CURRENT AFFAIRS OF 18th & 19th NOVEMBER 2021

CURRENT AFFAIRS OF 18th & 19th  NOVEMBER 2021  

• World Philosophy Day is celebrated on the Third Thursday of November each year. In 2021, the day falls on 18 November.
• The National Naturopathy Day is observed in India on 18 November every year, to promote positive mental and physical health through a drugless system of medicine, called as Naturopathy.
• World Toilet Day is observed as an official United Nations international day across the world on 19th November 2021. World Toilet Day 2021 theme: “valuing toilets”.
• In India, the National Newborn Week is observed every year from 15 to 21 November.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that his government will repeal the three contentious agricultural laws and requested protesting farmers to go back to their fields and homes. The announcement came on the Gurupurab/Prakash Utsav festival, when Sikhism founder Guru Nanak’s birthday is celebrated in the country.
• Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Shri Anurag Thakur has presented the first-ever SAI Institutional Awards to 246 athletes and coaches in New Delhi.
• The Union Minister of Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey has inaugurated the first air pollution control tower of the state of Uttar Pradesh in Noida. The Air Pollution Control Tower (APCT) prototype has been developed by state-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Bhel). The indigenously developed APCT is set up between the DND flyway and the slip road to Noida Expressway. The tower will help to mitigate the rising air pollution problem in the city.
• The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind visited Sui village in the Bhiwani district of Haryana, to inaugurate various public facilities in the village.
• Pochampally village in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district of Telangana, known for its famous hand-woven Ikat saris, was selected as one of the best tourism villages by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
• The Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) got the award for the best ‘Digital Financial Services’, in line with India’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, under the ‘Regional Rural Banks’ (RRBs) category by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). 
• The Border Roads Organisation has received the Guinness World Record for constructing & blacktopping the world highest motorable road passing through the 19,024 feet 0.73 inches (5798.251m) high Umlingla Pass in the Union Territory of Ladakh.
• Bollywood actor Salman Khan is to become the Covid-vaccine ambassador of Maharashtra.
• The Centre has approved a new Rajya Sainik Board (RSB) for Ladakh. The Board will be an effective link between the Centre and the Ladakh Administration.
• India has slipped to 82nd position (drop by 5 slots from 2020) with a risk score of 44 in the global list of 2021 TRACE Bribery Risk Matrix (TRACE Matrix) that measures business bribery risks, which was released by TRACE International.
• Olympic medallist and boxer Padma Vibhushan MC Mary Kom was declared as the brand ambassador of the TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation Ltd) Aadi Mahotsav.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has delivered the keynote address at The Sydney Dialogue, via video conferencing. PM addressed the event on the theme ‘India’s technology evolution and revolution’.
• The President of BCCI, Sourav Ganguly has been appointed as the Chairman of the ICC Men’s Cricket Committee, during the ICC Board Meeting.
• The State Bank of India has signed a strategic agreement with Jamshedpur Football Club, a fully owned subsidiary of Tata Steel, to promote and support football in India.
• India has been re-elected to the Executive Board of UNESCO for the term 2021-25.
• Veteran author, football journalist and sports commentator Novy Kapadia has passed away due to health complications.
• In tennis, Garbine Muguruza of Spain beat Anett Kontaveit of Estonia, 6-3, 7-5 in the final to claim her first WTA Final title.
• Alexander “Sascha” Zverev, a German professional tennis player, won the fifth ATP title of the season (2021) and 18th overall at the Vienna Open 2021 or Erste Bank Open 2021 defeating Frances Tiafoe of the United States of America (USA).