues such as policies around housing, education and immigration.

The virtual politician, called SAM, was created by Nick Gerritsen, a 49-year-old entrepreneur in New Zealand.

Syria has officially signed up to the Paris Agreement, leaving only the United States as the only country to

reject the global climate-rescue pact.

The Saudi Ministry of Trade and Industry declared that Yoga has been listed under “sports activities”.

National News India first country to partner with Facebook on disaster response.

The Rs.1 currency note completed 100 years on 30 Nov, 2017, after the first note, which was printed in

England, was issued on November 30, 1917 in India. The note was launched because the silver used for Rs.1

coins was being used to make weaponry components during World War I. Notably, when the note was

issued, Rs.1 was equivalent to 10.7g of silver.

Since 1917 to 2017, there have been 125 different One Rupee notes that have been issued for circulation

with different serial numbers and signatures.

The Union Cabinet approved India’s membership for European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

(EBRD), a move which will help it obtain funding in various areas including services and manufacturing.

Government approved new scheme called ‘Mahila Shakti Kendra’ and expanded the umbrella scheme

“Mission for Protection and Empowerment for Women” for a period 2017-18 to 2019-20.

Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) 2017 was held in Hyderabad between November 28 and November

30. This year’s Summit highlighted the theme ‘Women First, Prosperity for All’. ‘Mitra’, a made-in-India

robot developed by Bengaluru-based Invento Robotics, declared the start of GES 2017. Prime Minister

Narendra Modi and US First daughter Ivanka Trump inaugurated the event by pressing a button on the bot.

Government launched a new mobile app — UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance)

which will allow citizens to access Government services on a single platform. App has been developed by

SpiceDigital.

Under Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat Yojana, Madhya Pradesh has been made partner of Manipur and Nagal

Ministry of Human Resources Development has launched a Digital Signature campaign on Constitution Day

affirming faith in Indian Constitution and to generate awareness on fundamental duties enshrined in the

Constitution.

The Centre approved setting up of Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendras across 115 most backward

districts of the country for reaching out to rural women and facilitating skill development, employment,

digital literacy, health and nutrition.

The government has given the go-ahead for setting up India’s first mega coastal economic zone (CEZ) at the

Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Maharashtra as part of a plan to develop 14 such industrial clusters to spur

manufacturing and generate jobs.

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The Ministry of Finance increased the maximum age of joining the National Pension System (NPS) from the

existing 60 years to 65 years under NPS – Private Sector (i.e. all citizen and corporate model).

Goa ranks top, Bihar at bottom of Gender Vulnerability Index released by Child development NGO Plan India.

According to a joint study by Assocham and EY, India is home to the largest number of malnourished

children in the world.

Railways has launched the main arch of the world’s highest bridge on the River Chenab in Jammu and

Kashmir’s Reasi district which will provide direct connectivity to the Kashmir valley.

The Inter-State Council, which is mandated to investigate and advise on disputes between states, has been

reconstituted with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its chairman and six Union ministers and all chief

ministers as members.

According to a gazette notification, the Union ministers who will be members of the reconstituted council

are Rajnath Singh (home), Sushma Swaraj (external affairs), Arun Jaitley (finance), Nitin Gadkari (road

transport), Thaawar Chand Gehlot (social justice and empowerment) and Nirmala Sitharaman (defence).

Cabinet approved extension of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) as RKVY-RAFTAAR for fiscals 2017-

18 to 2019-20.

The Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana – Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied sector Rejuvenation

(RKVY- RAFTAAR) will incentivise states in increasing allocations to agricultural and allied sectors to boost

farm output.

The financial allocation of the scheme will be Rs 15,722 crore.

Power and New & Renewable Energy Ministry, launched the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana –

‘Saubhagya’ Web Portal.

World Food India 2017 - launched “Nivesh Bandhu”, an Investor Facilitation Portal. Karnataka was the focus

State. Chef Sanjeev Kapoor was named brand ambassador for World Food India’s Food Street. Germany,

Japan and Denmark were partner countries to World Food India, while Italy and the Netherlands were the

focus countries.

A Pan India scholarship program for school children called Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana has been launched by

the government to increase the reach of Philately. SPARSH (Scholarship for Promotion of Aptitude &

Research in Stamps as a Hobby)

Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed the world’s highest motorable road in the cold desert of Ladakh.

Tata Steel has established India’s largest Coke Dry Quenching (CDQ) facility, capable of handling 200 metric

tonnes per hour, at its state-of-the-art steel plant at Kalinganagar Industrial Complex in Jajpur district of

Odisha.

The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) in its document called ‘New India @2022’

anticipated a New India by 2022 that will be free from poverty, dirt, corruption, terrorism, casteism and

communalism.

