RAJASTHAN

·       Exercise Sindhu Sudarshan by Indian Army was conducted in Rajasthan

ð The Sudarshan Chakra Corps of the Indian Army conducted the Sindhu Sudarshan exercise in Barmer, Rajasthan on 16 November. The exercise will continue till 5 December 2019.

ð Sindhu Sudarshan showcases the ability of the Sudarshan Chakra Corps to undertake large scale offensive manoeuvres as part of an integrated air-land battle.

ð Exercises to attain battlefield transparency and situational awareness along with numerous other force multipliers, are held.

INTERNATIONAL

• Brazil hosting BRICS summit from 13th to 14th November

• Brazil is hosting 2019 BRICS summit, this time in capital Brasilia from 13th to 14th November.

• BRICS brings together five major economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa having 23 per cent of the global GDP and around 17 per cent of the share in world trade.

• The 2019 edition of BRICS will be its 11th summit, happening every year since its inception.

• The theme of the Summit this year is “Economic Growth for an Innovative Future”.

·       ADB approves $300 million for power transmission expansion in Bangladesh

ð The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a 300 million dollar loan for a project to expand power transmission lines in Greater Dhaka and the western zone of Bangladesh. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has 200 million dollars in co-financing to fund transmission lines, substations, and an enterprise resource planning system. The assistance also comprises a 750,000 dollar grant from China’s Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation Fund.

NATIONAL

• National Education Day: 11 November

• National Education Day is observed on 11th November every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

• He was a freedom fighter, scholar and the first Education Minister of independent India.

• The day is also seen as an occasion to remember Azad’s contribution in laying the foundations of the education system in the country.

• Human Resources Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank will launch SWAYAM 2.0, Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds in New Delhi.

• The SWAYAM programme is initiated by the government to achieve the three cardinal principles of Education Policy –  access, equity and quality.

• SC paves way for construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya

• Settling the centuries-old dispute with regards to 2.77 acres of land in Ayodhya, believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram, the Supreme Court by a unanimous decision gave the possession of the contested property to a trust that will oversee the construction and management of the Ram temple.

• A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi also directed the Centre and Uttar Pradesh government to allot five acres of land at an alternate site in Ayodhya to the Sunni Central Waqf Board to construct a mosque.

• The bench, comprising Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer, also came to the conclusion that the three-way bifurcation of the disputed property by the Allahabad High Court was “legally unsustainable.”

• The disputed site has been given to the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas and the centre has been asked to build trust for the construction of the temple.

• SC directs allotment of alternative land to Muslims to build a new mosque.

• Suitable land of 5 acres to be handed over to Sunni Waqf board at a prominent place for building the mosque.

• Centre to frame scheme within 3 months and set up a trust for construction of a temple.

• SC dismisses plea of Nirmohi Akhara seeking control of entire disputed land.

1528: Babri Mosque built by Mughal emperor Babur’s commander Mir Baqi

1949: Idol of Lord Ram, Goddess Sita found inside the mosque by unknown persons.

1992: Babri Mosque structure demolished by karsewaks

2010: The Allahabad High Court rules trifurcation of the 2.77-acre disputed land between UP Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla Virajman.

• Integrated Check Post of Kartarpur Corridor inaugurated by the Prime Minister at Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Kartarpur Corridor and Integrated Check Post.

• Now it will be easy to pay obeisance at Darbar Sahib Gurudwara after the opening of Kartarpur Corridor.

• The first Jatha of Sikh pilgrims also entered Pakistan through Kartarpur Corridor.

• Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first batch of over 500 Indian pilgrims led by Akal Takhat Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib through the corridor.

• MMR of India declines by eight points in one year

• Maternal Mortality Ratio, MMR, of India has declined by eight points in one year as per the latest special bulletin on MMR released by the Registrar General of India.

• He added that the MMR has declined from 130 per lakh live births in 2014-16 to 122 per lakh live births in 2015-17 which is a decline of 6.2 per cent.

• This decline is important as it translates to over 2,000 more pregnant women saved annually.

• India is on track to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) set for reducing the MMR by 2025 which is five years ahead of the fixed time-line of 2030.