1. PM Modi to lay foundation stones of City Gas Distribution projects in 129 districts from New Delhi 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stones of City Gas Distribution (CGD) projects in 129 districts from New Delhi.

• It will herald the availability of convenient, environment-friendly and cheaper natural gas for almost half of the country`s population spread across 26 States and Union Territories. 

• This is being done under the 9th CGD bidding round recently awarded by Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board. Mr Modi will also lay foundation stones marking the beginning of work for city gas networks in at least 62 cities. 

• About 46.5 lakh households and 32 lakh CNG vehicles are availing the benefit of clean fuel through existing CGD networks. 

2. National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)

• The Supreme Court of India has directed all the states to implement the draft witness protection scheme framed by the Centre in consultation with the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).

• To enable a witness to give testimony in a judicial setting or to cooperate with law enforcement and investigations without fear of intimidation or reprisal.

• To promote law enforcement by facilitating the protection of persons who are involved directly or indirectly in providing assistance to criminal law enforcement agencies and the overall administration of Justice.

• Victims and witnesses of serious crimes are particularly at risk when the perpetrator is powerful, influential, or rich and the victims or witnesses belong to a socially or economically marginalised community. 

3. Nari Sashaktikaran Sankalp Abhiyan or Women Empowerment campaign 

• In Uttar Pradesh, Nari Sashaktikaran Sankalp Abhiyan or Women Empowerment campaign will be launched by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow.

• It is aimed to empower women in the state through various programmes.

• It includes many issues like education, self employment, health, cleanliness, nutrition.

4. India slips two places to 53rd position on global talent ranking; Switzerland on top

• India has slipped two places to rank 53rd on a global annual talent ranking released by IMD Business School Switzerland on Tuesday, while the top slot has been retained by the Alpine nation itself. 

• China is ranked lower at 39th "because of its difficulties in attracting foreign skilled workers paired with a level of public expenditure in education that is below the average of other advanced economies". 

• Regarding India, the renowned business school said its position has declined from 51st in 2017 to 53rd this year. 

• While Switzerland has topped the global ranking for the fifth year in a row, it is followed by Denmark, Norway, Austria and the Netherlands in the top-five 

5. Vice President to lay foundation stone for Kartarpur corridor

• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone for the construction of Dera Baba Nanak-Kartarpur Sahib road corridor up to the international border with Pakistan in village Mann in Gurdaspur district of Punjab.

• In the landmark decision, the Union Cabinet had approved building and development of Kartarpur corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district to International Border to commemorate the 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev ji in 2019. 

• Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Puri will travel to Pakistan to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur corridor for Sikh pilgrims on Wednesday. 

• Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan is located across the river Ravi, about four kilometres from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab`s Gurdaspur district. It was established by the Sikh Guru in 1522.  The first Gurdwara, Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, was built here, where Guru Nanak Dev is said to have died. The corridor, once built, will give Indian pilgrims easy access to the shrine and boost the tourism in the region.

6. Government Brought Most Public Authorities Under RTI Act

• The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh stated here today that in the last four and half years, the government led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has brought most of the public authorities under the purview of the RTI act, which is in keeping with the commitment to ensure maximum transparency in the working of these institutions. 

• The Department of Personnel and Training(DOP&T), which is the nodal department for the Right to Information and Central Information Commission, has so far successfully covered nearly 2000 public authorities under the RTI Act, he said.

7. Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre

• Government of India has decided to mark the remembrance of 100 years of the historical Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre next year.

• A number of commemorative as well as constructive activities will be taken up during the remembrance period.

• The commemorative coin and postage stamps will be released on 13th April 2019 (the day the incident took place 100 years ago).

• Ministry of Culture will organize cultural activities like kavi sammelan, plays, exhibition, seminars, etc. across the country.

• It is also known as the Amritsar Massacre (dated April 13, 1919) at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab.

• On 13th April 1919, thousands of people were gathered at Jallianwala Bagh. This day marks the beginning of New Year for the Sikhs, also celebrated as Baisakhi festival all over Punjab.

8. Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana

• As per the latest data released by the Centre for Digital Financial Inclusion (CDFI) that uses technology for financial inclusion, the government has transferred over Rs 1,600 crore to eligible mothers under Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana through direct benefit transfer so far. Rs 16,04,66,63,000 has been transferred through direct benefit transfer to 48.5 lakh women.

• CDFI is a non-profit organisation. It had conceptualised, designed and implemented the PMMVY-CAS (Common Application Software) System through which disbursements were made.

• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) is a maternity benefit rechristened from erstwhile Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY). The IGMSY was launched in 2010.

9. NBFC Mudra loans grew faster than banks in FY18

• According to the 2017-18 annual report of Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), though NBFCs sanctioned only over ?27,000 crore of Mudra loans in FY18 against ?92,492.68 crore by public sector banks, their year-on-year growth was faster. While NBFC Mudra loan sanctions increased ?21,562.63 crore from a year ago, state-run banks could raise their Mudra loans by only ?20,539.01 crore in the same period.

• The PMMY Scheme was launched in April, 2015. The scheme’s objective is to refinance collateral-free loans given by the lenders to small borrowers.

• The scheme, which has a corpus of Rs 20,000 crore, can lend between Rs 50,000 and Rs 10 lakh to small entrepreneurs.

