NATIONAL NEWS

Seventh Edition Of 'Ganga Utsav'

· The 7th edition of Ganga Utsav was organized by National Mission for Clean Ganga in New Delhi.

· It was inaugurated by Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ms. Debashree Mukherjee

· The event also marked the release of 33rd edition of Namami Gange Magazine, the new Chacha Chaudhary series and the Voyage of Ganga Booklet, based on Ganga Pustak Parikrama in collaboration with NBT.

· Water conservation was another focal point of her address, as she highlighted its critical role in the rejuvenation of rivers.

· She called for collective action and collaboration, stating that water conservation and river rejuvenation are fundamental responsibilities that we all share.

3-day Women for Water, Water for Women Campaign

· The Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry will launch  a three-day Women for Water, Water for Women Campaign to celebrate Jal Diwali.

· The Ministry said that women Self Help Groups (SHG) will visit more than 500 fifty water treatment plants as part of the campaign.

· It added the aim is to provide a platform for the inclusion of women in water governance, and instill a sense of ownership and belonging towards water infrastructure.

· The Ministry is expecting more than 15 thousand SHG women to participate nationwide in the first phase.

· The campaign is part of the Ministry’s flagship scheme, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation in partnership with the National Urban Livelihood Mission.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

International Mining And Resource Conference (IMARC) 2023

· Shri Rao Saheb Patil Danve, Minister of State for Mines, Coal, and Railways, led an Indian delegation to the International Mining and Resource Conference (IMARC) 2023. The conference took place in Sydney, Australia.

· The Indian Delegation met Mrs. Madeleine King, Minister of Resources in the Australian Government, and Mr. Tim Ayres, Assistant Minister of Trade and Investment in the Australian Government.

· The main agenda was mutual collaboration in a variety of fields, including mining and manufacturing.

· IMARC 2023 would also commemorate ten years of IMARC and industry, providing an ideal chance to reflect on the mining sector's success.

· The International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) is Australia's largest and most prominent mining event, as well as a key platform for the worldwide mining sector.

· IMARC is a group of global mining executives that meet to discuss mining, investment, and innovation trends for a more sustainable future.

BANKING

HSBC, First Foreign Bank- Electronic Bank Guarantee Platform

· HSBC India, has introduced Electronic Bank Guarantee (E-BG) services to facilitate digitization of trade finance.

· HSBC is the first foreign bank in the country to offer this facility which is made possible through a collaboration with National E-Governance Services Ltd.

· E-BG platform simplifies and expedites the guarantee issuance process by introducing electronic stamping and signing.

SPORTS

Women's Hockey Asian Champions

· India beat Japan 4-0 to win the Jharkhand Women's Asian Champions Trophy, with goals from Sangita Kumari, Neha Goyal, Lalremsiami and Vandana Katariya.

· It was India's second Asian Champions Trophy title.

· Jharkhand’s Salima Tete was announced the Player of the Tournament.

· Earlier in the day, Asian Games champions China beat South Korea 2-1 to secure the third place.

FIDE Women's Grand Swiss 2023

· The FIDE Grand Swiss and FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss 2023 was held from the 23 October to 06 November at the Villa Marina, Douglas, Isle of Man.

· In Chess, R Vaishali drew her last-round game against Mongolia’s Batkhuyag Munguntuul to win FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss 2023 at the Isle of Man in UK.

· Vidit Gujrathi beat Alexandr Predke of Serbia to record his seventh victory in the event and take the top spot in open section.

· Both players also qualified for the prestigious Candidates tournament to be played in April 2024 in Canada.

· While Vaishali got richer by over 20 lakh rupees, Vidit took home a whopping prize purse of over 66 lakh rupees.

24th Asian Archery Championships in 2025

· Bangladesh will host the 24th Asian Archery Championships in 2025 after winning by 14-10 votes in the bid at the World Archery Asia Congress held in Bangkok, Thailand.

· A total of twenty four member countries of the Asian continent participated in the congress.

· Bangladesh and China applied for bids as host countries for the 24th Asian Archery Championship.

· When the vote was held between the two countries that participated in the bid at the Congress, Bangladesh won the vote and was allowed to host the Asian Archery Championship.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

'Chief Information Commissioner' of India

· Information Commissioner Hiralal Samaria was sworn in as the Chief Information Commissioner by President Draupadi Murmu.

· The top post in the Central Information Commission (CIC) had become vacant after the completion of YK Sinha's tenure on 03 October.

· Central Information Commission is an important institution for the functioning of democracy and good government in India. CIC was established on 12 October 2005.

· He administered the oath of office to Information Commissioners Smt. Anandi Ramalingam and Shri Vinod Kumar Tiwari at a swearing-in ceremony organized in Central Information Commission.

DEFENCE

Missile Destroyer Warship, 'Surat'

· Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel unveiled the Indian Navy's newest indigenous guided missile destroyer, Warship 'Surat,' in a ceremony in Surat on 06 November 2023.

· The unveiling ceremony of Warship 'Surat' was organized by Gujarat Navy under the aegis of Western Naval Command.

· Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar also attended the ceremony.

· Among the latest advance warship projects under construction, 'Project 15B' is the construction of the fourth Next Generation Stealth Guided Missile Destroyer of this programme, of which 'Surat' is the fourth and final ship.

· The construction of 'Surat' warship is dedicated to the nation for indigenous state-of-the-art warship building technology and strategic military advancements.

MISCELLANEOUS

New Species of Gecko Been Discovered

· Recently, a new species of gecko has been discovered in the Western Ghats near Rajapalayam, Tamil Nadu.

· This is the 94th species of Gecko. Before this, 93 species of gecko have been identified.

· The new species is also called Rashid's dwarf gecko, because it is the smallest in the genus.