Daily Current Affairs and GK | 30 November 2023

Topic: Indian Economy

1. Unemployment rate in urban areas decreased from 7.2% to 6.6%.

• According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), the unemployment rate in urban areas has decreased from 7.2% in July-September, 2022 to 6.6% in July–September 2023.
• The unemployment rate was 6.6% for persons under the age of 15 years.
• For persons aged 15 years and above, the worker-population ratio (WPR) in urban areas has increased from 44.5% in July-September, 2022 to 46% in July-September, 2023.
• For the male category, it has increased from 68.6% to 69.4% while it has increased from 19.7% to 21.9% for women during this period.
• PLFS defines the unemployment rate as the percentage of persons unemployed among the persons in the labour force.
• The LFPR in urban areas has increased from 47.9% in July-September, 2022 to 49.3% in July–September 2023 for persons aged 15 years and above.

Topic: Important Days

2. Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare: 30 November

• The Day of Remembrance for All Victims of Chemical Warfare is observed every year on November 30.
• It reaffirms the commitment of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to the elimination of the threat of chemical weapons.
• This day has been observed since 2013 and it was officially recognized by the United Nations (UN) in 2005.
• 30 November has been selected for this day at the 20th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention.
• It gives an opportunity to pay tribute to the victims of chemical warfare.
• The Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force on 29 April 1997. It was adopted in 1993.
• This Convention established the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

3. Abdullahi Mire has been named the winner of the UNHRC’s prestigious Nansen Award.

• Abdullahi Mire has received the award for giving 1,00,000 books to the hands of children in Kenya’s crowded Dadaab refugee camps.
• Abdullahi Mire has spent 23 years in Dadaab, where 90,000 refugees reside.
• Abdullahi Mire is a journalist and former refugee from Somalia.
• Abdullahi Mire set up the Refugee Youth Education Hub to raise awareness about the refugees’ educational needs and promote book donations.
• This organization has distributed more than 1 lakh books in the camps and has opened three libraries.
• UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award:
  • It was instituted in 1954.
  • It honours individuals, groups and organizations who protect refugees as well as internally displaced and stateless people.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

4. Safina Hussain, founder of Educate Girls, was presented with WISE Award for Education.

• On 29 November, the prestigious WISE Award was honoured to Safina Hussain at the WISE 11 Summit (World Innovation Summit for Education).
• The WISE Prize for Education is the first global award of its kind that honours an individual for outstanding contributions to education.
• Educate Girls is an example of this innovative approach, using AI to identify villages with a high number of out-of-school girls.
• More than 21,000 gender champions go door-to-door in India's most remote villages to identify these girls.
• Working in partnership with government and communities, Educate Girls reintegrates them into the formal education system.
• Educate Girls has mobilized over 14 lakh girls to enroll and provided remedial education to over 19 lakh students since its inception through this comprehensive approach in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar.
• The WISE prize was established in 2009 by the Qatar Foundation under the visionary leadership of its Chairperson, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser.
• WISE (World Innovation Summit for Education) has evolved into an international, multi-sector platform dedicated to promoting innovation and evidence-based approaches in education.

Topic: State News/ Uttar Pradesh

5. The foundation stone of the `Telecom Centre of Excellence' will be laid by Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath in Saharanpur on December 5.

• With an estimated cost of Rs 30 crore, this center is proposed to be built at the IIT Roorkee campus in Saharanpur.
• The center will conduct research on connecting 5G with artificial intelligence (AI) and launching 6G.
• This initiative will promote innovation and growth in the telecom sector besides providing significant employment opportunities to the youth of the state.
• The main objective of the center is to develop and promote new technology in the field of telecommunication.
• It will act as a center for research and development, as well as provide support to experts in various fields and assist in problem-solving through modern technology.
• Furthermore, research on 5G will be conducted focusing on its suitable applications in various sectors such as e-learning, e-education, agriculture, and satellite communications.

Topic: Important Days

6. Aviation Security Awareness Week 2023 is being observed by the Airports Authority of India.

• On 28 November, the week-long celebration has been started and is being observed at all airports and ANS locations managed by AAI across India.
• Various initiatives and actions have been taken by the Directorate of Aviation Security to enhance security in the operations of AAI.
• It includes the conduct of safety Audits of 57 Airports and ANS Centres, a Surprise check of Wildlife Hazard Management at 14 Airports, seven training programs across India training about 175 officials, and the launch of the Quarterly Safety Magazine "SAHAAS".
• AAI will undertake various employee engagement programs at the airports and ANS stations to raise awareness of aviation safety.

Topic: Government Schemes and its Initiatives

7. Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan has been approved by the Cabinet.

• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) with a total outlay of Rs 24,104 crore.
• Of the total Rs 24,104 crore, the central share will be Rs 15,336 crore and the state share will be Rs 8,768 crore.
• Under this, the focus will be on 11 important areas through related ministries.
• The Prime Minister had announced this campaign from Khunti on the occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas.
• Pradhan Mantri PVTG Vikas Mission will be launched to improve the socio-economic conditions of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
• An announcement about this was made in the Budget Speech 2023-24.
• It will provide basic amenities like safe housing, clean drinking water and sanitation, better access to education, health and nutrition, road and telecom connectivity and sustainable livelihood opportunities to PVTG families and settlements.
• An amount of Rs 15,000 crore will be made available to implement the mission over the next three years under the Development Action Plan for Scheduled Tribes (DAPST).
• The Scheduled Tribe population in India was 10.45 crore as of the 2011 census, of which 75 communities located in 18 states and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands are classified as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
• These PVTGs are facing insecurity in the social, economic, and educational sectors.

