Tobacco Board gets Golden Leaf award in the Netherlands

1.Bangladesh tops business bribery risk in South Asia

Bangladesh has the highest business bribery risk among South Asian countries, according to the Trace Bribery Matrix which releases annual ranking for 200 countries.The Matrix evaluates countries under four parameters which are business interaction with the government, anti-bribery deterrence, transparency and civil society oversight.

Bangladesh has been placed at 178 positions among 200 countries in terms of business bribery risk. 

In South Asia, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where the bribery risk is ‘high’.

In terms of risk score, India ranked 78th, Pakistan 153rd, Afghanistan 168th, and Myanmar ranked 157th on the index.

Overall, according to this year’s TRACE Matrix data, Somalia, South Sudan, North Korea, Yemen and Venezuela presented the highest risk of bribe demands.

New Zealand, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland presented the lowest bribery risk.

2.Brazilian President Bolsonaro to be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in 2020

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations parade in 2020.PM Modi met Bolsonaro on November 13 on the sidelines of the 11th BRICS Summit held in Brasilia.

PM Modi invited the Brazilian President during the meeting.

Bolsonaro has accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation for the same.

The prime minister also welcomed the decision of the President to grant visa-free travel to Indian citizens.

3.PM Modi calls for a road map to meet $500-bn intra-BRICS trade target by 2020

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on called upon the BRICS Business Council to prepare a roadmap to achieve the target of USD 500 billion trade between the member countries of the bloc by 2020.The Prime Minister said that the partnership agreement between New Development Bank (NDB) and BRICS Business Council will be helpful for both the institutions.

He requested BRICS countries and NDB to join the coalition for disaster-resilient infrastructure and called for the completion of the regional office of NDB in India.

4.National plan for better implementation of programmes for States and Uts

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani has announced that her Ministry along with NITI Aayog will prepare a framework for a national plan for States and Union Territories.It will be prepared by early next year for better implementation of all the Central and States policies and programmes for women and children.

The Minister was speaking at the two-day National Conference organized by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in New Delhi.

5.Rajnath Singh inaugurates Sisseri River Bridge in East Siang

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is on a two-day visit to Arunachal Pradesh, inaugurated the Sisseri River Bridge.The bridge will reduce travel time between Dibang and Siang valleys in the state.

The bridge has been built across the Pasighat-Ranaghat-Roing Road in East Siang District.

The bridge built by Border Roads Organisation (BRO) falls along the road that is being constructed by the Union government under the Trans-Arunachal Highway project.

Mr Singh attended the Maitree Diwas celebration at strategically important Tawang District along the Indo-China Border.

6,Bengal Celebrates ”Rosogolla Dibas”

Rosogolla Divas was celebrated with great enthusiasm in Kolkata on 14 November to mark the second anniversary of West Bengal winning the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the sweet dish in a bittersweet battle with neighbouring Odisha.A GI tag identifies a product as originating from a particular region.

West Bengal and Odisha were involved in a tug-of-war to stake a claim to the origin of the sweet.

While West Bengal was granted the GI tag for ”Banglar Rosogulla” or the Bengal variant of the sweetmeat in 2017, Odisha got the GI tag for ”Odisha Rasagola” or the Odisha variant earlier this year.

7.Tobacco Board gets Golden Leaf award in the Netherlands

The Tobacco Board of India was awarded the Golden Leaf award 2019 in the ‘Public Service Initiative’ category for its efforts in undertaking various ecological initiatives towards Flue-Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco cultivation in India.Executive director K Sunitha received the award on behalf of the company at Tab Expo 2019 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

The awards under this category are given to a company or institution which practices a public service programme or educational campaign, to ensure optimum utilisation of resources.

The Golden Leaf Awards was conceptualised to recognise professional excellence and dedication in the tobacco industry by Tobacco Reporter, an international magazine in 2006.

8.FIFA names Arsene Wenger as global football development chief

Veteran coach Arsene Wenger has been named FIFA’s Chief of global football development.The former Arsenal and Monaco coach would be responsible for the growth of the game for both men and women around the world and would also be the leading authority on technical matters, including potential changes to the sport’s laws.

It added that Wenger, 70, would also be tasked with coach education and aiding a programme designed to help former players enter management.

Wenger made the Gunners one of the strongest sides in Europe, winning three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups and taking his team to the 2006 Champions League final.

9.Maths wizard Vashishtha Narayan Singh passes away

Celebrated mathematics genius from Bihar, Vashishtha Narayan Singh passed away at the age of 77 in Patna.He was diagnosed with schizophrenia while still in the US after which he had returned to India in 1974.

The 74-year-old is said to have challenged Einstein’s theory of relativity.

Vashishtha Narayan Singh had taught at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.

10.Noted singer Cochin Azad passes away

 Singer Azad Yusuf, popularly known as Cochin Azad, who was famous for his renditions of Mohammed Rafi songs, passed away.Kochi native Azad had been an integral part of Cochin-based Mehboob Memorial Orchestra (MMO) since 2005 and had sung Rafi’s songs at more than 1,000 stages in India and abroad.

Known as a singer blessed with a voice strikingly similar to that of Rafi, Azad’s ability to sing Rafi’s song with perfection had earned him the moniker ‘Kerala Rafi’.