Today's Current Affairs -16th November 2022

NATIONAL

Third Edition Of Largest Nationwide Coastal Defence Exercise ‘Sea Vigil-22’ Commences

• The third edition of the ‘Pan-India’ Coastal Defence Exercise ‘Sea Vigil-22’ will be conducted from 15 to 16 November 2022. This National Level Coastal Defence Exercise was conceptualized in 2018 to validate various measures that have been instituted towards enhancing maritime security since ‘26/11’.
• Coastal Security being a major sub-set of Coastal Defence construct, the concept of ‘Sea Vigil’ is to activate the Coastal Security apparatus across India and assess the overarching Coastal Defence mechanism.
• The exercise will be undertaken along the entire 7516 km coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone of India and will involve all the Coastal States and Union territories along with other maritime stakeholders, including the fishing and coastal communities.
• The exercise is being conducted by the Indian Navy in coordination with the Coast Guard and other ministries entrusted with the task of maritime activities.
• The scale and conceptual expanse of the exercise are unprecedented in terms of the geographical extent, the number of stakeholders involved, the number of units participating, and in terms of the objectives to be met.

 SPORTS

Switzerland beat Australia to win first Billie Jean King Cup title

• Switzerland won their first Billie Jean King Cup title on Sunday after Belinda Bencic beat Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic in straight sets in the second match of the finals to give them an unassailable 2-0 lead.
• Jil Teichmann had earlier prevailed 6-3 4-6 6-3 over Storm Sanders in a thrilling contest to put Switzerland ahead before Olympic champion Bencic saw off Tomjlanovic 6-2 6-1 to clinch the best-of-three contest.
• The teams also clashed in the semi-finals of last year's event in Prague, where Teichmann overcame Sanders and Bencic defeated Tomljanovic before Switzerland went on to finish runners-up to Russia.
• Olympic champion Bencic, who had not dropped a set all week, was in complete control against Tomljanovic and delivered a commanding performance, swiftly wrapping up victory in an hour and 15 minutes.
• In a brilliant battle between two left handers, Teichmann dominated affairs in the first set but Sanders, struggling with a leg injury and needing courtside treatment, twice rallied from a break down in the second in a stirring revival.

Asian Airgun Championship: India bags 4 more Gold medals in Korea, taking total tally of yellow metal to 17

• India won four more Gold medal in air pistol events to take their gold tally to 17 in the Asian Airgun Championship in at Daegu in Korea yesterday. Shiva Narwal won the men’s 10m air pistol, while Sagar Dangi picked up the junior men’s gold.
• Shiva got the better of experienced Korean Park Daehun in the men’s air pistol final, taking him down 17-13 in a close contest. He also had the Korean’s number in the ranking round where he topped with 253.7. Park was second with 250.2.
• In addition, both the men’s and women’s youth teams also won their respective competitions to make it another successful day for India.
• India’s Vijayveer Sidhu also picked up a bronze in the event, after he finished the ranking round in third place with 248.0.
• In the junior men’s air pistol, it was a 1-2 finish for India, as Sagar Dangi overcame Samrat Rana 17-13 to claim gold.
• India’s third gold came in the men’ 10m air pistol Youth event, when the trio of Sandeep Bishnoi, Sahil and Amit Sharma beat a Korean team 16-8 in the gold medal clash.

Mary Kom, PV Sindhu, Mirabai Chanu and Gagan Narang elected in IOA Athletes Commission

• Olympic medallists MC Mary Kom, PV Sindhu, Mirabai Chanu and Gagan Narang were among 10 eminent sportspersons elected as members of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Athletes Commission. All the 10 elected members of the apex body, five men and as many women, won unopposed in the polls. Under the new constitution of the Indian Olympic Association which was adopted on November 10, the athletes commission is to have equal representation of male and female members.
• Winter Olympian Shiva Keshavan, table tennis player Sharath Kamal, women’s hockey captain Rani Rampal, fencer Bhavani Devi, rower Bajrang Lal and former shot putter Om Prakash Singh Karhana are the other six members of the elected panel.
• All the 10 members, out of which five are female, are Olympians. Keshavan is the only Winter Olympian. The immediate task of the Athletes Commission would be to identify eight Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOM) who would then be voting members of the IOA’s General Assembly. One of the criteria is that the sportsperson should have retired from the sport, and should have won a medal in the Olympics, Asian Games or Commonwealth Games.

 OBITURY

Mehran Karimi Nasseri, Who Inspired ‘The Terminal,’ Dies in Paris Airport

• An Iranian refugee, Mehran Karimi Nasseri, who lived for 18 years in Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and whose intriguing tale inspired the 2004 Steven Spielberg film “The Terminal,” passed away in that same airport. The cause of death, in Terminal 2F, was a heart attack, a representative for the airport. His exact age was not immediately known, but he was in his late 70s.
• His days were punctuated by the rhythm of flights and the presence of travelers, whose numbers swelled in the morning and dwindled at night, leaving him mostly alone to sleep on his preferred curved bench. Airport employees would routinely give him their meal coupons, and flight attendants would give him toiletries left over by first-class passengers. The New York Times Magazine noted in a 2003 profile of Mr. Nasseri that he seemed “both settled — and ready to go.”

