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Iranian film Daughter wins Golden Peacock at IFFI 2016

The 47th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which was inaugurated by noted filmmaker Ramesh Sippy on 20 November 2016, came to a close on 28 November in Goa, India. 
●    The festival saw the screening of over 300 films from as many as 90 countries across the globe and saw participation from several young filmmakers. 
●    It also hosted a special screening of award-winning films from the first-ever BRICS film festival and a series of 20 award-winning short films based on the ‘Swachh Bharat' campaign theme. 
●    Legendary Korean filmmaker Im Kwon-Taek was honoured with ‘The Lifetime Achievement Award’. 
●    He has a lot of acclaimed pieces of work to his name including films like Chunhyang, Chihwaseon, and Mandala.
●    Iranian drama film ‘Daughter’ directed by Reza Mirkarimi beat 21 others to claim the Golden Peacock award for ‘Best film’. 
●    Along with the trophy, the film also won a cash prize of Rs 40 lakh. 

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All ASI-protected monuments declared polythene free zones

All monuments and archaeological sites protected by the ASI have been declared as polythene free zones, Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma told Lok Sabha on Monday.
●    A total of 3,686 historical monuments and archaeological sites have been declared protected as that of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
●    Replying to questions, Mr. Sharma said ASI has declared all the monuments and archaeological sites protected by it as polythene free zones.
●    The Culture Ministry has written letters to all chief secretaries of states for their active cooperation in making centrally protected monuments as polythene-free zone.
●    To a query about Rakhi Garhi, a site located in Haryana, Mr. Sharma said the government has set up a committee to look into the issues related to Rakhi Garhi, which is considered as a historically important site of the civilisation.
●    Rakhi Garhi is believed to a settlement that came up before the Indus Valley civilisation.

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Tata Steel UK to sell Speciality Steels Unit to Liberty House Group

Tata Steel U.K. has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Liberty House Group, the metals company run by tycoon Sanjeev Gupta, to enter into exclusive negotiations for the potential sale of its Speciality Steels business for an enterprise value of £100 million.
●    This year, Liberty acquired significant assets in South Wales, the West Midlands, Scotland and Kent from Tata Steel.
●    Tata Steel aims to retain the rest of its U.K. businesses and is in talks with German firm ThyssenKrupp to merge their European steel operations, potentially giving the combined entity 40 per cent market share. 
●    Tata Steel is pursuing a transformation plan to create a sustainable future for its U.K. strip products business. 
●    Tata Steel U.K. has invested £1.5 billion in the last 9 years.


 

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World Robot Olympiad : India team bags silver

Outshining over 450 teams, team “High Voltage” from India (Gurugram) won a silver in the Regular Junior High category in the 13th World Robot Olympiad (WRO) that concluded at India Expo Mart in Greater Noida on Sunday. 
●    The two-day international championship, jointly organised by National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture and India STEM Foundation (ISF), was based on the theme “Rap the Scrap”.
●    The competition was held for students in the 9-25 years age group in categories — Regular category, WRO Football, Open category and Advanced Robotics Challenge. 
●    Over 2,000 students from over 50 countries showcased innovative solutions using robotics technology to reduce, manage and recycle waste.
●    Prior to the finals, regional competitions were held at Delhi, Lucknow, Tirupati, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Kolkata, Varanasi, Guwahati, Bangaluru, Surat, Mumbai, Bhopal and Chandigarh earlier this year.

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Facebook tests "Express WiFi" in India

Facebook's Express Wifi is in the news again. Earlier this year, reports emerged that the Wi-Fi service was being tested at a number of rural locations in India.
●    Facebook's Express Wifi is the social networking company's second attempt to solve India's connectivity problem, the first being Internet.org. 
●    Express Wifi is a model for public Wi-Fi deployment. 
●    Express Wifi would enable people to connect their phones to the Internet without spending too much.
●    The focus of Facebook's Express Wifi is on rural areas, with 125 locations to begin with. 
●    Unlike Internet.org, Express Wifi by Facebook isn't free Internet. 
●    Facebook has not shared the exact locations where Express Wifi is being tested in India.
●    Facebook has not confirmed if Express Wifi will provide access to the full Internet or curated sites. 
●    Facebook has not shared the rates it is charging for Express Wifi, only saying it is a "sustainable model".

