Nobel Prizes 2023

• Nobel Prize Background:

  • Started in 1901 based on the will of Alfred Nobel (inventor of dynamite) from 1895.
  • Awarded in six fields. The Economics prize was established later in 1968 by Sweden's Sveriges Riksbank (also known as the Riksbank Award).
  • All prizes are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, except the Peace Prize, which is awarded in Oslo, Norway.
  • Prizes are presented on December 10th, marking Alfred Nobel's death anniversary.

• Physiology/Medicine (2023):

  • Recipients: Mary Brunkob, Fred Remus Dell, Simon Sakaguchi.
  • Awarded for: Discovery of immune system tolerance.
  • First Recipient (1901): Adolf von Behring.

• Physics (2023):

  • Recipients: Michel S. Debott, John Clarke, John Martis.
  • Awarded for: Microscopic quantum mechanical tunneling in electrical circuits.
  • First Recipient (1901): Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (for discovery of X-rays).

• Chemistry (2023):

  • Recipients: Richard Robson, Omar Yaghi, Susumu Gawa.
  • Awarded for: Work on Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs).
  • First Recipient (1901): Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff.

• Literature (2023):

  • Recipient: Laszlo Krasznahorkai (Hungarian author).
  • Awarded for: His captivating and visionary works.
  • First Recipient (1901): Sully Prudhomme.

• Peace (2023):

  • Recipient: María Corina Machado (Venezuelan opposition leader).
  • First Recipients (1901): Henry Dunant (founder of Red Cross) and Frédéric Passy. The Red Cross has received the Peace Prize three times.

• Economics (2023):

  • Recipients: Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, Peter Howitt.
  • Awarded for: Identifying conditions for sustainable development through technological progress and the theory of sustainable development through creative destruction.
  • First Recipients (1969): Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen (Dutch).

Indian Nobel Laureates

• Rabindranath Tagore: Literature, 1913, for 'Gitanjali'. First Indian and first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• C.V. Raman: Physics, 1930, for the 'Raman Effect' (scattering of light).
• Har Gobind Khorana: Medicine, 1968, for artificial synthesis of genes and explaining the genetic code's function in protein synthesis.
• Mother Teresa: Peace, 1979. First Indian woman to receive a Nobel Prize.
• Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar: Physics, 1983, for theoretical studies on the structure and evolution of stars (Chandrasekhar Limit).
• Amartya Sen: Economics, 1998, for the concept of the Public Welfare State. First Indian to win the Nobel Prize in Economics.
• V.S. Naipaul: Literature, 2001, for his book 'In a Free State'.
• Venkatraman Ramakrishnan: Chemistry, 2009, for his work on ribosome structure.
• Kailash Satyarthi: Peace, 2014, shared with Malala Yousafzai. Founder of 'Bachpan Bachao Andolan'.
• Abhijit Banerjee: Economics, 2019, for efforts to alleviate poverty.

International & National News (November 2023)

