IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF NOVEMBER 22, 23, 2016

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF NOVEMBER 22, 23, 2016

• India On November 22, 2016 became an Associate Member of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), the world's largest nuclear and particle physics laboratory. 
• CERN's Director General said that India's membership will open opportunities for Indian industries to participate directly in CERN projects. 
• Note : As a member nation, CERN requires India to make an annual contribution of approx ₹77 crore.
• India was placed at the 20th rank among the 58 countries on the 2017 Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI). 
• The index was released by Germanwatch, an independent German NGO and Climate Action Network Europe.
• Important Points to Note : 
• First three spots in the list of 2017 CCPI rankings were left vacant. 
• France was placed at 4th place, thus leads list for the first time. It was followed by Sweden (5th) and UK (6th).
• The Centre On November 22, 2016 formed Committees of Additional Secretaries, Joint Secretaries and Directors for visiting various states and Union Territories, and reviewing the status of implementation of demonetisation.
• The committees will check currency availability in banks, ATMs and post offices across the country. 
• They will also review the status of the calibration of ATMs.
• The RBI On November 22, 2016 issued guidelines for withdrawal of a maximum of ₹2.5 lakh for weddings before December 31.
• The guidelines mandate that people who will get the payments will have to declare that they don't have bank accounts. 
• An evidence of the wedding and copies of advance payments such as booking receipt of marriage hall will be required.
• Amid the cash crunch following demonetisation, the RBI On November 22, 2016 announced that small borrowers would get an additional 60 days to repay their credit. 
• Borrowers with housing, car, farm, and other loans of up to ₹1 crore from banks and finance companies would be eligible for this. 
• This is applicable to loans payable between November 1 and December 31.
• Delhi's upscale Khan Market has been ranked as the most expensive retail location in India, according to real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. 
• Important Points to Note : 
• Khan Market has emerged as the world’s 28th most expensive retail location. 
• New York’s Upper 5th Avenue has been ranked the world’s most expensive retail location.
• As many as 82,500 ATMs, which account for about 40% of cash vending machines in the country, have been recalibrated to dispense new high security currency notes of ₹500 and ₹2,000 rupees. 
• As per reports, about 12,000-14,000 ATMs are getting recalibrated daily. 
• Further, ATMs are able to stock ₹50-60 lakh cash after recalibration.
• Pankaj Patel, chairman and managing director of Cadila Healthcare, has been elected as the President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) for 2017. 
• Patel is also on the advisory committees and academic councils of several educational institutions. 
• He is going to replace Harshavardhan Neotia, Chairman of Ambuja Neotia Group.
• India successfully test-fired indigenously built nuclear-capable intermediate range Agni-I ballistic missile On November 22, 2016 from a mobile launcher from Odisha coast. 
• The surface-to-surface missile, powered by solid propellants and equipped with a sophisticated navigation system, can hit a target 700 km away. 
• The 15-metre-long and 12-tonne heavy missile has already been inducted into Indian Armed Forces.
• Irish novelist and playwright William Trevor (88) has passed away.
• He won the Whitbread Prize thrice and was nominated five times for the Booker Prize. 
• Acclaimed physicist and ex-Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Prof MGK Menon (88) passed away.
• A recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, Menon had also served as Director of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research at the age of 35. 
• His scientific contributions are in the fields of particle physics and cosmic rays.
• Ram Naresh Yadav (89), former Governor of Madhya Pradesh, passed away On November 22, 2016.
• The veteran Congress leader had served as Madhya Pradesh Governor between August 2011 and September 2016. 
• He was also Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister between 1977 and 1979.
• Veteran Carnatic musician M. Balamuralikrishna (86) passed away.
• He is credited with innovating the tala system with Thri Mukhi, Panchamukhi, Saptha Mukhi and Nava Mukhi. 
• Besides being a vocalist, Balamuralikrishna also played the viola, mridangam, and kanjira.
• He was honoured with Padma Vibhushan in 1991.
• Former Swedish captain Zlatan Ibrahimović will be honoured with a bronze statue in Stockholm following his Golden Ball award for Sweden's best player for the tenth year in a row. 
• The statue will be placed outside Sweden's national stadium. 
• India's Test skipper Virat Kohli has moved up nine places to a career-best fourth rank in the latest ICC Test batsmen rankings. 
• Note : Kohli is ranked at the top spot in T20I batsmen rankings and second in ODI batsmen rankings.