
International News
5th India International Science Festival
- The India International Science Festival (IISF) 2019, is organized jointly by the Ministry of science and technology and Vijnana Bharati (Vibha).
- The theme of this annual event for 2019 is “RISEN India – Research, Innovation, and Science Empowering the Nation”.
US formally withdrew from Paris Climate Accord
- The Paris accord is an agreement signed by 188 nations in 2015 and entered into force on 4th November 2016 to keep rising global temperatures below 2 Celsius above pre-industrial levels and limit them to 1.5 Celsius rise.
- The US contributes about 15% of the total global carbon emissions, the 2nd biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.
National News
DARPG to Launch Online Hackathon
- Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions is to launch a nation-wide online Hackathon ‘Data-driven Innovation for Citizen Grievance Redressal’ on 5th November 2019.
- Potential solution prototypes would be selected for adoption in the innovative practices for improving CPGRAMS (Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System).
Mumbai and Hyderabad received UNESCO Designation
- UNESCO has designated Mumbai as a member of UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in the field of FILM and Hyderabad in the field of GASTRONOMY.
- UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created in 2004 and represents a network of cities that are active centres of cultural activities in their respective countries.
"eCAPA 2019 - Art from the Heart"
- "eCAPA 2019 - Art from the Heart" is India’s first-ever Arts Exposition for Artists blessed with Down syndrome, Autism, Mental Retardation, Seizure Disorder and Dyslexia will be held in New Delhi on 2nd November 2019.
- The aim of the exposition is to create an exclusive platform for young adults with intellectual challenges to showcase their art talents.
FinMin launched ICEDASH & ATITHI App
- The two Apps have been launched for improved monitoring and pace of customs clearance of imported goods and facilitating arriving international passengers.
- Both the apps will reduce interface and increase the transparency of Customs functioning.
"Hunar Haat"
- The "Hunar Haat" provides employment opportunities through skill development to the traditional artisans, craftsmen and traditional culinary experts as per the needs of the market.
- All the "Hunar Haat" of 2019-2020 will be based on the theme of "Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat".
Banking
RBI Reorganised its Regulation and Supervision Departments
- Reserve Bank of India has reorganised the regulatory and supervisory Departments and has created separate supervisory and regulatory cadre.
- The supervision function for all financial entities is integrated into a unified Department of Supervision and the regulatory functions into a unified Department of Regulation with effect from 1st November 2019.
RBI compensation norms for Foreign, Private Banks
- RBI has said that there should be a proper balance between fixed pay and variable pay of the directors and chief executives.
- It has ensured that atleast 50% of the compensation should be variable and should be paid on the basis of the performance of the individual, business-unit and firm-wide measures.
- RBI has said that if the variable pay is up to 200% of the fixed pay, at least 50% of it should be in non-cash.
Union Cabinet approved Rs 25,000 crore for Stalled Housing Projects
- The union cabinet in its meeting on 6th November has decided to set up Rs 25,000 fund to revive stalled housing projects.
- It will finance over 1,600 stalled housing projects that comprise 4.58 lakh housing units across the country.
Index and Ranking
World’s top 10 Best-Performing Chief Executives
- Harvard Business Review (HBR) has published 'The Best-Performing CEOs in the World, 2019'.
- The list consists of top 100 CEOs of the world and the list is topped by American technology company NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang.
- Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has topped the list every year since 2014, failed to make this year's list owing to Amazon's relatively low ESG scores.