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Argentina beats Croatia to win their first Davis Cup title

Argentina lifted their first Davis Cup title after Juan Martin Del Potro and Federico Delbonis won Sunday’s reverse singles to complete the South American nation’s spectacular comeback in a 3-2 victory over hosts Croatia in the final.
●    Del Potro fought back from two sets down to beat Marin Cilic 6-7(4), 2-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 before Delbonis swept aside Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the decisive rubber, sparking wild celebrations among several thousand away fans in the Zagreb Arena.
●    Argentina joined the list of Davis Cup winners after losing all four finals they had previously contested and their dismal record in the title showdown appeared set to continue when Cilic came within a set of clinching Croatia’s second title.
●    The 2005 winners saw the red carpet pulled from under their feet, however, as a battling Del Potro launched a ferocious comeback and played through the fifth set with a broken finger on his left hand.

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Sachin Singh wins Gold at Youth World Boxing Championships

Sachin Singh on 27 November 2016 became the third Indian boxer to bag gold medal at the AIBA Youth World Championships. 
●    In the summit clash at St Petersburg, Russia, Sachin recorded a stunning unanimous victory over Cuban national champion Jorge Grinan in the 49kg weight class.
●    Sachin defeated his rival 5-0 to record a rare Indian triumph over a Cuban boxer. 
●    16-year-old Sachin has joined Thokchom Nanao Singh (2008) and Vikas Krishan (2010) in the Indian youth world championships gold club.
●    With this, India finished the tournament with one gold and a bronze. 
●    Naman had settled for a bronze Tanwar in the 91 kg after losing in the semifinal. In 2014 edition, India was able to secure just a bronze medal.
●    After this win, the newly-formed Boxing Federation of India (BFI) announced a cash prize for the two medalists. 
●    It announced Rs one lakh for Sachin and Rs 25000 for Naman. 

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MOM completes a revolution around Mars : ISRO

Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan, has completed one revolution around the Red Planet, Ritu Karidhal, deputy operation director of Bengaluru-based MOM ISRO Satellite Centre said.
●    The span of two years on Earth nearly equals to one year on Mars. 
●    The Mangalyaan, which entered into the orbit of Mars around two years ago, has completed one revolution. 
●    The ISRO scientist said the MOM could last in the space further for at least 5 to 10 years. 
●    The Mangalyaan does not have any fuel system to support its existence while orbiting Mars but is being purely driven by its different components. 
●    The life of these components would decide the future life of MOM.
●    Listing down some of the many firsts associated with MOM at the international level, including the mission that was successful in the first attempt, she said the greatest achievement of Mangalyaan was to infuse confidence among countrymen that India was second to none.

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Marrakech : 470 companies announce climate commitments, present plans

At first glance, the outcomes of the recently concluded UN-sponsored climate negotiations at Marrakech seem to be low-key, lacking the glamour of achievements a year ago in Paris. 
●    The most important outcome of the two-week long negotiations was a firm commitment by countries to finalise the rule book for the Paris Agreement by December 2018. 
●    So while governments committed to fast-tracking the process of finalising the rule book, businesses, cities, and local governments stepped up and put forward plans and initiatives to address climate change: to move to a low carbon and climate resilient pathway.
●    Till date, 471 companies with over $8 trillion in market capitalisation have announced climate commitments, and presented plans to achieve that goal. 
●    Some 200 companies, including global retail major Walmart, have adopted science-based targets that set out quantified goals for reducing carbon footprint of their operations. 
●    Cement major Dalmia Cement was among the Indian companies that made a commitment to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide they produce. 

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Injectible Contraceptives to be made available soon

The government will soon make injectable contraceptives available to the public through medical colleges and district hospitals, the Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel told Lok Sabha.
●    Last year, the health ministry had approved the proposal to introduce an injectable contraceptive for women under the national family planning programme following recommendations from the Drugs technical Advisory Committee.
●    The injectable drug - Deoxy Medroxy Progesterone Acetate - prevents pregnancy for three months. The drug is injected into the arm or buttock muscle. 
●    The drug has a female hormone, which helps prevent the egg from being released from the ovary.
●    Injectable contraceptive is the sixth contraceptive to be given free of cost under the government programme. 
●    New interventions have been made by the government in family planning. 
●    The packaging for condoms has now been improved and redesigned so as to influence the demand for these commodities.


 

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