Daily Current Affairs, 09th and 10th November 2018

1) World Science Day for Peace and Development: 10 November

•World Science Day for Peace and Development is celebrated every year on 10 November. The theme for 2018 is “Science, a Human Right”. The day highlights the significant role of science in society and the need to engage the wider public in debates on emerging scientific issues. The day was proclaimed by UNESCO in 2001. 

2) Vice President Inaugurates Indian War Memorial in France

•Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu is on a three-day visit to France. He inaugurated Indian War Memorial at Villers Guislain. Earlier the Vice President attended the Indian community reception in Paris.

•The main ceremony at Arc de Triomphe monument in Paris was presided over by the French President Emmanuel Macron. The Vice President also met the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay.

3) K9 Vajra And M777 Howitzer Guns Inducted Into Indian Army

•Indian Army inducted new artillery guns and equipment, including K9 Vajra and M777 howitzers, at Deolali artillery centre in Nashik, Maharashtra. The induction ceremony took place in the presence of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Army chief General Bipin Rawat.

•Besides, M777 American Ultra Light Howitzers and the K-9 Vajra, the third gun system inducted is the ‘Composite Gun Towing Vehicle’ for towing some of the existing guns in service with the country.

4) Meghalaya Announces Rs 378-cr Investment in Aqua Mission 2.0

•The Meghalaya Government announced Rs378 crore investment in the second phase of the State’s flagship aquaculture mission aimed at cutting down fish imports into the hill State.

•The mission — Meghalaya State Aqua Mission 2.0 — was announced by Fisheries Minister Comingone Ymbon at the 5th state aqua festival held in Shillong at the U Soso Tham auditorium premises. The Meghalaya State Aqua Mission 1.0 has also increased production of fries from 0.9 million in 2012 to 9.69 million in 2017 to meet market demand.

5) Ayodhya Deepotsav 2018 Enters Guinness Book of World Records

•Ayodhya Deepostav 2018, an event organised to mark Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya town – has entered Guinness Book of World Records. A Guinness certificate was issued to UP government’s tourism department and Dr Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Avadh University, Faizabad, when over three lakh clay lamps were illuminated at Ram Ki Paidi on Chhoti Diwali as part of Deepotsava. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had also announced that Faizabad district will now be known as Ayodhya. 

6) India’s Unemployment Rate Jumps to 2-Year High of 6.9%: Report

•Unemployment rate in the country rose to 6.9% in October, the highest in two years, according to a report by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). The estimated number of people employed during October 2018 was 397 million.

•This was 2.4% lower than the rate in October 2017. Around 407 million individuals were estimated to be employed during the same period in 2017. Only 39.5% of the adult population was employed in October 2018.

7) CCEA approves disinvestment of 100% Govt stake in Dredging Corporation of India

•The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved 100% strategic disinvestment of the government’s equity in the Dredging Corporation of India Ltd. Presently, the government of India holds 73.44% shares in Dredging Corporation of India Limited.

•Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its approval to Amendment to the Central Universities Act, 2009 for setting up of Central Tribal University in Andhra Pradesh. Cabinet also approved leasing out six airports, namely Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru for operation, management, and development under Public Private Partnership.

8) RBI Plans Ombudsman For Digital Payments

•The Reserve Bank of India is likely to establish an ombudsman for digital payments by March 2019 to take the load off the increasing number of complaints currently being handled by the banking ombudsman.

•Given the rapid adoption of digital payments across the country, RBI in its Annual Report for 2017-18 had announced that it was considering a plan to establish a separate ombudsman to handle consumer complaints related to digital transactions. The central bank is presently in the process of creating a scheme for establishing offices across the country for the digital payments ombudsman.

9) RBI Relaxes ECB Norms for Infrastructure Companies

•The Reserve Bank has liberalised the norms governing foreign borrowings for infrastructure creation “in consultation with the Government”. As per the notification, the minimum average maturity requirement for ECBs (external commercial borrowings) in the infrastructure space raised by eligible borrowers has been reduced to three years from earlier five years.

•Additionally, the average maturity requirement for mandatory hedging has been reduced to five years from earlier ten years. The move comes amid concerns surrounding the availability of funds following a liquidity squeeze and the difficulties being faced by non-bank lenders, especially those facing asset liability issues due to heavy reliance on short-term funding for long-term assets.

10) Book On Mouth Cancer ‘Arivu’ Released

•November 7 is observed as National Cancer Awareness Day in India each year. The day is marked out to teach people to combat the Cancer. Dr Murali Mohan Chuntharu, a Dental Surgeon and also DK Home Guard Commandant has written a book named “Arivu”,which explains about Mouth Cancer and prevention of the disease.

11) Bajrang Punia Becomes Number 1 In World in 65kg

•Star Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia touched a new high in his career by achieving the number one rank in the world in the 65kg category. The 24-year-old Bajrang, who has won five medals this season, including CWG and Asian Games gold and a silver at the World Championship, was placed atop the ranking table with 96 points in the UWW list.

•It has turned out to be a remarkable season for Bajrang, who was also the only Indian grappler to be given a seeding at the Budapest World Championship. Bajrang is comfortably leading the table and Cuban Alejandro Enrique Vlades Tobier is a distant second with 66 points.