National News
Global Cooling Prize
- The Global Cooling Prize is organized by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the Mission Innovation (MI) programme.
- Mission Innovation (MI) is a global initiative of 24 countries and the European Union to accelerate global clean energy innovation.
MELPL: Largest FDI Project of Indian Railways
- The Madhepura Electric Locomotive Pvt. Ltd. (MELPL) is a joint venture of Indian Railways (India) and Alstom (France).
- Ministry of Railways and Alstom came together in 2015 to transform the heavy freight transportation landscape of India and an agreement worth 3.5 billion Euro was signed to manufacture 800 electric locomotives for freight service.
1st Winter-Grade Diesel
- The first Winter-Grade Diesel was launched to avoid the problem of freezing of diesel in the vehicles when winter temperatures drop to as low as -30 degree Celsius.
- Normal grade of Diesel loses its fluidity function in the extreme winter weather of the region.
Indian Railways launched “Heritage Week”
- The tourism arm of Indian Railways, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited, is organising the “Heritage Week”.
- The Special Tour Package will explore the heritage and culture of Gujarat and will cover the UNESCO World Heritage Site of “Rani ki Vav”, Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park, Modhera Sun Temple etc.
Golden Chariot Train
- IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited) will commence operations from March 2020.
- The Golden Chariot train started its operations in 2008, is a Government of Karnataka initiative in a Joint Venture with the Ministry of Railways.
National Institute for Sowa-Rigpa
- The National Institute for Sowa-Rigpa (NISR) in Leh, Union Territory of Ladakh would be an autonomous organization under the Ministry of AYUSH.
- The Institute will provide opportunities to Indian students as well as students from other countries.
Banking
ADB, India Sign $91 Million Loan
- The first project is helping the modernization of the Gondi irrigation system and the second Project to modernize Vijayanagara Channel.
- ADB was established in 1966, owned by 68 members - 49 from the Asia-Pacific region and aims to eradicate extreme poverty and achieve inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific.
Reports
Water Quality Report
- The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution have released the Water Quality Report for State Capitals & UT.
- The study on the quality of piped drinking water being supplied in the country is undertaken by the Bureau of India Standards (BIS).
Appointments
| Name of the Person | Designation |
| Justice Akil Abdulhamid Kureshi | New Chief Justice of the High Court of Tripura |
| Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan | Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court |
| Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde | 47th Chief Justice of India |
Awards and Honours
| Award | Awardee |
| Golden Leaf Award 2019 | Tobacco Board of India |
National Awards for Excellence in Journalism 2019
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| Name of the Person | Category |
| Gulab Kothari | Raja Ram Mohan Roy Award |
| Sanjay Saini and Raj Chengappa | Rural Journalism |
| Shiva Swaroop Awasthi and Anu Abraham | Development Reporting |
| P.G.Unnikrishnan | Photo Journalism- Single News Picture |
| Sipra Das | Photo Journalism-Photo Feature |
| Saurabh Duggal | Sports Reporting |
| Ruby Sarkar and Anuradha Mascarenhas | Gender-Based Reporting |
| Krishna Kaushik and Sandeep Singh | Financial Reporting |
Important Days
| Date | Day | Theme |
| 16th November 2019 | National Press Day | -- |
| 21st November 2019 | World Fisheries Day | -- |
Govt Schemes
'NISHTHA' Scheme launched in J&K
- National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) was launched in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on 15th November 2019.
- NISHTHA is a National Mission aimed at “Improving learning outcomes at Elementary level” through Integrated Teacher Trainings.
Target Olympic Podium Scheme
- A “High priority category” has been created to focus on those players who have won medals in the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games or in which India has a good chance of winning medals in Olympics.
- Nine sports disciplines are included in the high priority category: Athletics, Badminton, Hockey, Shooting, Tennis, Weightlifting, Wrestling, Archery and Boxing.
Defence
Exercise Za’ir-Al-Bahr (Roar of the Sea)
- The exercise will include a three-day Harbour Phase (seminar, professional interaction, official visits, and sports) and Two days Sea Phase (Maritime Exercise involving Maritime Surveillance and Interdiction Operation).
- Anti-Ship Missile equipped Barzan Class Fast Attack Craft and Rafale multi-task fighter aircraft will participate from Qatari Naval Forces.
Sports
India bagged 9 medals at World Para Athletics Championship
- Sundar Singh Gurjar (F46 category) and Sandeep Chaudhary (F64 category) won Gold for India in the Championship.
- Sumit Antil and Sharad Kumar claimed silver in the event.
- China topped the medals tally with 59 medals followed by Brazil (39) and Great Britain (28).
Summits and Conferences
China International Travel Mart (CITM)
- CITM is one of the largest Travel shows in Asia and this the 21st edition of CITM.
- A large India Pavilion is being set up at CITM to promote India’s varied tourism products and services including the Buddhist Circuit to attract Chinese travellers to visit India.
UNESCO & MGIEP Digital Learning Draft Guidelines
- Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Union Minister, Ministry of Human Resource Development launched the ‘Industry Guidelines on Digital Learning (discussion draft)’ at the event.
- The Draft Guidelines were developed by UNESCO & MGIEP (Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development), based in New Delhi.
International Buyer Seller Meet on Agriculture & Horticulture
- The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry has organised the meet.
- The products of Arunachal Pradesh like Mandarin oranges, kiwi, pineapple, king chilly and others were showcased to the International buyers from seven countries of Bangladesh, Nepal, Greece, Sultanate of Oman, Indonesia, UAE and Bhutan.
8th International Conference on Agricultural Statistics
- The conference is organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, ADB, World Bank, AfDB and various other organizations.
- The theme of ICAS for 2019 is ‘Statistics for the Transformation of Agriculture to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’.
National Summit on Good, Replicable Practices and Innovations
- Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan, has inaugurated the 6th National Summit on Good, Replicable Practices and Innovations at Gandhinagar (Gujarat).
- SAANS campaign “Social Awareness and Action to Neutralise Pneumonia Successfully” was launched at the Summit to control Pneumonia.
6th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will represent India in the 6th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Bangkok, Thailand on 18th November 2019.
- The current Chairman of the ADMM-Plus is H.E. Gen. Prawit Wongsuwon (Minister of Defence), Kingdom of Thailand.
2nd Edition of ISA-Steel Conclave 2019
- The Indian Steel Association (ISA) supported by the Ministry of Steel, Government of India is organising the conclave to deliberate on Indian and Global Perspectives of the Steel Industry.
- India is the 2nd largest producer of crude steel and 3rd largest consumer of finished steel in the world.
2019 World Conference on Access to Medical Products: Achieving the SDGs 2030
- The conference was held to analyse possibilities to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3) - Good Health and Well-being, at ensuring healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
- The conference aimed to find solutions and measures on issues surrounding provisioning of affordable, quality medical products as part of public health care delivery systems.
Global Bio-India Summit 2019
- “Global Bio-India 2019” Summit is one of the largest biotechnology stakeholders conglomerates which will be held for the first time in India at New Delhi.
- The Summit is being organized by the Department of Biotechnology under the Ministry of Science & Technology with its Public Sector Undertaking, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).
