NEWS 17/11/2021. NEWS FOR 19th-NOV (FRIDAY) NATIONAL NEWS 1. Adani group has earned a contract to develop 1 port in Srilanka amounting to Rs 700 million dollars. 2.Centre has approved setting up of seven new mega textile parks, or PM MITRA parks at Rs 4,445 crores, for 5 years, to facilitate the growth of textile sector in the economy and position India strongly on Global textiles map.3.Tata group has won the bid for Air India airlines ina Rs 18000 crore worth deal. 4. Govt has inaugurated the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan. This plan intends to bring together 16 infrastructure related Ministries. It is a Rs. 100 lakh-crore project for developing 'holistic infrastructure' of India. 5. The Govthas formed an organization called the Indian Space Association (ISPA). ISpA is a private industry which will participate and work with ISRO on capacity building and space economic hubs and incubators in India.6. India on 21st Oct reached the milestone of 100 crore vaccines administered in the country, India reached the landmark in 278 days, having begun the vaccination drive in Jan. 7. The govt has launched the Krishi UDAN scheme to focus on transporting perishable food products from the hilly areas, northeastern states and tribal areas. DEFENSE NEWS 1. Indian Armyhas deployed the first indigenously developed K9 Vajra self propelled howitzer Regiment along with M777 howitzers in the forward areas in Ladakh sector along the LAC with China. Howitzers act best in mountainous terrain. 2. The Indian Armyhas inked a contract to acquire 120 payload-capable 'Skystriker' drones. The Skystriker drones will be manufactured in Bengaluru by Adani's Alpha Design in collaboration with Israel's Elbit System. 3. India is preparing to produce BRAHMOS-NG Supersonic cruise missile. BrahMos-NG (Next Generation) is a mini version based on the existing BrahMos, enabling Air Force fighters to carry the Air-launched version of world's fastest supersonic cruise missile. It will have 290-300 km range and Mach 3.5 speed, but it will weigh around 1.5 tons, 5 metres in length and 50 cm in diameter, making BrahMos-NG almost 50 percent lighter and three metres shorter than its predecessor. 4. Russia will deliver the S-400 air defence system by the year end. The S-400 is capable of destroying incoming hostile aircrafts, missiles and even drones within a range of up to 400 km. It has a tracking capability of nearly 600 km. 5. IAF has participated in a massive multi-national aerial combat exercise 'Blue Flag 2021', hosted by the Israeli Air Force in Ovda Air Base on 24 October. Germany, Italy, Britain, France, India, Greece and the United States tookpart in the exercise. 6. IAF & DRDO successfully flight tested the country's first indigenously developed Long-Range Bomb (LRB), with a range of 100 Kms, from a Sukhoi-30 fighter jet. 7. The DRDO have conducted a successful trial of the indigenously developed Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) in the Pokhran Ranges. It is capable of engaging all types of ground targets up to a range of 100 kms. INTERNATIONAL NEWS1. India has retained 3rd rank in the 58th Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI) 2021 released by Ernst & Young on attractiveness of their renewable energy investment and deployment opportunities. Rank 1 is held by US, followed by China. 2. Taliban held face-to-face talks with a joint US-EU delegation in Qatar.Taliban is trying hard in seeking recognition, as well as financial assistance to avoid a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan. 3. India has approved to provide $200 million Line of Credit (LoC) support to Kyrgyzstan for development projects.4. India has been re-elected to United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for sixth term on October 14, 2021, with overwhelming majority (184 votes out of 193), from Jan ‘22 to Dec ‘24. 5. India handed over a 34.9 km long cross-border rail link to Nepal, connecting Jayanagar in Bihar to Kurtha in Nepal. 6. India on 27th Oct carried out successful test of the 5,000 km range Agni-V missile. The surface to surface ballistic missile, which uses a three-stage solid-fuelled engine, is capable of striking targets at ranges up to 5,000 kilometres with a very high degree of accuracy.7. On 25 October 2021, Sudanese military General Abdel Fattah al burhan, took control of the govt in a military coup. PM Abdalla Hamdokhas been put under house arrest.SPORTS NEWS1. India’s men table tennis team created history by winning a medal at the Asian Table Tennis Championships. 2. India defeated Nepal 3-0 to win the SAFF championship for the 8th time. < < Back