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• International day of tolerance is observed of 16 November every year to educate people about the negative effects of intolerance and make people aware about the need of tolerance in society. It is an annual observance declared by UNESCO in 1995. Various events are organized on the occasion of International Day of Tolerance on 16 November every year.


• The First ever World Tolerance Summit held in Dubai on November 15-16. It was organized by International Institute of Tolerance. Leaders from all over the world had visited the summit.


• The aim of the summit was to discuss the importance of tolerance, equality and peace among the people of different religion, Color and race.


• The Theme of the Summit was ‘prospering from Pluralism: Embracing Diversity through Innovation and Collaboration’.
  
• Indian Ambassador Navdeep Suri congratulated UAE for successful organization of summit.

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• On 16th November 2018, National Press Day was celebrated in India.


• National Press Day commemorates the day on which Press Council of India (PCI) started functioning.


• PCI was constituted on 4 July 1966 and started functioning on November 16, 1966. This day is a symbolism of a free and responsible press in India.


• Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Arun Jaitley inaugurated the National Press Day celebrations organised by PCI in New Delhi.

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• On 14th November 2018, United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously agreed to lift sanctions against Eritrea after 9 years.


• UNSC conducted a vote on the resolution that was drafted by the United Kingdom and backed by the United States and its allies.


• UNSC unanimously adopted a resolution 2444 to lift arms embargoes, travel bans, asset freezes and targeted sanctions on Eritrea imposed in 2009.


• They were imposed on Eritrea due to claims that Eritrea supported al-Shabab militants in Somalia.


• The sanctions have been lifted amid the improvement in relations between Eritrea and its neighbouring coutries following years of conflict.


• On 9th July 2018, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki signed a peace agreement and announced normalization of ties, ending a 20-year conflict.


• Eritrea and the UN-backed government in Somalia signed a joint cooperation agreement recently.


• The leaders of Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia met recently in northern Ethiopia to enhance regional economic development.

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• From 13th to 17th November 2018, the India-Taiwan SME Development Forum was held in Taipei, Taiwan.


• Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), Dr. Arun Kumar Panda, led the Indian Delegation.


• 20 enterprises from India in the field of general engineering, auto components, electronics & plastics are taking part in the forum.


• These enterprises aim to seek linkages in their respective fields with the Taiwanese enterprises.


• Dr. Arun Kumar Panda addressed the forum. He stated that, MSME is the second largest employment generating sector in India.


• India has more than 63 million MSMEs with over 111 million persons employed. It produces over 8,000 products.


• He expressed that, India welcomes investment both in technology transfers and FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) by Taiwanese companies in India with Indian SMEs.

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• On November 15, 2018, PM Narendra Modi attended the 33rd edition of the ASEAN Summit (Nov 11 to 15) held at Suntec Singapore Convention Centre, Singapore. The theme of Singapore’s Chairmanship was “Resilient and Innovative”.


• On November 15, 2018, PM Narendra Modi attended the 13th East Asia Summit (EAS) in Singapore.


• On November 15, 2018, PM Narendra Modi attended the 16th ASEAN-India Breakfast Summit in Singapore.


• It was followed by the 13th East Asia Summit.


• The PM, on November 15, 2018, felicitated the six winning teams, including three from India, of the first India-Singapore Hackathon.


• Prior to the PM’s visit to attend the ASEAN summits, the 17th ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Council Meeting was held in Singapore on November 12, 2018.

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• On November 16, 2018, NITI Aayog constituted the ‘Himalayan State Regional Council’ in New Delhi.


• To ensure sustainable development of the Himalayan region.


• It will be chaired by the Dr VK Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog.


• The council will review and implement the identified action points based on the Reports of five Working Groups.


• It will be the nodal agency for the Sustainable development in the Himalayan Region which consists of the 12 States namely Jammu &Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, two districts of Assam namely Dima Hasao and KarbiAnglong and Darjeeling and Kalimpong in West Bengal.

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• On November 15, 2018, a 2-day South Asian regional conference, co-hosted by NITI Aayog, was held at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in New Delhi.


