| The country which has won the 2016 Davis Cup tennis tournament defeating Croatia in the finals | Argentina |
| The new Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army | General Qamar Javed Bajwa |
| The committee announced by the Central Govt to form a strategy to expedite the process of transforming India into a cashless economy is headed by | Amitabh Kant |
| The Indian woman boxer who has been chosen to be awarded the Legends Award by the International Boxing Association | Mary Kom |
| The revolutionary leader, Prime Minister (1959 to 1976), President (1976 to 2006) of Cuba who passed away on 25 Nov 2016 | Fidel Castro |
| The Indian actor who has been awarded the Best Performance by an Actor Award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2016 in Brisbane, Australia | Manoj Bajpayee |
| The state in which Airtel has launched India's first payments bank offering 7.25% interest on savings bank accounts | Rajasthan |
| The Indian journalist who has been conferred the International Press Freedom Award for her reporting from the Naxal-infested Bastar area by the Committee to Protect Journalists, New York | Malini Subramaniam |
| The Governor of South Carolina who has been chosen to be the US Ambassador to the United Nations by the President-elect Donald Trump | Nikki Haley |
| The theme of 13th World Robot Olympiad being held for the first time in India from 25 to 27 Nov 2016 at ndia Expo Mart, Greater Noida | Rap the Scrap |
| The Indian golfer who has won the BANK-BRI JCB Indonesia Open golf tournament for the second time in his career | Gaganjeet Bhullar |
| Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn who has been conferred the first 'World Sanskrit Award' by the Vice-President Hamid Ansari for her contribution towards promotion of the language is the Princess of | Thailand |
| The Times of India journalist who has been awarded the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize 2016 for his book Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India | Akshaya Mukul |
| The Carnatic vocalist, musician, multi-instrumentalist, playback singer and composer (Padma Vibhusan in 1991) who passed away on 22 Nov | M. Balamuralikrishna |
| India's first female captain in merchant navy who has become the first woman in the world to be awarded International Maritime Organisation Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea | Radhika Menon |
| The venue of third World Internet Conference held from 16 to 18 Nov 2016 | Wuzhen, China |
| The geostationary weather satellite launched aboard Atlas 5 rocket by NASA from Capa Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on behalf of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | GOES-R (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R) |
| The third in the series of Kolkata class guided missile destroyer (last of the ships in the Project 15A) which was commissioned into the Indian Navy by the Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in Mumbai | INS Chennai |
| The sprinter from Haryana who has been banned by National Anti-Doping Agency for a period of eight years for having tested positive for an anabolic steroid | Dharambir Singh |
| The Indian badminton player who has won the China Open Badminton tournament women's singles title defeating Sun Yu of China in the finals (this being her first Super Series title) | P.V. Sindhu |
| The country which has decided to withdraw from the membership of the International Criminal Court | Russia |
| The state which has become the first in the country to adopt a resolution on demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes | Chhattisgarh |
| The Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV which was successfully tested in its maiden flight by DRDO at Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga | TAPAS 201 (RUSTOM-II) |
| The Indo-China joint training exercise which began in a military camp in Pune is named | Hand-in-hand |
| The toll-free Aadhaar helpline number launched by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in its revamped version | 1947 |
| The chess player who has won the National Women Chess Championships 2016 for the third time in a row | Padmini Rout |
| The task force formed by the government to speed up the process of recalibration of ATMs to dispense the new denomination notes is headed by | SS Mundra, Dy Governor of RBI |
| The word which has been chosen as the word of the year by Oxford Dictionary (meaning of the word is "Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief") | Post-truth |
| The Hockey India president who has been elected the President of International Hockey Federation | Narindra Batra |
| The well-known action movie star, martial artist, film director and producer who has been awarded an honorary Oscar at the Eighth Annual Governors Awards at the Hollywood and Highland Center in Los Angeles | Jackie Chan |
| The Indian golfer who has become the first woman from India to win a Ladies European Tour title (Indian Open at Gurgaon) | Aditi Ashok |
