GUJARAT

First Jurassic-era ‘fish lizard’ fossil found in Gujarat

A near-completely fossilized skeleton of Jurassic-era ichthyosaur a type of marine reptile or ‘fish lizard’ in Greek that lived alongside dinosaur has been discovered for the first time in India from Kutch district of Gujarat.
The 5.5-metre-long skeleton was discovered in January 2016 by a team of Indo-German geologists near the Kaas hills on the outskirts of Bhuj town. At that time, it was believed to be fossil of a dinosaur. However, after studying the fossil for more than a year, the experts have concluded that the fossil was of ichthyosaur from the Jurassic era and was the first to be found in India.

The authors also believe that the articulated nature of the ichthyosaur fossil from Kutch indicates focused research in remote areas of the district may lead to more finds in the future.

INTERNATIONAL

· India Makes it to Top 100 in ‘ease of doing business World Bank

India broke into the top 100 in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings, notching up the biggest improvement among all countries on the back of big gains on a number of measures.
The rise to the 100th position from 130 last year made India one of the top 10 best-improved countries and rounded off a day of good news on the economic front for the government.
The World Bank’s ‘Doing Business 2018is Reforming to Create Jobs’ report ranks 190 countries on the basis of a combined score on 10 parameters.
India is the only large country this year to have achieved such a significant shift.

India tops list of new tuberculosis cases in 2016: WHO

India topped the list of seven countries, accounting for 64 per cent of the 10.4 million new tuberculosis (TB) cases worldwide in 2016, according to a new report by the World Health Organisation.
India was followed by Indonesia, China, Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria and South Africa, according to a Global TB Report 2017 released by the WHO.
An estimated 1.7 million people died from TB in 2016, including nearly 400,000 people who were co-infected with HIV, recording a drop by 4 per cent as compared to 2015, the report said.

NATIONAL

· Bhutan King to Arrive in India for Four-Day Visit

King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck has arrived in New Delhi on a four-day visit to India.
He was accompanied by his wife, Queen Gyaltsuen Jetsun Pema Wangchuck.
During the visit, the King will meet with President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

· IAF contingent leaves for Israel to Participate in ‘Ex Blue Flag-17’

A 45 member contingent of the Indian Air Force left for Israel today to participate in exercise ‘Blue Flag-17’.
Blue Flag is a bi-annual multilateral exercise which aims to strengthen military cooperation amongst participating nations.
Indian Air Force is participating with the C-130J special operations aircraft along with Garud commandos.
The exercise is being conducted at Uvda Air Force Base in Israel from 02-16 Nov 17.

· Haryana Government Announces Lifetime Pensions for ‘Hindi Satyagrahis’

The state government of Haryana has announced lifetime monthly pension of Rs 10,000 for ‘Hindi Satyagrahis’ and those from the state who were jailed during the Emergency.
The state government also announced that it would be providing enhanced financial assistance to World War-II veterans and their widows.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu was the Chief Guest for the occasion.

· Vikram Singh Appointed Private Secretary to President

Railway officer Vikram Singhwas appointed Private Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind. Singh is a 1997 batch officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment to the post for a period of two years.
IAS officer P C Meena was appointed Private Secretary to Minister of State for Commerce and Industry C R Chaudhary.

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