• Social Media Ban: Denmark government announced a ban on social media use for children under 15 years old, following a similar ban by Australia for children under 16.
• Military Exercise: The Indian Army conducted "Divya Drishti," a high-altitude technical demonstration exercise, in Sikkim.
• Football Trophy: Manipur won the BC Roy Football Trophy for 2025-26.
• Green Hydrogen Plant: India's first Make in India 1 MW Green Hydrogen plant started in Kandla, Gujarat.
• Sex Determination Test: The SRY gene test is related to sex determination.
• COP 30 (2025):
  • The 30th Conference of Parties (COP 30) of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) will be held in Belém, Brazil, from November 10-21, 2025.
  • The UNFCCC was established in 1994 with its headquarters in Bonn, Germany, aiming to halt climate change.
  • Past COPs: COP 1 (1995, Berlin), COP 3 (1997, Kyoto, led to Kyoto Protocol), COP 8 (2002, Delhi), COP 21 (2015, Paris), COP 28 (Dubai), COP 29 (2024, Baku, Azerbaijan).
  • The event will be inaugurated by Brazilian President Lula da Silva.
  • Focus: "From Agreement to Action."
• Volcanic Eruptions: Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano and Karymsky volcano erupted in Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.
• Squash Championship: India won a bronze medal in the World Junior Team Squash Championship after 13 years.
• Faceless GST Adjudication: Kerala became the first state to implement a pilot project for faceless GST adjudication.
• ISRO's Hope Mission: Launched in Ladakh to mimic life on the moon.
• State Bank of India (SBI):
  • Became India's first government bank to exceed $100 billion in market capitalization.
  • SBI's app is called YONO, and its logo features Kankaria Lake (Ahmedabad).
  • Mahendra Singh Dhoni is SBI's brand ambassador.
• Naval Leadership: Sanjay Vatsayan is the 47th Naval Deputy Chief.
• National Film Awards: The 71st National Film Award for Best Feature Film was given to '12th Fail'.
• BIMSTEC Festival: The first BIMSTEC Traditional Music Festival started in New Delhi.
• James Watson Demise: Nobel laureate James Watson, co-discoverer of the DNA double helix model (1953, with Crick and Wilkins), passed away at 97. He received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1962 and later auctioned his medal in 2014.
• Chess E-Sport World Cup: Magnus Carlsen won the first Chess E-Sport World Cup 2025 held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• Lokmanya Tilak National Award: Awarded to Nitin Gadkari.
• Former CM Demise: Shibu Soren, former Chief Minister of Jharkhand and founder of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, passed away.
• Golf Championship: Vedika Bhansali won the US Kids Golf World Championship in the U9 category.
• National Legal Services Day:
  • Celebrated on November 9th.
  • The Legal Services Authorities Act (1987) established NALSA (National Legal Services Authority), which was formed on November 9, 1995. This relates to Article 39A (Free Legal Aid) added by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment (1976).
  • On November 9, 2000, Uttarakhand (originally Uttaranchal) was formed from Uttar Pradesh.
• Truck Drivers' Initiative: "Apna Ghar," a nationwide initiative for truck drivers, was launched by the Ministry of Petroleum.
• Private Railway Station: Gomti Nagar Railway Station became the first private railway station in Uttar Pradesh.
• Book Release: R. Kaushik authored "The Rise of the Hitman," a book related to Rohit Sharma.
• Herbal Medicine Workshop: A WHO-IRCH workshop on herbal medicine safety and regulation started in Ghaziabad.
• Technical University in Assam: The foundation stone for the Shaheed Kanaklata Barua State University, Assam's first technical and vocational university, was laid by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Vishwanath district. It is named after Assamese freedom fighter Kanaklata Barua, who was martyred in the 1942 Quit India Movement.
• FIFA Talent Academy: The first FIFA Talent Academy for girls in India will be launched in Hyderabad in collaboration with AIFF.
• Operation Sahyog: Assam Rifles and the Indian Air Force launched "Operation Sahyog" in Manipur to assist villages affected by landslides.
• Former J&K Governor: Satyapal Malik is a former Governor of Jammu & Kashmir.
• Pan American Hockey Cup: Argentina's men's and women's teams both won gold in the 2025 Pan American Hockey Cup.
• 91st Chess Grandmaster: Rahul V S became India's 91st Chess Grandmaster. FIDE, the global chess governing body, has its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Viswanathan Anand is its Vice President. Other recent GMs include Elam Pari (90th), S. Rohit Krishna (89th), and Divya Deshmukh (88th).
• Para Archery: Sheetal Devi, a para-athlete from Jammu & Kashmir with no arms, was selected for the Sakhsham National Archery Team, demonstrating archery with her feet.
• Global AI City Index: Bengaluru ranked 26th in the Global AI City Index 25.
• International Solar Alliance: Moldova became the 107th member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
• Dhruva Space Mission: Dhruva Space's first commercial mission, 'LEAP FIRST,' will be launched by Falcon 9.
• ST Reservation Bill: The Lok Sabha passed a bill to provide reservation for Scheduled Tribes in the Goa assembly.
• Word of the Year: Collins Dictionary declared 'Vibe Coding' as its Word of the Year 2025, highlighting the use of AI in creating apps and websites.
• Sign Language Experts: Punjab is the first state to include sign language experts in the panel under the Juvenile Justice Act.
• MS Swaminathan Award: The first MS Swaminathan Award 2025 was presented to Dr. Adamola Adetola from Nigeria.
• Capacity Building Commission: S. Radha Chauhan was appointed as the new Chairperson of the Capacity Building Commission.
• Flood Severity Index: Patna, Bihar, topped the first District Flood Severity Index by IIT Delhi and IIT Gandhinagar.
• Wangala Festival: The 49th "100 Drums Wangala Festival" was celebrated by the Garo community in Meghalaya. The Nongkrem Festival, celebrated by the Khasi community, also takes place in Meghalaya.
• Disease Elimination: WHO declared Kenya free from Trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness).
• Peace Agreement: A historic peace agreement was mediated by former US President Trump between Azerbaijan and Armenia regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
• Longest Freight Train: Indian Railways trialed 'Rudrastra,' Asia's longest freight train at 4.5 km.
• Stem Cell Biobank: India's first state-of-the-art animal stem cell biobank and lab was inaugurated by Union Minister Jitendra Singh in Hyderabad.
• Philanthropy List: Shiv Nadar (founder of HCL) topped the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2025, followed by Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani.

Static GK (Medha Series - Episode 5)

• Lichen: Symbiotic association of fungi and algae, also serves as an indicator of air pollution.
• Blood Circulation: Discovered by William Harvey.
• Calcium Hydroxide Reaction: When carbon dioxide is passed through calcium hydroxide (slaked lime), it forms calcium carbonate, which has a milky appearance.
• Newton's First Law: The phenomenon of passengers falling backward when a bus starts is an example of Newton's First Law of Motion (Law of Inertia).
• Mount Vinson Massif: The highest peak of the Antarctic continent.
• Aral Sea: Located between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
• "Vande Mataram" first sung: In the 1896 Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress, presided over by Rahimtullah M. Sayani.
• Dandekar Rath Committee: Related to poverty (along with Lakdawala, Suresh Tendulkar, and Rangarajan committees).
• Privy Purses Abolition: Abolished by the 26th Constitutional Amendment in 1971.
• UPSC Centenary: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), established on the recommendations of the Lee Commission, completed 100 years in 2025.

Homework Revision

• Project Semicolon: Launched by Google.
• Boston Global Peace and Security Leadership Award: Awarded to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
• Satellite Internet Agreement: Between Starlink and Maharashtra for satellite-based internet services.
• Operation White Cauldron: Related to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.
• Cancer Treatment Technique: Next CAR-T 19, developed by IIT Bombay in collaboration with Tata Memorial Trust.
• UN Water Security Conference: Bangladesh was the first South Asian country to participate.
• Bali Yatra Festival: Celebrated in Odisha.
• Indian Game Developer Conference: The 17th conference was held in Chennai.
• Centenary Sport: The central government organized centenary celebrations for hockey.
• UBS Global Wealth Report 2025: India ranked 14th.
• National Pollution Response Exercise (NATPOLREX): The 10th edition was conducted by the Indian Coast Guard in Chennai.