October 13 Current Awareness

Rates By R.B.I.

Bank Rate : 9.00% 
Repo Rate : 7.50%
Reverse Repo Rate : 6.50%
Marginal Standing Facility Rate : 9.00% 
CRR : 4%
SLR : 23.0% \

Important Daily Current Affairs Update : 24 October 2013
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1. As inflation continues to hover above its comfort zone, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to increase the short-term lending or repo rate by another 25 basis. Current repo rate is 7.50%.

2. Today is the United Nations’ Day. The day is celebrated to commemorate the launch of the UN Charter in 1945. The theme of this year is-‘Partnerships for Global Progress’

3. A CBI court here yesterday sentenced former Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Bank M Gopalakrishnan and four others to one year imprisonment for defrauding various branches of the bank to the tune of about Rs 6.5 crore.

4. Internet giant Google has emerged as the world’s best multinational company to work for, followed by software developer SAS Institute and network storage provider NetApp in the second and third place, respectively.

5. Manna Dey, the legendary singer died on 23 October 2013 in Bangalore hospital. He was 94 years old.

6. Actor Ranbir Kapoor was Thursday named the brand ambassador for Philips, the country’s leading lighting company.

7. Market regulator Sebi has disqualified Cals Refineries from issuing equity shares and any other security for a further eight years, as the company was found guilty in a case involving irregularities in issuance of Global Depository Receipts (GDRs).

8. The US comedian Carol Burnett was on 20 October 2013 honoured with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

9. The Sports Ministry and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) have launched ‘India Sports 2014′ at the 5th Global Sports Summit to promote sports among youth in the country.

10. The Reserve Bank of India has constituted a GIRO Advisory Group (GAG) to implement a national Indian Bill Payment System so that households will be able to use bank accounts to pay school fees, utilities, medical bills and make remittances electronically.

Important Current Affairs - 15 October 2013
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1. The 106th anniversary of the heritage Nilgiris Mountain Railway (NMR) services was held in Udhagamandalam on Tuesday.

2. The Indian Navy on 15 October 2013 inducted into service its largest offshore patrol vessel (OPV), INS Sunayna, at the Southern Naval Command.

3. Dr. Iravathram Mahadevan received prestigious Tolkappiyar award for his immense contribution in the area of Epigraphy.

4. In a first-of-its-kind initiative to promote use of clean technology, India on Tuesday signed an agreement with Finland to produce indigenous ethanol and reduce country’s dependence on its import. As per the deal, State-run explorer ONGC and Finnish clean technology firm Chempolis will set up a pilot project to produce ethanol, bio-chemicals and bio-coal from biomass residual matters.

5. Novak Djokovic on 15 October 2013 defeated Juan Del Potro 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3) to win a second straight trophy at the Shanghai Masters in China.

6. CBI today registered a case against industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and former Coal Secretary, P C Parekh in connection with alleged irregularities in allocation of coal blocks in 2005.

7. The P5+1 group of five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany will hold two-day long talks with Iran over its controversial nuclear program in Geneva today.

8. The Wankhede stadium in Mumbai will host Sachin Tendulkar’s landmark 200th and final Test. BCCI today acceded to the legendary batsman’s wish to play his farewell match in front of his home crowd.

9. International Day of Rural women was observed on 15 October 2013 across the world to recognize the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women.

10. Reliance Industries has said it will invest USD 3.2 billion in bringing to production the satellite D34 gas discovery to reverse the decline in output at the Bay of Bengal KG-D6 block.

>>> Arjuna award winners 2013 <<<

Virat Kohli --- Cricket
Chekrovolu Swuro --- Archery
Renjith Maheshwary --- Athletics
P V Sindhu --- Badminton
Kavita Chahal --- Boxing
Rupesh Shah --- Billiards & Snooker Player
Gaganjeet Bhullar --- Golf
Saba Anjum --- Hockey
Rajkumari Rathore --- Shooting
Joshna Chinappa --- Squash
Mouma Das --- Table Tennis
Neha Rathi --- Wrestling
Dharmendra Dalal --- Wrestling
Amit Kumar Saroha --- Athletics(Para)

Millennium Development Goals to be Achieved by 2015

• Achieve universal primary education
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global patnership for development
• Eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education by 2015(data by facebok/cnaonweb)
• Halve the proportion of the people suffering from Hunger

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 Most Important CA Question Answers for Various Exams ~

1. Who won 2013 Wimbledon Women's Title ?
Ans- Marion Bartoli

2. Who is the Recently elected Miss world 2013 ?
Ans- Megan Young (Miss Philippines)

3. Which Indian won Gold in the Archery World Cup Stage 3 in Medellin, Colombia?
Ans- Deepika kumari

4. Who is the winner of 2013 French open women's title ?
Ans- Serena Williams

5. Who is the longest serving defence minister in India ?
Ans- A.K.Antony (data by fb.com/AllCurrentAffairs )

6. The Swiss made solar powered air craft which has been in the news for completing a successful trip across the United States?
Ans- Solar Impulse

7. Who is the new Comptroller and Auditor General of India ?
Ans- Shashi kant Sharma

8. Who was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand?
Ans- Hemant Soren

9. Who is the new Director General of DRDO ?
Ans- Avinash Chander (data by fb.com/AllCurrentAffairs )

10. The recently released book ‘An uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions’is jointly written by ………. and ………… ?
Ans- Jean Drèze and Amartya Sen

11. Which central Government agency has collaborated with the Tata Motors in developing India’s first Hydrogen powered bus?
Ans- ISRO

12. Who has been elected as the new President of Pakistan?
Ans- Mamnoon Hussain

1. ATT- Arms Trade Treaty
2. CRIS- Comparative Rating Index for
Sovereigns
3. CFSA- Committee on Financial Sector
Assessment
4. GAAR- General Anti Avoidance Rules
5. GRAIL- Gravity Recovery and Interior
Laboratory
6. GAGAN- GPS Aided Geo Augmented
Navigation
7. IAEA- International Atomic Energry Agency
8. NCTC- National Counter Terrorism Centre
9. NEFT- National Electronic Fund Transfer
10. OCTOPUS- Organisation for Counter
Terrorism Operation
11. PURA- Providing Urban Amenities in Rural
Areas
12. SIMRAN- Satellite Imaging for Rail
Navigation
13. IRDA- Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority
14. TRAI- Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
15. UIDAI- Unique Identification Authority of
India
16. MNREGA- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act

Current Affairs Question Answers for Upcoming SSC & Bank Exams~

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Q1. Who won the Women’s Single Title at US Open 2013 on 8 September 2013?
Ans. Serena Williams

Q2. Name the team which won Men’s Doubles Title 2013 at US Open 2013 on 8 September 2013?
Ans. Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek

Q3. International Literacy Day was held on 8 September 2013. When was International Literacy Day was designated by UNESCO?
Ans. 17 November 1965

Q4. Which city on 7 September 2013 won the right to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games?
Ans. Tokyo

Q5. Indian Space Research Organization is set to launch ambitious Mars Orbiter Mission in which month of 2013?
Ans. November

Q6. Lok Sabha on 6 September 2013 passed the Representation of the People (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2013. Rajya Sabha had already passed the bill on 27 August 2013. What is the aim of the bill?
Ans. Aim of the Representation of the People (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2013 is to add a provison to sub-section (2) of section 62 of the RP Act.

