23rd NOV 2015-Current Affairs

>>India juniors thrash Pakistan 6-2 to lift Asia Cup hockey title

Harmanpreet Singh successfully converted four penalty corners as India overpowered traditional rivals Pakistan 6-2 to lift the 8th Junior Men’s Asia Cup hockey title at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium in Kuantan on Sunday.

Harmanpreet scored his hat-trick inside 30 minutes to ease the issue for India. Armaan Qureshi (44th minute) and Manpreet Junior (50th) were the other goal-scorers for India.

India started the match on a positive note, pressing hard since the opening minute of the first half and were soon awarded with a penalty corner in the 10th minute. Harmanpreet converted the penalty corner to take his tally to 12 goals in the tournament and give India an early 1-0 advantage.

>> India test-fires indigenously developed interceptor missile

India today test-fired its indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile, capable of destroying any incoming ballistic missile, from a test range off Odisha coast.

“The test was conducted to validate various parameters of the interceptor in flight mode,”.

The interceptor, known as Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile, was engaged against an electronically prepared target which simulated the trajectory of a hostile ballistic missile.

After getting signals from tracking radars, the interceptor, positioned at Abdul Kalam Island (Wheeler Island), roared through its trajectory at around 0946 hrs to destroy the incoming missile mid-air, in an endo-atmospheric altitude.

About AAD

The interceptor is a 7.5-meter long single stage solid rocket propelled guided missile equipped with a navigation system, a hi-tech computer and an electro-mechanical activator, the sources said.

The interceptor missile had its own mobile launcher, secure data link for interception, independent tracking and homing capabilities and sophisticated radars.

>>Indian-American politician Swati Dandekar has been nominated as Executive Director to Asian Development Bank with ambassadorial rank by US President Barack Obama. 

The first-ever Indian-American to be elected to Iowa House of Representatives in 2003, Dandekar, 64, would replace Robert M Orr, who has held the position since 2010. 

Dandekar was the first Indian-born American citizen to win a state legislature seat in the United States. 

Obama announced his intent to nominate Dandekar to this top US position in Asian Development Bank (ADB) along with other key administration appointments and nominations. 

"I am confident that these experienced and hardworking individuals will help us tackle the important challenges facing America, and I am grateful for their service. I look forward to working with them," Obama said. 

>>French President Francois Hollande has been invited as the chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations in January 2016. If the French Presidency conveys acceptance, Hollande will be returning to India for a State visit after three years.

invitation had been sent “some weeks ago” but the French President’s state visit will assume significance in the backdrop of the Paris terror attacks last week which left 129 people dead and over 300 hundred injured.

Though the French Presidency is yet to announce the visit since it is handling the aftermath of the attacks amid a national emergency, Hollande’s visit will be key to forging enhanced counter-terrorism cooperation with France, as it is already a strategic partner on defence and nuclear issues.

Speaking at the ASEAN-India summit in Kuala Lumpur Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined “security threats” as one of the “global challenges”.

“Terrorism has emerged as a major global challenge that affects us all here. We have excellent bilateral cooperation with ASEAN members. And, we should see how we can enhance our cooperation at the regional and international level, including through support for adoption of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.”

An invitation to be the Republic Day chief guest is highly symbolic from the Indian government’s perspective. For the 2015 parade, the Modi government had invited Barack Obama, which was his second visit as US President to India. Sources said India was keen to host Hollande since France has emerged as a key strategic partner on defence and nuclear issues. And with the gruesome Paris attacks, counter-terrorism will be a key area of cooperation.

>>Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the landmark Silchar-Lumding broad gauge rail line in Assam. 

The rail line brings Assam's underdeveloped but strategically important Barak Valley on the broad gauge map. The minister said opening the Silchar-Lumding line marked a historic day and he was happy to be a part of it.

He said it would accelerate development, as it is the lifeline of Barak Valley and Tripura, Manipur and Mizoram. The regular passenger train service would begin from Monday.

 Union Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha and Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Sarbananda Sonowal were present at Silchar Railway Station for the flag-off ceremony.

