Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the important Daily Current Affairs 23 November 2018. These are important for the upcoming Canara Bank PO and Clerk 2018 Exams.
Daily Current Affairs 23 November 2018 for Bank, SSC and Competitive Exams
Current Affairs related to India and states
Allied and Healthcare Council of India to be set up: Cabinet approval
- The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 22, 2018 approved the Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2018 for regulation and standardisation of education and services by allied and healthcare professionals.
- The Bill provides for setting up of an Allied and Healthcare Council of India and corresponding state allied and healthcare councils, which will play the role of a standard-setter and facilitator for professions of allied and healthcare.
- The bill provides for the establishment of central and corresponding state allied and healthcare councils and 15 major professional categories including 53 professions in allied and healthcare streams.
- It provides for structure, constitution, composition and functions of the central council and state councils such as framing of policies and standards, regulation of professional conduct, creation and maintenance of live registers, provisions for common entry and exit examinations.
- The professional advisory bodies under central and state councils will examine issues independently and provide recommendations relating to specific recognised categories.
WCD Ministry links ‘SHe-Box’ to central, state ministries for speedy disposal of cases
- The Ministry of Women and Child Development has linked the sexual harassment complaints portal ‘She-Box’ with all the Central Ministries, Departments and 653 districts across 33 states and union territories.
- SHe-Box is an online portal, which has been created by the WCD Ministry to report complaints of sexual harassment at the workplace.
- With the linkage of the SHe-Box with central and state governments, once a case is reported on the portal, it will go directly to the concerned central and state authority having jurisdiction to take action in the matter, in order to enable prompt disposal of complaints.
- The progress of the cases on the portal can be monitored by the complainants as well as the WCD Ministry, reducing the time taken in case disposal.
80-feet Buddha statue planned in Gujarat
- After the 182-meter tall `Statue of Unity’ of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Gujarat may get a gigantic Buddha statue.
- Sanghakaya Foundation, a non-profit Buddhist organisation, said on November 22, 2018 that it has demanded land from the government for installing an 80-feet high statue of Lord Buddha in Gandhinagar district.
- It has roped in Ram Sutar, the sculptor behind the Statue of Unity, for the project.
- The Statue of Unity, inaugurated in Narmada district of the state on October 31, is the tallest statue in the world.
India-UAE Strategic Conclave to be held in Abu Dhabi
- The second edition of the India-UAE Strategic Conclave will be held in the capital city of Abu Dhabi on November 27, 2018.
- The day-long conclave will initiate a dialogue to widen the scope of bilateral investments.
- It will see key business leaders and senior government officials come together to lay the blueprint for greater economic cooperation between the two countries and explore the economic gains through boosting the status of both countries as major trade hubs and key gateways to regional and international markets.
IMD develops new technology to monitor impact of rain & deal with natural disasters
- The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has developed a new technology to assess the rise of water level in rivers and reservoirs by rain.
- The technology, called ‘Impact Based Forecasting Approach’, which shows pre-event scenario, can help state governments to minutely monitor the impact of rain and take real-time decisions.
- Speaking at an event organised by the Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi last evening, IMD Director General KJ Ramesh said, the department is in a position to use the technology into service to deal with natural disasters like the recent deluge in Kerala.
Current Affairs related to Banking and Finance
PM Modi lays foundation stone of City Gas Distribution Projects
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 22, 2018 laid the foundation stone of City Gas Distribution (CGD) Projects in 65 Geographical Areas (GAs) in 129 districts under the 9th CGD bidding round, remotely from Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
- The PM also launched the 10th CGD Bidding Round in 50 GAs spread over 124 districts in 14 states. Speaking on the occasion, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan said that the Government is working to move towards creating a gas-based economy.
- Currently, the share of gas in the India’s energy mix is just over 6 per cent and the aim is to reach the 15 per cent figure, while the world average is 24 per cent.
- India aims to bring down its carbon emission level and a number of initiatives have been taken in this direction such as LED bulbs, BS VI fuel, bio-energy, International Solar Alliance, Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana, and providing clean piped gas supply to more cities.
- India would also be enhancing the LNG terminal capacity, renegotiating Indo-Qatar Gas deal and encouraging positive Indo-US engagement in this direction.
- India is not only focussing on increasing the use and supply of gas, but also on producing gas through agro-wastes and other products and including the same into the CGD network.
Kotak Mahindra Bank launches Open Banking platform for a collaborative fintech ecosystem
- Kotak Mahindra Bank on Friday launched its Open Banking platform.
- The platform provides an open access window to fintechs and app developers to design customised offerings addressing specific customer needs in consultation with the bank.
- The Open Banking platform enables Kotak to nurture strong relationships with fintechs and developers, the bank said in a statement.
- The initiative is part of Kotak’s digital-first organic growth strategy that will be driven by its ABCD charter that focuses on — AI enriched App, Biometric enabled Branch, Context enhanced Customer Experience and Data empowered Design.
- The platform is powered by a developer portal which will make Kotak’s application programming interfaces (APIs) available to fintechs and developers.
- This collaboration will help the bank accelerate the pace of innovation and develop improved customer-centric solutions, the bank said.
Govt transfers over Rs 16 bn to 4.8 mn eligible mothers under PMMVY scheme
- The government has transferred over Rs 16 billion to eligible mothers under Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana through direct benefit transfer till Friday, Centre for Digital Financial Inclusion (CDFI) that uses technology for financial inclusion said.
- “Rs 16,04,66,63,000 transferred through direct benefit transfer to 4.8 million women,” CDFI said.
- The non-profit organisation CDFI conceptualised, designed and implemented the PMMVY-CAS (Common Application Software) System through which disbursements were made.
