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• The India Rivers Week (IRW) 2018, a unique meeting on rivers in India was held at the World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF), New Delhi, from November 24 to 26, 2018. The focus of this year’s three-day meet was ‘Can India Rejuvenate Ganga?’


• The meeting this year took stock of the current progress on the rejuvenation of the Ganga, the appropriateness or effectiveness of the current road map and on developing a plan for the future that needs to be adopted if the Ganga is ever to be restored to its original state.


• This year’s event was dedicated to Dr G D Agrawal also known as Swami Gyanswarup Sanand, who passed away on November 11 this year after a prolonged fast, which he undertook after the government’s lack of response to his demands.


• Awards were also distributed in the event for the outstanding contribution to the cause of river rejuvenation.


• The Bhagirath Prayas Samman (BPS) 2018 was given to Vishwanath Srikantaiah, popular as Zen Rainman and the Anupam Misra Medal 2018, for path breaking media work on Rivers with focus on Ganga, was given away to River Journalist Shri Arun Tiwari.


• A Citizen’s Report on the Ganga Rejuvenation was also brought up by Dr Ravi Chopra and Sr. Shashi Shekhar on the request of the Organizing Committee of IRW.

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• On November 26, 2018, UN Environment released the 3rd edition of ‘Inclusive Wealth Report 2018’ and an Inclusive Wealth Index on margins of UN Environment Finance Initiative Global Round table in Paris, France.


• According to the preliminary finding, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Malta topped the chart of biennial survey of growth in the wealth of nations.


• 44 of the 140 countries – more than a third – ranked in the report’s Inclusive Wealth Index have declined in inclusive wealth per head since 1998.


• The report also revealed that carbon damage is relatively larger in high-income countries.


• India’s economic growth had a major effect on its natural assets like forests, food and clean air.


• The average growth rate of gross state domestic product (GSDP) during 2005-15 for almost all the states was around 7-8% and 11 states registered a decline in their natural capital.

• On November 29, 2018, according to the latest edition of Global Water Monitor & Forecast Watch List (November 2018), released by IScience (US based limited liability Corporation), Water deficits will increase and intensify in India in 2019.


• Exceptional water deficits occur throughout Gujarat in the west and severe to exceptional deficits from Madhya Pradesh through Karnataka, as well as in Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, and India’s far northeast.


• The forecast predicts severe to exceptional surplus water for regions including Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Mizoram.


• Moderate to severe deficits were forecast for Bihar.


• The monsoon rain deficits, caused due to the effect of El Niño, have caused drought-like conditions in almost a third of Indian districts.


• The months of May through July (2019), indicates primarily moderate deficits in India and some surpluses in Jammu and Kashmir, northern Pakistan, along the Gandaki River in central Nepal, and pockets of Tamil Nadu.


• The 12-month forecast through July 2019 indicates exceptional (greater than 40 years) water deficits in Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh.


• Furthermore, India’s coffee production is expected to fall to its lowest in five years due to flood damage to plantations in southern states such as Kerala and Karnataka.

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• On 28th November 2018, Slovenia became the first North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Country with the female Army Chief after appointment of Major General Alenka Ermenc to the post of Head of its Army.


• The 55 years Old former Army Commander, Alenka Ermenc started her military career in 1991 when Slovenia won independence from former Yogoslavia. Alenka Ermenc was serving as the Army’s Deputy-chief of Staff before as appointment to the post of Army Chief.

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• On 27th and 28th November 2018, the two day Second edition of India-UAE Strategic Conclave organized by Economic Times, India was held in the Capital of United Arab Emirates (UAE), Abu Dhabi.


• Indian Ambassador to the UAE, Mr. Navdeep Suri inaugurated the conclave where Key Business leaders and senior government officials lay down the blueprint to improve Economic cooperation between the two countries and explore the opportunities to enhance trade.

