International News
5th India International Science Festival
- The India International Science Festival (IISF) 2019, is organized jointly by the Ministry of science and technology and Vijnana Bharati (Vibha).
- The theme of this annual event for 2019 is “RISEN India – Research, Innovation, and Science Empowering the Nation”.
US formally withdrew from Paris Climate Accord
- The Paris accord is an agreement signed by 188 nations in 2015 and entered into force on 4th November 2016 to keep rising global temperatures below 2 Celsius above pre-industrial levels and limit them to 1.5 Celsius rise.
- The US contributes about 15% of the total global carbon emissions, the 2nd biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.
National News
DARPG to Launch Online Hackathon
- Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions is to launch a nation-wide online Hackathon ‘Data-driven Innovation for Citizen Grievance Redressal’ on 5th November 2019.
- Potential solution prototypes would be selected for adoption in the innovative practices for improving CPGRAMS (Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System).
Mumbai and Hyderabad received UNESCO Designation
- UNESCO has designated Mumbai as a member of UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in the field of FILM and Hyderabad in the field of GASTRONOMY.
- UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created in 2004 and represents a network of cities that are active centres of cultural activities in their respective countries.
"eCAPA 2019 - Art from the Heart"
- "eCAPA 2019 - Art from the Heart" is India’s first-ever Arts Exposition for Artists blessed with Down syndrome, Autism, Mental Retardation, Seizure Disorder and Dyslexia will be held in New Delhi on 2nd November 2019.
- The aim of the exposition is to create an exclusive platform for young adults with intellectual challenges to showcase their art talents.
FinMin launched ICEDASH & ATITHI App
- The two Apps have been launched for improved monitoring and pace of customs clearance of imported goods and facilitating arriving international passengers.
- Both the apps will reduce interface and increase the transparency of Customs functioning.
"Hunar Haat"
- The "Hunar Haat" provides employment opportunities through skill development to the traditional artisans, craftsmen and traditional culinary experts as per the needs of the market.
- All the "Hunar Haat" of 2019-2020 will be based on the theme of "Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat".
Banking
RBI Reorganised its Regulation and Supervision Departments
- Reserve Bank of India has reorganised the regulatory and supervisory Departments and has created separate supervisory and regulatory cadre.
- The supervision function for all financial entities is integrated into a unified Department of Supervision and the regulatory functions into a unified Department of Regulation with effect from 1st November 2019.
RBI compensation norms for Foreign, Private Banks
- RBI has said that there should be a proper balance between fixed pay and variable pay of the directors and chief executives.
- It has ensured that atleast 50% of the compensation should be variable and should be paid on the basis of the performance of the individual, business-unit and firm-wide measures.
- RBI has said that if the variable pay is up to 200% of the fixed pay, at least 50% of it should be in non-cash.
Union Cabinet approved Rs 25,000 crore for Stalled Housing Projects
- The union cabinet in its meeting on 6th November has decided to set up Rs 25,000 fund to revive stalled housing projects.
- It will finance over 1,600 stalled housing projects that comprise 4.58 lakh housing units across the country.
Index and Ranking
World’s top 10 Best-Performing Chief Executives
- Harvard Business Review (HBR) has published 'The Best-Performing CEOs in the World, 2019'.
- The list consists of top 100 CEOs of the world and the list is topped by American technology company NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang.
- Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has topped the list every year since 2014, failed to make this year's list owing to Amazon's relatively low ESG scores.
Reports
IMF report on Growth of South Asia
- IMF released the paper titled 'Is South Asia Ready for take-off? A sustainable and inclusive growth agenda,' on 4th November 2019.
- The report has said that under a substantial liberalisation scenario, supported by improved infrastructure and young workforce, the region has the potential to contribute one-third of global growth by 2040.
