• National

President assented Companies Amendment (Ordinance), 2018

• President Ramnath Kovind on November 2, 2018 assented the Companies Amendment (Ordinance), 2018. The ordinance seeks to promote Ease of Doing Business along with better corporate compliance.
• The ordinance is based on the recommendations of the Injeti Srinivas Committee appointed by the Government to review offences under the Companies Act, 2013.

• National

Railway Ministry Launched ‘UTS on Mobile’ Facility

• The Ministry of Railways launched the ‘Unreserved Mobile Ticketing’ facility (UTS on Mobile) to enable seamless booking of unreserved tickets all over Indian Railways, wiping out the need for passengers to wait in queues for purchasing the tickets.
• With this, the booking of unreserved tickets on all non-suburban sections across all Zonal Railways will now be made available on mobile.

• National

PM Launched Historic Support And Outreach Initiative For MSME Sector

• The Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a historic support and outreach programme for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector.
• As part of this programme, the Prime Minister unveiled12 key initiatives which will help the growth, expansion and facilitation of MSMEs across the country.

• International

1st WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health Held in Geneva

• The First WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health took place at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
• The conference was organized in collaboration with UN Environment, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC), the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the World Bank and the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

• Appointments

Atul Goel Takes Over As MD And CEO Of UCO Bank

• Atul Kumar Goel assumed charge as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (UCO) of UCO Bank.
• Prior to this assignment, he was executive director of Union Bank of India.
• Goel takes over from R K Takkar who completed his three-year tenure on November 1, 2018.

• Science and Tech

IAMAI Forms AR/VR Committee To Promote Technologies in India

• The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has formed a new industry expert committee to develop and promote an augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) ecosystem in India.
• The committee is chaired by Namrita Mahindro, Senior General Manager, digital transformation, Mahindra Group and co-chaired by Satyajeet Singh, Head –Strategic Product Partnership, India and South Asia, Facebook.
• The committee is a step in IAMAI’s efforts to evangelise the nascent technology’s ability to drive economic growth, job creation, and skill development in the country.

• Defence

Indian Navy inducts Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel capability

• The Indian Navy inducted a Submarine Rescue System with a Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV) along with associated equipment.
• The system has a side scan sonar for locating the position of the submarine in distress at sea.
• The Indian DSRV has the capability to rescue personnel from a distressed submarine (DISSUB) up to a depth of 650 m.
• It has been designed and supplied to meet unique requirements of our submarines by M/s James Fishes Defence, UK.

• Miscellaneous

Shakti : India’s First Indigenous Microprocessor Created By IIT-Madras

• The Indian Institute of Technology Madras has designed and booted up ‘Shakti’, which can be used for wireless and networking systems, as well as mobile computing.
• ‘Shakti’ is India’s first and indigenous microprocessor. Bluespec, an open-source high-level synthesis language was used in making the chips.
• The concept to design the chip was germinated in 2011 and some preliminary works were carried out. In 2017, the project gained speed with about Rs 11 crore funding from the Indian government.

• Agreements

MoU Signed Between OMCs and CSC SPV For Collaboration in LPG Services

• An MoU for collaboration in LPG services was signed between Oil Marketing Companies (IOCL, HPCL & BPCL) and CSC e-Governance Services India Limited
• It takes place in presence of Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Law & Justice and Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) and ShriDharmendraPradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development &Entrepreneurship.