Current Affairs: November 23, 2016

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November 23, 2016

Union Government constitutes committee to assess the status of demonetization

drive

The Union Finance Ministry has constituted a committee comprising Additional Secretaries,

Joint Secretaries and Directors to know status of implementation

of demonetisation drive. The committee was formed after the

Union Government took decision to scrap 500 and 1000 rupees

currency notes on 9th November 2016. Visit the States and union

territories and submit its report by 25th November 2016. Each of

the officers will visit different areas of the State and UTs separately

with special focus on the rural areas. Submit a report on the general outlook and challenges

arising out of implementation of the scheme.

Radhika Menon becomes first woman to receive IMO’s Exceptional Bravery award

at Sea

Captain Radhika Menon was awarded with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)

award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea. With this, she became the first

woman in the world to receive the Award. She was presented with

this award for saving lives of seven fishermen from sinking fishing

boat in Bay of Bengal. Besides, B M Das operator and diver of a

rescue helicopter at Indian Coast Guard air station Daman was also

presented with this award. He was bestowed with this award for rescuing all 14 crew members

of the merchant ship Coastal Pride, which capsized and eventually sank.

Current Affairs: November 23, 2016

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India becomes Associate Member of CERN

India became an associate member of the European Organisation

for Nuclear Research (CERN), the world’s largest nuclear and

particle physics laboratory. In this regard, an agreement was

signed by Dr. Sekhar Basu, Chairman, Atomic Energy

Commission (AEC) and CERN Director General Dr. Fabiola

Gianotti in Mumbai, Maharashtra. As an associate member, India

can take part in meetings of the CERN Council and its committees (Scientific Policy Committee

and Finance Committee).

Stealth Guided missile destroyer INS Chennai commissioned into Indian Navy

INS Chennai, a Kolkata-class stealth Guided missile

destroyer ship was commissioned into Indian Navy’s

combat fleet by Defence minister Manohar Parrikar in

Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is the largest-ever warship to

be built in India. It is third and last Kolkata-class

guided missile destroyers built under Project 15A. Thus, its induction also marks the end of the

Project 15A. INS Chennai has been named after the iconic port city of Chennai. It is 164 metres

long with a displacement of over 7,500 tonnes. It has been built at the Mazagon Dock

Shipbuilders Ltd in Mumbai under the strategic Project 15A.

Current Affairs: November 23, 2016

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India’s longest expressway inaugurated in Uttar Pradesh

India’s longest expressway connecting Agra and Lucknow

was inaugurated by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh

Yadav at Bangarmau in Unnao district of UP. It has been

built by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial

Development Authority (UPEIDA) in a record time of 23

months. The Agra-Lucknow Expressway is six-lane greenfield expressway having total length

of 302-km. It has a design speed of up to 120 kms per hour. It starts from Agra and passes

through Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etawah, Auraiya, Kannauj, Hardoi, Unnao, Kanpur to reach

Lucknow. It passes through four National Highways, two state highways and five rivers such

as Ganga, Yamuna, Sai, Isan, and Kalyani.

India ranks 20th on 2017 Climate Change Performance Index

India was placed at the 20th rank among the 58 countries on

the 2017 Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI). The

index was released by Germanwatch, an independent

German NGO and Climate Action Network Europe. The

CCPI is an instrument designed to enhance transparency in

international climate politics. It is list of countries doing the

most to combat climate change. It aims to put social and political pressure on those countries

which have, up until now, failed to take ambitious action on climate protection.

Current Affairs: November 23, 2016

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Scientists discover Super Earth like exoplanet GJ 536b

Scientists have discovered a new ‘super Earth’ type exoplanet

named as GJ 536b orbiting a very bright star near to our Sun.

The planet was jointly detected by Instituto de Astrofisica de

Canarias (IAC) and the Geneva Observatory. The exoplanet GJ

536b has a mass of around 5.4 Earth masses. It is orbiting a star

much smaller and cooler than the sun It is not within the star’s habitable zone and has short

orbital period of 8.7 day. The luminosity of its star makes it an attractive candidate for

investigating its atmospheric composition.