Current Affairs : 2nd And 3rd October 2013

1. Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated in India today on 2nd October to mark the ocaasion of the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the 'Father of the Nation".

109th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri also celebrated across the country. Several functions including symposia and discussions organised to mark the occassion. Leaders of different political parties paid floral tributes to the former Prime Minister at his memorial Vijayghat in Delhi.

2. The Centre given its approval for creation of a separate Telangana state from out of Andhra Pradesh and decided that Hydrabad will be the joint capital of the two states for 10 years.

3. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Wednesday sharply lowered its forecast on India’s economic growth to 4.7 percent for this year from its earlier projection of 6 percent.

4. Government of India appointed on 2 October 2013 a four member committee headed by Arvind Mayaram, Economic Affairs Secretary setup to clear the ambiguity between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign Institutional Investment (FII). The committee will look into the difference between them and it will also give definition of FDI and FII.

5. The International Academy of Spiritual Unity and Cooperation Among the Nations of the World has nominated President Putin as a candidate for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.

6. President Pranab Mukherji will meet the Prime Minister of Belgium Elio De Rupo in Brussles today. After the plenary meeting between the two leaders, delegation level talks will take place during which some agreements are likely to be signed between the two countries.

7. Special CBI court in Ranchi has sentenced RJD Chief and former chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to 5 years in jail in fodder scam case. The court also imposed a fine of 25 lakh rupees on him. The sentencing by special CBI judge Pravas Kumar Singh disqualifies Prasad from Parliament and renders him ineligible for contesting elections for 11 years.

8. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries India’s biggest drug maker by market capital and USA based Intrexon Corporation, a leading player in synthetic biology announced on 2 October 2013 to establish a joint venture to develop controllable gene-based therapies for the treatment of eye diseases. The joint venture will helpful for Sun Pharma’s to increase their global capabilities and experience in developing and manufacturing complex dosage forms .It will also enhance their specialty pharmaceuticals for niche therapy areas.

9. The goverment today launched a unique project to put 100 most important Indian heritage sites online. The sites include theTaj Mahal, Khajuraho and the Ajanta and Ellora caves. An agreement to this effect was reached at between the Archaeological Survey of India and Google in New Delhi today in presence of Union Culture Minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch.

10. Meghalaya Government to provide all School and college classrooms with Wi-Fi connection to aid their learning process. The announcement was made by CM Mukul Sangma after distributing free tablet computers to 11,000 class XII students as a part of state government’s Digital Learning Aid for Students scheme.

11. The book titled Haunted by Fire: Essays on Caste, Class, Exploitation and Emancipation authored by Mythily Sivaraman released in International Centre in New Delhi on 1 October 2013. Mythili Sivaraman is a Women Rights Activist. She is currently one of the Vice Presidents of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (Women’s wing of Communist Party of India (Marxist)).

12. A multinational company plans to launch the world’s largest man-made lagoon costing a whopping $7 billion. Crystal Lagoons Corp., developer of patented technology for giant crystalline lagoons, has signed a deal to construct the lagoon, covering 40 hectares, almost four-times bigger than the world’s largest existing lagoon.

13. 3M Healthcare, the healthcare division of 3M India, has won the “Sterilization Services Company of the Year award” at the Frost & Sullivan’s fifth annual India Healthcare Excellence Awards 2013. These coveted Awards recognized innovative growth strategies and solutions adopted by top companies in the healthcare industry for 2012-13.

14. Yashasvini Cooperative Farmers’ Health Care Scheme, launched in Karnataka in June 2003, has successfully completed 10 years benefiting lakhs of farmers in co-operative sector. The Yashasvini Cooperative Farmers’ Health Care Trust was formed under the principle “One for all and all for one” has made healthcare affordable to farmers in co-operative sector.

