20th November 2018 Daily Current Affairs - PDF Download

Daily Current Affairs of 20th November 2018

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International Current Affairs

Today (20th November) is Universal Children's Day.
- This day was established in the year 1954 and is celebrated on November 20th each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children's welfare.
- Note : November 20th is an important date as it is the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.
- Theme of Universal Children's Day 2018 : "Children are taking over and turning the world blue".
20 November is observed as Africa Industrialization Day.
- Purpose of Africa Industrialization Day : To raise global awareness of the challenges faced by the continent with regard to industrialization.
- Theme of Africa Industrialization Day 2018 : “Promoting Regional Value Chains in Africa : A pathway for accelerating Africa’s structural transformation, industrialization and pharmaceutical production”
The 12-day long joint military exercise between India and the United States titled 'Vajra Prahar 2018' commenced in Jaipur today.
- A contingent of the United States Pacific Commander arrived at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges on November 18 for undertaking Joint training with the Indian Special Forces.
- The US contingent comprises of one officer and 10 other ranks from the Special Forces Group.
- The contingents will train on different aspects including hostage rescue, building intervention, desert survival, medical aid and combat firing.

Awards & Honors

Delhi-based environment think-tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) will be awarded Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development 2018 for its work in environmental education and protection.
- The international jury for the awards was headed by former President Pranab Mukerjee.
8 Indian-American women have been honoured in the United States in recognition of their achievements in diverse fields ranging from politics and business to civil rights activism and astrophysics.
- They are :
- - Sheela Murthy (Immigration lawyer)
  - Jagruti Panwala (vice chairwoman of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA))
  - Madhulika Guhathakurta (NASA astrophysicist)
  - Aruna Miller (Maryland Delegate)
  - Manisha Gaekwad (Florida)
  - Ann Ramakumaran (Founder and CEO of Ampcus Inc)
  - Suman Raghunathan (Executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT))

Science & Technology

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced a 3.6 billion-year-old crater called Jezero Crater as the landing site for its 2020 rover mission to Mars.
- The crater was chosen after a five-year search that examined some 60 other sites on Mars.

Banking, Business & Economic Affairs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) agreed to inject ₹8,000 crore into the market by purchasing government bonds by November 22.
- RBI will buy these securities through multi-security auction using multiple price method.
The Bombay High Court today said that a person's salary cannot be withheld on failure to link his bank account with the Aadhaar card.
Asia’s oldest bourse BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) has decided to snap ties with S&P Dow Jones, which manages and operates benchmark Sensex.
- Now BSE it is planning to develop indices through its own in-house development team.

Deaths

Asia’s 1st woman neurosurgeon, T.S. Kanaka (86), passed away in Chennai after a brief illness.
- She was known to have inspired many women to take to the field of neurosurgery in the country.
- She also served as an army medical officer for two years during the India-China war.

People in News

Yes Bank independent director Rentala Chandrashekhar resigned from the post, marking the third exit from the private lender's board in a week.
- Note : On November 14, the bank's Non-Executive Chairman Ashok Chawla and another independent director Vasant Gujarathi tendered their resignations.

New Appointments

Oracle’s ex-product chief Thomas Kurian will head Google’s cloud division.
- He is going to replace Diane Greene.
1985-batch IAS from West Bengal cadre Sumanta Chaudhuri has been appointed as the new Coal Secretary.
- He replaced Inder Jit Singh.
Sruthi Palaniappan, a 20-year-old Indian-American woman, was elected as the Student Body President of the Harvard University.
1984 batch IAS officer, Jalaj Srivastava, has been appointed the Chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
- The IWAI comes under the Union Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, currently headed by Nitin Gadkari.

Sports Current Affairs

Germany's Alexander Zverev has won his maiden ATP World Tour Finals title by defeating world number one Novak Djokovic.
- With this, Zverev became the 1st German to win the season-ending tournament since Boris Becker in 1995.
- Note : Doubles title of the tournament has been won by Mike Bryan and Jack Sock of United States.
Indian boxer MC Mary Kom has assured a medal for herself after reaching the semifinal stage of the AIBA Women's World Championship after beating China's Yu Wu in the quarter-final of the 48 kg category.
India's Shubhankar Sharma became the 1st Indian to emerge as the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year on the European Tour.
New Zealand today became the 1st cricket team to win a Test match with a margin of four runs in the format's 141-year history.

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