1. Defence Minister hands over SBM and Maareech to the Indian Navy
(i) Union Defence Minster Manohar Parrikar recently dedicated a seakeeping and Manoeuvring Basin (SMB) to the Indian Navy during a function held at the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL) in Visakhapatnam.
(ii) The SMB is a top notch hydrodynamic testing infrastructure facility to validate the design of Naval platforms and weapon systems and is expected to aid in making state of the art naval combatants such as ships, torpedo and submarines etc.
(iii) In addition to this, the Defence Minister, also handed over DRDO-developed Advanced Torpedo Defence System “Maareech”. It is a state of the art indigenous system for torpedo detection and countermeasures.
2. President gives assent to cow protection bill in Haryana
(i) On November 12, President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to cow protection bill in Haryana.
(ii) Cow Protection Bill was passed by Haryana Assembly in March this year with voice vote.
(iii) With the ‘Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Bill’ turning into a law with immediate effect in Haryana, cow slaughter shall now attract a rigorous imprisonment ranging from three years to 10 years.
3. Madame Tussauds to open in New Delhi by 2017
(i) Recently, it was announced that the world famous Wax Museum Madame Tussauds will open its new venture for Bollywood stars as a part of India – UK year of culture in 2017.
(ii) The new venture is expected to be developed in New Delhi. Bollywood stars such as Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh khan are among the most popular exhibits at the famous waxworks in London.
(iii) This announcement came amidst PM Modi’s visit to U.K. Furthermore, The Merlin which is the parent group of Madame Tussauds, is set to invest £50 million in India over 10 year, opening other U.K. favourites such as Sea Life aquariums and Legoland Discovery Centres all over Indian cities.
4. HDFC and YES Bank decide to list bonds on LSE
(i) India’s largest mortgage lender Housing Development and Finance Corporation and new generation private sector lender YES Bank recently announced its intention of listing their bond issuances in London.
(ii) As per YES Bank’s statement, the bank is planning to raise $500 million by issuing so-called green bonds, that is, the proceeds will be used to fund renewable energy and emission reduction projects. This is a part of the bank’s larger plan to raise $1 billion equity capital.
(iii) Also, HDFC, is planning to raise funds by issuing rupee denominated offshore bonds – masala bonds – which too will be listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
5. Vodafone announces to invest $2billion in India
(i) Recently, India’s second largest telecommunication service provider (by number of users) announced to invest Rs.13,000 crore or $2 billion new business initiatives and for capacity expansion.
(ii) Vodafone, ranks just behind Bharati Airtel and is already the largest FDI investor in the country with investments exceeding not more than Rs.1,11,000 since starting its Indian operations in 2007.
(iii) This announcement became amid, Prime Minster Modi’s visit to London. Mr Vittorio Colao, Vodafone Group Plc CEO said, “At Vodafone, we are enthused with the PM’s vision for ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’. Vodafone India serves over 188 million citizens, of which almost 100 million are from rural areas. As the co-creator of the telecom ecosystem, a catalyst of the telecom revolution in India and being committed for the long term, we are ideally poised to partner the Government of India in fulfilling these important initiatives.”
6. Naresh Kumar Sharma wins first Paralympic quota for Rio 2016
(i) Recently, veteran shooter Naresh Kumar Sharma became the first Indian para athlete from India to grab a quota for 2016 Rio Paralympics.
(ii) The 42 year old Sharma,confirmed his place at Rio games after winning in the12th place, in men’s 50 m rifle three position at the IPC Shooting World Cup at Fort Benning, USA.
(iii) Naresh Sharma who is also an Arjuna Awardee after his victory said, “I am happy to win the quota for India but I am sad that no one from the federation has even bothered to call me up and appreciate my performance. The last two years has been very difficult for me. I had no funds train and travel abroad for the competitions.”Even our federation was under a suspension and so things were not easy. However I am very thankful to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Sports Ministry to fund me and the others for the three World Cups this year.”
7. Nico Rosberg defeats Hamilton at the Brazilian Grand Prix
(i) On November 15th, Nico Rosberg, Mercedes F1 racer defeated Lewis Hamilton his team mate in a consecutive second race to win the Brazilian Grand Prix.
(ii) Rosberg took the lead from the first corner and controlled the race thereafter and Hamilton kept trying to push ahead.
(iii) Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was third ahead of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. The race was dominated by Mercedes drivers.
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