Current Affairs 30th November 2018

Updated : 30-Nov-2018

Current Affairs 30th November 2018 - Important Points

• Donald Trump to hold trilateral meeting with PM Narendra Modi, Japan’s Shinzo Abe on - 28th November 2018
• Wipro Chairman Azim Premji conferred highest French civilian honour on - 28th November 2018
• World’s first GST calculator launched by - Casio
• Arvind Saxena appointed as Chairman of  - Union Public Service Commission
• Who has been appointed as Chairman of National Skill Development Corporation ? - AM Naik 
• G20 Summit 2018 held in Argentina on - 28th November 2018
• India, China sign protocol on hygiene requirements for export of fish meal, fish on - 28th November 2018
• EU aims to be first carbon neutral economy by - 2050
• 49th International Film Festival of India concludes in - Goa
•  Miniratna Category–I status  conferred  by - NPCC
• First state to launch single emergency number 112 - Himachal Pradesh
• 8 States achieve 100% household electrification under Saubhagya; total 15 States now have 100%
  household electrification on - 29th November 2018

Current Affairs 30th November 2018 - Details

Donald Trump to hold trilateral meeting with PM Narendra Modi, Japan’s Shinzo Abe on - 28th November 2018

The White House informed in a statement on November 28th, 2018 that United States President Donald Trump will grasp a trilateral meeting with Indian PM Narendra Modi and Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe this week on the side-lines of the G-20 summit in Argentina.
The trilateral meet, would be an expansion of the bilateral meeting between Trump and Abe, with the side-lines of the summit in Buenos Aires on November 30th and December 1st. Trump will 1st meet with Abe and then the both leaders mutually will meet with Indian PM Modi.
Significance
The trilateral meeting is noteworthy, as it comes at a time when China is busy in territorial disputes with various countries in the South China Sea and with Japan in the East China Sea.
India’s Stand

• PM Modi, in his keynote address at the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore in June 2018 illustrated India's stand on the strategic Indo-Pacific region.
• India deliberates the Indo-Pacific as a natural region, which is home to a huge array of global opportunities and challenges.
• India does not realize the Indo-Pacific Region as a strategy, nor as a grouping that pursues to dominate.
• It also does not reflect it as directed against any nation. It remains in favour of an open and stable
  international trade regime. 
• India also cares a rule-based, open, balanced and stable trade environment in the Indo-Pacific region, which will be valuable for all the countries in the region.

Wipro Chairman Azim Premji conferred highest French civilian honour on - 28th November 2018

Indian business magnate and philanthropist Azim Premji was conferred with the highest French civilian
distinction Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur -Knight of the Legion of Honour in Bengaluru on November 28th, 2018.
Premji, is the chairman of Wipro and bestowed with the honour from Alexandre Ziegler, the Ambassador of France to India. He got the award for his outstanding contribution to developing the IT industry in India.
Important Points

• The Legion d'Honneur award, which was introduced in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, is the highest civilian award presented by the French Republic for outstanding service to France, regardless of the nationality of the recipients.
• The President of the French Republic is the Grand Master of the Order of the Legion of Honour award.
• The Indians who have got the prestigious award in the past include renowned researcher and Bharat Ratna awardee C.N.R Rao, late Tamil actor Sivaji Ganesan, artist Kamal Haasan, Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
• France is a crucial market for Wipro and the organisation is dedicated to continued investments in the country. Nearly, 65% of Wipro's employees in France are locals.

World’s first GST calculator launched by - Casio

Japanese electronics company ‘CASIO’ has released world’s 1st Goods and Services Tax- GST calculator in India to simplify the Goods and Services Tax calculations for tax payers. The organisation has 2 variants of Goods and Services Tax calculators as MJ-120GST & MJ-12GST in the Indian market. These new Goods and Services Tax calculators will deliver solutions for Goods and Services Tax based
invoicing.
Important Highlights

• These Goods and Services Tax calculators present built-in Goods and Services Tax tabs for all 5 tabs i.e. 0%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%.
• It consists distinct buttons for Goods and Services Tax slabs to reduce time needed for processing invoice. The tax slab buttons on these calculators consist GST+0, GST+1, GST+2, GST+3, GST+4 and are variable according to the industry guidelines.
• These 5 buttons can store Gross value (net value+Tax), net value and tax paid under Goods and Services Tax slabs.
• These Goods and Services Tax calculators also feature tax-mode application that will assist taxpayers and traders to compute base value of products by subtracting tax from MRP.
• MJ-120GST calculator has GST+/tax- tab that can compute values in multiple formats- gross value from base value in GST+mode and base value from gross value in Tax-mode.
• Goods and Services Tax GT button in the calculator can further control gross value of Goods and Services Tax based calculation.

