G Kishan Reddy inaugurates 1st Intl. Conference on “Landslides Risk Reduction and Resilience"

NATIONAL NEWS

G Kishan Reddy inaugurates 1st Intl. Conference on “Landslides Risk Reduction and Resilience"

• Minister of State for Home Affairs, G Kishan Reddy inaugurated the 1st International Conference on “Landslides Risk Reduction and Resilience" in New Delhi.
• Addressing the Conference, Mr Reddy called for developing technology to anticipate disasters like landslides and develop infrastructure to quickly respond to minimise the damage.
• That landslides have attracted global attention as they may cause huge havoc on communities, livestock, environment leading to huge loss of lives.

HRD Ministry launched Kartavya Portal

• On the occasion of 70th Constitution Day also known as Samvidhan Divas observed on 26 November 2019, Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched the kartavya.ugc.ac.in portal for holding monthly essay competitions for students.

Key Points

• The portal will be used primarily for holding monthly essay competitions for students as well as other activities including quizzes, poster making, debates pertaining to Nagrik Kartavya Paalan Abhiyan.
• The Department of Higher Education under HRD Ministry will be holding 11 rounds of National Essay Competitions during the year. The topics of the essay will be based on one Fundamental Duty every month.
• The year 2019 marks the 70th year of adoption of Indian Constitution. The Centre government thus decided to run a Nagrik Kartavya Palan Abhiyan from 26 November 2019 to 26 November 2020, to create mass awareness about Fundamental Duties as enshrined in our Constitution.

DEFENCE

Army Successfully Test Fires Two Spike Long Range Anti-Tank Missiles in Madhya Pradesh

• The Indian Army has successfully test fired two Spike long-range anti-tank missiles at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh which are expected to further boost its combat prowess.
• Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat and several commanders witnessed the firing of the newly acquired missiles
• Spike is a fourth-generation missile which can engage any target with precision at ranges up to 4 km.
• The Spike long-range anti-tank missiles will bolster the Army's fire power capability.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

EU Parliament declares 'climate emergency'

• European lawmakers have voted to declare an EU-wide climate emergency, in a symbolic move aimed at increasing pressure on the incoming European Commission to take a stronger stance on climate change.
• The climate declaration was passed in Strasbourg during a European Parliament (EP) debate on the upcoming United Nations' COP25 climate summit that kicks off December 2 in Madrid.
• EU lawmakers urged the European Commission "to fully ensure all relevant legislative and budgetary proposals are fully aligned" with the 1.5-degrees-Celsius (2.7-degrees-Fahrenheit) target limit on global warming.
• The resolution calls on the EU to cut emissions by 55% by 2030 to become climate neutral by 2050.

             European 'Green Deal'

• The incoming European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has proposed a "European Green Deal' that aims to achieve "climate neutrality" — or no added greenhouse gases to the atmosphere beyond those that can be absorbed — by 2050.

FACTS

European Union Headquarters- Brussels, Belgium

European Parliament president-David-Maria Sassoli.

8th WATEC Israel 2019

• Union Minister of Jal Shakti, represented India at the 8 WATEC (Water Technology and Environment Control) Conference 2019.
• The theme of the conference is "Water Stewardship and Innovation-driving global leadership in the responsible planning management, and protection of water".
• The conference held at David Intercontinental in Tel Aviv, Israel.
• The conference, organized by Kenes Exhibitions, aimed to get updates on technologies related to water and environmental management.
• Several countries participated in the conference & showcased their new-age technologies and solutions.

BANKING

RBI raises red flags on Mudra bad loans

• Reserve Bank deputy governor M.K. Jain warned bankers about the growing stress in Mudra loans, which has crossed more than ₹3.21 lakh crore system-wide, and asked them to monitor such loans closely as unsustainable credit growth in the sector can risk the system.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Mudra scheme in April 2015 with much fanfare to offer speedier credit up to ₹10 lakh to small businesses which are non- corporate, non-farm small/micro enterprises and which normally do not get bank funds due to their poor and mostly no credit rating.
•  These loans are extended by banks, NBFCs, RRBs, cooperative banks and small finance banks.

APPOINTMENT

Tata Comm board appoints Amur Swaminathan Laxminarayan as MD and CEO

• The Board of Tata Communications (Tata Comm) appointed Amur Swaminathan Laxminarayan as the managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of the telecom company.
• Board of Directors ("Board") of Tata Communications Limited ("the Company"), has appointed Mr. Amur Swaminathan Laxminarayan as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Company for a term of five years with effect from 26 November 2019.

General Bipin Rawat set to be first Chief of Defence Staff

• General Bipin Rawat is on a series of farewell visits to military establishments as his tenure as the Army Chief draws to an end in December.
• However, the top officer is unlikely to shed his uniform anytime soon, with the decks being cleared for him to take over as the first Chief of Defence Staff – a four-star position being created as part of a defence management overhaul.

AWARD

Royal Aeronautical Society honour for DRDO chief G Satheesh Reddy

• Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) London has conferred the Honorary Fellowship of the Society for the year 2019 to G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO.
• Reddy is the first Indian recipient of this prestigious award in over 100 years.
• Honorary Fellowship from RAeS is one of the world’s highest distinctions for aerospace achievement awarded for only the most exceptional contributions to the aerospace profession. It is considered as equivalent to the Nobel Prize in the aerospace domain.

OBITUARY

Tamil actor, theatre artist Bala Singh Passes away

• Noted Tamil actor and theatre artist Bala Singh died due to brief illness.
• A renowned actor, who was also trained at the National School of Drama (NSD), he made his debut in M Nasser-directed Avatharam in 1995 and went on to feature in many films, donning a variety of roles including those with negative shades.
• The film had also marked Nasser's debut as a filmmaker. Bala's pivotal role as the antagonist Baasi won him acclaim.

Renowned cartoonist Sudhir Dar Passes away

• Renowned cartoonist Sudhir Dar, whose works graced several newspapers in a career spanning 58 years, died on November 26 after suffering a cardiac arrest, his family members. He was 87.
• Dar began his career with The Statesman in 1961 after which he moved to Hindustan Times. His cartoons have also appeared in The Independent, The Pioneer, Delhi Times, New York Times, Washington Post and Saturday Review among others.