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• On 28th November 2018, the bilateral KONKAN exercise between the Indian Navy and the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom started off at Goa. KONKAN-2018 will be conducted from 28 Nov to 06 Dec 2018.


• The Bilateral KONKAN exercise provides a platform for the two Navies to periodically exercise at sea and in harbour, so as to build interoperability and share best practices.


• The harbour phase is scheduled from 28 Nov to 30 Nov 18, followed by the sea phase from 02 to 06 Dec 18.
  
• The Royal Navy will be represented by HMS Dragon, a Type 45 Class Destroyer equipped with an integral Wildcat helicopter.


• The Indian Navy will field INS Kolkata, the first ship of latest Kolkata class destroyers; equipped with integral seaking, besides IN submarine and maritime patrol aircraft, Dornier.


• Besides exercises at sea, KONKAN-2018 will also incorporate professional interactions and sports fixtures. The 10th edition of Indo-Russian joint military exercise EX INDRA- 2018 concluded on 28 November 2018.

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• On 26th November 2018, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur and University of Auckland signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to foster academic exchange and research collaboration, faculty exchange and visiting/adjunct appointments and Student Mobility.


• It is the first strategic partnership of University of Auckland with a Higher Educational Institute of India. As per the MoU, the two renowned organization will explore opportunities in the field of Healthcare technologies, cyber security and artificial intelligence.

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• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has formed a committee to prepare a policy for dealing with the scrapping of banned petrol and diesel vehicles. The committee will consist of secretary, Ministry of Road Transport, central government with representatives from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Environment Ministry and the Delhi government.


• Following the Supreme Court order, the Delhi government has deregistered 40 lakh vehicles, which include petrol vehicles that are 15-years-old and 10-years-old diesel vehicles, and they are being dumped in Mayapuri scrap market.


• Activities in the said market spew toxic fumes, chemicals and oils which create severe air pollution affecting public health. Thus the green panel directed the Delhi chief secretary to take steps and prepare an action plan for shifting the scrap yards from busy localities of the city to other appropriate locations, within three months.


• It also directed the chief secretary and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to furnish their separate report with regard to the action taken by March 31 next year.

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• The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change have given a go ahead to the Mumbai’s largest sewage treatment plant (STP), worth Rs 2,020 crore, to come up in Malad.


• The STP will come up on 35 hectares of mangrove land. The STP, a part of the BMC’s Mumbai Sewage Disposal Project II, still needs approval from the state forest department for re-plantation of the mangroves.


• The Malad STP will take four years to be constructed and will treat 1,500 million litres of untreated water that directly flows into the sea.

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• On November 23, 2018, Karnataka government in partnership with start-up accelerator Numa, launched an initiative called ‘DataCity’ in Bengaluru.


• It will be jointly organised by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and French utility company Suez.


• It will be a 7-month innovative programme that will enable corporates to identify the relevant innovative start-ups.


• These start-ups will be chosen based on the solutions they provide using data and technology, for addressing cities’ challenges.


• The areas of opportunity that could be explored are: mobility, water and waste management, energy, smart buildings, security and pollution management.

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• On November 28, 2018, Himachal Pradesh became the first Indian state to launch a single emergency number “112”, connecting police, fire, health and other helplines through an Emergency Response Centre (ERC) in the state.


• Central government provided financial assistance of Rs. 4.71 crore and 13 vehicles for the implementation of the project in the state.


• One ERC has been established in Shimla and 12 District Command Centres have been made available across the state.


• The ERC has been integrated with police (100), fire (101), health (108) and women helpline (1090) services via single emergency number 112.


• The service is part of the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) under which ‘112 India’ mobile app is available and has been integrated with panic button of smartphones and ERSS state website.


• Additionally, a ‘SHOUT’ feature has been introduced in ‘112 India’ mobile app, exclusively for women, to seek immediate assistance.