15. Airtel is the only telecom company from India featuring on the list of top ten global brands admired most in Africa, according to a survey. Airtel was placed at ninth on the list, beating Japanese car manufacturer Honda, the survey conducted by the African Business Awards said. The list was headed by US-based Coca Cola, and dominated by other US and European brands, the only other Asian brands were Japan’s Toyota and Samsung Electronics of Korea.
The full list is:
1. Coca Cola—US,
2. Shell—Netherlands
3. Samsung—South Korea
4. Vodafone—UK
5. Nike—US
6. Toyota—Japan
7. McDonald’s—US
8. Pepsi Cola—US
9. Airtel—India
10. Honda—Japan.

16. Tata Power today has commenced construction work for the first phase of its joint venture 400-MW hydro power project in Georgia. The hydel project would be jointly developed by Tata Power along with Clean Energy Invest AS, Norway (Clean Energy) and IFC InfraVentures (IFC).

17. Private insurer SBI Life Insurance on Thursday launched ‘Smart Power Insurance’ plan, which is designed to care for investor’s twin needs of insurance and investment. SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture between State Bank of India and BNP Paribas Cardif, the insurance arm of BNP Paribas.

18. The Gambian Government on 2 October 2013 announced that it is pulling out of the Commonwealth with immediate effect. Gambian, a West African country joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1965. The last country to be withdrawn from the Commonwealth group was Zimbabwe in 2003.

19. The BCCI awarded the title sponsorship for all international series and the domestic tournaments in India for the year 2013-14 to Star Private Ltd and ESPN at the base price of Rs. two crore per fixture, considerably low compared to their previous deal with Airtel. Sponsorship rights will extend to domestic events such as Irani Cup, Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Vijay Hazare, Deodhar Trophy and Raj Singh Dungarpur Trophy.

20. Former national table tennis champion Uttam Chandarana, who dominated the sport during 1940s and 50s, passed away in Mumbai on Wednesday morning due to old age, family sources said. Chandarana is remembered for defeating world champion Ivan Andreadis in 1954.

21. Balaji Motion Pictures, the film production unit of Balaji Telefilms, has acquired the film adaptation rights to the book, The Devotion of Suspect X. ii. Director Sujoy Ghosh, whose previous release was the Vidya Balan-starrer Kahaani, has been signed to direct the Hindi feature film.

22. The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has again been named the world’s top university by the Times Higher Education Global Ranking.

Special Gk about Mahatama Gandhi ji on the occasion of his B'day

1. When did Gandhiji born?

Answer: in 1869 October 2

2. When did Gandhiji went to South Africa to practice law?

Answer: in 1893

3. Where did Gandhiji's first Satyagraha experimented?

Answer: South Africa in 1906, September to protest against the Asiatic Ordinance issued against the
Indians in Transval

4. When was Gandhiji's first imprisonment?

Answer: 1908 at Johannesberg in South Africa

5. In which railway station where Gandhiji was humiliated and ousted ?

Answer: Peter Marits Burg Railway Station in SouthAfrica

6. When did Gandhiji started Tolstoy Farm (SouthAfrica)?

Answer: in 1910

7. Where did Gandhiji started the Phoenix Settlement ?

Answer: Durban in South Africa

8. What is the name of weakly started by Gandhiji in SouthAfrica?

Answer: Indian opinion (1904)

9. When did Gandhiji returned to India from South Africa ?

Answer: 9th January 1915. January 9 is observed as Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

10. Where was Gandhiji’s first satyagraha in India?

Answer: It was for the right of Indigo workers in Champaran in 1917

11. Where was gandhiji’s first fast (Gandhiji’s second satyagraha in India)?

Answer: In Ahmadabad

12. Which causes Gandhiji to abandoned his title Kaiser-I-Hind?

Answer: Jallianwalabagh Massacre (1919)

