Current Affairs 10 September 2013

1. AIR to provide latest news through SMS. People willing to subscribe to the service can simply SMS ‘AIRNEWS their name to 08082080820. They can also give a missed call to the number to subscribe to the service. Along with news headlines, a small message regarding public utility schemes of the government will be tagged.

2. India is hosting the 31st meeting of Ministers of Health of countries of the WHO South-East Asia Region and 66th session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia at New Delhi from September 10 to 13.

3. The country’s first ‘Wagah in the East’ post, along the Indo-Bangla border, will be thrown open to the public this Gandhi Jayanti when Home Ministers of both the countries will witness a historic cultural extravaganza between the two neighbours. The first retreat ceremony between the two countries will be held on the lines of what happens everyday between India and Pakistan along the Wagah post in Punjab.

4. Sensex zooms over 500 points; Rupee strengthens 99 paise to 64.25 against the dollar.

5. India is among the five nations, who have placed their bids before the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to host the 2018 Hockey World Cup.

6. World Number Two, Rafael Nadal of Spain has lifted the Men’s Singles trophy of the US Open Tennis tournament, the fourth and final Grand Slam of the season, at New York.

7. The government has decided to extend coverage of the Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL) Scheme to include 289 districts, almost half of the country by January next year.

8. India on Tuesday supported a Russian proposal for Syria to put its chemical weapons for destruction, saying any move towards Indian position regarding complete destruction of these weapons was a positive development.

9. India’s launch preparations for the ambitious Rs 450 crore Mars orbiter mission achieved a major milestone with the successful thermo-vacuum test of the spacecraft with its payloads (scientific instruments).

10. India’s exports rose for the second straight month in August, while the trade deficit narrowed as gold imports fell. Exports climbed 12.97 per cent to USD 26.14 billion last month and imports declined 0.68 per cent to USD 37.05 billion. India FDI jumped by 6% to $10.87 billion in six months of 2013.

11. K N Shanth Kumar and Mahendra Mohan Gupta, two eminent media personalities, were today elected Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively of the Press Trust of India (PTI).

12. China and Sri Lanka have agreed to boost bilateral economic and trade cooperation with Beijing encouraging its entrepreneurs to invest in Sri Lanka and to help deepen mutual exchanges and cooperation in education, culture, tourism, media and other areas.

13. The West Bengal Government on Monday decided to set up a holding company to bring all state corporations marketing different products under the MSME sector under a single umbrella.The state cabinet took the decision to set up the company which would be named, Brand Bengal Marketing Corporation.

14. In Uttarakhand, prayers to begin tomorrow at the calamity-hit Kedarnath shrine, after flashfloods that left hundreds of people dead.

15. WHO today lauded India’s efforts in eradicating polio and said the country has not reported a single case of polio in the last 30 months.

16. Indian-American Manju Goel has announced her bid to seek Republican party nomination to run for a seat in the US Congress, focussing on divisive issues like “Obamacare” and the growing national debt.

17. Britain’s Andy Murray joined world number one Novak Djokovic and newly-crowned U.S. Open champion Rafa Nadal as definite qualifiers for the ATP World Tour finals on Tuesday but Roger Federer faces a battle to make the eight-man field.