Daily Current Affairs Updates: 11 November 2014

1) PM Narendra Modi left for 10-Day visit to Myanmar, Australia and Fiji: Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Myanmar on 11 November 2014, from where he will go to Australia and then visit Fiji on his way back home. As he flew out, he has again invited people to share "thoughts and ideas" on his Australia trip. During his 10-day foreign tour, PM Modi will hold bilateral talks with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott in Canberra after the annual summit of the Group of 20 of the world's biggest developed and emerging economies. The two-day G20 summit will be held in Brisbane from November 15. Mr Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Australia since Rajiv Gandhi did in 1986. He will also be the first Indian premier to visit the south Pacific island nation of Fiji after 33 years; Indira Gandhi had last visited in 1981.

2) National Education Day 2014 celebrated: National Education Day was observed on 11 November 2014 to mark of the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. This National Education Day was 125th birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. During the celebration, President Pranab Mukherjee and other ministers paid floral tributes to Azad. Prime Minister Narendra Modi saluted Azad and described him as scholar, freedom fighter and a man who devoted his life towards nation building. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was the first education minister of India.

3) Kerala becomes first state to give Modi's Jan Dhan Yojana full shape:  Kerala became the first state in the country to achieve full coverage of bank accounts for all families as part of the Jan Dhan Yojana launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day this year. Banks in Kerala opened nearly 13 lakh new accounts Under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana through intensive financial literacy campaigns launched under the aegis of the State Level Banker's Committee.

4) Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined Instagram: Taking his interaction with well wishers on social media to the next level, Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined Instagram. He shared his first photo from the 25th ASEAN Summit from Nay Pyi Taw in Myanmar. Within hours of Modi posting his first image on Instagram, the Prime Minister was flooded with nearly 38,000 followers. Prior to Instagram, Prime Minister had already been reaching out to the masses through some of the most popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google+.

5) 11 women die after sterilisation surgeries in Chhattisgarh: Eleven women died and 34 were reported critical on 11 November 2014 after undergoing “faulty” sterilisation surgeries at a government-organised family planning camp in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh. Eighty three women underwent the procedure in five hours at the free sterilisation camp, organised by the Bilaspur district health department on November 8, at the Nemichand Jain hospital. 

6) Indian Film Personality of the Year award for Rajinikanth: The Centre has named actor Rajinikanth as winner of the Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year. This was announced by Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Minister of State, Information and Broadcasting, on Tuesday. The Chennai-based actor would be receiving the honour at the 45th International Film Festival of India to be held in Goa from November 20 to 30. Social media was agog with excitement as fans posted messages congratulating their ‘Superstar’, as he is fondly known.

7) Rajiv Mehrishi appointed Finance Secretary: Economic Affairs Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi was named the new finance secretary on Tuesday, succeeding batchmate Arvind Mayaram to both posts. According to norms, the finance secretary’s designation is given to the senior-most of the five secretaries in charge of economic affairs, revenue, expenditure, financial services and disinvestment departments. If there is more than one secretary belonging to the senior-most batch, the finance secretary is chosen based on ranking in the civil list.

8) Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Australian delegation: Indian cricket legends Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar have been invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be part of the official delegation for the Australia tour in mid-November. In what seems to be a smart cricket diplomacy, the former captains will accompany the PM-led delegation to three Australian cities -- Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.

9) Microsoft drops Nokia name with Lumia 535: Microsoft has unveiled a cheaper smartphone, costing about 110 euro ($135), as it eyes emerging and other low-cost markets for growth. The new model is the first Lumia smartphone under Microsoft’s own brand name. The company has released a few Lumia models since it bought Nokia’s phone business this year, but those models still carried the Nokia brand. The Lumia 535 Windows smartphone will have a 5-inch screen, as measured diagonally. It comes with 5-megapixel front and rear cameras, which should snap sharper selfies than typical smartphones.