Q7. Name the new Chief Information Commissioner of India who has also became the first woman Chief Information Commissioner, on 5 September 2013?
Ans. Deepak Sandhu

Q8. Name the Indian woman writer who was killed by unidentified gunmen outside her home in eastern Paktika province of Afghanistan on 4 September 2013?
Ans. Sushmita Banerjee

Q9. Teacher’s Day Celebrated across India on 5th September 2013. Why was it celebrated on that day?
Ans. To commemorate the Birth Anniversary of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan

Q10. Name the bill related to Pension Fund which was passed by Lok Sabha on 4 September 2013?
Ans. Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill (PFRDA), 2011

CURRENT AFFAIRS : 8th OCTOBER 2013
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1. Peter Higgs & Francois Englert win Nobel Physics Prize
i. Peter Higgs of Britain and Francois Englert of Belgium won the Nobel Physics Prize today for the discovery of the "God particle". 
ii. The pair were honoured for "the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles. This was recently confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle," the jury said.
iii. The pair were honoured for "the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles. This was recently confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle," the jury said

2. Mulatu Teshome new president of Ethiopia
i. Ethiopia's parliament elected Mulatu Teshome to be the country's new president on Monday, for a six-year term in a largely symbolic and ceremonial post.
ii. Following the opening of the new parliament, a joint session of the House of Representatives and House of Federation elected Ambassador Dr Mulatu Teshome as the President of Ethiopia," the foreign ministry said in a statement. 
iii. Mulatu, 57, who was Ethiopia's ambassador to Turkey until his appointment, replaces 88-year old Girma Wolde Giorgis, who first took the post in 2001 and was reelected in 2007. 
iv. Mulatu, who like all Ethiopia is known by his first name, comes from the Oromo people, the country's largest ethnic group. He has also served as Ethiopia's ambassador to China and Japan as well as Ethiopia's Minister of Agriculture. 

3. Cabinet approves Bill to give statutory status to UIDAI
i. The Union Cabinet today approved official amendments to the UIDAI Bill. This will give statutory status to UIDAI which is responsible for issuing the Aadhar number.
ii. Besides giving statutory status to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the Bill seeks to provide legal backing to Aadhaar, which is used to disburse subsidies.
iii. The UIDAI, which issues 12-digit Aadhaar numbers to residents, currently operates through an executive order.
iv. The new law seeks to create a National Identification Authority of India, which will oversee the implementation of the Aadhaar project. It also seeks to define the penalties in case of misuse of data collected under the project.

4. The Indian Air Force Day Celebrated Across India
The Indian Air Force Day is celebrated on 8 October 2013. It is the 81st anniversary of the Indian Air Force. On this day, various celebrations are organised across the country along with parades at the airbases all over India. 

5. Turkey extends support for India's full membership in NSG
i. Turkey has assured India of backing its bid for full membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and would take up the issue with other members of the 47-nation grouping, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday. 
ii. Returning from his two nation visit of Belgium and Turkey, Mukherjee, who had flagged the issue during his talks with leaders of both countries.
iii. In the recent past, Turkey has made it clear that it does not object to India's quest for membership in the NSG but would like to see it joining the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a prerequisite for being part of the NSG. 
iv. In the first leg of his visit, the President had acknowledged Belgium's "upfront support" for creating an exception for India in NSG and had suggested that a clear public stand favouring India's effort for becoming permanent member of four Arms Control regimes 

Note: The NSG has 47 members, MTCR has 34 countries as its members, Wassenaar Arrangement, an order which is for the promotion of regional security, international security and stability by offering transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms, dual-use goods and technologies, has 41 members. 
ii. The Australia Group, an informal forum of countries which seeks to ensure that exports do not contribute to the development of chemical and biological weapons, has 42 members.
iii. Belgium and Turkey are members of all the groups. 

6. SC directs 3% reservation for disabled in all govt institutions
i. Supreme Court has directed Central and the state governments to provide three percent jobs to the disabled. 
ii. In its landmark order the apex court has asked the centre and states to implement reservation for disabled within three months ina ll government departments, companies and institutions
iii. The apex court directed the authorities to compile the number of vacancies in all their departments to give jobs to disabled persons under three percent reserved quota within three months. 
iv. A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam also clarified that the principle of not exceeding more than 50 per cent reservation would not be applicable while granting quota for disabled persons. 

7. SC allows Srinivasan to take charge as BCCI President
i. The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed N Srinivasan to take charge as BCCI President. 
ii. SC sets up probe panel headed by former CJ of Punjab and Haryana HC Mukul Mudgal to inquire into allegation of betting and spot fixing in IPL. 
iii. Supreme Court has asked the probe panel to complete its inquiry preferably within four months.
iv. Supreme Court has also said that the committee will investigate G Meiyappan and owners of Rajasthan Royals and file report on erring IPL franchisees. 

8. AIAI enters into pact with Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry
i. Industry lobby All-India Association of Industries, AIAI today said it has entered into an agreement with the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry to promote trade between the two countries.
ii. The memorandum of understanding signed in Mumbai today aims to enhance trade and investments between the two nations.
iii. It also seeks to increase joint ventures, collaborations and technology transfers through an exchange of business proposals.

9. P Chidambaram to attend IMF-World Bank meet today
i. Finance Minister P Chidambaram will leave for the US on Tuesday to attend the annual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank. The world leaders will deliberate on prevailing uncertainty in global economy. 
ii. Discussions will also focus on the much-awaited quota reforms that will benefit emerging economies including India. 
iii. Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan and Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram, among others, will also be attending the annual meetings.
iv. The visit comes against the backdrop of external sector pressure with the country's foreign exchange reserves dipping by over 15 billion dollars since March 2013 to 276 billion dollars as on September 27.

10. Tata Power buys 39 MW wind energy farm in Gujarat
i. Tata Power has inked a deal to acquire AES Saurashtra Windfarms, a subsidiary of US-based AES Corp, which owns a 39.2 MW wind energy farm in Gujarat, Tata Power said Tuesday.
ii. The purchase was made through the Tata Power subsidiary, Tata Power Renewable Energy, for an undisclosed amount.
iii. "The project (wind energy farm) which is fully operational since January 2012 has executed a power purchase agreement with GUVNL (Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd) for sale of the electricity at a tariff of Rs. 3.56/kWh for the duration of the project,"
iv. With this acquisition, Tata Power's total generation capacity now stands at 8,560 MW of which 437 MW capacity is from wind energy.
v. Tata Power is committed to generating 20-25 percent of its total generation capacity from clean energy sources and is proud to have signed this share purchase agreement to acquire 39.2 MW operational wind farm.