The government made installation of FASTag, a rechargeable card that uses passive radio frequency

identification (RFID ) technology to debit toll charges automatically, mandatory for all four-wheel

automobiles sold from December 1.

The government has more than tripled the maximum amount that a central government employee can

borrow from the government to Rs 25 lakh, from Rs 7.50 lakh earlier.

India sets Guinness Record for cooking 918 kgs of Khichdi at the World Food India 2017 event.

The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) opened its campus to an Israel Centre which is aimed

at becoming a “bridge of academic collaboration” between India and Israel.

India has pledged an additional USD 100 million towards the UN partnership fund, significantly scaling up its

support to sustainable development projects across the developing world.

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Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Railways & Coal launched ‘Grahak Sadak Koyla Vitaran App’ benefitting

customers of Coal India Limited (CIL) lifting coal through road mode.

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi launched ‘SHe-box’ (sexual harassment

electronic box), an online portal for registering complaint related to sexual harassment in non-government

and government organisations.

Unesco, the UN cultural organisation, has included Chennai in its list of Creative Cities for its contribution to

music. Chennai is the third Indian city on the list of UNESCO Creative Cities list after Jaipur and Varanasi.

Google Arts and Culture unveils its first lab experiment in India in Mumbai.

A new passenger train between West Bengal and Bangladesh, Bandhan Express, was flagged off by Prime

Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina via video conferencing. The train will

connect Kolkata to Khulna in Bangladesh. This will be the second train to run between the two countries

after Maitree Express that runs between Dhaka and Kolkata.

Northeast to get India’s first air dispensary.

Number of pilgrims visiting the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir limited to 50,000 a day, to avoid

any mishap.

WCD Ministry to hosted ‘Hausala 2017’ to Celebrate ‘Child Rights Week’ from 16-20 November 2017.

The government has launched phase 2 of BharatNet to connect 1.5 lakh gram panchayats with high-speed

broadband by March 2019. Phase 1 of BharatNet set to complete by the end of 2017.

Railways to start 9-month ‘upskilling’ exercise named ‘Project Saksham’for employees in January

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) announced $1 million to create awareness about

Tuberculosis (TB) to help India in its fight against the disease. The move would support Prime Minister

Modi’s ultimate goal of securing a TB-free India by 2025.

World’s first Sanskrit 3D film ‘Anurakthi’ was among the main attraction in 3D category at the International

Film Festival of India in Panaji in Goa.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar launched the Jai Kisaan App, a farmer engagement app packed with

features and functions to fulfill the needs of the farmers community in India.

The Eastern Railways has pressed India’s first Swarna Rajdhani rake - Sealdah – New Delhi Rajdhani . Indian

Railways decided to upgrade Premium Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains under Project ‘Swarna’.

Tata Power Solar has commissioned India’s first rooftop solar car port at Unity One mall in Rohini, Delhi.

Bombay Stock Exchange Institute Ltd. (BIL), has signed an MoU with DLT Labs in Mumbai to set up the

country’s first state-of-the-art Block Chain Lab in an institution.

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has collaborated with app-based taxi aggregator Ola to launch the country’s

first electric charging station at one of its petrol/diesel stations in Nagpur.

Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has sent a proposal to United Nations for declaring 2018 as

“International Year of Millets” to raise awareness among consumers, policy makers, industry and research

sector.

Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe arrived in Bengaluru on 4 day visit to India.

A biographical film on the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) supremo and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal titled

‘An Insignificant Man’ was finally released on November 17, 2017.

The film has been directed by Khushboo Ranka and Vina Shukla.

A two-day Korea festival showcasing Korea’s rich art, culture and heritage was inaugurated by Korea

Tourism Organisation (KTO) Executive Vice President Min Hong Min at the Ambience Mall in Gurugram,

Haryana.

According to the state-wise analysis of state of women entrepreneurship in the country by Sheatwork, a

knowledge hub for women entrepreneurs, Tamil Nadu has the highest number of women entrepreneurs in

India, followed by Kerala and West Bengal

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State News Andhra Pradesh

Etikoppaka toys of Andhra, popularly known as Lakkapidathalu, have received Geographical Indication by

the Registration of Geographical Indication, categorised in class 20 of the toys category.

The Araku valley near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh hosted the first edition of its Hot Air Balloon

Festival.

Assam

The first ever Namami Barak festival was held at Silchar in Assam.

Bihar

Sonepur cattle fair, considered as Asia’s largest such, kicked-off in Bihar.

The Bihar government gave its nod for setting up a “State Ayush Society” to give a boost to alternative

medicine in the state.

Delhi

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd installed the Nobel Memorial Wall at Rajiv Chowk metro station for the

seventh consecutive year.

The Delhi government signed a twin city agreement with the Seoul Metropolitan Government for

strengthening cooperation in the fields of e-governance, transportation, climate change and smart city.

