S. No. Chapter Name Page Nos.iace.co.in/pdf/00-December Magazine (1-64).pdf · 2018-12-14 · enemy...

CONTENTS

S. No. Chapter Name Page Nos.

1. Economy and Banking 1-6

2. International and Bilateral 7-11

3. National 12-17

4. States 18-21

5. Persons in News and Appointments 22-25

6. Sports 26-28

7. Awards and Honours 29-32

8. Reports, Indices and Ranking 33

9. Books and Authors 33

10. Science and Technology 34-37

11. Summits and Conferences 38

12. Miscellaneous 39-40

13 Practice Bits (Current Affairs) 41-62

MAGAZINE

Current Affairs December 2018 - Digest

1 IACE (Indian Academy of Competitive Exams) www.iace.co.in Toll Free: 1800-270-9975, Ph: 9533200400

1. ECONOMY AND BANKING Reliance Plans Rs. 3,000 Crore Fresh Investment in Odisha:

Reliance Industries Ltd will make a fresh investment of Rs. 3,000 crore in Odisha, its chairman Mukhesh Ambani announced at the Make in Odisha-Conclave 2018.

RIL has emerged as one of the largest investors in the state having already invested Rs. 6,000 crore there.

Most of its investments are in creating digital infrastructure. Govt. Approves Mechanism for Sale of Enemy Shares Worth Rs 3,000 Crore:

The government approved a mechanism for sale of enemy shares which are the current prices is estimated at around Rs 3,000 crore and authorized by Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM)

According to Enemy Property Act, 1968, "Enemy property" refers to any property belonging to, held or managed on behalf of an enemy, an enemy subject or an enemy firm.

It will lead to monetization of movable enemy property lying dormant for decades and the proceeds will be used for development and social welfare programmes.

A total number of 6,50,75,877 shares worth Rs 3,000 crore in 996 companies of 20,323 shareholders are under the custody of Custodian of Enemy Property of India (CEPI).

Of these companies, 588 are functional/ active companies, 139 of these are listed with remaining being unlisted. ADB Loans: 1. With Energy Efficiency Services (EESL) : ADB and the Energy Efficiency Services

(EESL) signed a USD 13 million grant, to be provided by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), for the additional financing of an ongoing ADB-supported project that is promoting end-use energy efficiency.

The grant, to be administered by ADB, is tied to the USD 200 million ADB-financed Demand-Side Energy Efficiency Sector Project. It was approved by the bank in 2016 to finance installation of millions of energy-efficient lights on streets and homes as well as energy-efficient water pumps across India.

2. Tamilnadu: A $169 million loan as the First Tranche of a $500 million multi-tranche financing to develop climate-resilient water supply, sewerage, and drainage infrastructure in at least 10 cities in the State of Tamil Nadu.

3. IIFCL: Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed $300 Million Loan to support India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) in India.

4. Karnataka: Government of India and the Asian Development Bank signed a $75 million loan here today to provide 24 x7 water supply in Karnataka’s four coastal towns of Kundapura, Mangalore Puttur and Udupi and improve sanitation infrastructure for Mangalore town.

5. Bihar: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed in New Delhi a $200 million loan on 26.11.20L8 to finance widening and upgrading of about 230 Kilometers State Highways in Bihar to all-weather standards with road safety features.

Government of India and the World Bank signed $310 million Loan Agreement for Jharkhand Power System The Government of India, the Government of

Jharkhand and the World Bank signed a $310 million Loan Agreement for Jharkhand Power System Improvement Project to provide reliable, quality, and affordable 24 x 7 electricity to the citizens of Jharkhand.

The Project is part of the Government of India’s Power for All program launched in 2014. The plan envisages addition of over 4.5 GW generation capacities by 2022 (including a significant share of 1.5 GW from solar energy), through a mix of Private and Public-sector investments.

The $310 Million Loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 5-year grace period, and a final maturity of 25 years.

NTPC, 3 other PSUs included in CPSE ETF The Finance Ministry has modified the CPSE

Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) and has included NTPC, SJVN, NLC and NBCC while GAIL, Engineers India Ltd. (EIL) and Container Corporation of India removed from the basket.

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CPSE ETF now has scripts of 11 State-owned companies as against 10 earlier.

The Ministry is planning to launch the follow-on public offer of CPSE Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) by the end November 2018 and is eyeing about Rs. 8,000 crore as sale proceeds.

The other seven blue-chip PSUs in the CPSE ETF are ONGC, Coal India, IOC, Oil India, PFC, REC and Bharat Electronics.

An ETF functions like a mutual fund scheme. The Ministry has already raised Rs. 11,500 crore

through three tranches of the CPSE ETF, and a fourth tranche is being planned by the end of this month.

Global Digital Content Market 2018: The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion

(DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, hosted a conference on Global Digital Content Market (GDCM)2018, on14th- 15thNovember 2018, in New Delhi.

The conference will feature sessions on music, film, broadcasting and publishing, as well as collective management, emerging models and the implications for the market and policy makers.

India has been chosen as a host nation for the conference by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) due to the strong creative industry in the country in films, music and media.

The focus for this year’s conference is the Asia Pacific region.

Credit Scheme for Cooperative Startups: Government of India announced the launch of a

scheme that aims to provide cheaper loans to startups in the cooperative sector and those having innovative projects costing upto Rs 3 crore.

The 'Cooperative Enterprise Support and Innovation Scheme' will be implemented by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) and will be linked to its Cooperative Startup and Innovation Fund (CSIF) that has an annual corpus of Rs 100 crore.

The new scheme aims to encourage newly formed cooperatives to take advantage of innovative ventures, especially by societies having new and innovative ideas.

Sunil Mehta panel forms 'Sashakt India AMC' for resolving large NPAs Sunil Mehta, the chairman of a banker’s panel

working on a faster resolution of stressed assets in public sector banks, said an Asset Management Company (AMC) for resolving large bad loans has been formed and will be called as Sashakt India Asset Management.

Suni Mehta is present the non-executive chairman of Punjab National Bank (PNB).

Under the project, the committee had to float an AMC and an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) to resolve Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) over Rs 5 billion.

According to Sunil Mehta panel there are about 200 bad loan accounts which owe more than Rs 5 billion each to banks at present, with a total exposure of about Rs 3.1 trillion.

Fitch Retains Rating for India at ‘BBB-’ Fitch Ratings on retained India’s sovereign rating at

‘BBB-’, the lowest investment grade rating, although maintaining its stable outlook.

Fitch forecasts growth to rebound to 7.3% in FY19 and 7.5% in FY20, as a temporary drag will fade from the withdrawal of large-denomination bank notes in November 2016 and the introduction of a GST in July 2017.

Mobile banking transactions more than treble in Sept According to the monthly data released by the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the number of transactions on mobile banking apps grew almost 3.5 times at 447 million in September, compared to 133 million in the year-ago period.

The value of such transactions also grew more than 2.4 times at Rs. 2.07 lakh crore, compared to Rs. 84,700 crore during the same month last year.

Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs), which include mobile wallets, paper vouchers and PPI cards, also grew moderately at more than 1.6 times in both volume and value terms at 357 million and Rs.17,700 crore, respectively, in September.

However, the major boost has come from the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), according to experts.




IndusInd Bank launches India’s first interactive credit card with buttons IndusInd Bank has announced the launch of

IndusInd Bank “Nexxt Credit Card”, which empowers customers with a choice of payment options such as EMI, Reward Points or Credit at the push of a button, on the card, at the Point of Sale (PoS).

The bank claims it to be the nation’s first interactive credit card with buttons.

According to the bank, this card provides customers with the flexibility of 3 payment options at a POS terminal — Credit, Converting Transactions into EMIs with 4 tenure options (6, 12, 18 & 24 months) or using accumulated Reward Points, by simply pushing a button on the card.

The card has been created in partnership with Dynamics Inc, which is headquartered in Pittsburgh USA, and designs and manufactures intelligent, battery powered payment cards.

Definition of kilogram changed after 130 years The world's standard definition of the kilogram, the

ampere, the Kelvin and the mole has been changed, after representatives from 60 countries voted to redefine the International System of Units (SI) for weight, current, temperature and amount of chemical substance.

The definition of the kilogram for more than 130 years, the International Prototype of the Kilogram (IPK), a cylinder of a platinum alloy stored at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) in France, will now be retired.

It will be replaced by the Planck constant -- the fundamental constant of quantum physics. While the stability of the IPK could only be confirmed by comparisons with identical copies, a difficult and potentially inaccurate process, the Planck constant is ready for use everywhere and always.

The decision, made at the General Conference on Weights and Measures in Versailles, France, which is organised by BIPM, means that all SI units will now be defined in terms of constants that describe the natural world.

The changes, which will come into force on May 20, 2019.

The new definitions impact four of the seven base units of the SI: the kilogram, ampere, Kelvin and mole; and all units derived from them, such as the volt, ohm and joule.

Although the size of these units will not change, the four redefined units will join the second, the metre and the candela to ensure that the set of SI base units will continue to be both stable and useful.

PM launches Ease of Doing Business Grand Challenge The objective of this challenge is to invite

innovative ideas based on Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Big Data Analytics, Blockchain and other cutting edge technology to reform Government processes.

The platform for the Grand Challenge is the Startup India Portal.

EIB, SBI to finance wind energy projects The European Investment Bank (EIB) and State

Bank of India have formally agreed to finance the renewable energy sector by providing new support for wind energy projects across India. This is being done by expanding an ongoing financing initiative to support onshore wind projects.

Under the agreement, promoters of onshore wind projects will be able to benefit from long-term low cost financing under a dedicated €600-million renewable energy financing programme already supporting large scale solar investment across India.

A new YES Bank renewable financing initiative was also approved.

J&K Bank made a Public Sector Unit Jammu and Kashmir bank has been brought under

the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) act, the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) guidelines and the State Legislature.

The State Administrative Council (SAC) under the chairmanship of Governor Satya Pal Malik approved the proposal for treating the J&K Bank Limited as a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU)

Established in 1938, the J&K Bank Ltd is the only state government promoted bank in the country, with the Jammu and Kashmir government currently holding 59.3 per cent of the shares.




Centre announces 5 per cent subsidy to boost rice exports

The non-basmati rice exports will get a 5 per cent subsidy under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) from November 26 till March 25, 2019.

The Centre’s latest move to subsidise the non-basmati rice shipments for the first time since exports were opened up in 2011 assumes significance as the country is headed for a record harvest of rice, pegged at 99.24 million tonnes by the Agriculture Ministry in its first advance estimates.

Also, the rice stocks in the Central pool as on November 1 stood at 16.25 mt, over 60 per cent higher than the buffer norms. “Paisa – Portal for Affordable Credit & Interest Subvention Access”, Launched Under Day-NULM A centralized electronic platform for processing

interest subvention on bank loans to beneficiaries under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) named “PAiSA – Portal for Affordable Credit and Interest Subvention Access”.

The web platform has been designed and developed by Allahabad Bank which is the Nodal bank.

All 35 states / UTs & all scheduled commercial banks, RRBs and Cooperative Banks are expected to be on board the PAiSA portal the year end.

Govt. to infuse Rs 42,000 cr in PSU banks by March; next tranche likely in December The government will infuse Rs 42,000 crore in the

state-owned banks by March-end and the next tranche would be released as early as next month.

The government earlier this year pumped Rs 11,336 crore in five PSBs -- Punjab National Bank (PNB), Allahabad Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank -- to improve their financial health.

State-owned banks will need less capital to meet their capital adequacy norms, as the Reserve Bank of India last week decided to defer the deadline for them to meet the global norms or Basel-III requirement by a year till March 2020.

The RBI Board last week, while deciding to retain the capital adequacy requirement for banks at 9 percent, agreed to extend the transition period for

implementing the last tranche of 0.625 percent under the Capital Conservation Buffer (CCB) by one year — up to March 31, 2020.

The government announced the Rs 2.11-lakh crore capital infusion programme in October last year. According to the plan, the PSBs were to get Rs 1.35 lakh crore through recapitalisation bonds, and the balance Rs 58,000 crore through the raising of capital from the market.

Out of the Rs 1.35 lakh crore, the government has already infused about Rs 82,000 crore through the bonds.

NPCC is now a Miniratna National Projects Construction Corporation Limited

(NPCC) has been conferred with the status of Miniratna: Category –I by the Government of India. The empowerment of Miniratna Status to NPCC will help the company in taking speedy decisions by enhancing the delegation of powers to the Board.

NPCC, a schedule ‘B’ CPSE under the administrative control of Ministry of Water Resources RD & GR, has also been awarded ISO 9001:2015 Certification.

The Corporation, incorporated in 1957, is a premier construction company having mandate with creation of infrastructure to provide impetus for economic development of the country.

Reserve Bank to inject Rs. 40,000 crore in Dec.

The RBI will pump in more liquidity in December by infusing Rs. 40,000 crore into the system through Open Market Operations (OMOs).

The Reserve Bank will give details about the auction dates for the OMOs in due course.

Indicative Amount: It has already infused Rs. 30,000 crore into the

system while the balance Rs. 10,000 crore will be pumped in through auction. RBI launches survey on Indian startup sector

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced a Survey on India’s Startup Sector (SISS), in order to create a profile of the startups and provide dimensions pertaining to their profitability and workforce.

The survey would also aim at talking about the problems being faced by the sector in the country.




RBI eases norms for NBFCs to securitise loan books The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) relaxed norms for

NBFCs to securitize their loan books, a move likely to ease the stress in the sector facing a crisis of confidence.

As per a notification of the RBI, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) have been permitted to securitize loans of over 5 year maturity after holding them for 6 months on their books.

Prescribed certain Minimum Retention Requirement (MRR) for NBFCs for availing the relaxed norms.

The relaxed dispensation will be applicable to securitisation/ assignment transactions carried out during a period of six months.

RBI makes LEI mandatory for market participants regulated by it The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to

make Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) code mandatory for all market participants regulated by the central bank.

All participants, other than individuals, undertaking transactions in the markets regulated by the RBI — government securities markets, money markets (markets for any instrument with a maturity of one year or less) and non-derivative forex markets (transactions that settle on or before the spot date) — shall obtain LEI codes by the due date.

The LEI code has been conceived of as a key measure to improve the quality and accuracy of financial data systems for better risk management post the global financial crisis.

The LEI is a 20-character unique identity code assigned to entities who are parties to a financial transaction. Globally, use of LEI has expanded beyond derivative reporting and it is being used in areas relating to banking, securities market, credit rating and market supervision.

The LEI system has been implemented in a phased manner for participants (other than individuals) in the over-the-counter markets for rupee interest rate derivatives, foreign currency derivatives and credit derivatives in India.

RBI moves to ease liquidity for non-banking finance firms Relaxes holding period for securitisation of loans to

6 months from 1 year In a move to make more liquidity available to non-

banking finance firms, the Reserve Bank of India has relaxed the securitisation norms by relaxing the minimum holding period requirement. The move follows a demand from the government for a special window for NBFCs, to provide them liquidity support.

RBI has decided to relax the Minimum Holding Period (MHP) requirement for originating NBFCs, as they are now allowed to securitize loans with maturity of more than five years after holding them for six months on their books, as compared to one year earlier.

The relaxation on the minimum holding period will be allowed when the NBFC retains 20% of the book value of these loans.

IIT-Madras develops India's first microprocessor 'Shakti' Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology-

Madras (IITM) have designed and booted up India's first microprocessor, Shakti, which could be used in mobile computing and other devices.

Shakti microprocessor can be used in low-power wireless systems and networking systems besides reducing reliance on imported microprocessors in communication and defence sectors.

The microprocessor can be used by others as it is on par with international standards, researchers said.

The Shakti family of processors was fabricated at Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL), Indian Space Research Organizations (ISRO) in Chandigarh, making it the first `RISC V Microprocessor` to be completely designed and made in India, IITM said.

The other crucial aspect of such an indigenous design, development and fabricating approach is reducing the risk of deploying systems that may be infected with back-doors and hardware Trojans.

RBI allows banks to provide partial guarantee to NBFC bonds The Reserve Bank permitted banks to provide

partial credit enhancement (PCE), or a partial guarantee, to bonds issued by systematically important NBFCs and Housing Finance Companies, a move that will enhance their liquidity position.




It has now been decided to allow banks to provide PCE to bonds issued by the systemically important non-deposit taking non-banking financial companies (NBFC-ND-SIs) registered with the Reserve Bank of India and Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) registered with National Housing Bank.

Proceeds from the bonds backed by PCE from banks should only be utilised for refinancing the existing debt of the NBFC-ND-SIs/HFCs.

Banks should introduce appropriate mechanisms to ensure that the end-use condition is met.

The exposure of a bank by way of PCEs to bonds issued by each such NBFC-ND-SI/HFC shall be restricted to one percent of capital funds of the bank within the extant single/group borrower exposure limits.

HSBC executes India's first overseas blockchain payment for Reliance Industries British bank HSBC has executed India's first

financial transaction using blockchain for a deal involving an export by Reliance Industries to an American client.

The blockchain-enabled letter of credit transaction was for a shipment from the Mukesh Ambani-led company to US-based Tricon Energy, and helped reduce the time required to process the documents.

The use of blockchain offers significant potential to reduce the timelines involved in exchange of export documentation from the extant seven-ten days to less than a day.

The blockchain platform was integrated with the electronic bill of lading (eBL) platform to issue and manage an electronic bill of lading, it said, adding this allows a digital transfer of the title of goods from the seller to the buyer in the underlying trade.

HSBC, along with five other banks globally supporting the 'Corda application', is seeking to expand the network on an open source basis to drive adoption across the industry.

6 Airports set to be Privatized The Union Cabinet gave an “in principle” approval

for operating, managing and developing six non-metro airports — Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru — under the Public Private Partnership (PPP).

‘Increase in revenues’ This will be done through the Public Private

Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC). Additionally, a committee headed by NITI Aayog

CEO with the Aviation Secretary, Economic Affairs Secretary and Expenditure Secretary as its members, has been set up to decide on any issue falling beyond the scope of the PPPAC.




2. INTERNATIONAL AND BILATERAL 50 countries vow to fight cybercrime - US, Russia and China don’t

Fifty nations and over 150 tech companies are pledging to do more to fight criminal activity on the internet, including interference in elections and hate speech. But the United States, Russia and China are not among them.

The group of governments and companies pledge in a signed document to work together to prevent malicious activities like online censorship and the theft of trade secrets.

The declaration released on 12 Nov 2018 is supported by EU countries, Japan and Canada as well as tech giants Facebook, Google and Microsoft, among others.

French President Emmanuel Macron had pushed for the initiative, whose unveiling comes a day after dozens of world leaders gathered in Paris on 11 Nov, 2018 for the centenary of the end of World War One. China to import raw sugar from India China has finally agreed to buy raw sugar from

India following months of negotiations and the export is expected to begin early next year.

A contract for exporting 15,000 tonnes of raw sugar has been entered to by the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) and COFCO, a Government of China’s run public sector company and 2 million tonne to China beginning next year.

ISMA has set a target of a total sugar export of 5 million tonne in 2018-19 sugar year (October-September).

Raw sugar is the second product after non-basmati rice that China has agreed to import from India this year following talks between officials from both sides.

India is world’s largest producer of sugar with 32 million tonne production in 2018 sugar year. It produces sugar of all three grades- raw, refined and white. Indian sugar is also of a high quality and is Dextran free because of the minimum time taken from cut to crush.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu in France from November 9 to 11

He attended the commemoration event of the centenary of the signing of the armistice ending World War I in Arc de Triomphe, Paris.

Two new memorials in France honour role of Indian soldiers in World War I inaugurated by Mr.Naidu. They are 1. Seven-foot bronze statue in Laventie 2. At Villers Guislain- The main motif of the War

Memorial here is the Indian national emblem that has four Ashoka lions. India contributed immensely to the war effort in

terms of both men and material. Her soldiers served with credit and honour in numerous battlefields around the globe: in France and Belgium, in Aden, Arabia, East Africa, Gallipoli, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Persia and Salonika.

As part of the Armistice Centenary, the French government hosted the Paris Peace Forum, in Paris from November 11 to 13. Global Future Councils 2018

World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils 2018 was held at Dubai, UAE.

The main theme- Globalisation 4.0 Samudra Shakti’ It is the bilateral military exercise between India

and Indonesia. Conducted on November 12-15, 2018 at –

Suryabaya, Indonesia. India’s INS Rana of the Eastern Fleet based at

Visakhapatnam under the Eastern Naval Command. INDO-Russian joint exercise INDRA 2018 The joint military exercise between India and

Russia exercise INDRA 2018 under the aegis of United Nations (UN) is being conducted at Babina Field Firing Ranges, Babina Military Station Uttar Pradesh.

It is the the10th exercise in the series. Palau to ban sunscreen products to protect reefs Palau is set to become the first country to impose a

widespread ban on sunscreen in an effort to protect its vulnerable coral reefs.




The government has signed a law that restricts the sale and use of sunscreen and skincare products that contain a list of ten different chemicals.

Researchers believe that these ingredients are highly toxic to marine life, and can make coral more susceptible to bleaching. The ban comes into force in 2020.

Palau's Capital: Ngerulmud; President: Tommy Remengesau

UN lifts nearly decade-old sanctions on Eritrea The UN Security Council unanimously voted on

Wednesday to lift 9-year-old sanctions against Eritrea that imposed travel bans, asset freezes and an arms embargo.

The East African country was hit with targeted sanctions in 2009 after being accused of having ties to Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia and refusing to withdraw from border disputes with Djibouti. Eritrea denied the accusations of involvement with Al-Shabaab.

33rd ASEAN Summit & 13th EAS Summit

Singapore hosted the 33rd Association of Southeast

Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and other related summits like Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), East Asia Summit (EAS) and Fintech Festival at Suntec Singapore Convention Centre from Sunday Nov 11 to Nov 15 2018.

The summits will be chaired by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

This year is Theme ‘Resilient and innovative Asean’.

Highlights: Over 400 companies from over 100 countries took

part as exhibitors in the summit. The ASEAN leaders adopted the ASEAN Smart

Cities Framework and took stock of ASEAN’s achievements in 2018 in strengthening ASEAN’s resilience and innovation.

For the past two years the South China Sea has become a site of contention between China and the US. ASEAN announced that China is expecting the Code of Conduct consultation in the disputed South China Sea to be finished in relation to USA.

