Current Affairs

26^th November 2022

Top 15 Daily Current Affairs: National & International News

Here is the Daily Current Affairs of the 26th November 2022 covering the following news headlines: National Milk Day, Constitution Day of India, PSLV-C54 Mission, Cristiano Ronaldo, Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar, Vande Bharat Trains.

National News

1.India Wins Vice Presidency of International Electrotechnical Commission

India wins the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Vice Presidency and Strategic Management Board (SMB) Chair for the 2023-25 term. Shri Vimal Mahendru will be the IEC Vice President representing India.

By securing over 90% of the votes cast by full members of International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) during its General Meeting held recently in San Francisco, USA, India’s representative, a member of the Indian National Committee of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and various technical committees of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS-India), was elected.

2.Dharmendra Pradhan Released ‘India: The Mother of Democracy’

Union Education & Skill Development Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan released the book ‘India: The Mother of Democracy’ prepared and published by Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) in New Delhi. The book is an attempt to showcase the democratic ethos ingrained in India since the dawn of civilisation. It is shown in this book that since the dawn of civilization, India has been imbued with democratic ethos.

The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) is a captive body of the Ministry of Education, Government of India established by an Administrative Order. The body has provided financial assistance to historians and scholars through fellowships, grants, and symposia.

3.Railways Plans to Export Vande Bharat Trains by 2025-26

The railways is looking at becoming a major exporter of Vande Bharat trains by 2025-26 to markets in Europe, South America and East Asia, a senior official said, adding that the latest version of the indigenous trains with sleeper coaches will be operational by the first quarter of 2024.

The Vande Bharat trains meet all international standards,” he said. Talking about these trains, the official said these have a rider index of three, which means no or minimal jolts for passengers; and noise level of 65 decibel which is 100 times less than the sound produced in aircraft.

He also said that while the present Vande Bharat trains are fit for broad gauge, the railways’ manufacturing units will customise the trains to run on standard gauges used by countries across the world.

International News

4.India Expresses Commitment to Peace, Security and Prosperity in the Indo-Pacific Region

India and Asean in a joint statement reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, stability, maritime safety, freedom of navigation and overflight in the Indo-Pacific region, and also commitment to peaceful resolution of disputes, in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS.

India hailed the deep cultural, economic and civilizational ties that have existed between India and South East Asia from time immemorial and stated that the India-ASEAN relationship forms the central pillar of India’s ACT-EAST policy. India reiterated its support to ASEAN centrality in the Indo-Pacific.

5.India, UAE Central Banks Discuss Rupee-Dirham Trade Prospects

The central banks of India and UAE are discussing a concept paper on promoting bilateral trade in rupee and dirham with a view to reduce transaction cost, a top official said. India’s Ambassador to the UAE Sunjay Sudhir said that the concept paper for trade in local currencies was shared by India. The central banks of both the countries will discuss the standard operating procedures and modalities.

The objective of the exercise is to reduce the cost of transactions. India and the UAE had already signed a free trade agreement (FTA) in February to give a fillip to bilateral trade and economic ties. The free trade agreement was aimed at providing significant benefits to Indian as well as UAE businesses, including enhanced market access and reduced tariffs. Following the free trade pact, bilateral trade is expected to increase from the current USD 60 billion to USD 100 billion in the next five years.

Banking News

6.IDFC FIRST Bank Launched India’s First Sticker-Based Debit Card FIRSTAP

IDFC First Bank has introduced a sticker-based debit card, called FIRSTAP. The launch is in association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The FIRSTAP is launched to facilitate transactions by simply tapping the sticker on a Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled point-of-sale terminal.

The launch of sticker-based debit cards is in line with the bank’s customer-centric philosophy. The number of transactions being carried out via contactless cards is growing fast.

As a customer-first bank, IDFC claims to be committed to using contactless technology for frictionless digital transactions.

With stickers as the form factor in the wearable category, the debit card is convenient to carry around and enables fast check-out.

The sticker-based debit card is one-third the size of a regular debit card, thus, making the sticker applicable to a wide range of devices and objects.

7.Canara Bank Issues Electronic Bank Guarantee in Partnership with NeSL

Canara Banks steps into digital banking on its 117th Founder’s Day with the issuance of an Electronic Bank Guarantee (e-BG) in partnership with National E-Governance Service Limited (NeSL). The Canara Bank will now offer an API-based digital workflow of Bank guarantees which will eliminate physical insurance, stamping, verification, and paper-based record maintenance.

The platform will offer several advantages such as greater transparency, better monitoring systems, and secured transmission of Bank Guarantees to beneficiaries.

Canara Bank General Manager Mahesh M Pai informed that achieving the milestone of being the first public sector to roll out an electronic bank guarantee is a proud moment.

