ANDHRA PRADESH
- Andhra Pradesh hosting its first ever hot-air balloon festival
- The Araku Valley of Andhra Pradeshis hosting the first edition of its Hot Air Balloon Festival.
- The Hot Air Balloon Festival is organized by SkyWaltz and supported by Andhra Pradesh tourism.
- The festival will feature unique balloons from 13 countries.
- The participating countries are India, Australia, USA, Brazil and South Korea.
- The Extraordinary shaped balloons like the Seahorse, the Kiwi, the Bee and much more are lined up in the festival.
- This festival is being organized to promote tourism.
- A large team of over 100 photographers, nature lovers and students from across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana arrived at Araku to capture the scenes of the festival. Araku is known for its coffee plantations, rich cultural heritage, and stunning waterfalls.
INTERNATIONAL
· Indonesian beauty queen crowned Miss International 2017
- Indonesia’s Kevin Lillianawas crowned Miss International 2017 at an event held at the Tokyo Dome City Hall.
- Lilliana also won the award for being the best-dressed contestant.
- Syria Signs up Paris Agreement on Climate Change
- According to the UN report, Syria officially signed up to the Paris Agreement, leaving the United States as the only country to reject the global climate-rescue pact.
- War-torn Syria became the 169th of 196 countries that are members of the UN climate convention to take the legal step of ratification. After Nicaragua signed up in October 2017, Syria and USA were the only countries not to have adopted the pact.
NATIONAL
· Union Government Launched Bharat 22 ETF
- The Union Government launched the ‘Bharat 22’exchange traded fund (ETF) managed by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, targeting an initial amount of about Rs8,000 crore.
- The ETF is part of the government’s overall disinvestment programme and mirrors the S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index, which comprises select companies from the CPSE (central public sector enterprises) universe, stakes held under the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI), and state-run banks.
· Indian Second-Highest Public Bingers in the World
- Binge watchingin public is the new trend in India, and Indians are the second-highest public bingers in the world (88 percent), just behind Mexico (89 percent), according to a survey released by online streaming platform Netflix.
- The survey was conducted by SurveyMonkey from August 24 – September 7, 2017, and based on 37,056 responses.
· National Press Day is observed on November 16
- India celebrated the National Press Dayon November 16 as the Press Council of India started functioning as a responsible body overlooking the works of the press as a whole body on this day.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted media on National Press Day, which is commemorated every year on November 16, and appreciated their contribution to make India a democratic country.
· Union Government to introduce BS-VI grade auto fuels in National capital Territory in 2018 instead of 2020
- The Petroleum Ministry in consultation with Public Oil Marketing Companies has decided for preponement of BS-VI grade auto fuelsin National Capital Territory of Delhi from 1st April next year instead of 1st April 2020.
- This is part of government’s concerted efforts to reduce vehicular emissions and improve fuel efficiency with an aim to reduce the carbon footprints and keep a healthy environment.
- India has followed the regulatory pathway for fuel quality and vehicle emissions standards termed as Bharat Stage or BS.
· Mukesh Ambani Topped Forbes List of Asia’s Richest Families
ð India’s Ambani family topped the Forbes list of Asia’s Richest Families for the first time with a net worth of $44.8 billion, up $19 billion from the previous year.
ð The collective wealth of Asia’s 50 richest families on the list is a record $699 billion, according to the Forbes.
ð The Top 3 Families in Asia-
1. India’s Ambani Family- $44.8 billion
2. Korea’s Lee family- $40.8 billion
3. Hong Kong’s Kwok family-
ð The Top 3 Families in India-
1. India’s Ambani Family- (Rank 1; $44.8 billion
2. Premji family (Rank 11; $19.2 billion net worth)
3. Mittal family (Rank 14; $17.2 billion).
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