Trade was also discussed individually on the side-lines with other key partners such as South Korea, Japan, and India, all eyes were on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations

Singapore PM Lee handed over the ASEAN Chairmanship to Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

About ASEAN ASEAN, was established in 1967 with the signing

of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration). The ASEAN members are Indonesia, Thailand,

Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei, and Laos.

13th East Asia Summit Prime Minister Narendra Modi also attended the

13th East Asia Summit (EAS). Leaders of 18 countries discussed the ways to deepen the links and combat the common challenges.

The Prime Minister called for enhancing multilateral cooperation and economic and cultural ties among member-nations.

He reiterated India’s vision of a peaceful, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, strengthening maritime cooperation and commitment to a balanced Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) pact.

It was PM Modi’s 5th East Asia Summit (EAS). India has been participating in the EAS since its inception in 2005.

The EAS consists of 10 ASEAN nations (Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei and Laos), Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States.




7thRegional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit 2018 The RCEP is a mega-regional free trade agreement

which aims to cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual property rights.

It is being negotiated amongst 16 countries, comprising 10 ASEAN countries plus six ASEAN FTA partners- India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.

RCEP negotiations seek regional economic integration, leading to the creation of the largest regional trading block.

RCEP will account for 25% of global GDP, 30% of global trade and 26% of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows and 45% of the global population.

Prime Minister Modi highlighted the need for an early conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement through multilateral and bilateral talks among the member countries.

3rd Quad Meeting It is the grouping of four democracies –India,

Australia, the US, and Japan. Connectivity, counter-terrorism, and cyber security

was the focus of the conversation at the third meeting of the ‘Quad’ countries

ASEAN-India Breakfast Summit The Prime Minister held interaction with ASEAN

leaders at the ASEAN-India Informal Breakfast Summit. During the Summit, all the leaders reaffirmed cooperation in maritime domain and centrality of trade and investment towards prosperity of Indo-Pacific region. Morocco unveils Africa's first ever high speed train line French President Emmanuel Macron and Morocco's

King Mohammed VI have inaugurated Morocco's first high-speed rail line, the first ever such line in Africa.

Known as the LGV, it will connect the economic hubs of Tangier and Casablanca in 2 hours 10 minutes at a speed of up to 320 kph (199 mph) instead of almost 5 hours on a regular train.

The $2 billion project was launched in September 2011 by the king and Nicolas Sarkozy, then president of France.

France financed 51 percent of the project, Morocco 28 percent and the remaining 21 percent was provided by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

Tajikistan launches giant dam to end power shortage Tajikistan on inaugurated a USD 3.9 billion

Rogunhydro-electric power plant, a mega project that will enable the impoverished country to eliminate domestic energy shortages and export electricity to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Built on the Vakhsh River in southern Tajikistan, the plant championed by President Emomali Rakhmon is expected to reach a height of 335 metres (1,099 feet) in a decade, becoming the world's tallest hydro-electric dam.

Its expected capacity after completion is capacity of 3,600 megawatts.

India, Russia seal USD 500 mn deal for construction of 2 warships for Indian Navy India and Russia sealed a USD 500 million deal for

construction of two missile frigates in Goa for the Indian Navy.

The agreement is for manufacturing of the two Talvar-class warships was signed between defence PSU Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) and Russia's state-run defence major Rosoboronexport under the government-to-government framework for defence cooperation.

Under the deal, Russia will provide design, technology know how and key materials to GSL for construction of the ships in India. The ships will be fitted with most advanced missiles and other weapon systems, they said.

Construction of the ships will begin in 2020 and the first one will be ready for induction in 2026 while second one will be ready by 2027.

The two sides already finalized another deal amounting to around USD 1 billion under which Russia will supply two frigates to India by 2023.

India, Australia ink five pacts Ram Nath Kovind is the first-ever Indian head of

state to visit Australia. India and Australia signed five agreements to boost

investments and enhance cooperation in key sectors like disability, agricultural research and education.




1. Cooperation in the area of disability and to deliver services to the differently-abled.

2. Between Invest India and Austrade to facilitate bilateral investment.

3. Between the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute, Ranchi, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organisation, Canberra, to foster scientific collaboration and innovation.

4. Between the Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Guntur, and the University of Western Australia, Perth, for cooperation in agricultural research and education

5. Between the Indraprashta Institute of Information Technology, New Delhi, and the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane for a joint Ph.D agreement.

Cabinet approves MoU with Mauritius on Consumer Protection and Legal Metrology The Union Cabinet has approved MoU between

India and Mauritius on Consumer Protection and Legal Metrology

It will further promote inclusive sustainable and resilient development in the areas of Consumer Protection & Legal Metrology to deal with new challenges such as misleading advertisement, telemarketing, multi-level marketing, e-commerce etc.

Cabinet approves MoU between India and Tajikistan on Cooperation on Youth Matters The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto

approval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Tajikistan on Cooperation on Youth Matters.

The MoU shall remain valid for a period of five (5) years. The areas of cooperation on Youth matters include exchanges of youth, representatives of youth organizations, and Government officials in-charge of youth policy-making, extension of invitations to international conferences and seminars on youth matters held in the two countries, exchanges of printed materials, films, experiences, research and other information on youth matters, participation in youth camps, youth festivals and other youth events held in the two countries.

Mohammed VI- B Satellite Successfully Put into Orbit Morocco’s second high-resolution Earth-

observation satellite was successfully launched on November 21 by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Centre, in French Guiana (South America).

The Mohammed VI – B Satellite was successfully placed in sun-synchronous orbit by lightweight launcher Vega.

The Mohammed VI-B satellite was developed by a consortium comprising Thales Alenia Space and Airbus. It joins the MOHAMMED VI – A satellite, which was orbited by Arianespace on November 7, 2017.

India, Zimbabwe ink 6 agreements India and Zimbabwe signed six signed agreements,

including on mining, Information and communications technology (ICT), visa waiver and traditional medicine as Vice President Venkaiah Naidu met Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his deputy Kembo Mohadi and held wide-ranging talks.

Agreements are as follows: MoUs were signed between the two countries on

cooperation in the field of arts, culture and heritage; traditional systems of medicine and homeopathy.

India also accepted Zimbabwe’s request to supply 10 ambulances to the African nation. India will also give life-saving drugs to Zimbabwe.

The Prasar Bharati and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation signed an MoU on cooperation and collaboration in broadcasting.

The two sides also signed an MoU in “geology, mining and mineral resources.

An agreement was signed between India and Zimbabwe on the reciprocal exemption of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic passports.

The two countries also signed an action plan for cooperation in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

First India-Nepal passenger train on broad gauge to make first run in December The first passenger train to run on broad gauge

between India and Nepal is likely to run from December 2018.




The train will run from Jayanagar in Bihar to Kurtha in Dhanusa district in Janakpur Zone of south-eastern Nepal, which is a 34 km stretch.

An immigration check-post is likely to be established at Jayanagar station manned by either No visa will be required for Indian and Nepalese nationals crossing the border through this stretch.

India, Malawi ink MoUs on extradition,

atomic energy, visas India and Malawi signed three MoUs on

extradition, cooperation in atomic energy and visa waiver for diplomats and officials during Vice President Vekaiah Naidu’s visit. 1. An MoU on cooperation in the field of atomic

energy for peaceful purposes was signed between the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership and Malawi's Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining.

2. The two sides also signed an MoU for an extradition treaty between the two countries and

3. A visa waiver agreement for diplomatic and official passport holders.

The Vice President also conveyed our agreement to extend the new line of credit of $215.16 million for 18 water projects in Malawi.

India will also construct a Mahatma Gandhi Convention Centre in Malawi.

It will also gift a cancer treatment machine to the Kamuzu Central Hospital in Malawi.

India has agreed to allow import of mangoes from Malawi, Tirumurti said, adding that the country will also set up a pan-African training institute in agriculture under grant assistance in the landlocked nation.

Malawi has also ratified the framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance.




3. NATIONAL

India’s first multi-modal terminal on inland waterways inaugurated in Varanasi

India’s first inland voyage by a container ship since

it gained independence from Britain 70 years ago ended when the vessel docked in the holy city of Varanasi on 12 Nov 2018, a development officials hope will help shift cargo from the country’s congested road and rail networks. The 1,390 kilometers (863 miles) Ganga

watercourse is one of the 111 waterways spanning 20,276 kilometers that India is reviving or planning to build. The World Bank-assisted Ganga waterways project — costing Rs 5,370 crore ($738 million) — will enable the commercial navigation of vessels and is set to be completed by 2023.

Transforming country’s waterways could be a game changer for India as it will reduce the cost of transportation — 50% less than highways — as well as easing congestion on roads. The move is designed to encourage companies such as NTPC Ltd., India’s biggest power producer, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., the nation’s No. 1 carmaker, Fertilizer Corp. of India Ltd. and Tata Chemicals Ltd. to use waterways to move cargo from cement to cars.

The vessel that sailed from eastern city of Kolkata on 30 October was carrying food and snacks of Pepsi Co Inc. in 16 containers, which is the equivalent of 16 truckloads. The Inland Waterways Authority of India vessel will make its return journey with fertilizers from Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Ltd.

Govt. of India also has plans to integrate coastal and inland waterways and has unveiled a $34 billion plan that aims to develop ports along India’s 7,500-kilometer coastline.

The share of goods transported via India’s inland waterways is less than one percent, compared with 42% in the Netherlands, 8.7% in China and more than 8% in the US.

Padur Strategic Petroleum Reserves, Karnataka The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri

Narendra Modi has approved the filling of Padur Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) at Padur, Karnataka by overseas National Oil Companies (NOCs).

The SPR facility at Padur is an underground rock cavern with a total capacity of 2.5 million metric tonnes (MMT) having four compartments of 0.625 MMT each.

The filling of the SPR under PPP (Public Private Partnership) model is being undertaken to reduce budgetary support of Government of India.

Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL)signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abu Dhabi with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) to explore the possibility of storing ADNOC crude oil at ISPRL’s underground oil storage facility at Padur in Karnataka, which has a 2.5 million tonne capacity. Under the MoU, ADNOC is expected to store crude in compartments at Padur.

Faizabad as Ayodhya, Allahabad as Prayagraj

The Uttar Pradesh government Tuesday approved renaming of Faizabad and Allahabad divisions as Ayodhya and Prayagraj respectively.

Prayagraj division will comprise Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Fatehpur and Pratapgarh districts, while Ayodhya division will include Ayodhya, Ambedkarnagar, Sultanpur, Amethi and Barabanki districts. NITI Aayog Constitutes Himalayan State Regional Council

NITI Aayog has constituted the ‘Himalayan State Regional Council’ to ensure sustainable development of the Indian Himalayan region. The Council has been constituted to review and implement identified action




points based on the Reports of five Working Groups, which were established along thematic areas to prepare a roadmap for action.

The Himalayan State Regional Council will be chaired by the Dr VK Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog. Aadi Mahotsav “Aadi Mahotsav” a National Tribal Festival is being

organized in New Delhi by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED to celebrate, cherish and promote the spirit of tribal craft, culture, cuisine and commerce.

The Mahotsav will comprise of display and sale of items of tribal art and craft, tribal medicine & healers, tribal cuisine and display of tribal folk performance, in which tribal artisans, chefs, folk dancers/musicians from 23 States of the country shall participate and provide glimpse of their rich traditional culture.

Theme of the festival is: “A Celebration of the Spirit of Tribal Culture, Craft, Cuisine and Commerce”.

FSSAI sets up ‘Eat Right’ awards After launching the Eat Right Movement earlier this

year, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has instituted the Eat Right awards to recognise outstanding contribution of individuals and institutions to this initiative.

As part of the Eat Right India Movement, key food companies have pledged to demonstrate their support and commitment by making healthier food options, reformulating existing food products and providing better nutritional information to consumers.

A special Eat Right award has also been instituted for food related start-ups to reward innovation and promote entrepreneurship in the area of food safety and applied nutrition. A jury of eminent professionals and experts in the food sector will select the winners.

Pawan Agarwal is the CEO, FSSAI. 1,023 fast track courts to be set up under Nirbhaya fund The Union Ministry of Women and Child

Development has decided to use Nirbhaya Fund to set up 1,023 fast track courts to dispose off pending cases of rape of children and women.

The project has a total financial implication of Rs 767.25 crore. In the first phase, 777 FTSCs may be set up in nine states, and in the second phase, 246 FTSCs will be set up.

Mandatory Packaging in Jute Materials The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs,

chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to expand the scope of mandatory packaging norms under the Jute Packaging Material (JPM) Act, 1987 as follows:

The CCEA approved that 100% of the food grains and 20% of the sugar shall be mandatorily packed in diversified jute bags. The decision to pack sugar in diversified jute bags will give an impetus to the diversification of the jute industry.

Govt. allows non-transport usage of quadricycles The government has allowed non-transport usage of

quadricycles with a view to providing a safe and cheap mode for the last mile connectivity.

A quadricycle is a vehicle which is of the size of a three wheeler but with four tyres and fully covered like a car but its maximum speed limit and engine capacity are lower than that of a small car.

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has notified the insertion of the item Quadricycle as a non-transport vehicle under the Motor Vehicles Act 1988.

Quadricycles were only allowed for transport usage under the Act, but now has been made usable for non-transport also.

First Ramayana Express flagged off, The ‘Ramayana circuit’, covering locations

associated with the Hindu epic, is turning into a new mode of revenue for the Indian Railways.

The first Ramanya Express was flagged off from Delhi’s Safdarjung railway station on November 14.

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will run the train, which will cover Ayodhya, the birthplace of Ram, according to the Ramayana. They will also go to other locations mentioned in the epic, such as Hanuman Garhi, Ramkot and the Kanak Bhawan temple.




The trains will make stops at Nandigram, Sitamarhi, Janakpur, Varanasi, Prayag, Shringaverpur, Chitrakoot, Nasik, Hampi and Rameshwaram, or at the railway stations nearest to these locations.

The trains will have sleeper class coaches for 800 passengers.

Those interested in a separate Sri Lanka-leg of the circuit can opt to travel by air to Colombo from Chennai.

GSI made sole custodian, curator of meteorites in country The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has been

made the sole custodian and curator of all meteorites within the Indian boundary.

Its Director General Dr Dinesh Gupta. Geo-scientists of GSI are actively involved in

research activities on meteorite along with renowned institutions such as the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) Ahmedabad, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMDER) New Delhi etc.

‘HAUSLA-2018’ The National Festival for Children of Child Care

Institutions (CCIs)- “Hausla 2018” of the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) was inaugurated.

The inter-Child Care Institution festival is witnessing participation of more than 600 Children drawn from CCIs from 18 states in the various events like painting competition, athletics meet, football, chess competition and speech writing as part of the Festival.

No homework for students of classes I&II, HRD ministry tells schools No homework for students of classes I and II and

prescribed weight limit of school bags for each class are part of the fresh directives issued by the HRD ministry to states and union territories across the country.

Schools should not prescribe any other subjects except language and mathematics for classes I and II, and language, EVS and mathematics for classes III to V students as prescribed by the NCERT.

Students should not be asked to bring additional books, extra materials and the weight of a school bag should not exceed the prescribed limit, the order added.

The weight of school bags for students of classes I and II should not exceed 1.5 kg, while the school bag of students of class III to V should weigh between 2 kg to 3 kg.

The school bag of students of classes VI and VII should not be more than 4 kg, while weight of school bags of classes VIII and IX students should not be above 4.5 kg. The school bag of a class X student should not weigh above 5 kg.

Akhilesh Ranjan to head direct tax law task force The government appointed the Central Board of

Direct Taxes (CBDT) member Akhilesh Ranjan as convener of New Direct Tax Law Task Force that is drafting a new tax law, an official statement said.

He will replace Arbind Modi who retired in September this year.

The Task Force will submit its report to the government by February 28, 2019.

SC allows those above 25 to take NEET this year The Supreme Court allowed candidates aged 25

years and above to apply and appear in the NEET-UG 2019 examination.

The court directed the National Testing Agency (NTA), set up to conduct the NEET exams, to keep its portal open for a week to enable candidates to apply for the exam. The court further impleaded NTA as a party in the case, asking it to file its response in four weeks and posted the case for January.

The medical aspirants led by Jalaludheen T. had approached the Supreme Court against a Medical Council of India norm laying down upper age limits for applying for NEET for MBBS and BDS courses.

The group of aspirants have challenged the Delhi High Court’s May 11 judgement dismissing the pleas challenging the MCI notification of January 22, laying down the upper age limit of 25 years and 30 years for general and reserved categories, respectively.




The students have argued that the limitation of 25 years was “completely arbitrary”.

They said lifting the upper age limits' criterion would usher in more competitiveness, talent and would be ultimately for the betterment of the medical professions. They said the country needed more doctors.

However, the High Court had earlier struck down a clause in the January 22 notification, which barred candidates who have studied in open school or students who have had Biology or Biotechnology as an additional subject or those who had taken more than two years to complete their 11th and 12th or those who had studied privately from appearing in NEET.

UGC changes norms for `assistant professor’ direct recruitment Doctoral degree holders from the top 500 foreign

universities are now eligible for direct recruitment as an assistant professor in Indian varsities.

As per the new recruitment norms, the top 500 ranking of the university shall be referred from four famous world university ranking systems -- Quacquarelli Symonds , Times Higher Education rankings and the Academic Ranking of World Universities of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

The direct recruitment eligibility of international PhD holders is applicable for the disciplines of Arts, Commerce, Humanities, Education, Law, Social Sciences, Sciences, Languages, Library Science, Physical Education and Journalism and Mass Communication. This will help students learn from global talent in India itself.

Earlier, the candidates eligible for the post were required to have minimum 55 per cent marks in the Master’s degree in concerned subject from an Indian University or an equivalent degree from an accredited foreign university.

#MeToo: GoM may review law WCD ministry has suggested changes The Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted to

examine sexual harassment at the workplace may consider amending the law against sexual harassment at workplaces.

The GoM headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to meet soon.

The WCD ministry has shared with the Home ministry a meeting agenda, which includes changes to the Sexual Harassment of Women and Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

The guiding principles for making the amendments would be the Vishaka guidelines.

The GoM includes Minister for Road Transport and Shipping Nitin Gadkari, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and WCD Minister Maneka Gandhi.

Vishaka Guidelines The Vishaka Guidelines laid down by the Supreme

Court in 1997 lays the onus on the employer to prevent or deter acts of sexual harassment, apart from “providing resolution, settlement or prosecution of acts of sexual harassment.”

The Act lays down the duties of an employer: ensuring a safe working place, displaying penal consequences of sexual harassment, creating awareness, as well as facilitating an internal probe. The employer is liable to pay a fine of Rs. 50,000 if he fails to comply with the inquiry report submitted by an internal complaints committee or doesn’t report the number of cases in the annual report.

The Justice J. S. Verma panel had recommended an employment tribunal instead of an internal committee to probe complaints.

President gives assent to promulgation of the Companies Amendment (Ordinance), 2018 1. The recommendation of the Union Cabinet for

promulgation of the Companies Amendment (Ordinance), 2018 has been assented to by the President of India. The Ordinance, which has been promulgated today is based on the recommendations of the Committee appointed by the Government to review offences under the Companies Act, 2013.

2. The twin objectives of the Ordinance are promotion of Ease of Doing Business along with better corporate compliance. The main amendments are as under; 1. Shifting of jurisdiction of 16 types of corporate

offences from the special courts to in-house adjudication, which is expected to reduce the




case load of Special Courts by over 60%, thereby enabling them to concentrate on serious corporate offences. With this amendment the scope of in-house adjudication has gone up from 18 Sections at present to 34 Sections of the Act.

2. The penalty for small companies and one person companies has been reduced to half of that applicable to normal companies.

3. Instituting a transparent and technology driven in-house adjudication mechanism on an online platform and publication of the orders on the website.

4. Strengthening in-house adjudication mechanism by necessitating a concomitant order for making good the default at the time of levying penalty, to achieve the ultimate aim of achieving better compliance.

5. Declogging the NCLT by: enlarging the pecuniary jurisdiction of

Regional Director by enhancing the limit up to Rs. 25 Lakh as against earlier limit of Rs. 5Lakhunder Section 441 of the Act;

vesting in the Central Government the power to approve the alteration in the financial year of a company under section 2(41); and

vesting the Central Government the power to approve cases of conversion of public companies into private companies.

6. Recommendations related to corporate compliance and corporate governance include re-introduction of declaration of commencement of business provision to better tackle the menace of ‘shell companies’; greater disclosures with respect to public deposits; greater accountability with respect to filing documents related to creation, modification and satisfaction of charges; non-maintenance of registered office to trigger de-registration process; and holding of directorships beyond permissible limits to trigger disqualification of such directors.

Atal Pension Yojana subscription crosses 1.24 crore The government-guaranteed pension scheme

administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) allows any

Indian citizen between 18 to 40 years to join through the bank or post office branches where one has the savings bank account.

Number of subscribers to Atal Pension Yojana (APY), targeted at the unorganized sector, has crossed 1.24 crore mark with 27 lakh new subscribers joining in the current financial year.

States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka are the top contributors in the APY enrollment, which was launched in May 2015.

As of October 27, 2018, the number of APY subscribers from Uttar Pradesh stood at 17.90 lakh, Bihar 11.16 lakh, undivided Andhra Pradesh 11.28 lakh, Maharashtra 10 lakh and Karnataka 9.15 lakh.

While 3 per cent of the total eligible population of the country has been covered under the scheme, the coverage stood at 5 per cent for Goa and Puducherry, and 4 per cent for Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Karnataka.

Ministry of Food Processing Industries issues guidelines for OPERATION GREENS

Operation Greens was announced in the Budget speech of 2018-19 with an outlay of Rs 500 crores to stabilize the supply of Tomato, Onion and Potato(TOP) crops and to ensure availability of TOP crops throughout the country round the year without price volatility.

The strategy will comprise of a series of measures as decided by the Ministry which include: (I) Short term Price Stabilization Measures

NAFED will be the Nodal Agency to implement price stabilisation measures. MoFPI will provide 50% of the subsidy on the following two components:

(i) Transportation of Tomato Onion Potato(TOP) Crops from production to storage;

(ii) Hiring of appropriate storage facilities for TOP Crops;

(II) Long Term Integrated value chain development projects

Capacity Building of FPOs & their consortium Quality production Post-harvest processing facilities Agri-Logistics Marketing / Consumption Points Creation and Management of e-platform for

demand and supply management of TOP Crops.




