NATIONAL NEWS

Global Fisheries Conference India 2023        

· The Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Shri Parshottam Rupala will inaugurate the Global Fisheries Conference India 2023, a two-day mega event, at Gujarat Science City, Ahmedabad.

· Under the theme ‘Celebrating Fisheries and Aquaculture Wealth’, the conference aims to bring together key stakeholders on one platform for fruitful discussions, market insights and networking.

· One of the major highlights of the conference is an International Round Table Conference chaired by Union Minister Shri. Parshottam Rupala.

· This high-level dialogue, attended by different nations and representatives of various international agencies, will focus on international collaborative efforts to sustain the sector amid a range of critical challenges, including the climate crisis.

· About 50 Indian missions are also expected to join through virtual mode.

· The conference covers over 210 national and international exhibitors, including start-ups, exporters, fisheries associations, and processing industries.

· It will showcase their products, technology, success stories, and innovative solutions.

GAIL Does The World’s 1st Ship-To-Ship LNG Transfer

· India's top gas firm GAIL has done the world's first ship-to-ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) transfer to save on shipping costs and cut emissions as the state-owned entity looks at innovative ways as a pivot to boost business.

· GAIL has contracted 5.8 million tonnes per annum of LNG (natural gas super-cooled to liquid form) from the US.

· The ship typically travels a distance of about 19,554 nautical miles for a round trip to transport LNG from Sabine Pass in the US to India via the Suez Canal and Gibraltar.

· This journey takes approximately 54 days and emits about 15,600 tonnes of CO2.

· Recently, the company-hired vessel Castillo De Santisteban moved a shipload of LNG from the US.

· But mid-way, it transferred the cargo to another chartered hired vessel Al Gharrafa of QatarGas.

· This is the world's first STS between a large conventional LNG vessel and a Q-Flex LNG Vessel.

· This innovation plus the installation of the first floating CNG station helped GAIL win the 'Innovation Award - India and Midstream Project of the Year' at the Asian Oil and Gas Awards.

 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Al Ain Book Festival 2023

· The 14th Al Ain Book Festival was launched by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC).

· It will be hosted by His Highness Sheikh Tahnoon bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, the Ruler's Representative in Al Ain Region.

· The Al Ain Book event, a cultural and literary event that honours books and reading, is gearing up for its next edition.

· The Al Ain Book Festival 2023 is being held from November 19 to November 25, 2023.

· With more than 60,000 book titles offered by 150 exhibitors, the event is free to the public and strives to encourage knowledge among all parts of the community.

 

BANKING

Federal Bank Adopts UPI Lite for Streamlined Digital Transactions

· Federal Bank has launched the UPI (Unified Payment Interface) Lite functionality for small-value digital payments.

· UPI Lite allows an individual to store money in their UPI Lite on-device wallet and make offline payments to merchants.

· NPCI introduced UPI Lite - a simplified version of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system to cater to the growing demand for faster and more efficient small-value payments.

· The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had launched the UPI Lite functionality in September 2022 during its Monetary Policy Meet (MPC).

· The solution runs off existing UPI ecosystem protocols for mobile phones to ensure commonality, compliance and system acceptance.

· UPI LITE experience is intended to be a customer-friendly approach to enabling low value transactions without utilising a Remitter bank’s core banking systems (CBS) in real-time, while providing adequate risk mitigation.

· The primary objective behind launching UPI Lite is to alleviate stress on CBS caused by the high volume of UPI transactions.

 

AWARDS & PRIZES

Miss Universe 2023

· Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua has won the 72nd Miss Universe 2023 title.

· Sheynnis Palacios is the first woman from Nicaragua to be crowned Miss Universe.

· The 72nd Miss Universe pageant was held at the José Adolfo Pineda Arena, San Salvador, El Salvador.

· Sheynnis Palacios was born in 2000 and has a degree in Mass Communications.

· She is also a sports lover and has played varsity volleyball for her university.

· The 72nd Miss Universe pageant was hosted by American television presenter Jeannie Mai and Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo, along with American television presenter Maria Menounos.

IGP Award To Covid Warrior

· The Indira Gandhi Peace Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, 2022 was jointly awarded to the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Trained Nurses Association of India (TNAI) as representatives of the Covid warriors in the country.

· Former Vice President M Hamid Ansari presented the award to Indian Medical Association President Sharad Kumar Agarwal and Trained Nurses Association of India President Roy K George.

· According to Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, this award has been given to every doctor, nurse, paramedic and worker for their selfless service, unwavering dedication and perseverance in the face of adversity.

· In this award, along with a citation, a monetary amount of Rs 25 lakh is also given as a reward.

· This award is given to those individuals or organizations who work to ensure international peace and development.

· The prize ensures that scientific discoveries are used to advance the realms of freedom and well-being of humanity and to create a new international economic order.

 

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Managing Director and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank

· The Board of Kotak Mahindra Bank approved the appointment of Ashok Vaswani as Director, Managing Director and CEO of the bank.

· The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had approved the appointment of Vaswani as the MD and CEO of the bank for a period of three years.

· Vaswani has been the Chief Executive Officer of Britain's Barclays Bank.

Spanish Lower House Votes to Re-elect Pedro Sanchez as Prime Minister

· The lower house of the Spanish Parliament voted to re-elect Pedro Sanchez as Prime Minister for another term.

· Pedro Sanchez's Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) secured support through separate agreements with various regional parties.

· PSOE's agreements included support for a controversial bill on amnesty for Catalan separatists, leading to protests across Spain.

· Pedro Sanchez won a majority of the vote, securing the support of 179 members out of Spain's 350-member parliament.

· The conservative Popular Party had won the elections in July, but its leader, Alberto Nunez Feiju, failed to form a majority.

· Pedro Sanchez was first elected as Prime Minister in 2018.

 

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Chennai Metro Rail Launches Phonepe Ticketing Service

· Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) has partnered with PhonePe and launched digital QR-based ticketing for metro travellers.

· Chennai Metro passengers can now skip long queues at metro stations and ticket counters with seamless digital QR-based tickets.

· Passengers can book digital QR-based tickets on the PhonePe Switch platform.

· This service will also carry the existing 20 per cent discount.

· PhonePe will enable three services for commuters in phases - booking of single journey tickets, return journey tickets, and recharge of the smart card on PhonePe Switch.

· Along with its partnership with Chennai Metro, PhonePe has also collaborated with Hyderabad Metro, Mumbai Metro, and Delhi Metro.

· Commuters can get e-tickets for up to six people at the same time from a single device and can start their journey by scanning it at the entry and exit gates of Metro stations.

 

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

· World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims 2023 is observed on 19 November 2023.

· In 1993, RoadPeace founded The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims to give public recognition to the pain and suffering of millions of people.

· The day has reached more than 30 countries within the last decade and is now a global event, observed in solemn remembrance of the lives we have lost to the senseless tragedy of road crashes.

· The remembrance has also helped the U.K. Government change its posture towards the victims of road crashes and understand the enormity of the crisis.

World Children’s Day 2023

· World Children's Day is observed every year on 20 November.

· World Children's Day is observed to increase awareness about children's rights worldwide and improve children's welfare worldwide.

· World Children's Day was earlier observed as Universal Children's Day. It was first observed in 1954.

· World Children's Day is UNICEF's annual day of action for children by children.

· The theme of World Children's Day 2023 is ‘For every child, every right’.

· The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution to adopt the "Declaration of the Rights of the Child" on November 20, 1959,

· Further, on November 20 1989, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.