11. Canara Bank, Apollo Munich in bancassurance tie-up
i. Canara Bank and Apollo Munich Health Insurance (AMHI) have entered into a bancassurance tie-up. This is the first such tie-up for the insurance company in its six years of existence.
ii. Bancassurance is distribution of insurance products through a bank’s network.
iii. With this tie-up, AMHI products will be distributed in over 4,200 branches of Canara Bank, which will act as a corporate agent for selling these products.
iv. Canara Bank will also utilise it business correspondents’ network to take health insurance to unbanked areas, R.K.Dubey, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank, said.
v. Antony Jacob, Chief Executive Officer, AMHI, had in July this year said that the company was looking seriously at a bancassurance tie-up to improve distribution.

12. National Bank of Abu Dhabi gets Indian IT solution
i. The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), one of the largest banks in United Arab Emirates, has put in place an Indian IT solution that would enable real-time analysis and enrichment of revenue streams, its developer said Tuesday.
ii. The enterprise IT solution by Kerala capital headquartered SunTec, a leading provider of revenue management and business assurance solutions, is the first to be implemented in the Middle East market.
iii. The solution will enable "financial services companies and digital and communications services create personalised offerings and achieve superior customer experience management".
iv. SunTec is a partner of the world's leading service providers like VISA, HSBC, ING and Standard Bank

13. Tata Power to set up coal-fired plant in Myanmar
i. Tata Power has forayed into Myanmar and has begun feasibility studies to set up a coal-fired power station there.
ii. The project is expected to be commissioned in 2019-20. This would be the first project by the Tata Group Company in the South-East Asian nation.
iii. Tata Power has executed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Myanmar for setting up an imported coal-based power plant.
iv. The Rs 19,399-crore Tata Power is aggressively looking to expand its portfolio overseas. At present, it is building hydro electric projects in Bhutan, Georgia and Zambia. The firm is also developing two wind power projects in South Africa.
v. In Myanmar, the power plant is proposed to be located in Ngayok Kaung, Ayeyarwaddy region, and would have captive coal berthing arrangements.

14. Karan Thapar Chosen for IPI-India Award
i. Karan Thapar, television journalist chosen for the International Press Institute (IPI) – India award for excellence in journalism 2013 on 8 October 2013 for his interviews on the Devil's Advocate programme on CNN IBN.
ii. He was selected by a distinguished jury of editors and publishers headed by the former Chief Justice of India, A. S. Anand. The members of the jury included IPI-India Chairman and The Hindu Editor N Ravi, PTI Editor-in-Chief M K Razdan, Business Standard Chairman and Chief Editor T N Ninan and Malyala Manorama Senior Assistant Editor Riyad Mathew.
iii. Previous winners of the International Press Institute award include The Indian Express, NDTV, Outlook, Tehelka, Tribune and The Week
iv. The International Press Institute is a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists. 

About Karan Thapar
i. Karan Thapar is an Indian television commentator and interviewer.
ii. He is conducting programmes like Devil's Advocate, The Last Word on CNN-IBN and India Tonight on CNBC TV 18.
iii, He also wrote books like Face To Face India - Conversations With Karan Thapar, Sunday Sentiments, Wisdom Tree, More Salt Than iv. Pepper - Dropping Anchor With Karan Thapar, Harper Collins,

15. ICC World T-20 qualifier 2013 to be held in Abu Dhabi
i. The International Cricket Council has announced that the final stages of the ICC World Twenty 20 Qualifier 2013 will be held at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
ii. The double-header qualifying finals on the last two days of the tournament on 29th and 30th November will be played at 2 pm and 6 pm respectively. 
iii. The ICC World Cup T-20 has 16 teams, split into two groups of eight who will compete for six available spots in the ICC World Twenty 2014 in Bangladesh. 

16. Indian Cyclist Deborah Won Two Gold Medals at ACC Track Asia Cup
i. Indian cyclist Deborah on 7 October 2013 won a gold medal in the women’s junior individual sprint at Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC) Track Asia Cup in Thailand.
ii. Teen cyclist Deborah from Andaman Nicobar Island had earlier grabbed gold in 500m Time Trial event.

17. Pallam Raju skips Union Cabinet meeting
i. Union HRD Minister M.M. Pallam Raju, who has tendered his resignation over the Telangana issue, on Tuesday skipped the Union Cabinet meeting.

ii. Mr. Raju along with three other Union Ministers from the Seemandhra region had on Monday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting him to accept their resignations, but got no assurance from the latter.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : 06-07th OCTOBER 2013
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1. 2 Americans, German win Nobel Medicine Prize

i. US scientists James Rothman and Randy Schekman and Thomas Suedhof of Germany have won the Nobel prize in medicine for their discoveries of the "machinery regulating vesicle traffic", a major cellular transport system.
ii. The Nobel committee said their research on “vesicle traffic” the transport system of our cells helped scientists understand how “cargo is delivered to the right place at the right time” inside cells.
iii. Disturbances to the system can contribute to diabetes and neurological and immunological disorders, the committee said.
iv. The Nobel committee said Dr. Schekman discovered a set of genes that were required for vesicle transport, while Dr. Rothman revealed how proteins dock with their target membranes like two sides of a zipper. Dr. Suedhof found out how vesicles release their cargo with precision.
v. The awards in physics, chemistry, literature, peace and economics will be announced by other prize juries this week and next. Each prize is worth 8 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million).

Note: Dr. Rothman, 62, is a professor at Yale University while Dr. Schekman, 64, is at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Suedhof, 57, joined Stanford University in 2008.
ii. Dr. Rothman and Dr. Schekman won the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for their research in 2002: an award often seen as a precursor of a Nobel Prize.
iii. Established by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Prizes have been handed out by award committees in Stockholm and Oslo since 1901. The winners always receive their awards on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death in 1896.
iv. Last year’s medicine award went to Britain’s John Gurdon and Japan’s Shinya Yamanaka for their contributions to stem cell science.

2. RBI eases borrowing for banks, cuts MSF

i. In another move to ease liquidity for banks, the Reserve Bank of India on Monday eased interest rate on borrowings under the marginal standing facility (MSF) by 50 basis points to 9 per cent.
ii. One bps is one hundredth of a percentage point.
iii. Under the MSF facility, all scheduled commercial banks can borrow overnight from the RBI up to 1 per cent of their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL). The facility is available for banks on all working days, except Saturdays.
iv. Open market operations are the buying and selling of government securities in the open market in order to expand or contract the amount of money in the banking system. Purchases infuse money into the banking system.

Note: The MSF facility was introduced in 2011 by the RBI in order to contain volatility in the inter-bank overnight market. The interest rate was fixed at 100 bps above the repo rate. Repo rate is the rate at which scheduled commercial banks borrow from RBI for the short term.

3. Arundhati Bhattacharya takes charge as SBI chief

i. Arundhati Bhattacharya on Monday assumed charge as Chairperson of State Bank of India (SBI).
ii. Immediately prior to taking over as Chairperson, Bhattacharya was the Managing Director & CFO, State Bank of India. Last month, the Government of India appointed her as the successor of Pratip Chaudhuri.
iii. Bhattacharya joined SBI as a Probationary Officer in the year 1977 spending 36 years in the state-owned bank.