Gujarat

Amaazia, India’s first Cartoon Network branded amusement park, will open in Surat, Gujarat in the first

quarter of 2019.

Haryana

The Haryana government announced lifetime monthly pension to the Hindi ‘satyagrahis’ and those from

the state who were jailed during the Emergency in 1975, hiked financial assistance to veterans of the

Second World War (WW-II) and their widows, and provide 10-hour power supply to the agriculture sector.

Haryana first state to treat Hepatitis-C patients with oral medicine

Gurugram to have North India’s biggest butterfly park

World’s biggest toilet pot model was unveiled at Marora, popularly known as the ‘Trump village’, in Mewat

region, near Gurugram, Haryana on the World Toilet Day in a bid to create awareness towards sanitation

and use of toilets.

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the International Gita Mahotsava-2017 in

Kurukshetra, Haryana.

Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh hosted the International Lavi Fair at Rampur Bushahr in Shimla district. The 300-year-old Lavi fair is an important trade event between India and Tibet.

Jammu & Kashmir

First power plant under PM Ladakh scheme commissioned in Biaras Drass of Kargil in Jammu & Kashmir.

Kerala

Kerala government launched “She Pad’’, a scheme to distribute free sanitary napkins to girl students from

classes VI to XII in government and aided private schools affiliated to the state school board.

The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), common platform of 21 countries including India and

geographically bordering Indian Ocean, is to set up a Centre of Excellence in Kochi. hHeadquarters of IORA

is located at Ebene, Mauritius.

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Maharashtra

The restored Royal Opera House, located at Mumbai’s Charni Road, has received the Award of Merit from

the 2017 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. The building, which was closed to

the public in 1993 and reopened in 2016, was restored by architect Abha Narain Lambah.

The Maharashtra government has set up a seven-member committee headed by Additional Chief Secretary

(Home) Sudhir Shrivastava to recommend ways to stop the custodial deaths.

Maharashtra government, in a bid to become plastic-free state from March 2018, has banned packaged

water bottles in Mantralaya and other government offices.

Manipur

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh inaugurated a two-day India-Myanmar media interaction programme

in Imphal.

Nagaland

Nagaland scripted history when it became the first State in the Northeast to launch Point of Sale (POS)

facility for electricity bill payment, where the mode of payment will be cashless.

Odisha

The annual ‘Balijatra’ festival was inaugurated at the Gadagadia ghat in Cuttack on the banks of river

Mahanadi.

Odisha government launched a scheme - ‘Fish Pond Yojana’ - to boost fish production in the state with a

budgetary provision of 96 crore rupees.

The Odisha government will launch a massive vaccination drive to combat killer Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in

13 districts of the state.

Odisha government has launched a new scheme, “Nabakrushna Choudhury Seccha Unnayan Yojana” worth

Rs 635 crore to provide irrigation facility to about 55,000 hectare of agricultural land across the state.

Rajasthan

The Centre has sanctioned Rs 275 crore for establishing a Global Centre for Security and Counter-Terrorism in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Rajasthan government has launched ‘Dishari’ — an educational mobile application that provides free study

materials for youths preparing for competitive examinations.

Tamil Nadu

India’s Second Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) Established in Chennai. 1st at Punjab.

Telangana

Trademark Hyderabadi dishes biryani, baghare baingan, and seviyan have all made their way into India

postage, with the Department of Post issuing stamps with photos of the same.

Telangana declared Urdu as the state’s second official language. First official language is Telugu.

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh cabinet decided to make India’s first conservation reserve for black buck in Allahabad’s Meja.

With an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 491 on the 500-point scale, Varanasi has become the most polluted Indian city among 42 cities, according to data from Central Pollution Control Board. 2nd - Gurugram.

Uttar Pradesh tops in opening new PMJDY accounts after demonetisation.

West Bengal

The West Bengal government has negotiated with the World Bank to avail subsidy to buy 130 electric buses

for plying in Kolkata, Asansol and Durgapur. The World Bank has agreed to provide a subsidy of Rs seven lakh

per bus.

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West Bengal got GI (Geographical Indication) tag for rosogolla. Both WB and Odisha had applied for it. After

this, Odisha government has announced that it would apply for the tag for ‘Odishara Rasogolla’ soon.

Finance and Banking News

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided not to pursue a proposal for introduction of Islamic banking in

the country. Islamic or Sharia banking is a finance system based on the principles of not charging interest,

which is prohibited under Islam.

The Reserve Bank of India, RBI, has withdrawn the sale of Rs Ten thousand crore worth of government

securities under Open Market Operations, OMO.

RBI has asked co-operative societies not use the word ‘Bank’ in their names as it violates the Section 7 of

Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

The RBI has decided to allow asset reconstruction companies to have higher holding than the 26 per cent

cap set earlier with regard to limits on shareholding of the post-converted equity of a borrower company

under reconstruction.

