24thNovember 2016 Important Daily Current Affairs
International Current Affairs
- Japan has sent 350 combat-authorised troops to South Sudan for a UN peacekeeping mission for the first time since the end of World War II, under the government's new powers.
- This comes as Japan has been increasing involvement in UN peacekeeping missions.
- Note : Japan had adopted a pacifist constitution and disbanded its standing army after their defeat in World War II.
- Rajasthan government has decided to launch 'Annapurna Rasoi Programme', a project to provide quality meals at cheap prices to people belonging to the weaker sections of the society.
- Under this scheme, labourers, rickshaw pullers, auto drivers, students and working women among others will be provided breakfast at ₹5 per plate and lunch and dinner at ₹8 per plate.
- Indian Railways is going to introduce an advanced monitoring system named 'Tri-Netra' that will keep a record of track maintenance and provide better visibility during foggy days.
- The system, which provides a clear view up to 1-kilometre even during bad weather, has been used on a trial basis and had produced good results.
- Hundreds of Garo tribals gathered in Guwahati to celebrate the harvest festival of Wangala.
- This festival marks the end of a period of toil for farmers.
- While men play the drums during the festival, women perform the Wangala Dance.
- The Cabinet today approved the opening of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNV) in 62 uncovered districts with an outlay of ₹2,871 crore.
- Chhattisgarh (11) will get the highest number of JNVs, followed by Gujarat (8) and Delhi (7).
- Madame Tussauds is set to open in New Delhi by mid-2017, Merlin Entertainments announced today.
- The 22nd Madame Tussauds branch, to be located at the Regal Cinema complex in Connaught Place, will be spread out over two floors.
- It will feature wax figurines of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, and icons that have shaped India and the world.
Science & Technology
- The Russian Defence Ministry has unveiled a remotely controlled robot tank, Platforma-M, to defend its missile launchers near its border with Poland.
- The robot has the ability to direct weapons and hit targets in automatic and semi-automatic modes.
- The Platforma-M is equipped with a radar system to allow troops to carry out operations at night.
New Appointments
- US President-elect Donald Trump has named South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as the country's ambassador to the UN.
- Haley, daughter of Indian immigrants, is the first woman appointed to a top-level administration post during Trump's White House transition so far.
Business & Economic Affairs
- In the wake of demonetisation, bank deposits with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have reached a record high of ₹4.3 trillion, beating the earlier record of ₹1.7 trillion in May 2009.
- The RBI accepts money from various banks by offering government securities as collateral.
- Note : The Indian banking system had collected deposits worth ₹5.12 trillion as of 18 November.
- The Indian rupee plunged 30 paise to as low as 68.86 today to hit an all-time low against the dollar.
- This follows the government's decision to demonetise old ₹500 and ₹1,000 currency notes.
- This also comes amid expectations of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve under the newly elected US President Donald Trump.
Awards & Honors
- US President Barack Obama presented American basketball legend Michael Jordan with USA's highest civilian honour in the form of the Presidential Medal of Freedom today.
- The award was presented to a total of 21 recipients, including philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates, comedian Ellen DeGeneres, basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and actors Tom Hanks and Robert De Niro.
- Arunachal Pradesh's sports department has renamed the state-level Chief Minister's Trophy for men's and women's football and volleyball after martyred jawan Hangpan Dada.
- Dada died in Kupwara on May 27 this year after killing three terrorists.
- For the second time in a row, IIT Kharagpur has been named the top university in India in terms of jobs and placements, by QS Employability Ranking of top 200 universities across the world.
- IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Delhi and Delhi University also feature on the list.
- Note : Stanford University in the US has topped the list globally.
Sports Current Affairs
- Saina Nehwal has entered the quarterfinals of the Hong Kong Open badminton championship today.
- Saina defeated Japan's Sayaka Sato 21-18, 9-21, 21-16 in a 51-minute-long second round match.
Question of the Day
- What are Payment Banks ?
- Payments banks are those which can undertake restricted banking functions like issuing debit cards and offering internet banking, but cannot offer loans or credit cards.
- The banks can only accept deposits of up to ₹1 lakh per account.
- RBI issued guidelines for payments banks in 2014.
- Important Note : The first of which has been launched in India on 23rd November 2016 by Airtel.