4. World Habitat Day Observed Across the World on 7 October 2013

i. World Habitat day is observed across the world on 7 October 2013.
ii. The purpose of this day is creation of the global awareness regarding the State of the towns and cities and the basic human right to adequate shelter. First Monday of October every year is designated as the World Habitat Day by the United Nation. 
iii. The theme of the World Habitat Day 2013 is Urban Mobility to encourage people to shift towards more sustainable modes of transportation. In the year 2012, the theme was Changing Cities, Building Opportunities

5. Bihar to get double food subsidy and foodgrain allocation under National Food Security Act

i. The Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on 6 October 2013 announced that the food subsidy and foodgrain allocation would be doubled for the state of Bihar under the National Food Security Act.
ii. Jairam Ramesh announced that Bihar's food subsidy will increase from 5500 crore Rupees to 11500 crore Rupees, under the National Food Security Act. This means that the allocation of foodgrain will increase from 28 lakh tonnes to 56 lakh tonnes. 
iii. Under the National Food Security Act, Bihar will benefit the most. This was done in order to improve the public distribution system (PDS) in the state, which was in a bad shape.

Note: Apart from Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh would be other three major beneficiaries under the new Act. Uttar Pradesh will get 96 lakh tones of foodgrains per annum under the National Food Security Act in comparison to the current allotment of 65 lakh tonnes. Gujarat, in the meanwhile, will get 24 lakh tonnes from the current allocation of 13.5 lakh tonnes per annum at present.

6. Wigneswaran takes oath as Northern Province CM of Sri Lanka

i. Former Supreme Court judge C.V. Wigneswaran was on Monday sworn in the first chief minister of Sri Lanka’s northern province, most of which was under LTTE's control for nearly 30 years.
ii. Justice Wigneswaran took oath before President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the chief minister after his party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), won the provincial council elections held Sep 21.
iii. TNA leader R. Sampanthan said the decision for Justice Wigneswaran to take oath before the President was made in consonance with the commitment of the TNA to ensure that the Tamil people are able to live in security, safeguard their self respect and dignity.
iv. At the northern provincial council elections, Justice Wigneswaran secured 132,255 votes in Jaffna to come first in the TNA list followed by the wife of a former rebel, Anandi Sasithran, who got 87,870 votes.

7. Nadal tops ATP rankings

i. Spain’s Rafael Nadal returned to the top of the ATP rankings for the first time in more than two years on Monday, overtaking Serbian Novak Djokovic, who dropped to second.
ii. Nadal moved into the top spot of the rankings with 11,160 points to 11,120 for Djokovic. It is the first time Nadal has headed the table since July 2011. Djokovic had kept the ranking for 101 weeks.
iii. Former world number one Roger Federer dropped another spot in the standings. A week after falling to number six, the Swiss landed at number seven this week.

8. BAI Panel Recommended Life Ban for Badminton Player Jwala Gutta

i. The Disciplinary Committee of the Badminton Association of India (BAI) on 5 October 2013 recommended a life-ban onJwala Gutta for her role in delaying the Indian Badminton League (IBL) fixture between Delhi Smashers and Banga Beats in Bangalore on 25 August 2013.
ii. Jwala Gutta was served a show-cause notice on 4 September 2013 after the matter was discussed in the Badminton Association of India’s general body meeting in Mumbai on 31 August 2013. 

Note: The Badminton Association of India (BAI) went by tournament referee Girish Natu’s report in which he held Jwala Gutta responsible for coercing her team members for uncalled for indiscipline, for causing harm to the spirit and interest of the tournament, for failing to maintain the stature of the tournament, for imposing unwarranted hardship to the TV viewers, spectators and all other concerned, besides preventing and compelling teammate B. Sai Praneeth from playing the opening match of the tie.

About Jwala Gutta
i. J wala Gutta was born on 7 September 1983 in Wardha, Maharashtra and brought up in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh to a Telugu Indian father and a Chinese mother.
ii. Jwala Gutta is a left-handed Indian badminton player who has won the National Badminton Championships thirteen times. She is a doubles badminton player who has partnered with Shruti Kurien and later Ashwini Ponnappa.
iii. Jwala Gutta won the gold medal at the Commonwealth games in 2010, in the women's doubles badminton event partnering with Ashwini Ponnappa.
iv. Jwala Gutta selected for Arjuna Award for the year 2011.

9. President reaches Turkey; to hold bilateral talks today 

i. President Pranab Mukherjee, who is in turkey as part of his two-nation tours will hold talks with the top leadership of Turkish capital Ankara on Monday.
ii. Five inter-document agreements and six MOU's will be signed on Monday.
iii. The President was received by the Governor of Ankara at the airport as he arrived on the last leg of his two-nation tour. 
iv. The President will be in Turkey till tomorrow and will attend a host of events. He is in the country on an invitation by the President of Turkey. This is the third visit by an Indian President to Turkey after the visits by the President of India in 1993 and 1998. 
v. India and Turkey share common interest in ensuring peace and political stability in Afghanistan and Central Asia. 
vi. Earlier, Mukherjee had visited Belgium where he attended a series of state events including the 'Europalia-India 2013-14', a cultural extravaganza showcasing India. 

10. Mukul Mudgal member panel to probe IPL spot-fixing 

i. In a setback to N Srinivasan, Supreme Court proposes 3-member panel headed by Former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana HC Mukul Mudgal to independently probe into IPL spot-fixing scandal.
ii. The Supreme Court rejected BCCI's suggestion for setting up a special committee to probe the IPL spot-fixing scandal and proposed a three-member panel headed by former Punjab and Haryana Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal to examine the issue. 
iii. It asked the counsel of BCCI and Cricket Association of Bihar(CAB), which are at loggerheads on the issue of fresh probe in the scandal, to seek instructions on the proposed panel and posted the case for hearing for tomorrow when a formal order would be passed on it. 
iv. The court was hearing cross appeals filed by BCCI and CAB challenging Bombay High Court's order which had declared BCCI's probe panel in the scandal as illegal.
v. The apex court had on August 30 heard the petition filed by Aditya Verma, Secretary, CAB, challenging the high court's order refusing to appoint a fresh committee to probe the scam. 

11. Justice A.P. Shah to head panel on road safety

i. The Supreme Court on Monday decided to appoint former Delhi High Court Chief Justice A.P. Shah to head a committee which has been deliberating on broad guidelines for protection of good Samaritans rendering assistance to accident victims.
ii. The apex court also decided to include two retired IPS officers — D.R. Karthikeyan and B.L. Vohra — in the panel which will also suggest measures to provide timely help to road mishap victims in view of growing number of such causalities on the highways also.
iii. A bench, comprising chief justice P. Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi, said Justice Shah will replace retired judge of the Delhi High Court V.S. Agrawal who has expressed his inability due to personal reasons to continue with the panel.
iv. The committee will also take into consideration various reports filed by state-owned expert departments on road safety, it said.
v. The petitioners said the identity of the person helping to bring the victim to hospital should not be revealed and he/she should not be compelled to visit the police station or appear as a witness in the court.