In August, the RBI had paid a dividend of Rs 30,659 crore for the fiscal ended June 2017. It was less than

half the Rs 65,876 crore it had paid in 2015-16. Now, the Government has seeked Rs 13,000 crore of

surplus lying with the central bank.

Govt set Rs 10,000 min balance in bank accounts as rural poverty measure

Moody’s Investors Service upped the long-term ratings of four Indian financial institutions by a notch to

Baa2 following the upgrade of the country’s sovereign rating to the same level. These are -- Export- Import

Bank of India (EXIM India), HDFC Bank, Indian Railway Finance Corporation Limited (IRFC) and State Bank of

India (SBI)

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) announced that NRIs and PIOs are not required to link

bank accounts and other services with Aadhaar.

According to the Truecaller Insights’ report, the State Bank of India is the biggest bank by volume of SMSes,

with 30 per cent of Truecaller users using it, followed by HDFC at 14 per cent and ICICI at 13 percent.

State Bank of India (SBI) has launched comprehensive digital service platform ‘You Only Need One’ also

known as YONO which is a omni digital platform that offers just about everything related to financial

services and lifestyle products or services.

State-run lender Bank of Baroda launched digital Supply Chain Finance solution which aims to accelerate

working capital loan opportunities for the small and medium enterprises and large corporate clients.

Andhra Bank has launched a new scheme, Pattabhi Sitaramayya — Self Business Group (PS-SBG), for self-

help groups (SHGs) to encourage entrepreneurship.

Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak) has launched 24 hour accessible e-Lobbies “Smart Banking 24×7” in the

Mumbai suburbs of Juhu and Powai.

India’s largest private sector bank by consolidated assets, ICICI Bank, announced the launch of India’s first

voice- based international remittance service to enable non-resident Indians (NRIs) to send money to any

bank in India.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited (ICICI Pru Life) has become the first life insurance company

in India that has implemented the Electronic – National Automated Clearing House (e-NACH) service of the

National Payment Corporation of India.

Private sector RBL Bank has set up an all women branch in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The women branch is a

testament to the bank’s efforts in encouraging gender equality.

‘Paytm Payments Bank’ formally launched. It is India’s only mobile first bank providing zero balance

accounts and zero digital transaction charges.

Currently, India has four Payments Bank including Paytm Payments Bank. The other three operational ones

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are Airtel Payments Bank, India Post Payments Bank and Fino Payments Bank.

AU Small Finance Bank received approval from Reserved Bank of India (RBI) to operate as Scheduled

Commercial Bank. AU Small Finance Bank’s name has now been included in the Second Schedule of Reserve

Bank of India Act, 1934.

YES Bank is all set to launch a first-of-its-kind fintech survey. Called India Fintech Opportunities Review, the

study will cover India and a few major fintech markets in the world.

India Post Payments Bank will become operational in all 650 districts of the country by April next year. Two

such banks are already operational in Ranchi and Raipur.

Private sector lender Yes Bank signed an agreement with the government to provide Rs 1,000 crore

financing for food processing projects.

HSBC has pledged to provide $100 billion in financing and investment by 2025 to help combat climate change.

Private Sector, Federal Bank has obtained RBI approval to open representative offices at Kuwait and Singapore.

Canara Bank launched a digital library, a Canarites app, a field recovery mobile app, a retail loan (vehicle) –tracking system, and a regulatory guidance tracking system.

IDFC Bank, MobiKwik and Net1 have partnered to launch a co-branded virtual prepaid card on the Visa

platform to customers of MobiKwik.

Emirates NBD, the UAE’s second-largest lender, has started operations in India with an aim to invest USD

100 million capital into its Indian operations. Branch opened in Mumbai.

IndiaFirst Life Insurance (IndiaFirst Life) has launched an unique micro-insurance plan ‘insurance khata’

targeted at those in the informal sector and agricultural labourers with seasonal incomes.

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance has launched ‘Pro-fit’, a platform that will act as a one-stop solution to all

the health-record tracking needs of customers.

During the International Fraud Awareness week, Axis Bank in association with Mumbai Police has launched

its latest campaign #MuhPeTaala to promote safe banking.

Private sector lender Axis Bank has launched an instant international payment services using Ripple’s

enterprise blockchain technology solution for retail and corporate customers.

The Royal Bank of Canada is the first Canadian lender to be added to the Financial Stability Board’s list of

global systemically important banks, which are deemed too big to fail.

JM Financial Home Loans, a step-down subsidiary of Mumbai-based JM Financial, has received certificate of

registration from the National Housing Bank for carrying out housing finance activities.

RBI asks large borrowers to obtain 20-digit Legal Entity Identifier unique code

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed corporate borrowers having exposure of Rs 5 crore and above to mandatorily obtain 20-digit Legal Entity Identifier (LEI). The move is aimed at improving risk management in the wake of the huge stressed assets in the banking system.

