Punjab Cabinet passes unanimous resolution to institute Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Award

NATIONAL NEWS

Punjab Cabinet passes unanimous resolution to institute Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Award

• Punjab State Cabinet passed a unanimous resolution to institute Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Award for Promotion of Peace and Interfaith Understanding, in commemoration of the 550th Prakash Purb of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. The award would carry a citation and a cash prize of 11 lakh rupees.
• This coveted award would be given each year and would be adjudicated by a jury to be notified by the State Government.

FACTS

Chief Minister- Amarinder Singh

Governor- VP Singh

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu inaugurates 21^st North East Book Fair in Guwahati

• Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the 21st North East Book Fair in Guwahati in presence of Assam Governor Prof. Jagdish Mukhi, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. Speaking at the event, the Vice President highlighted the importance of libraries in our culture.                                                                                                                                                                                                              
• Vice President Venkaiah Naidu laid stress on the use of mother tongue and relevance of books to stir one's creativity and stimulate innovative and inventive ideas.

Patnaik launches 'Odisha Mo Parivar' programme

• Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched a social service initiative aimed at encouraging environment protection, blood donation and the welfare of Odias in distress.
• Patnaik, who is also president of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), under the 'Odisha Mo Parivar' (Odisha, my family) programme, party leaders will dedicate themselves to protect the environment and undertake extensive planting of trees, and create awareness among the public.

FACTS

Governor of Odisha- Ganeshi Lal

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Madrid to host COP 25 in December

• The Spanish capital city of Madrid will host the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 25) from 2 to 13 December.
• The decision was taken following Chile's stepping down as host for the event due to the ongoing street protests in the South American country.
• This was confirmed by the executive secretary for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Patricia Espinosa.     
• The decision came just a day after the acting Spanish government issued a communique on indicating Spain would be willing to host the conference. 
• The annual Conference of the Parties (COP) summit is a key event which allows representatives from around 200 nations to monitor and discuss the current situation of the world's warming climate. 

FACTS

Currency- Euro

UNESCO designates Mumbai as member of UCCN in field of Films, Hyderabad in field of Gastronomy

• 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.
• Culture Minister Shri Prahlad Singh Patel has congratulated the people of Mumbai and Hyderabad for this unique distinction.
• UCCN, created in 2004, is a network of cities which are thriving, active centres of cultural activities in their respective countries. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network now counts a total of 246 cities.
• The member cities that form part of the Network come from all continents and regions with different income levels and populations.
• They work together towards a common mission: placing creativity and the creative economy at the core of their urban development plans to make cities safe, resilient, inclusive and sustainable, in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
• The 7 categories for recognition under UCCN are Crafts and Folk Arts, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Music, Media Arts and Literature. Previously, 3 Indian cities were recognized as members of UCCN, namely- Jaipur-Crafts and Folk Arts (2015), Varanasi-Creative city of Music (2015), Chennai-Creative city of Music (2017)

FACTS

UNESCO President-Audrey Azoulay

Headquarter-Paris, France.

SCIENCE AND TECHOLOGY

IIT Delhi to Set up Space Technology Cell in Collaboration with ISRO

• The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) is going to set up a space technology cell in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
• The announcement was made by IIT Delhi Director V Ramgopal Rao, a day ahead of the varsity's 50th annual convocation where ISRO Chief K Sivan will be the chief guest.

APPOINTMENT AND RESIGN

Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde was today appointed as the 47th Chief Justice of India.

• Justice Bobde will take oath as the CJI on November 18th, a day after incumbent Ranjan Gogoi demits office. He will have a tenure of 17 months and would demit office on April 23rd, 2021.
• His Warrant of Appointment was signed by President Ram Nath Kovind following which the Law Ministry issued a notification announcing Justice Bobde's appointment as the next head of the Indian judiciary.
• A judge since 2000, Justice Bobde joined the Bombay High Court as an additional judge. He was appointed as the chief justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on October 2012.  In April 2013, he was elevated to the Supreme Court.
• As per established procedure, Justice Gogoi had earlier this month written to the Law Minister recommending the name of Justice Bobde, the senior most judge as his successor.

Sanjeev Nandan Sahai takes charge as Power Secretary

• Sanjeev Nandan Sahai has assumed charge as Secretary of the Power Ministry.
• Sanjeev Nandan Sahai assumed charge as Secretary, Ministry of Power here today. Prior to this, he was serving as the Special Secretary in the Ministry of Power.
• Sahai is a UT cadre IAS officer of 1986 batch. He has also served as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Power from May,2018 to July, 2019.

Dhanlaxmi Bank MD, CEO T. Latha resigns

• Private sector lender Dhanlaxmi Bank managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) T. Latha has resigned due to personal reasons.
• This is to inform that Ms T. Latha has submitted her resignation as MD & CEO and Director of the Bank, via her letter dated October 30, 2019 due to personal reasons.

IMPORTANT DAY

International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists 2 November

• The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2 November as the ‘International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists’ in General Assembly Resolution.
• The Resolution urged Member States to implement definite measures countering the present culture of impunity.
• The date was chosen in commemoration of the assassination of two French journalists in Mali on 2 November 2013.