The pattern of assistance will comprise of grants-in-aid at the rate of 50% of the eligible project cost in all areas, subject to maximum Rs. 50 crores per project. However, in case where PIA is/are FPO(s), the grant-in-aid will be at the rate of 70% of the eligible project cost in all areas, subject to maximum Rs. 50 crores per project.

Eligible Organisation would include State Agriculture and other Marketing Federations, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO), cooperatives, companies, Self-help groups, food processors, logistic operators, service providers, supply chain operators, retail and wholesale chains and central and state governments and their entities/organizations will be eligible to participate in the programme and to avail financial assistance. INS Arihant: India’s first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine completes Nuclear Triad The indigenous INS Arihant India’s first nuclear-

powered submarine successfully completed its first deterrence patrol.

The ship submersible ballistic, nuclear (SSBN) submarine is part of Indian Navy’s India’s Eastern Naval Command.

The name Arihant derives from two words – Ari meaning enemy and Hanth meaning destroy. The second SSBN under the project, INS Aridhaman, is undergoing sea trials.

The vessel has been designed by the Indian Navy’s Submarine Design Bureau and developed by the Indian Navy, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Now India has joined a select group of countries (US, Russia, China, France and the UK) which builds and operates Ship Submersible Ballistic Nuclear (SSBN).

At present, the only nuclear powered platform in service with the Indian Navy is the INS Chakra, an Akula class SSN on lease from Russia.

What is INS Arihant? INS Arihant is India’s first nuclear-powered

submarine. The ship is submersible ballistic, nuclear (SSBN) submarine It has been built at the naval dockyard in Visakhapatnam, with assistance of Russian designers assisted in building the vessel.

It was earlier known as advanced technology vessel (ATV). It has been under development since 1998. Construction of five more nuclear-powered submarines is also being planned.

Tata Power, a division of Tata Group and Larsen & Toubro (L&T), a technology, engineering, construction and manufacturing company are part of this project.

Currently, the Navy has 16 diesel-electric submarines leased from Russia and Germany. 3 D modelling technology has been used. In 2009 INS Arihant was launched for sea trials. It can carry all types of missiles including underwater missiles.




4. STATES Central Tribal University in Andhra Pradesh The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister

Shri Narendra Modi has approved setting up of a Central Tribal University in Andhra Pradesh.

The "Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh" will be set up in Relli village of Vizianagaram District as provided under the Thirteenth Schedule to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014 (No. 6 of 2014).

Cabinet has also approved the provision of funds of Rs. 420 crore for the first phase expenditure towards establishment of the Central Tribal University.

Goa Bans Import of Fish for 6 Months The Goa government announced a ban on import of

fish into the state for six months. The move comes against the backdrop of a scare in

the coastal state that FORMALIN , a potential cancer-causing chemical, was being used to preserved fish. NE first ‘Water Handloom Hut’ inaugurated

The first ever “Water Handloom Hut” in the North East region was inaugurated at Loktak Lake, the largest fresh water lake in the region, Bishnupur district.

They are built on built on phumdis (floating biomass) at Loktak Lake at the cost of Rs 75,000 each.

They were constructed with the objective of improving the socio-economic conditions of the weavers residing in the phumdis at Loktak Lake. Northeast Youth Festival in Tripura Tripura hosted the 6th Northeast Youth Festival

from November 15, in which over 1,200 participants from the eight NE states attended.

Various sports events and cultural programmes such as folk music, folk dance, rock music, martial arts, adventure sports, handicrafts shows, yoga, boat race were be held at the 3-day festival.

The previous edition of the festival was hosted by Sikkim in 2017.

India International Cherry Blossom festival 4 day India International Cherry Blossom festival,

a tourism festival that highlights the pink cherry flowers blooming all over the city in early November was celebrated in Meghalaya.

Similar festival is also held in Japan but it is celebrated in the spring when the cherry trees bloom.

NIPUN Portal Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik

launched e-learning portal NIPUN and training division website.

Through the website, Delhi Police will be using advanced technology in imparting in-service training to its personnel.

The e-learning portal aims to give online training and information through specialised courses designed by experts in the field.

JICA to fund Bengal power project Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

will extend a Rs. 5,000-crore loan to a 1,000 MW pumped storage project in West Bengal.

The West Bengal Cabinet has approved a Rs. 6,922-crore cost for the power project.

The project (250MW x4) is coming up in the Ayodhya Hills in the State’s Purulia district.

Maharashtra’s 2nd Mega Food Park Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Smt

Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated the second Mega Food Park in Maharashtra.

Promoted by M/s Paithan Mega Food Park Pvt Ltd, the Park is located in Wahegaon and Dhangaon village in Paithan Taluka of Aurangabad district.

The Paithan Mega Food Park Park has been set up in 102 acre of land at a cost of Rs. 124.52 crore.

A 3rd Mega Food Park has been sanctioned by the Ministry in Maharashtra and is under implementation in Wardha District while the first Park was inaugurated on 1st of March 2018 in Satara district.

Govt. sets up tribunal to decide on ban on 2 Tripura militant groups

The Centre has set up a tribunal, headed by Delhi High Court Judge Justice Suresh Kait, for adjudicating whether or not two Tripura-based militant outfits should be declared banned organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act




The two organizations are; 1. National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and 2. All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF). Kerala Govt. launches Gau Samridhi scheme for dairy farmers Kerala govt. launched the 'Cow Samridhi Plus

Scheme' to provide insurance coverage to dairy farmers in the state.

The government subsidized scheme, as proposed, will give insurance coverage to dairy farmers at low premium rates. Moreover, farmers belonging to the general category will be getting 50% subsidy on premiums while those belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) category would get 70% subsidy on the premium.

Apart from the Gau Samridhi Plus Scheme, the Kerala government in collaboration with the Central government has decided to set a regional autism and research centre at the National Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (NIPMR) in Thrissur.

India's First Elephant Hospital Opens In Mathura India's first specialized hospital for elephants was

formally opened by Agra Divisional Commissioner Anil Kumar at Farah block's Churmura village.

The unique medical centre offers wireless digital X-ray, laser treatment, dental X-ray, thermal imaging, ultrasonography, hydrotherapy and quarantine facilities.

Odisha govt announces new Biotechnology Policy Odisha government announced a new

Biotechnology Policy 2018 to attract investments in the sector at the concluding day of the Make in Odisha Conclave here.

The development of the biotech sector in Odisha will be based on three key pillars - innovation, entrepreneurship and investment.

As per the policy, all biotechnology units shall be allotted land at a concessional rate as per the Industrial Policy Resolution of the state government.

An additional subsidy of 25 per cent shall be available to reputed anchor tenants.

Stating that the bio-technology policy 2018 provides attractive incentives for the stake holders to invest in Odisha, Patra said: "We assure investors full support of the state government for the whole life cycle of the project by collaborative efforts between Government of Odisha and private stake holders.

Ape fossil 11 million years old unearthed in Gujarat Gujarat paleontologists have unearthed a fossilized

upper jaw (maxilla) belonged to an adult ape (hominoid family), belonging to the genus Sivapithecus and lived about 11-10.8 million years ago (Miocene).

The oldest found remains of these apes are dated at about 12.7 million years in Indo-Pakistan and the youngest at about 8.6 million years.

Further studies showed that the fossil find was highly significant: it is the oldest and the only known ape fossil discovered in peninsular India.

Tripura hosted 7th International Tourism Mart Tripura hosted a 3-day tourism fair from November

22 to promote the tourism industry in the northeastern states of the country.

The 3-day long International Tourism Mart' has an objective to promote tourism in the northeastern states. We are hosting the event with funding from the Ministry of Tourism," state Tourism Minister Pranajit Singha Roy told a press conference here.

Tripura will be hosting it for the first time this year. The estimated budget of the fair this year is Rs 2.6 crore.

Himachal to set up 'Gau Sewa Aayog' The Himachal Pradesh government decided to set

up a "Gau Sewa Aayog" for preservation, protection and welfare of cows in the state.

The Aayog will regulate institutions like cow sheds and shelters, besides the 'gau vigyan kendras' and the community animal-rearing centers and Aayog would also cater to the problem of abandoned cows.

Andhra Pradesh launches ‘Bhudaar’ portal to make land records accessible to people Andhra Pradesh launched a web portal which

makes land records available to people with unique identification numbers just like Aadhar number.




The “Bhudaar’’ is an 11-digit unique identification code assigned to each agriculture land holding and rural and urban properties in the state.

J&K Assembly dissolved after rival alliances stake claim to form govt. Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik

dissolved the State Assembly rival alliances led by PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and People’s Conference leader Sajjad Lone staked claim to form the government.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik said of a stable new government in the state was an "impossibility" as parties with opposing political ideologies "including some which have been demanding the dissolution of the Assembly" were coming together.

Baliyatra Festival of Oisha The festival, associated with the maritime glory of

ancient Kalinga, is basically a trade and cultural fare that attracts revellers not only from state but from outside also.

The day also being auspicious Kartika Purnima, more than a lakh people visited both the fare grounds and were seen relishing their favourite food stuffs from the vendors and food stalls lined up for the occasion.

People in large numbers floated miniature boats in water bodies at different Ghats of rivers Mahanadi and Kathajodi as a mark of respect to the ancient sadhavs (mariners), who established trade and cultural links through sea routes with different archipelagos of the Indian Ocean.

3-day Jangalmahal Festival Showcasing the culture and tradition of the people

of 'Jangalmahal', the adjoining forested area of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia districts, a three-day-long cultural extravaganza began in Kolkata.

Chhau dancers from Purulia took part in the inaugural procession of the Jangalmahal Festival, organised by a cultural organisation.

Tribal dances and songs like Jhumur, Tusu, Bhadu and Chhau were staged at the 'Mohor Kunj' grounds while stalls were set up selling and displaying traditional delicacies, musical instruments and handicrafts made by the indigenous communities of the belt.

'Jhiri Mela' of J &K Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik

inaugurated a 7-day long 'Jhiri Mela' at village Jhiri in Jammu district.

The annual fair is commemorated in the memory of the martyrdom of 'Baba Jittoo', a farmer who gave up his life about 500 years ago in protest against the oppressive demands of a land lord.

Governor welcomed the devotees who have thronged the shrine of Baba Jitto and his daughter 'Bua Kodi'.

Lord Buddha's 70-Feet Statue in Bihar's Rajgir Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar unveiled a 70-

feet tall statue of Lord Buddha at Rajgir in Nalanda district, the second tallest statue of Buddha in the country, in the presence of Mahabodhi temple's chief monk Bhante Chalinda.

The statue has been installed above a 16 metre radius pedestal in the middle of the lake Ghora Katora and has been made from 45,000 cubic foot pink sand stone

Odisha launches public bicycle sharing project & app Odisha govt. launched a public bicycle sharing

project and a mobile app ahead of the Men's Hockey World Cup tournament.

The bicycle sharing project and the mobile app is named 'Mo Cycle'.

The Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) in association with Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL), has brought in the Mo Cycle system, to reduce traffic congestion, enhance space efficiency, and improve air quality in the city, an official said.

About 2000 MO CYCLES will be operated by three leading vendors, Hero-Hexi, Yaana, and Yulu, at about 400 plus Mo Cycle stations around the city.

Riders can take the Mo Cycle from any location, and drop off at any destination of their choice.

Nagaland launches Tourist Police in the state Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio 1launched Nagaland

Tourist Police which will work for the safety and security of the tourist and report any crime against them to the nearest police station.




Rio also flagged off the Tourist Police vehicles and inaugurated the Integrated Police Control Room for tourist while also releasing booklet comprising important contacts along with important tourist spots, details of all homestay and hotels.

The Tourist Police will be deployed in Railway Station Dimapur/ Airport, Chumukedima Check Gate and 12 sectors in Kohima.

The objective of the Nagaland Tourist Police is to ensure safety and security of tourists, to provide required information and guidelines to tourists, to facilitate their seamless movement within the state, to avoid harassment to the tourists by touts and to contain crime like pick-pocketing, eve-teasing, molestation and drugging.

Himachal Pradesh first state to launch single emergency number '112' Himachal Pradesh became the first state to launch a

pan-India single emergency number '112' where all kinds of immediate help can be sought in urgent matters.

Under this project, an Emergency Response Centre (ERC) has been established in Shimla along with 12 district command centres (DCCs), covering the entire state, a Home Ministry statement said.

The ERC has been integrated with police (100), fire (101), health (108) and women (1090) helpline numbers to provide emergency services through the emergency number '112'.

The single number for various emergency services, which is similar to the '911' all-in-one emergency service in the US, will be gradually rolled out across the country, an official said.

The service also includes a '112 India' mobile app that is integrated with a panic button for smartphones and state Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) websites for ease of citizen in availing immediate assistance.

To ensure safety of women, 'SHOUT' feature has been introduced in '112 India' mobile app to seek immediate assistance from registered volunteers in the vicinity, apart from immediate assistance from ERC.The SHOUT feature is exclusively available to women.

The '112 India' mobile app will be subsequently rolled out in all states and UTs to help people across the country access the unified emergency services.

Lucknow stadium renamed in honour of Atal Bihari Vajpayee The Ekana International Cricket Stadium in

Lucknow was renamed as the "Bharat Ratan Atal Bihari Vajpayee International Cricket Stadium" ahead of hosting its first-ever international match.

The India-West Indies T20I that will be hosted at the venue will be the first game the stadium will host under the new name as well as overall.

It was renamed as a token of acknowledgement towards the late Vajpayee, who represented Lucknow in the parliament.

World Bank inks $172 million project agreement with AP The Central and Andhra Pradesh governments and

the World Bank have signed the loan agreement for a $172.20 million project to enhance agricultural productivity, profitability, and climate resilience of poor and marginalised farmers in Andhra Pradesh.

The project will benefit over 200,000 families of poor and marginalised farmers, agro-entrepreneurs, women and other vulnerable groups.

The $172.20 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 6-year grace period, and a maturity of 24 years.

‘Mo bus’ service Odisha govt. Tuesday launched the technology-

driven and citizen-friendly ‘Mo bus’ service. The Capital Region Urban Transport authorities

have decided that the buses will cover nine routes in the first phase. The newly-launched buses feature free Wi-Fi, CCTV surveillance, public information display system and on board announcements.

The bus service will come up with ‘Mo Bus’ mobile app through which citizens can book their tickets and also get to know the locations of the vehicle and minimise their waiting time at their nearby bus que-ue shelters or bus stops.

'BhubaneswarMe Wi-Fi' launched Odisha govt. launched the 'BhubaneswarMe Wi-Fi

by Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited to make the city accessible across its major happening places.

On the first day 100 hotspots located in major locations with 275 access points (APs) went live, an official said.

One wi-fi hotspot would be able to handle 150 users at a given point of time and the Internet speed will be available at 2 mega bytes per second (MBPS).




5. PERSONS IN NEWS AND APPOINTMENTS

Air India operations director loses pilot licence for 3 years

India’s air safety watchdog suspended the license of a senior Air India pilot, who is also the carrier’s director of operations, for three years, a day after he failed two breathalyzer tests before a flight to London from New Delhi.

His licence have been suspended for a period of three years from 11.11.2018

This is the second time Arvind Kathpalia has been in trouble over alcohol tests. He was suspended for three months in 2017 for allegedly refusing to take breathalyzer tests. Jawahar Lal Sarin to be conferred with France's highest civilian honour

Jawahar Lal Sarin, president of the governing body of Alliance Franaise in France, will be conferred with France's highest civilian honour by French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler at an event on Friday.

France's highest civilian honour 'Knight of the Legion of Honour' will be bestowed on Sarin in recognition of his outstanding contribution to enhancing Indo-French cultural cooperation and promoting the French language. Sikh farmer inducted into Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame Mr. Dhillon, whose full name is Peter Povitar

Dhillon, who is the country’s biggest cranberry grower, has made history with his induction into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame.

His company is Richberry Group of Companies based in Richmond, British Columbia.

New High Court Chief Justices appointed The Central government appointed new Chief

Justices of High Courts of Allahabad, Patna, Madhya Pradesh and Tripura. Justice Govind Mathur, CJ Allahabad High Court-

the most senior judge of the Rajasthan High Advertising

Justice A P Sah- Chief Justice of Patna HC- the most senior judge of the Allahabad HC, has been

appointed the. Justice S K Seth, who is the senior-most judge of the Madhya Pradesh HC, has been appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court.

Justice Sanjay Karol, the most senior judge of Himachal HC, has been appointed as the Chief Justice of Tripura HC. Justice Karol, has served as Advocate General of Himachal Pradesh.

Justice S K Seth will take oath as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. senior-most judge of the MP High Court at present

Ananth Kumar, Parliamentary Affairs Minister, passes away at 59 Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, and

Chemicals and Fertilizers H.N. Ananth Kumar, also a senior BJP leader from the State passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru.

Mr Kumar was diagnosed with lung cancer at an advanced stage in June.

Following his demise, Union Ministers DV Sadananda Gowda and Narendra Singh Tomar were assigned additional portfolios of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers and the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, respectively.

Stan Lee died at 95 The comic writer Stan Lee (original name :

Stanley Martin Lieber), co-creator of iconic characters including Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Daredevil and the X-Men, has died aged 95.

The Marvel Universe he created crossed from page to screen in a series of TV and movie adaptations and changed the face of popular culture.

Siddharth Tiwari appointed as the Chief Representative for Asia and the Pacific at BIS The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has

appointed Siddharth Tiwari as the Chief Representative for Asia and the Pacific.

Tiwari, who took up his new position on November 1, succeeds Eli Remolona, who was Chief Representative of the Asian Office from 2008 to 2018.




About BIS: The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an

international financial institution owned by central banks which "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks.

Its headquarters are in Basel, Switzerland, with representative offices in Hong Kong and Mexico City.

The BIS hosts the Secretariat of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and with it has played a central role in establishing the Basel Capital Accords of 1988, Basel II framework in 2004 and more recently Basel III framework.

Members: 60 (including India). Amnesty International Strips Aung San Suu Kyi of Highest Honour Amnesty International on Monday stripped Aung

San Suu Kyi of its highest honour over the de facto Myanmar leader's "indifference" to the atrocities committed by the military against Rohingya Muslims.

It revoked revoking the Ambassador of Conscience Award it gave Suu Kyi in 2009 while she was still under house arrest.

She won Nobel Peace Prize for Peace in 1991. (Noble Committee rejected application of taking back. It will remain with her. )

Other Awards which were taken back were: Freedom of Paris award Freedom of Edinburgh Award a portrait of Suu Kyi that hung on a wall of St.

Hugh’s College at the University of Oxford was replaced with another painting

City Honors Award by city councils of Glasgow and Sheffield of UK

honorary presidency of the London School of Economics student union

Elie Weisel award by U.S. Holocaust museum Amnesty International:

HQ: London Secretary Gen: Kumi Naidoo Area of work: Protecting human rights

Eminent Odia singer Chitta Jena passes away

Eminent Odia singer Chitta Jena passed away on Tuesday at a hospital in Cuttack following a brief illness. Flipkart CEO Binny Bansal quits over allegation of serious personal misconduct

Binny Bansal has announced his resignation as CEO of Flipkart Group, effective immediately, following an independent investigation into an allegation of "serious personal misconduct. Hima Das appointed first youth ambassador of UNICEF India Asian Games gold-medallist sprinter Hima Das has

been appointed as the first ever youth ambassador of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) India.

She is a native of Assam's Nagaon district, and she won a gold medal in Women's 4 x 400 m Relay event at the 2018 Asian Games.

She had also won a silver medal in Women's 400m Race event with a clock timing of 50.59 seconds.

Retd. HC judge Asim Kumar Roy appointed Bengal Lokayukta Retired Calcutta High Court judge Asim Kumar

Roy was on Friday appointed the Lokayukta of West Bengal.

He will be the second Lokayukta in the state after Samaresh Banerjee, who had served in the post between 2006 and 2009.

WCD Ministry nominates three members of NCW The Women and Child Development Ministry

(WCD) has nominated three people to be members of the National Commission for Women.

The three members are Chandramukhi Devi, Soso Shaiza and Kamlesh Gautam.

Ad-filmmaker, theatre doyen and actor Alyque Padamsee passes away at 90 Prominent ad filmmaker and actor Alyque

Padamsee passed away in Mumbai. He was 90. As a film actor, he was known for his role in

Richard Attenborough’s film Gandhi where he played Muhammad Ali Jinnah.




Adobe CEO in Fortune Business Person of the Year list Indian-American Shantanu Narayen ranks 12th on

the list while Shantanu Narayen, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Adobe, has been named by Fortune in its 2018 Business Person of the Year list with rank 12th .

The list ranks 20 business executives “delivering on the bottom line and beyond”.

CEO of insurance company Progressive Tricia Griffith topped the list.

Hero of Battle of Longewala, Brigadier Kuldip Singh Chandpuri dies at 78

Kuldip Singh Chandpuri, known as the hero of the Battle of Longewala during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, died at a hospital in Mohali. He was 78. Brig Chandpuri was suffering from cancer. He is survived by his wife and three son.

Brig Chandpuri was a recipient of the Maha Vir Chakra — the country’s second-highest gallantry award — for his role at Longewala, an outpost in the Thar desert of Rajasthan. UIDAI CEO to replace Hasmukh Adhia as Revenue Secretary

The central government appointed UIDAI CEO ABP Pandey as new Secretary Revenue in place of Hasmukh Adhia, who is set to superannuate end of this month. Jalaj Srivastava is IWAI chairman Jalaj Srivastava, a 1984 batch Indian Administrative

Service (IAS) officer, 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

Srivastava is also the writer of a crime thriller novel titled 'The Perfect Suicide’.

Dr Dixit appointed ambassador of Maharashtra’s anti-obesity campaign The Maharashtra government has appointed Dr

Jagannath Dixit as the brand ambassador of its anti-obesity campaign.

Dr Dixit is a professor at Government Medical College.

Dr Dixit had started a WhatsApp group in 2012 to address the issue of obesity and provided guidance to people affected by the lifestyle disease.

