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• On November 11, 2018, a Food and Agro Buyer-Seller Meet (BSM) was held in Jeddah.


• It was inaugurated by Md. Noor Rahman Sheikh, Consul General of India in Jeddah and Hassan IbraheemDahlan, Secretary General of Jeddah Chamber.


• It was organized by: Consulate General of India in Jeddah in association with Jeddah Chamber and Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI).


• 25 Indian companies from food and agricultural products sector met the Saudi importers at the BSM.


• The participation comprised of Indian exporters of 4 key commodities namely: rice, tea, spices and dry fruits.


• This was organized to reduce the trade deficit by enhancing exports.

Source: Cick Here

• On October 31, 2018, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu embarked on a seven-day 3-South African nation visit to Botswana, Zimbabwe and Malawi.


• On October 31, 2018, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu received by the Vice President of Botswana, Mr. Slumber Tsogwane, the High Commissioner of India to Botswana, Dr. Rajesh Ranjan and others, on his arrival, in Gaborone, Botswana.


• VP inaugurated the 13th Annual Global Expo Botswana 2018 which was held in in Gaborone, Botswana. Botswana decided to join the International Solar Alliance.


• On November 2, 2018, Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu reached Harare, Zimbabwe for his 2nd leg of the official tour at the invitation of Vice President of Zimbabwe.


• He was received by the Vice President of Zimbabwe, Mr. Kembo Mohadi On his meeting with the Vice President of Zimbabwe, 6 MOUs were signed.


• On November 4, 2018, VP Venkaiah Naidu reached Malawi on final leg of his 3-nations Africa tour.
  
• He launched the very first Jaipur Foot Camp in this series in Malawi particularly.


• He unveiled the plaque to inaugurate the Business Incubation Center in Mponela well as another plaque in order to inaugurate the India Africa Center for Agriculture and Rural Development.

Source: Cick Here

• On 30th October 2018, the Supreme Court declared that, bar of double jeopardy does not arise if an accused was discharged of a criminal offence, even before the commencement of trial, on the basis of an invalid sanction for prosecution.


• Article 20 (2) of the Constitution mandates that a person cannot be prosecuted or punished 2 times for the same offence.


• A Bench of Justices R. Banumathi and Indira Banerjee held in a judgment that if an accused has not been tried at all and convicted or acquitted, the principles of double jeopardy cannot be invoked at all.


• If an earlier order of sanction was found to be invalid, there is no bar for the competent authority to issue a proper order of sanction for prosecution.

Source: Cick Here

• On November 9, 2018, Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar inaugurated 3-day Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities, 2018 event in New Delhi.


• It was organized by Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, In association with Rehabilitation International Korea and Associated partner: LG Electronics.


• The event continued till November 11, 2018.


• The objective of the event is to Leverage IT skills among youth with disabilities and Spread awareness about the application of ICT for persons with disabilities especially in Asia-Pacific region.


• The event comprised of an award ceremony of the event which was held on 11th November, 2018.


• This year it was held with a total of 4 events including e-Tool Challenge to evaluate the skills of using the MS Office programme and e-Life Map Challenge to evaluate the online information search ability in specific situations.


• Around 100 youth with disabilities (visual disability, hearing disability, locomotor disability and intellectual disability/developmental disorder) from 18 countries participated.


• India nominated twelve youth with disabilities to participate in the event.


• India has been participating in the annual event since 2013.


• Last year in 2017, the event was held in Vietnam.

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• On 10th November 2018, Delhi government announced “Jashn-e-Virasat-e-Urdu”, a festival to celebrate Urdu culture and its heritage.


• This festival aims to promote the growth of Urdu as a language. It is a 6-day festival. It will end on November 15, 2018.


• It was inaugurated by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, at Central Park, Connaught Place, in New Delhi.


• Various artistes and art forms practising Urdu including traditional forms like Chaar Bait, which is a rare traditional style of singing in Urdu, Dastangoi and Kissagoi will be performed.

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• On November 10, 2018, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) gave nod to Tamil Nadu for launching its State Shelter Fund for attracting investments in the affordable housing segment.


• The fund’s name is: Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund. And this is the category-I Alternative Investment Fund.


• This was announced at an event called ‘Innovative and Alternative Finance for Business and Infrastructure Development in India’.


• It was organized by the United Economic Forum (UEF) Chamber of Commerce and World Islamic Economic Forum Foundation (WIEF).


• A total of USD 350 million was raised for 1st phase funding from both local and international investors.


• UEF and WIEF aims of attracting 1 per cent of sovereign wealth fund investments, amounting to USD 33 billion under the fund.


• Under the fund, the state already identified over 200 infrastructure projects requiring investments of approximately USD 250 billion.

Source: Cick Here

• On 5th November 2018, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the ‘Bhubaneswar Me Wi-Fi’ project to make Bhubaneswar a fully Wi-Fi enabled city before the Hockey World Cup.


• This project has been implemented by the Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited.


• In Phase-I 100 hot spots with 275 access points have been launched. It will be followed by 100 locations in the Phase II.


• Gradually, the hotspot locations will be increased to 518 with 1,800 access points.


• Internet speed will be 2mbps. Each user will get 250mb free data per day. After exceeding this limit user can pay and use the Wi-Fi.


• A person should be within 300 m reach of the access point to use the Wi-Fi. One Wi-Fi hotspot can handle 150 users at a given point of time.


• With this move, Bhubaneswar will become a global Smart City with 500 hotspots throughout the city.

Source: Cick Here

• From 3rd to 9th November 2018, 11th Asian Air Gun championship was held at Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Olympic Shooting Complex at Kuwait City, in Kuwait.


• India’s junior shooters won a total of 11 medals: 4 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze medals.

Source: Cick Here

• On November 11, 2018, ATP World Tour Awards 2018 were announced.


• They were presented by Moët & Chandon.


• The ATP is the governing body of the men’s professional tennis circuits.

Source: Cick Here

• On November 9, 2018, winners of 2018 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation was announced.
  
• 10 projects from five countries – Australia, China, India, Japan and Thailand – have been recognized by an international Jury of conservation experts.


• These were selected among 41 entries from eight countries across the Asia-Pacific region.


• The awards will be given out on 2019 which will mark the 20th anniversary of the Awards in Penang, Malaysia, where the Awards programme was originally launched.


• The event will be organized in collaboration with Malaysia’s urban regeneration organization Think City.

Source: Cick Here

• On 29th October 2018, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu released the book ‘Yoga and Mindfulness’ authored by Yoga exponent, Ms. Mansi Gulati, at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Conference Hall, Vice President’s House, in New Delhi.


• This book stresses that, yoga is not just asanas, but anything you do with mindfulness and dedication is yoga.


• This book helps in making yoga a part of your daily day life. It explains the link between physical exercises and mindfulness.


• It helps in understanding the philosophy behind yoga and also explains how various asanas are performed, with the help of pictures. It also lists the benefits of every asana.