Current affairs

1. U.S. waives sanctions for work on Chabahar port

Activities related to the development of the Chabahar port in Iran will be exempt from U.S. sanctions that kicked in on Monday, following the 180­ day cool-­off period after the U.S. withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action ( JCPOA or the ‘Iran Deal’) in May.

• This waiver will bring some measure of relief to India who have signed an agreement with Iran and Afghanistan in May 2016 for the port’s development.

2.  Iran oil: India, China get relief

• The eight countries that have received a waiver from the US sanctions on oil exports from Iran are China, India, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey

3. China ropes in India as digital economy partner

• China is roping in India as a niche digital partner, as part of Beijing’s drive to cyber­connect with Eurasia — its new frontier for trade and investments.
• China Capital: Beijing ; Currency: Renminbi
• President: Xi Jinping

4. The First Lady of South Korea, Kim Jung­ sook, attended the Deepotsav event being organised in Ayodhya, UP

• She began her Ayodhya tour by offering tributes at the Queen Heo Memorial, which is dedicated to the legendary princess of Ayodhya, Heo Hwang­ok, who went to Korea and married a king there in AD 48

• South Korea Capital: Seoul ; Currency: South Korean won
• President: Moon Jae-in

5. No ‘less cash’ two years post note ban

• Cash in circulation and ATM withdrawals have only increased, RBI data shows
• Currency in circulation increased to ₹19.6 lakh crore as on Oct. 26, 2018, from ₹17.9 lakh crore on Nov.4, 2016
• Cash withdrawals from ATMs in Oct. 2016 were ₹2.54 lakh crore, while the number for August 2018 was ₹2.75 lakh crore - a growth of 8%
• ATM withdrawals had crashed to ₹1.06 lakh crore in December 2016
• Mobile banking transactions rose to ₹2.06 lakh crore in Aug. 2018 from ₹1.13 lakh crore in October 2016
• November 8, marks the second anniversary of the demonetisation exercise

6. RBI relaxes ECB norms for infrastructure firms

• The RBI has liberalised the norms governing foreign borrowings for infrastructure creation “in consultation with the government.”
• The minimum average maturity requirement for external commercial borrowings in the infrastructure space raised by eligible borrowers has been reduced to three years from earlier five years
• RBI Governor: Urjit Patel

7. ASEAN member countries of RCEP offer India concession

• Several Asian member countries of the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) have offered India a significant concession on the extent to which it needs to open up its markets, in a bid to encourage it to join the partnership quickly.
• The RCEP is a proposed trade agreement between the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and their six free trade agreement partners, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand.
• India can open up 83% of its market against the earlier 92%

8. Indian Bank raises ₹110 crore via Basel bonds

• Indian Bank has raised ₹110 crore by issuing Basel III compliant bonds on a private placement basis.
• The bonds come with a coupon rate of 8.85% per annum, tenor at 10 years and call option after completion of five years.

• Indian Bank Headquarters: Chennai
• CEO: Kishor Kharat
• Tagline: Your own bank

9. Faizabad district in UP renamed as Ayodhya

• Uttar Pradesh CM: Yogi Adityanath
• Uttar Pradesh Governor: Ram Naik

10. India declares nuclear triad operational

India declared that its nuclear triad, stated in its nuclear doctrine, is operational after indigenous submersible ballistic nuclear (SSBN) submarine INS Arihant achieved a milestone by conducting its first deterrence patrol.

• Arihant was quietly commissioned into service in August 2016 but its induction was never officially acknowledged. It has a displacement of 6000 tonnes and is powered by an 83 MW pressurised light­water reactor with enriched uranium.
• The second submarine in the series, Arighat is now undergoing sea trials after which it will be inducted.

11. NHIDCL fined ₹2 cr. for pollution

The National Green Tribunal has levied a fine of ₹2 crore on the National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (NHIDCL) for dumping muck into the Bhagirathi river in Uttarakhand during the construction of a road.

12. Bank of Maharashtra takes symbolic possession of Pune stadium after the Maharashtra Cricket Association failed to clear dues.

• The bank, along with Karnataka Bank, Bank of Baroda and Andhra Bank, had served a 60 ­day notice to MCA  to repay dues of ₹69.53 crore.

13. PNB MetLife India Insurance Company has received market regulator SEBI’s go­ahead to float an initial public offer (IPO).

Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman : Ajay Tyagi

14. Adani Gas to invest ₹8,000 cr

Eyes consolidating its position as India’s largest city gas distribution company

15. Asirvad Microfinance, a subsidiary of Manappuram Finance Ltd., to focus on MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector.

• Target to lend up to ₹750 cr. by 2020

16. HSBC India and ING Bank Brussels have successfully executed a block-chain enabled Letter of Credit (LC) transaction between Reliance Industries (RIL) and Tricon Energy.

• This is an industry first, as the blockchain platform integrates with Bolero’s electronic Bill of Lading (eBL) platform to issue and manage an eBL. This allowed a digital transfer of the title of goods from the seller to the buyer.

17. The Reserve Bank has initiated steps to set up a wide ­based digital Public Credit Registry (PCR) to capture details of all borrowers, including wilful defaulters and also the pending legal suits in order to check financial delinquencies.

• The PCR will also include data from entities like market regulator SEBI, the Corporate Affairs Ministry and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India to enable banks and financial institutions to get a 360 ­degree profile of existing and prospective borrowers on a real­time basis.
• The RBI has invited expression of interest (EOI) for developing the registry from companies with a turnover of over ₹100 crore in the last three years

18. GSAT-11 returns to Guiana, South America for December launch

• Recalled in April for tests after GSAT ­6A was lost in space
• GSAT­11 is the heaviest Indian communication satellite built to date, for faster Internet connectivity.

• K. Sivan is the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

Books and Authors

19. Free Trade & Prosperity: How Openness Helps Developing Countries Grow Richer and Combat Poverty  by former vice­ chairman of NITI Aayog,  Arvind Panagariya

20.  India Ahead: 2025  and Beyond by former RBI Governor, Bimal Jalan.

Awards and Recognitions

21. Veteran journalist and The Hindu Publishing Group Chairman N. Ram has been chosen for the prestigious Raja Ram Mohan Roy Award, presented by the Press Council of India (PCI), for his outstanding contribution towards journalism

Sports

22. Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow , Uttar Pradesh becomes the 52nd venue in the country to host an international match.

23. Babar Azam of Pakistan became the quickest batsman to reach 1,000 Twenty20 International runs.

• Azam completed 1,000 T20Is runs in just 26 innings, bettering Virat Kohli’s record of reaching the mark in 27 innings.

24. Subhankar Dey won the SaarLorLux Open badminton championship Super 100 badminton tournament held in SAARBRUCKEN, Germany.

Important Days

25. The West Bengal government has decided to observe ‘Rosogolla Day’ on November 14 to commemorate the first anniversary of the State’s famous sweet getting Geographical Indication (GI) tag as ‘Bengal’s Rosogolla’

Source: The Hindu, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, Press Information bureau website