RBI said that borrowers with fund and non-fund exposure of Rs 1,000 crore and above will have to get the unique code by March 31, 2018.

Those having exposure between Rs 500 crore and Rs 1,000 crore have to obtain the LEI code by June 30 and those having between Rs 100 crore and Rs 500 crore by March 31, 2019.

Borrowers with bank credit between Rs 50 crore and Rs 100 crore have been given time to comply with LEI provision by December 2019.

LEI is a 20-digit unique code to identify parties to financial transactions worldwide.

Entities can obtain LEI from any of the local operating units (LOUs) accredited by the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) – the entity tasked to support the implementation and use of LEI.

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Business News Popular mobile-based digital payment platform Paytm launched ‘Inbox’, a messaging service that will allow

consumers to chat with friends and family, and send and request money at the same time.

ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) gets government nod for acquiring HPCL (Hindustan Petroleum).

Rs 10,000 Crore MoU signed between Govt of India & Patanjali

According to Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), provisional figures of direct tax collections up to October,

2017 show that net collections are at Rs. 4.39 lakh crore which is 15.2 percent higher than the net

collections for the corresponding period of last year.

The GST Council decided to raise Composition Scheme threshold to Rs 2 crore. The Council, which held its

23rd meeting in Guwahati, decided that there will be no inter-state taxes and input tax credit for

composition dealers.

Out of 228 items in the 28% tax bracket, 178 have been put into the lower tax category of 18%. It will be

applicable from 15th November.

Amazon India announced the launch of Amazon Saheli, a new pioneering program aimed at empowering

and enabling women entrepreneurs across the country to sell their products on the Amazon.in marketplace.

Amazon India collaborated with hardware accelerator “HAX” and crowd-funding community “Kickstarter” to

announce “Startup C-Cube” — a multi-level challenge for the startups that will commence in Bengaluru on

December 5.

Paytm has picked up a majority stake in CreditMate, a Mumbai-based startup that facilitates two-wheeler

loans for customers with no formal credit history.

Economy News Singapore’s DBS Bank lowered India’s GDP growth forecast for 2017-18 to 6.6% from the previous 6.8%. In

2018-19 – 7.2%.

The government gave ex-post facto clearance to implementation of the Special Banking Arrangement (SBA)

of Rs10,000 crore for payment of outstanding claims towards fertiliser subsidy in 2016-17.

Asia Index Pvt Ltd, a joint venture of S&P Dow Jones Indices and BSE, has launched an environmental, social

and governance (ESG) index to measure the exposure to securities meeting sustainability investing criteria.

Eight core sectors grew to a six-month high of 5.2 per cent in September, helped by a robust performance in

coal, natural gas, and refinery segments.

The data furnished by the Comptroller General of Accounts (CGA) showed that India’s budgetary fiscal deficit

for the first seven months of 2017-18 stood at 96.1 per cent — Rs 5.25 lakh crore — of the full year’s target

of Rs 5.46 lakh crore.

According to data of Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation,

India’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) surged by 6.3 percent in the second quarter (July-September) Q2 of

2017-18.

According to the Japanese financial services major, Nomura’s report, India’s current account deficit (CAD) for

this financial year is expected to be around $40 billion, or 1.5% of gross domestic product (GDP).

The revenue department has announced that farmers do not need to quote PAN for cash sale of their

produce up to Rs 2 lakh a day.

The government has decided to increase the New Fund Offer (NFO) size of Bharat 22 ETF from Rs. 8,000

crore to Rs. 14,500 crore, to cater to the demand of retail investors and retirement funds.

Lauding India’s increasing per capita income, World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva said she has no doubt

that India will be a high-middle income country by 2047 when it completes its centenary year of

independence.

India’s insurance regulator IRDAI has mandated all insurers – life and non-life – to link the Aadhaar number

of the policy holders to their policies. It further said that linking of Aadhaar number to insurance policies is

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mandatory under the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Second Amendment Rules

2017.

Sidbi, Crisil to launch sentiment index named ‘CriSidEx’ for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector.

The Government of India launched the BHARAT-22 Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) managed by ICICI Prudential

Mutual Fund targeting an initial amount of about Rs.8,000 crore. This New Fund Offer is open till November

17, 2017. The Units of the Scheme will be allotted 25% to each category of investors.

According to data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), with the

revised base year of 2011-12, went up in October to 3.59 per cent from 2.60 per cent in September.

International credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded India’s bond rating for the first

time in 14 years, saying continued progress in India’s economic and institutional reforms will enhance its

high growth potential. It has upgraded India’s bond rating to Baa2 from its lowest investment grade (Baa3).

Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded the ratings of infrastructure government-related issuers (GRIs)

NTPC, NHPC, NHAI & GAIL to Baa2 in line with India’s sovereign ratings.

Rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) maintained India’s sovereign ratings at ‘BBB-/A-3’ with stable outlook.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country increased by 17 per cent to USD 25.35 billion during April-

September this fiscal.

Defence News Indian and Kazakhstan - 14-day joint exercise ‘Prabal Dostyk 2017’ from November 2 in Bakloh belt of

Himachal Pradesh.

Indian and the Bangladeshi armies - an intensive combat exercise ‘Exercise Sampriti’ at India’s Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Vairengte in Mizoram.

Indian and Myanmar armies - their maiden joint exercise “IMBAX-2017” at Umroi Cantonment, about 25 km

from Shillong, the state capital of Meghalaya

An army training capsule on counter-insurgency/ counter-terrorism operations will be conducted in Patna’s

Danapur Cantonment from November 13 to December 10.

Indo – United Kingdom joint army training exercise ‘Ajeya Warrior 2017’ will be conducted between the

Indian and United Kingdom Army from 01 to 14th December 1-14, 2017 at Mahajan field firing ranges in

Rajasthan.

Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba visited Bangladesh to participate in the International Multilateral Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise (IMMSAREX), the first ever operational exercise held under the aegis of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) in Bangladesh.

Defence of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Exercise (DANX) was conducted under the aegis of Andaman & Nicobar Command.

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) conducted Multi State Mega Mock Tsunami Exercise 2017 along the entire East Coast in 31 coastal districts across four states-West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (UT)

Aiming to strengthen coastal security along the Odisha and West Bengal coastline, the governments of both states will hold a joint security exercise ‘Sagar Kavach’ in the Bay of Bengal

The Union Government announced on 3 November 2017 that an indigenously developed lightweight ‘Glide’

bomb was successfully tested in Chandipur in Odisha.

Indian Navy is likely to go with an advanced catapult-based aircraft launch mechanism (CATOBAR) from the U.S. for its second indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-II)

India successfully test-fired the indigenously-designed and developed long-range subsonic cruise missile

Nirbhay from an Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha’s Balasore. It failed its last test in

December 2015.

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Science & Technology

Technology Giant Google announced the launch of Datally App that will help users understand, control and

save on their mobile data.

NASA launched a next-generation satellite, called the Joint Polar Satellite System-1, into space designed to

monitor weather around the world and help improve forecasts.

Astronomers have discovered an Earth-sized planet, named Ross 128 b, outside our solar system which is

expected to be temperate and could be a “comfortable abode for possible life”.

The Space Kingdom of Asgardia has launched its first satellite - Asgardia-1. This so-called ‘virtual nation’ is

the pet project of Russian scientist and billionaire Igor Ashurbeyli.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug Abilify MyCite in the United States with a

digital ingestion tracking system.

India is all set for the take-off of its maiden mission to the Sun by the year 2019. Indian Space Research

Organisation (ISRO) chairman AS Kiran Kumar said, “Aditya-L1, India’s maiden mission to the Sun, will be

launched in 2019”.

India has created history after it successfully flight-tested the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile

‘BrahMos’ Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) from the Indian Air Forces (IAF) front-line fighter aircraft

Sukhoi-30MKI against a sea based target in the Bay of Bengal.

It is 2.5 tonne supersonic air-to-surface cruise missile with range of more than 400 km.

BrahMos is a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India

and NPOM of Russia.

Sports News

Tournament Winner Other Info

2017 Asian Kabaddi Championships India Both Indian men’s and women’s Kabaddi teams won. Men’s team beat Pakistan and women’s team beat South Korea to win Championship.

U-19 Asia Youth Cup trophy Afghanistan Beat Pakistan.

Senior National title – women’s singles title PV Sindhu

Senior National title – men’s singles title H.S. Prannoy

Asian Boxing Championships Mary Kom Held in Vietnam

National Women’s Trap champion Shagun Chowdhary at the ongoing 61st National Shooting Championship Competition

National Men’s Trap Shooting title Manavjit Sandhu at the ongoing 61st National Shooting Championship Competition

Panasonic Open India (Golf) Shiv Kapur

Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open (Golf) Aditi Ashok

Asia Cup Hockey Title (Women) India Beat China

ATP Challenger Tour Yuki Bhambri

IBSF World Billiards Championship Pankaj Advani Championship held at Doha, Qatar

IBSF World Snooker Championship Pankaj Advani Held at Doha, Qatar

World Weightlifting Championship Mirabai Chanu She became the first Indian woman in over two decades to clinch gold at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championship

Asian Marathon Championship Gopi Thonakal He became the first Indian man to win the Asian Marathon Championship

Davis Cup France Beat Belgium

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Brazilian Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas

Indian Sports Honours

Sportsman and woman of the year for individual sports – Indian shuttlers Srikanth Kidambi and PV Sindhu respectively

Sportsman and woman of the year in the team sports – off-spinner R Ashwin in men’s and Mithali Raj

respectively Inspirational Honour – Tennis player Sania Mirza

Transformational Contribution to Sports award – Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra

Team of the Year – The Indian Women’s Cricket Team

Indian Sports Honours is an initiative partnered by India skipper Virat Kohli and Sanjiv Goenka, in line with their vision to support the development of Indian sports.

