NATIONAL NEWS

First Unani Medicine Regional Center of Northeast

• The Union Minister of Ayush and Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the new, state of the art complex of Regional Research Institute of Unani Medicine (RRIUM) in Silchar, Assam on 20 November 2022.
• It is the first Unani medicine regional center in the North-East.
• The new complex is spread over an area of 3.5 acres built with an investment of Rs 48 crores.
• The newly built complex of RRIUM will be under Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM), the apex government organization for research in Unani Medicine.
• It will also focus on conducting scientific research on different aspects, fundamental and applied, of Unani medicine and on diseases that are more prevalent in the North East.
• The centre is also equipped to screen patients with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) like cardiac, pulmonary, stroke, cancer and diabetes.

IAF Air Fest 2022

• The Indian Air Force annual show, Air Fest 2022 commenced with a visually stunning and breath-taking performances of the Air Force’s planes and helicopters at Headquarters Maintenance Command, Vayusena Nagar in Nagpur on 19 November 2022.
• The Air Fest is being conducted as a part of the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'.
• The objective of the Air Fest is to showcase various facets of the Indian Air Force and motivate the youth of Nagpur to choose the Indian Air Force for an exciting career.

21st World Congress of Accountants

• The Institute of Chartered Accountant of India (ICAI) is to host the 21st World Congress of Accountants 2022(WCOA) at the Jio World Centre, Mumbai from 18 November to 21November, 2022 in a Hybrid mode.
• WCOA 2022 is being held in hybrid mode for the first time ever in the Congress’s history.
• The Theme for the year 2022 is ‘Building Trust Enabling Sustainability’.
• The Lok Sabha Speaker OM Birla addressed the Congress on 18 November 2022 and described chartered accountants as ‘saints of the new economic order’. They are the engines and architects of the economic world.
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is a statutory body established under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.

Camel Conservation Scheme

• The Rajasthan government has approved an outlay of Rs 2.60 crore for the Camel Conservation Scheme which is aimed at protecting camels.
• The chief minister has decided to implement the camel conservation and development policy in the budget for the year 2022-23.
• Under the scheme, each female camel and calf will be tagged by the veterinary doctor and an identity card will be issued.
• The camel rearer will be given Rs 5,000 while the veterinarian will receive Rs 50 honorarium for each identity card.
• On completion of one year of the camel calf, the rearer will get another instalment of Rs 5,000.
• The amount of both instalments will be deposited in the bank account of the camel rearer.

Official Website of SCO 2023

• The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has launched the official website of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) with the theme of a SECURE SCO.
• The website will highlight the events that will be undertaken under the chairmanship of India next year 2023.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi had floated the concept of SECURE at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China in 2018.
• Explaining the SECURE concept, the Prime Minister said ‘S’ for security for citizens, ‘E’ for economic development, ‘C’ for connectivity in the region, ‘U’ for unity, ‘R’ for respect of sovereignty and integrity, and ‘E' for environment protection.
• The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a regional group of 8 countries of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.

BANKING

‘Best in Class’ ESG Ratings

• ESAF Small Finance Bank was awarded the “best in class” rating for the environment, social and governance (ESG) practices from CareEdge Ratings.
• ESAF is also the first Indian member bank of the Global Alliance on Banking on Values (GAVB).
• ESAF SFB has joined the growing tide of financial corporations worldwide in their fight against the practice of ‘greenwashing’ or faking ESG credentials.
• Greenwashing refers to a situation wherein a corporation or a firm spends more time and money on marketing itself as environmentally friendly than on actually minimizing its environmental impact.

SPORTS

India’s First Formula E Grand Prix

• HMDA and IRL will hold a first-ever Formula E World Championship race in India at Hyderabad, to be held on 10 and 11 February 2023.
• The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) and the Indian Racing League (IRL) are jointly organising India’s first ever Street Circuit Car Racing at Hyderabad on 19 and 20 November 2022.
• Formula E race is a single-seater motor racing championship where the drivers compete in single-seater cars built by Italian constructor Wolf Racing using Aprilia engines.
• At least 22 electric racing cars are taking part in the trial run to ensure that the track is fit for the forthcoming Formula E race and all the requirements are met as per the FIA specifications.

Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix

• Formula One (F1) world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull team won the season ending F1 Abu Dhabi race held on 20 November 2022 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
• It was his record 15th title of the 2022 season.
• He also ended the 2022 season as the world F1 champion.
• He won his first F1 world championship title in 2021.

Asian Cup Table Tennis

• Manika Batra became the first Indian women player to win a medal at the Asian cup Table Tennis tournament.

• She defeated world No. 6 Hina Hayata of Japan in the women’s singles bronze medal match in Bangkok, Thailand on 19 November 2022.

• She became the 2nd Indian player to win a medal at the Asia Cup Table Tennis.

• Before her, Chetan Baboor won silver in 1997 and bronze in 2000.

• The three-day competition was organised by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU) at the Huamark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

Network Readiness Index 2022

• India has ranked at 61st position in the Network Readiness Index 2022 (NRI 2022).
• The report was prepared by the US-based non-profit body Portulans Institute compliments India and announced that India has a greater network readiness than would be expected given its income level.
• The Network Readiness Index ranks the 131 countries on 58 variables across four pillars of four different pillars which includes Technology, People, Governance and Impact.
• India improved its score from 49.74 in 2021 to 51.19 in 2022.
• The United States topped the list with an overall score of 80.3. It was followed by Singapore with a score of 79.35 and Sweden with a score of 78.91.

AWARDS & PRIZES

53rd International Film Festival of India 2022

• Renowned Spanish film Director Carlos Saura and Telugu film superstar Chiranjeevi were honoured at the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2022.

• The 53rd IFFI is being held in Panaji, Goa. It was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Youth affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur on 20 November 2022.

• It is being organised by National Film Development Corporation and Entertainment Society of Goa.

• Spanish film Director Carlos Saura has been honoured with the prestigious Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement award.

• Actor Producer Chiranjeevi Konidela has been chosen for the IFFI Indian Film Personality of the Year Award for 2022.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Member of the Election Commission of India

• President Droupadi Murmu appointed retired IAS officer Arun Goel as the Election Commissioner with effect from the date he assumes the office.

• A Punjab cadre officer of the 1985 batch, Goel will join Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey in the poll panel.

• The Election commission members hold office for six years or up to 65 years of age, whichever is earlier.

• Article 324 gives the President power to appoint members to the Election Commission.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Men’s Day

• International Men’s Day 2022 is observed on 19 November.

• International Men’s Day 2022 celebration also focuses on Men’s Health.

• The theme for this year 2022 is ‘Helping Men and Boys’.

• In 1968, an American journalist named John P. Harris communicated that there is a celebration for International Women’s Day for female workers but failed to deliver a male counterpart.

World Children Day

• World Children Day is observed every year on 20 November.
• It is to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide and to improve children's welfare.
• It was first observed in 1954 as Universal Children's Day.
• This day has a special significance as on 20th November 1959 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.
• Also, on this day in 1989 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• The theme for the year 2022 is ‘Inclusion, For Every Child’.

OBITUTARY

Veteran Actress Tabassum

• Popular and veteran actress Tabassum known for her work as a child artiste in several Hindi classic films and also as a host of popular Doordarshan talk show ‘Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan’ has passed away.
• Tabassum started her career as a child artiste with the 1947 movie ‘Nargis’. At that time, she was known as ‘Baby Tabassum’ in the industry.
• She also played a minor role in the 1960 historical epic ‘Mughal-e-Azam’, starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Madhubala.