12. World Bank lowers 2013 growth forecast for East Asian developing countries to 7.1%

i. The World Bank today lowered its 2013 growth forecast for East Asian developing countries to 7.1 per cent. It also warned that a prolonged US fiscal crisis could be damaging to the region.
ii. The estimate for this year's gross domestic product or GDP growth is down from a forecast of 7.8 per cent in April, and lower than the 7.5 per cent growth recorded in 2012 and 8.3 per cent in 2011.
iii. Regional GDP growth in 2014 and 2015 was forecast at 7.2 per cent for both years with middle-income economies like Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand also softening. Excluding China, the region is expected to grow 5.2 percent in 2013 and 5.3 per cent in 2014.
iv. Bert Hofman, the World Bank's East Asia and Pacific chief economist, told journalists that for every percentage point growth lost in the United States, about half a percentage point growth will be lost in East Asia.

13. Rahul lays foundation of Mega Food Park in Amethi 

i. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday reached his constituency Amethi and laid the foundation stone of Mega Food Park in Jagdishpur.
ii. The project is aimed to create 2,500 jobs and generate Rs 450 crore revenue. 

14. India test-fires N-capable Prithvi-II missile

i. India on Monday test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile with a strike range of 350 km from a test range at Chandipur, about 15 kms from Odisha.
ii. The surface-to-surface missile was test fired from a mobile launcher in salvo mode from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range at about 9.14 AM.
iii. "The missile trajectory will be tracked by the DRDO radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations located along the coast of Odisha.

Note: i. Inducted into India's Strategic Forces Command in 2003, the Prithvi II missile, the first missile to be developed by DRDO under India's prestigious IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Program) is now a proven technology.

15. Actor Madhu to be presented Pravasi Doha Basheer award

i. Veteran Malayalam film actor Madhu, who essayed memorable roles in various films, including the National award winner 'Chemmeen', will be presented the Pravsi Doha Basheer award at a function in Kochi on Friday. 
ii. The award, in memory of Vaikom Muhammed Basheer, Malayalam novelist and short story writer, will be presented by eminent novelist M T Vasudevan Nair. 
iii. Widow of Basheer, Faby Basheer will present the cash prize of Rs 50,000 to the actor, a press release here said. 
iv. Rasana Begum of Thiruvananthapuram would be presented a scholarship of Rs 15,000 by Pravasi Doha in memory of Prof M N Vijayan, writer, thinker and activist. 

16. Cambodia's Panh awarded Asian Filmmaker of the Year at Busan

i. Acclaimed Cambodian director Rithy Panh, whose family died in the Khmer Rouge genocide, received the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award at the Busan International Film Festival on Friday for his efforts to save his country's cinematic heritage.
ii. The 49-year-old Panh has dedicated his life to seeking out and finding ways to save his country's film history, left mostly destroyed under the brutal 1975-1979 reign of the Khmer Rouge that claimed around two million lives. 
iii. The award comes after his documentary "The Missing Picture", which focuses on the loss of his parents and siblings during the genocide, won the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival in May. 

Note: Cambodia King: Norodom Sihamoni
Cambodia PM: Hun Sen
Cambodia capital: Phnom Penh
Currency: Riel

17. Kochi to host “Reel Earth” Environmental film festival

i. Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) is organising a five-day environmental film festival in Kochi from October 7. 
ii. The Department of Youth Welfare of CUSAT is organising the festival titled 'Reel Earth: Environmental Film Fest', a press release said.
iii. This is the third edition of the festival, which aims to increase awareness on key environmental issues by promoting and screening short and medium length films and videos, focusing on environmental issues produced in different parts of the world. 
iv. Joshi Mathew, Director of the film 'Black Forest', which bagged the best film on environment in National Film awards 2012 and vice chairman of Kerala Chalachitra Academy will inaugurate the function on Oct 7 at CUSAT. 

18. World's highest civilian airport opens in China

i. The world's highest-altitude civilian airport has started operating in Sichuan provinve neighbouring Tibet, dramatically cutting travel time in the remote region in southwestern China.
ii. Daocheng Yading Airport, located 4,411 meters above sea level in Daocheng county in Garzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province, began operations on Monday. 
iii. The airport will reduce the traffic time between the county and provincial capital Chengdu from two days by bus to 65 minutes by plane, state-run news agency Xinhua reported. 
iv. The aerodrome became the world's highest civilian airport, replacing Bangda Airport in Qamdo in the Tibet Autonomous Region, which is 4,334 meters above sea level.
v. Situated 159 km from the Yading Nature Reserve in the eastern part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, the airport came in two years time costing 1.58 billion yuan (USD 255 million) after it was approved in April 2011. 

19. Russian Embassy in Libya evacuated after attack

i. Russia evacuated all of its diplomats and their families from Libya, the day after a mob attack on the Russian Embassy, and issued a warning to its citizens against visiting the country. 
ii. An armed mob broke into the embassy compound in the Libyan capital Tripoli, climbing over walls, breaking down a metal gate and shooting in the air. 
iii. A Libyan official said on Wednesday's attackers took down the Russian flag that was hanging from the balcony of one of the buildings.
iv. Moscow decided to evacuate the embassy after Libya's Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdelaziz visited its grounds and told the Russian ambassador that Libya was unable to protect the personnel.

20. Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal for fourth China Open win

i. Novak Djokovic won his fourth China Open title in five years on Sunday, prevailing 6-3 6-4 in the final against Rafael Nadal who will replace him as the men's new world number one on Monday

21. Serena Williams beats Jelena Jankovic to win China Open

i. Serena Williams continued her excellent form in 2013 as she beat Jelena Jankovic 6-2 6-2 to win the China Open.
ii. The eighth-seed then lost the next five games as 32-year-old American Williams captured her 10th title of the season.

22. Del Potro Defeated Raonic to Win Japan Open Tennis Championship 2013

i. Top seeded Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentine defeated third seeded Milos Raonic of Canada, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 to win the ATP Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo on 6 October 2013. 
ii. This is the Del potro’s third ATP 500 Tournament of the year(2013). With this win Del Potro also received 312000 US Dollars prize money and earned 500 Emirates ATP Rankings points.
iii. Del Potro was a late addition to the tournament after Andy Murray withdrew due to a back injury.

23. Mumbai Indians clinch Champions League T20 title 

i. In Cricket, Mumbai Indians clinched the Champions League Twenty-20 title by defeating Rajasthan Royals by 33 runs in New Delhi.
ii. Chasing the target of 203 runs set by Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals were all out at 169 runs in 18.5 overs. 
iii. Harbhajan Singh was adjudged Man of the match as he bagged 4 wickets by giving 32 runs.
iv. While Dwayne Smith was declared Champion of the series.
v. This was the last T-20 match of Sachin Tendulkar and Royals skipper Rahul Dravid as both players announced their retirement from T-20 format.