13. Who started weeklies named Young India and Navjeevan?

Answer: Mahatma Gandhi

14. Which is the only Congress session presided over by Gandhiji?

Answer: Congress session Belgaum in 1924

15. Who started All India Harijan Samaj in 1932?

Answer: Mahatma Gandhi

16. Where is Wardha Ashram situated?

Answer: In Maharashtra

17. When did Gandhiji started the weekly Harijan?

Answer: 1933

18. Gandhiji called Subhash Chandra Bose as _________?

Answer: Patriot

19. Who called Gandhiji as “Half naked Seditious Fakir”?

Answer: Winston Churchill

20. Who gave the name ‘Gurudev’ to Tagore?

Answer: Mahatma Gandhi

21. Who called Gandhiji as ‘Mahatma’?

Answer: Tagore

22. Who is political guru of Gandhiji ?

Answer: Gopal Krishna Gokhale

23. Who is considered as spiritual guru of Gandhiji?

Answer: Leo Tolstoy

24. When did Gandhiji assassinated?

Answer: 1948 January 30 by Nadhuram Vinayak Godse

25. What was called as'Post Dated Cheque'by Gandhiji ?

Answer: Cripps's Mission (1942)

26. When did Gandhiji published'Hind Swaraj'?

Answer: In the year 1908

27. Who gave Baba Amta the title'Abhay Sadak'?

Answer: Mahatma Gandhi

28. The period which is considered as'Gandhian Era'in Indian Independence struggle ?

Answer: 1915 - 1948

29. Where was Gandhiji’s third satyagraha in India?

Answer: kheda satyagraha

30. What is the real name of Gandhi's Autobiography ?

Answer: Satya na prayogo

31. What is the period that referred in Gandhi's Autobiography ?

Answer: 1869 - 1921

32. When did Autobiography of Gandhiji first published ?

Answer: 1927 (in Navajeevan)

33. In which language Gandhiji wrote his Autobiography ?

Answer: Gujarati

34. Who translated Gandhi's autobiography into English ?

Answer: Mahadev Desai

35. Who founded Satyagrah Sabha ?

Answer: Mahatma Gandhi

36. Who was the secretary of Mahatma Gandhi after the demise of Mahadev Desai ?

Answer: Pyarelal

37. What is the real name of Mira Behn, the disciple of Gandhiji ?

Answer: Madeleine Slade

38. Who compared Gandhi's Dandi March to the legendary journey of Sri Rama to Lanka ?

Answer: Motilal Nehru.

Current Affairs : 1st October 2013

1. Today, the International Day of Older Persons is being celebrated. The day is celebrated by raising awareness about issues affecting the elderly and to appreciate the contributions that they make to society. The day’s theme for 2013 is ‘The Future we want: What older persons are saying’.

2. Former Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai appointed as India’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He will succeed noted economist and veteran diplomat Dr Jaimini Bhagwati.

3. A senior Indian journalist, Ravi Shankar Narsimhan, on 29 September 2013 was presented with Friendship award by China-the highest honor given to foreigners. Narsimhan is the executive editor in the overseas edition of the Beijing based China Daily. Ravi Shankar hails from Andhra Pradesh.

4. Finance Ministry on Tuesday said economy will grow by over 5 percent in the current fiscal on back of high farm productivity and investments and promised more steps to boost growth.

5. Former Indian President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and ex-Prime Minister Gulzarilal Nanda were posthumously conferred with the ‘Bangladesh Liberation War Honour’ on Tuesday in recognition of their outstanding support to the country’s struggle for independence from Pakistan.

6. Trade between India and Mozambique could double to $3 billion by 2016 from the current level of $1.28 billion. This was stated by Commerce Minister Anand Sharma during his meeting with Mozambique’s Industry and Trade Minister Armando Inroga in the Mozambique capital Maputo. India has extended Lines of Credit (LoC) worth $640 million to Mozambique. India is the 8th largest foreign investor in Mozambique with total investments estimated at more than $500 million.

7. The Reserve Bank of India will infuse 10 thousand crore rupees by purchasing government securities on 7 October, to ease liquidity in the market. Open market operations refer to the sale or purchase of government securities with the objective of adjusting rupee liquidity conditions in the market.