Interpol elects South Korean Kim Jong Yang as its President

Abhijit Bose named WhatsApp India Head WhatsApp named Abhijit Bose as its India Head. Mr. Bose, who will join the messaging platform

early 2019 and will build WhatsApp’s first full country team outside of California and will be based in Gurugram.

Uber Eats ropes in Alia Bhatt as India brand ambassador Uber Eats, the food delivery company has

appointed actor Alia Bhatt as its brand ambassador in India.

India is the first country for Uber Eats globally where the company has appointed a brand ambassador.

Singer Nahid Afrin appointed as ‘Youth Advocate’ by UNICEF Assam Indian playback singer Nahid Afrin from Assam

appointed as the first ever ‘Youth Advocate’. Nahid Afrin made her playback debut in the 2016

Bollywood film ‘Akira’ and won several awards. She also won an award in the Assam State Film

Awards 2018. Joyce Msuya new head of UNEP

Tanzanian Microbiologist Joyce Msuya has been appointed to head United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) following the resignation of Erik Solheim. Apollo Tyres Appoints Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar As Its Brand Ambassador Leading tyre maker, Apollo Tyres has appointed

cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as its new brand ambassador. The manufacturer has announced the cricketing icon will be the ambassador for a period of five years, and this is for the first time that the company has associated itself with a celebrity as the face of its brand.

MRF brand ambassador is Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli.




Noted classical musician Ustad Imrat Khan passes away in U.S. Ustad Imrat Khan, who famously turned down the

Padma Shri last year saying the recognition had come too late and diminished his achievements, belonged to the illustrious Etawa gharana

Classical music stalwart Ustad Imrat Khan, who dedicated his life to promoting the sitar and the surbahar worldwide, has died in the U.S. He was 83.

Former Railway minister CK Jaffer Sharief passes away in Bengaluru Former Union Railway minister CK Jaffer Sharief

passed away in a Bengaluru hospital. He held the office of the Minister of Railways

under PV Narasimha Rao, from 1991 to 1995, and was instrumental in gauge conversion across the nation.

Apart from Railways, Jaffer Sharief also handled several other central union portfolios like coal and irrigation.

Sunil Arora new Chief Election Commissioner President Ram Nath Kovind appointed Sunil Arora

as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), replacing OP Rawat. Arora will take charge on December 2.

Arora was previously brought in as the Election Commissioner in September, last year to fill the vacancy created by former CEC Nasim Zaidi’s.

Nageshwara Rao Guntur appointed as AERB chief Renowned scientist Nageshwara Rao Guntur has

been appointed as chairperson of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).

Guntur is the chairman, Project Design Safety Committee, Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor and former distinguished scientist Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd.

His appointment as the AERB chairperson will be for three years.

OYO appoints new CEO Hospitality firm OYO said it has appointed Max

Healthcare Executive Director Rohit Kapoor as the chief executive officer (CEO) of its new real estate businesses.

Kapoor will be reporting to OYO Hotels & Homes Founder & Group CEO Ritesh Agarwal.

OYO appoints Max Healthcare's Rohit Kapoor as CEO of new real estate business Hospitality firm OYO on said it has appointed Max

Healthcare Executive Director Rohit Kapoor as the chief executive officer (CEO) of its new real estate businesses, effective December 6.

Kapoor will be entrusted with the responsibility to drive new real estate business opportunities which will include exploring new domains and categories and other strategic initiatives.

A.M. Naik appointed as Chairman of NSDC Shri A.M. Naik has been appointed as Chairman of

National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

Currently Shri Naik is the Group Chairman of India's biggest engineering and construction conglomerate – Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T). Atul Goel takes over as MD, CEO of UCO Bank Atul Kumar Goel on assumed charge as Managing

Director and CEO of UCO Bank. Prior to this assignment, he was executive director

of Union Bank of India. Goel takes over from R.K. Takkar, who completed

his three-year tenure on November 1, 2018 Tesla: Robyn Denholm named as new chair to replace Elon Musk

Tesla has appointed Robyn Denholm as chair of its board, replacing the electric carmaker’s billionaire founder Elon Musk.




6. SPORTS Lewis Hamilton wins in Brazilian Grand Prix Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton won

Brazilian Grand Prix Formula1 fifth time in a row. The win was Hamilton's 10th of the season and

72nd of his career. He represents Mercedes and he’s form UK. Shubhankar Sharma wins Rookie of the year honours India’s Shubhankar Sharma became the first Indian

to emerge as the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year on the European Tour despite a disappointing final round of 80 at the DP World Tour Golf Championships.

Sharma follows Jon Rahm (2017), Wang Jeunghun (2016), Byeong Hun An (2015) and Brooks Koepka (2014) who have been the four Rookies before him.

No Indian has won the Rookie of the Year award in European Tour, though three Indians – Arjun Atwal (1995), Shiv Kapur (2005) and C Muniyappa (2009) emerged as Rookie of the Year on the Asian Tour.

Bangladesh team lifts Subroto Cup Bangladesh Krida Shiksha Prothishtan (BKSP) won

the 59th edition of the junior boys Subroto Cup International Football Tournament beating Amini School, Afghanistan by a solitary goal at the Ambedkar Stadium here on Tuesday.

A total of 95 teams and 1500 players participated in the tournament, making it one of the biggest tournaments in its category in the entire football world. Eight teams from three neighbouring countries ---- Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal --- also competed in the tournament.

Pranub Limboo of Govt. Senior Secondary School, Namchi (Sikkim) was adjudged the best goalkeeper while the ‘best player award’ was given to Mohammad Nemil of Reliance Foundation School, Mumbai. The ‘best coach award’ was given to Raghu Kumar of Army Boys Sports Company, Banglore, while the ‘fair play trophy’ was presented to Reliance Foundation School, Mumbai.

Indian gymnasts win two bronze medals in Acrobatic Gymnastics World Cup Indian gymnasts won two bronze medals in the

men's and women's group events of the FIG Acrobatic World Cup in Baku.

Prins Aris and Rejilesh Suribabu got the bronze medal.

The Indian women's trio of Ayushi Ghodeswar, Prachi Parkhi and Mrunmayi Walde also bagged a bronze.

Jaffer becomes first batsman to score 11,000 runs in Ranji Trophy Veteran cricketer Wasim Jaffer became the first

batsman to get 11,000 runs in Ranji Trophy. Jaffer, who plays for Vidarbha, achieved the feat on

day two of the Ranji Trophy match against Baroda. The 40-year-old went on to score 153 off 284 balls,

his 54th first-class hundred, as Vidarbha declared their innings at 529 for six.

Jaffer played 31 Tests and two ODIs for India. Hanoi to host Formula 1 race in 2020 Hanoi will host a Formula One race in April 2020,a

first for the Southeast Asian nation where racing is still a fringe sport.

Vietnam will be only the third Southeast Asian country to host a Formula One race in history after Malaysia and Singapore.

Hanoi will be the second Southeast Asian city to host a race in 2020 along with Singapore.

F1 race director Charlie Mary Kom named brand ambassador of 2018 Women's World Boxing Championships Mary Kom will lead the Indian contingent for the

2018 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships to be held at the IG Stadium's K.D. Jhadav Hall between November 15 and 24.

The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) unveiled the logo and anthem for the World Boxing Championships at an event in the capitol attended by the Indian team, members from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and BFI, including its president Ajay Singh.




Lilima Minz receives Ekalabya Puraskar Woman Hockey player Lilima Minz, who hails

from Odisha, was honoured with the prestigious Ekalabya Puraskar, 2018.

The annual award, comprising a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh along with a citation, was presented by former cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar at the Ekalabya Award.

Lilima Minz represented the Indian senior team for the first time in 2011 during a four-nation tournament in Argentina.

She was part of the squad that represented the country in the 2016 summer Olympics and member of the Indian team that won the gold medal Womens Hockey Asia Cup after a gap of 13 years in Japan on November 5, 2017.

Besides Minz, weight lifter Jhili Dalabehera and badminton player Rutuparna Panda were felicitated for their remarkable performances in their respective fields.

They received a cash prize of Rs 50,000 each along with citations.

The Ekalabya Puraskar has been instituted by IMPaCT, the social wing of the Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys, which has been promoting literature, sports, the arts, culture and other socially meaningful activities in the state for decades.

Karen Khachanov win Paris Masters title Karen Khachanov won Paris Masters Title by

defeating Novak Djokovic. Asian Airgun C’ships: Saurabh wins gold at Asian Airgun Championships India's teenage shooting sensation Saurabh

Chaudhary claimed gold medal in the 10m air pistol junior men's event of the Asian Airgun Championship.

He is from Meerut,UP. Saurabh won the gold medal at the Asian Games in

August, besides bagging golds at the World Shooting Championships in September and the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina last month.

Saurabh Chaudhary-Manu Bhaker win gold Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary won the 10m

Air Pistol mixed team event, with a junior world record

score on the last day of the Asian Airgun Championships in Kuwait, beating the Chinese pair of Wang Xiaoyu and Hong Shuqi in the final.

India's junior shooting squad thus ended the championships with a tally of 11 medals, including four gold. ATP World Tour Awards 2018:

ATP World Tour No 1 (determined by ATP Rankings): Novak Djokovic

Comeback Player of the Year: Novak Djokovic ATP World Tour No. 1 Doubles Team: Oliver

Marach & Mate Pavic Most Improved Player of the Year: Stefanos

Tsitsipas Newcomer of the Year: Alex de Minaur Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award: Rafael Nadal Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year: Tommy

Robredo ATP Coach of the Year: Marian Vajda (Novak

Djokovic) ATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favourite presented

(Singles): Roger Federer ATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favourite presented

(Doubles): Mike Bryan & Jack Sock Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award: Sue

Barker (BBC) ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Tournament of the

Year: BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells) ATP World Tour 500 Tournament of the Year:

Fever-Tree Championships (Queen’s Club) ATP World Tour 250 Tournament of the Year:

Intrum Stockholm Open (Stockholm) Bajrang becomes number one in world in 65kg Star Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia on 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.

Russia's Akhmed Chakaev (62) is in third place and the new world champion Takuto Otoguro (56) is at number four, followed by Turkey's Selahattin Kilicsallayan (50).

Interestingly, Bajrang is the lone male Indian to figure in top-10 but the country has five female wrestlers who are in top-10 bracket in their respective categories.

Pooja Dhanda, who became only the fourth Indian

woman to win a World Championship medal, is

now ranked sixth in the women's 57kg with 52

points. She had taken a bronze.

Ritu Phogat completes the top-10 in the women's

50kg, with 33 points.

Sarita Mor is ranked seventh in 59kg with 29 points

while Navjot Kaur (32) and Kiran (37) are ninth in

68kg and 76kg category respectively.




7. AWARDS AND HONOURS Super 30 founder Anand Kumar to be

honoured with Global Education Award in Dubai Mathematician and Super 30 founder Anand Kumar

will be for his “pioneering” contributions to the field of education and illuminating the lives of many talented students.

Kumar, 45, will be honoured with ‘Global Education Award’ by ‘Malabar Gold & Diamonds’, Flagship Company of Malabar Group, a leading Indian business conglomerate.

Anand is a well known mathematician whose Super 30 is hailed for facilitating students from poor background crack IIT entrance exams by providing free food, lodging and teaching.

More than 500 such students have made it to different IITs since inception of Super 30 in 2002.

‘Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities 2018’ The three day event of the “Global IT Challenge for

Youth with Disabilities, 2018” concluded in New Delhi.

It was organized by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in association with Rehabilitation International Korea and their associated partner LG Electronics from 9th to 11th November, 2018.

The objective of the Global ICT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities is to leverage IT skills among youth with disabilities and also to spread awareness about the application of Information and Computer Technology (ICT) in enhancing the quality of life of persons with disabilities especially in Asia-Pacific region.

55 Awards Presented to Youth with disabilities in various categories including awards for best volunteer. Ms. Fayza Putri, Adila from Indonesia won the ‘Global IT Leader Award’.

Last year the event was held in Vietnam.

Munin Barkotoki Literary Award The prestigious Munin Barkotoki Literary Award

2018 in Assam has been given to young writer-critic Dr Debabhuson Borah for his book on literary criticism titled 'Nirbochon'.

It is annual Award instituted to encourage young and promising writers in Assamese.

The award carries a cash prize of Rs 50,000 along with a citation and a plaque

The award was named after renowned writer, critic and journalist Munin Barkotoki and given by Munin Barkotoki Memorial Trust.

Infosys Prize 2018 Six eminent professors have been awarded the

Infosys Prize 2018 across different categories of science and research, the software major's science foundation announced Tuesday.

The annual award includes a pure gold medal, a citation and a prize purse worth USD 100,000 (or its equivalent in Indian rupees), the Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) said in a statement. 1. Engineering and Computer Science category-

Navakanta Bhat, Professor, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-

2. Humanities category Kavita Singh- Professor and Dean, School of Arts & Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

3. Life Sciences category- Roop Mallik, Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai

4. Mathematical Sciences category- Nalini Anantharaman, Professor and Chair of Mathematics, Institute for Advanced Study, University of Strasbourg, France

5. Physical Sciences category- SK Satheesh, Professor, Centre for Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

6. Social Sciences category- Sendhil Mullainathan, Professor of Computation and Behavioral Science, the University of Chicago




LEAP and ARPIT for higher education faculty Ministry of Human Resource Development had

launched two new initiatives called Leap and ARPIT to create transformative teachers and leaders. 1. Leadership for Academicians Programme

(LEAP): is a three weeks Flagship leadership development training programme (2 weeks domestic and one week foreign training) for second level academic functionaries in public funded higher education institutions.

2. Annual Refresher Programme In Teaching (ARPIT): a major and unique initiative of online professional development of 15 lakh higher education faculty using the Massive Open Online Course (MOOCs) portal-SWAYAM.

Universal Acceptance Thought Leader award on Rajasthan CM Global internet Body ICANN-supported Universal

Acceptance Steering Group (UASG) conferred "Universal Acceptance Thought Leader award" on Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje for enabling email service for citizens of the state in local script.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a no-profit organisation and manages rules around website access over Internet. HQ: Los Angeles CEO and President- Göran Marby

Centre for Science and Environment wins Indira Gandhi peace prize Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has won

2018 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, an award conferred by Indira Gandhi Trust each year on the late Prime Minister's birth anniversary.

The international jury for the awards was headed by former President Pranab Mukerjee.

The CSE was established in 1980 under leadership of the late Anil Agarwal and is presently headed by Sunita Narain.

It has over the years worked on various burning issues from air and water pollution, food safety, waste water management, climate change and so on.

Film superstar Amitabh Bachchan receives

Sayaji Ratna Award Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan awarded

the 3rd Sayaji Ratna Award, established in the memory of erstwhile Baroda ruler Sayajirao Gaekwad III.

The Baroda Management Association had, in 2013, instituted the award to mark the 150th birth anniversary of the ruler, known for undertaking major social reform measures during his rule in the early twentieth century.

Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy and noted industrialist Ratan Tata have been given the award earlier.

HarperCollins, Anuradha Roy, Crabtree

among Tata Literature Live award winners Anuradha Roy and James Crabtree are among the

winners of this year's Tata Literature Live awards, in which HarperCollins India was named publisher of the year 2018.

Veteran journalist and writer Mark Tully won the Lifetime Achievement Award and renowned poet Jayanta Mahapatra was named the poet laureate for 2018.

The Business Book of the Year Award was won by Crabtree for "The Billionaire Raj: A journey through India's new gilded age" (HarperCollins).

Roy was named winner of the book of the year (fiction) award for her work "All The Lives We Never Lived" (Hachette) while the award for non-fiction was bagged by Walter K Andersen and Shridhar D Damle for their book "The RSS: A view to the inside" (Penguin Random House).

The Sultan Padamsee Playwriting Award was jointly won by Bettina Gracias for her play "Watching You" and Sneh Sapru for "Hello Farmaish".




WCCB gets Asia Environment Enforcement Awards

The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has been selected among the winners of the Asia Environment Enforcement Awards for its work in combating trans-boundary environmental crime.

The minister said this is the second time in a row that the awards are being given by UN Environment to India. IIT Roorkee Professor Wins Young Scientist Award for Sustainable Development IIT Roorkee Professor Vimal Chandra Srivastava

has won the NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Award in 'Environmentally Sound Sustainable Development' category.

This award seeks to recognise India's most promising researchers who are working in the field of earth, oceanographic, environmental and ecological studies, social sciences and ecosystem and are contributing to protecting our planet and conserving its natural resources.

Dr Srivastava, working in the Department of Chemical Engineering, has been given the award for his work on Industrial Wastewater Treatment, Clean Liquid Fuels, and Multi-component Adsorption.

Monaco to host 2019 Laureus Awards The 19th edition of the prestigious Laureus World

Sports Awards will be held in Monaco on February 18 2019.

Considered the 'Oscars of sports', the Laureus World Sports Awards celebrate global sporting achievements across the calendar year.

Former India cricket captains Kapil Dev, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are members of the Laureus Academy, which also has big sporting names like Boris Becker, Martina Navratilova, Sergey Bubka, Luis Figo, Michael Johnson, Sebastian Coe, Vivian Richards, Ian Botham, Steve Waugh among others.

Last year, tennis great Roger Federer won the Laureus Sportsman of the Year award for a record fifth time, while Serena Williams won the Sportswoman of the Year recognition for the fourth time.

Jharkhand Day being celebrated at IFFI in Goa Jharkhand Day is being celebrated at the

International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. Jharkhand is the focus state at this year's IFFI. This

is for the first time that any state has been made focus state at the festival.

Forbes India Leadership Awards 2018: The Forbes India Leadership Awards, India's most

prestigious honour for the top executives, was held on November 22 in Mumbai.

At awards honoured entrepreneurs and company bosses across nine categories.

1. Outstanding Startup Award | R Narayan, Founder and CEO, Power2SME

2. GenNext Entrepreneur | Adar Cyrus Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute of Entrepreneur with Social Impact | Gayathri Vasudevan, CEO, LabourNet Services

3. Conscious Capitalist Company for the year | Narayana Health

4. Best CEO – Multinational Company | Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and MD, Hindustan Unilever Ltd

5. Best Company - Public Sector | Saurabh Kumar, MD, Energy Efficiency Services Limited

6. Best CEO - Private Sector | Rajeev Jain, MD, Bajaj Finance

7. Category: Lifetime Achievement Award for the Year | Winner: Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro Limited

8. Entrepreneur for the Year | Vivek Chaand Sehgal, Chairman and Co-Founder, Motherson Sumi Systems

Wipro chief Azim Premji to be conferred highest French civilian award IT czar and philanthropist Azim Premji will be

conferred Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) -- the highest French civilian distinctio.

The award comes in recognition of his outstanding contribution to developing the information technology industry in India, his economic outreach




in France, and his laudable contribution to society as a philanthropist through the Azim Premji Foundation and University.

Some of the past Indian recipients of the prestigious award include Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee and superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

IFFI Awards 2018 Held at Goa Donbass’ directed by Sergei Loznitsa has won the

coveted Golden Peacock Award at the 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which concluded in Goa on November 28, 2018. The Golden Peacock Award carries a cash prize

of Rs 4 million (Rs 40 lakhs) to be shared equally between the Producer and the Director, Trophy and the citation.

Lijo Jose Pellissery won the Best Director Award for his 2018 film ‘Ee.Ma.Yau’] The Best Director gets the Silver Peacock

Award and a cash prize of Rs 1.5 million (Rs 15 lakhs).

The Best Actor (Male) Award has gone to Chemban for Ee.Ma.Yau

The Best Actor (Female) Award has gone to Anastasiia Pustovit for her film ‘When the Trees Fall’.

Both Best Actor (Male) and Best Actor (Female) are honoured with the Silver Peacock Trophy and a cash prize of Rs 1 million (Rs 10 lakhs) each.

Milko Lazarov walked away with the Special Jury Award for his film ‘Aga’Alberto Monteras II receives ‘Best Debut Feature Film of a Director’ for Respeto

Alberto Monteras II for ‘Best Debut Feature Film of a Director’ for his Filipino Movie ‘Respeto’.

'Walking with the Wind', directed by Praveen Morchhale, won The ICFT –UNESCO Gandhi Medal instituted by the International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication, Paris and UNESCO.

‘Los Silencios’, the Portuguese, Spanish movie directed by Beatriz Seigner got the special mention under ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi medal category.

Salim Khan, the celebrated actor, story-screenplay-dialogue writer of Hindi films was honoured with the IFFI 2018 Special Award for his Lifetime Contribution to Cinema.

Indian Navy commander, captain win Asian of The Year award for Kerala flood rescue

An Indian Navy commander and a captain won'Asian of The Year' awards here on Wednesday, acknowledging

Indian Navy Commander (Pilot) Vijay Varma and Captain (Pilot) P Rajkumar were honoured for their their selfless service and bravery in rescue operations during the devastating floods in Kerala. N Ram chosen for ‘Raja Ram Mohan Roy Award’ by Veteran journalist and the Hindu Group of

Publications Chairman N Ram has been chosen for the prestigious Raja Ram Mohan Roy Award, presented by the Press Council of India, for his outstanding contribution towards journalism, the council announced on Monday.

In a statement, the Press Council of India (PCI) also announced other winners of the National Awards for Excellence in Journalism 2018.

Ruby Sarkar, Chief Correspondent, Deshbandhu, Bhopal, and Rajesh Parshuram Joshte, Daily Pudhari, Ratnagiri, have been jointly named as winners of the award in the category of ‘Rural Journalism’

VS Rajesh, Deputy Editor, Kerala Kaumudhi, has been selected under the award category of Developmental Reporting.

Anupam Kher gets 'Distinguished Fellow' award by US think-tank

Veteran actor Anupam Kher was honoured as a 'Distinguished Fellow' by India Global - a leading think-tank that works on issues concerning non-resident Indians.

The actor was given a fellowship on November 3, 2018 at the 3rd India Global Summit.

The actor recently resigned from the post of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), citing his international assignments as the reason.




8. REPORTS AND INDICES India Skills Report 2019

Around 70 per cent of the youth face problem due to lack of professional guidance in finding desirable jobs that

worth their skills.

Andhra Pradesh has topped the list of states with the highest employability followed by Rajasthan and Haryana,

as per the India Skills Report 2019.

The employability levels of B.Tech/B.E have increased across all the sectors, touching a new high of 63.11 per

cent, which remained at 42.08 last year. However, the employability levels of MBA and polytechnic stand low

between 47.18 per cent and 45.90 per cent.