24. Iran wins 17th Asia Senior Men’s Volleyball C’ship

i. Iran has won the 17th Asia Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship.
ii. The defending champions beat a spirited South Korean team in three straight sets 25-19,25-22, 25-19 in Dubai yesterday.
iii. China came third beating Japan while Australia came fifth in the ranking after defeating Chinese Taipei.
iv. Indian spikers finished seventh in the overall ranking as they beat Lebanon in a gruelling five setter. India lost the first two sets in a close finish .

25. Pakistan won Under-19 Asian Rugby Championship 2013

i. Pakistan on 5 October 2013 defeated India in the final of the Under-19 Asian Rugby Championship 2013 in Lahore.
ii. Pakistan won the final match with the margin of 13-11 points. At the end of the first half, both teams' scores were on par at 8- 8. However, in the second half, Pakistani team played more confidently and aggressively and won five more points for them while Indians could get only three more points.
iii. Suraj Veer Sharma was the captain of Indian team while Daud Gull was the captain of Pakistan team.

26. Kalpana Devi won Bronze Medal at the Judo Tournament in Tashkent

i. Kalapana Devi on 5 October 2013 won bronze medal at the Judo tournament in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
ii. It was India’s first IJF Grand Prix medal. Competing in 52kg weight category, Kalpana defeated Zarifa Sultonova of Uzbekistan but lost to Gili Cohen of Israel.
iii. However, Kalpana jumped back to medal contention through repechage round, where she got the better of Brazilian Raquel Silva.
iv. Kalpana, who is with Indo-Tibetan Border Police, had also won a bronze medal in the Women's World Cup Judo Championships held in September 2010 in Uzbekistan.

27. Indian women team in final of World Team snooker

i. Vidya Pillai and Arantxa Sanchis played superbly as India-1 edged past England 2-1 to breeze into the final of the 2013 IBSF World Team (Women) Snooker Championship in Carlow, Ireland.
ii. Arantxa began well for India as he beat Hannah Jones comfortably 62-25 but Vidya struggled in second frame where Maria Catalano exhibited some excellent shots to pull the frame 70-50 to level the match again.

28. Visharoopam- 2 ready for release

i. South Super star Kamal Hassan announced that Vishwaroopam-2 is ready for release and this film is a sequel to the his most controversial film Vishwaroopam - which stirred political controversy in Tamil Nadu.
ii. But Kamal Hassan also added that if intolerance against his films are continued he will not hesitate to renew his threat to leave the country.
iii. When vishwaroopam was released last year, there was controversy against the film as it was alleged that it hurt a community sentiments and Tamil Nadu government had banned the film, after which Kamal Hassan threatened to leave the country. 

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CURRENT AFFAIRS : 2-3rd OCTOBER 2013 
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1. ADB cuts India's growth forecast to 4.7 percent
i. 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.
ii. In an update of its flagship annual economic publication, Asian Development Outlook 2013, the ADB said the Indian economy has been under pressure with the recent depreciation of the rupee and capital outflows adding to structural constraints which are weighing heavily on its prospects for returning to a high growth path.
iii. In the first quarter of 2013-14 expanding at its slowest pace since the global financial crisis, ADB revised down its growth forecast to 4.7 percent from 6 percent projected in April," the Manila-based lender said.
iv. According to the multilateral lender, elections and a new government in early 2014-15 may help give fresh impetus to resolving structural problems.

2. Govt. of India Appointed a Committee to Define FDI and FII
i. Government of India appointed on 2 October 2013 a four member committee headed by Arvind Mayaram, Economic Affairs Secretary .
ii. The committee was set up to clear the ambiguity between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign Institutional Investment (FII).
iii. The committee will look into the difference between them and it will also give definition of FDI and FII.
iv. The other members of the committee were the Secretary of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the Deputy Reserve Bank of India Governor and a whole time member of market regulator SEBI. 

3. Vladimir Putin nominated for 2014 Nobel Peace Prize
i. 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.
ii. Underling Putin's active participation in the search for a political and diplomatic solution to the Syrian crisis, group's vice president Beslan Kobajia said those efforts made him deserving of the Nobel Prize, media reports said.
iii. US President Barack Obama had received the Nobel Peace Prize in his first year in office in 2009 or his "extraordinary efforts" to strengthen international diplomacy.
iv. Putin has already been proposed for the Nobel Peace Prize by the president of the All-Russian Education Fund. The Nobel Peace Prize, awarded by a special committee in accordance with the wishes of Alfred Nobel, is given annually to persons or organizations for the most notable input into the unity of nations, reduction of armies and assistance rendered to peace processes

4. President Pranab Mukherjee to meet Belgian PM in Brussels today
i. President Pranab Mukherji will meet the Prime Minister of Belgium Elio De Rupo in Brussles today.
ii. 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.
iii. Mr. Mukherji will also address the Indian community at a reception in the evening. The president was given a warm welcome at the Brussles airport by King Philippe last evening on his arrival in Belgium on a three day state visit.

5. Lalu Yadav sentenced to 5 yrs in jail in fodder scam
i. 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.
ii. The sentencing by special CBI judge Pravas Kumar Singh disqualifies Prasad from Parliament and renders him ineligible for contesting elections for 11 years. 
iii. Former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra has been given 4 years in jail. A fine of 4 lakh rupees has also been imposed against Mishra.
iv. RJD has decided to challenge the verdict in the Jharkhand High Court. They were convicted by the CBI court in the fodder case on Monday.

6. Sun Pharmaceutical Entered Into Joint Venture with Intrexon Corporation
i. 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.
ii. 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. 
iii. The partners will initially work on age related macular degeneration ( AMD)(a medical condition that causes partial or full loss of vision among older adults), glaucoma(a kind of eye disease) and retinitis pigmentosa(an eye disease that causes severe vision loss and at times even blindness).

7. ASI and Google Signed Agreement for Launching 100 Heritage Sites Online
i. The Union Ministry of culture launched on 3 October 2013 a unique project to put 100 most important Indian heritage sites online.
ii. The sites include the Taj Mahal, Khajuraho , Ajanta and Ellora caves.
iii. Under the project Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) signed an agreement with Google to create 360 degree online imagery of 100 of India’s most important heritage sites.
iv. According to the agreement detailed imagery of the identified heritage sites will be placed over the Internet for public viewing.
v. The imagery of the heritage sites will be available on Google Maps and the World Wonders site within the Google Cultural Institute. This will facilitate people to virtually view and explore these areas.
vi. The project will make the experience of visiting heritage sites online more enjoyable and also bring them to the notice of billions of people connected globally via the Internet.

8. Mythily Sivaraman Wrote A Book Haunted by Fire Essays On Caste, Class, Exploitation And Emancipation
i. 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.
ii. The book focused on essays range from agrarian unrest, caste oppression, land, labour and wages, the centrality of class struggle, the early promise of change, the radical course of left struggles, the coercive apparatus of the state, issues of impunity and the way the Emergency worked out on the ground.