| The x-ray pulsar navigation satellite launched by China from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to conduct in-orbit experiments using pulsar detector is named | XPNAV-1 |
| The venue of 1st International Agro-biodiversity Congress that was held from 6 November to 9 November 2016 with participation of 900 delegates from 60 countries | New Delhi |
| The quarterly magazine launched by the Union Govt in English and Hindi to cater to health related information and raise awareness about healthy living is named | Healthy India Initiative/Swastha Bharat-ek pehal |
| The venue of seventh session of the Conference of the Parties (COP7) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) held from 07 to 12 Nov 2016 | Noida, U.P. |
| The city in which the country's first LNG fuelled bus was launched by the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan (It is a joint effort of Petronet LNG Limited (PLL), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd) | Thiruvananthapuram |
| The team India defeated to win the women's Asian Hockey Champions trophy tournament held at Singapore | China |
| The joint military exercise by the defence forces of India and Bangladesh being conducted at Tangail, Dhaka from 05 to 18 November is named | Exercise Sampriti |
| The veteran film actress who has been chosen to be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Dubai International Film Festival in December 2016 | Rekha |
| The renowned South Korean film director who has been chosen to be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 47th International Film Festival of India in Goa | Im Kwon-taek |
| The founder of Sulabh International who has been appointed as the Brand Ambassador for Swachh Rail Mission of the Indian Railways | Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak |
| The new Chairperson of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) | Sushil chandra |
| The State which has become the third State overall and the largest State so far to be declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) (Gramin) | Kerala |
Theme: Public participation in promoting integrity and eradicating Corruption
Established by : United Nations General Assembly
First Observed in: 2016
Established by : UNESCO
Theme: Celebrating Science Centres and Science Museums
First Observed in: 2001
Established by : WHO
Theme: VKeep the Promise, Stop Pneumonia Now
First Observed in: 2009
Established by : International Diabetes Federation
Theme: Eyes on Diabetes
First Observed in: 1991 by IDF, adopted by UN in 2006
Established by : United Nations General Assembly
First observed in : 1995
The UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence awarded every two years on the occasion has been awarded to the Federal Research and Methodological Center for Tolerance Psychology and Education (Tolerance Center) of Russia.
Established by : UNESCO
First Observed in: 2002
Established by : World Toilet Organisation
Theme: Toilet and Jobs
First Observed in: 2001
Established by : United Nations General Assembly
Theme: Orange the World - raise funds to end violence against women
First Observed in: 2000
Established by : Indian Dairy Association
Occasion: Birth anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien
First Observed in: 2014
Charaiveti Charaiveti written by Shri Ram Naik (Governor of U.P.)
An Era of Darkness written by Shashi Tharoor
Death under the Deodars written by Ruskin Bond
Held from 20.11.16 to 28.11.16 at Goa
Lifetime Achievement Award: Im Kwon Taek, Korean filmmaker
Centenary Award for the Film Personality of the Year: SP Balasubramaniam
Opening Film: AfterImage by Polish writer and director, Andrzej Wajda
Focus Country: Republic of Korea
Best Film (Golden Peacock Award): Daughter, Directed and Produced by Reza Mirkarimi (Iran)
Best Director: Baris Kaya and Soner Caner for the film Rauf (Turkey)
Best Actor Male: Farhad Aslani for Daughter
Best Actor Female: Elina Veska for Mellow Mud (Latvia)
Special Jury Award: The Apology directed by Tiffany Hsiung (Canada)
ICFT UNESCO GANDHI Award: Mustafa Kara for the film Cold of Kalander (Turkey)
Opening Film of the Indian Panorama: Ishti (Sanskrit film)
Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) was launched by the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda recently.
It is a fixed day strategy under which a minimum package of antenatal care services is to be provided to the beneficiaries on the 9th day of every month at the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Clinics to ensure that every pregnant woman receives at least one checkup in the 2nd/ 3rd trimester of pregnancy.
Target beneficiaries: All pregnant Women who are in the 2nd & 3rd Trimesters of pregnancy.
Public Health Facilities to access services under PMSMA: Rural Areas - Primary Health Centers, Community Health Centers, Rural Hospitals, Sub-District Hospital, District Hospital, Medical College Hospital
Urban Areas - Urban Dispensaries, Urban Health Posts, Maternity Homes
Provision of services during PMSMA : All basic laboratory investigations to identify High Risk status (like anemia, gestational diabetes, hypertension, infection etc.) MCP cards to be issued to all beneficiaries.
