Tata Literature Awards 2018
- Anuradha Roy and James Crabtree – Winners
- Mark Tully – Life Time
- Harper Collins India – Publisher
- Jayanta Mahapatra – Poet laureate
Women Reservation in Odisha
The Odisha Assembly has unanimously passed a resolution seeking 33% reservation for women in legislative assemblies and Parliament.
New Star System
Scientists have discovered a new massive star system ‘pinwheel’ nearly 8000 years away from earth in Milky Way galaxy.
IGLA-S Missile
Russia has got a contract from the Indian Army to supply IGLA-S, a man-portable Surface to Air missile.
World Malaria Report
According to WHO’s report, India and 10 African countries accounted for 70% of estimated malaria cases (151 million) and deaths (274,000) in 2017.
The Maldives to rejoin Commonwealth
Under newly elected President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Maldives cabinet has approved rejoining Commonwealth group two year after withdrawing during former President Abdulla Yameen. Commonwealth is a group of 53 member countries.
Global Talent Ranking
India got 53rd rank in Global Talent Ranking by IMD Business School, Switzerland. Among Asian countries, Singapore is place at 13 rank. Switzerland topped in the list.
Vajra Prahar
India-US joint military exercise ‘Vajra Prahar’ began in Jaipur this year on 19th of November.
New definition of Kilogram
The world’s standard definition of the kilogram, the ampere, the kelvin and the mole has been changed. New definition is based on Planck constant. Earlier it was defined by a cylinder of a platinum alloy stored at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) in France
ExceedSAT
ExceedSAT is the first Indian private entity satellite to be launched by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. It is a CubeSat mission by company Exceed Space. Its communication payload will give a major boost to ham radio operators.
Sugar export to China
World’s largest sugar producer India (32 mn tonnes in 2018) will export 15000 tonnes of sugar to China every year.
Privatization of Airports
Six new airports Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, and Mangaluru are to be privatized under the PPP model. Currently, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Cochin are working under the same model.
Financial power of Vice Chiefs enhanced
The Defence Ministry has enhanced financial powers to Vice Chiefs of the armed forces from Rs. 100 cr. to Rs. 500 cr. to expedite the decision-making process involved in the procurements for the Armed Forces.