Despite the lack of renowned institutions like IITs/IIMs, the growth trend can be seen in tier II and tier III cities.

Andhra Pradesh is one of the preferred hiring destinations in India, which offers equal space to both male and

female workers.

The students from ITIs, polytechnic and engineering colleges are identified and ranked for their top skills,

including work ethics, verbal communication, analytical and critical thinking, problem-solving, interpersonal

skills, written communication skills.

From FMCG to startups, every industry offers paid or unpaid internship programmes to youth. According to the

report, a small percentage of students in all states have done at least one internship in the past twelve months.

Around 60 per cent recruiters feel that the right candidates are not available as many of them don't meet the

required skills.

The survey was conducted jointly by Wheebox, PeopleStrong, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and

supported and backed by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP) and Association of Indian Universities (AIU).

9. BOOKS AND AUTHORS 1. The Velvet Gloves- Balakrishna Kamath (former

Intelligence Bureau (IB) office)

2. Radio Kashmir – In Times of Peace & War’ written

by Dr Rajesh Bhat




10. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Samsung to make at least 1 million foldable phones, report says

Samsung Electronics Co. will roll out its foldable phone in the first half of next year and produce at least 1 million of them.

The Suwon, South Korea-based company gave a glimpse of its foldable-screen phone at a developer conference in San Francisco recently without providing details on its price, name or release date.

Samsung has set up a team with Google to develop a software interface for the foldable phone since Koh met with Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, two months ago.

NASA’s RALPH set to visit Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids in 2021

Ralph — a space instrument that has travelled as far as Pluto — is set to explore Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, which are remnants from the early days of the solar system.

Ralph was first launched aboard the New Horizons spacecraft in 2006 and obtained stunning flyby images of Jupiter and its moons. This was followed by a visit to Pluto where Ralph took the first high-definition pictures of the iconic minor planet.

In 2021, Ralph is set to journey with the Lucy mission to Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids. The instrument will fly by another Kuiper Belt object called 2014 MU69 — nicknamed Ultima Thule — in January 2019.

The Jupiter trojans, commonly called Trojan asteroids or simply Trojans, are a large group of asteroids that share the planet Jupiter's orbit around the Sun.

NASA to send tissue chips to space to test human health, genetic changes

NASA is planning to send small devices containing human cells in a 3D matrix -- known as tissue chips or organs-on-chips -- to the International Space Station (ISS) to test how they respond to stress, drugs and genetic changes.

Made of flexible plastic, tissue chips have ports and channels to provide nutrients and oxygen to the cells inside them.

The "Tissue Chips in Space" initiative seeks to better understand the role of microgravity on human health and disease and to translate that understanding to improved human health on Earth.

World’s largest brain-like supercomputer switched on for first time

The Spiking Neural Network Architecture (SpiNNaker) machine, designed and built in The University of Manchester in the UK, can model more biological neurons in real time than any other machine on the planet.

The world’s largest supercomputer designed to work in the same way as the human brain has been switched on for the first time.

The newly formed million-processor-core SpiNNaker machine is capable of completing more than 200 million actions per second, with each of its chips having 100 million transistors.

It has taken £15million , 20 years in conception and over 10 years in construction.

APIX technology

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the APIX (Application Programming Interface Exchange), a banking technology platform designed to reach nearly two billion people worldwide who are still without bank accounts.




He launched the technology platform with Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore T Shanmugaratnam after he became the first leader to address the prestigious Fintech Festival in Singapore.

China builds an 'artificial sun'

China has built an 'artificial sun' that reaches temperature six times that of the core of our closest star.

The state-of-the-art reactor is designed to replicate the processes of the sun as part of a project to turn hydrogen into cost-effective green energy.

It reached a key milestone this week when it hit 180 million F (100 million C) for the first time, which is believed to be the temperature at which nuclear fusion occurs.

China adds two new satellites to BeiDou Navigation System

China has added two more satellites to its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) which rivals the US Global Positioning System (GPS).

The satellites were launched into space on a Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan Province.

China plans to provide navigation services with the BDS-3 to the Belt and Road partner countries by the end of this year, marking a key step toward a global navigation service.

Named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper, the BeiDou system started serving China in 2000 and the Asia-Pacific region in 2012.

It will be the fourth global satellite navigation system after the US GPS system, Russia's GLONASS and the European Union's Galileo.

India too is building its navigational system called the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS),

with an operational name of NAVIC. By around 2020, when the BeiDou system goes global, it will have more than 30 satellites.

Google’s ‘Neighbourly’

Google has announced the national roll-out of a new app from its ‘Next Billion Users’ team called

‘Neighbourly,’ which helps people source local information from their neighbours. With more than 1.5 million downloads and half-a-million people on the waitlist, Google is rolling out

‘Neighbourly’ starting with Bengaluru and Delhi, which topped the waitlist. The ‘Neighbourly’ app has already made inroads in popular neighbourhoods in Mumbai first, followed by cities

like Jaipur, Mysore, Vizag, Kochi and Coimbatore.

HDFC ERGO sets up remote sensing lab for crop insurance

Private general insurance company HDFC ERGO General Insurance has set up a remote sensing lab for crop

insurance. The lab will work on accurately assessing the risks of the insurers and will also be able to give early warnings

about the losses. The company has hired a specialist in the area of remote sensing to look into the data and assess the information

so that predictions can be made. Remote sensing involves setting up scanning an area through the use of satellite to get deeper information about that region.




ISRO launched HysIS satellite along with 30 foreign

ISRO launched its workhorse rocket PSLV-C43 carrying India's earth observation satellite Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite (HysIS) dubbed as dubbed ‘Sharp Eye’ and 30 co-passenger satellites(total 31), including 23 from the US, from Sriharikota on November 29.

45th flight of PSLV and 13th flight of the PSLV-C43 rocket, was launched from the First Launch Pad (FLP) of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.

Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite (HySIS) is an earth-observation satellite that can provide ISRO imaging capabilities for a variety of purposes, including agriculture, forestry and assessing geological conditions in coastal zones, waterways and inland. The data can also come in handy to the Indian military.

The co-passengers of HysIS include one Micro and 29 Nano satellites from eight different countries. The countries comprise America (23), Australia (1), Canada (1), Columbia (1), Finland (1), Malaysia (1),

Netherlands (1) and Spain (1). These satellites have been commercially contracted for launch through Antrix Corporation Limited, the

commercial arm of ISRO, the space agency said. PSLV is ISRO's third generation launch vehicle. It can carry upto 1,750 kg of payload into polar SSO of 600 km

altitude.




Earth has three moons: Extra ‘moons’ confirmed after 50 years of speculation Earth doesn't have just one moon, it has three. The existence of the two extra 'moons' was hotly debated for over

50 years but as per a recent National Geographic report, Hungarian astronomers and physicists have finally provided enough data to confirm that our moon has at least two other companions -- made entirely of dust.

The team of researchers confirmed their presence through photographs of the natural bodies at a distance of approximately 250,000 miles -- more or less the same distance as our moon.

The finding was published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Facts about the newly discovered dust moons:

The presence of the dust 'moons’ or Kordylewski clouds had been inferred by researchers since long before But the first glimpse of the clouds was seen only in 1961 by Polish astronomer Kazimierz Kordylewski, after

whom the dust clouds were named The new findings note that each Kordylewski cloud is about 15 by 10 degrees wide, or equal to 30 by 20 lunar

disks in the night sky They are spread over a space area that is almost nine times the width of Earth -- about 65,000 by 45,000 miles in

actual size The dust 'moons' are huge but they are made of tiny dust particles that barely measure one micrometre across When sunlight hits the dust particles, they glow very faintly, much like the zodiacal light we receive from the

dust scattered in between planetary orbits




11. SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES 2nd Startup India Investment Seminar in Beijing Embassy of India in China in partnership with Startup India Association (SIA) and Venture Gurukool organized

2nd Startup India Investment Seminar on 12 November 2018 in Beijing. Main objective of the summit is fostering innovation and entrepreneurship among Indian youth. The 1st Startup Indian Investment event was organized in November 2017. World Customs Organization’s regional meet takes off in Jaipur

A four-day regional meeting of the World Customs Organization (WCO) was held at Jaipur, Rajasthan with representatives of 33 member countries of Asia.

The meeting discussed on various issues including the steps required for the capacity building and reforms in customs. 7th RCEP Inter-Sessional Ministerial Meeting concludes in Singapore

Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, led the Indian delegation to the 7th RCEP Inter-Sessional Ministerial Meeting in Singapore on 12-13 November, 2018.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a mega regional free trade agreement being negotiated amongst 16 countries- ASEAN+ 6 ASEAN FTA partners, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand. Conference on ‘Modernization of Police Communication and Challenges thereof’- New Delhi 8th National Conference of Women in Police - Ranchi 1st tolerance summit at Dubai The UAE’s first World Tolerance Summit (WTS), started Thursday in Dubai under the theme “Prospering from

Pluralism: Embracing Diversity through Innovation and Collaboration” and comes in line with International Day of Tolerance.

The summit is expected to focus on the crucial role of women and the youth in spreading tolerance in their societies through different fields of arts, education and sports, according to Khaleej Times newspaper.

Over 2,000 ministers and government leaders around the world are taking part in the summit. India to host the 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health next year The 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health will be held in Hyderabad in 2019, a global organization

working in this field announced. The conference 'Ending the Emergency: Science, Leadership, Action' which will be held from October 30 to

November 2 next year, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. 12th World Congress on Mountain Medicine begins in Kathmandu 12th World Congress on Mountain Medicine started in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal this evening. The theme of 4 day congress is “Mountain Medicine in the Heart of the Himalayas”. The biennial event mainly focuses on science and research aspects of high altitude medicine. It will also include

practical workshops related to trekking, expedition medicine and clinical education. International Gita Festival to be held from Dec 7-23 in Kurukshetra The International Gita Festival, 2018, will be organized in Kurukshetra in Haryana from December 7-23, in

which Mauritius will be the partner country and Gujarat the partner state. The Gita festival will also be organized in Mauritius next February. He said about 200 famous painters from across the country would reach Kurukshetra to draw paintings on the

walls of Kurukshetra on the theme of the Mahabharata under the 'paint-the-wall' competition.




12. MISCELLANEOUS

Rs 75 commemorative coin to mark 75th anniversary of Tricolour hoisting by Netaji

Subhash Chandra Bose

The government announced to release a Rs 75 commemorative coin on the occasion of 75th anniversary of hoisting of Tricolour for the first time by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at Port Blair on Dec 30 1943.

The 35-gram coin will be composed of 50 per cent silver, 40 per cent copper, and 5 per cent each of nickel and zinc. This coin will bear the portrait of 'Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose' saluting the flag on the background of cellular jail.. There will be an inscription in both Devanagari script and English saying 'First Flag Hoisting Day'.

Tall Ship Sail-Together

The Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) and Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Sunil Lanba along with the Commander of Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) Navy Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi flagged off a “Tall Ship Sail-together” from naval base, Kochi on 14 Nov 18.

The event was organised by the Indian Navy as part of the 10th Anniversary celebrations of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS).

Kochi, Kerala is the starting point and Moscat, Oman is the destination point. 'Toxic' as Word of the Year 2018

Oxford Dictionary has declared the adjective 'toxic' as the Word of the Year for what it says reflects the ethos, mood, or preoccupations in 2018.

The Oxford Word of the Year is a word or expression that is judged to have lasting potential as a term of cultural significance.

Two important North East Circuits under Swadesh Darshan Scheme

Two important projects under Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India were inaugurated at PTSO Lake in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh.

The region received a total of 1.69 lakh foreign tourist visits during 2017 as against 1.45 lakh in 2016 registering a growth of 16.7% over 2016.

These projects are Development of North East Circuits: Bhalukpong- Bomdila - Tawang Project & Nafra- Seppa- Pappu, Pasa, Pakke Valleys- Sangdupota- New Sagalee- Ziro- Yomcha Project ”.

Carpet city Bhadohi gets 'export excellence' tag

Known for its hand-woven carpets around the world, Bhadohi received a major boost as the government has extended the 'export excellence' tag to it.

Under the 'Towns of Export Excellence' tag, carpet makers of the city will get financial assistance from the central government to procure modern machines, improve export infrastructure, and organise fairs and exhibitions in different parts of the world to attract global buyers.

The status was granted by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the commerce ministry. Bhadohi, small township situated on the banks the river Ganges, will be the 37th town to get this status.




6th Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival The sixth edition of the 4-day Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival aiming to promote cinema of the Northeastern

region was held from Nov 28 2018. The festival will showcase films from the region and a few from the rest of the country this time besides bringing

great story tellers under one roof. Assamese film director Pulak Gogoi was be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Broadband subscribers at 463.6 mn at Aug.-end

Amid explosive growth in data consumption, India’s broadband subscriber numbers touched 463.6 million at the end of August 2018, up 0.74% over the previous month, according to official data by the Department of Telecom (DoT).

The number of broadband subscribers stood at 460.24 million in July this year. According to data released by the DoT on its website, the total number of telephones rose to 1,189.17 million, up

9.73 million over the previous month. Of this, wireline phone connections remained almost flat, while the wireless connections climbed 0.84% month-

on-month to almost 1,167 million. Maximum rise in total telephone connections was recorded in Mumbai (19,35,854) followed by Bihar

(10,26,007) and Madhya Pradesh (9,61,251).

West Bengal to observe ‘Rosogolla Day’ on Nov. 14 The West Bengal government has decided to observe ‘Rosogolla Day’ on November 14 to commemorate the

first anniversary of the State’s famous sweet getting Geographical Indication (GI) tag as ‘Bengal’s Rosogolla’.

3 Lakh Diyas Illuminate Ayodhya River Bank In New Guinness World Record A new Guinness World Record was set in Ayodhya at grand Diwali celebrations, with 3 lakh earthen lamps

illuminating the banks of river Sarayu. A total of 3,01,152 diyas were lit up simultaneously for five minutes, which is a new record. The target was to light 3.35 lakh diyas on both sides of ghats at Ram Ki Paidi in Ayodhya. Last year, 1.75 lakh

diyas were lit during Diwali celebrations.


Current Affairs December 2018 – Digest


PRACTICE BITS (CURRENT AFFAIRS) 1. SEBI has initiated the process to reduce the

timeline for public issues from the current _________ days to _________ days. (a) 6, 2 (b) 5, 3 (c) 5, 2 (d) 6, 3

2. Who took over as the 12th Chief of Integrated Defence Staff on 1 November 2018? (a) Lt. Gen. PC Thimmaya (b) Lt. Gen. SK Upadhyay (c) Lt. Gen. Savneet Singh (d) Lt. Gen. PS Rajeshwar

3. Where was the 4th Dialogue of the NITI Aayog - Development Research Centre of the State Council, Peoples' Republic of China held on 1 November 2018? (a) New Delhi (b) Hyderabad (c) Mumbai (d) Kolkata

4. Who launched the Central governments 'Support and Outreach' initiative for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises on 2 November 2018? (a) Narendra Modi (b) Raj Nath Singh (c) Prakash Javadekar (d) Anant Geete

5. Goods and Services Tax collections crossed the barrier of Rs. 1 lakh crore in October 2018. The collections were_______% higher than seen in October 2017. (a) 18.5 (b) 19.6 (c) 20.8 (d) 21.7

6. Who is the Present Chief of Air Staff of Indian Air Force? (a) Dalbir Singh Suhag (b) Birender Singh Dhanoa (c) Bipin Rawat (d) Sunil Lanba

7. Which of the following airports will be renamed as 'Veer Surendra Sai Airport, Jharsuguda? (a) Biju Patnaik Airport (b) Jharsuguda Airport (c) Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International

Airport (d) Veer Savarkar International Airport

8. Albot named ________ can spot radio galaxies that emit powerful radio jets from supermassive black holes. (a) Ernest (b) Zo (c) ClaRAN (d) Baxter

9. The chief minister of which state has launched the 'Soura Jalanidhi' scheme on 30 October 2018? (a) Odisha (b) Gujarat (c) Rajasthan (d) Punjab

10. What is the amount recently approved by the UN-backed Green Climate Fund for enhancing climate resilience for millions of people living in India's coastal communities of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha? (a) USD 100 million (b) USD 43.4 million (c) USD 20.7 million (d) USD 65.2 million

11. Where will the 10th 'Apeejay Literary Festival' be held from 18 January 2019 to 20 January 2018? (a) Delhi (b) Maharashtra (c) West Bengal (d) Punjab

12. In which state India's first gallery on robotic dinosaurs was inaugurated on 27th October 2018? (a) Rajasthan (b) Gujarat (c) Tamil Nadu (d) Punjab

13. Justice Naresh Harishchandra Patil was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the High Court. (a) Bombay (b) Allahabad (c) Delhi (d) Calcutta

14. Justice Vijai Kumar Bist was sworn in as the Chief Justice of which state High Court? (a) Chhattisgarh (b) Gujarat (c) Sikkim (d) Uttarakhand

15. The sail training ship of Indian Navy 'INS Tarangini' returned to __ on 30 October 2018 after a seven-month-long voyage. (a) Chennai (b) Jamnagar (c) Mumbai (d) Kochi

16. Which of the following has released 'Doing Business Report 2018'? (a) International Monetary Fund (b) World Bank (c) Asian Development Bank (d) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

17. Who has been appointed as the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff? (a) Lt Gen Ranbir Singh (b) Lt Gen P.S. Rajeshwar (c) Lt Gen Devraj Anbu (d) Lt Gen I.S. Ghuman

18. In which city the 'India-US Dialogue on Intellectual Property' (IP) was held? (a) New Delhi (b) Mumbai (c) Lucknow (d) Chandigarh

19. ‘Saubhagya Raths', for identifying households without electricity, was launched in which state? (a) Uttar Pradesh (b) Punjab (c) Jammu and Kashmir (d) Himachal Pradesh




20. Who has been selected for the Kerala government's highest literary award "Ezhuthachan Puraskaram' for 2018? (a) M Mukundan (b) Rafeeq Ahamed (c) Kiliroor Radhakrishnan (d) Mundur Krishnankutty

21. The 1st edition of 'North East Olympic Games' concluded in __ on 28 October 2018. (a) Shillong (b) Itanagar (c) Imphal (d) Kohima

22. Recently, which of the following banks formed a Joint Venture (JV) with Hitachi Payment Services Pvt Ltd to create a digital payment network? (a) Canara Bank (b) State Bank of India (c) ICICI Bank (d) HDFC Bank

23. According to recent Supreme Court announcement Andhra Pradesh will have new High Court from ______? (a) Dec 1, 2018 (b) Jan 1, 2019 (c) April 1, 2019 (d) Feb 1, 2019

24. In his recent visit of Pakistan PM Imran Khan to China he highlighted that Pakistan has been grey-listed and put on sanctions by FATF organization. What is its full form? (a) Fiscal Acceptance Term Fund (b) Financial Assurance Term Fund (c) Financial Action Task Force (d) Focus Action Target Force

25. Green Building Congress-2018 was held in __________ city? (a) New Delhi (b) Bengaluru (c) Hyderabad (d) Mumbai

26. Who is the author of “Notes of a dream; The Authorised Biography of A. R. Rehman”? (a) Ramchandra Dube (b) Nirmal Kanti Bhattacharjee (c) Poulomi Chaterjee (d) Krishna Trilok

27. According to U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP)’s study, radio-frequency radiation emitted by cell phones causes ________ in rats does not apply to humans. (a) Hearing problems (b) Cancer (c) Skin problems (d) Brain diseases

28. Lions of Great war monument – a sculpture to honour Indian soldiers who fought in World War-I was installed in _________ country. (a) England (b) Russia (c) USA (d) France

29. According to RBI’s June 30, 2018 Annual Report what is the total value of Contingency Fund? (a) 2,68,296 Cr (b) 2,32,108 Cr (c) 3,45,256 Cr (d) 10,46,304 Cr

30. “Paridhan” is the brand name of apparel segment of ________? (a) Tata (b) Himalaya (c) Patanjali (d) Aditya Birla

31. According to recent report by CBRE South Asia Pvt Ltd, _________ Indian city is emerged as data centre hub of the country with 35 data centres? (a) Chennai (b) Hyderabad (c) Bengaluru (d) Mumbai

32. NITI Aayog has signed a deal with _________ to develop a prediction model for crop yields using Artificial Intelligence (A.I)? (a) IBM Pvt. Ltd (b) Micro soft (c) Google (d) Facebook

33. What is the deadline kept by RBI for all Indian banks to follow Basel-III norms? (a) Jan 1, 2019 (b) March 31, 2019 (c) Dec 31, 2019 (d) Dec 31, 2018

34. __________ Surpassed Virat Kohli and became India’s highest run scorer in T-20 Internationals recently? (a) Rohit Sharma (b) Lokesh Rahul (c) S K. Raina (d) Shikar Dhawan

35. Andhra Pradesh government proposed to set up another new steel plant at ___________? (a) Kurnool (b) Amaravati (c) Srikakulam (d) Cuddapah

36. Which of the following up districts has been renamed as Ayodhya? (a) Ayodhya (b) Kanpur (c) Faizabad (d) Aligarh

37. Tigress Sundari which was brought from Madhya Pradesh & re-introduced in _______ Tiger reserve of Odisha? (a) Simlipal (b) Satkosia (c) Sunabeda (d) Bhitarkanika

38. First lady of South Korea Mrs. Kim Jung–Sook visited India t o be the chief guest of ceremony of new Memorial of Queen Suriratna at __________? (a) Ayodhya (b) New Delhi (c) Patna (d) Kolkata

39. SBI held a meet with shareholders on 7/12/2018 to raise Rs. ___________ through various modes including FPOs to fund its growth? (a) Rs. 30,000 Cr (b) Rs. 10,000 Cr (c) R s. 20,000 Cr (d) Rs. 40,000 Cr

40. _________ company surpassed Amazon as online shoppers most popular grocer World Wide? (a) E-bay (b) Kroger (c) Instacart (d) Walmart




41. Recently government appointed 3 new members Neena Kumar, Akhilesh Ranjan & Prasana Kumar Dash to _________? (a) CBDT (b) CBIC (c) SEBI (d) IRDAI

42. Recently India signed an MoU on cooperation in Atomic Energy with ___________ country? (a) Botswana (b) Zimbabwe (c) Malawi (d) South Africa