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• On November 29, 2018, according to a Reserve Bank of India data, total credit growth from banks to the commercial sector grew at 15.6 per cent to Rs 97.32 lakh crore from previous Rs 84.22 lakh crore.


• It is the highest growth since demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in November 2016.


• During the reporting fortnight, The non-food credit grew by 15.12 per cent to Rs 90.51 lakh crore, while The total non-SLR investments rose 22.26 per cent to Rs 6.81 lakh crore.

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• On 27th November 2018, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued norms for interoperability among clearing corporation which is expected to bring down the compliance costs for market intermediaries and thereby the trading costs a well.


• Interoperability among clearing corporations means linking of multiple clearing corporations in order to allow market participants to effectively consolidate their clearing and settlement functions at the single clearing corporation.


• SEBI has directed all the clearing corporations to establish peer-to-peer link for ensuring interoperability.


• Interoperability will lead to efficient allocation of capital for the market participants.

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• Norway’s Magnus Carlsen retained his title as World Chess Champion beating US opponent Fabiano Caruana in a tie-breaker event.


• Magnus Carlsen has won the Chess Championship thrice earlier. He had two match lead and he needs only a draw in the third tie-breaker to seal his victory.

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• On 27th November 2018 the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that a cricketer guilty of age fraud will be barred from all its recognised tournaments for two years.


• The BCCI conveyed that from the 2018-19 seasons, any cricketer who is found guilty of tampering his or her date of birth will be disqualified and barred from participating in any BCCI tournament for a period of 2 years i.e. 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.


• Under the new rules, the board will take strict action against cricketers found guilty of tampering with their date of birth certificates while registering for BCCI tournaments.


• According to the earlier rules, a cricketer guilty of age fraud had to face a ban for a period of one year.


• The BCCI had banned a Meghalaya-bound Delhi player, Jaskirat Singh Sachdeva,for producing a fake birth certificate to play in an Under-19 tournament earlier in September 2018.


• Earlier in 2016, former India captain and India A coach Rahul Dravid had recognised that age-fudging is a major problem in Indian cricket and welcomed BCCI’s decision to allow a player to compete in the U-19 World Cup only once.

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• On November 29, 2018, renowned flautist Pandit Keshav Ginde has been selected as the recipient of 2018 Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Lifetime Achievement Award for Classical Music.


• In 1984, Pt. Ginde invented and played his creative innovation, the ‘Keshav Venu’ flute, a 42-inch long flute which can produce 3.5 octaves compared to the maximum 2.5 octaves by regular flutes.


• This unique flute has been preserved by the Sangeet Natak Akademi in its national archives.


• The flute has also been recognized by the Limca Book of Records as the only flute that can produce 3.5 octaves.


• The annual award, instituted by Maharashtra, honours maestros in classical music and singing, and carries a cash award of Rs 500,000, a memento and a citation.

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• On 28th November 2018, Global Software Major Wipro’s Chairman Azim Premji was conferred with Highest French Civilian Award “Chevalier del la Legion d’Honneur” which means “Knight of the Legion of Honour” by the French Ambassador to India Mr. Alexandre Ziegler.


• The award is presented the Azim Premji for his Contribution towards developing Information Technology (IT) industry in India, his economic outreach in France and his contribution towards society through Azim Premji Foundation and University.

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• On 29th November 2018, Actress-filmaker Nandita Das received Internation al Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) award for achievement in films in the Asia-Pacific Region at the 12th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) held in Brisbane. Singaporean Filmmaker, Yeo Siew Hua was also awarded with Young Cinema Awards for his film “A Land Imagined”.


• Nandita Das made her Directional debut with Film ‘Firaaq’ in 2008 and known for her acting in the controversial film “Fire (1996)”, “Earth (1998)” and “Between the Lines”.

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• On November 28, 2018, the nine day long 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2018 concluded in Panaji, Goa.


• It showcased 217 films from over 68 countries.


• The Festival opened with World Premiere of ‘The Aspern Papers’.


