The Union Women and Child Development Ministry has announced that the government will refund the employers the salaries for the first seven of the 26 weeks of maternity leave for women earning more than Rs 15,000 a month.

On November 16, 2018, NITI Aayog constituted the ‘Himalayan State Regional Council’ in New Delhi. Its objective to ensure sustainable development of the Himalayan region. It will be chaired by the Dr VK Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog. Other members consisting the council are: Chief Secretaries of the Himalayan States as well as the Secretaries of key Central Ministries, senior officers of NITI Aayog special invitees.

The 15-member UNSC adopted a UK-drafted Resolution 2444, calling for an end to the nine-year-old embargo on the impoverished country as it rebuilds relations with its neighbouring nation Ethiopia following almost decades of animosity, conflict and standoff. Eritrea and Ethiopia had both agreed to sign a peace deal in July 2018, ending a long stalemate resulting from the war between the two from 1998 to 2000 that had led to the killing of an estimated 100,000 people.

On November 15, 2018, a 2-day South Asian regional conference, co-hosted by NITI Aayog, was held at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in New Delhi. The theme of the conference was: “Urban Infrastructure: New Approaches to Public & Private Partnerships and Municipal Finance Innovations”. It was inaugurated by CEO, NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant and Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance Subhash Chandra Garg. Concerning the deficit of infra implementation against demand, India alone, until 2040, requires investments estimated of around $4.5 trillion in the infrastructure space.

The South Asian Regional Conference on “Urban Infrastructure: New Approaches to Public & Private Partnerships and Municipal Finance Innovations” began on November in New Delhi. The main objective of the conference is to discuss the key issues, perspectives and the way forward in the Urban Infrastructure.

On November 16, 2018, Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated the second Mega Food Park in Maharashtra. It is located in Wahegaon and Dhangaon village in Paithan Taluka of Aurangabad district and has been promoted by M/s Paithan Mega Food Park Pvt Ltd. It has an area of 102 acre and was built at a cost of Rs. 124.52 crore. The Central Processing Centre (CPC) of this park has various facilities and has a common Administrative building for office and other uses by the entrepreneurs and 3 PPCs at Paithan, Alephata and Kannad. It will leverage an additional investment of about Rs. 250 crore in 25-30 food processing units in the park.

The rural Jharkhand was declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) on November 15, 2018 during a regional review meeting of the eastern states held in Kolkata, West Bengal. The workshop comprised discussions on sustaining Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM), and rural water supply.

On November 14, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a 2-day visit to Singapore. He attended the 33rd edition of the ASEAN Summit, 13th East Asia Summit , 16th ASEAN-India Summit and other related meetings. He also attend the 2nd RCEP Summit Meeting on November 14, 2018. This was Prime Minister’s second visit to Singapore after the Shangri-La Dialogue in June 2018. He upon his arrival had his first engagement in a keynote address, as the guest speaker, at the Indian pavilion at the Singapore Fintech Festival. It was the 3rd edition of the festival but was first time that a Head of Government has been a keynote speaker.

The two-day summit to mark the World Tolerance Day was inaugurated on November 16, 2018 in Dubai. Held for the first time in UAE, the theme of the Summit was ‘Prospering from Pluralism: Embracing Diversity through Innovation and Collaboration’.

On November 16, 2018, 15-day Aadi Mahotsav festival commenced in the national capital Delhi. It would be attended by Tribal Affairs MinisterJual Oram. The theme of the festival is ‘Celebration of the spirit of tribal culture, craft, cuisine and commerce’. There are 2 venues of the festival- Delhi Haat and Central Park in New Delhi. It will feature exhibition-cum-sale of tribal handicrafts, art, paintings, fabric, jewellery and much more through one hundred stalls. The highlights of the festival are expected to be fashion show for tribal textiles and tribal cuisines.

The 17th ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Council Meeting was held in Singapore as part of the 33rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summit Meetings. Apart from taking stock of regional economic integration efforts during the year, it also reiterated ASEAN’s commitment to free and open trade.

On November 15, 2018, 2-day 26th Conference of Central and States Statistical Organizations was held at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh. It was organized by Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The theme of this year’s Conference is “Quality Assurance in Official Statistics”. It was inaugurated by Union Minister Vijay Goel along with Himachal Pradesh food, civil supplies and consumer affair minister Kishan Kapoor.

The 38th India International Trade Fair started at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi with theme ‘Rural Enterprises in India’. Afghanistan is the Partner Country, while Nepal will be the Focus Country. Jharkhand is participating as a Partner State in the event.

On 11th and 12th November 2018, Nongkrem dance festival, was celebrated by the people of the Khasi Hills, in Meghalaya. This festival is celebrated annually. People pray for good harvest, peace, and prosperity of the community. A unique dance named “Ka Shad Mastieh” is performed by the members of Hima Khyrim, a sub-tribe of the indigenous Khasi tribe. At the beginning of the celebrations a goat sacrifice ceremony is done at Smit located 15 kilometers to the southwest of Shillong.

The World Diabetes Day is observed every year on November 14 to raise awareness among families to discover, prevent and manage diabetes The theme of World Diabetes Day 2018 was “The Family and Diabetes – diabetes concerns every family”.