NATIONAL NEWS

CCRAS Launches Ayurveda Gyan Naipunya Initiative

· The Central Council for Research in Ayurveda Sciences (CCRAS) under the Ministry of Ayush launched the Ayurveda Gyan Naipunya Initiative (AGNI) for physicians practising in the field of Ayurveda in New Delhi.

· The initiative aims to promote research for mainstreaming pragmatic Ayurveda practices through scientific validation and evidence-based appraisal.

· The Ministry of Ayush, that interested Ayurveda Practitioners can email their interest to ccrasagni@gmail.com till 15th December.

· Addressing the event, the Director General of CCRAS Prof Rabinarayanan Acharya said that this initiative will provide a platform for Ayurveda practitioners to report their innovative practices and experiences in various disease conditions.

· The initiative also aims to undertake research for mainstreaming pragmatic practices through scientific validation and evidence-based appraisal.

Tehri Acro Festival

· The Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) announced the maiden edition of Tehri Acro Festival, to be held from November 24 to November 28, 2023.

· Tehri Acro Festival is billed as India's premier International Aerial Acrobatic Show, set to feature over 150 paragliders, including 35 international athletes, making it a prominent event in the field of paragliding.

· The festival will showcase an array of aerial acrobatics.

· Three competitive events will be held during the festival, marking Tehri's entry into the world of paragliding.

· Tehri, positioned at an elevation of approximately 1400 metres, boasts take-off points at Pratap Nagar, standing as the world's second-highest.

Inland Waterways Authority of India and Amazon

· Sarbananda Sonowal memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Amazon Seller Services Private Limited (Amazon) in New Delhi.

· The MoU aims to promote cargo movement and transportation of customer shipments and products through inland waterways using the river Ganga (National Waterway

· The maiden ship with e-commerce cargo will be flagged off from Patna to Kolkata soon.

· Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, the MoU marks another important leaf in the growth story of India’s waterways.

· This partnership would be an important step towards enhancing the movement of e-commerce cargo through our Inland Waterways.

 

BANKING

IDBI Bank Enlists EY to Identify Buyers

· IDBI Bank has appointed EY India as the process adviser to facilitate the sale of its ₹4,000 crore distressed debt portfolio under the Stressed Assets Stabilisation Fund (SASF).

· The bank has set a timeline of six and a half months for EY to complete the sale of the distressed debt portfolio.

· SASF, a special-purpose vehicle, was established two decades ago following the merger of term-lending institution IDBI Ltd with its subsidiary IDBI Bank to form a commercial bank.

· In 2004, the government permitted IDBI to transfer its distressed loans to IDBI Trust, managing ₹9,000 crore of distressed loans acquired under SASF from IDBI.

· The distressed asset portfolio sale comes around the time when the promoters of the bank are preparing to sell a part of their stake.

· Life Insurance Corporation holds 49.2% of the bank, while the government owns 45%.

Lowest Daily Wages for Rural Agricultural Workers

· According to the data compiled by Reserve bank of India (RBI), the daily wages of rural agricultural workers in Madhya Pradesh are the lowest in the country.

· As per the data the daily wage of male agricultural workers in rural areas in MP is just Rs 229.2 in the year ended March 2023.

· The daily wage of male agricultural workers in rural areas in Gujarat is Rs 241.9 in the year ended March 2023.

· The national average daily wage for agricultural workers is Rs 345.7.

· Average wages of farm workers in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are Rs 550.4, Rs 473.3 and Rs 470 per person, respectively.

· As per RBI data, in case of male non-agricultural workers, the lowest wage was in MP (Rs 246.3).

· In Gujarat, male non-agricultural workers received a daily wage of Rs 273.1.

· The national average in case of male non-agricultural workers was Rs 348.

· Kerala again leads in non-agricultural workers’ daily wages with Rs 696.6 per person.

Asia and the Pacific Natural Capital Fund

· The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) have announced the establishment of the Natural Capital Fund (NCF).

