VINTAGE

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF NOVEMBER 2^nd , 2018

                       IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF NOVEMBER 2^nd , 2018

1.      The 1st ever India-US Dialogue on Intellectual Property (IP)is being held in Ne wDelhi. 

a.       Aim of this Dialogue : To deepen bilateral strategic cooperation on IP policy. 

b.       This dialogue is being hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) and Industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) in partnership with US-India Business Council (USIBC).

c.       It will be convened annually, alternating between New Delhi and Washington, DC.

2.      Brazil's President-elect Jair Bolsonaro has announced that he is going to move the country's embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem once he assumes office. 

a.       Note : The US, Guatemala and Paraguay have already moved their respective embassies to Jerusalem, although Paraguay later announced that it will shift its embassy back to Tel Aviv.

3.      The Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khanis on the 1st official visit to China. 

a.       During this visit, he will seek financial assistance to avoid an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.

4.      According to recently released Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas prepared by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), India among nations that face grave danger to soil biodiversity. 

a.       The atlas was released as part of WWF’s bi-annual Living Planet Report (LPR) 2018. 

b.       The key aspect of this year’s report was threat to soil biodiversity and pollinators, the two key drivers of biodiversity. 

c.       These two key drivers loss were due to over exploitation of natural resources and agriculture.

5.      The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has developed Less Polluting Firecrackers which are not only environment friendly but 15-20 % cheaper than the conventional ones.

a.       These crackers have been named as :

i)       safe water releaser (SWAS)

ii)     safe minimal aluminium (SAFAL) 

iii)   safe thermite cracker (STAR).

6.      The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has organised a Seminar on Gandhian thoughts and Swachhta to make India a Swacch Bharat by 2019 -150 the birthday celebration of Mahatma Gandhi.

a.       It was being organized in the Wardha district of Maharastra with a focus on achievement of the objectives of sanitation and Gandhian thoughts via Swacch Bharat Mission.

b.       Theme of this Seminar : Swachh evam Swawalambhi Sankul 

7.      The Environment Pollution Control Authority is planning to place a ban on private vehicles on Delhi streets to control air pollution. 

a.       Note : Cities like Colombian capital Bogota and Germany's Hamburg have implemented such bans earlier.

8.      The Centre has amended its Haj policy to make the differently-abled people perform the annual pilgrimage. 

a.       A person with special needs can perform Haj if he or she can undertake the journey on their own.

9.      The United States has removed at least 50 Indian products from the list of items eligible for duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) the largest and oldest US trade preference programme.

a.       Note : India is the largest beneficiary of GSP. 

10. The 19th meeting of FSDC was recently held in New Delhi.

a.       FSDC - Financial Stability and Development Council 

b.       This meeting was chaired by Arun Jaitley (Union Finance Minister). 

c.       The meeting was attended by RBI Governor Dr. Urjit R. Patel, SEBI chairman, IRDAI Chairman along with heads and other senior officers of Government and financial sector regulators.

11. India has successfully carried out night user trial of Agni-I short-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile. 

a.       The test flight was conducted by Indian Army’s Strategic Forces Command off Abdul Kalam Island in Bay of Bengal, off the coast of the Indian state of Odisha. 

b.       Important Note : This is the second known nighttime trial of Agni-I since its first such successful test in April 2014.

12. Scientists have developed a web-based tool to help monitor the prevalence of fake news on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. 

a.       Developed by researchers at the University of Michigan in the US, the tool uses a Platform Health Metric called the Iffy Quotient, which draws data from two external entities: NewsWhip and Media Bias/Fact Checker. 

13. The Union Cabinet has approved agreement between India and Morocco on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. 

a.       This MoU will provide broad legal framework for bilateral cooperation between India and Morocco in investigation and prosecution of crime, restraint, tracing, forfeiture or confiscation or proceeds and instruments of crime.

14. The Defence Ministry has signed contract worth Rs 2,435.15 crore with public sector Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata for manufacturing of four survey vessels aimed at boosting to capabilities of Indian Navy. 

a.       The project completion time is 54 months from date of signing contract. 

b.       The first ship will be delivered within 36 months and remaining within interval of six months for each vessel.

15. Lieutenant General P.S. Rajeshwar took over as 12th Chief of Integrated Defence Staff. 

a.       Prior to this appointment, he was serving as Director General (Perspective Planning) at the Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence.

b.       He was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery in December 1980.

16. Senior Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali (33) announced his retirement from limited overs cricket in order to concentrate on Test cricket.  

a.       He has played 53 ODIs (One Day International). 

b.       He played his last ODI against New Zealand in January 2018.