 IMPORTANT DAYS

National Press Day 2022: 16^th November

• National Press Day is observed on November 16 every year to acknowledge and honour the Press Council of India (PCI). The day marks the presence of an independent and responsible press in the country. The Press Council of India also examines the quality of reportage of the Indian press and keeps a check on journalistic activities.
• Independent Press is often called the voice of the voiceless, a connecting link between the all-powerful rulers to the downtrodden ruled. It brings out the ills and malaise of the system and helps the government find the solutions to these, in the process strengthening the values of the democratic system of governance. No wonder why it’s called one of the four pillars of a strong democracy, and the only one where commoners directly participate. The other 3 are the Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary – a gang of select few.

International Day for Tolerance 2022: 16^th November

• International Day for Tolerance is observed on November 16 every year with an aim to build tolerance among diverse cultures and spread the message that tolerance is an integral part of society. The day is specifically recognized to educate people about the harmful consequences of intolerant society and its impact on the nation.
• The significance of celebrating the day is to raise awareness about the tolerance and its impact on cultures and socio-economic groups. Tolerance should be promoted on both personal as well as professional level to make the world a better place to live. Tolerance and non-violence are essential criteria for cohabitation. The goal of the day is to get people to appreciate the beauty of many viewpoints, ethnicities, faiths, and ideologies while also recognising the cultural diversity that exists. The main goals of this global movement are to promote the behaviour of respecting others’ rights and freedoms and to inform people about the negative repercussions of intolerance.

 SUMMIT'S & MOU's

LeadIT Summit 2022 hosted by India and Sweden at COP27, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

• India and Sweden hosted the LeadIT Summit, on the sidelines of COP27 at Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt. The Leadership for Industry Transition- LeadIT initiative focuses on low carbon transition of the hard to abate industrial sector.
• Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav emphasised that co-development is the only option to meet the targets that the world has taken for itself and without it, low carbon transition could be delayed by decades. He said, the low carbon transition of the industrial sector will not only contribute towards the reduction in required greenhouse gas emissions.
• The Minister said, it has several co-benefits that include increasing resilience to changes in climate, enhanced energy security, innovation, socio-economic development and job creation. He also highlighted that the current phase of LeadIT is set to conclude in 2023 and the next year is the time to reflect on the performance and achievements so far.
• The summit concluded with the adoption of the summit statement by the members of LeadIT which re-emphasized the commitment to continue pursuing the low-carbon transition of the industry. The members also committed to providing technical assistance to new members and emerging economies.

 Official Launch of The Pandemic Fund at G20

• The G20 Presidency of Indonesia is hosting the official launch of the Pandemic Fund on the margins of the G20 Joint Finance and Health Ministers’ Meeting in Bali, Indonesia in the presence of Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia.
• At the launch, the Pandemic Fund, now with new name and logo, will provide the latest progress the Governing Board has made since its establishment on September 8, 2022, to get operational – an important step toward strengthening global health architecture.
• Drawing on lessons from COVID-19, which exposed huge weaknesses and under investment in pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR), particularly in low- and middle-income countries, the Pandemic Fund is intended to strengthen the capacity of these countries to mitigate the risks of future global health threats. It will provide a dedicated stream of long-term financing for PPR and address critical gaps through investments and technical support at the national, regional, and global levels. The Pandemic Fund is also expected to incentivize countries to prioritize this agenda and increase their own efforts.
• This is the first time the international community has come together around a funding mechanism dedicated to investing in pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response in developing countries – a testament to multilateralism, said Dr. Chatib Basri, co-Chair of the Pandemic Fund Governing Board.

 AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Rich haul for NMDC at PRCI Excellence Awards 2022

• National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) bagged the Champion of Champions Award, sweeping the 16th PRCI Global Communication Conclave 2022, to bring home fourteen Corporate Communication Excellence Awards. The awards were presented at the Global Communication Conclave organised by Public Relations Council of India (PRCI) in Kolkata.
• NMDC won Gold awards for Most Resilient Company of the Year; Internal Communication Campaign, Corporate Brochure; Best PSE Implementing CSR.
• It won Silver Awards in the categories of Best Use of CSR for Childcare; Corporate Community Impact; Best Corporate Event; Unique HR Initiatives; Annual Report; Arts, Culture & Sports Campaign
• It also won Bronze Awards for Visionary Leadership; Website of the Year; Innovative Environmental Program and Consolation Award for Best Use of Social Media.