· It is a concessional fund designed to support projects that enhance food security while also protecting and restoring natural capital in ADB’s developing member countries (DMCs).

· GEF is supporting the NCF with an investment of $15 million.

· The announcement was made at the Asia-Pacific Natural Capital Forum, co-hosted by ADB and Stanford University’s Natural Capital Project.

· ADB and Stanford University have been collaborating on introducing natural capital accounting and gross ecosystem product (GEP) in DMCs.

· The forum discussed, among others, the nature financing gap and noted ADB’s broader initiative, Nature Solutions Finance Hub, which aims to develop financing models for nature-based solutions by proactively developing scalable and bankable demonstration projects centred around innovative finance approaches.

 

AWARDS & PRIZES

JCB Literary Prize 2023

· The 2023 JCB Literary Prize was given to Tamil writer Perumal Murugan for Fire Bird.

· The winner was announced in New Delhi.

· The novel ‘Fire Bird’ was translated into English by Janani Kannan.

· Penguin Random House India published the novel ‘Fire Bird’.

· Although Murugan and Kannan were present at the awards ceremony, publisher and writer Manasi Subramaniam received the award on their behalf.

· The award was announced virtually by Lord Bamford, Chairman, JCB Group and personally presented by Deepak Shetty, CEO and Managing Director, JCB India Limited.

· The JCB Literary Award awards Rs 25 lakh to the author and an additional Rs 10 lakh to the translator.

 

SPORTS

World Wushu Championship

· Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated Indian players Roshibina Devi, Kushal Kumar and Chhavi for winning medals in the recently held 16th World Wushu Championship in America.

· The 16th World Wushu Championship ended on 20 November 2023 in Fort Worth, Texas State, USA.

· India finished 18th in the medal table in this competition, winning a total of three medals with one silver and two bronze medals.

· In this competition, Roshibina Devi from India has won the silver medal, while Kushal Kumar and Chhavi have won bronze medals.

· The Chinese team topped the medal list by winning 15 gold medals.

· According to data from the International Wushu Federation, Vietnam's team and Macau team ranked second and third.

 

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Managing Director of SBI

· The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, appointed deputy managing director Vinay Tonse as one of State Bank of India's (SBI) managing directors for 2 years till November 2025.

· The post fell vacant after Swaminathan Janakiraman was appointed as the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.

· He joined the State Bank of India as a Probationary Officer in 1988.

· Throughout his tenure, Tonse has worked at different locations in India, as well as abroad.

· In his career spanning more than 30 years, Tonse has led major assignments and projects of the State Bank of India.

· His career involves experience in different facets of commercial banking like corporate credit, treasury, retail, and international banking.

 

DEFENCE

Joint Military Exercise "Austrahind-23"

· An Indian Armed Forces contingent of 81 personnel left for Australia to participate in the second edition of the joint military exercise AustraliaHind-23 (AustraHind-23).

· Exercise “Austrahind-23” is being conducted off Perth, Australia from 22 November to 06 December 2023.

· The Indian Army team includes 60 soldiers from a battalion of Gorkha Rifles. The Australian Army contingent of 60 personnel consists of the 13th Brigade.

· The exercise aims to foster collaborative partnership and share best practices between both sides.

· The joint exercise will promote exchange of ideas and jointly practice tactics, techniques and procedures for tactical operations.

 

OBITUTARY

First woman Supreme Court Judge Fatima Beevi

· India's first woman judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Fathima Beevi, died on November 23 2023, at the age of 96.

· Justice Fathima Beevi was not only the first Muslim woman to become a Supreme Court judge in India but also the first woman to be a judge of the Supreme Court in the entire Asia region.

· Fathima Beevi studied Law at the Law College in Trivandrum.

· In 1950, Fathima Beevi became the first female law graduate to get the gold medal from the Bar Council, and she started her practice as an advocate in the Kollam district court.

· She cleared the entrance exam, joined the state judicial service as a munsiff, and later became the district session judge in 1974.

· She was appointed as the governor of Tamil Nadu by President Shankar Dayal Sharma in 1997.