MCP cards will be marked using a sticker indicating the condition and risk factor of the pregnant women
Green Sticker - for women with no risk factor detected
Red Sticker – for women with high risk pregnancy
Blue – for women with Pregnancy Induced Hypertension
Yellow – pregnancy with co-morbid conditions such as diabetes, hypothyroidism, STIs
Counselling session to focus on various issues like care during pregnancy, importance of nutrition including iron - folic acid consumption and calcium supplementation, entitlements under Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) and Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK), post-natal care, breastfeeding and complementary feeding.
From 19 Nov to 25 Nov 2016
Programmes to be observed during Qaumi Ekta Week
The National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH), an autonomous organisation with the Ministry of Home Affairs, organises Communal Harmony Campaign coinciding with the Qaumi Ekta Week and observes the Communal Harmony Flag Day on 25th November.
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship's flagship scheme on entrepreneurship education and training, the Pradhan Mantri YUVA Yojana was launched by the Minister of State(I/C) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
The scheme spans over five years (2016-17 to 2020-21) with a project cost of Rs. 499.94 crore, and will provide entrepreneurship education and training to over 7 lakh students in 5 years through 3050 Institutes. It will also include easy access to information and mentor network, credit, incubator and accelerator and advocacy to create a pathway for the youth.
The institutes under the PM’s YUVA Yojana include 2200 Institutes of Higher Learning (colleges, universities, and premier institutes), 300 schools, 500 ITIs and 50 Entrepreneurship Development Centres, through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).
Released by: Ministry of Commerce and Industry
The rankings are on the basis of a 340-point business reform action plan and their implementation by the States for the period from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016.
The top ten ranks in 2016 are Andhra Pradesh & Telangana (98.78 per cent each implementation rate), followed by Gujarat (98.21 per cent), Chhattisgarh (97.32 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (97.01 per cent), Haryana (96.95 per cent), Jharkhand (96.57 per cent), Rajasthan (96.43 per cent), Uttarakhand (96.13 per cent) and Maharashtra (92.86 per cent).
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 01 Nov 2016 launched the Saur Sujala Yojana in Chhattisgarh that would provide solar powered irrigation pumps to farmers at a subsidized price.
Chhattisgarh would be the first state to implement the scheme. Under the scheme, solar powered irrigation pumps of 3HP and 5HP capacity worth Rs 3.5 lakh and Rs 4.5 lakh respectively would be distributed to the farmers by March 31, 2019. The beneficiaries would get the pumps at the subsidised price. An estimated 51,000 farmers would be benefitted in the state with the launch of the scheme in next two years. The scheme will be given priority in those areas where electricity connection has not reached yet.
Released by: Freedom House.
Highlights
The GST Council decided to have four slabs under the GST regime. The four-tier GST rate structure would be 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%.
Most of the food items would attract zero% rate. As much as 50% of consumer price index would be zero rated.
5% rate would be on other necessary goods such as soaps and others needed for daily uses.
Bulk of goods and services would be levied GST of 12 per cent and 18 per cent. This includes fast-moving consumer goods.
The highest slab of 28 per cent will include white goods and all those items on which the current rate of incidence varies from 30-31 per cent.
1. In which of the following fields are the Ramnath Goenka Awards given?
2. Which of the following universities conferred an Honorary Doctorate on the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee?
3. As per instructions issued by the CVC, banks have been asked to report frauds above which amount to the Central Vigilance Commission?
4. With which of the following sports is Pratul Joshi associated?
5. Recently the Indian Army completed laying an irrigation pipeline for residents of villages in the Demchok despite a face-off last week with Chinese troops over the work. Demchok is located in -
6. Recently a 3-nation Friendship Motor Car Rally was flagged off from India Gate in New Delhi. Apart from India which are the other two nations participating in the rally?
7. With which of the following sports is Surjit Trophy associated?
8. With which of the following sports is Tajamul Islam associated?
9. November 16 is observed in India as
10. Whose autobiography is the book A Soldier Recalls?
11. What kind of disease is Brucellosis?
12. Where are the headquarters of European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) located?
13. Which US President established the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
14. Who of the following is scheduled to be the Chief Guest at the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention at Bengaluru from 7 to 9 January, 2017?
15. Dileep Padgaonkar who passed away recently was a well-known -
16. Akodara, India's first digital village is located in -