- The programme, which became applicable from January 1, 2017, provides a cash incentive of Rs 5,000 in three installments to pregnant women and lactating mothers for the first child through Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT).
Government decides to set up a domestic Gold Council in India
- The government on November 23, 2018 has decided to set up domestic Gold council in India to promote the growth of the sector and boost exports of jewellery.
- Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said this while inaugurating the 2nd Edition of India Gold and Jewellery Summit in New Delhi.
- The gold council will have representations from all stakeholders including artisans, traders, miners and purifiers. The council would work in the direction of promoting the gold and jewellery industry, job creation, building of regional clusters.
- India is the world’s largest consumer of gold and also one of the main importers. There are huge opportunities in the global market to push exports of gold jewellery.
- The country’s gems and jewellery exports contracted by 8% to about $32.72 billion in 2017-18 owing to demand slowdown in US and other major markets.
Current Affairs related to Awards
India’s Wildlife Crime Control Bureau wins UN Environment award
- The United Nations Environment has awarded India’s Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) with the Asia Environment Enforcement Award, 2018 for the excellent work done by the Bureau in combating transboundary environmental crime.
- The Asia Environmental Enforcement Award recognises the excellent work done by government officials and teams from the bureau who are diligently involved in combating transboundary environmental crime.
- The Asia Environment Enforcement Awards publicly recognise and celebrate excellence in enforcement by government officials and institutions and teams combating transboundary environmental crime in Asia.
- India’s Wildlife Crime Control Bureau has been conferred the award in the Innovation category
Current Affairs related to World
Nepal’s largest exhibition ‘ConMac 2018’ starts in Bhaktapur
- Nepal’s largest exhibition on construction equipment and technology “ConMac 2018” started in Bhaktapur near Kathmandu on November 22, 2018.
- Development is the main agenda of the present government and it is committed to infrastructure development in Nepal and machines and technology are very essential to achieve this goal.
- The Nepal government plans to construct 6,000 to 8,000 KM roads and prepare Detail Project Report (DPR) for 2,800 KM railway lines in the next four years.
- Overall, the construction industry in Nepal has grown by 11 per cent and it has become one of the fastest growing sector contributing to the GDP of Nepal.
- The 3-day mega event is organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with Embassy of India.
UN’s atomic watchdog calls on North Korea to re-admit nuclear inspectors
- The head of the UN’s atomic watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called on North Korea to allow inspectors back into the country to monitor its nuclear program.
- Speaking at a board meeting of the IAEA, Director General Yukiya Amano noted that Pyongyang had in September talked about denuclearization measures including the permanent dismantlement of the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon a reactor where it produces plutonium.
Britain, EU agree on draft text of Brexit
- Britain and the European Union have agreed on a draft text setting out a close post-Brexit relationship.
- However, wrangling with Spain over control of Gibraltar must still be settled before EU leaders meet on November 25 in order to rubber-stamp the pact.
- British Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament that people want Brexit to be settled. They want a good deal that sets us on a course for a brighter future. She said that the deal that will enable Britain to do this is now within their grasp.
- Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said that Spain will proceed with its promise to vote down the provisional UK-EU agreement on the UK withdrawal from the bloc at the upcoming meeting of EU-27 leaders unless Madrid’s interests are taken into account in the document.
Beijing’s Population falls for the first time in 2 Decades
- The population of China’s capital, Beijing, declined for the first time in two decades in 2017.
- The number of permanent residents reached 21.707 million in 2017 which is 22,000 fewer than 2016. The number of people in the city’s six urban districts has also declined by 3 percent.
- The authorities in Beijing have been making efforts to curb population growth as part of their efforts to ease traffic congestion, resource shortages and house price inflation.
Current Affairs related to Appointments
UNICEF appoints singer Nahid Afrin as first ‘Youth Advocate’ of north-eastern region
- Popular Indian singer Nahid Afrin of Assam has been appointed as the first ‘Youth Advocate’ of the north-eastern region by the UNICEF to fight for child rights.
- The UNICEF engages ‘Youth Advocates’ to harness their voice as agents of change in society.
- Nahid made her playback debut in the 2016 Bollywood film ‘Akira’ starring Sonakshi Sinha in the lead.
- She received the best female playback singer award at the Assam state Film Award 2018.
Justice Kothari sworn in as Judge of Madras High Court
- Justice Vineet Kothari was sworn in as a judge of the Madras High Court in Chennai on November 23, 2018. He was administered the oath by the Chief Justice of Madras High Court VK Tahilramani.
- With Justice Kothari taking oath, the number of judges in the Madras High Court has gone up to 61 as against the sanctioned strength of 75.
- He will be second in the seniority list after the transfer of Justice Huluvadi G Ramesh to the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
IAS officer Vijay Kumar Dev appointed Delhi chief secretary
- Vijay Kumar Dev has been appointed as the chief secretary of Delhi with effect from the date of joining till further orders.
- He will replace Anshu Prakash, who was transferred last week as the additional secretary of the Department of Telecommunications.
- Dev has served as the chief election officer of Delhi. He had for long been at loggerheads with the Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Admi Party government over the deletion of names from voter lists.
Current Affairs related to Obituaries
Noted Indian classical musician Ustad Imrat Khan passes away
- Indian classical music stalwart Ustad Imrat Khan, who dedicated his life to propagating the Sitar and the surbahar worldwide, passed in the United States on November 22, 2018 after a brief illness. He was 83.
- Imrat Khan famously turned down the Padma Shri last year saying the recognition had come too late and diminished his achievements.
- He belonged to the illustrious Etawa Gharana, or the Imdadkhani Gharana, named after his grandfather Ustad Imdad Khan.
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