Important Current Affairs of 25th November 2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS OF 25^TH NOVEMBER 2015

·         Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated ‘e-lala’, an e-commerce portal of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) in New Delhi. The e-lala initiative is aimed at promoting the interests of 5.77 crore small businesses in the context of rapid expansion of e-commerce in the country.

·         Pfizer and Allergan combine in biggest drug merger ever

o    In one of the biggest corporate deals ever US drugs giant Pfizer Inc. has announced that it would buy Ireland based Allergan for 160 billion dollars making it the biggest pharmaceuticals merger deal in history of healthcare sector.

o    The merger, which still needs regulatory approval, would bring blockbuster drugs like Pfizer's Lyrica, Enbrel and Viagra and Allergan's Botox and Restasis under one corporate roof.

o    The new drug company would be the world’s biggest with USD 63.5 billion in yearly sales, 110,000 employees and USD 9 billion in annual research spending. Under this deal, Allergan shareholders will receive 11.3 shares in the merged company for each of their Allergan shares.

·         Rishi Gour was appointed as Country President of Support services company Sodexo India On-site Services

·         SEBI signed MoU with Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission on bilateral cooperation.

o    Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 22 November 2015 signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) on bilateral cooperation and technical assistance.

o    The MoU was signed by UK Sinha, Chairman, SEBI and  Dr M Khairul Hossain, Chairman, BSEC at Dhaka, Bangladesh. This MoU will further facilitate training and technical assistance program between the two jurisdictions.

o     The MoU seeks to promote further development of economic links and cooperation between the two signatories. It aims at enhancing investor protection and creating conditions for an effective development of securities markets in the two countries.

·         Kuldip Nayar, a veteran journalist, columnist and author was honoured with Ramnath Goenka Lifetime Achievement Award on 23 November 2015. He was awarded for his contribution to journalism.

·          The Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 23 November 2015 announced the appointment of Michael Keating of United Kingdom as Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the UN Assistance Mission inSomalia(UNSOM)

·         The Prime Minister of Malaysia Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 23 November 2015 released the Joint Statement on enhanced Malaysia-India Strategic Partnership during Narendra Modi's official visit to Malaysia. Both the Prime Ministers also witnessed the signing of one Agreement on Cultural Exchange Programme for 2015-2020.

·          Mauricio Macri has upended Argentina's political establishment by defeating the ruling leftist party, in power for more than 12 years, in Sunday's election.Macri won with 51.4 percent of the vote in Sunday's runoff election, beating Daniel Scioli, who ran as Kirchner's successor.

·         Noted labour economist Dr. T.S. Papola passed away in New Delhi. He was 74. He had served as an advisor with the erstwhile Planning Commission of Union Government for eight years from 1987 to 1995.

·         The human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has constituted a 13-member expert committee exclusively on Sanskrit in its attempt to revive interest in the ancient language. The Committee will be  headed by N Gopalaswami, the former chief election commissioner (CEC) and now Chancellor of Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in Tirupati, the committee has been asked to recommend measures to integrate the study of the ancient language with other disciplines such as physics, chemistry, mathematics, medical science and law, suggest changes in Sanskrit education in schools and universities and recommend ways to impart Sanskrit education through modern tools.The committee is also tasked with charting out an action plan to develop the language in the next 10 years. This is the second committee set up by the Smriti Irani-led ministry on Indian languages. Although the first panel’s broader brief included promotion of classical languages, the second one is exclusively dedicated to Sanskrit.

·         Food ordering portal Foodpanda has tied up with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) for order and delivery of food to the passengers. IRCTC is Indian railways’ catering, tourism and online ticketing platform.

·         Indo-Pak border in Jaisalmer lighted with Solar power
The floodlights on India-Pakistan border along with fencing and posts managed by BSF will soon get lighted with solar energy. Union home ministry of India has approved the setting up of a 5 MW of solar power house at Tata area in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

·         Delhi assembly passes CrPC (Delhi Amendment) Bill, 2015
The Delhi Assembly has passed a bill proposing amendments in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) Act. The passed bill amends section 176(1) of the CrPC Act, 1973 and widens the scope of magisterial inquiry into cases of suspicious death, rapes in police custody and suspicious disappearances.

o    Currently, the Delhi government is empowered to order magisterial probe (SDM inquiry) only in cases of custodial death, homicide, suicide of a woman or death of a woman within seven years of her marriage.

·         Roger Van Gent appointed as strategic coach of Indian Men’s Hockey Team
Dutchman Roger Van Gent has been appointed as the strategic coach for the Indian men’s Hockey. He will be the strategic coach of the team till the 2016 Rio Olympics.

·         Marathi actor Prashant Damle selected for Dinanath Mangeshkar award
Noted Marathi actor Prashant Damle will be conferred with the Master Dinanath Mangeshkar Award for outstanding contribution in the field of theatre, film and music. The announcement was made by Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar at the 100th show of Damle's Marathi play "Karti Kaljat Ghusli". The award will be presented by Lata Mangeshkar in April next year on the occasion of the death anniversary of Master Dinanath.