43. India signed an MoU to buy diamonds from ______ country? (a) Botswana (b) Zimbabwe (c) Malawi (d) South Africa

44. Recently US imposed sanctions on Iran, but exempted India from developing _________ port of Iran? (a) Bandar Abbas (b) Bushehr (c) Chabahar (d) Bandar Taher

45. Gujarat government is planning to change the name of Ahmedabad as __________? (a) Sabarmatipur (b) Karnavati (c) Baryagaza (d) Ashapalli

46. According to Harvand University researchers ___________ is the first interstellar known to enter our solar system? (a) Rakamacha (b) Duamguan (c) Fitzsimmonia (d) Oumuamua

47. __________ country recently announced to set up a permanent space station on the lines of International Space Station (ISS)? (a) China (b) UK (c) India (d) Australia

48. ___________ word has been selected as collins dictionary word of the year? (a) Fake.news (b) Single-use (c) Brexit (d) Me Too

49. Which of the following Indian banks raised Rs. 110 cr by issuing Basel III complaint bonds? (a) SBI (b) IDBI (c) Indian Bank (d) PNB

50. Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is the proposed trade agreement between ASEAN & 6 other nations. Which of the following is not one among 6 countries? (a) India (b) New Zealand (c) South Korea (d) Russia

51. Australian government announced to establish __________, Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for Indio-pacific region development? (a) $ 1 billion (b) $ 2 billion (c) $ 3 billion (d) $ 4 billion

52. Moody’s credit rating agency has downgraded its rating to __________? (a) BBb+ (b) Abb1 (c) Baa3 (d) BBB2

53. According to CRISIL’s report top 50 NBFCs. Need __________ to repay debts? (a) Rs.70,000 cr (b) Rs. 50,000 cr (c) Rs. 1 lakh cr (d) Rs. 80,000 cr

54. International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists is observed on _____ every year (a) November 4 (b) November 3 (c) November 2 (d) November 6

55. Which among the following persons has been appointed to head India's operations of the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SS(C), a global standards body for the payment card industry? (a) Renu Satti (b) Nitin Bhatnagar (c) Ajay Banga (d) Vijay Shekhar Sharma

56. Kirloskar Capital has recently received a licence from the Reserve Bank of India to launch a Non-banking Finance Company (NBF(C). Which among the following persons is CEO of Kirloskar Capital? (a) Gopalaratnam (b) Umesh G. Revankar (c) Vimal Bhandari (d) Rajeev Sharma

57. Which among the following companies has recently acquired infra debt provider IDFC Infrastructure Finance? (a) Life Insurance Corporation of India (b) ICICI (c) HDFC (d) National Infrastructure Fund Investment

58. Which among the following F1 drivers has recently won the fifth Formula One world title at Mexico Grand Prix? (a) Sebastian Vettel (b) Daniel Ricciardo (c) Valtteri Bottas (d) Lewis Hamilton

59. Which among the following is the only Indian film to be included in the BBC's list of 100 best foreign language films? (a) Mughal-e-Azam (b) Pyaasa (c) Pather Panchali (d) Earth

60. Which among the following nations will host the 23rd edition of the World Corporate Games between 6 and 9 November 2019? (a) Canada (b) Qatar (c) India (d) UAE

61. With which bank has Hitachi Payment Services entered into a Joint Venture (JV) to start a digital payment platform in India? (a) Yes Bank (b) ICICI (c) HDFC (d) SBI




62. Which among the following companies had recently agreed to acquire U.S. software company Red Hat Inc for $34 billion? (a) Google (b) Cisco (c) Apple (d) IBM

63. Jair Bolsonaro was in news recently for being elected President of _________ (a) Colombia (b) Brazil (c) Paraguay (d) Mexico

64. Which among the following institutions has developed India's first and indigenous microprocessor named 'Shakti'? (a) Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (b) Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (c) Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (d) Indian Institute of Technology Madras

65. According to a study named 'Ease of Moving Index' conducted by the Ola Mobility Institute, which among the following cities has topped in public transportation services? (a) Mumbai (b) New Delhi (c) Kolkata (d) Hyderabad

66. Which among the following countries will be the partner country for the 25th DST-CII Technology Summit to be organized in 2019? (a) Italy (b) USA (c) Norway (d) The Netherlands

67. Who is the current Secretary General of Lok Sabha? (a) Rajesh Kotecha (b) P. Raghavendra Rao (c) Bharati S. Sihag (d) Snehlata Shrivastava

68. Which of the following banks has executed 'India's first financial transaction using blockchain for a deal involving an export by Reliance Industries to Tricon Energy? (a) IDFC (b) HDFC (c) ICICI (d) HSBC

69. Recently, tissue chips or organs-on-chips were seen in the news. These tissue chips are made up of which material? (a) Plastic (b) Steel (c) Carbon fibre (d) Silicon

70. On 10 November 2018, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated a war memorial in which country? (a) Sri Lanka (b) USA (c) United Kingdom (d) France

71. According to a report by Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the unemployment rate in India rose to _________ in October 2018. (a) 10% (b) 5% (c) 6.9% (d) 6.6%

72. Who has won the 2018 Press Freedom Award, for Courage? (a) Sweta Singh (b) Ravish Kumar (c) Swati Chaturvedi (d) Prannoy Roy

73. At the 11th Asian Shooting Championship, Divyansh Singh won the silver medal in ________ Junior Men's event. (a) 25m Shotgun (b) 50m Air Rifle (c) 10m Shotgun (d) 10m Air Rifle

74. China's first International Import Expo was held in _________ (a) Wuhan (b) Shanghai (c) Beijing (d) Hong Kong

75. Recently, who among the following has been inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame? (a) Harjit Singh Sajjan (b) Kaveree Bamzai (c) Rupi Kaur (d) Peter Dhillon

76. Lilima Minz, who was honoured with the prestigious 'Ekalabya Puraskar', is related to which sport? (a) Hockey (b) Badminton (c) Cricket (d) Volleyball

77. Aviation regulator Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended flying licence of Air India Director ______ for failed alchohol test? (a) Arvind Kathpalia (b) Pradeep Singh Kharola (c) Gargi Kaul (d) Vinod Hejmadi

78. India’s first multi-modal terminal on inland waterways on Ganga was inaugurated at _____? (a) Kanpur (b) Patnas (c) Varanasi (d) Hoogly

79. Anant Kumar who recently died belong to _______ field? (a) Movies (b) Police (c) Journalism (d) Sports

80. _______ nations and ____ tech companies pledged in a signed dourment to fight criminal activity on the internet recently? (a) 100, 200 (b) 70, 120 (c) 30, 80 (d) 50, 150

81. Which of the following Indian companies announced its fresh investment of 3000 cr in Odisha? (a) Tata (b) Wipro (c) Reliance (d) Arcelor Mittal

82. Punjab National Bank (PNB) obtained refinance sanction of Rs. _______ cr from National Housing Bank (NHB)? (a) Rs. 1500 cr (b) Rs 2500 cr (c) Rs. 2500 cr (d) Rs. 3500 cr




83. What is the name of cyclonic storm recently hit Tamil Nadu & South Andhra Pradesh? (a) Gaja (b) Titli (c) Maya (d) Nayana

84. Recently which mobile company announced to develop foldable screen phone? (a) Apple (b) Samsung (c) Lenovo (d) Vivo

85. Amazon & Flipkart had have committed to stop sale of _________ products based on the show cause notice served by Drug Controller General of India (DCGI)? (a) irregulated medicines (b) generic medicines (c) fake cosmetics (d) low cost diapers

86. Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) has started from 10-11-2018 at ______? (a) Ernakulam (b) Bali (c) Jakarta (d) Port Blair

87. Who has been appointed as new CEO of OYO hotels? (a) Gurumurthy (b) Aditya Ghosh (c) Jayesh Sanghrajka (d) Nithin Singhanea

88. Mahindra Electric Mobility announced to invest ____ by 2020 for electric vehicles including electric three wheeler range – Treo and Treo Yari Vehicles? (a) 1000 cr (b) 1500 cr (c) 2000 cr (d) 3000 cr

89. Fitch Ratings kept India’s sovereign rating unchanged at ________? (a) ABa (b) Bbb (c) BBB (d) Aab

90. Binny Bansal who resigned recently was a founder & former CEO of _________? (a) Snapdeal (b) Flipkart (c) Oyo (d) Shopclues

91. ISRO recently launched G-SAT-29 weighing _____ India’s latest communications satellites? (a) 2256 kgs (b) 3126 kgs (c) 2945 kgs (d) 3423 kgs

92. Recently a new tiger had been re-introduced from Kanha Tiger Reserve to Satkosia reserve in _____? (a) Maharashtra (b) Karnataka (c) Odisha (d) West Bengal

93. Gantam Hari Singhonia who stepped down as chairman of famous textile company ________? (a) Bombay Dieng (b) Raymonds (c) Allen Solly (d) Oxemberg

94. The Yes Bank chairman who has resigned recently is _____ (a) Rana Kapoor (b) Ashok Chawla (c) Sandeep Jajodia (d) Rajdeep Suri

95. According to Ministry of Home Affairs which country’s citizens ranked first in using Indian E-visa facility in visiting India? (a) UK (b) US (c) China (d) France

96. Who is the present CEO of Flipkart? (a) Sachin Bansal (b) Binny Bansal (c) Kalyan Krishnamurthy (d) Sanjay Baweja

97. Donimalai mine dispute which was in news recently is situated in ________ (a) Tamil Nadu (b) Karnataka (c) Kerala (d) Andhra Pradesh

98. Mahindra motors recently opened a Rs. 100 Cr electric technology manufacturing hub in ______? (a) Bengaluru (b) Hyderabad (c) Pune (d) Kolkata

99. Bharat Net project aims to connect 2.5 Lakhs Gram Panchayats with high speed broadband by ______? (a) Jan 2019 (b) December 2018 (c) March 2019 (d) December 2019

100. Which is the motorcycle company re-launched in India after 25 years again? (a) Yezdi (b) Apriia (c) Ducati (d) Jawa

101. According to Government of India’s report India’s merchandise trade deficit was widened to ______? (a) $ 20.16 bill (b) $ 17.13 bill (c) $ 15.23 bill (d) $ 14.12 bill

102. Who resigned from search panel which was formed to find successor for Yes Banks MD & CEO? (a) Rajinish Kumar (b) Ajay Tyagi (c) Ashok Chawla (d) O.P. Bhatt

103. According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India's exports grew by 17.86% to billion dollars in October 2018. (a) 25.98 (b) 26.98 (c) 27.98 (d) 28.98

104. In which country have French President Emmanuel Macron and King Mohammed VI inaugurated first high-speed rail line, the first ever such line in Africa? (a) Nigeria (b) Tanzania (c) Morocco (d) Tunisia

105. The World Bank provided over US $ _____ million in financial assistance to Nepal on 14 November 2018. (a) 140 (b) 155 (c) 160 (d) 175




106. Which of the following countries inaugurated a US$ 3.9 billion 'Rogun hydro-electric project' on 16 November 2018? (a) Tajikistan (b) Turkmenistan (c) Afghanistan (d) Uzbekistan

107. Which of these days was celebrated across the country on 18th November 2018? (a) World Toilet Day (b) Naturopathy Day (c) Safer Internet Day (d) Central Excise Day

108. Who is the author of the novel 'The Velvet Gloves? (a) Datta Padsalgikar (b) Sharad Pawar (c) Balakrishna Kamath (d) Devendra Fadnavis

109. Which of these cities will be hosting the 'International Tourism Mart' from 22 November 2018? (a) Trivandrum (b) Tripura (c) Rajkot (d) Varanasi

110. Who amongst these won a bronze medal at the World Junior Badminton Championship on 17 November 2018? (a) Dhruv Rawat (b) Lakshya Sen (c) Kiran George (d) Alap Mishra

111. Which of these Indian Golfers became the first Indian to emerge as the 'Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year 2018' on the European Tour? (a) Shiv Kapur (b) Anirban Lahiri (c) Arjun Atwal (d) Shubhankar Sharma

112. __________ will be observed all over the country, from 19th to 25th November, 2018. (a) National Integration Week (b) Pin Code Week (c) Prevention of Blindness Week (d) National Nutrition Week

113. Who amongst these was the winner of the ATP Finals in London on 19 November 2018? (a) Alexander Zverev (b) Pete Sampras (c) Andy Murray (d) Rafael Nadal

114. _________ won the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development 2018. (a) Forest Research Institute (b) National Dairy Research Institute (c) Agharkar Research Institute (d) Centre for Science and Environment

115. Who has been appointed as the new Revenue, Secretary? (a) Hasmukh Adhia (b) Sanjay Kothari (c) Rajesh Kotecha (d) Ajay Bhushan Pandey

116. _________ is the name of the new Online Open Learning training platform launched by the Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education. (a) KOOL (b) KITE (c) MOOC (d) COLTP

117. Which of the following organization along with World Jewish Congress is launching a website on Holocaust education? (a) UN (b) UNICEF (c) UNHRC (d) UNESCO

118. Which Bollywood actor announced to pay off loans of farmers in U.P to the tune of Rs. 4.05 cr? (a) Shahrukh Khan (b) Amitabh Bachan (c) Amir Khan (d) Akshay Kumar

119. Don Wolfman who was Awarded lifetime Achievement Award at International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2018 belongs to which country? (a) UK (b) Canada (c) Israel (d) Australia

120. According to Boston Consulting Group (BCG) the Over-The-Top (OTT) video streaming market in India is set to touch $ 5 billion by? (a) 2023 (b) 2022 (c) 2021 (d) 2020

121. R. Chandrashekhar who resigned from Yes Bank was its _____ ? (a) Chairman (b) MD & CEO (c) Independent Director (d) Whole time Director

122. What is the name of the new app to be released by Google which helps people source local information from their neighoburs? (a) Friends with Benefits (b) Next Billion Users (c) Neighbourhood (d) Neighbourly

123. Recently meeting of Environment Ministers and top climate change negotiators from BASIC nations was held in Delhi. What does ‘S’ stands for? (a) Secular (b) South Africa (c) Strategic (d) Security

124. India and Russia signed a _______ deal to locally manufacture 2 stealth frigates with technology transfer? (a) $ 500 million (b) $ 250 million (c) $ 750 million (d) $ 450 million

125. “Bhudhaar” an 11-digit unique figure to easily identify the land details was introduced by which state? (a) Haryana (b) Telangana (c) Andhra Pradesh (d) Punjab




126. 25th Singapore–India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) was held at _______? (a) Singapore (b) Andaman & Nicobar Islands (c) Kolkata (d) Vishakhapatnam

127. Recently a US national John Allen Chan was killed by an Indian tribe sentinels belonged to ______? (a) Lakshadweep (b) Andaman & Nicobar Island (c) Odisha (d) Madhya Pradesh

128. Passport holders with non-Emigration Check Required (non-ECR) will have to get registered for applying jobs abroad from Jan 1, 2019 for _______ countries? (a) 16 (b) 17 (c) 18 (d) 19

129. Indian made a formal request to US for purchase of __ No. of MH-60R Multi-Role Helicopters (MRH) for Navy? (a) 24 (b) 16 (c) 36 (d) 42

130. 32nd Annual Tri-Services Training command conference of military was held at __________? (a) Vishakhapatnam (b) New Delhi (c) Cochi (d) Hyderabad

131. Point Calimere where recently many birds were died due to cyclone Gaja is located in _____ state? (a) Kerala (b) Tamil Nadu (c) Karnataka (d) A & N Islands

132. Which of the following state Governor recently dissolved the state’s assembly due to failure of parties to form a government? (a) Telangana (b) Manipur (c) Jammu & Kashmir (d) Sikkim

133. Finance ministry recently detected Rs. _______ indirect tax evasion for April-October 2018 period? (a) Rs. 36,426 Cr (b) Rs. 12, 361 Cr (c) Rs. 25, 542 Cr (d) Rs. 29, 088 Cr

134. U.S has suspended __________ aid to Pakistan for not supporting U.S in any issue? (a) $ 1.66 billion (b) $ 2.95 billion (c) $ 2.23 billion (d) $ 3.54 billion

135. Interpol elected Kim Jong–yang of ________ as its new president? (a) Japan (b) China (c) South Korea (d) Malaysia

136. According to Confederation of ATM industry (CATMi) __________ of ATMs will be shut down by 2019? (a) 25% (b) 50% (c) 15% (d) 45%

137. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) recently sought the permission of SEBI to raise upto Rs. _____ through bonds to finance its various projects? (a) 5000 Cr (b) 7000 Cr (c) 10,000 Cr (d) 12,000 Cr

138. The merged Vodafone-Idea announced to expand its presence in urban India through _________? (a) Vodafone (b) Idea (c) Both Idea & Vodafone (d) None of the above

139. Carlos Ghosn the chairman was ousted by its company’s board of directions belongs to ______ automobile company? (a) Yamaha (b) Nissan (c) Ford (d) Skoda

140. What is the name of military exercise which was closed by US and South Korea to facilitate talks with North Korea? (a) Red Eagle (b) Black Frog (c) RIMPAC (d) Foal Eagle

141. The commission on examining sub-categorization of OBC (Other Backward Classes) will get an ex tension till ______? (a) Mar 31, 2019 (b) May 31, 2019 (c) Dec 31, 2019 (d) Jan 1, 2019

142. Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agriculture University (PJTSAU) signed for mutual cooperation with University of Hohenheim, Germany in the field of _________? (a) Agriculture (b) Fertilizer Usage Technology (c) Seed Technology (d) Warehousing technology

143. CSIR-IICT Platinum Jubilee Conference on “Bio technological Research & Innovation for Sustainable Development (BioSD-2018) was organized at _______? (a) Chennai (b) Cochi (c) Dehradun (d) Hyderabad

144. Food & Agriculture Organization Innovation Fair 2018 was held at? (a) Paris (b) Rome (c) London (d) New Delhi

145. Kartarpur corridor which was in news recently is an important pilgrim centre for ________? (a) Sikhs (b) Muslims (c) Hindus (d) Jains

146. 6th edition of Brahmaputra valley Film Festival will be held in _________? (a) Arunachal Pradesh (b) Meghalaya (c) Assam (d) Bangladesh




147. The Indian Chamber of Commerce signed a MoU with the ___ Innovation Park to help facilitate incubation of start-ups on 21 November 2018 (a) IM Allahabad (b) IIM Bangalore (c) IIM Calcutta (d) IM Lucknow

148. Where has Nepal's largest exhibition on construction equipment and technology ‘ConMac 2018' begun on 22 November 2018? (a) Kathmandu (b) Pokhara (c) Janakpur (d) Biratnagar

149. Union Cabinet has approved building and development of the Kartarpur corridor from ___ to International Border. (a) Anandpur Sahib (b) Fatehgarh Sahib (c) Dera Baba Nanak (d) Gurudwara Bangla Sahib

150. Two fast patrol vessels, and, manufactured by 'Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers' (GRSE) for Indian Coast Guard were launched on 22 November 2018. (a) ICGS Samrat and ICGS Dhruv (b) ICGS Amrit Kaur and ICGS Kamla Devi (c) ICGS Amrit Kaur and ICGS Samrat (d) ICGS Samrat and ICGS Kamla Devi

151. The Union Cabinet has approved a MoU between India and __ on Consumer Protection and Legal Metrology on 22 November 2018. (a) Seychelles (b) Maldives (c) Mauritius (d) Mozambique

152. According to the RBI data, bank credit rose by_% to Rs 91.11 lakh crore in the fortnight ended 9 November 2018? (a) 9.13 (b) 12.36 (c) 13.27 (d) 14.88

153. SEBI has come out with new rules for reclassification of a promoter as a public investor. The promoter will not be allowed to hold over ____ % stake. (a) 5 (b) 10 (c) 15 (d) 20

154. Who has been appointed as the first 'Youth Advocate' of the Northeastern region by the UNICEF on 23 November 2018? (a) Nahid Afrin (b) Zubeen Garg (c) Papon (d) Zublee

155. Where will the 19th edition of the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards' be held on 18 February 2019? (a) Monaco (b) Paris (c) Marseille (d) Lyon

156. CCEA has approved continuation of ''Atmosphere & Climate Research-Modelling Observing Systems & Services' (ACROSS) during 2017-2020. It consists of sub-programmes (a) 6 (b) 7 (c) 8 (d) 9

157. Who has been appointed as the acting head of the UN Environment Programme on 22 November 2018? (a) Joyce Msuya (b) Erik Solheim (c) Achim Steiner (d) Klaus Topfer

158. According to recent Brexit deal, Britain will leave EU on __________? (a) Jan 1, 2019 (b) Feb 17, 2019 (c) Mar 29, 2019 (d) Dec 25, 2018

159. What is the name of NASA’s spacecraft recently reached Mars Planet? (a) Event Horizon (b) Insight (c) Voyager (d) Cassini

160. Jaffer Sharief who died recently is a _____ (a) Musician (b) Politician (c) Classical Dancer (d) Journalist

161. According to United Nations office on Durgs & Crime (UNODC) ______ is the most dangerous place for a woman? (a) Public Transport (b) Office/Work place (c) Market places (d) Home

162. According to Dictionary.com _________ word was chooses as word of the year? (a) Misinformation (b) Toxic (c) Complicit (d) Xenophobia

163. HDFC Ltd announced to raise up to by issuing bonds on a private placement basis to shore-up long term basis? (a) Rs. 5000 Cr (b) Rs. 3600 Cr (c) Rs. 8,500 Cr (d) Rs. 6200 Cr

164. Who is the head of task force to draft a new direct tax law to replace the existing Income Tax Act? (a) Arbind Modi (b) Akhilesh Ranjan (c) Girish Ahuja (d) Rajiv Memani

165. HRD ministry recently instructed to all states & UTs not to assign homework to students of classes _____? (a) I, II, III & IV (b) I to V (c) I, only (d) I & II

166. Godrej & Hero Cycles entered into an agreement to jointly develop 1 million sq. ft. commercial office and retail space in ______? (a) Gurugram (b) Noida (c) DLF, Hyderabad (d) Bengaluru




167. What is the name of Chinese navigation system which is rival to US-GPS system? (a) Change-4 (b) BeiDou (c) Qianxun (d) Wanghu

168. Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti was launched by ______ ministry? (a) Defence (b) Home (c) Finance (d) RBI

169. 13th G-20 summit will be held at ______ country? (a) UK (b) Argentina (c) India (d) Australia