• To discuss the key issues, perspectives and the way forward in the Urban Infrastructure.


• The theme of the conference was: “Urban Infrastructure: New Approaches to Public & Private Partnerships and Municipal Finance Innovations”.


• It was inaugurated by CEO, NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant and Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance Subhash Chandra Garg.


• Concerning the deficit of infra implementation against demand, India alone, untill 2040, requires investments estimated of around $4.5 trillion in the infrastructure space.

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• On November 16, 2018, Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated the second Mega Food Park in Maharashtra.


• It is located in Wahegaon and Dhangaon village in Paithan Taluka of Aurangabad district and has been promoted by M/s Paithan Mega Food Park Pvt Ltd.


• It has an area of 102 acre and was built at a cost of Rs. 124.52 crore.


• The Central Processing Centre (CPC) of this park has various facilities and has a common Administrative building for office and other uses by the entrepreneurs and 3 PPCs at Paithan, Alephata and Kannad.


• It will leverage an additional investment of about Rs. 250 crore in 25-30 food processing units in the park.


• It is expected to fetch a turnover of about Rs. 450-500 crore annually.

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• On November 15, 2018, after 5 years of bifurcation in 2014, Andhra Pradesh government unveiled its new emblem for official use.


• It consists of “Dhamma Chakka” – “the Wheel of Law” embellished with a ring of Triratnas alternating with pinnate leaves and precious stones.


• The three circles of decorative beads are in ascending order of numbers 48 in the inner, 118 in the middle and 148 in the outer circle.


• It has a “Puna Ghataka” or “The vase of Plenty” is at the hub of the Dhamma Chakka which is decorated with a four-banded garland on the main body with medallions and tassels.


• Also, there is a braid around the thin neck and a flaring mouth.


• Further, the National Emblem is placed at the bottom of the emblem.


• It has been inspired by the Amaravati School of Art.


• The colours used in the symbol are: green, red and yellow.

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• On November 16, 2018, Shri Ramayana Express was flagged off from Safdarjung Railway Station in New Delhi.


• It is a the 800-seat special tourist train that would run on the Ramayana circuit to cover major spots related to the Hindu epic.


• The pilgrimage circuit it will travel on, named- Shri Ramayana Yatra-Sri Lanka, consists of two travel components –one each in India and Sri Lanka.


• The train aims to complete its journey till Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, in 16 days.

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• On November 16, 2018, 15-day Aadi Mahotsav festival commenced in the national capital Delhi. It would be attended by Tribal Affairs MinisterJual Oram.


• The theme of the festival is ‘Celebration of the spirit of tribal culture, craft, cuisine and commerce’.


• There are 2 venues of the festival- Delhi Haat and Central Park in New Delhi.


• It will feature exhibition-cum-sale of tribal handicrafts, art, paintings, fabric, jewellery and much more through one hundred stalls.


• The highlights of the festival are expected to be fashion show for tribal textiles and tribal cuisines.

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• On November 15, 2018, 2-day 26th Conference of Central and States Statistical Organizations was held at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh.


• It was organized by Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.


• The theme of this year’s Conference is “Quality Assurance in Official Statistics”.


• It was inaugurated by Union Minister Vijay Goel along with Himachal Pradesh food, civil supplies and consumer affair minister Kishan Kapoor.

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• On 16th November 2018, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched the ‘Gau Samridhi Plus scheme’ or ‘Cow Samridhi Plus Scheme’ to offer insurance coverage to dairy farmers in Kerala.


• Cow Samridhi Plus Scheme is a government subsidized scheme. It will provide insurance coverage to dairy farmers at low premium rates.


• Farmers from general category will receive 50% subsidy on premium. Farmers from Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) category will receive 70% subsidy on premium.


• Also, the Kerala government in collaboration with the Central government has decided to establish a regional autism and research centre at the National Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (NIPMR) in Thrissur.

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• On November 14 2018, IndusInd Bank has launched Nexxt Credit Card which is India’s first Interactive card with buttons.