8. The CBI has filed a case against the then Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran and BSNL officials for allegedly allotting 300 high-speed telephone lines to Maran’s residence in Chennai which were extended to his brother’s channel.

9. Aga Khan, a Swiss-Born Philanthropist and Muslim Spiritual Leader visited India. During the official visit, Aga Khan the unveiled restored Humayun’s Tomb in New Delhi on 18 September 2013.

10. The Vice President of India, M. Hamid Ansari released a commemorative postage stamp in the memory of Baba Jumdev at a function in Gondia, Maharashtra on 30 September 2013. Baba Jumdev was a prominent spiritual leader and revered social activist.

11. Rajya Sabha member and Congress leader, Rasheed Masood, was sentenced to four years in jail by a Delhi court in a corruption case, becoming the first MP to lose his seat after a recent Supreme Court judgement had removed the immunity for convicted lawmakers.

12. In Tennis Somdev Devvarman qualifies for Singles event at china Open.

13. Indian basketball team has won bronze medal at KFC under-21 3ON3 International Challenge in Beijing. Lovneet also secured a gold medal for India in KFC 3ON3 International Challenge 3-Pointer shooting competition.

14. The Czech Republican tennis player Petra Kvitova defeated Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the final to win singles title at WTA Pan Pacific Open at Tokyo. It was her 11th WTA title and evened her tournament finals appearances at 2-2 in 2013.

Current Affairs : 29th And 30th September 2013

1. Every year on 29 September celebrated as the World Heart Day since 1999. The theme of the 2013 World Heart Day is “A life course approach to the prevention and control of cardiovascular disease (CVD) with a focus on women and children because healthy children lead to healthy adults and healthy adults lead to healthy families and communities”. The World Heart Day is organised by World Heart Federation.

2. Ruchira Kamboj was appointed as the Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO, Paris with the rank of Ambassador. The government made this announcement on 25 September 2013. She will succeed VS Oberoi.

3. Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief, Lalu Prasad was Monday held guilty in a fodder scam case by a Special CBI court and renders him ineligible for contesting elections for at least six years. . The quantum of sentence will be announced Oct 3.

4. Megan Young of Philippines crowned Miss World 2013 at the Bali Nasa Dua Convention Center in Bali, Indonesia. The second place went to Miss France Marine Lorphelin and third to Miss Ghana Carranzar Naa Okailey Shooter.

5. In Andhra Pradesh, a state-of-the-art advanced integration centre for the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory under DRDO was inaugurated in Visakhapatnam on 29th September 2013.

6. The National Green Tribunal banned digging of earth across India for making bricks and roads without prior environment clearance. A bench headed by Justice P Jyothimani directed the Chief Secretaries of all states and union territories to ensure that its interim order is adhered to.

7. Net-enabled cellphones could soon be provided to 2.5 crore people under the MGNREGA scheme. As per proposal, one person per family registered under MGNREGA scheme will be provided with the cellphone for which a recharge of Rs 30 per month will be provided for free for two years. To get the cellphone, the beneficiary will have to pay Rs 300. The scheme will be funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) at a cost of Rs 4,850 crore spread over a period of four years to cover 2.5 crore beneficiaries.

8. The Khadi and Village Industry Commission (KVIC) announced on 29th September 2013 that Khadi will get a new push in context with its brand identity with the introduction of an exclusive mark from 2014 onwards.

9. Indian and Chinese officials held fourth round of talks and discussed various issues like finalising a key border security mechanism expected to be signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s proposed visit here next month.

10. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on Sunday met in New York for the first time and discussed ways to normalise bilateral ties.

11. Leaders of the Brics group of nations on 5 September 2013 announced to set up a 100 billion US dollar fund to steady currency markets destablised by an expected pullback of US monetary stimulus. The announcement was made at the meeting of BRICS leaders. Brazil, India and Russia committed 18 billion dollars each while China announced 41 billion US dollars. South Africa announced 5 billion US dollars. BRICS had earlier planned to set up 240 billion US dollars fund.