Topic: Summits/Conference/Meetings

8. The centenary year celebration of Kaivalya Dham has been inaugurated by President Draupadi Murmu.

• On November 29, a national conference on the theme ‘Integration of Yoga in School Education System-Manifesting the thought’, was inaugurated by the President at Lonavala, Maharashtra.
• The event was organized by Kaivalyadham Sansthan as a part of its centenary year celebrations.
• On this occasion, the President said that Yoga is an invaluable gift of India to the world community.
• Since 2015, Yoga Day has started being celebrated every year in most of the countries of the world.
• Yoga is the path to the holistic development of an individual and is considered an effective means of physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual progress.
• Kaivalyadhama, one of the oldest leading yoga institutes in the world, was established in 1924 by Swami Kuvalayananda.
• It follows the principles and philosophy of Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga.
• Kaivalyadham is the first yoga institute that actively conducts scientific research to demonstrate the benefits and uses of yoga.

Topic: National News

9. Continuation of fast-track courts for trying sexual offences has been approved by the Union Cabinet for 3 years.

• The Fast Track Special Court (FTSC) scheme was launched in 2019, it has been now extended up to March 31, 2026.
• Fast Track Special Courts under this scheme are dedicated to the dispensation of justice in cases of sexual offences.
• The government will cover its share of expenditure from the Nirbhaya Fund.
• The total cost of running the scheme for the three-year period would be ₹1,952.23.
• ₹1,207.24 crore would be borne by the Centre and ₹744.99 crore by the State.
• A total of 30 States and Union Territories have participated in the scheme.
• 761 fast-track courts including 414 dedicated POCSO courts have resolved more than 195000 cases.
• After the passage of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act in 2018, the government has decided to set up 1,023 fast-track courts.

Topic: Space and IT

10. ISRO's AstroSat detected more than 600 Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB).

• The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO's) AstroSat has detected more than 600 gamma-ray bursts since it was commissioned in 2015.
• The Gamma-ray bursts represent the death of massive neutron stars or the merger of neutron stars.
• The detection of Gamma-ray bursts shows the continued performance of the Cadmium Zinc Telluride Imager (CZTI) for eight years.
• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched AstroSat in 2015. It was designed to last for five years.
• It has exceeded its lifespan and is still making important observations.
• AstroSat is the first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory launched by India.
• GRBs are the most energetic explosions in the universe. It emits more energy in seconds than the sun will emit in its entire lifetime.

Topic: State News/ Karnataka

11. India's largest circular railway will be built in Bengaluru.

• On 27 November, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Bengaluru will get a 287-km circular railway that will link all important towns around it. It will be the largest-of-its-kind network in India.
• This network will be built keeping in mind the needs of the city for the next 40-50 years, providing it with "complete connectivity" on seven railway tracks.
• However, the project to build a circular railway has been talked about for a long time, this was the first time that it was confirmed by the highest level of government.
• The government has sanctioned Rs 7 crore to conduct feasibility and alignment studies for the circular/ring railway.
• The study will be conducted by the construction organization of SWR and tenders will be called soon. The report will be ready by September 2024.
• Chennai has India's largest circular railway at 235.5 km.
• Bengaluru could surpass it with the 149-km suburban railway and could get India's largest suburban railway network after Kolkata.

Topic: Important Days

12. International Jaguar Day 2023: 29 November

• Every year on November 29, International Jaguar Day is observed globally.
• The day is celebrated to draw attention to the numerous conservation efforts led by governments, organizations, and individuals.
• These initiatives aim to promote the development and conservation of jaguar species by supporting the expansion of their natural habitats.
• In 2018, International Jaguar Day was conceived by Panthera, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in collaboration with UNDP and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
• The date of November 29 was chosen to mark the birthday of Liso, the jaguar who was rehabilitated after being trapped by the Belize Zoo in Central America.
• In 1973, the jaguar was classified as an endangered species in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

13. Union Cabinet extended the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) scheme for another five years.

• Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) scheme to provide 5 kg of free foodgrains per month to 81.35 crore poor has been extended for five years from January 1, 2024.
• It shows the government's long-term commitment and vision of the government for resolving national food and nutrition security.
• The government will spend Rs 11.8 lakh crore on this scheme for the next five years.
• Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana was launched in 2020 as a COVID-19 pandemic relief measure to provide food security.
• Under this scheme, the beneficiary is provided 5 kg of free foodgrains per month in addition to the 5 kg of subsidized foodgrains under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
• The Union Cabinet also approved a Central scheme for providing drones to 15,000 women self-help groups (SHGs) with a total outlay of Rs 1,261 crore for two years.
• The government also approved the "terms of reference" for the "16th Finance Commission. The recommendations would cover a five-year period starting April 1, 2026, and will submit its report by 31 October 2025.

Topic: International News

14. Record 1.40 lakh visas have been issued to Indian students by the USA.

• The US Embassy and its consulates issued a record 1.40 lakh visas to Indian students between October 2022 and September 2023.
• During this period US State Department issued 10 million non-immigrant visas globally.
• The US State Department said that it has issued around 80 lakh visitor visas for business and tourism purposes. It is the highest number since 2015.
• These milestones have been achieved due to innovative solutions, including the expansion of interview waiver authorities.
• The innovative solutions have streamlined the visa renewal process and helped frequent travellers renew their visas.
• The US Mission to India surpassed its target to process one million non-immigrant visas in 2023.