• The Closing film of IFFI 2018 was World Premier of ‘Sealed Lips’.


• Israel was the country of focus for the 49th edition of IFFI.


• Jharkhand was selected as the State of Focus for 49th IFFI 2018 and Jharkhand Day was celebrated on 24th November,2018 as part of the festival. This is for the first time that any state was made focus state at IFFI.


• Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore inaugurated a multi-media digital exhibition on Mahatma Gandhi at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Panaji, Goa.


• IFFI collaborated with the International Council for Film, Audiovisual Communication (ICFT) Paris, to present a special ICFT prize consisting of the UNESCO Gandhi Medal to a film.

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• On November 28, 2018, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship appointed Shri A.M. Naik as Chairman of National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).


• Currently he is the Group Chairman of Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T).


• Earlier in 2009, Shri Naik was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s 3rd highest civilian award for his outstanding contribution to the economic growth of the country.

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• On November 28, 2018, K Krishnankutty was selected as the new Water Resources Minister in the Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet of Kerela.


• He replaced Matthew T. Thomas who resigned from the position.


• Prior to this, Krishnankutty was serving as state president, Janata Dal (Secular).


• He was previously elected to the Kerala Assembly in 1980, 1982 and 1991.


• He has earlier served as president, Agricultural Processing and Marketing Society, and chairman of the government-appointed committee for framing an agricultural policy for the state during 2011-2016.


• He also served as vice president of the District Cooperative Bank, Palakkad, and director, State Cooperative Bank.

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• On 28th November 2018, Earl Eddings has been named as the new permanent Chairman of Cricket Australia (CA) following the resignation of David Peever amidst the mounting pressure and the Longstaff review.


• Earl Eddings who previously player Grade Cricket was appointed as the Cricket Australia Director in 2008 and he will serve as chairman until next October’s annual meeting when a new candidate will be nominated for the post with the consultation with the state associations.

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• On November 28, 2018, the President appointed Shri Arvind Saxena as Chairman, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) till 07. 08.2020, i.e., until he attains the age of 65 years.


• Prior to joining UPSC as Member, Shri Saxena was working as Director of the Aviation Research Centre (ARC).


• He is a recipient of Awards for Meritorious Services (2005) and Distinguished Services (2012).

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• On November 29, 2018, He Jiankui, a Chinese scientist announced creation of the world’s first genetically edited babies at Hong kong, China.


• The announcement was made at the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing in Hong Kong, China.


• He sought to disable a gene called CCR5 that forms a protein doorway that allows HIV, the virus that causes Aids, to enter a cell.


• He is an associate professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen.

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• On 29th November 2018, the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C43) successfully launched 31 satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota.


• The rocket injected the country’s first Hyper Spectral Imaging Satellite (HysIS), dubbed ‘Sharp Eye’, in its intended orbit besides 30 small commercial satellites from various countries into the orbits requested by the customers.


• HysIS is an earth observation satellite built around ISRO’s Mini Satellite-2 (IMS-2) bus weighing about 380kg. The mission life of the satellite is five years.


• The HysIS satellite will be used for a wide range of applications including agriculture, forestry, soil/geological environments, coastal zones and inland waters, etc.


• The 30 satellites are one each from Australia, Canada, Colombia, Finland, Malaysia, Netherlands and Spain, and 23 from the USA and the total weight of these satellites was about 261.50 kg.


• The next big event for the Indian space organisation will be its awaited mission to the moon – Chandrayaan-2 – in early 2019.


• The PSLV, a workhorse of ISRO, has so far launched 44 Indian and nine satellites built by students from Indian universities besides launching 269 international customer satellites. This was 45th flight of PSLV and 13th one in the Core Alone configuration.

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• On November 28, 2018, British World War II veteran and political activist Harry Leslie Smith died at 95.


• Smith was an outspoken human rights activist and worked as an advocate of National Health Service to protect refugees.