Appointment
| Name of the Person | Designation |
| Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal | Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court |
| P.S Sreedharan Pillai | Governor of Mizoram |
Awards and Honours
| Award | Awardee |
| Lifetime Achievement Award at IFFI 2019 | Isabelle Huppert |
| ‘Icon of Golden Jubilee of IFFI’ award | S Rajinikanth |
Important Days
| Date | Day | Theme |
| 1st November 2019 | State’s Foundation Day | -- |
Defence
Joint Military Excercise Dustlik-2019
- The curtain raiser of the military drill was held on 3rd November by the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Uzbekistan counterpart Major General Bakhodir Nizamovich Kurbanov.
- The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh affirmed India’s commitment of developing a state-of-the-art IT complex in Armed Forces Academy of Uzbekistan.
SCO Joint Urban Earthquake Search & Rescue Exercise- 2019
- The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Joint Exercise on Urban Earthquake Search & Rescue (SCOJtEx-2019) is to be inaugurated by the Union Minister of Home Affairs Shri Amit Shah on 4th November 2019 at New Delhi.
- The aim of the exercise is to rehearse the disaster response mechanism, share technology, Knowledge and enhance cooperation with multi-agency participation in earthquake scenario.
Science and Technology
GV-971 Drug to Cure Alzheimer's
- GV-971 drug is the only Alzheimer's medicine to survive clinical trials, out of more than 320 developed by pharmaceutical companies around the globe.
- Alzheimer's disease is an irreversible brain disorder that destroys the thinking ability of the brain to carry out simple tasks.
Sports
Gold in Olympic Test Event for Boxing
- Shiva Thapa is the four-time Asian medallist and outpunched Sanatali Toltayev, Kazakhstan's national champion and Asian bronze-winner by 5-0 in the 63-kilogram category.
- Pooja Rani, Former Asian Games bronze-medallist edged past Caitlin Parker of Australia in 75-kilogram category.
South Africa won Rugby World Cup 2019
- The Rugby World Cup 2019 was held in YOKOHAMA, Japan from 20th September to 2nd November across 12 venues all across the country.
- The final match was held at International Stadium Yokohama in Yokohama.
- The Springboks became the second team after New Zealand to win three World Cup titles.
Pooja Gehlot won Silver in UWW Under-23 World Championships
- Pooja claimed India's second silver medal in wrestling in 53 kg after Ravinder won the first silver in 61 kg in the tournament.
- She was defeated by Japan's Haruna Okuno in the finals of the UWW Under-23 World Championships.
Documentary on Real Kashmir won 'BAFTA Scotland' Awards 2019
- The documentary depicted the journey of former Rangers ace David Robertson as the coach of Real Kashmir Football Club.
- In its first season, FC finished third in the I-League, which is currently India's second tier football league.
Deepak Kumar and Manu Bhaker at 14th Asian Championships
- Deepak secured the bronze in the men's 10 metres air rifle while Bhaker secured gold in the women's 10 metres air pistol.
- Deepak is the 2nd Indian shooter to earn an Olympic quota in the event after Divyansh Singh Panwar.
Summits and Conferences
35th ASEAN Summit
- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a group of ten member countries that encourages social, political and economic co-operation in the region.
- Head of Eight dialogue partner countries including India, republic of Korea, Australia, USA, China, Japan, and New Zealand are also participating in the summit along with the 10 ASEAN countries.
15th meeting of Governing Council of SACEP
- Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar will attend the meet from India.
- During the visit to Bangladesh, the Minister will also visit Bangabandhu Memorial Museum to pay respects to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
19th IRIGC-M&MTC Meeting
- The 19th India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) meeting was held in Moscow on 6th November 2019.
- The meeting took place between the Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Russian Defence Minister General Sergey Shoigu.
BIMSTEC ports Conclave
- BIMSTEC was formed in 1997 with the cooperation of seven member countries including India, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, Srilanka, Bangladesh and Thailand.
- Union minister of shipping Mansukh Mandaviya will inaugurate the Conclave and will attend the event besides the chairmen of all 12 major ports in India.
Global Investors' Meet
- Himachal Pradesh government is organising the event to attract investment and create employment opportunities in the state.
- The State government has set a target of signing pacts worth Rs 85,000 crore during the event.