12. Germany is ready to give finance and technical support to the international operation to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Sunday.

13. High imports of gold and oil pushed Current Account Deficit (CAD) to 4.9 per cent of GDP to $21.8 billion in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal, the RBI said today. CAD, the difference between inflow and outflow of foreign exchange, was 4.4 per cent or $16.9 billion in the same quarter of last fiscal, 2012-13.

14. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has opened a lending window for private sector for the creation of warehouse space and also to set up cold storages and cold chains in Karnataka.

15. Rajnath Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party President became the campaign committee chief for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls on 29 September 2013 in New Delhi.

16. Rafiq Kathwari, an Indian-American poet selected for 2013 Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award for the collection of his debut poems. Rafiq Kathwari is the first non-Irish person to win the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award. The award was founded by the Patrick Kavanagh Society in 1971 to commemorate the Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh.

17. Anti-Corruption Bureau Director General B. Prasada Rao has been appointed as Director General Police in-charge by the State Government in Hyderabad on Monday as the DGP V. Dinesh Reddy retired on reaching superannuation.

18. The facsimile version of ‘Harijan’, a weekly publication started by Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, to highlight the social and economic problems of India and the world, will be released on Monday. “Harijan” is one of the two main publications of Gandhiji while “Young India” has already been published.

19. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded Avahan programme may have prevented over 6 lakh HIV infections in India over 10 years, according to a report in Lancet Global Health. The Avahan India AIDS Initiative was launched in 2003, as a large scale, targeted intervention prevention programme and was implemented in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Manipur and Nagaland.

20. Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy is expected to participate at the 11th edition of the Suminfra 2013, an infrastructure summit organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here Oct 7-8. he theme of this year’s summit is ‘Accelerate Infrastructure Growth in the Changing Global Context – Revitalising Growth through Institutional Framework, for Dynamic, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth’.

21. Shahrukh Khan may soon become the “goodwill ambassador” of the Republic of Korea.

22. Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi launched the campaign – ’777 days of Incredible Indian Himalayas’ on World Tourism Day to promote the virgin peaks of Himalayas and attract both domestic and international tourists during lean summer season.

23. Russia today successfully launched a Proton-M rocket with a European communication satellite on board, marking a return of its most important unmanned space vehicle three months after one exploded on takeoff. The Proton-M rocket is Russia’s most popular for commercial satellite launches.

24. NCA Chairman Ranjib Biswal appointed as chairman of the IPL during the annual General Meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at Chennai. Prior to this appointment Ranjib Biswal was manager of the Indian Cricket team during the ICC World Cup 2011 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. He is also the head of Orissa Cricket Association. He replaced Rajeev Shukla as chairman of IPL.

25. Narayanaswamy Srinivasan re-elected as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for a third term at its 84th annual general meeting (AGM) held at Chennai.

26. Olympian Swaran Singh Virk led the Indian rowers’ impressive showing by clinching a gold medal at the 15th Asian Senior Rowing Championship at Luan, China on Sunday.

27. A dominant India triumphed in the 3rd Sultan of Johor Cup with a thumping 3-0 victory over hosts Malaysia in the title clash of the Under-21 hockey tournament here today.
 
28. United Arab Emirates defeated Namibia in their second crucial match at Sharjah cricket Stadium by 135 runs to keep their hopes alive to qualify directly to the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2015.

29. Former Junior World Champion Nikhat Zareen (54kg) came one step short of making it two titles in two World Championships in Albena, Bulgaria on Saturday.

30. Stephen Lee, a snooker player from England banned for 12 years after being found guilty of seven charges of match-fixing on 25th September 2013.

Current Affairs : 28th September 2013

1. The Nation is celebrating the 106th birth anniversary of the great son of the soil, Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, today. Bhagat Singh was born on 28 September, 1907 at Banga, Lyallpur district, in a family which was already involved in revolutionary activities against the British Raj.