Arvind Saxena appointed as Chairman of  - Union Public Service Commission

President Ram Nath Kovind has selected Arvind Saxena as Chairman of Union Public Service Commission- UPSC, that conducts examination to select bureaucrats, ambassadors and police officers. He will have occupancy till August 7th, 2020, when he will attain the age of 65 years. Earlier to this
employment, he was serving as acting Chairman of Union Public Service Commission since June 2018. He had linked to Union Public Service Commission as member in May 2015. Earlier to joining the Union
Public Service Commission, he was serving as director of the Aviation Research Centre.
Union Public Service Commission is constitutional body which conducts the significant civil services
examination to choose IAS, IFS and IPS officers among others. It has been recognized under Article 315
of the Constitution and consists of Chairman and 10 Members selected and removed by President.
More about Arvind Saxena

• He was student of civil engineering from Delhi College of Engineering and have M.Tech in Systems
  Management from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
• He was designated for civil services and united Indian Postal Service in 1978. In 1988, he begun working at Cabinet Secretariat, where he specialised in study of Strategic Developments in neighbouring nations.
• He has worked in different nations and in states of J&K, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. He is recipient of prize for meritorious services in 2005 and distinguished services in 2012.

Who has been appointed as Chairman of National Skill Development Corporation ? - AM Naik 

Union Government has designated Anil Manibhai Naik as Chairman of National Skill Development
Corporation. He is presently Group Chairman of engineering conglomerate Larsen and Toubro- L&T. He
was bestowed Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian award in 2009 for his unpaid contribution to economic growth of the nation.
More about National Skill Development Corporation

• National Skill Development Corporation is Public Private Partnership under Ministry of Skill
  Development & Entrepreneurship.
• It was originated in 2009 as not-for-profit corporation by Ministry of Finance to address necessity for providing skilled manpower across various industries.
• Government of India via Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship grabs 49 percent of share capital of National Skill Development Corporation, while private sector has remaining 51 percent of the share capital.
• National Skill Development Corporation goals to promote skill development by catalysing creation of large, quality and for-profit vocational institutions.
• Its aim is to form training capacity in the nation; fund vocational training initiatives and create market ecosystem for skill development.
• Its mandate is to train and develop 150 million people by 2022. It is also consisted in re-skilling and also in catering to skilled manpower need of foreign markets, most notably that of Japan and United Arab Emirates.

G20 Summit 2018 held in Argentina on - 28th November 2018

The 2018 G20 Summit initiated on November 28th, 2018 in the Buenos Aires city, Argentina. 19 leaders
of the world's biggest economies and a representative of the EU will be organising a meeting on
November 30th as part of the G20 summit.
PM Narendra Modi will represent India at the Summit and is planned to meet United States President
Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres,
Argentina President Mauricio Macri, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on the side-lines of the summit. 
More about G20 Summit 2018

• It will be the thirteenth meeting of G20 and the 1st G20 summit to be accommodated in South America.
• Argentina is believed to host more than 45 meetings at numerous government levels and areas in 11 various cities throughout the nation.
• President Mauricio Macri of Argentina expected the presidency of G20 on November 30th, 2017 for 1 year during a formal ceremony in Kirchner Cultural Centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• The Group was shaped with an objective of studying, reviewing, and promoting high-level plicy issue conversation relating to the promotion of International Financial Stability.
• The forum goals to pre-empt balance of payments issues and turmoil on financial markets by better-
  quality coordination of monetary, fiscal, and financial policies.
• The forum pursues to address issues that go beyond the responsibilities of any organisation.
  More about G20
• G20 was formed in 1999 and it is an international forum of the governments and Central Bank governors from 20 main economies.
• Jointly, the G20 economies account for about 85% of the Gross World Product, 80% of world trade.
• To handle the issues or the address issues that plague the world, the leaders of governments of the G20 countries sporadically participate in summits. In addition to it, the group also hosts distinct meetings of the finance ministers and foreign ministers.
• The 1st G20 Summit was organised in Berlin in December 1999 and was hosted by the finance ministers of Germany and Canada.

