Daily Current Affairs-23th November 2016

Dear Readers, we are presenting Daily Current Affairs for All Exams- 23th November 2016.

1. World Robot Olympiad to be held for the first time in India

1. The 13th World Robot Olympiad will be held in India for the first time ever. It will be organised jointly by NCSM under the aegis of Ministry of Culture and India STEM Foundation (ISF) from 25 November to 27 November 2016 at the India Expo Mart, Greater Noida.

2. More than 2000 students from 54 countries will participate in the event to find innovative ways, using robotic technology, to reduce, manage and recycle waste.

3. The theme for the 13th World Robot Olympiad is Rap the Scrap. The theme is in line with 'Swachh Bharat Mission' of the Indian government. The theme suggests students to Rap (talk) about waste – an important social issue. The students are expected to come up with innovative ideas using robotics technology to ‘Rap the Scrap’ i.e. to reduce, manage and recycle waste.

2. Veteran Carnatic Music exponent Balamuralikrishna passes away

1. M. Balamuralikrishna, an Indian Carnatic vocalist, died on 22 November 2016 in Chennai. He was 86. Balamuralikrishna, a recipient of Padma Vibhusan, was suffering from age-related geriatric problems.

2. Hailing from the Sankaraguptham village in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, Balamuralikrishna began his musical journey at the age of 8. Since then, he has performed in over 25 thousand concerts.

3. South Korea approves deal on North Korea with Japan

1. South Korea approved a deal to share intelligence on North Korea directly with Japan. The agreement will come into effect after it is signed in the South Korean Parliament.

2. The pact known as the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) was inked in Seoul, South Korea. This pact will help the two countries to pool military intelligence on Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.

3. The deal is designed to take advantage of the two countries’ perceived intelligence strengths. In case of Japan it is high-tech surveillance, and in South Korea, it is human intelligence or spies in North Korea.

4. Till date, the two countries shared their intelligence report via the US, which was seen as a cumbersome process in the face of potentially urgent threats. They were sharing their intelligence report on North Korea's nuclear program via the US under a deal signed in 2014.

4. Nuclear capable Agni-I ballistic missile successfully test-fired

1. The indigenously built nuclear capable Agni-I ballistic missile was successfully test-fired from a test range off Odisha coast, as part of a user trial by India Army. 

2. It was test-fired from a mobile launcher from the launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Abdul Kalam Island (Wheeler Island). The last trial of Agni-I was conducted successfully in March 2016 from the same base.

5. Portugal Prime Minister Antonio Costa to be Chief Guest of 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

1. António Costa (54), the Indian origin Prime Minister of Portugal will be the chief guest at the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention. 

2. The PBD Convention is scheduled to be held from January 7 to 9, 2017 in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Mr. Costa will participate in the inaugural session of the PBD Convention on January 8 and address the delegates. Besides, Surinam Vice president Michael Ashwin Satyandre Adhin will be the Special Guest at the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) to be held in Bengaluru on January 7, 2017.

6. India, Switzerland sign Joint Declaration for implementing AEOI

1. India and Switzerland have signed a Joint Declaration for implementation of Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) in respect of accounts of Indians held abroad. 

2. Under the pact, both countries will start collecting data in accordance with the global standards in 2018 and exchange it from 2019 onwards. Thus, it will help India to get access details of bank accounts held by Indians in Switzerland for 2018 and subsequent years on an automatic basis from September 2019. It is considered as a big step towards fighting black money stashed by Indians overseas.

7. Pankaj Patel elected as FICCI President for 2017

1. Pankaj Patel was elected as the President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) for the year 2017. He will take over after incumbent Ambuja Neotia Group Chairman Harshavardhan Neotia completes his term in December 2016. 

2. At present Pankaj Patel is Chief Managing Director of Zydus Cadila. He is actively involved in various educational institutions and is on advisory committees and academic councils of several educational institutions such as IISER (Kolkata), IIM Ahmedabad etc.

8. Gaganjeet Bhullar wins Indonesia Open

1. Ace Indian Golfrer Gaganjeet Bhullar has won the US $ 300,000 BANK BRI-JCB Indonesia Open for the second time in his career. He won the title after closing with a four-under-par 68. Earlier, Bhullar has also won the event in 2013. 

2. With this year victory, he has sealed his seventh Asian Tour victory. It was his second title 2016 season with a 16-under-par 272 total at the Pondok Indah Golf Course in Jakarta.

9. Union Government constitutes committee to assess the status of demonetisation drive

1. The Union Finance Ministry has constituted a committee comprising Additional Secretaries, Joint Secretaries and Directors to know status of implementation of demonetisation drive. 

2. The committee was formed after the Union Government took decision to scrap 500 and 1000 rupees currency notes on 9th November 2016.

10. Radhika Menon becomes first woman to receive IMO’s Exceptional Bravery award at Sea

1. Captain Radhika Menon was awarded with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea. With this, she became the first woman in the world to receive the Award. 

2. She was presented with this award for saving lives of seven fishermen from sinking fishing boat in Bay of Bengal. Besides, B M Das operator and diver of a rescue helicopter at Indian Coast Guard air station Daman was also presented with this award. He was bestowed with this award for rescuing all 14 crew members of the merchant ship Coastal Pride, which capsized and eventually sank.

11. Nikki Haley as US Ambassador to UN

1. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, the first woman tapped for a top-level administration post during his White House transition so far.

2. The move comes as Mr. Trump's advisers are seeking to diversify his ranks and marks his first female appointment to a Cabinet-level post