Current Affairs

World Kindness Day: All You Need to Know About UN Celebrations on November 13

Every year, November 13 is celebrated as World Kindness Day. Celebrating this day is an attempt to make the world a better place with acts of kindness and pledging good deeds.

World Kindness Day was first celebrated in 1998 by The World Kindness Movement. This is an organisation formed at a 1997 Tokyo conference by the like-minded kindness organisations from around the world. In 2019, the organization was registered as an official NGO under Swiss law.

“To highlight good deeds in the community focusing on the positive power and the common thread of kindness that binds us,” is the main purpose of the World Kindness movement.



Chief Justice’s office comes under RTI, rules Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the office of Chief Justice comes under the transparency law, the Right to Information (RTI) Act, adding that judicial independence cannot be attained by holding back information.

‘Judicial independence and accountability go hand in hand...Transparency strengthens independence,” said Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who heads the five-judge bench. Others on the bench are Justices Sanjiv  Khanna, Deepak Gupta, NV Ramanna and DY Chandrachud.

“Judicial independence does not mean that judges are above the law,” observed Justice Chandrachud.



Union Minister Harsh Vardhan inaugurates exhibition of Technologies in Food Processing

Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr Harsh Vardhan today inaugurated an exhibition of Technologies in Food Processing developed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.

The exhibition organized in New Delhi showcases CSIR technologies in food sector to the industries and MSMEs. It also highlights the latest research and development being done in the food processing sector in the country.

Talking to reporters, Dr Harsh Vardhan urged industries to adopt CSIR technologies developed for food processing sector. He said products developed through these technologies and innovations are cost-effective and healthier for people.



PM Modi to attend 11th BRICS Summit beginning today in Brasilia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Brasilia on a 2-day visit to attend 11th BRICS Summit. The summit will take place on 14th November while BRICS Business Council meeting and BRICS Business Forum will take place today where business leaders will deliberate upon the ways to enhance the business collaborations between BRICS countries and deepen the relations with New Development Bank.

Huge business delegations from all the BRICS countries are participating in the BRICS Business Forum which will be joined by all the BRICS leaders in the evening. During the summit, the leaders will discuss intra BRICS cooperation for the economic development of BRICS societies. A BRICS MoU between Trade and Investment Promotion agencies has already been signed.



Union Cabinet recommends President’s rule in Maharashtra

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday recommended President’s rule in Maharashtra where no political party has been able to form a government after the assembly polls last month.

The Cabinet decision followed intense speculation for hours that Governor Bhagar Singh Koshyari had recommended President’s rule in the state and an initial denial by the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai.

As speculation reached a feverish pitch, the Governor’s house released a statement saying it has recommended the President’s rule.



14-day India International Trade Fair 2019 to begin on Thursday

Several countries, including Australia, Iran, UK and Vietnam, will participate in the 14-day India International Trade Fair 2019 beginning in New Delhi on Thursday.

The theme for the 39th edition of the fair (November 14-27, 2019) is 'Ease of Doing Business' inspired by India's unique achievement of rising to 63rd rank on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index from 142nd rank in year 2014, an official release said.

The fair will be inaugurated by Minister of Micro, Small and Midium Enterprises (MSME) Nitin Gadkari.

"A remarkable feature of this multi-product exhibition is that it offers an equal opportunity for large corporations, MSMEs, non-government agencies, artisans, self-help groups (SHGs) to promote their products and services to a very large sample of potential customers," the release said.



NASA detects huge X-ray burst from outer space

NASA has detected a massive thermonuclear explosion coming from outer space, caused by a massive thermonuclear flash on the surface of a pulsar -- the crushed remains of a star that long ago exploded as a supernova.

The explosion released as much energy in 20 seconds as the Sun does in nearly 10 days.

NASA's Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) telescope on the International Space Station (ISS) detected a sudden spike of X-rays on August 20, reports the US space agency.

The X-ray burst, the brightest seen by NICER so far, came from an object named "J1808".

The observations reveal many phenomena that have never been seen together in a single burst.



Public Service Broadcasting Day to be celebrated today

Public Service Broadcasting Day will be celebrated today. The day is celebrated every year to commemorate the first and last visit of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi to the studio of All India Radio, Delhi in 1947.

The Father of the Nation addressed the displaced people, who had temporarily settled at Kurukshetra in Haryana after partition.

A function will also be organized at the premises of All India Radio in New Delhi to mark the occasion. 



Gujarat government gives nod for world’s first CNG port terminal at Bhavnagar

Gujarat Government has given its nod to the world’s first CNG port terminal at Bhavnagar. According to official release, the U.K. based Foresight group and Mumbai based Padmanabh Mafatlal group joint venture will invest Rs.1900 crore to set up a CNG port terminal at Bhavnagar port. Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board- GIDB under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has also approved this proposal.

According to official sources, the proposed CNG port terminal will have annual capacity of 6 million matric tone, which will increased the total handling capacity of the port to 9 million matric tones. Mammorandum of Understanding- MoU for this project between Gujarat government arm Gujarat Maritime Board and London based Foresight Group was signed during the 2019 Vibrant Gujarat summit.



Javelin thrower Sundar Singh wins gold in World Para Athletics Championships

Javelin thrower Sundar Singh Gurjar has won India's second gold defending his World Para Athletics Championships title in the men's F46 javelin throw event in Dubai. With this, India has secured three Tokyo Paralympic Games quota, along with the bronze winner Ajeet Singh and Rinku.

Gurjar came up with his season's best effort of 61.22m to claim the top spot. Singh sent the spear to a distance of 59.46m to clinch the bronze while Rinku finished fourth.

While, Yogesh Kathuniya added a silver for India in men's discus throw F56 event with a best throw of 42.05m yesterday. 

 India now have two gold, two silver and a bronze in the Championships.