Daily Current Affairs : 26th November 2013

1. Constitution Day was observed across India on 26 November 2013 to honour the Constitution of India. The Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, which came into force on 26 January 1950. Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is regarded as the father of the Indian Constitution. The Constitution of India is a supreme law of India, which lays down the framework that defines the political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers and duties of Government institution.

2. Reserve Bank today widened the definition of infrastructure lending including hotels with project costing more than Rs. 200 crore as well as convention centres with project worth Rs. 300 crore. "The government has further updated the harmonized master list...the new sub-sectors have been added in the list. Hotels with project cost of more than Rs. 200 crore each in any place in India and of any star rating. Convention centres with project cost of more than Rs. 300 crore each," RBI said in a notification. RBI said that the new sub-sectors will get classified as 'infrastructure' for the purpose of lending by banks and select All India Term-Lending and Refinancing Institutions from the date of this circular.

3. YES BANK, India’s fourth largest private sector bank, today signed a multi-year deal with the Hockey India League (HIL) commencing with the 2014 season. YES BANK to mobilise sports innovation and infuse positive energy into hockey.

4. Talwars gets life imprisonment in Aarushi murder case. Rajesh and Nupur Talwar were yesterday convicted in the sensational double murder of their 14-year-old daughter Aarushi and Hemraj by the court. After a 15-month trial, Judge Shyam Lal held the Talwar couple guilty of destruction of evidence in the murder on the intervening night of May 15 and 16, 2008, days before the birthday of the class nine student in their residence in Noida. 

5. India and Malaysia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 25 November 2013 to strengthen co-operation in public administration and governance as part of the efforts to enhance their strategic partnership. The MoU covers eight areas of co-operation including human resource management, e-governance, public delivery system, accountability and transparency, skills and capacity building and quality results. The MoU envisages cooperation via tours, workshops and conferences, sharing of public administration and governance information and expertise, common project implementation mechanisms and exchange of publications, state.

6. Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary General on 25 November 2013 announced the Geneva-II peace conference is to be held on 22 January 2014. The international conference is aimed at a democratic political transition in Syria, which will bring the Government and the opposition to a negotiating table for the first time, since the conflict that started in March 2011.

7. BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is among Time magazine’s shortlisted candidates for its ‘Person of the Year’ title and has emerged as an early favourite among the readers in an online poll. Time has shortlisted 42 global leaders, entrepreneurs and celebrities for its ‘Person of the Year 2013’ and will announce the winner next month. Other candidates in fray are Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, US President Barack Obama, Pakistani teenage education activist Malala Yousafzai, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and even the new heir to the British throne Prince George. Modi is the only Indian in the shortlist.

8. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday laid the foundation stone of a new railway line in his Parliamentary constituency Amethi. The 67 kilometer Uchahar-Salon-Amethi line was approved in the union budget in 2010-11. Rahul also flagged off the new Lucknow- Prtapgarh DMU service and Lucknow- Sultanpur EMU service.

9. The Meghalaya government has sought 50 thousand crore Rupees as award from the 14th Finance Commission. This is to meet non-plan expenditure and give a thrust to developmental projects in the state.

10. India's Deepak Lathore won a Gold and two Silver medals in the Boys' 50 kilogramme category of the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships today. On the opening day of the event at Penang, Malaysia, Lathore took the Gold in Snatch with a lift of 83 kg. In Clean and Jerk, he lifted 102 kg to claim the Silver. With a total lift of 185 kg, he won another Silver in the event.

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