Current Affairs Nov 2019 - Places in NEWS

1 - Kolkata International Film Festival held

The Kolkata International Film Festival was held from Nov. 8 to Nov. 15. Satyajit Ray directed Gupi Gayen, Bhagha Bayen was the inaugural film of this festival. The Focus Country of the festival was Germany.

The winners in different categories are:

'Hiralal Sen Memorial Award' for Best Film: Mai Ghat
'Hiralal Sen Memorial Award' Award for Best Director: Indrasis Acharya for his film Parcel
Special Jury Award: Run Kalyani
NETPAC Award: Devi and Hero

2 - Mumbai and Hyderabad join the UNESCO Network of Creative Cities

UNESCO has announced that the cities of Mumbai and Hyderabad are joining the UNESCO network of Creative Cities. Mumbai has been designated a Creative city of film and Hyderabad a Creative city of gastronomy. They join Chennai and Varanasi, UNESCO Cities of music, and Jaipur, UNESCO City of crafts and folk arts.

By joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), cities commit to sharing their best practices and developing partnerships. The network covers seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Arts, Media Arts, Film, Design, Gastronomy, Literature and Music.

3 - PM Modi inaugurated India International Science Festival 2019 in Kolkata

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 5^th edition of India International Science Festival (IISF) 2019 through video conferencing in Kolkata. The four-day science festival was organized from November 5-8. The festival aimed to build a strategy for inclusive advancement of Science and Technology.

The Theme for this year's festival was "RISEN India – Research, Innovation, and Science Empowering the Nation. The India International Science Festival (IISF) was launched in 2015 to promote Science and Technology.

4 - Vigyanika-International Science Literature Festival held in Kolkata

Vigyanika-International Science Literature Festival was organised as part of the 5^th India International Science Festival (IISF) 2019 at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre in Kolkata. It is being coordinated by the CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (CSIR-NISCAIR), Vigyan Prasar and Vigyan Bharati.

The Vigyanika-International Science Literature Festival also featured a Science Book Fair where more than thirty publishers displayed their scientific publications. The International Science Literature Festival was inaugurated on 5^th November 2019. It is an annual event organised jointly by the Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences and Vijnana Bharati (Vibha).

5 - Kolkata students create Guinness World Records with largest astrophysics assemble

The Guinness World Records for the largest astrophysics lesson (45 minutes) and assembly of spectroscopes was successfully achieved at the Science City, Kolkata on the first day of India International Science Festival (IISF) 2019 with the participation of over 1,598 students.

Astronomers use spectroscopes to know details like temperature, chemical composition, etc. of celestial objects hundreds or millions of light years away from us. A small personal model of advanced spectroscopes can easily be made by anyone using a box made of cardboard that has a very narrow window used to channel light into the spectroscope.

6 - 11^th edition of BalSangam held in Delhi

The Eleventh edition of Bal Sangam organised by the National School of Drama, NSD, was held in New Delhi. It was a confluence of folk and traditional art forms performed by children. The four-day festival showcased enthralling folk and traditional performing arts and folk theatre dedicated to children.

Twelve States including Assam, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat participated in the event. Around 12 folk presentations and three folk theatres programme such as folk dance, martial arts, street play performances and magic shows were displayed.

7 - 2-day BIMSTEC Conclave was held in Visakhapatnam

The two-day BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative Multi-Sector Technical and Economic Cooperation) Conclave was held at Visakhapatnam. Vizag port trust hosted the conclave first time ever since the formation of BIMSTECH in 1997. Seven-member countries that include Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan participated in the conference.

Conclave discussed investment opportunities, development of free trade zones, development of tourism and measures required for safety and security, ease of doing business, sharing of expertise, and emulation of best practices.

8 - 5^th edition of GES held from Nov 26-28 in Bengaluru

The fifth edition of Global Exhibition on Services, GES 2019 was held from November 26 to 28 at Bengaluru in Karnataka. The Global Exhibition on Services is an annual event which aims to engage industry and governments across the world and to promote greater exchange of trade in services between India and the rest of the world.

GES 2019 was an attempt towards escalating the Indian services bar in the global arena, encompassing participation from 100 countries and hosting sector-specific knowledge sessions.

9 - 10^th Asian Conference of Emergency Medicine held in New Delhi

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the 10^th Asian Conference of Emergency Medicine in New Delhi. The biennial conference was held for the first time in India from 7-10 November 2019.

The objective of the conference was to aim at lectures, discussions and talks on affordable emergency care for all sections of the society. The conference was organized by Asian Society for Emergency Medicine (ASEM) and Society for Emergency Medicine India (SEMI) in support of other organizations to build strategies for emergency care across Asia.

10 - Lucknow railway station gets ‘Health ATM’

Indian Railways has installed two 'Health ATMs' at the Charbagh railway station in Lucknow to achieve the objectives of the Fit India programme. The kiosks of YOLO Health ATM will provide 16 health checkups categorized as 9-minutes checkup which costs Rs 100, and 6-minutes checkup which costs Rs 50. Any passenger at railway station having complaint of high fever or any other problem can visit ATM and check for continuing journey or not.

Health ATMs can be defined as private, walk-in medical kiosks that offer checkups such as body mass index, blood pressure, body fat, hemoglobin, pulse etc.

11 - Air Chief inaugurated ISAM Conference in Bengaluru

Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria inaugurated 58^th Annual #ISAM Conference at Institute of Aerospace Medicine (ISAM), Bengaluru to address contemporary issues and applications in the subject of aerospace medicine. He addressed role played by Aviation Medicine Specialists in promoting good health and fitness amongst aircrew in the IAF.

The theme of 2019 conference was 'Changing Paradigms in Aerospace Healthcare'. Various speakers discussed aeromedical issues and advances made in the field of aviation medicine worldwide by giving podium presentations and poster presentations.

12 - World’s biggest Islamic Congregation organized in Bhopal

The four-day Aalmi Tablighi Ijtima, world's biggest Islamic Congregation was organized in Bhopal. More than one million people from 54 countries attended the congregation. One of the most prominent features of Alami Tablighi Ijtima is that it has no political affiliation. It is a forum for delivering some important religious-spiritual messages to Muslims around the world.

The first Alami Tablighi Ijtima took place in Bhopal in 1944 and only 14 people attended it then. Thousands of people from various countries such as Russia, France, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iraq and Saudi Arabia participated.

13 - First International Conference on “Landslides Risk Reduction and Resilience-2019 held

The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri G. Kishan Reddy inaugurated the 1^st International Conference on “Landslides Risk Reduction and Resilience" in Delhi for developing technology to anticipate disasters like landslides and develop infrastructure to quickly respond to minimise the damage. The Minister called for making extensive collaborative programs involving international community and all the stakeholders at national, state and regional levels to tackle the problem.

Apart from this, the scientist, engineer, technologists, planners, developers, administrators, policy and decision makers from different States participated.

14 - 47^th All India Police Science Congress held in Lucknow

The 47^th All India Police Science Congress (AIPSC) was organized in Lucknow. Police officials from every state of the country participated in the Police Science Congress. Uttar Pradesh Police in association with the Home Ministry and the Bureau of Police Research and Development organized the event.

Addressing the Valedictory Session of 47^th All India Police Science Congress, Union Home Minister Amit Shah called for major changes in Criminal Procedure Code and Indian Penal Code, along with Arms Act and Narcotics Acts. He praised the Police Jawans.