18th November 2014 Daily Current Affairs Updates

1) Nanavati panel submits final report on Gujarat riots: Twelve years after it was constituted, the Nanavati Commission of Enquiry probing the 2002 post-Godhra riots submitted its final report to Chief Minister Anandiben Patel on 18 November 2014. Justice Nanavati and Commission member Justice Akshay Mehta met Ms. Patel at her residence and handed over the report. Justice Nanavati told PTI that the report was over 2,000 pages, but did not divulge anything further. The Commission’s term expired on October 31 after 24 extensions. It submitted the first part of its report related to the Sabarmati Express in 2008, which said that the train burning was a “planned conspiracy.” The same year, after the death of Justice K.G. Shah, retired HC Justice Akshay Mehta was appointed to the Commission.

2) NASA installed first zero-gravity 3D printer on ISS: NASA successfully installed the world’s first zero-gravity 3D printer on the International Space Station (ISS) to help astronauts experiment with additive manufacturing in microgravity. NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore installed the 3D printer, designed and built by Made In Space, inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) on the ISS. The printer was launched in September aboard the SpaceX 4 resupply mission to the ISS.

3) Doha to host 2019 athletics world championships: Doha will host the 2019 athletics world championships, another sporting victory for the tiny Gulf state of Qatar. It already has the FIFA World Cup in 2022, and may also have ambitions for the biggest prize of them all, the Olympics. Doha, the Qatari capital, won its bid to host the world championships in a secret IAAF vote on Tuesday at a Monte Carlo hotel after losing out to London three years ago. This time, Doha beat an American bid from Eugene, Oregon, and Spanish city Barcelona in the vote by the IAAF's 27-member ruling council.

4) Terry Walsh resigned as India Hockey Coach: India's chief hockey coach Terry Walsh quit from his position after his contractual talks with Hockey India and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) broke down but a fresh proposal is still being worked out for the Australian's consideration. Walsh, whose contract was to come to an end on Wednesday, had already submitted his resignation last month after his demands for a greater say in team decisions and hand-picked support staff were turned down by HI and SAI.

5) Vengsarkar to receive C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award: Dilip Vengsarkar who earned the sobriquet ‘colonel’ has been chosen for the BCCI’s Col. C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for 2013-14. He will receive a citation, trophy and cheque for Rs. 25 lakh at the BCCI’s eighth annual awards ceremony to be held on November 21. “I am honoured and delighted to have been chosen for the award and also to be in the august company of those who have been honoured before me. I thank the BCCI,” Vengsarkar said. 

6) Govt relaunched Kisan Vikas Patras: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Communication Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad relaunched the Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) investment scheme on 18 November 2014 to tap household savings for funding infrastructure development in the country and to lure them away from ponzi schemes. The savings instrument will be available in the denomination of Rs. 1000, Rs. 5,000, Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 50,000. There will be no upper ceiling on investments an investor can make in them. However, no tax benefits would be available on these investments. Banks will accept these certificates as pledged security for loans. To begin with, the certificates will be available only at post offices. Over time, however, designated branches of nationalised banks will also sell them.

7) TSR Subramanian Committee submits report on amendment of green laws: A committed headed by former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanian, set up to review environmental laws, has submitted its report to Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar. The committee’s report takes ahead the Government’s move to amend five key green laws to ensure transparency in clearances along with protecting the environment. Receiving the report, Javadekar said it would help the Ministry avoid “undue delays and ensure transparency in clearances and implementation of projects.”

8) 45TH IFFI Salutes Wong Kar-Wai with Lifetime Achievement Award: One of the Hong Kong's most celebrated filmmakers Wong Kar-Wai will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 45th edition of IFFI. He is Internationally renowned as an auteur for his visually unique, highly stylised, emotionally resonant work, including Days of Being Wild (1990), Ashes of Time (1994), Chungking Express (1994), Fallen Angels (1995), Happy Together (1997), 2046 (2004) and The Grandmaster (2013).

9) Coal India gets Sutirtha Bhattacharya as new chief: Public Enterprise Selection Board (PSEB) finalised Sutirtha Bhattacharya, a 1985 Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS officer as the new chairman and managing director of Coal India limited (CIL). Bhattacharya was selected from the list of 12 candidates who applied for the post the head of Coal India, the almost monopolistic coal mining company of ‘Maharatna’ stature.