Union Minister for Rural Development inaugurates SARAS at IITF 2019 in New Delhi

NATIONAL NEWS

Union Minister for Rural Development inaugurates SARAS at IITF 2019 in New Delhi

• Union Minister for Rural Development Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the SARAS India International Trade Fair at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
• Empowering rural women through Self-Help Groups is one of the top priorities of the government.
• More than seven crore women have joined Self-Help Groups so far and the Ministry is making all efforts to take this number to 10 crores.

Home Ministry Launches Campaign to End Violence Against Women

• The Home Ministry in collaboration with the UN Women today flagged off an awareness campaign to end violence against women from Sultanpur metro station in Delhi.
• The initiative is part of the #OrangeTheWorld global campaign. As part of the campaign, people would be made aware about India's single emergency helpline 112, an internationally recognised emergency number used in several countries.
• The 112 service can be reached through voice call, 112 India App, SMS, email, respective state's 112 website and the panic button on mobile phones.

STATE NEWS

Uttarakhand CM launches virtual classes project

• Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat launched a project that will connect 500 secondary schools to virtual classrooms and schools in the state facing a shortage of teachers will benefit from the new technology.
• Virtual classes are attended through video conferences where students can meet the teacher on a real-time basis and ask questions.
• An estimated 1.90 lakh students of 500 government-run secondary schools in the state will benefit from the project.

FACTS

Uttarakhand Chief Minister-Trivendra Singh Rawat

Governor-Baby Rani Maurya

Meghalaya-based insurgent group HNLC banned by govt

• Meghalaya-based insurgent group Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has been banned by the central government for its increased activities of violence and other subversive acts.
• The group continues to intimidate and bully civilians to extort funds, maintains links with other insurgent groups of the Northeast to carry out acts of extortion and intimidation, and maintains camps in Bangladesh to give sanctuary and training to its cadre, it said.
• The central government is also of the opinion that HNLC's activities are detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of India.

FACTS

Meghalaya Chief Minister-Conrad Kongkal Sangma

Governor-Tathagata Roy

Assam govt to start Arundhati gold scheme by January 2020

• The Assam government will start Arundhati gold scheme by January next year for the registered newly married couples. Under the scheme, an amount of 30 thousand rupees will be given to the bride to purchase gold.
• That the scheme is aimed to promote marriage registrations and prevent under-age marriages in the state.
•  The annual income of the bride and her father should not be more than 5 lakh rupees per year to get the benefit.

FACTS

Assam Chief Minister-Sarbananda Sonowal

Governor-Jagdish Mukhi

RANKING

India ranks 59 on IMD World Talent Ranking Report

• India has slipped 6 places to 59 rank on a global annual list of 63 countries, due to low quality of life and expenditure on education, according to the latest edition of IMD World Talent Ranking, which was topped by Switzerland.
• The ranking, which is based on the performance in three main categories -- investment and development, appeal and readiness, noted that India is also lagging behind fellow BRICs countries - China ranked 42nd on the list, Russia (47th) and South Africa (50th).

DEFENCE

Navies of India, Qatar begin 5-day joint exercise at Doha

• Stealth frigate INS Trikand and patrol aircraft P8-I arrived at Doha for the inaugural edition of the bilateral maritime exercise Za'ir-Al-Bahr (Roar of the Sea) being conducted from November 17- 21, between the Indian Navy and Qatari Emiri Naval Force.
• The inaugural edition of the bilateral maritime exercise would further strengthen the robust defence co-operation between the two countries, especially in the fight against terrorism, maritime piracy and security.

INSURANCE

ICICI Lombard partners with Fino to offer sachet-based insurance products

• ICICI Lombard has been partnering with Fino Payments Bank to offer non-life insurance solutions to its customers since 2017.
• As part of this association, ICICI Lombard has introduced several innovative insurance solutions that complement Fina's technology enabled platforms and harness its customer reach.
• Some of these offerings include Hospicash that provide customers the means to cover their loss of income, especially in the case of migrant workers, if they are hospitalized.
• Further, policies such as Family Floater allow access to quality healthcare in a cashless way and protect the family's savings in case of hospitalization.

APPOINTMENT

As Justice SA Bobde Takes Oath as 47th CJI

• Supreme Court Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde was sworn as the 47th Chief Justice of India, replacing former CJI Ranjan Gogoi.
• CJI Bobde will now serve as the leader of the judiciary till April 23, 2021. CJI Bobde has earlier been part of benches that pronounced crucial verdicts on the Ayodhya land dispute, privacy as a fundamental right and on use of Aadhaar.

SPORTS

63rd National Shotgun Shooting Championship kicks off in New Delhi

• Reigning Commonwealth Games champion Shreyasi Singh won the women's Trap Gold at the ongoing 63rd National Shooting Championship for shotgun events in New Delhi.
• Shreyasi representing Bihar shot 42 out of 50 birds to claim the crown, while Rajeshwari from Punjab managed 38 hits to settle for silver. Pragati Dubey of Madhya Pradesh won bronze with a finals score of 31.
• This was Shreyasi's fourth individual career National title but her first in Women's Trap.