2. World Rabies Day observed on 28 September 2013 across the world to raise awareness about the impact of rabies disease and to deliver the message that rabies is preventable.The theme for the year 2013 is Rabies: Understand it to defeat it. The World Rabies Day is observed each year on 28 September- on the death anniversary of Louis Pasteur who developed the first efficacious rabies vaccine with his colleagues.

3. World Bank funded North East Rural Livelihood Project (NERLP) would be executed in four northeastern states – Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, to uplift the economic condition of the rural people, officials said. “Under the NERLP, various livelihood generation schemes including farming would be undertaken in the selected districts of the four northeastern states.

4. Bangladesh, on Friday, began importing electricity from India on an experimental basis, adding 50 MW to the national grid. The import, which took roughly three years to materialise after it was decided in 2010, was part of the country’s plan to help ease the crisis. The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2010 regarding import of 500 MW of power from India.

5. The Kirit Parikh panel on fuel pricing has suggested that the diesel prices should be increased by Rs 1-1.50 a litre every month as against the 45-50 paise monthly hike followed currently. The high-level panel headed by former Planning Commission Member Kirit Parikh has also suggested a draft trade parity mechanism for determining diesel price.

6. The International Monetary Fund approved a standby loan of nearly two billion euros to match a backup loan of the same size requested from the European Union. The IMF loan is a two-year standby arrangement for 1.98 billion euros, to give the government space to continue reforms.

7. Five years after India and the US signed a landmark civil nuclear deal, the two countries have clinched the first commercial agreement on civilian nuclear power cooperation that was stalled over India’s nuclear liability law. President Barack Obama announced the agreement on Friday after his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the White House Oval Office.

8. Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani schoolgirl and education rights campaigner presented with the 2013 Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award (Harvard Humanitarian of the year) by Harvard University on 27 September 2013. 16 years old Malala received the award by Dr Allen Counter, Director of the Harvard Foundation for her contribution in promoting the education among girls.

9. In Madhya Pradesh, a special court of Mandla district convicted IAS officer Shashi Karnawat in a corruption case and sentenced her to five years in jail and a fine of Rs. 50 lakh. The court also sentenced three others in the case. Karnawat had allegedly misused her official position to benefit a company for purchase of stationary worth about Rs. 35 lakh.

10. A 9-Metre bronze statue of Nelson Mandela will be unveiled in Pretoria in December to kick off celebrations of 20 years of democracy of south Africa. President Jacob Zuma will unveil the statue of the anti-aoartheid icon at the union buldings on Reconcilation Day on December 16.

11. India wasted a two-goal advantage to draw 3-3 against hosts Malaysia in their last inconsequential round-robin match of The Sultan of Johor Cup Under-21 hockey tournament, here on Saturday.

12. Tiger Woods was named U.S. PGA Tour player of the year for the 11th time on the strength of his five big wins and return to No. 1 in the world. It was the third time Woods won the Jack Nicklaus Award despite not winning a major.

13. Sania Mirza captured her fourth title of the season and 18th overall with Cara Black of Zimbabwe, recording a come-from-behind win over Liezel Huber and Hao Ching Chan to lift the Pan Pacific Open trophy in Tokyo on Saturday.

Recent Appointments (Womens Special)

==> Arundhati Bhattacharya - 1st women MD and CFO of SBI.

==> Usha Ananthasubramanian - 1st CEO of Bhartiya Mahila Bank.

==> Aruna Bahuguna - 1st Women Special DG of CRPF.

==> 1st Woman MD of a Public Sector bank - Ms Ranjana Kumar.

==> Chairman & MD ICICI Bank - Chanda Kochhar (MD & CEO).

==> Chairman & MD of United Bank of India - Archana Bhargav.

==> Chairman & MD of Axis Bank - Shikha Sharma.

