Jal Shakti Minister releases short documentary film on Water Conservation named 'SHIKHAR SE PUKAR'

NATIONAL NEWS

Jal Shakti Minister releases short documentary film on Water Conservation named 'SHIKHAR SE PUKAR'

• Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat released a short documentary film on Water Conservation named 'SHIKHAR SE PUKAR' in New Delhi.
• The film has been made to promote 'Jalshakti Abhiyan' and is based on the Journey of an IAS Officer Ravindra Kumar, who climbed Everest this year to attract the attention of people from top of the Everest on the serious issue of Water Conservation and stopping Water Pollution.
• Film also gives a glimpse on the significance of Himalaya as the main source of water needs of India by means of the river.
• It also picturizes the difficulties and challenges in climbing the highest peak of the world.

Gadkari inaugurates 11th edition of Agro Vision

• Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has stressed upon the importance of Agricultural allied businesses for the development of farmers in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.
• while inaugurating the 11th edition of Agro Vision- 2019, an Agricultural exhibition at Reshimbag Ground.
• Emphasizing the need for a permanent venue for training on best practices in agriculture & extension activities for the farmers in Vidarbha, the minister urged the professional and scientific institutes to take initiative in this regard.
• The 4-day event will comprise of national Agri exhibition workshop for farmers and seminars.
• A Pavilion dedicated to Micro Small Medium Enterprise and display of livestock will be a special attraction in Agro Vision 2019.

The three day 8th International Tourism Mart will be opens at Imphal, Manipur

• The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in association with the North Eastern States is organising the “International Tourism Mart” (ITM) in the city from 23 November to 25 November, 2019.
• The event will be held in Hotel Imphal, and will be inaugurated on 23th November 2019 by Chief Minister of Manipur, Shri N. Biren Singh in the presence of Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (IC) for Tourism & Culture, Union Secretary of Tourism, Shri Yogendra Tripathi and other dignitaries from Central Ministries and North Eastern States.
• This is the 8th International Tourism Mart and an annual event organised in the North Eastern region with the objective of highlighting the tourism potential of the region in the domestic and international markets.
• Besides deliberations on promotion of tourism in the North East Region in general, the Mart will also give a platform for promoting cultural ties, providing enhanced connectivity to the States of North Eastern Region with other countries in our neighbourhood.
• The International Tourism Marts are organised in the North Eastern States on rotation basis. Manipur is hosting this mart for the second time. The earlier editions of this mart have been held in Guwahati, Tawang, Shillong, Gangtok, Agartala.

       THEME

• The 8th International Tourism Mart, will put the spotlight on “Sustainable Tourism an engine for Economic Growth and Employment”.

       FACTS

Manipur Chief Minister- N. Biren Singh

Governor- Najma Heptulla.

Folk Dance-Dhol Cholom, Thang Ta

US-based AppZen opens development centre in Pune

• AppZen, the world’s leading AI platform for modern finance teams, has opened a development centre in Pune.
• The facility was inaugurated by AppZen CFO Naresh Bansal and Head of India Operations Mandar Munagekar.
• The company wants to tap into the Pune talent pool and focus on enhancing its AI Platform through the new centre as it broadens its global reach.
• Earlier this year, the company announced its entry into India with Pune as its Indian headquarters.

        Series C funding

• A fast-growing start-up, AppZen, recently raised Series C investment of $50 million through Coatue Management.
• With previous investments through Redpoint Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners along with Coatue, the total investments raised by the company clocks to over $100 million till date.

INDEX

Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai among 113 cities in world on new global prosperity index

• Bangalore emerged as India's highest-ranked city at No. 83 in a new index of the world's 113 cities in terms of economic and social inclusivity, topped by Zurich in Switzerland.
• Zurich, as the number one, scores strongly across all measures, particularly on quality of life, work, housing, leisure, safety, and education - with the Swiss higher education system attaining an especially high score.
• Vienna, the Austrian capital in second place, scores close to top marks on healthcare. Copenhagen, Luxembourg and Helsinki complete the top five.
• Delhi at 101 and Mumbai at 107 are the other Indian cities to make at the index, with the top 20 awarded a PICSA Seal as the world's highest-ranked cities building inclusive prosperity.
• Bilbao, the host city of the new index, is ranked at 20.

