• International

Vice President Inaugurates Indian War Memorial in France

• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu is on a three-day visit to France. He inaugurated Indian War Memorial at Villers Guislain.
• Earlier the Vice President attended the Indian community reception in Paris.
• The main ceremony at Arc de Triomphe monument in Paris was presided over by the French President Emmanuel Macron.
• The Vice President also met the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay.

• International

Sri Lanka President Sirisena dissolves parliament to pave way for an election

• Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Friday dissolved parliament, paving the way for an early general election in the country which is grappling with unprecedented political crisis after the surprise sacking of Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister and replacing him with Mahinda Rajapaksa.
• Sirisena dissolved the Sri Lanka’s parliament hours after a close aide of the President said he decided that there will be no snap elections or a national referendum to end the current political and constitutional crises in Sri Lanka.
• Sirisena signed an official notification dismissing the 225-member assembly well ahead of its August 2020 term expiry, state television reported.

• Economy and Business

Government not seeking Rs 3.6 lakh crore from RBI: DEA Secretary

• The government said it is not seeking Rs 3.6 lakh crore capital from the Reserve Bank but is only in the discussion for fixing appropriate economic capital framework of the central bank.
• Government’s fiscal math is completely on track.
• There is no proposal to ask RBI to transfer Rs 3.6 or 1 lakh crore, as speculated,” Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg tweeted.
• He said the only proposal “under discussion is to fix appropriate economic capital framework of RBI.” Exuding confidence about government’s fiscal math, he said, it will stick to the fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent for the current financial year ending March 31, 2019.

• Sports

Bajrang becomes number one in world

• On 10 November 2018, Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia achieved the number one rank in the world in the 65kg category.
• He was placed atop the ranking table with 96 points in the United World Wrestling (UWW) list.
• Alejandro Enrique from Cuba is at number two with 66 points.
• Russia’s Akhmed Chakaev is at number three and Takuto Otoguro from Japan is at number four.

• Awards

Swati won ‘Press Freedom Award for Courage’

• Journalist Swati Chaturvedi has won the 2018 Press Freedom Award for Courage on 8 November 2018.
• She won the award for her book, ‘I am a Troll: Inside The Secret World of The BJP’s Digital Army’.
• The award ceremony was organised by the UK chapter of Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) or Reporters Without Borders in London.

• Awards

Ladakh restoration project wins UNESCO award

• ‘The LAMO Center’ in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ladakh region has won an UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation on 9 November 2018.
• It was chosen for its systematic restoration of an aristocratic house in Ladakh.
• It won in the category of ‘Award of Distinction’ under UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.

• Appointments

Ashok Kumar Gupta appointed as the chairman of Competition Commission of India

• Former IAS officer Ashok Kumar Gupta has been appointed as the chairperson of the Competition Commission of India, according to an official communication.
• The appointment would be till October 25, 2022 — the date when he attains the age of 65 years — or until further orders, whichever is the earliest, it added
• Gupta would replace acting chairperson Sudhir Mital.

• Appointments

3 new members appointed to CBDT

• PK Dash, Akhilesh Ranjan and Neena Kumar have been appointed as new members in the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
• All three officers are from the 1982-batch of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS).
• Sushil Chandra is the chairman of CBDT.
• The CBDT frames the policy for the I-T Department that is tasked to enforce direct tax laws in the country.

• Important Days

World Science Day for Peace & Development being observed today

• World Science Day for Peace & Development celebrated every year on 10th
• The day is observed to highlights the important role of science in society and the need to engage the wider public in debates on emerging scientific issues.
• It also underlines the importance and relevance of science in our daily lives.
• The theme for 2018 is “Science, a Human Right”, in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers.

• Defence

SIMBEX 18 marks Silver Jubilee this Year

• The 25th edition of SIMBEX, an acronym for “Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise” is scheduled from 10th to 21st November 2018 off Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal.
• Bilateral cooperation between Singapore and India was first formalised when RSN ships began training with the Indian Navy in 1994.
• Both countries have a full calendar of more than 20 bilateral mechanisms, dialogues and exercises, many of which take place annually.
• In November 2015, the robust relationship between the two countries was elevated to ‘Strategic Partnership’.

• Agreements

UNWFP & Alibaba entered into a partnership

• The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and Alibaba Group have entered into a strategic partnership to support efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).
• Alibaba will provide its technology and resources to support the digital transformation of WFP’s operations.
• Under the partnership, a digital World Hunger Map to monitor the status of global hunger will be developed.