MAHARASHTRA
● Saudi Arabia, UAE plans refinery in Maharashtra
The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia is planning to set up a refinery in Maharashtra, India. The minimum estimated cost to set up the refinery is $70 billion. It exceeds the initial $44 billion estimate that was previously announced. The meeting was held between the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The initiative was first announced in 2018. The aim is to develop the petrochemicals complex and refinery which would secure the supply of 600,000 barrels per day of Saudi and Emirati crude oil for India’s market. It has been decided that the project would be run by a consortium that includes Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).
INTERNATIONAL
● IAAF renamed as World Athletics
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has been officially renamed as World Athletics. IAAF, the sport’s international governing body, also changed the name of its Twitter handle and the URL of its official website. The name change had been suggested in a bid to make the sport more accessible.
AAF was established on 17 July 1912. When it was founded, the name it had was International Amateur Athletic Federation. It was then changed to the International Association of Athletics Federations in 2001. The headquarters of IAAF is located in Monaco. IAAF has 215 member federations. The Current President of IAAF is Sebastian Coe. The CEO of IAAF is Jon Ridgeon.
NATIONAL
● Darjeeling green and white teas received GI tag
Darjeeling green and white teas have received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the domestic market. The price varies from Rs.3,000 to Rs.10,000 per kg. It will put to rest any doubt about their authenticity and quality. Both these premium teas have been registered as a GI in the country with effect from 24 October 2019. After this, any teas that are sold as Darjeeling white and green teas in the domestic market without GI will not be considered authentic teas.
Darjeeling black tea has been already registered as GI. As the demand for Darjeeling white and green teas are increasing in the domestic market, the two varieties have been brought under GI.
The Tea Board took registered these two varieties under GI. The Tea Board is the registered proprietor of GI for Darjeeling tea.
GI identifies a product as originating from the territory of a member, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the product is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.
- Justice Bobde sworn-in as the new Chief Justice of India
Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde took oath as the 47th Chief Justice of India.
Justice Bobde succeeds CJI Ranjan Gogoi.
Justice Bobde will have a tenure of over 17 months as the CJI and is due to retire on April 23, 2021.
Justice Bobde was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on April 12, 2013.
He was part of the five-judge constitution bench which delivered the landmark Ayodhya verdict.
● Bajrang Punia conferred the Indian Personality of the Year Award
Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia has been conferred the Indian Personality of the Year Award (Sports) at the Indo Arab Leaders Summit & Awards 2019 in Dubai. Also, World powerlifting champion Mahant Gaurav Sharma was honoured with the Visionary Leaders of the Year (Sports) award.
Indo Arab Leaders Summit and Awards ceremony was held on 15th November 2019 at Marriott Hotel Al Jaddaf, Dubai. The award aims to provide recognition for companies and individuals implementing outstanding initiatives across Asia. The award recognizes the achievements made by selected high profile personalities and leaders. It honours their great contributions to the country’s economic development.
- CBI sets up OCSAE Unit to counter the growing menace of child porn
The Central Bureau of Investigation has a set up an Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (OCSAE) Prevention and Investigation Unit at its headquarter in New Delhi.
It has been set up to counter the growing menace of child porn on the internet.
The new specialized unit under the Special Crime Investigation Wing of the agency will collect intelligence on those who are allegedly creating and transmitting such material on the internet.
The unit also looks an eye on who is browsing and downloading such material.
- Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurates the National Tribal Festival ‘Aadi Mahotsav’
Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah inaugurated the National Tribal Festival ‘Aadi Mahotsav’, in New Delhi.
The theme of the event is “A celebration of the spirit of tribal culture, craft, cuisine and commerce”.
The Aadi Mahotsav is an effort to take tribal commerce to the next level of digital and electronic transactions.
The tribal textiles manufactured by master tribal craftsmen from Jammu and Kashmir in the North to Tamil Nadu in the South and from Gujarat in the West to Nagaland/Sikkim in the East will be the main attractions.
For the first time, the Aadi Mahotsav is showcasing a wide range of products from the tribal artisans from Leh in Ladakh.
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