Current affairs 11 November 2023

Kozhikode and Gwalior Join UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

• Kozhikode in Kerala and Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh have made it to the prestigious creative cities list of UNESCO for contributions in the fields of literature and music respectively.
• On World Cities Day, 55 cities join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN).
• New cities were acknowledged for their strong commitment to harnessing culture and creativity as part of their development strategies, and displaying innovative practices in human-centred urban planning.

WHO Confirms India’s Achievement In Decreasing TB Incidents.

• The Global Tuberculosis Report 2023, issued by the WHO offered a mixed bag for India.
• While India improved case detection for TB and was able to cover the losses made during the pandemic in this regard, it missed major milestones.
• India, incidentally, accounts for the highest TB burden across the world contributing 27% of all the TB cases followed by Indonesia (10%) and China (7.1%).
• The current report of 2023 gives figures on various indicators of TB for 2022.

Santosh Kumar Jha set to be next CMD of Konkan Railway.

• Santosh Kumar Jha is set to be the next Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), a PSU under the Ministry of Railways.
• Jha is an Indian Railway Traffic Services (IRTS) officer of the 1992 batch.
• He has rich experience over 28 years of experience in operations, infrastructure planning, and business development. He has hands-on experience as head of operations on major divisions of Indian Railways.

India and Nepal Border Forces Join Hands to Combat Crime.

• Border forces of India and Nepal have expressed their commitment to strengthen bilateral security efforts by focussing on curbing trans-border crimes, smuggling of arms and ammunition, and combating human trafficking.
• Aim: To facilitate the movement of citizens from both nations, particularly during festive seasons.
• The decision was taken in the seventh annual Coordination Meeting between Sashastra Seema Bal of India and Armed Police Force of Nepal in New Delhi.

India and Netherlands sign a MoI to cooperate on medical product regulation.

• India and Netherlands have signed a Memorandum of Intent (MoI) to cooperate on medical product regulation and enhance the quality of medical products and healthcare services for both countries at Hague, Netherlands.
• An Indian delegation led by Shri Khuba is in Netherlands to participate in the second World Local Production Forum (WLPF) meeting being held in The Hague.
• Aim: To increase access to medicines and other health technologies.