170. International Gita Festival – 2018 will be held at _? (a) Brindavan (b) Mathura (c) Dwaraka (d) Kurukshetra

171. Government of India launched “PAiSA” – a portal of centralized electronic platform for processing interest lowering on bank loans to “Deendayal Antyodaya” beneficiaries? What does ‘S’ represent in it? (a) Strategic (b) Supportive (c) Subvention (d) Successive

172. Government of India made __ as the sole custodian & curator of all meteorites within Indian boundary? (a) Geological Survey of India (b) Archaeological Survey of India (c) NGRI (d) Survey of India

173. ______ has been appointed as new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India taking charge from December 2, 2018? (a) Asim Qureshi (b) Sunil Arora (c) O.P. Rawat (d) Nasim Zaidi

174. “Mo Cycle” a public bicycle sharing project was launched by ________ state? (a) Chattisgarh (b) U.P (c) Odisha (d) Maharashtra

175. ___ has been recently appointed as the Chairperson of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB)? (a) G. Rama Rao (b) K. N. Vyas (c) Rajiv Shukla (d) G. Nageshwar Rao

176. _______ has been conferred French Civilian Award – Knight of the Legion of Honour 2018? (a) Amitabh Bachchan (b) Mukesh Ambani (c) Azim Premji (d) Shahrukh Khan

177. “Hausla 2018” – National festival for children of Children Care Institution was held at ________? (a) New Delhi (b) Hyderabad (c) Mumbai (d) Kolkata

178. Iravatham Mahadevan who recently passed away was _________? (a) Numismatist (b) Epigraphist (c) Ornithologist (d) Historian

179. 127th Iron Man 70.3 race & India’s first event will be held at __________? (a) Karnataka (b) New Delhi (c) Goa (d) Maharashtra

180. ISRO recently launched __________ satellite with its PSLV-C-43 which helps in defence, agriculture, land use & mineral exploration? (a) Megha Tropiques (b) Castosat-2 (c) RISAT-1 (d) HysIS

181. Mohammed Aziz who died recently was a _______ (a) former central minister (b) playback singer (c) scientist (d) author

182. According Central Statistical Organization (CSO) the economy grew by __________% during 2010-2011 an not 10.3% as estimated earlier? (a) 8.5% (b) 9.9% (c) 7.6% (d) 11.5%

183. Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) announced creation of a new division to list ___________ companies? (a) Textiles (b) Agri-based (c) Startups (d) Food processing

184. _________ state has launched “Tourist Police” for safety & security of tourists? (a) Assam (b) Telangana (c) Goa (d) Nagaland

185. __________ company recently launched “World’s most Economical TV’ at price of just Rs. 3,999? (a) Micromax (b) Realme (c) Dettel (d) Waltel

186. Varsha Varman who won a gold medal recently belongs to __________ sport? (a) Archery (b) Shooting (c) Squash (d) Boxing

187. On 27 Nov, 2018 India an Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed _________ loan agreement for 4 water supply projects in coastal Karnataka? (a) $ 75 million (b) $ 105 million (c) $ 60 million (d) $ 50 million

188. If Gagayaan is successful, India would become ________ country to send humans into space? (a) 2nd (b) 3rd (c) 4th (d) 5th

189. Supreme Court in its recent judgment allowed candidates aged _________ years and above to apply & appear in National Eligibility & Entrance Test – (NEET)-UG 2019 exam? (a) 20 (b) 25 (c) 30 (d) 35




190. Government of India constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) to examine amend law against sexual harassments at workplace. It is headed by _? (a) Rajnath Singh (b) Maneka Gandhi (c) Sushma Swaraj (d) Smriti Irani

191. As per new recruitment norms of UGC doctoral degree holders from top ___________ foreign universities are now eligible for direct recruitment? (a) 1000 (b) 100 (c) 300 (d) 500

192. __________ film of Ukraine won the Golden Peacock Award at 49th International Film Festival of India IFFI; Goa? (a) Donbass (b) Ea.Ma.Yau (c) When The Trees Fall (d) Aga

193. According to Greenpeace International, deforestation has increased by almost _________ in Amazon forest between August 2017 to July 2018? (a) 18% (b) 20% (c) 14% (d) 16%

194. Stephen Hillenburg, who recently died was the creator of __________ animated character? (a) Scooby Doo (b) Ben Ten (c) Sponge Bob (d) Bugs Bunny

195. The Handmaids Tale book is being authored by __? (a) Anita Desai (b) J. K. Rowling (c) Anna Burns (d) Margret Atwood

196. Of Counsel: The Challenges of Modi-Jaitley Economy is written by? (a) Y. V. Reddy (b) Arvind Subramaniyam (c) Arvind Panagariya (d) Raghuram Rajan

197. Who is current chairman of Prime Minister Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC)? (a) Bibek Debroy (b) Rajiv Kumar (c) Arundhati Bhattacharya (d) Rajinish Kumar

198. Which of following NASA’s telescope announced retirement after its 95 years. of service. (a) Kepler (b) James Webb (c) Chandra (d) Astro-2

199. Jamal Khashoggi a journalist who was found murdered in Turkey belongs to ________ country? (a) Iran (b) Saudi Arabia (c) Pakistan (d) Syria

200. International Cricket Council suspended Sri Lanka bowling coach _______ on match-fixing charges? (a) Chandrika Hathurusingha (b) Asanka Gureesinha (c) Arjuna Ranathunga (d) Nuwan Zoysa

201. India ranked _________ in World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business Index 2018”? (a) 100 (b) 96 (c) 77 (d) 85

202. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has partnered with _______ to train Small and Medium Enterprises? (a) Whatsapp (b) Facebook (c) Apple (d) Microsoft

203. Little India gate was inaugurated in ____ country? (a) Thailand (b) Indonesia (c) Japan (d) Australia

204. Recently which country launched World’s first Sovereign Blue bond? (a) USA (b) Japan (c) Mauritius (d) Seychelles

205. Successful night trial of Agni-1 missile was conducted. What is its range? (a) 1500 kms (b) 2500 kms (c) 700 kms (d) 5000 kms

206. Indian Navy’s Sail training ship ______ completed its 7 months Voyage Covering 15 ports in 13 countries around the world? (a) INS Taringini (b) INS Tarini (c) INS Jalashwa (d) INS Tapasvi

207. Status of Unity which was recently inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi has a height of _________? (a) 102 mts (b) 182 mts (c) 118 mts (d) 126 mts

208. The Tourism Department of which state has launched 'SMILE Virtual Tour Guide' on 31 October 2018? (a) Karnataka (b) Kerala (c) Chhatisgarh (d) Maharashtra

209. The Union Cabinet approved the agreement between India and ________ on 1 November 2018, in order to increase effectiveness in investigation and prosecution of crime. (a) Morocco (b) Egypt (c) Tunisia (d) Libiya

210. Who has been appointed as the Special Envoy for Syria by the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on 31 October 2018? (a) Nikki Haley (b) Geir O. Pedersen (c) Charles Stuart Kennedy (d) Jon Huntsman Jr.

211. Which film will be the opening film at the 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI)? (a) Neerali (b) Olu (c) Varathan (d) Mayaanadhi




212. In which country was the 10th session of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Executive Council held? (a) UAE (b) Kuwait (c) Bahrain (d) Egypt

213. Who has received the 'Roy M Huffington Award' for 2018 in the US? (a) Vijay Goradia (b) Marie Goradia (c) Rohini Nilekani (d) Both (a) and (b)

214. ___ has launched trading in commodity derivatives with the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) on 31 October 2018. (a) HDFC Securities (b) Kotak Securities (c) Axis Securities (d) ICICI Prudential Life Insurance

215. The Cabinet approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between India and _____ on 1 November 2018, to expand bilateral cooperation in tourism. (a) China (b) Japan (c) South Korea (d) Thailand

216. Where has the first ever ‘Water handloom hut’ been inaugurated on 11 November 2018? (a) Manipur (b) Mizoram (c) Assam (d) Arunachal Pradesh

217. Who has won the prestigious ‘Minin Barkotoki Literary Award 2018’ on 12th November 2018? (a) Kailash Satyarthi (b) Dr. Debabhuson Borah (c) Amartya Sen (d) Severo Ochoa

218. Recently, Stan Lee passed away on 12 November 2018. He was a (a) Politician (b) Writer (c) Actor (d) Sportsperson

219. Amnesty International revoked the ‘Ambassador of Conscience Award’ given to __ on 13 November 2018 (a) Colin Kaepernick (b) Aung San Suu Kyi (c) Joan Baez (d) Malala Yousafzai

220. Who has won the badminton’s Fuzhou China open on 11th November 2018? (a) Kento Momota (b) Chou Tien – Chen (c) Lee Chong Wei (d) Li Zuerui

221. Who has become the first Indian to climb Mt. Giluwe on 11th November 2018? (a) Kuntal Joisher (b) Mingma Sherpa (c) Satyarup Siddhanta (d) Love Raj Singh dharmshaktu

222. Where has a new statue commemorating the role of Indian Soldiers in World War I been unveiled on 11th Nov 2018? (a) France (b) Germany (c) USA (d) UK

223. The Bilateral Exercise ‘Samudra Shakti’ which is being held from 12 to 18 November 2018 is conducted between India and ___ (a) Thailand (b) Indonesia (c) Sri Lanka (d) Singapore

224. What is the name of the world’s largest supercomputer designed to work in the same way as the human brain? (a) IMB Sequoia (b) SpiNNaker (c) NUDT Tianhe – 2 (d) Tianhe – 1A

225. With which of the following has Abu Dhabi National Oil company signed a MoU to store crude oil in the underground oil storage facility at Padur, Karnataka? (a) Prize Petroleum Company Limited (b) Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd. (c) HPCL – Mittal Energy Limited (d) Shiv – Vani Oil and Gas Exploration Services

Limited 226. President Ram nath Kovind will inaugurate the ‘CII

Agro Tech 2018’ in ___ on 1 December 2018. (a) Lucknow (b) Jaipur (c) New Delhi (d) Chandigarh

227. Which Dance Festival was celebrated amid fanfare in Shillong? (a) Nongkrem (b) Giddha (c) Saang (d) Kalbalia

228. The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDoR) is observed on which day? (a) 10th November (b) 15th November (c) 16th November (d) 18th November

229. In which state the six – day ‘Shri Renukaji Fair’ has commenced? (a) Himachal Pradesh (b) Punjab (c) Madhya Pradesh (d) Chattisgarh

230. Who is the Padma Shri Awardee, who is famous for his role as Jinnah in Gandhi died recently? (a) John Briley (b) John Gielgul (c) Alyque Padamsee (d) Ben Kingsley

231. Which country won the 2018 Fed Cup Trophy for the 6th time in eight years, in Czech Republic? (a) United states (b) Czech Republic (c) South Korea (d) Japan




232. Who was appointed as a non executive director of Vodafone Group? (a) Sanjiv Ahuja (b) Arpit Mehta (c) Indra Chatterjee (d) None

233. India signs a MoU with which country on affordable approaches to cancer? (a) Russia (b) UK (c) Germany (d) Japan

234. Which of the following department hosted Global Digital Content Market, 2018? (a) Department of Commerce (b) Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (c) Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (d) Department of Science and Technology

235. Which of the following countries is the Partner Country at the 9th Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2019? (a) Oman (b) Qatar (c) UAE (d) China

236. Consider the following statements about Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Abhiyaan. A. 50 cr beneficiaries list has been taken from latest Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) B. Aadhar is not mandatory for the first time to get benefits but for second time it is mandatory. Which of the above is true? (a) Only A (b) Only B (c) Both A and B (d) Neither A nor B

237. _________ IT company is planning to invest Rs. 750 cr to set up two facilities in Andhra Pradesh that will create 7,500 jobs in 10 years. (a) HCL Technologies (b) Microsoft (c) Infosys (d) IBM

238. Consider the following 1. Initial Public Offerings 2. Bonus 3. Rights Issues 4. Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) Which of the above are made eligible for concessional rate of 10% Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG) tax, even if the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) has not been paid earlier? (a) 1 & 3 only (b) 2 & 4 only (c) 1, 2 & 4 only (d) All of the above

239. Which of the following middle-east countries recently approved a counter – Terror Finance Bill to join the UN Terrorism Financing Convention? (a) Lebanon (b) Iran (c) Iraq (d) Saudi Arabia

240. According to recent report by KPMG India and Google what is the value of online education market in India? (a) $ 122 million (b) $ 1.96 billion (c) $ 247 million (d) $ 761 million

241. “Fear: Trump in the white House” book is written by ____? (a) Barack Obama (b) Nancy Pelosi (c) Bob Woodward (d) John MacCain

242. Consider the following statements regarding Geographical Indication (G.I) tag (A) First G I product to get G.I tag in India was the

Darjeeling tea in 2004 (B) Alfonso Mango from Maharashtra is the latest

to get G.I tag in October, 2018 (C) G.I is awarded and managed by Geographical

Indication Registry which is under Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce & Industry

(D) For selecting tagline and logo a contest was held which was won by Akancha Tripati and Atri Chaterjee respectively.

(E) Invaluable Treasure of Incredible India is its tagline

Which of the above statements are true? (a) A, B, D & E only (b) B & E only (c) A, C & D only (d) All of the above

243. Recently ISRO signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ____ agency on joint activities in the field of Human spaceflight Programme? (a) Rockosmos (b) NASA (c) ESA (d) JAXA

244. Recently Mukesh Ambani said that he will make state as Digital Devbhoomi by connecting schools with high-speed Internet? (a) Maharashtra (b) Uttarakhand (c) Himachal Pradesh (d) Jammu & Kashmir

245. Last Girl” “My story of Captivity, and My Fight against Islamic state” book was written by (a) Malala Yousufzai (b) Nadia Murad (c) Manal-al-sharif (d) Tawakkol Karman

246. Bilateral Military Exercise between Japan and India (JIMEX 18) was held at _________? (a) Nagoya (b) Tokyo (c) Vishakhapatnam (d) Chennai




247. Which of the following railway zones became Unmanned Level Crossing Free Zone by offering alternative modes of cross (a) South Central Railways (b) Western Railways (c) Central Railways (d) Southern Railways

248. Sultan of Johor Cup belongs to __________ game? (a) Cricket (b) Football (c) Hockey (d) Golf

249. According to global brand consultancy Interbrand’s “Best 100 Global Brands 2018” report __ displaced Google and became the Top Brand in the World? (a) Amazon (b) Apple (c) Google (d) Facebook

250. Keerthana Pandian who recently won a sports championship little. She belongs to ______ sport? (a) Billiards (b) Shooting (c) Boxing (d) Athletics

251. Indian Railways signed MoU with Russian Railway to speed up graduation project of __________? (a) Ahmedabad Mumbai (b) Patna-Kolkata (c) Delhi-Lucknow (d) Nagpur-Secunderabad

252. National Green Tribunal (NGT) has cleared the “Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojana” which provides all-weather connectivity to four holy towns of Uttarakhand _ Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedar and Badrinath. And also it formed a committee headed by _____ to monitor the project? (a) Justice Jawad Rahim (b) Justice S.P. Wangdi (c) Justice U. C. Dhyani (d) Justice Gaurav Bansa

253. Who among the following Indians is appointed as chairman of the Working Committee and Director on the Board of World Federation of Exchanges (WFE)? (a) B. S. Chauhan (b) Vikram Limaye (c) R.S. Sharma (d) O.P.Bhatt

254. Consider the following regarding “World Economic outlook “Report 2018. (A) India’s growth r ate will be 7.3% for 2018 and

7.4% in 2019

(B) It is released by World Bank (C) China growth rate is projected at 66% in 2018

and 6.2% in 2019. (D) Suggested reforms for India are reviving bank

credit, improve credit opportunities by cleaning up balance sheets of banks & corporate and improving governance of PSBS.

(a) 1 & 3 only (b) 2 & 4 only (c) 1, 3 & 4 only (d) All of the above

255. Which organization won ISSA Good Practice Award, Asia & Pacific 2018”? (a) LIC (b) CCI (c) NSDB (d) ESIC

256. In its move to deal with anti-terror activities which country announced to establish “Vocational education centres” which bring educational transformation in terrorists? (a) India (b) USA (c) China (d) Canada

257. Sachin Chathurvedi and Revathy Iyer has been appointed as new directors of ______ organization? (a) SEBI (b) RBI (c) IDBI (d) SIDBI

258. Government of India recently released a draft National Electronics Policy-2018. Which of the following is not true? (a) It set an ambitious target of creating a $ 400

billion electronics manufacturing industry by 2025.

(b) Policy aims to double the target of mobile phone production from 500 million units in 2019 to 1 billion by 2025

(c) It is restricted only to mobiles, computers, laptops and its spares.

(d) It proposes to set up 20 greenfield and 3 brownfield electronic manufacturing duster projects.

259. Who has been appointed as new MD & CEO of Air Asia India? (a) Suni Bhaskaran (b) Vijay Sharma (c) S. Ramadorai (d) Ashish Chaturvedi

260. According to World Bank’s Human Capital Index, India is ranked 115 out of 157 countries. Which countries. Which country topped the list? (a) Hongkong (b) South Korea (c) Japan (d) Singapore




261. Based on the report of Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which of the following statement is not true? (a) India’s personal financial wealth, currently

estimated at $ 3 trillion and expected to grow $ 5 trillion by 2022 making India 11th wealthiest nation.

(b) Residents of Western Europe are holding over 40% of global personal wealth.

(c) 70% of India’s personal financial wealth was in liquid assets like equities, currencies and bonds.

(d) India is 5th largest Asian market in terms of no. of affluent, high net worth and ultra high net worth individuals

262. NITI Aayog along with _____ IT giant announced a first of its kind internship programme for students selected by Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)? (a) IBM (b) Google (c) Infosys (d) Tech Mahindra

263. In which of the following Universities did ISRO is setting up Satish Dhawan centre for space science? (a) Central University of Assam (b) Central University of Hyderabad (c) Central University of Jammu (d) Central University of Pondicherry

264. Which of the following ASEAN countries abolished capital punishment recently? (a) Thailand (b) Indonesia (c) Malaysia (d) Philippines

265. According global RTI ratings of Transparency International (TI), what is India’s rank? (a) 3rd (b) 4th (c) 5th (d) 6th

266. G.D. Agarwal who died recently was ________? (a) Save Girlchild Activist (b) Save Ganga Activist (c) RTI Activist (d) Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) Activist

267. “Lalu Leela” a nearly 200-page book on benami land deals allegedly involving Lalu Prasad Yadav, is written by __________? (a) Sushil Kumar Modi (b) Jitan Ram Manjhi (c) Ram Vilas Paswan (d) Ravi Shankar Prasad

268. I-KHET Machine, e-PEHaL and e-Prevent, 3 mobile apps. Aimed at checking crop residue burning was released by ______ state? (a) Haryana (b) Punjab (c) Rajasthan (d) West Bengal

269. The famous Direct selling and chain marketing based company Amway appointed ___ as its CEO? (a) Dong Devos (b) Krishna Kumar Mishra (c) Milind Pant (d) Steve Van Andel

270. World Economic Forum (WEF) launched it new centre for 4th Industrial Revolution in India in ____ state? (a) New Delhi (b) Karnataka (c) Telangana (d) Maharashtra

271. Who has been appointed as new CEO of Bhilai steel plant? (a) Anirban Dasgupta (b) Anil Kumar Chaudary (c) Arun Kumar Rath (d) M. Ravi

272. World bank recently announced $ 195 mill concessional loans to ______ South Asian country to reform financial & energy sector? (a) India (b) Nepal (c) Pakistan (d) Afghanistan

273. Which of the following statements are false with respect to Global Hunger Index 2018? (a) It is released every year by International food

Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) (b) India’s rank is 103 out total 119 countries (c) There are totally 15 countries occupied Rank 1 (d) Nearly 21% of Indian children i.e., 1 out of 5

are under-weight (child wasting) 274. According to UN’s report “Economic Losses,

Poverty and Disasters 1998-2017 India suffered a ___ economic loss due to climate related disasters? (a) $ 56.7 bill (b) $ 79.5 bill (c) $ 32.3 bill (d) $ 96.7 bill

275. Central government has approved the implementation of central sector scheme-Indian Footwear, Leather & accessories development Programme with expenditure of Rs. _______ cr for 2017-2020? (a) 2600 cr (b) 1760 cr (c) 2120 cr (d) 3000 cr




276. Tushar Mehta was recently appointed as new _____ of India? (a) Attorney General of India (b) Solicitor General of India (c) Additional Solicitor General of India (d) Comptroller and Auditor General of India

(CAG) 277. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)

started Roll-on-Roll off (Ro-Ro) facility recently in _____ state? (a) Uttar Pradesh (b) West Bengal (c) Telangana (d) Assam

278. Parliamentary Affairs ministry Vijay Goel inaugurated OAMS recently, which makes available the promises given on the floor of parliament in digital format? What does “M” represent in OAMS? (a) Mobilizing (b) Media (c) Monitoring (d) Measuring

279. 17th Council of Heads of Governments (CHGs) meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was held at __________? (a) Russia (b) China (c) Tajikistan (d) Uzbekistan

280. What is the theme of International Day of Girl Child celebrated on October 11 every year? (a) With Her Askilled Work Force (b) Girl and Technology (c) Road towards Entrepreneurship with girl (d) She brings happiness to life

281. World Union of Wholesale Markets (WUWM) conference was held at ________? (a) Gurugram (b) Pune (c) Hyderabad (d) Mangalore

282. Who among the following won a silver medal in men’s F46 category of Javelin Throw in Asia Para games-2018 held at Jakarta? (a) Sandeep Chowdary (b) Jadhav Suyash Narayan (c) Radha venkatesh (d) Sunder Singh Gurjar

283. First Bio electronic medicine which is a biodegradable wireless device that speeds up nerve re-generation was developed by _____ university?

