Daily Current Affairs : 30th November 2013

1. Hollywood actress Michelle Yeoh will attend the closing ceremony of the 44th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to be held on November 30. The 50-year-old Malaysian actress's documentary film 'Pad Yatra: A Green Odyssey' on which she served as an executive producer, will also be screened at the on-going festival. Michelle Yeoh will be the chief guest at the closing ceremony. 

2. Debit card holders will from tomorrow be required to punch in their PIN numbers every time they use the card, a move aimed at minimising frauds. In June, the Reserve Bank had extended the deadline for implementation of mandatory PIN punching at Point-of-Sales (PoS) and merchant outlets till November 30 following representation of banks.

3. With relaxation in FDI norms to boost investor sentiments, India has emerged as the most attractive investment destination surpassing neighbouring China and the US, says a report. The global survey of leading consultancy firm EY has ranked India as the most attractive investment destination followed by Brazil and China at second and third positions, respectively.

4. The Department of Telecom has doubled penalty provision to Rs 10 lakh on companies whose mobile towers will be found violating radiation emission levels. Earlier the maximum penalty for any violation related to radiation rules was Rs 5 lakh. Under the new penalty slabs, a maximum of Rs 50,000 fine will be imposed for delays in submission of the 'self-certified' documents on norms, especially those pertaining to radiation emission. 

5. Union Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily on 29 November 2013 inaugurated india’s first "Synthetic Rubber Plant" of the country at Panipat in Haryana. The country’s first e-SBR (styrene butadiene rubber) unit was set up by Indian Synthetic Rubber Ltd (ISRL), a joint venture promoted by Indian Oil, TSRC Corporation, Taiwan, and Marubeni Corporation, Japan. The plant will produce 120 kilo tonnes synthetic rubber annually, which would be used in industrial units for manufacturing automobile and daily need products. It is planned to increase the capacity of the plant to 220 KT in next two years. 

6. Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd appointed Satyananda Mishra as the chairman of MCX’s board. Market Regulatory authority, the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) also approved the appointment of Satyananda Mishra as the independent Director of MCX's board for a period up to 31 March 2016. Earlier, the exchange had appointed R M Premkumar, a former bureaucrat as its interim chairman. Mr Premkumar will continue to remain independent director on the board.

7. Malala Yousafzai, Kainat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan on 27 November 2013 were chosen for the GG2 Hammer Award, for their bravery at the GG2 (Garavi Gujarat 2) Leadership Awards 2013 a London. The activist Malala Yousafzai won the number one spot in the GG2 Power List 101 for her work in raising awareness for female empowerment. The GG2 Power 101 has been compiled by The Asian Media and Marketing Group (AMG) and features the top 101 most influential Asians in the UK, ranging from all walks of life. Now in its third year, the list honours some notable British Asians who hold power and influence not just in Britain, but also globally.

8. China will launch its first ever mission to land an unmanned spacecraft on the lunar surface next week, as it moves forward in its ambitious plan to become the world’s pre-eminent space power. The Chang’e-3 moon rover will be launched at 1:30 a.m. on Monday from Xichang Satellite Launch Center, the mission’s launching headquarters said today. This will be the first time for China to send an unmanned spacecraft to soft land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body and conduct surveys on the moon.

9. Princess Astrid of Belgium inaugurated the Consulate General of Belgium in Chennai for expansion of the bilateral ties with India. This is the second Consulate General and the third diplomatic mission in India. Princess Astrid is the representative of the King of Belgium, who is on a visit to India from 23-30 November, 2013.

10. The Sports Ministry on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Department of AIDS Control with the objective to "reach a large number of youth engaged in sports activities" at village, district and state level with information on STI/HIV/AIDS prevention and related services. The MoU was signed between Secretary, Department of Sports Ajit M Saran, and Secretary, Department of AIDS Control, Lov Verma, in New Delhi on Friday. 

11. Maharashtra batsman Vijay Zol has been named captain of the India Under-19 squad for the ACC Asia Cup in the UAE, which will begin on December 28. Kerala wicketkeeper Sanju Vishwanadh, who was part of the Under-19 team for the Asia Cup in 2012, has been appointed Zol's deputy. Zol shot into limelight when he scored an unbeaten 451 during a domestic U-19 match in 2011.

12. Indian weightlifters ended their Commonwealth Youth, Junior & Senior Championships in style, bagging six medals on Saturday to take their overall tally to a staggering 117, including 57 gold, on the final day of the event in Penang, Malaysia. The biggest contributors to the tally were the youth boys, who notched up 24 medals, including 16 gold and eight silver. 

13. Indian-origin doctor Jaswinder S. Bamrah, consultant psychiatrist in Manchester, has bagged Asian Lite Professional Excellence Award for his contribution to the medical field in the UK. Peter W. Mount, Chairman of the Central Manchester Foundation Trust, presented the award to Dr Bamrah at a ceremony in Manchester last night.

14. Veteran choreographer for several Tamil and South Indian films R. Raghuram died at his residence in Chennai on Saturday afternoon. He was 64. One of the most respected choreographers in Tamil film industry, Raghuram 'Master' had celebrated his golden jubilee (50 years) in film industry last year. Raghuram 'Master' has worked with several generations of actors and is also known for his close friendship with actor Kamal Haasan, who had in several interviews noted him as one of his earliest friends in the industry.

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