>>Ace cueist Pankaj Advani won the IBSF World Snooker Championship after defeating his Chinese opponent Zhua Xintong in the final at Hurghada (Egypt).

Advani beat his 18-year-old Chinese opponent 8-6 in the best-of-15 final at Sunrise Crystal Bay resort in Hurghada.

The IBSF World Snooker Championship win has taken the ace cueist's world title count to 15. 

>>World number one Novak Djokovic from Serbia has become the first tennis player to win the ATP World Tour Finals for record fourth consecutive time.

In the final match played in London (England), Djokovic defeated third seed Roger Federer of Switzerland by 6-3, 6-4 score. With this win, Djokovic surpassed previous record of Ivan Lendl’s set in 1987 after he had won his third straight Tour Finals title.

Overall, it was the fifth time that Djokovic won this tournament and earlier he had won it in 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014. With this victory, he ends the 2015 tennis season with 11 titles including three Grand Slams, taking his total to 10 titles.

>>HRD Ministry sets up exclusive panel on Sanskrit promotion

Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has constituted a 13-member expert committee exclusively on Sanskrit in its attempt to revive interest in the ancient language.

Headed by N Gopalaswami, the former chief election commissioner (CEC) and now Chancellor of Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in Tirupati, the committee has been asked to recommend measures to integrate the study of the ancient language with other disciplines such as physics, chemistry, mathematics, medical science and law, suggest changes in Sanskrit education in schools and universities and recommend ways to impart Sanskrit education through modern tools. 

The committee is also tasked with charting out an action plan to develop the language in the next 10 years.

This is the second committee set up by the Smriti Irani-led ministry on Indian languages. Although the first panel’s broader brief included promotion of classical languages, the second one is exclusively dedicated to Sanskrit. Notified on November 18, the committee is expected to submit its report in three months.

>>Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have signed a declaration formally establishing an EU-style regional economic bloc, ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), a single market with a free flow of goods, capital and skilled labour in the region. 

The Kuala Lumpur declaration on the establishment of the AEC was signed by the leaders of 10-nation grouping in front of world leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.The AEC envisages a single market with a free flow of goods, capital and skilled labour across borders in the highly competitive economic region. It will integrate Southeast Asia’s diverse economies, a region with 620 million people and a combined gross domestic product of $2.4 trillion.

ASEAN 2025 declaration

 The ASEAN 2025 document charts the path for the AEC building over the next ten years. ASEAN 2025 means a community committed to working with external partners to strengthen cooperation in combating non-traditional security challenges like terrorism, drug related crimes, human trafficking and maritime issues through various initiatives and projects.  

ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) :-

The AEC aims to facilitate the free flow of goods, services, capital and labor across the region, with some observers comparing it to the European Union. 

The goal is for investors to tap easier logistics to enter the regional market.Integrating ASEAN economies, intended to help the region compete with giants China and India, would create the world’s seventh-largest single market. 

Compared to the European Union, the AEC is culturally and politically more diverse with various systems of government including communism (Laos and Vietnam), a military junta (Thailand), authoritarian (Cambodia), quasi-civilian (Myanmar) and a monarchy (Brunei).

Integrating ASEAN economies, intended to help the region compete with giants China and India, would create the world’s seventh-largest single market. Compared to the European Union, the AEC is culturally and politically more diverse with various systems of government including communism (Laos and Vietnam), a military junta (Thailand), authoritarian (Cambodia), quasi-civilian (Myanmar) and a monarchy (Brunei).

Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) :-

 Motto:- "One Vision, One Identity, One Community" The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEA)  is a political and economic organization of ten Southeast Asian countries.

  It was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.Since then, membership has expanded to include Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), and Vietnam. 

Its aims include accelerating economic growth, social progress, and sociocultural evolution among its members, protection of regional peace and stability, and opportunities for member countries to resolve differences peacefully.

ASEAN countries  have a combined population of approximately 625 million people, 8.8% of the world's population. In 2015, the organisation's combined nominal GDP had grown to more than US$2.6 trillion. If ASEAN were a single entity, it would rank as the seventh largest economy in the world, behind the US, China, Japan, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.