India, China sign protocol on hygiene requirements for export of fish meal, fish on - 28th November 2018

Oil India and China on November 28th, 2018 inked a protocol on hygiene and inspection necessities for the exports in New Delhi during the visit of Hu Wei, the Vice Minister of China’s General Administration of Customs. 
Hu Wei, who headed a 6-member delegation to India, met India’s Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan during his visit and deliberated various issues of market access for various products.
Important Highlights

• During the meeting, both sides esteemed each other’s concerns and settled to resolve the market access issues expeditiously to attain the vision of the leaders of both the nations by promoting a more balanced trade.
• The Chinese delegation deliberated issues regarding market access for products including milk & milk products, agricultural products including soy meal, fruits &vegetables, tobacco &pharmaceuticals.
• The protocol on hygiene and inspection necessities was inked for the export of fish meal and fish oil from India to China.
• The pact would enable India to commence export of fish meal and fish oil to China. China had so far not permitted these exports from India. China imports fish oil to the value of USD 143.29 million every year and fish meal worth value USD 263.43 million.

EU aims to be first carbon neutral economy by - 2050

The EU on November 28th, 2018 counselled government, businesses, inhabitants and regions to join it in a determined plan to expurgated emissions and make the bloc carbon neutral by 2050.
The European Union climate commissioner Miguel Arias Canete informed in a press conference in Brussels that the alliance is kicking-off a process to determine how Europe's energy and climate policy will change between now and 2050. 
Important Highlights

• The EU includes 28 members, which together form one of the world's huge and hence, most polluting economies.
• Hence, it is intense to play its part and become the 1st major world player to be climate neutral.
  The EU’s strategic long-term vision trusts on its member states to take action.
• Under the climate neutral objective, the member states will present their draft National Climate and Energy campaigns to the EU by the end of 2018. 
• As per to European Union’s climate commissioner, while more homes will be protected and transport will be modernised, the important plank of any successful strategy will be to decrease fossil fuel use in energy production by 80% by 2050.
• This suggests increasing investments in clean energy from 2% of Europe's GDP to 2.8%, representing an added spend of between 175 and 290 billion euros/year.
• The declaration comes at a time when delegations from above 200 nations are due to convene in Poland for the upcoming COP24 Climate Summit, which goals to renew and shape on the Paris deal and limit global warming.

49th International Film Festival of India concludes in - Goa

The 49th International Film Festival of India- IFFI was organised in Panaji, Goa. The closing ceremony
was organised at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium in Bambolim, Panaji. Israeli Director Dan Wolman
was bestowed with lifetime achievement award. Story-screenplay-dialogue writer Salim Khan bestowed with International Film Festival of India 2018 Special Award for his lifetime contribution to cinema. He was bestowed with cash award of Rupees 10 lakhs, certificate, shawl and scroll for his outstanding contribution to cinema.
Other Category Awards

• Best film- Golden Peacock award was presented to Ukrainian film “Donbass” directed by Sergei Loznitsa.
• Best director- Silver Peacock award was presented to Lijo Jose Pellissery for Malayalam film-India.
• Best Actor (Male) Award was presented to Chemban Vinod for his role in “Ee.Ma.Yau” Malayalam-India.
• Best Actor (Female) Award was presented to Ukrainian actress Anastasiia Pustovit for her role in “When the Trees Fall”.
• Centenary Award for Best Debut Feature Film of Director was presented to Alberto Monteras II for
  ‘Respeto’.
• ICFT –UNESCO Gandhi Medal was presented to “Walking with the Wind” directed by Praveen
  Morchhale.
  IFFI 2019
• The IFFI theme of for current year’s film festival was ‘New India’ through a variety of genres of cinema, including history, action, romance and sports.
• Israel was attention nation and Jharkhand was the attention state for this year’s International Film Festival of India.
• This is for the 1st time that any state was made focus state at International Film Festival of India.
• “The Aspern Papers” was opening movie of the festival and closed with the world premiere of the
  German film “Sealed Lips”. Above 220 films from 67 nations were screened at this year’s
• International Film Festival of India. 26 feature movies and 21 non-feature movies were screened in the Indian Panorama section.