About Mythili Sivaraman: 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)).
• She worked as a Research Assistant in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN (July 1966 to mid-1968).

9. Dubai to have world’s largest crystalline man-made lagoon
i. A multinational company plans to launch the world’s largest man-made lagoon costing a whopping $7 billion.
ii. 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.
iii. Located in the upscale Mohammed Bin Rashid City, in the heart of Dubai, the lagoon will form an integral part of the $7 billion project.
iv. The new lagoon with its expansive beaches will offer swimming, water sports and other water based leisure activities.
v. Crystal Lagoons will also take part in Cityscape Dubai, which takes place from 8-10 October 2013.
vi. With the announcement of its new Dubai project, Crystal Lagoons is also on the way to securing its third Guinness World Records’ title for the world’s largest swimming pool, building on the success of its San Alfonso del Mar, Chile, and Sharm El Sheik, Egypt.

10. Award for 3M Healthcare
i. 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.

11. Yashasvini scheme anniversary
i. 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.
ii. 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.
iii. The scheme started with a beneficiary contribution of Rs 60 per year in the beginning and the contribution amount was enhanced to Rs 210 for the year 2012-13.
iv. Yashasvini Trust had 16 lakh membership in 2003-04 and it has been almost doubled to 30.36 lakhs 35,814 people were treated as out patients and 9,047 had undergone surgery.
v. In the first year itself under this scheme for which Rs 10.65 crore was spent. In 2012-13, 1.10 lakh farmers were treated as outpatients and 83,802 people have undergone surgeries.

12. Airtel among Africa’s ten most admired global brands
i. 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.
ii. Airtel was placed at ninth on the list, beating Japanese car manufacturer Honda, the survey conducted by the African Business Awards said.
iii. 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.
iv. The brand valuation is based on estimated proportion of revenue that the parent company attributes to the brand on the African continent.

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.

Note: Airtel is India’s largest telecom company with 192.22 million subscribers as of August-end. The company had a market capitalisation of Rs 1.28 lakh crore as on October 1.

13. Tata Power starts work on Georgia project
i. Tata Power today said that it has commenced construction work for the first phase of its joint venture 400-MW hydro power project in Georgia.
ii. The hydel project would be jointly developed by Tata Power along with Clean Energy Invest AS, Norway (Clean Energy) and IFC InfraVentures (IFC).
iii. Tata Power, India’s largest private power producer, has hydel generation capacity of 450 MW in Maharashtra. The company has an installed capacity of over 8,500 MW.
iv. Tata Power, as part of sustainability initiatives, aims to have 20-25 per cent of its total electricity generation capacity from clean energy sources.

14. SBI Life launches Smart Power Insurance plan
i. 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.
ii. “Smart Power Insurance plan is a simple, low premium product that takes care of the changing needs of the policy holder as his income increases while giving him flexibility of periodic increase in sum assured and partial withdrawal,” SBI Life Managing Director and CEO Atanu Sen said in a release issued here.
iii. This plan, which will be available to customers from October 7, comes with two options — level cover option and increasing cover option.
iv. Smart Power has two fund options — Trigger Fund option with the advantage of buying low and selling high and Smart Funds option that has the option to choose from seven funds.
v. The policy term options are 10, 15 or 30 years and the minimum premium payable works out to Rs. 2,000 monthly, Rs. 5,500 quarterly, Rs. 9,500 half yearly and Rs. 15,000 annually.
vi. The product is open for the age group of 18 to 45 years with the maximum age of maturity being 65 years.
vii. SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture between State Bank of India and BNP Paribas Cardif, the insurance arm of BNP Paribas.

15. Star, ESPN bag BCCI sponsorship rights for 2013-14 season
i. The BCCI on Thursday 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.
ii. Mr. Patel said the bidders had the option of “bidding for either the series between India and Australia, or the series between India and the West Indies, or both.”
iii. There are two international series currently scheduled during the period — the seven-match ODI series and a T20 game between India and Australia, followed by two Tests and three ODIs against the West Indies.
iv. Sponsorship rights will extend to domestic events such as Irani Cup, Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Vijay Hazare, Deodhar Trophy and Raj Singh Dungarpur Trophy.

16. Gambia Decided to Withdraw from the Commonwealth
i. The Gambian Government on 2 October 2013 announced that it is pulling out of the Commonwealth with immediate effect. 
ii. Gambian, a West African country joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1965.
iii. The Gambian also stated that it will never be a member of any neo-colonial institution and will never be a party to any institution that represents an extension of colonialism.
iv. The decision came after the Government rejected a proposal by the Commonwealth in 2012 to create commissions in Banjul (capital of Gambia) to protect human rights, media rights and fight against corruption.

Note: The last country to be withdrawn from the Commonwealth group was Zimbabwe in 2003.
About the Commonwealth 

The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 54 countries, many of them former territories of the British Empire. It was established in 1949.

17. Former national TT champion Uttam Chandarana no more
i. 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.
ii. Chandarana is remembered for defeating world champion Ivan Andreadis in 1954. 
iii. The left-handed ex-international player had four national titles, with two triple crowns -- men's singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles -- to his credit. 
iv. Khodaiji, who was coached by Chandarana, said the TT veteran had interests in other sports as well like cricket, tennis, bridge, billiards and snooker. 

18. Balaji Motion Pictures buys film adaptation rights of Japanese detective novel
i. 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.
iii. The Devotion of Suspect X by Japanese author Keigo Higashino, is the third of the cult ‘Detective Galileo’ series.
iv. The English translation of the novel was nominated for the 2012 Edgar Award for Best Novel and the 2012 Barry Award for Best First Novel, Balaji said in a press statement.
v. Tanuj Garg, Chief Executive Officer of Balaji Motion Pictures said: “We are proud to have clinched the rights of one of the world’s most celebrated detective novels. It has heart, drama and thrill, and as a content-driven studio, we believe that it will make for an engaging and entertaining feature film.”

19. Caltech named world's top university again
i. The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has again been named the world's top university by the Times Higher Education Global Ranking.
ii. It is the third year in a row that the British organisation ranked Caltech first among the top 200 universities around the world, Xinhua reported citing a Caltech announcement Wednesday.
iii. Harvard University, Oxford University, Stanford University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology round out the next four top institutes in the 2013-2014 rankings.
iv. Located in Pasadena, southern California, Caltech is a private research university with about 2,200 students on its rolls
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CURRENT AFFAIRS : 30th SEPTEMBER 2013
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1. Megan Young is Miss World 2013

i. Megan Young from Philippines was crowned Miss World 2013 in Bali on Saturday. The second place went to Miss France Marine Lorphelin and third to Miss Ghana Carranzar Naa Okailey Shooter. ii. The Philippines – where beauty contests are a serious affair –celebrated its first victory in the Miss World contest, despite hardline Islamic protests against the event in the host country Indonesia. iii. The 23-year-old defeated 126 contestants including Miss India Navneet Kaur Dhillon, who could only make her way to top 20, to clinch the crown. iv. Born in the US, Young moved to Philippines when she was 10. She is currently studying digital film making and has starred in films and TV shows. v. Young said that her mother is a big influence in her life. She wants to show the world that people of Philippines are hard working and no matter what crisis they go through they are willing to help people. v. The new Miss World will spend the next year travelling to represent the Miss World Organization and help raise money for its charitable causes.

