1) World Toilet Day: 19 November
•World Toilet Day is celebrated on 19th November every year. It’s all about inspiring action to tackle the global sanitation crisis and help achieve Sustainable Development Goal, which promises sanitation for all by 2030. World Toilet Day 2019 is drawing attention to those people being left behind without sanitation. However, it was not formally recognized as an official UN day until 2013.
2) NHM Jammu & Kashmir launched BMEWMP programme in J&K, Ladakh
•National Health Mission Jammu & Kashmir, has launched the Bio-Medical Equipment Waste Management Programme (BMEWMP) in the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The biomedical equipment management was the need of the hour to improve the patient care facilities in the health care institutions. The objectives of the program are designed in a way that the equipment in the district level health care facility will have an uptime of 95%, in sub-district hospital 90% and in PHC 80%.
3) Union Minister for Rural Development inaugurates SARAS IITF 2019
•The Union Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Agriculture inaugurated the SARAS India International Trade Fair(IITF) Mela 2019 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. SARAS IITF Mela 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. Women self-help groups play a very crucial role in the fulfilment of two important goals, namely poverty alleviation and women empowerment. The “didis” (sisters) from the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) possess a lot of positive energy and willpower and the same should be utilised for the progress of the nation.
4) Darjeeling’s green and white teas get GI tag
•The green tea and white tea of Darjeeling have been registered as a geographical indication (GI) products in the country. These two varieties of Darjeeling tea have been registered under Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act 1999, with effect from October 2019. This will “strengthen the protection of the intellectual property rights of the Darjeeling tea” which is considered as “niche and luxury” products in the country and abroad.
5) International cherry blossom festival 2019 celebrated in Shillong, Meghalaya
•Meghalaya Chief Minister has Inaugurated the 4th International Cherry Blossom Festival 2019 held in Shillong, Meghalaya. For the 1st time, India & South Korea jointly celebrated this festival that witnessed the celebration of unique autumn flowering of Himalayan Cherry Blossoms (scientifically known as the Prunus serrulata). South Korea Ambassador to India Shin Bong-Kil joined the celebration.
6) Health ministry launched SAANS campaign in Gujarat
•Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare launched ‘SAANS’ campaign in Gujarat during the inauguration of 6th National Summit on Good, Replicable practices and innovations.
•The aim of SAANS to reducing child mortality due to pneumonia, which contributes to around 15% of deaths annually of children under the age of five. SAANS, short for ‘Social Awareness and Action to Neutralise Pneumonia Successfully’. The government aims to achieve a target of reducing pneumonia deaths among children to less than three per 1000 live births by 2025.
7) Indian Army conducts ‘Sindhu Sudarshan’ exercise in Rajasthan
•The Sudarshan Chakra Corps of the Indian Army conducted ‘Sindhu Sudarshan’ exercise in Barmer, Rajasthan. Around 40,000 jawans of the Indian Army are participating in the exercise.’ Sindhu Sudarshan’ exercise will continue till December 05. The aim of the exercise was to evaluate the capability and battle readiness of the defence forces in an integrated air-land battle in a semi-developed terrain of the desert.
•Newly inducted armed helicopter Rudra, manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) equipped with electro-optical pods, helmet-mounted sights and night vision goggles was used in the exercise. Apart from Rudra, newly inducted K9 Vajra (South Korean self-propelled 155 mm howitzer) was also used in the exercise.
8) Pakistan becomes 1st country to introduce new vaccine to combat typhoid
•Pakistan became the 1st country in the world to introduce a new Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) in an effort to combat a drug-resistant strain of the potentially fatal disease in the Sindh province. The vaccine, approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2018, will initially be used during a two-week immunisation campaign starting from November 18 to November 30 in the urban areas of Sindh.
•Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) is a one-dose vaccine, that will be injected intramuscularly. The vaccine cost is low and it has high efficiency. It is expected to provide long-lasting immunity power in adults, children and 9-month infants.
9) Justice SA Bobde takes oath as 47th Chief Justice of India
•Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde took oath as the 47th Chief Justice of India. President Ram Nath Kovind administered him the oath of office at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Justice Bobde succeeds Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who retired on 17 November. Justice Bobde will have a tenure of around 18 months till his retirement on April 23, 2021. Justice Bobde was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on April 12, 2013. He was part of the five-judge constitution bench which delivered the landmark Ayodhya verdict.
10) ISRO to launch Cartosat-3, 13 commercial nano satellites on Nov 25
•India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C47 will launch Cartosat-3 and 13 commercial nanosatellites into Sun Synchronous orbit from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota on 25th November. Cartosat-3 satellite is a third-generation agile advanced satellite having high-resolution imaging capability. This will be the 74th launch vehicle mission from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota.
•PSLV-C47 is the 21st flight of PSLV in ‘XL’ configuration, that is with 6 solid strap-on motors. PSLV-C47 will also carry 13 commercial nanosatellites from the United States of America as part of a commercial arrangement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), Department of Space.