 Miniratna Category–I status  conferred  by - NPCC

Union Government has conferred status of Miniratna: Category–I to National Projects Construction
Corporation Limited. The empowerment of miniratna status to National Projects Construction
Corporation Limited will benefit company to take fast decisions by enhancing delegation of powers to
Board.
National Projects Construction Corporation Limited

• National Projects Construction Corporation Limited is schedule-B Central Public Sector Enterprise
  under administrative control of Ministry of Water Resources. It was united in 1957.
• It is premier construction firm having mandate with creation of infrastructure to deliver impetus for economic development of the nation. It also has been bestowed ISO 9001:2015 Certification.
• National Projects Construction Corporation is making continuous profit since 2009-10 and is having positive net worth for last 6 years.
• It has determined business plan with enhanced order book situation of Rupees 11833 crores.
  Did you know?
  Department of Public Enterprises under Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises endowments status of Maharatna, Navratna, and Miniratna to Public Sector Undertakings and Central Public Sector Enterprises grounded upon revenue made by these enterprises. These statuses issue financial and administrative power to the firms to a certain extent. Currently, there are total Eight Maharatna, 16 Navratna, 60 Miniratna Category-I and 15 Miniratna Category-II Central Public Sector Enterprises.

First state to launch single emergency number 112 - Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh has become the 1st state in the nation to implement Emergency Response Support
System as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh initiated Emergency Response Support System number
112 for the state. Under this system, all emergency numbers including 100 for police, 101 for fire, 102 for ambulance and disaster response have been combined into one number “112”. This emergency number has been announced on basis of United States emergency number 911. Progressively, this emergency number will be initiated in other states of the nation.
Emergency Response Support System

• It will deliver single emergency response number across the state, providing 24*7 efficient and effective response system which can get inputs from various voice and data services including voice call, SMS, e-mail and panic buttons in public transport and to cater citizens in distress.
• It can also recognize the location of persons in distress, connecting via voice/data, and immediate
  assistance will be given to the affected.
• It will assist in optimum utilisation of manpower and quick action on emergency calls. In addition to this, issues related to co-ordination among police force will also be simplified.
• It has feature of Automated Response System for timely communication to police regarding the location of incidence using the system.
• It also has Global Positioning System- GPS enabled dispatch of vehicles to trace nearest vehicles.
• It will provide standardized as well as easy to handle mobile apps, IoT applications on Pan-India basis.

8 States achieve 100% household electrification under Saubhagya; total 15 States now have 100%
household electrification on - 29th November 2018

R.K.Singh, Union Minister of State for Power and Renewable Energy, on November 29th, 2018 declared that Eight States have attained 100% saturation in household electrification under Saubhagya Scheme. With this, there are now whole 15 States in the nation that have 100% household electrification. These 8 states are MP, Tripura, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Mizoram, Sikkim, Telangana and West Bengal. As many as 2.1 crore connections have been issued under Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana till date.
States like Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, etc. are
remaining with small number of un-electrified households and expected to attain saturation any time.
Award scheme under Saubhagya
Earlier on October 15th, 2018, the Government released an award scheme under the umbrella Saubhagya Scheme, which is also known as Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana. The Saubhagya award scheme will felicitate the power distribution companies and Power Department of the States and their workers for achieving 100% household electrification.
Three categories of Saubhagya award scheme
1. DISCOMs/Power Departments of Special Category States including 7 North Eastern States, Sikkim,
Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand.
2. DISCOMs/Power Departments of Non-Special Category States having above Five Lakh un-electrified
households in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha,
Rajasthan, Telengana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
3. DISCOMs/Power Departments of other than Special Category States having below Five Lakh un-
electrified households.