• The main feature of this card is that it provides customer the choice of payment options at the point of sale (POS) such as Credit, EMI with four tenure options which are 6, 12, 18, 24 Months and Using Accumulated Reward Points.


• As per banks the card is loaded with features which will elevate the shopping experience of the customer.


• The card shows 3 Options using LED Lights.


• The customer needs not to fill any form, Call Bank or visit the bank’s website.


• It was developed in partnership with Dynamics Inc., headquartered in Pittsburgh USA.

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• On November 14, 2018, Reserve Bank of India imposed a fine amounting to Rs. 6.1 crores fine each on two lenders —- Deutsche Bank and Jammu and Kashmir Bank.


• A monetary penalty of Rs 30.10 million on Deutsche Bank was imposed.


• The reasons are for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms.


• Know Your Customer/Anti-money Laundering (KYC/AML) norms, and on disclosure of monetary penalties imposed by the regulator.

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• On 15th November 2018, Indian cueist Pankaj Advani won his 3rd straight IBSF (International Billiards and Snooker Federation) billiards title in the 150-up format, in the IBSF 150-up Billiards Championship, held at Yangon, Myanmar.


• Pankaj Advani defeated Mynamar’s Nay Thway Oo 6-2 in the final and won the World Billiards Championship (150-Up) 2018 title.


• With this win, he has increased his world titles tally to 20. Also, this marks a hat-trick of wins for Pankaj Advani in the 150-Up format.


• He had won the previous two titles in the 150-Up format in Bengaluru in 2016 and in Doha, Qatar, in 2017.

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• On 14th November 2018, five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand won the inaugural Tata Steel Chess India Blitz Tournament in Kolkata.


• Viswanathan Anand secured six wins and three draws in the nine rounds and levelled with world number three Hikaru Nakamura of America.


• In the play-off, Viswanathan Anand beat Hikaru Nakamura 1.5-0.5 and won the inaugural Tata Steel Chess India Blitz Tournament title.

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• On 14th November 2018, Asian Games gold-medallist sprinter Hima Das was appointed as the first ever youth ambassador of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) India.


• As a Youth Ambassador, Hima Das will work towards creating awareness about the rights and needs of children.


• She hails from Nagaon district of Assam. She had won gold medal in Women’s 4 x 400 m Relay event at the 2018 Asian Games.


• She had also won a silver medal in Women’s 400m Race event with a timing of 50.59 seconds.


• S he is the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in a track event at the IAAF World U20 Championships. She was awarded Arjuna Award in 2018.

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• Infosys has appointed its executive vice-president Jayesh Sanghrajka as its interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and a Key Managerial Personnel with effect from November 17, 2018.


• At present, Jayesh Sanghrajka is the deputy CFO of Infosys. He will replace outgoing CFO M D Ranganath.


• Jayesh Sanghrajka has been working with Infosys for more than 13 years and has held positions such as vice president and corporate financial controller. He is a Chartered Accountant.


• He has held top positions in other companies like: vice president, finance, Mu Sigma; Head, finance, Rediff.com; director, corporate accounting, Tishman Speyer India.

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• On 15th November 2018, Indian Navy successfully completed refit of Maldivian Coast Guard Ship (MCGS) Huravee at Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam and formally handed over the ship to Major Mohamed Jamshad, Commanding Officer MCGS Huravee.


• The refit to MCGS Huravee is an initiative by the Indian Navy to further Indian Navy’s diplomatic outreach to friendly foreign navies in the Indian Ocean Region.


• MCGS Huravee arrived at Visakhapatnam on 12th July 2018. The refit was completed on 14th November 2018.


• During the refit, major repairs were done on the ship’s hull, main propulsion and auxiliaries.


• Various systems and equipment were upgraded. Equipment were put through extensive harbour and sea trials to achieve full combat capability.

• 'A Great Association-Glimpses into the Life of Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha’, a book authored by Swami Nirviseshananda Tirtha, was released by Prasar Bharati’s CEO Shashi Shekar Vempati.


• The book has been written on the life of Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha, the renowned saint of Narayanashrama Tapovanam, Kerala.