==> Chairman & MD of Allahabad Bank - Shubhalakshmi Panse.

==> Chairperson of CBDT – Sudha Sharma.

==> MD and CEO of NSE - Chitra Ramakrishna.

==> Principal secretary of President - Omita Paul.

==> New Foreign Secretary - Sujata Singh.

==> Tulsi Gabbard - New member of US House of Representatives

==> Smita Singh - Member of U.S. Global Development Council

Current Affairs : 26th And 27th September 2013

1. World Tourism Day (27 September 2013) is being celebrated today all over the globe. The 2013 theme for World Tourism Day is “Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future”. As the most widely celebrated global day for tourism‚ it represents a unique opportunity to raise awareness of tourism’s role in water access and shine a spotlight on the sector’s contribution to a more sustainable water future.

2. In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on Friday gave the citizens of India the right to reject all candidates in elections. Hearing a petition filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, an NGO, the apex court ruled that the Electronic Voting Machines or EVMs should have a button that will allow the voters to choose “none of the above” option. The bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai and Justice Ranjan Gogoi said that voters should be allowed to reject all candidates standing in an election in his/her constituency.

3. The Raghuram Rajan panel report has made a case for ending the ‘special category’ criteria for providing additional assistance to poorer states, as it ranked Goa and Kerala as the most advanced state and Odisha and Bihar the least. The committee, headed by the then Chief Economic Advisor Raghuram Rajan (now RBI governor) which was set up by the government amid demand for “special category” status by Bihar, suggested a new methodology for devolving funds on states based on a ‘Multi Dimensional Index (MDI)’.

4. The controversial GAAR provision, which seeks to check tax avoidance by investors routing their funds through tax havens, will come into effect from April 1, 2016. The provision of General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) will apply to entities availing tax benefit of at least Rs 3 crore, according to the notification dated September 23. The notification is broadly in line with recommendations of the Parthasarathi Shome Committee, which was set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in July last year to address the concerns of investors.

5. RBI governor Raghuram G Rajan has been awarded the Fifth Deutsche Bank Prize for Financial Economics 2013, in recognition of his ground-breaking research work which influenced financial and macro-economic policies around the world. The academic prize is sponsored by the Deutsche Bank Donation Fund and carries an endowment of euro 50,000.

6. Eight eminent scientists have been selected for this year’s Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, the country’s top most award for excellence in Science and Technology. The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize is named after the founder-Director General of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and carries a cash component of five lakh rupees. It is given annually to young scientists below the age of 45 who have made outstanding contributions in any field of science and technology.

7. India’s financial capital Mumbai has been named the world’s second-most honest city, according to a survey of 16 cities worldwide. Finland capital Helsinki bagged the top spot for the world’s most honest city in the survey, while Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, proved to be the least honest. The survey put hundreds of people to test in four continents to find out just how honest they were by dropping wallets and seeing how many would be returned.

8. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a loan of $500 million (Rs 3,100 crore) to build a power transmission system at the Bhadla park in Rajasthan to deliver clean electricity from wind and solar power projects to the state and national grids, the development financial institution said on Friday.

9. US anti-chemical weapons campaigner Paul Walker, 67, was jointly awarded the Swedish Right Livelihood Award on Thursday honouring those who work to improve the lives of others.

10. The University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Law on 25 September 2013 presented Anna Hazare with the inaugural Allard Prize for International Integrity at Vancouver, Canada. The Allard prize is one of the world’s largest awards recognizing efforts to combat corruption and to promote human rights.

11. Supreme Court gets dedicated customized pin code. The Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of India allotted Customized Pin Code to the Supreme Court of India for the first time. The Customized Pin Code of the Supreme Court is 110 201.

12. Horticultural mail order company Thompson & Morgan developed a plant called The TomTato, which can produce not just the tomatoes, but also potatoes. The TomTato is described as the veg plot in a pot and it was launched in UK. The TomTato has the capability of growing over 500 sweet cherry tomatoes and also the white potatoes.

