Important Current Affairs 30th November 2021

NATIONAL

Skyroot successfully test fires India's first privately developed cryogenic rocket engine

• Skyroot Aerospace, a space technology startup based in Hyderabad, has successfully test-fired Dhawan-1, India’s first privately developed fully cryogenic rocket engine. This will power the upper stages of its upcoming Vikram-2 orbital launch vehicle. The rocket engine Dhawan-1 is named after Satish Dhawan, an Indian rocket scientist.

• Dhawan-1 is a completely ‘Made-in-India’ cryogenic engine, developed using 3D printing with a superalloy. The engine is fuelled by liquefied natural gas and liquid oxygen—a high-performance, low-cost, and clean rocket fuel.

SPORTS

Saurav Ghosal beats top seed Miguel Rodriguez to become 1st Indian to win Malaysian Open squash championships

• Indian Squash star, Saurav Ghosal has scripted history as he has become the first Indian squash player to win the Malaysian Open Championships. The second-seeded Ghosal beat Miguel Rodriguez of Colombia 11-7, 11-8 and 13-11 in the men’s singles final in Kuala Lumpur to win the 2021 Malaysian Open Squash Championships title. On the other hand, the women’s singles title of the 2021 Malaysian Open squash championships has been won by Malaysia’s Aifa Azman.

APPOINTMENT & RESIGNATION

Naomi Kawase appointed as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador

• UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, has appointed Japanese film director Naomi Kawase as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Cultural and Creative Industries. Ms Azoulay named Naomi Kawase in recognition of her commitment to culture and creativity at the service of the development of more just societies, especially for girls and women, and of her support for the Organization's objectives.

• Committed to the representation of women in the film industry in Africa, Ms Kawase, on Thursday took part in UNESCO’s conference on Diversity and Gender Equality in African Cinema. In 2020, she launched the UNESCO-Nara Residency with the Organization, opening up new creative and production opportunities for ten young African women filmmakers.

• Considered the “filmmaker of human relationships,” Naomi Kawase’s work draws on her personal experience to blend fiction and documentary. In 2007, she won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival for her film The Mourning Forestand in 2013 served on the Jury of the 66th edition of the Festival. She is also the official film director of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. 

Sanjay dutt signed as Arunachal Pradesh Ambassador

• The Arunachal Pradesh Government has signed Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt as brand ambassador and award-winning filmmaker and branding expert Rahul Mittra as brand advisor on the occasion of their golden jubilee celebrations, marking the 50th year of the naming of the state.

• This announcement was made by Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Assembly Speaker Pasang Sona Dorjee at a packed function in the presence of both Sanjay Dutt and Rahul Mittra, who arrived from Mumbai by chartered flight to Dibrugarh and then by helicopter to the picturesque valley of Mechuka in the afternoon on Monday.

Indian-origin executive Parag Agrawal is new CEO of Twitter after Jack Dorsey steps down

• Indian-origin technology executive, Parag Agrawal has been appointed as the new CEO of Twitter after the social media giant’s co-founder Jack Dorsey stepped down. He is now the youngest CEO in the S&P 500 elbowing Meta Platform Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg. However, Agrawal is 37 and the same age as Mark Zuckerberg.

• Parag joined Twitter 10 years ago when there were fewer than 1,000 employees. He has been behind every critical decision that helped turn this company around. He’s curious, probing, rational, creative, demanding, self-aware and humble.

• Parag did his undergrad at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. Following this, he went on to do his masters from Stanford University. He completed his PhD in Computer Science from the same place in 2012.

Hero Motocorp appoints former SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar to the board

• Two-wheeler major, Hero MotoCorp announced the appointment of former chairman of State Bank of India (SBI) Rajnish Kumar as an independent non-executive director on the board of the company. Kumar completed his three-year term as chairman of SBI in October 2020. He is currently serving as an Independent Director on the Boards of many other companies including HSBC, Asia Pacific, L&T Infotech, and is also the Non-Executive Chairman of Resilient Innovations (BharatPe).

OBITUARY

Geoffrey Johnson, Tony-Winning Casting Director, Dies at 91

• Tony-winning casting director Geoffrey Johnson died Friday at the age of 91.

• Johnson died in his sleep of respiratory failure at the Henry J. Carter Specialty Hospital in New York, his rep said.

• With his business partner Vincent Liff, Johnson helped cast long-running Broadway shows Cats, Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera. The casting firm they co-founded, Johnson-Liff, cast Broadway shows such as The Elephant Man, Dreamgirls, Miss Saigon and Kiss of the Spiderwoman.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare 2021 : 30th November

• The United Nation recognised Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare is held every year on November 30. The day marks a tribute to the victims of chemical warfare, as well as to reaffirm the commitment of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to the elimination of the threat of chemical weapons, thereby promoting the goals of peace, security, and multilateralism.

• The first Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare was held in 2005. The history of the serious efforts to achieve chemical disarmament that culminated in the conclusion of the Chemical Weapons Convention began more than a century ago. Chemical weapons were used on a massive scale during World War I, resulting in more than 100,000 fatalities and a million casualties.

NCC celebrates its 73rd Raising Day on 28th November 2021

• The National Cadet Corps (NCC), the youth wing of the Indian Armed Forces and the largest uniformed youth organisation in the world, is observing the 73rd anniversary of its raising on November 28.  NCC day is celebrated every year on the 4th Sunday in November. NCC day is observed throughout the country. The raising day is being celebrated all over the country with cadets participating in marches, blood donation camps and social development programmes.

• The NCC was formed on 15th July 1948. NCC is also the largest uniformed youth organisation in the whole world. The NCC headquarters is located in New Delhi. Headquarters is now open for school and college students. It is a voluntary “Tri-service Organisation”. This organisation includes the army, the naval and the wings.

BOOKS & AUTHOR

Book ‘Bangladesh Liberation @ 50 years: ‘Bijoy’ with Synergy, India-Pakistan war 1971’ by MM Naravane

• General MM Naravane released a book ‘Bangladesh Liberation @ 50 years: ‘Bijoy’ with Synergy, India-Pakistan war 1971’, a compilation of personal accounts of the war by veterans from India and Pakistan. The book is an amalgamation of historical and anecdotal accounts of the 1971 War and comprises authors from both India and Bangladesh. Mostly who fought the war.

• The event was organized by the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS) at the India International Centre (IIC), Delhi to commemorate 50 Years of India-Bangladesh Friendship as well as the decisive victory in India- Pakistan War 1971.

• An award ceremony was also conducted. The ‘Scholar Warrior Award’ was awarded by the former COAS (Chief of Army Staff) of Bangladesh, Bir Protik to Brigadier Narender Kumar for his outstanding contribution as a warrior and in the field of research.