National Wrestling Championship

Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, who was back on mat after the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, won a gold medal in men’s 74 kilogram freestyle competition.

Sakshi Malik and wrestler Geeta Phogat achieved a gold medal each 62kg and 59 kg categories respectively of women’s wrestling.

Sports

The Indian football team remained static at 105th in the latest FIFA rankings. India drew with Myanmar 2-2

at home in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers during this ranking period.

Indian ace shuttler Srikanth Kidmabi has risen to the zenith of his career as he established himself as world

number 2 in the latest BWF men’s singles ratings.

Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj bagged the Indian Sportswoman of the Year (Team Sports)

award at the Indian Sports Honours (ISH) event.

The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) has decided to name the Gate No. 3 and 4 of the Feroz

Shah Kotla stadium after the cricketer-turned-commentator , Anjum Chopra.

Women’s Youth World Boxing Championship held in Guwahati. Mary Com is the Ambassador of 2017 AIBA

youth women’s World boxing championship. Assam’s famed one-horned rhino – Guppy – is the official

mascot, and ‘Make Some Noise’ its anthem.

Basel, Switzerland will become the first city to jointly host the Badminton and Para Badminton World

Championships after it was awarded the 2019 edition of the Para event.

The second edition of World Gaming Festival (casino) will be held in Panaji, Goa from November 30 to

December 4

Guwahati hosted the World Youth Women’s Boxing Championship

Mairaj Khan crowned skeet champion at 61st National Shotgun C’ship

India wrestler Ritu Phogat clinched a silver medal in the 48kg event in the Under-23 Senior World Wrestling

Championship at Poland.

Geeta Phogat wins gold at All India Police Championship

Prakash Nanjappa wins gold at Commonwealth Shooting Championships

Virat Kohli - top of the latest ICC Twenty-20 Rankings for Batsmen.

Sandeep Tulsi Yadav, who had also failed the dope test last year, has been handed a four-year ban by the

Anti- Doping Disciplinary Panel of the NADA.

France will host the 2023 Rugby World Cup

Spain’s Rafael Nadal was presented with ATP World No. 1 award

The official mascot of the 2017 AIBA Youth Womens World Boxing Championship is Assams famed one-

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horned rhino. The official mascot, anointed Guppy, is a female version of Assam’s one-horned rhino.

The opening ceremony is scheduled to take place on November 19 at the Maulana Mohd. Tayebulla Hockey

Stadium.

Ankushita Boro, a young girl from Assam, has done India proud after winning ‘The Best Boxer’ title in World

Youth Women’s boxing Championship held in Guwahati.

The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) has named a gate of the Feroz Shah Kotla ground after

former India opener Virender Sehwag. The Gate No. 2 of the stadium, in Delhi, was named as the ‘Virender

Sehwag Gate’.

Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah became the number one bowler in the latest ICC T20I rankings Player Rankings.

Pakistan to host ACC Emerging Nations Cup in April 2018

Hong Kong is set to become the first Asian city to host the Gay Games, after it won the right to host the

Games in 2022, beating the likes of Mexico’s Guadalajara and Washington DC.

25-time Grand Slam champion Martina Hingis has announced her retirement from professional tennis at the

conclusion of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore.

Adidas Football has unveiled the ‘Telestar 18’ official ball for the 2018 FIFA World Cup to be held in Russia.

India’s star gymnast Dipa Karmakar has been conferred a D.Litt. degree from the National Institute of

Technology (NIT) Agartala.

M. S. Dhoni inaugurated his first global cricket academy in Dubai, UAE

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed fine of Rs 52.24 crore on the Board of Control for

Cricket in India (BCCI) for anti-competitive conduct in the IPL Media Rights agreement.

UK’s premier Southhall Football Club will jointly set up an international level football academy with Cordia

Institutes at its campus at Sanghol in Fatehgarh Sahib district in Punjab.

Committee

Head of Committee Purpose

Yashwant Thorat Maharashtra government has formed a committee to study the feasibility of merging financially weak District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) with the Maharashtra State Cooperative (MSC) Bank

Sushil Chandra Multi-Agency Group (MAG) will investigate the Paradise Papers on offshore financial holdings, including a list 714 Indian individuals and entities.

M Vinod Kumar Panel has started a review of the laws governing goods and services tax (GST) to remove any glitches.

