Important Current Affairs 12th November 2018 English

Obituary News
Union Minister Ananth Kumar passes away

Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Ananth Kumar passed away on November 12, 2018 at a private hospital in Bengaluru. He was 59. He was diagnosed of lung cancer just three months ago.
About:
A senior BJP leader from Karnataka, Ananth Kumar represented the Bengaluru South parliamentary constituency six times in Lok Sabha since 1996. 

 A graduate in Arts and Law, Kumar was associated with the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student organisation of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), before joining the BJP in 1987. As an RSS worker, Kumar was arrested during Emergency.

International News
69% Pakistanis between Ages 15 To 65 Don't Know What Internet Is: Survey
 
•    Around 69 percent Pakistanis between the ages of 15 and 65 do not know what the internet is an information communication technology (ICT)-based survey has revealed.
•    The survey was conducted by LirneAsia, a think-tank based in Sri Lanka that carries out ICT research.
•    The report is based on a survey of 2,000 households in Pakistan.
•    LirneAsia claims that the sampling methodology was designed to ensure representation of 98 per cent target population aged 15 to 65 at a national level.
•    Conducted between October-December 2017, this demand side survey helps understand how users use or do not use ICT services.

India and Morocco sign Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters

An Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters was signed by Shri Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Home on behalf of the Government of Republic of India and Mr Mohamed Aujjar, Minister of Justice on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco, here today.
The Agreement will strengthen bilateral cooperation with Morocco and enhance effectiveness and provide a broad legal framework for prevention, investigation and prosecution of crimes; as well as in tracing, restraint and confiscation of funds meant to finance terrorist acts.

Asian Development Bank grants EESL $13 million to promote efficient energy usage in the country
 
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) would provide USD 13 million loans to EESL to promote efficient energy usage in India.
ADB and the Energy Efficiency Services (EESL) signed a USD 13 million grant, to be provided by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), for the additional financing of an ongoing ADB-supported project that is promoting end-use energy efficiency, it said in a release.

National News    

Public Service Broadcasting Day being observed today

 
The Public Service Broadcasting Day was observed across India on November 12, 2018. The day is observed every year to commemorate the first and last visit of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi to the studio of All India Radio, Delhi in 1947.

Mahatma Gandhi had on November 12, 1947 visited the studio of All India Radio to address the displaced people from Pakistan who were temporarily settled in Kurukshetra, Haryana after the partition of the Indian subcontinent.

Union Minister Harshvardhan annouces launch of Global Cooling Prize
Science and Technology Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan today announced the launch of the Global Cooling Prize, an international competition to incentivize the development of a residential cooling technology that will have at least five times less climate impact that the standard Room Air Conditioning (RAC) units sold today.
Global Cooling Prize is a competition with global reach and participation to achieve dramatic breakthroughs in cooling technologies.
The objective of this competition would be to develop a cooling technology that requires radically less energy to operate, utilizes refrigerants with no ozone depletion potential and with low global warming potential, and has the potential to be cost-effective at scale. 

Power Minister inaugurates INSPIRE 2018
 
The second edition of was International Symposium to Promote Innovation & Research in Energy Efficiency (INSPIRE 2018) launched in New Delhi.
It was jointly organised by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and World Bank. 
The three-day symposium focused on enhancing grid management, e-Mobility, financial instruments and technologies for energy efficiency in India. 

 Award News    

Ladakh’s LAMO Centre wins UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award

 
The LAMO Centre of Ladakh won the 2018 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation on November 9, 2018. This aristocratic house was restored from a state of partial ruin.
The centre won the ‘Award of Distinction’ for its systematic restoration project that used local building materials and indigenous construction techniques while skilfully introducing modern amenities to assure its ongoing use.