Current Affairs in English – November 25 2022

National Events:

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari:

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has approved 4 – Laning of Bhiwani – Hansi road section of NH-148B under Bharatmala Pariyojana in Bhiwani and Hisar districts.
It has been approved with a budget of Rs.1322.13 cr. The scheme envisages development of about 26,000 km length of Economic Corridors, which are expected to carry majority of the Freight Traffic on roads.

Measles cases:

Kerala’s Malappuram district is reporting spike in measles cases as the infection is spreading rapidly in Kalpakanchery and nearby areas. The State Health Department has stepped up vigilance as around 100 people have already been confirmed to be infected.
Measles is an acute viral respiratory illness. It symptoms include inflamed eyes, cough, sore throat, fever etc.

Operation Olivia:

Pairs of Olive Ridley sea turtles have begun emerging on the sea waters off Gahirmatha along the Odisha coast. It marks the commencement of the annual mass nesting of these endangered marine species.
Operation Olivia was started by Indian Coast Guard to protect Olive Ridley turtles as they congregate along the Odisha coast for breeding and nesting.

Mumbai:

Mumbai has become the first Indian city to be added to the A-list in the 5th Annual Cities Report published by CDP in November 2022.
The organisation says that Mumbai was able to attain despite the challenging global economic situation.
Total 122 cities across the globe have been named as leaders in environmental action and transparency in 2022 by CDP.

T G Sitharam:

IIT Guwahati Director T G Sitharam has been appointed Chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Sitharam will take over from Jagadesh Kumar, who was holding interim charge of the AICTE Chairman.
Before he joined as Director of IIT Guwahati, he was a professor in the department of civil engineering at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

‘Kadlekai Parishe”:

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai inaugurated the ‘Kadlekai Parishe, a groundnut fair in Bengaluru’s Basavanagudi in November 2022.
During the fair, the groundnut farmers from all over the state brought the bags of groundnuts to sell them in the fair.
The groundnut festival has a 500 – year – old history and is held near the Dodda Ganesha temple and the Bull Temple at Basavanagudi.

Airtel Payments Bank:

Airtel Payments Bank has announced the launch of Face Authentication – based savings bank account opening for customers.
The facility will further ease the account opening process making it seamless and convenient for customers.
Airtel Payments Bank is the first Payments Bank in the country to offer this facility. Airtel Payments Bank MD & CEO: Anubrata Biswas.

IDFC FIRST Bank:

IDFC FIRST Bank has launched FIRSTAP, the country’s first sticker – based debit card. It has been launched in association with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
It will facilitate transactions by simply tapping the sticker on a Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled point-of-sale terminal. It is one third the size of a regular debit card.

Tamil Nadu Events:

Arittapatti:

The Tamil Nadu government on 22 November 2022 declared the Arittapatti village in Madurai district as a biodiversity heritage site. It is the first Biodiversity Heritage Site (BHS) to be notified in the state.
The village has a rich biological and historical significance with the presence of around 250 bird species. Tamil Nadu CM: M. K. Stalin.

New town development:

The Tamil Nadu has notified 60 villages in Chengalpet and 17 villages near Thirumazhisai for new town development.
The planning area boundary for the proposed Chengalpattu New includes 60 villages from Chengalpattu, Thirukzhukundram and Thiruporur Taluk. This government had announced five satellite towns near Chennai to decongest city.

An electric vehicle charging station:

For the first time in the country, an electric vehicle charging station has been installed at the Chennai airport.
Airports Authority of India, Chennai Airport and Indian Oil Corporation have jointly set up an electric vehicle charging station at Chennai Airport.

International Events:

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women: 25 November:

Every year on November 25th, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is observed. This day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993.
Violence against women is defined as any act of gender – based violence that causes physical, sexual, or psychological harm to women. Theme for 2022: “UNITE! Activism to End Violence against Women & Girls “.

Anwar Ibrahim:

Malaysia’s veteran opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been sworn in as the country’s new prime minister on 24 November 2022.
The new leader was appointed by King Sultan Abdullah. Anwar, was Deputy to former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in the 1990s. Malaysia Capital: Kuala Lumpur. Currency: Malaysian ringgit.

Biggest fertilizer supplier:

Russia for the first time became the biggest fertilizer supplier to India in the first half of the FY 2022-23. India’s fertilizer imports from Russia surged 371 % to a record 2.15 million tonnes in the first six months of the year starting on April 1.
In the last entire fiscal year, India imported 1.26 million tonnes from Russia. Russia accounted for about 14 % of the world’s urea exports.

UN Human Rights Commission:

The UN Human Rights Commission passed a resolution condemning the heavy repression used by the Iranian government to quell the protests against the government.
Brought by Germany and Iceland and sponsored by 25 countries, the resolution called for the formation of a fact-finding commission to conduct an impartial investigation into police abuses during the protests.
Masha Amini, 22, who was arrested last September by Iran’s controversial cultural police for not wearing a head-covering hijab, has died in custody.
After that, violent protests broke out across the country against the government’s dress code. 416 people including 51 minors are said to have died.