Daily Current Affairs, 15th November 2018

1) PM Modi Attends 13th East Asia Summit in Singapore

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 13th East Asia Summit in Singapore. The summit is a regional forum held annually by leaders of 18 countries in the East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian regions, including Russia and the United States.

•He presented awards to winners of first India-Singapore Hackathon. Mr. Modi attended the second Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit with 16 member states. He reiterated India’s commitment to the early conclusion of high quality, comprehensive and balanced Regional Economic Partnership agreement.

2) Agriculture Ministry Launches NCDC’s ‘Yuva Sahakar Scheme’

•Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Radha Mohan Singh launched the ‘Yuva Sahakar-Cooperative Enterprise Support and Innovation Scheme’ of the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC). 

•The schemes aims for attracting youth to cooperative business ventures. The scheme will be linked to Rs 1000 crore ‘Cooperative Start-up and Innovation Fund (CSIF)’created by the NCDC. The funding for the project will be up to 80% of the project cost for these special categories against 70% for others.

3) India To Top U.S. As 2nd-Largest Carbon Spewer From Power: IEA Report

•The International Energy Agency in its latest report ‘World Energy Outlook’ stated that India will overtake the U.S. to become the world’s second-biggest emitter of carbon dioxide from the power sector before 2030. 

•Carbon dioxide emissions from India’s power sector are expected to rise nearly 80% by 2040 as power use almost triples, driven in part by air conditioning. China will remain the biggest emitter. 

4) Government To Issue Rs 75 Coin To Mark 75th Anniversary of Tricolour Hoisting

•The government will release a Rs 75 coin to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose hoisting the Tricolour for the first time at Port Blair. The Ministry of Finance has issued a notification regarding the release of the Rs 75 coin along with its specifications.

•On December 30, 1943, Bose raised the Indian National Army (INA) to fight against the British, had hoisted the Tricolour for the first time at Cellular Jail, Port Blair.

5) HRD Ministry Launches LEAP and ARPIT Programmes For Higher Education faculty

•Satya Pal Singh, Minister of State for Human Resource Development, launched two new initiatives, namely, the Leadership for Academicians Programme (LEAP) and the Annual Refresher Programme In Teaching (ARPIT) for higher education faculty.

•LEAP is a three weeks flagship leadership development training programme for the second level academic functionaries in higher education institutions and ARPIT is a unique initiative of online professional development of 15 lakh higher education faculty.

6) Odisha Signs MoU With AIFF

•The All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the State government of Odisha signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Kalinga Stadium complex in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Odisha will host National team camps while also becoming the home of the I-League side Indian Arrows, according to the MoU.

7) MoU signed on India-UK Cancer Research Initiative

•A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the partnership between Department of Biotechnology and Cancer Research UK (CRUK) for the India-UK Cancer Research Initiative has been signed in New Delhi.

•The India-UK Cancer Research Initiative is a collaborative 5-year bilateral research initiative that will focus on affordable approaches to cancer. Both countries will invest£5m each in this 5-year pilot and seek further investment from other potential funding partners.

8) UNSC Lifts Sanctions Against Eritrea After 9 Years

•The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has unanimously agreed to lift sanctions against Eritrea after nine years. An arms embargo, asset freeze, and travel ban were imposed in 2009 amid claims that Eritrea supported al-Shabab militants in Somalia.

•Eritrea agreed on a peace deal with Ethiopia following two decades of animosity, while the leader of Eritrea and the UN-backed government in Somalia recently signed a joint cooperation agreement.

9) Women’s World Boxing Championships Begins in Delhi

•The Women’s World Boxing Championships begins in Delhi. This tenth edition of the tournament is set to be the biggest ever as more than 300 boxers from 72 countries are taking part.

•The championship is being hosted by India for the first time since 2006 when the country had topped the table with four gold, one silver and three bronze medals.