1. Finance Minister launches IT initiatives ICEDASH, ATITHI for improved customs clearance

• Finance Minister unveiled two new IT Initiatives - ICEDASH and ATITHI for improved monitoring and pace of customs clearance of imported goods and facilitating arriving international passengers.
• ICEDASH is an Ease of Doing Business monitoring dashboard of the Indian Customs helping the public to see the daily Customs clearance times of import cargo at various ports and airports.
• The ATITHI app will facilitate hassle-free and faster clearance by Customs at the airports and enhance the experience of international tourists and other visitors at the airports.

Foot Notes:
Finance Minister: Nirmala Sitharaman

2. Biennial Commonwealth Law Ministers’ Conference begins in Colombo, Sri Lanka

• In Sri Lanka, the biennial Commonwealth Law Ministers’ Conference began in Colombo under the theme Equal Access to Justice and the Rule of Law. Union Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad will be representing India at the conference.
• The four-day conference participated by Law Ministers and Attorney Generals from Commonwealth countries seeks to address challenges faced by millions of people seeking to resolve legal problems or disputes. Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland emphasized the event’s significance in the current global context in which obstacles to justice are prevalent in many forms.

Foot Notes:
About Sri-Lanka
1. Capitals: Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
2. Currency: Sri Lankan rupee
3. Prime minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe

3. Madhuri Vijay has won the JCB Prize for Literature 2019 for her debut novel ‘The Far Field’.

• The 27-year-old, Madhuri Vijay has won the JCB Prize for Literature 2019 for her debut novel ‘The Far Field’. She has been selected from a shortlist featuring novels from five accomplished writers. She is also a recipient of Henfield Prize and the Pushcart Prize.
• JCB is an annual Indian literary award founded in 2018. It is the richest literary honour in the country. It is awarded to a distinguished work of fiction by an Indian writer working in English or to a translated fiction by an Indian writer.
• The award consists of cash prize of Rs.25 lakh (US$38400). The award is funded by English construction manufacturing group JCB, which established the JCB Literature Foundation to maintain this award.

4. 1st-ever India-Uzbekistan joint military exercise - Dustlik-2019 begins

• The first-ever India-Uzbekistan joint military exercise - Dustlik-2019 will begin at Chirchiq Training Area near Tashkent today. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Uzbekistan counterpart Major General Bakhodir Nizamovich Kurbanov presided over the Curtain Raiser of the military drill.
• The exercise, which will be focused on counter-terrorism, will continue till November 13. During the exercise, an Indian Army contingent will train along with Uzbekistan Army.
• The exercise will enable the sharing of best practices and experiences between the Armed Forces of the two countries and will lead to greater operational effectiveness.

Foot Notes:
About Uzbekistan
1. Capital: Tashkent
2. Currency: Uzbekistani soʻm
3. Prime minister: Abdulla Aripov

5. Sensational Lakshya Sen claims SaarLorlux Open title

• India’s Lakshya Sen has won the Saar LorLux Open badminton tournament at Saar brücken in Germany.
• He defeated Sen Weng Hong Yang of China. Lakshya, seeded eighth, needed 59 minutes to overcome Weng 17-21 21-18 21-16 in the summit clash for his third successive singles title of the season.

Foot Notes:
About SaarLorlux
1. Tournament details
2. Dates: 29 October – 3 November
3. Venue: Saarlandhalle
4. Location: Saarbrücken, Germany

6. Shubman Gill creates history, breaks Virat Kohli’s record in Deodhar Trophy final

• 20-year-old right-handed batsman Shubman Gill made his way into the record books when he walked out to lead India C in the 47th Deodhar Trophy final against India B on Monday at the JKCA International Complex in Ranchi.
• Shubman Gill became the youngest-known captain to lead a side in the Deodhar Trophy final. The Punjab right-hander broke India captain Virat Kohli’s 10-year-old record. Kohli had led North Zone in the Deodhar Trophy final when he was 21 years and 124 days old in 2009-10. Gill is only 20 years and 57 days old.
• Gill, however, could not make the occasion more special by scoring a big one. He was dismissed for 1 by Mohammad Siraj when slapped it straight to cover. Batting first, India B notched up 283 for 7 riding on a fighting 86-run knock by Kedar Jadhav. For India C, Bengal pacer Ishan Porel picked up five wickets for 43 runs in his 10 overs.

7. Bangladesh–US navy joint exercise carat-2019 inaugurated

• A joint exercise titled ‘Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT)- 2019’ between Bangladesh Navy and the US Navy started at Bangladesh Navy’s School of Maritime Warfare and Tactics.
• Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (operations) Bangladesh Navy Rear Admiral M Makbul Hossain was present as the chief guest in the opening ceremony while Rear Admiral Murray Tynch, commander logistic group, Western Pacific Command Task Force 73 (CTF-73) of the US Navy was present as special guest.
• Exercise CARAT is the biggest naval exercise between Bangladesh Navy and the US Navy. In addition to Bangladesh Navy, US Navy operates this bilateral exercise at various times along with other countries.

Foot Notes:
About Bangladesh
1. Capital: Dhaka
2. Currency: Bangladeshi taka
3. Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina

About US
1. President: Donald Trump

8. US, India, Australia, Japan ‘Quad’ Holds Senior Officials Meeting in Bangkok

• Consultations between the “quadrilateral” are picking up in 2019. For the first time since their ministerial-level meeting in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, senior officials from the United States, India, Australia, and Japan met in Bangkok.
• According to the U.S. Department of State’s readout on the meeting, the four met “for consultations on collective efforts to advance a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.” The meeting marked the continuation of the September 26 New York ministerial-level meeting’s agenda.
• The U.S. statement noted that the Bangkok meeting focused on “advancing practical collaboration on counter-terrorism, cyber, development finance, maritime security, humanitarian assistance, and disaster response.”

Foot Notes:
About Bangkok
1. Bangkok: Capital of Thailand

9. Ellen DeGeneres to Receive the 2020 Carol Burnett Award

• Comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres will be honored at the 77th Golden Globes ceremony with the Carol Burnett Award for outstanding contributions to television, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced.
• DeGeneres has scored three Golden Globe nominations in her career, all for her performance as quirky bookstore owner Ellen Morgan in ABC’s “Ellen.”
• The 90s sitcom broke ground when its titular character — along with DeGeneres — came out of the closet in 1997, making it one of the first major TV shows with an openly gay lead character.

10. IPS officer Aditya Mishra appointed chairman of Land Ports Authority of India

• Senior IPS officer Aditya Mishra was appointed as the chairman of the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI), according to an order issued by the personnel ministry. Mishra is a 1989 batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Mishra as the chairman of the LPAI on the recommendations of a search-cum-selection panel, the order said.
• Mishra has been appointed for a period of five years from the date of assumption of the charge, it said.

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Current Affairs 02-03 November, 2019