13. Anupam Shah has taken over as the new Chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC). Prior to this, he was the Senior Vice-Chairman of EEPC and has also been the past president of the Merchant Chamber, Kolkata.

14. In Uttar Pradesh, the Centrally sponsored National Urban Health Mission will be launched soon. Over 3 crore urban population will be benefitted from the scheme.

15. The Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) on 26 September 2013 appointed Sundeep Sikka, Reliance MF President and Chief Executive, as its Chairman. In the meanwhile, Sandesh Kirkire, Chief Executive Officer of Kotak Asset Management company was elected as the vice-chairman.

16. The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) was elected Ravindra Kumar, Editor of ‘The Statesman’ newspaper as its president for the year 2013-14. Kumar, who succeeds K N Tilak Kumar of Deccan Herald and Prajavani was chosen at the 74th Annual General Meeting of the society.

17. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has given its no objection certification (NOC) to AirAsia India to start a low-cost carrier. The next step for AirAsia will be to get an Air Operating Permit and prepare to kick-start its operations in India. AirAsia India, is a three way joint venture between AirAsia, the Malaysia-based low-cost airline, Tata Sons and Telestra Trade place which was formed to start a new low-cost domestic airline.

18. The 18th International Children’s Film Festival (ICFFI), popularly known as ‘The Golden Elephant’, will be held in Hyderabad from November 14-20. The festival will present four competitive sections and the best film would bag the Golden Elephant trophy and Rs 2 lakhs in cash.The second best feature will bag the Golden Elephant Plaque with Rs 1 lakh in cash.

19. Pond’s Femina Miss India World 2013 Navneet Kaur Dhillon on 27 September 2013 won the Multimedia Award at the Miss World 2013 in Indonesia. India won this award for the second time in a row. The award was first introduced by the Miss World Organization in 2012 and India’s Vanya Mishra was its first winner.

20. Japan will promote “womenomics” — a theory which asserts that theadvancement of women in society is directly correlated with its growth rate — and give over $3 billion of official development assistance (ODA) in the next three years targeting women’s participation in society and the empowerment of women, says Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

21. India will build its first strategic oil storage by January in an effort to insulate itself from supply disruptions. India, which is 79 per cent dependent on imports to meet its crude oil needs, is building underground storages at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Mangalore and Padur in Karnataka to store about 5.33 million tonnes of crude oil. This is enough to meet nation’s oil requirement for 13-14 days.

22. The company launched its latest “Hummingbird” algorithm about a month ago and that it currently affects 90 percent of worldwide searches via Google. “Hummingbird” is the company’s effort to match the meaning of queries with that of documents on the Internet, said Singhal from the Menlo Park garage where Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin conceived their now-ubiquitous search engine.

23. Contemporary western wear brand AND has unveiled its first exclusive boutique in Vadodara. It offers diverse collection of western wear like jumpsuits, jeggings, tunics, maxis, and more. “Store in Vadodara is the brand’s 39th store in India.

24. Asia Cup Hockey: India lose 2-1 to Korea in SF match. India’s dreams of earning a World Cup hockey berth were shattered when they lost 2-1 in a semifinal match of the 8th women’s Asia Cup championship in Kuala Lumpur today.

25. Serena Williams has clinched the year-end women`s world number one ranking for the third time in her career after winning two grand slam titles during an excellent 2013.

26. India have entered the final of the Sultan of Johor Cup, Under-21 hockey tournament by virtue of points. India will now face hosts Malaysia in the final match.

27. Former Under-14 World Champion and Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi won the bronze medal at the World Junior Chess Championship after settling for a quick draw with winner Yu Yangyi of China in the 13th and final round that concluded at Kocaeli in Turkey.

28. Sania Mirza and Cara Black beat the top-seeded duo of Su-Wei Hsieh of Chinese Taipei and Shuai Peng of China in the semi-finals to reach final of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Friday.