Anil Manibhai Naik has been appointed as the new chairman of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). Currently Naik is the Group Chairman of India’s biggest engineering and construction conglomerate – Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T).

India’s first international indigenous film festival will take place in February next year in Odisha. It will be an initiative of activist film collective ‘Video Republic’. The three-stop event will kick off in Bhubaneswar on February 19 and 20, moving on to Puri from February 21 to 23 and will eventually culminate in an interaction with the adivasi communities at Niyamgiri. Films made by indigenous people or made by non-indigenous filmmakers in collaboration with the indigenous communities will be shown in the event.

The 19th Hornbill Festival 2018 is celebrated from 1st to 10th December 2018 in Nagaland. It is celebrated at the Naga Heritage Village in Kisama, located around 12 kilometers from the capital of the Nagaland, Kohima. The Hornbill Festival is one of the most cherished festivals of Nagaland. It is named after Hornbill, one of the most venerated bird species in the state. The 10-day festival is celebrated annually during the first week of December, i.e. from December 1-10. It is organized by State Tourism and Arts and Culture Department, Government of Nagaland to encourage inter-tribal harmony and promote culture and traditions of the different tribes of the state.

On November 30, the 2nd International Ambedkar Conclave (IAC-2018) has inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind in New Delhi as part of the commemoration of Constitution Day. The Conclave is being organised by the Forum of SC and ST Legislators and Parliamentarians and the Dr Ambedkar Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, widely known as the ‘Father of Indian Constitution’ was an Indian jurist, economist, politician and social reformer who inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement and campaigned against social discrimination towards the untouchables, while also supporting the rights of women and labour.

The World AIDS Day (WAD) is observed every year on 1st of December to raise awareness of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. The day provides an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. The 2018 theme is ‘Know your status’. It is estimated that around the world, 37 million people are living with HIV, the highest number ever, yet a quarter do not know that they have the virus. Hence, Knowing your HIV status enables people to make informed decisions about HIV prevention options, including services to prevent children from becoming infected with HIV, male and female condoms, harm reduction services for people who inject drugs, voluntary medical male circumcision and pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis.

The Nagaland government has recently signed pact with Estonian academy to enlighten the state people on the e-governance models prevailing in the world. The main objective of the 5-year agreement with the e-Governance Academy of Estonia is to work together to develop and expand scientific collaboration on setting up e-Governance Academy in Nagaland. The agreement was signed during the current edition of the e-Naga Summit, held with a vision to embark on a process to instill the spirit of innovation and use of technology for impacting positive change in the society.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated 19th Hornbill Festival in Nagaland on 55th Nagaland Statehood Day. In 1963, Nagaland attains its statehood and was declared as the 16th state of the Indian Union, by Dr. Sarvapelli Radhakrishnana, the then President of India. The fest aims to display the rich traditions and the vibrant culture of Nagaland through colourful performances, crafts, sports, food fairs, games, and ceremonies. US Ambassador to India Kenneth I Juster was invited as the guest of honour.

NASA’s InSight explorer successfully touched down on Mars on November 26, after an almost seven-month journey through deep space. This is the eighth time in human history that NASA has executed a successful landing on the red planet and the first in six years.

The G20 summit 2018 was held at Buenos Aires, Argentina on November 30 under the theme ‘Building Consensus for Fair and Sustainable Development’. The annual meeting was attended by leaders of the top 20 economies of the world including India PM Narendra Modi.

The European Union has set a goal to become the first major economy to be ‘Climate Neural’ by 2050 after that the emissions of greenhouse gases needs to be offset by planting trees or burying the gases underground. As per European Union, this target can be achieved by using Solar and Wind Energy for electricity generation. Climate Neutrality means the emissions are to be balanced by methods of removing warming gases from the atmosphere by planting new forests or through carbon capturing technologies.

On 29th November 2018, the first ever India Indonesia Business forum (IIBF) was held at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The forum was held as part of policies of Delhi and Jakarta to extend their strategic partnership in the Indo-Pacific Region including Indian Ocean Region. It aimed to improve the commercial and people to people linkages between Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India with Aceh and North Sumatera Province of Indonesia. A 30-member delegation comprising members of Chamber of Commerce of Aceh, state and local enterprises, shipping and logistics companies, academics, media and officials of Foreign Ministries of India and Indonesia participated. Members of Andaman Chamber of Commerce and officials of Andaman and Nicobar Administration also participated. This edition of IIBF is a part of continuing engagements between Aceh and Andaman that started in July 2018, when the 1st Business Forum was held in Aceh.

Slovenia has become the first NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) nation to appoint a female Chief of Armed Forces after Major General Alenka Ermenc took the post of Head of its Army. The country has approximately 7.500 soldiers, including active and reserve forces. Slovenia, which originally was part of Yugoslavia, joined NATO and the European Union in 2004. NATO is an international alliance that consists of 29 member states and 28 EU nations.

The bilateral naval exercise ‘Konkan 18’ has started between the navies of India and the UK at the Goa coast from November 28. The exercise will provide a platform for the two navies to periodically exercise at sea and in harbour, so as to build interoperability and share best practices. The harbour phase is scheduled from November 28 to 30, followed by the sea phase from December 2 to 6. The thrust of the 2018 exercise would be on anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, visit board search and seizure (VBSS) and seamanship evolutions. The aim of the exercise is to derive mutual benefit from each others’ experiences and is indicative of the continuing cooperation between the two countries. The United Kingdom’s Royal Navy will be represented by HMS Dragon, a Type 45 Class Destroyer equipped with an integral wildcat helicopter, while the Indian Navy will field INS Kolkata, the first ship of latest Kolkata class destroyers, and a submarine.