National & International Events - Current Affairs for November, 2015

India and Singapore have elevated ties to strategic partnership level and signed bilateral agreements for increased defence cooperation, cyber security, civil aviation and shipping. PM Narendra Modi is on a two day visit to Singapore. 10 pacts signed by the two sides included:

- Agreement on enhanced defence cooperation, which provides for defence ministers' dialogue, joint exercises between armed forces, cooperation between defence industries for identifying areas of co development and co production.
- Extension of loan of artefacts to the Asian Civilisation Museum of Singapore was also signed.
- Other MoUs include collaboration between CERT In and SingCERT and a pact between aviation authorities of India and Singapore.

Bangladesh and India will sign an agreement for 100 MW power from the 726 mg MW gas fired thermal power project in Palatnana, Gomati district in Tripura. The two nations will ink an agreement on 27th November in 2015.

Union Minister of Railways, Shri S. Prabhu has flagged off the first BG Fast Passenger train from Silchar to Guwahati through Lumding in Haflong via remote control through video conferencing. This will open up new connections in previously isolated states of Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. This is a historic step for Assam to get linked via rail with the rest of the country.

Billion Beats launched by the House of Kalam is a digital initiative of the former president. It could not take off earlier due to administrative hurdles. This e-paper has been launched again to give shape to his vision 2020.

The Standard Operating Procedure has been signed between India and Bangladesh for operationalising the coastal shipping agreement between the two nations formed in June 2015. SOP will pave the way to promote coastal shipping between India and its neighbour and facilitate bilateral trade between the two countries by bringing down the cost of transportation of EXIM cargo. The SOP includes provisions which stipulate that India and Bangladesh shall render same treatment to the other country's vessels as it would have done to its national vessels used in international sea transportation. The two sides have also formed an agreement regarding the use of vessels of River Sea Vessel (RSV) category for Indo-Bangladesh coastal shipping.

The PM presented Her Majesty The Queen a set of photos taken 54 years ago from the first visit in India in January-February 1961 when she was a chief guest at the Republic Day parade. In addition, the Prime Minister also presented to Her Majesty some award-winning Darjeeling tea from Makaibari tea estate in West Bengal, fine organic honey from Jammu and Kashmir, and Tanchoi stoles from Varanasi.

Two IS suicide bombers targeted Beirut in Lebanon in an attack in the southern suburb which killed 37 people and wounded 40 others. Southern suburb of this city is the stronghold of the Hezbollah which is fighting with al Assad’s forces against IS terrorists in Syria.

Cyclone Megh struck the eastern shores of Yemini island of Socotra on 8th November 2015, making landfall with the force of a hurricane belonging to category 3 at the speed of 200 km per hour. This is the second most strongest tropical storm to strike the nation after Chapala. This is also the 28th storm to become category 3 or higher in the northern hemisphere in 2015.