• There are three types of loans under PMMY:

1. Shishu (up to Rs.50,000).

2. Kishore (from Rs.50,001 to Rs.5 lakh).

3. Tarun (from Rs.500,001 to Rs.10,00,000).

10. UN selects Noida to participate in Global sustainable Cities 2025 initiative

• The United Nations officially invited Uttar Pradesh`s Noida and Greater Noida to become a member of its initiative which aims to create 25 model cities across the world that will be fully compliant with the sustainable development goals by 2025.

• "Noida (along with Greater Noida) has been formally invited to participate in this showcase `Race to Sustainability` among 25 global cities to become fully compliant with the Sustainable Development Goals by 2025 under the UN Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) cities initiative.

• In September 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that includes 17 SDGs, otherwise known as the Global Goals, a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

11. Constitution Day: 26 November

• Constitution Day is observed on 26 November. On this day in 1949, the constitution was adopted which came into force on January 26, 1950, marking the beginning of a new era in the history of India.

• On 19th November 2015, during the year-long celebration of the 125th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar, Government of India in a gazette notification declared November 26th as the Constitution Day.

• The Constitution continues to be the nation`s guiding light on all matters connected with governance and jurisprudence. The founding fathers gave people one of the best Constitutions and made it adaptable to the Indian situation.

12. Andhra Pradesh Government launched Bhuseva and Bhudaar web portal

• Andhra Pradesh Government has launched Bhuseva and Bhudaar web portal through which people can view land records online.

• People can get land record online through these portals using Aadhaar card. Bhudaar security policy was also launched to provide security to the land records of farmers.

• Bhudaar card can be generated by the land owner or property owner from Bhuseva web portal. Two types of Bhudaar cards are available including e-Bhudaar and M-Bhudaar. Under Mobile Bhudaar, one has to download application on mobile. One can also get Bhudaar card from Mee Seva centers

13. Article 370

• The Supreme Court has refused to entertain a fresh petition on Article 370, which gives special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir, and said that the issues raised in it were already part of the pending pleas.

• The petition sought a declaration that Article 370 of the Constitution had lapsed with the dissolution of constituent assembly of Jammu and Kashmir on January 26, 1957 and it cannot be treated as mandatory for exercise of powers of the President.

• The plea has also sought that the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir be declared as “arbitrary, unconstitutional and void”, claiming that it was against the supremacy of the Indian Constitution and contrary to the dictum of “One Nation, One Constitution, One National Anthem and One National Flag”.

• Article 370 of the Indian Constitution is a ‘temporary provision’ which grants special autonomous status to Jammu & Kashmir.

• Under Part XXI of the Constitution of India, which deals with “Temporary, Transitional and Special provisions”, the state of Jammu & Kashmir has been accorded special status under Article 370.

14. Minimum Wages Act for domestic workers

• A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking its intervention to bring dignity to “India’s invisible workforce in the informal sector” — the domestic workers.

• The petition asked the Supreme Court to lay down guidelines to protect the workers’ rights.

• The petition sought the recognition of domestic work under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.

• Their work hours should be reduced to eight a day and they should be given a mandatory weekly off as a basic right under Article 21.

15. 70-feet tall statue of Lord Buddha unveiled at Rajgir in Nalanda district

• Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has unveiled 70-feet tall statue of Lord Buddha at Rajgir in Nalanda district of state. It is second tallest statue of Buddha in the country.

• The statue has been installed above 16 metre radius pedestal in middle of lake Ghora Katora. 

• Ghora Katora is natural lake surrounded by five hills.

• It has been made from 45,000 cubic foot pink sand stone.

16. Shri Kiren Rijiju to inaugurate NDMA`s 14th Formation Day

• Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Kiren Rijiju, will inaugurate the 14th Formation Day of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The theme of this year`s Formation Day is “Early Warning for Disasters”.

• To be effective, early warning systems need to involve the communities at risk, generate public awareness, effectively disseminate warnings and ensure there is a constant state of preparedness.

17. Himachal Pradesh first state to launch pan-India single emergency number

• The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh launched Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) for Himachal Pradesh at Mandi. 

• Himachal Pradesh is the first state to launch pan-India single emergency number ‘112’ under ERSS.

• Citing the success of Himachal Pradesh in rolling out the ERSS project, Rajnath Singh requested other States and Union Territories to make all out efforts to commence rollout of their ERSS project.

18. ‘HAUSLA-2018’ was inaugurated in the Capital Delhi

• The Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched the National Festival for Children of Child Care Institutions (CCIs) – Hausla 2018.

• The inter-Child Care Institution festival draws children from 18 States for the various events like painting competition, athletics meet, football, chess competition and speech writing as part of the Festival.

• This festival will provide a national platform for the children from CCIs across India to showcase their talent.

19. 49th IFFI ends with glittering ceremony

• The 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) ended in Goa with a glittering ceremony.

• The closing ceremony was held at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Taleigaon this evening. Union ministers KJ Alphons and Shripad Naik, Goa governor Mridula Sinha, Punjab governor VP Singh Badnore, Goa town and country planning minister Vijay Sardesai, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari, Information and Broadcasting secretary Amit Khare and a host of celebrities were present on the occasion.

• More than 220 movies from 67 countries were screened at this year’s IFFI. 26 feature films and 21 non-feature films were screened in the Indian Panorama section. While Israel was the focus country, Jharkhand was the focus state this year. 

• This is for the first time that any state was made focus state at IFFI. Veteran Israeli filmmaker Dan Wolman was given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the opening ceremony. Another new section at IFFI this year was the screening of six Indian sports biopics as an extension of the Khelo India initiative.