(a) Cambridge University (b) Washington University (c) IISc Bangalore (d) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

284. Match the following player with sport participated in Youth Olympic Games – 2018 held at Argentina. Player Sport 1. Tushar Mane A. Judo 2. Thangjam Tababi Devi B. Weightlifting 3. Lakshya Sen C. Rifle Shooting 4. Jeremy Lalrinnunga D. Badminton (a) 1-A; 2-B; 3-C; 4-D (b) 1-D; 2-C; 3-A; 4-B (c) 1-C; 2-A; 3-D; 4-B (d) 1-C; 2-B; 3-A; 4-D

285. World’s largest Telecom Tower company (outside China) “Indus Towers” of India recently won prestigious Japan’s Deming Prize. It is awarded for _______? (a) Total Quality Management (TQM) (b) Best Service Provider (c) Best H.R. practices (d) Best ethics in organizational management

286. Microsoft corp along with start-up spektacom Tech of ______ introduced Artificial intelligence based “Power Bat”? (a) Rahul Dravid (b) Sachin Tendulkar (c) Md. Azharuddin (d) Anil Kumble

287. National Housing Bank (NHB) increased Refinancing limit from Rs. 24,000 cr to ______ cr to eligible Housing Finance Companies? (a) Rs. 28,000 cr (b) Rs. 30,000 cr (c) Rs. 32,000 cr (d) Rs. 35,000 cr

288. International Olympic Committee has chosen _____ country to be the host for 2022 Youth Olympics? (a) South Africa (b) Senegal (c) Australia (d) Morocco

289. With which of the following cities did Delhi signed a Twin-city agreement? (a) Washington (b) London (c) Moscow (d) Ottawa

290. Which of the following recently appointed its first suicide Prevention Minister? (a) UK (b) USA (c) Canada (d) Russia

291. Sharad Kumar who won gold in Asian Para Games – 2018 belongs to __________ sport? (a) Long Jump (b) High Jump (c) Shot Put (d) Swimming




292. 36th National Games-2018 will be held in ________ state? (a) Telangana (b) Maharashtra (c) Manipur (d) Goa

293. Which Indian state has been nominated for UN Food And Agriculture Organizations (FAO) Future Policy Award-2018 for its achievement in organic farming? (a) Kerala (b) Haryana (c) Sikkim (d) Goa

294. Harvinder Singh who won a gold medal in Asian Para Games 2018 belongs to _________ sport? (a) Shooting (b) Swimming (c) High Jump (d) Archery

295. Denmark is ranked no.1 in Oxfam International’s report “Commitment to Reducing Inequality” (CRI) what is India’s rank? (a) 149 (b) 147 (c) 103 (d) 115

296. UNICEF partnered with __________ business organization to strengthen child Rights? (a) FICCI (b) CII (c) NASSCOM (d) ASSOCHAM

297. Rahul Aware who was awarded the Best sportsperson of the year by sport journalists Association of Mumbai belongs to _______ sport? (a) Wrestling (b) Shooting (c) Squash (d) Cricket

298. According to “Henley’s Passport Index 2018” ____ took over Singapore as most powerful passport of the World? (a) Japan (b) South Korea (c) Hongkong (d) USA

299. ____ has been appointed as new chief of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI)? (a) Qamar Javed Bajwa (b) Zalmay Khalilzad (c) Naveed Mukhtar (d) Asim Munir

300. First Indian-Israel Innovation centre was established at ______ city? (a) Hyderabad (b) Bangalore (c) Chennai (d) Noida

301. SBI recently signed with ______ country’s National Banking Institute for development of Human resources? (a) Bhutan (b) Bangladesh (c) Afghanistan (d) Nepal

302. Who has been recently appointed as Chief statistician of India? (a) N. Ravi (b) S.S. Deswal (c) Pravin Srivastava (d) N. K. Vyas

303. Who among the following Indian won Texas open squash Championship 2018 held at Houston, USA (a) Sourav Gohsal (b) Mahesh Magaonkar (c) Vikram Malhotra (d) Ritwik Bhattacharya

304. Mobile Health App Medwatch was recently launched by Indian _________? (a) Indian Army (b) Indian Airforce (c) Indian Navy (d) BSF

305. ______ was declared as Hockey World Cup mascot 2018? (a) Appu (b) Miraitowa (c) Miga (d) Olly

306. What is the rank of India according to Henley Passport Index 2018? (a) 56 (b) 45 (c) 72 (d) 81

307. Artificial limb fitment camps initiative “India Humanity” was recently launched by ___ ministry? (a) External Affairs (b) PMO (c) Family & Health Welfare (d) Home Affairs

308. Pakistan recently test fired Ghauri missile with the range of __________ kms? (a) 2000 kms (b) 1300 kms (c) 800 kms (d) 3000 kms

309. Recently scientists discovered oldest flying squirrel fossil in ____________ country? (a) USA (b) Japan (c) Spain (d) India

310. According to Burson Cohn & Wolfe’s Twiplomacy study 2018 P.M Narendra Modi is the ______ most followed leader? (a) 1st (b) 2nd (c) 3rd (d) 4th

311. PNB Metlife recently launched an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered customer service app called ___________? (a) Livelong (b) Khushi (c) Lifelong (d) Sahay




312. Insolvency Law Committee (ILC) which recently submitted report on cross border insolvency was headed by ______? (a) Injeti Srinivas (b) Pradeep Kumar Sinha (c) Hashmikh Aadhia (d) Rajiv Kumar

313. “Sagar” conference which aimed to highlight the technological, economic and development opportunities in outer space was held at ______? (a) Andhra Pradesh (b) Maharashtra (c) Tamil Nadu (d) Goa

314. According to Brand Finance’s annual “Nation Brands report 2018” US topped the list. What is India’s rank? (a) 7 (b) 8 (c) 9 (d) 10

315. On the eve of National Police Commemoration Day on October 21, 2018 PM Narendra Modi dedicated National Police Memorial and a museum to the nation. It was built at __________? (a) New Delhi (b) Pune (c) Mumbai (d) Hyderabad

316. According to Forbes Global 2000 best employers list 2018 Alphabet topped the list. What is the only Indian company among top 25 with rank 22? (a) Grasim Industries (b) L & T (c) Mahindra & Mahindra (d) HDFC

317. Recently State Bank of India launched its wealth business services called “SBI Wealth” to offer services to _______ customers? (a) Micro, Small & Medium Enterprices (MSME) (b) Current Account Customers (c) Gold Deposit Customers (d) High Networth Individuals (HNI)

318. Which of the following statements is false? (a) India longest river bridge is planned to be built

across Brahmaputra river (b) Total length of the bridge will be 19.3 kms (c) Bridge is being built by National Highways

Authority of India (NHAI) (d) This bridge is connecting Dhubri in Assam and

Phulbari in Meghalaya & expected to be completed by 2026-27

319. 14th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of World Diamond Council (WDC) was held at _______? (a) Mangalore (b) Indore (c) Pune (d) Mumbai

320. Indian Signed an MoU for appointment of a private operator for operation and maintenance of Sittwe port. In which country this port is located? (a) Iran (b) Myanmar (c) Bangladesh (d) Sri Lanka

321. According to Lloyd’s Underinsurance Report 2018, India is the _______ most under insured country in the world? (a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 4 (d) 5

322. US recently announced to withdraw from intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia. Treaty includes cruise missiles of _______ range? (a) 500 kms – 300 kms (b) 1000 kms – 6000 kms (c) 480 kms – 5470 kms (d) 620 kms – 2600 kms

323. According to U.S. Department of Labour ________ is the only Indian company among top 10 firms to get foreign labour certification for H1-B visas for fiscal year 2018? (a) TCS (b) Reliance Infotech (c) Infosys (d) Mahindra Infotech

324. Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration was given to __________? (a) Markandaya Katju (b) Rajiv Mehrishi (c) K. K. Venu gopal (d) Fali S. Nariman

325. Who among the following won Man Booker Prize 2018? (a) Michael Ondatje (b) Anna Burns (c) George Sounders (d) Paul Beaty

326. The Caravan migrants hashtag was recently in the news in the context of affairs related to (a) Venezuela (b) Italy (c) Australia (d) USA

327. Formosa Strait, often in the news, extends from (a) between the Java and Celebes Seas (b) between the South and East China Seas (c) Timor and Arafura Seas (d) between the Black and Azov




328. Shanghai Masters Tennis Title 2018 was won by _____? (a) Rafael Nadal (b) Roger Federer (c) Novak Djakovic (d) Andy Murray

329. Akash Malik became first Indian to win a silver medal in ______ sport at Youth Olympics 2018? (a) Athletics (b) Shooting (c) Javelin Throw (d) Archery

330. ________ country recently tested successfully the world’s largest unmanned transport drone which can carry a payload of 15 tonnes? (a) Germany (b) China (c) Japan (d) Saudi Arabia

331. Indian Air Force (IAF) recently announced India’s first competition in the defence sector, the Meher Baba Prize for ______? (a) Kabaddi Championship (b) Shooting Championship (c) Building drones (d) Flying competition

332. DHARMA GUARDIAN-2018 a joint military exercise will be held between India and ___ country at Mizoram from Nov 1 to 14, 2018? (a) Japan (b) UK (c) Sri Lanka (d) Indonesia

333. According to Ministry of Rural development Kuligod in _____ state is the India’s best developed village? (a) Andhra Pradesh (b) Maharashtra (c) Madhya Pradesh (d) Karnataka

334. _______ has been given licence by RBI to operate as an NBFC (Non Banking Financial Company) for digital lending business and app-based financing? (a) Finotech (b) Kreditech (c) Fintech (d) Moneygram

335. “Yatri RASTA” app was recently launched by _______ railway zone to help customers as well as passengers? (a) Western Railways (b) Northern Railways (c) South Central Railways (d) North Central Railways

336. Which of the following Indian states won UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Future Policy for Gold Award for being world’s first 100% organic state?

(a) Andhra Pradesh (b) Sikkim (c) West Bengal (d) Gujarat

337. European Space Agency (ESA) launched a scientific mission named “Bepi Colombo” to _____ planet? (a) Jupiter (b) Uranus (c) Mercury (d) Mars

338. Supreme Court recently announced that only vehicles compliant with Bharat stage-VI emission standards would be allowed to be sold after ______ date? (a) 1 April, 2020 (b) 1 April, 2020 (c) 31 March 2020 (d) 31 March 2019

339. PM. Narendra Modi launched a website and an app named _____ to boost inclusive growth and connect corporate to actively engage in social work? (a) Lekar Sab Ko Sath Sath (b) Vasudhaika Kutumbam (c) Sab Ki Bhalai, Desh Ki Bhalai (d) Self 4 Society - Mai Nahi Hum

340. Who has been appointed as interim director of CBI amid recent corruption cases? (a) Ashok Kumar Bhutani (b) Alok Verma (c) C. Nageshwar Rao (d) Rajpal Singh

341. According to Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asia Universities Ranking, IIT-Mumbai topped from India with rank 33. Which university ranked no.1 overall? (a) University of Hongkong (b) National University of Singapore (c) Peking University (d) Tsinghua University

342. Who among the following had won Hridayanath Mangeshkar award for lifetime achievement 2018? (a) Mohammed Zahur Khayyam Hashmi (b) Javed Akhatar (c) Adnan Sami (d) Gulzar

343. “Ask Disha” app to answer users queries was launched by _______ organization? (a) NITI Aayog (b) LRCTC (c) LIC (d) SBI




344. Which of the following statement is wrong regarding Virat Kohil fastest to reach 10,000 ODI runs? (a) He crossed the 10,000 run mark in 205th

innings whereas Sachin Tendulkar in 259th innings

(b) He is 13th overall and 5th Indian batsman to reach this

(c) His total centuries as of this day are 26 (d) He reached this mark against West Indies

345. World’s oldest known shipwreck dating back to more than 2400 years has been found in ________ sea (a) Medeterranean Sea (b) Caspian Sea (c) Arabian Sea (d) Black Sea

346. Which state government recently decided to introduce livestock veterinary scheme known as “Pashu Sanjeevani Scheme”? (a) Haryana (b) Punjab (c) Uttarakhand (d) Odisha

347. Which of the following country’s prime Minister has been awarded Seoul Peace Prize 2018 for contribution to high economic growth? (a) Imran Khan of Pakistan (b) Narendra Modi of India (c) Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore (d) Mahater Bin Mohamad of Malaysia

348. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and Indian Institute of Toxicology Research ( CSIR-IITR) have developed a technology named _______ to treat water & removes all disease causing pathogens like bacteria, virus etc (a) Neer (b) Pa-neer (c) Oneer (d) Swajal-neer

349. N. D Tiwari, former Governor of united Andhra Pradesh recently passed away, belong to ___ state? (a) Uttarakhand (b) Rajasthan (c) Haryana (d) Delhi

350. Author Maryse Conde became the first to win New Academy Prize in Literature, an alternative award formed in protest to Nobel Literature Prize. She belongs to _______ country? (a) Jamaica (b) Cuba (c) USA (d) Guadeloupe

351. Who among the following wrote the book “Indian sport: conversations and Reflections”? (a) Vijayan Bala (b) Sohaila Abdulali (c) Harsha Bhogle (d) Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

352. _____ state is set to become first smoke-free state in the country with 100%. LPG penetration (a) Telangana (b) Kerala (c) Gujarat (d) Haryana

353. Former chairman of SBI Arundhati Bhattacharya was appointed as an independent additional director of ________ company from Oct 17, 2018? (a) Reliance (b) Infosys (c) Mahindra (d) TCS

354. According to Gemalto’s “Breach level Index” 2018, India is ranked _____ in data breach incidents? (a) 1st (b) 2nd (c) 3rd (d) 4th

355. Virtual Currency exchange “Unocoin” has installed India’s first crypto currency ATM in _______ city? (a) Hyderabad (b) Mumbai (c) Bengaluru (d) Chennai

356. Who is the author of the book “The Jobs crisis in India”? (a) Sipra Mukherjee (b) Uma Mahadevan (c) Rajdeep Sardesai (d) Raghavan Jagannathan

357. India’s first tunnel railways station will be built in _____ state? (a) Uttarakhand (b) Maharashtra (c) Madhya Pradesh (d) Himachal Pradesh

358. India is ranked 58 in the WEF’s “World Competitiveness Index 2018”. Which country topped the list? (a) New Zealand (b) US (c) Singapore (d) China

359. 12th Asia-Europe Summit was held in ______? (a) Bern, Switzerland (b) Mumbai, India (c) Brussels, Belgium (d) Amsterdam, Netherlands

360. BSNL has collaborated with _______ company to offer private 4G business services? (a) Nokia (b) Samsung (c) Motorola (d) Vivo




361. Paul Allen co-founder of ______ died recently? (a) Google (b) Facebook (c) Apple (d) Microsoft

362. Nokia has appointed ____ as its brand ambassador? (a) Sonam Kapoor (b) Alia Bhatt (c) Hrithik Roshan (d) Sonakshi Sinha

363. Who is the author of the book “The Paradoxical Prime Minister”? (a) Rahul Gandhi (b) Shashi Tharoor (c) Veerappa Moily (d) Pranab Mukherjee

364. International Dance Festival was held in ____ city? (a) Varanasi (b) Indore (c) Gwalior (d) Cuttack

365. India government has decided to build ________ country’s war memorial in New Delhi recently? (a) Vietnam (b) Afghanistan (c) Iraq (d) South Korea

366. NITI Aayog has signed an agreement with _______ to develop Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Agriculture and Health care? (a) TCS (b) Microsoft India (c) Cognizant (d) NTT Data

367. _______ was recently appointed as Chairman of Association of Mutual Funds in India? (a) Nimesh Shah (b) Kailash Kulkarni (c) Devansh Prayag (d) Atul Dwivedi

368. Grammy winning Hindustani classical music instrumentalist Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt was honoured with Ustad Chand Khan Lifetime Achievement Award. Which musical instrument does he play? (a) Tanpura (b) Tabla (c) Mohan Veena (d) Jal Tarang

369. “India Ahead : 2025 and Beyond” book is written by (a) Raghuram Rajan (b) Urjit Patel (c) Bimal Jalan (d) Y. V. Reddy

370. Which of the following countries recently announced to launch artificial or man-made moons in space by 2022? (a) USA (b) China (c) ESA (d) Russia

371. 27th Fusion Energy Conference was held in ______ city? (a) Gandhinagar (b) Ahmedabad (c) Thiruvananthapuram (d) Lucknow

372. A Hi-tech central ware house to facilitate seamless distribution of Jan Aushodhi generic medicines under Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana was established at ________? (a) Chandigarh (b) Mumbai (c) Nagpur (d) Gurugram

373. European Parliament awarded the prestigious Sakharov Human Rights Prize – 2018 to ______? (a) Democratic Opposition in Loksabha (b) Nadia Murad Basee (c) Lamiye Aji Bashar (d) Oleg Senstov

374. Impactful Policy Research in Social Sciences (IMPRESS) and Scheme for Promotion of Academic & Research Collaboration (SPARC) are the two web portal schemes launched by _______ ministry? (a) H.R.D (b) Corporate Affairs (c) Skill Development (d) Science & Technology

375. Sahle-Work Zewde was appointed as first female president of ________ African country? (a) Eritrea (b) Senegar (c) Ethiopia (d) Djibouti

376. North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) biggest military exercise “Trident Juncture 2018” was held in _______? (a) Russia (b) Norway (c) USA (d) Spain

377. Kaiga Generating Station has created a world record for longest uninterrupted operation of units having Pressurized Heavy Water React ors (PHWRS). It is located in _________ state? (a) Tamil Nadu (b) Maharashtra (c) Rajasthan (d) Karnataka

378. According to latest FIFA rankings, ______ country ranked no.1 football team in the world? (a) Belgium (b) France (c) Germany (d) Spain




379. According to International Air Transport Association (IATA) India will be 3rd largest Aviation market globally by ______ year? (a) 2020 (b) 2022 (c) 2024 (d) 2025

380. ______ state government has banned the sale of Glyphosate, a herbicide which is observed to be a Group 2A cancer-causing material? (a) Punjab (b) Telangana (c) Haryana (d) Uttar Pradesh

381. Recently India signed an extradition treaty with _____ country? (a) Cuba (b) Malawi (c) Nicalagua (d) Philippiness

382. According to World Cooperative Monitor report 2018 ____ has been ranked as biggest cooperative in the world? (a) IFFCO (b) Amul (c) Zenkyoren (d) KRIBHCO

383. “Iron Magic 2019” is the military exercise held between ______ and USA? (a) India (b) Israel (c) Poland (d) UAE

384. Invert India a non-profit venture of DIPP has won UN Award for excellence in promoting investments in sustainable development? Who is the CEO of Invest India? (a) Ashok Kumar Bhutani (b) Narendra Kumar (c) Deepak Bagla (d) V.S. Chouhan

385. Recently government of India announced to name ________ number of himalayan peaks after former P.M. Atal Bihari Vajpayee. (a) 3 (b) 4 (c) 5 (d) 6

AANNSSWWEERR KKEEYY 1 d 2 d 3 c 4 a 5 c 6 b 7 b 8 c 9 a 10 b 11 c 12 d 13 a 14 c 15 d 16 b 17 b 18 a 19 c 20 a 21 c 22 b 23 b 24 c 25 c 26 d 27 b 28 a 29 b 30 c 31 d 32 a 33 b 34 a 35 d 36 c 37 b 38 a 39 c 40 d 41 a 42 c 43 b 44 c 45 b 46 d 47 a 48 b 49 c 50 d 51 b 52 c 53 a 54 c 55 b 56 c 57 d 58 d 59 c 60 b 61 d 62 d 63 b 64 d 65 c 66 d 67 d 68 d 69 a 70 d 71 c 72 c 73 d 74 b 75 d 76 a 77 a 78 c 79 b 80 d 81 c 82 d 83 a 84 b 85 C 86 D 87 c 88 a 89 c 90 b 91 d 92 c 93 b 94 b 95 a 96 c 97 b 98 a 99 c 100 d 101 b 102 d 103 b 104 c 105 b 106 a 107 b 108 c 109 b 110 b 111 d 112 a 113 a 114 d 115 d 116 a 117 d 118 b 119 c 120 a 121 c 122 d 123 b 124 a 125 c 126 d 127 b 128 c 129 a 130 d 131 b 132 c 133 d 134 a 135 c 136 b 137 c 138 a 139 b 140 d 141 b 142 c 143 d 144 b 145 a 146 c 147 c 148 a 149 c 150 b 151 c 152 d 153 b 154 a 155 a 156 d 157 a 158 c 159 b 160 b 161 d 162 a 163 c 164 b 165 d 166 a 167 b 168 a 169 b 170 d 171 c 172 a 173 b 174 c 175 d 176 c 177 a 178 b 179 c 180 d 181 b 182 a 183 c 184 d 185 c 186 b 187 a 188 c 189 b 190 a 191 d 192 a 193 c 194 c 195 d 196 b 197 a 198 a 199 b 200 d




201 c 202 a 203 b 204 d 205 c 206 a 207 b 208 b 209 a 210 b 211 b 212 c 213 d 214 c 215 c 216 a 217 b 218 b 219 b 220 a 221 c 222 a 223 b 224 b 225 b 226 d 227 a 228 d 229 a 230 c 231 b 232 a 233 b 234 b 235 C 236 c 237 a 238 d 239 b 240 c 241 c 242 d 243 a 244 b 245 b 246 c 247 d 248 c 249 b 250 a 251 d 252 c 253 b 254 c 255 d 256 c 257 b 258 c 259 b 260 d 261 b 262 a 263 c 264 c 265 d 266 b 267 a 268 b 269 c 270 d 271 c 272 b 273 a 274 b 275 a 276 b 277 d 278 c 279 c 280 a 281 a 282 d 283 b 284 c 285 a 286 d 287 b 288 b 289 c 290 a 291 b 292 d 293 c 294 d 295 b

296 c 297 a 298 a 299 d 300 b 301 d 302 c 303 c 304 b 305 d 306 d 307 a 308 b 309 c 310 c 311 b 312 a 313 d 314 c 315 a 316 b 317 d 318 c 319 d 320 b 321 a 322 c 323 a 324 d 325 b 326 d 327 b 328 c 329 d 330 b 331 c 332 a 333 d 334 b 335 d 336 b 337 c 338 a,b 339 d 340 c 341 b 342 a 343 b 344 c 345 d 346 a 347 b 348 c 349 a 350 d 351 a 352 b 353 a 354 b 355 c 356 d 357 d 358 b 359 c 360 a 361 d 362 b 363 b 364 c 365 d 366 b 367 a 368 c 369 c 370 b 371 a 372 d 373 d 374 a 375 c 376 b 377 d 378 a 379 c 380 a 381 b 382 a 383 d 384 c 385 b

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