Ranks and Reports News

8.IIT Delhi Ranks in top 50 of Times Higher Education Employability Rankings

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi has been placed at the 28th position in the Top 50 of Times Higher Education Global Employability University Ranking and Survey (GEURS). IIT Delhi is the only Indian institute to rank in the top 50. The varsity was ranked 27th last year.

It is followed by IISc at rank 58 and IIT Bombay at rank 72. A total of seven Indian universities have ranked it in the top 250.

Three US institutes have taken the top 3 positions including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, and Harvard University, respectively.

The University of Cambridge and Stanford University have retained their position of fourth and fifth, respectively.

9.Modi Tops List of World’s Most Popular Leaders with 77% Approval Rating

Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains the world’s most popular leader with an approval rating of 77 percent. This was revealed in a Global Leader Approval Ratings released by a US based consulting firm Morning Consult.

The Indian PM is followed by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at 69 per cent and Australian PM Anthony Albanese at 56 per cent, on the second and third spots, respectively. US President Joe Biden and UK’s new PM Rishi Sunak come lower down the list with approval ratings of 41 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively.

Awards News

10.39 Schools Awarded with Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar for 2021-22

Thirty-nine schools from across the country were awarded the Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar for the 2021-2022 academic session by the Ministry of Education. The schools were selected from among a total of 8.23 lakh entries. Out of which 28 were government and aided schools and 11 were private schools.

The awarded schools include two Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, one Navodaya Vidyalaya, and three Kendriya Vidyalayas.

The Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar honors the school that has taken exemplary work in the field of water, sanitation, and hygiene.

It also provides a benchmark and roadmap for the schools to make further improvements.

The schools are rated on six broad parameters of water, toilets, handwashing with soap, operation, and maintenance, behavioral change, and capacity building.

Schemes News

11.India Forms Panel to Revamp Only Govt Job Guarantee Scheme

India’s Union rural development ministry has formed a panel to revamp its only job guarantee scheme in the hope of directing more work to the country’s poorer regions, a senior government official said.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, or MNREGA, was in high demand in the India’s rural areas as they emerged from the pandemic amid soaring inflation and limited non-farm job opportunities.

Residents of relatively affluent states, however, may have fared better in securing work under the key anti-poverty job program, triggering calls for changes to the scheme.

Sports News

12.Cristiano Ronaldo Becomes First Male Player to Score in 5 World Cups

Cristiano Ronaldo creates history as he became the first male player to score in five World Cups in Portugal’s opening game in Qatar against Ghana. Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 65th minute from the penalty spot to open the scoring at Doha’s stadium 974, which was also the 118th goal of his country.

The 37-year-old striker converted a penalty in the 65th minute to give Portugal a 1-0 lead.

He has now scored a goal in every World Cup since 2006 when he again converted a penalty against Iran in the group stage.

Ronaldo scored at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and another at the 2014 tournament in Brazil, and four in 2018 Russia.

Science and Technology News

13.ISRO Begins Countdown for PSLV-C54 Mission

Scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) commenced the countdown for the launch of Earth Observation Satellite – Oceansat – and eight other customer satellites on a PSLV-C54 rocket from the spaceport of Sriharikota.

The countdown for the 56th flight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), in its extended version (PSLV-XL), from the first launchpad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, 115 km from here.

The primary payload of the rocket is an Oceansat which would be separated in orbit-1 while the eight other nano-satellites would be placed in different orbits based on the customer requirements (in the Sun-synchronous polar orbits).

Important Days

14.Constitution Day of India: History and Significance

Constitution Day is celebrated on 26th November every year in India to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India. The constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November 1949, and it came into effect on 26th January 1950.

The Constitution of India is termed as ‘of the people, for the people, and by the people.’

The preamble of the Indian Constitution declared India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic, and the welfare state.

Indian Constitution provides us with fundamental rights along with fundamental duties.

The Indian Constitution is the longest-written constitution in the world.

The Constitution offers a framework for the government of the country to keep in mind the social, religious, and cultural diversity of the nation.

15.India Celebrates National Milk Day on 26th November

National Milk Day is celebrated on 26th November every year to signify the importance and benefits of milk. Milk day is a special day that is observed to spread awareness among people about the importance and need for milk.

National Milk Day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien, who is also known as the ‘Father of White Revolution“.

The National Milk Day highlights the importance of milk in human life.

The day was chosen as the National Milk Day by the dairy majors of the country including the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), the Indian Dairy Association (IDA), along with the milk federation of 22 states.

The Indian Dairy Association took the initiative of celebrating National Milk Day for the first time in 2014.