       ABOUT PICSA

• The first-ever Prosperity & Inclusion City Seal and Awards (PICSA) Index, released in the Basque Country capital of Bilbao in northern Spain is designed to showcase not only the quantity of economic growth of a city but also its quality and distribution across populations.
• As the first-ever non-commercial ranking index, PICSA provides a new measure of economic productivity that goes beyond GDP to provide a holistic account of how well people are doing in the economy and which have the populations that are most empowered to contribute to its economy and share in its benefits.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

PM Sheikh Hasina reaches Kolkata to watch India-Bangladesh Cricket Test match

• Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reached Kolkata for a day-long visit. Board of Control for Cricket in India President Mr. Sourav Ganguly received her at the Kolkata Airport.
• During her visit, Prime Minister Hasina is scheduled to watch India-Bangladesh Second Cricket Test match slated.
• The two countries will play their maiden Day-Night Cricket Test match in which the pink ball will be used for the first time.     
• West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee will join Sheikh Hasina to ring the ceremonial bell at the Eden Gardens around noon time.

ECONOMIC AND FINANCE

SEBI approves stricter disclosure norms for listed companies

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India, SEBI, has approved stricter disclosure norms for listed companies.
• Accordingly, in case of default in repayment of loans beyond 30 days, listed companies will have to disclose the fact of such default within 24 hours.
• Secondly, SEBI has amended Portfolio Managers (PM) Regulations, 2019 following which net worth requirement of portfolio managers has been enhanced from two crore to five crore rupees.
• The regulator has informed that existing portfolio managers will have to meet the enhanced requirement within 36 months.
• SEBI announced that it has approved a proposal to reduce the overall time taken for a rights issue from 55 days to 31 days.
• Besides, SEBI has also extended the Business Responsibility Report requirement to top 1,000 companies, from 500 currently.

RBI appoints an advisory committee to administrator of DHFL

• RBI superseded the board of DHFL and appointed R Subramani Kumar as the Administrator.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in exercise of powers conferred under section 45 IE 5(a) of the RBI Act 1934, has today constituted a three-member Advisory Committee to assist the Administrator of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) in discharge of his duties.
• The members of the Advisory Committee are as follows-

                   1. Dr Rajiv Lall, Non-Executive Chairman, IDFC First Bank Ltd

                   2. N S Kannan, Managing Director and CEO, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance

                   3. NS Venkatesh, Chief Executive, Association of Mutual Funds in India

• The Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Insolvency and Liquidation Proceedings of Financial Service Providers and Application to Adjudicating Authority) Rules, 2019 provide for the concerned financial sector regulator appointing a Committee of Advisors to advise the Administrator in the operations of the financial service provider during the corporate insolvency resolution process.

APPOINTMENT

Devendra Fadnavis takes oath as Maharashtra CM, NCP's Ajit Pawar becomes Deputy CM

• In a dramatic turn of overnight events, arch rivals Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar joined hands to form government in Maharashtra.
• Former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis returned to the top post and took oath at Raj Bhawan in Mumbai followed by senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar taking oath as the deputy chief minister.
• The oath was administered by Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at the Raj Bhawan.

Lieutenant Shivangi, First Woman Pilot of Indian Navy, to be Join Naval Operations

• The Indian Navy is going to get the first female pilot. Lieutenant Shivangi will join as the first female pilot on December 2, 2019.
• Shivangi will fly fixed-wing Dornier surveillance aircraft. She will be involved in Operation Duty in Kochi.
• The Navy's aviation wing has several women officers posted as air traffic controllers and observers. Shivangi is undergoing training in Southern Command and will be allowed to fly Dornier aircraft on December 2.

OBITUARY

Veteran actor Shaukat Kaifi passes away

• Veteran theatre and film actor Shaukat Kaifi passed away
• Muzaffar Ali's 'Umrao Jaan' (1981) and Sagar Sarhadi's 'Bazaar' (1982) are some of Shaukat's most noted films. Her first major appearance was in MS Sathyu's 'Garm Hava' in 1974.