CK Mishra Committee to formulate short and long-term measures to solve the problem of air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region.

Nand Kishore Singh He will lead 15th Finance Commission. Commission is formed by the government to recommend on the sharing of revenue between the Centre and states for a five-year period from April 1, 2015 and will go on until March 31, 2020. (This Finance Commission comes under Article 280 of the Constitution.)

Arbind Modi A task force under Arbind Modi for redrafting the 50-year old income tax law in sync with the economic needs of the country.

Rankings

Index India’s Rank Other Information

Global Climate Risk Index (CRI) 6 1st – Haiti

‘Business Optimism’ index 7 1st – Indonesia

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Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2018

14 The top three rankings are unoccupied. 4th –Sweden

IMD World Talent Ranking 51 1st – Switzerland

Global Gender Gap index 108 1st – Iceland Index is launched by World Economic Forum

The Indian government is the third most trusted government in the world, a survey by the World Economic Forum (WEF) has revealed. The list is topped by Switzerland, followed by Indonesia, while India grabs the third spot.

Indians second-highest public bingers in the world. 1st – Mexico. Binge Watching means the practice of watching multiple episodes of a television programmed in rapid succession, typically by means of DVDs or digital streaming.

India tops domestic air passenger traffic in September, China second: International Air Transport Association (IATA)

According to the “Q3 2017 Salary Budget Planning Report”, India’s projected salary growth for 2018 stood the highest in the Asia-Pacific region at 10 per cent despite a decreasing year-on-year pattern.

According to a report released recently by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), India has slipped from a rating of ‘compliant’ to an overall rating of ‘largely compliant’ as regards its meeting international standards for exchange of tax information.

Union Agriculture Minister Radhan Mohan Singh announced that India has become the second largest fish producing country in the world.

Loans from Banks

From To Amount Purpose

World Bank India $119 Million For the “Odisha Higher Education Programme for Excellence & Equity (OHEPEE) Project” was signed with the World Bank.

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

India $20 billion Asian Development Bank (ADB) will raise annual funding to India to up to $4 billion from existing $2.7 billion, from next year.Period - 2018-22. So totaling to $20 billion

ADB India $500 million Loan to improve rural road connectivity in five states – Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal.

Brics New Development Bank (NDB)

India and Russia

$400 million Loans will be used to rehabilitate the Indira Gandhi canal system in India and to build a toll transport corridor connecting Ufa city centre to the M-5 federal highway in Russia

The union government and the World Bank signed a guarantee agreement for USD 98 million and grant agreement for USD 2 million for the “Shared Infrastructure for Solar Parks Project.”

Deadlines/Important Dates

What for Deadline/Date

RBI has asked banks to provide doorstep banking facilities to senior citizens of more than 70 years of age and differently-abled persons by

December 31, 2017

Indian Railways has decided to install Aadhaar-based biometric attendance system across its zones and divisions by

January 31, 2018

Aadhaar and mobile number must be linked by February 6, 2018

Roll out of BS-VI fuel in the national capital (Earlier the deadline was April 1, 2020) April 2018

Target of 100 per cent completion of installing bio-toilets in the Indian Railways coaches (Earlier the deadline was September 2019)

December 2018

NBCC to redevelop 10 railway stations with amenities similar to airports 2020

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Rankings (Persons,Cities,Organisations and Others)

In the race to go digital, businesses judge India’s Silicon Valley — Bangalore — the best host among 45 cities

worldwide. San Francisco came in second followed by two other Indian cities — Mumbai and New Delhi.

The posh Khan Market in South Delhi has been ranked as the 24th most expensive retail location in the world.

The top spot on the list was bagged by Upper 5th Avenue in New York, followed by Causeway Bay in Hong

Kong.

Obituaries

Name Profession Other Info

Justice V Khalid Judge Former Supreme Court judge and eminent jurist

Justice Bhagwati Prasad Chief Justice Former chief justice of the Jharkhand High Court

Abdul Mannan Hossain Politician

Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi Politician He was former Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting.

Virendra Sanghi Journalist

Jagdish Mohan Hindustani vocalist

Kunwar Narain Hindi poet

Ashok Khal Veteran cyclist

Amritsar Govindsingh Milkha Singh Cricketer

Sreerupa Bose (Mukherjee) Cricketer Former India women’s cricket team coach and batswoman

Manu Sharma Hindi Author

Biju Phukan Assam Actor

Vettoor Purushan Malayalam actor

Abi Malayalam actor and mimicry artist

Thodupuzha Vasanthi Malayalam TV and film actress

Rita Koiral Bengali actress

Mangi Bai Arya Rajasthani ‘Maand’ folk singer

Kirti Nidhi Bista Former Prime Minister of Nepal

Dina Wadia She was Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s Daughter

Mansur bin Muqrin Saudi Prince