1) International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict
•The International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict is an international day observed annually on November 6. The International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict was established on November 5, 2001, by the United Nations General Assembly.
•At the time of war, it affects the ecosystem such as water supply is poisoned, the forest is burnt, animals killed, etc. Though humanity has always counted its war casualties in terms of dead and wounded soldiers and civilians, destroyed cities and livelihoods, the environment has often remained the unpublicized victim of war. Water wells have been polluted, crops torched, forests cut down, soils poisoned, and animals killed to gain military advantage.
2) PM Modi inaugurates two-day Global investors’ meet in Dharamshala
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated a two-day Himachal Pradesh Global investors’ meet – ‘Rising Himachal’ in Dharamshala. The event is being organised by the Himachal Pradesh government to attract investment and create employment opportunities in the state. Ambassadors from 16 countries, 209 foreign delegates along with local entrepreneurs will participate in the mega event.
3) Lucknow railway station gets ‘Health ATM’
•The Indian Railways has installed two ‘Health ATMs’ at the Charbagh railway station in Lucknow. The kiosks, promoted by YOLO Health ATM, provide 16 health check-ups for Rs 50-100. There are two types of check-ups a 9-minute one that costs Rs 100, and a 6-minute one that costs Rs 50. The report is delivered instantly to the email or smartphone of the user. The check-ups include body mass index, blood pressure, body fat, haemoglobin, metabolic age, muscle mass, weight, height, temperature, muscle mass, basal metabolic rating, visceral fat, oxygen saturation, pulse rate, blood glucose, and bone mass.
•Health ATMs can be defined as private, walk-in medical kiosks with integrated medical devices for basic vitals, cardiology, neurology, pulmonary testing, gynaecology, basic laboratory testing and emergency facilities and staffed by a medical attendant.
4) Odisha government signs pact with Tata Strive, Tech Mahindra for skill upgradation
•The Odisha state government signed agreements with Tata Strive and Tech Mahindra to add new dimensions in skilling and employability of the youth. The agreement between Directorate of Technical Education and Training and Tata Strive is aimed at imparting life skills to the students of all 49 government Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in the state.
•The pact between Tech Mahindra and the Biju Patnaik University of Technology will see setting up of a centre for excellence in artificial intelligence and machine learning. It will work on the proof of concept for real-life business problems to keep up with the market demand and enhance employability of engineering students.
5) HRD Minister and Harsimrat Kaur badal to launch 3 books on Guru Nanak Dev Ji
•Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal will launch three books on Guru Nanak Dev Ji at Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College, the University of Delhi, on the occasion of 550thBirth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
•The National Book Trust has published three titles: Guru Nanak Bani, Nanak Bani, and Sakhian Guru Nanak Dev to spread the message of Guru Nanak Dev’s writings among readers of Indian sub-continent. These books, published originally in Punjabi, shall be translated into 15 major Indian languages.
6) Ujjivan Small Finance Bank launches Instant Digital Savings and Instant FD Account
•The finance service company, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank(SFB) has launched an instant digital savings account (SA) along with Fixed Deposit (FD) and Privilege Savings Account to offer distinctive banking and digital services to its customers.
•Instant Digital SA account: This account has the restriction of Rs 1 lakh deposit & has the unlimited free transactions on the bank’s own ATM (automated teller machine) and 6 free transactions for other bank ATMs per month.
•Instant Fixed Deposit (FD): With interest rate ranging from 5.5% (7days to 29 days) & up to 8.3% (799 days), the customers can invest in this account up to a maximum of Rs. 1 Lakh without a Savings Account.
•Privilege SA: This account comes with the eligibility for a monthly salary of Rs. 30,000 or above /on maintaining a Monthly Average Balance of Rs 25,000 / opening a Fixed Deposit of Rs. 10 Lakh. It provides a higher accidental insurance cover of Rs. 2 Lakh.
7) Tech Mahindra acquires New York-based BORN Group for $95 million
•IT services firm Tech Mahindra Ltd (Tech M) has acquired BORN Group, a New York-based digital content and production agency, for $95 million. The acquisition will help to boost the electronic and mobile commerce segment globally, and equipped to deliver enhanced user experience to customers of Tech Mahindra globally. BORN’s services include consulting, content creation, maintenance and hosting services, digital and social marketing, among others. It has clients such as Google, Tata, Red Bull and TAG Heuer.
8) GRSE delivers fast patrol vessel, ‘Annie Besant’ to Indian Coast Guard
•Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) delivered Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) ICGS Annie Besant, the second in the series of five such ships, to the Indian Coast Guard. A medium-range vessel with a length of 50 metres, a width of 7.5 metres and displacement of around 308 tonnes, the FPV is capable of operations in the maritime zones of the country. These powerful, fuel-efficient platforms are designed to perform multipurpose operations like patrolling, anti-smuggling, anti-poaching and rescue operations. ICGS Annie Besant is designed for a maximum speed of 34 knots with an endurance of more than 1,500 nautical miles.
9) IIT-Madras launches affordable standing wheelchair
•Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, in collaboration with Phoenix Medical Systems, launched the country’s first indigenously-designed standing wheelchair. wheelchair named “Arise”, was designed and developed by the TTK Centre for Rehabilitation Research and Device Development (R2D2), headed by Sujatha Srinivasan, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at IIT-Madras. The wheelchair is priced at Rs 15,000. The assistive device helps the wheelchair-bound move from a sitting to standing position, and vice-versa, independently.
10) China approves drug to cure Alzheimer’s disease
•China’s National Medical Products Administration has officially approved an indigenously developed Alzheimer’s drug called GV-971 (sodium oligo-mannurarate). The Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which has developed the drug jointly with the Ocean University of China and Green Valley Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, after 22 years of research. Extracted from brown algae, the oral drug is the world’s first multi-targeting and carbohydrate-based drug, which will now be available to patients from December,29,2019.
11) Lok Sabha Speaker addresses 6th Speakers’ Summit of G 20 Countries
•Lok sabha speaker Om Birla composed the Indian Parliament delegation for 6th parliamentary summit of G20 countries, held in Tokyo, Japan 2019. G20 presiding officer of parliament attended the summit. The summit had three sessions on separate themes related to trade, technology and sustainable development. The gathering of this summit was about the terrorism which destroying the system of economy.
