VINTAGE

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF NOVEMBER 21^th , 2018

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF NOVEMBER 21^th, 2018

1.      Indian President Ram Nath Kovind arrived in Australia today for a 4-day visit.

a.       With this, Kovind became the 1st Indian head of state to visit Australia. 

b.       President Kovind visited the ANZAC Memorial in Sydney and paid his tributes to the soldiers who lost their lives during the first World War. 

c.       He also addressed the Indian diaspora in the city.

2.      The Maldives is going to rejoin the Commonwealth after 2 years following the cabinet's approval backing the move.

a.       The Maldives had quit the Commonwealth in 2016, accusing it of interfering in its domestic affairs. 

3.      The Third Committee of the UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution on sexual harassment.

a.       This is the 1st of its kind resolution on sexual harassment at the world body. 

b.       The resolution serves as a normative framework on work against sexual harassment, urging member states to condemn violence against women and girls, including sexual harassment, and pursue a policy of eliminating such violence.

4.      The Summit of APEC Countries was recently held in Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).

a.       Important Note : This is the 1st time Papua New Guinea (PNG), the poorest of the 21 countries in APEC, has hosted the summit.

b.       About APEC :

i)       APEC : Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

ii)     Established in : 1989

iii)   Headquarters : Singapore

iv)   Member Countries : 21

v)     Chairperson : Peter O'Neill (Papua New Guinea)

vi)   Executive Director : Alan Bollard (New Zealand)

5.      The Income Tax Department today announced that quoting of father's name in PAN application forms will not be mandatory in cases where the applicant's mother is a single parent. 

a)      The new rules will come into effect from 5TH December 2018.

6.      Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have pledged $500 million in aid to war-torn Yemen as millions of people in the country face starvation.

a.        According to the United Nations, Yemen is facing the world's worst humanitarian crisis, where over 22 million people rely on humanitarian assistance.

b.       Ten thousand people are estimated to have been killed in Yemen's civil war since 2015.

7.      India and Russia today signed a $500-million deal to build two warships in Goa for the Indian Navy.

a.       The Goa Shipyard Limited and Russia's Rosoboronexport signed the agreement for the Grigorovich-class 'Project 11356' frigates with technology transfer from Russia. 

b.       The construction of the warships will begin in 2020 and the first one will be delivered in 2026.

8.      The Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region, Dr. Jitendra Singh released a book titled ‘Radio Kashmir – In Times of Peace & War’ written by Dr Rajesh Bhat.

a.       The book depicts the unique distinction earned by Radio Kashmir by serving people and the nation, in this region, fostering and strengthening democratic institutions in the State.

9.      Facebook-owned WhatsApp has named merchant payments platform Ezetap's Co-founder and CEO Abhijit Bose as its 1st India head. 

a.       Bose, who will be based in Gurugram, has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

10. 14 year old Millie Bobby Brown, who stars in the Netflix series 'Stranger Things', has been named as the UNICEF's youngest-ever Goodwill Ambassador.

11. South Korea's Kim Jong-yang has been elected as the new President of Interpol(International Criminal Police Organization). 

a.       He was elected by the Interpol's 194 member states at the organisation's annual congress in Dubai. 

b.       Kim succeeds Meng Hongwei who stepped down following his detention in China on bribery and corruption charges.

12. SoftBank is going to appoint venture capitalist Sumer Juneja as its India head.

a.       He is currently working as an executive for American investment firm Norwest Venture Partners. 

13. Online travel portal MakeMyTrip has appointed former PepsiCo executive Vipul Prakash as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of MakeMyTrip and its subsidiary Goibibo. 

a.       Prakash will be responsible for developing and executing strategic direction and priorities of the company. 

14. Volkswagen Group has announced that Gurpratap Boparai, Managing Director of Skoda Auto India, will also become MD of Volkswagen India with effect from 1st January 2018. 

15. IT services major Wipro has appointed former IBM executive Bill Stith as the Senior Vice President and Global Head of the company's healthcare and life sciences division. 

a.       He is going to replace Jeff Heenan-Jalil who resigned in August.

16. Incumbent Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama was sworn in for a second term after his ruling Fiji First party won this year’s general elections. 

a.       He was sworn in by President Jioji Konrote in the presence of representatives and high officials of the executive, legislative and judicial arms of the government.