2. Lalu Prasad held guilty in fodder scam case

i. 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. ii. The multi-million animal husbandry department scam, popularly known as the fodder scam, accuses Lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra, both former chief ministers of Bihar, and ministers from the department, two IAS officials and others of fraudulent withdrawal of Rs. 37.70 crore from Chaibasa district treasury of Jharkhand. After the division of Bihar, the district is now in Jharkhand. iii. The verdict is crucial for Lalu Prasad and his future as a political leader since the central government ordinance that would have shielded tainted and convicted parliamentarians and legislators from disqualification may be withdrawn after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi trashed it. iv. Another 44 accused, including former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra, six politicians and four IAS officers, were also convicted by court of Pravas Kumar Singh for fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from Chaibasa treasury. v. The court fixed 3rd October for pronouncement of sentence against Yadav, Mishra and others. Note: i. The RJD chief faces immediate disqualification as Lok Sabha member under a recent Supreme Court order that an MP or MLA would stand disqualified immediately if convicted by a court for crimes with punishment of two years or more and under some other laws even without jail sentence. He would be the first MP to lose his Lok Sabha membership under the Supreme Court's ruling.

3. EOW files FIR against NSEL bosses, defaulters; conducts searches

i. The Economic Offence Wing of Mumbai police on Sunday searched the offices and residences of promoters, directors and defaulting brokers of the crippled National Spot Exchange (NSEL) and filed an FIR against them in connection with Rs 5,600 crore payment crisis. ii. The NSEL, promoted by Jignesh Shah-led Financial Technologies, has been facing problems in settling Rs 5,600 crore dues of 148 members/brokers, representing 13,000 investor-clients, after it suspended trade on July 31 on the government's direction. iii. An FIR was registered today against the NSEL promoters, directors and defaulters on charges of cheating, forgery and breach of trust among others," said an official at Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police. iv. A special investigating team (SIT) had been formed to conduct a preliminary inquiry after complaints from a couple of investors against NSEL, the EOW official said. v. The SIT conducted its inquiry after receiving crucial inputs from the commodity market regulator Forward Markets Commission and Registrar of Companies, the official said.

Note: i. BJP leader and Investors Grievances Forum president Kirit Somaiya had also recently filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court stating that NSEL forged/manipulated documents regarding stocks and liquidity and allowed some of the companies to pledge the same stock with more than one financial institution. ii. Somaiya has also alleged that government officials and politicians connived with NSEL to cheat investors. There are 24 buyers/members who have to pay Rs 5,600 crore to the spot exchange for settling dues of the investors. iii. A high-level panel, headed by Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram, submitted its report to Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on the alleged irregularities at the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL). iv. The report was finalised based on the reports of two working group from Enforcement Directorate and Reserve Bank.

4. Net-enabled cellphones to be distributed under MGNREGA

i. Net-enabled cellphones could soon be provided to 2.5 crore people under the MGNREGA scheme. ii. The ambitious scheme to be launched ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 is aimed at enhancing tele-density in rural areas. iii. According to the 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. iv. This will entitle the users 30 minutes of airtime, 30 SMSes and 30 Mbps net or data usage per month. v. If users cross the Rs 30 limit, they will have to get a recharge at their own cost. vi. To get the cellphone, the beneficiary will have to pay Rs 300. vii. Sources said the government prefers to provide the cellphone to a woman member of the beneficiary family. viii. 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, they said.

Note: i. Universal Service Obligation is access to telegraph service to people in rural and remote areas at affordable and reasonable prices. ii. 25 lakh people will be provided with the handsets in the first year, while 50 lakh more beneficiaries will be added in the next year. iii. The cellphone is likely to cost Rs 1,200 for which BSNL - the service provider - will undertake competitive bidding, the sources said. iv. According to the proposal, the scheme would enable people in rural areas to access information related to agriculture, health care, education, financial services, skill development and employment.

5. Leaders of BRICS announced to Set up 100 Billion US Dollars Fund i. Leaders of the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) 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. ii. 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. iii. BRICS had earlier planned to set up 240 billion US dollars fund.

Note: Earlier this year, Brics nations had discussed the formation of a new development bank to fund infrastructure and development projects throughout the developing nations.

6. Current account gap widens to 4.9% of GDP in Q1: RBI

i. 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. ii. 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. iii. The trade deficit, coupled with a slow recovery in net invisibles (income and services), led to widening of CAD to $21.8 billion in Q1 of 2013-14 from $16.9 billion in Q1 of 2012-13,” the RBI said in its Balance of Payments statement. iv. The government plans to bring down CAD to 3.7 per cent or $70 billion in the 2013-14 fiscal, from 4.8 per cent or $88.2 billion in 2012-13.

7. Nabard opens lending window for pvt sector i. 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. ii. Nabard would be financing the storage infrastructure projects of private companies and private entrepreneurs, besides state governments, state undertakings, SPVs set up under PPP mode, cooperatives, federations, co-operative federations, APMCs, State-level boards, apex marketing boards/bodies, and panchayats, G.R. Chintala, Chief General Manager, Karnataka Regional Office, said.

8. Rafiq Kathwari, Won Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award 2013 i. Rafiq Kathwari, an Indian-American poet selected for 2013 Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award for the collection of his debut poems. ii. Rafiq Kathwari is the first non-Irish person to win the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award. iii. Rafiq Kathwari's collection of 20 unpublished poems In Another Country was selected for the coveted award amidst 112 contestants from across the world.

About Rafiq Kathwari i. Rafiq Kathwari, a Kashmiri by descent has become the first non-Irish to have won the award and will recieve 1000 euros as the prize money. ii. He has translated selected Urdu poems of Alama Iqbal, creating his own version. His poems are mostly inspired by loss of innocence in Kashmir and from his mother's long time illness. iii. Rafiq Kathwari graduated from the University of Kashmir in 1969 before studying at the New York University and Columbia University. iv. Many of his works have been in print and online in the US, Ireland and Asia.

About Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award i. The award was founded by the Patrick Kavanagh Society in 1971 to commemorate the Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh. ii. The Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award meant for a first unpublished collection of poems in English is open to poets, born in the island of Ireland, or of Irish nationality, or long term resident in Ireland.

9. Prasada Rao appointed as Andhra Pradesh DGP in-charge i. 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. ii. Mr. Rao is expected to assume charge on Monday evening. He had worked as the Commissioner of Police of Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam cities earlier.

10. Avahan India project prevented over 6 lakh HIV infections: Lancet i. 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. ii. It may be recalled that a 2011 study, by other institutes, also showed that the project prevented one lakh fresh HIV cases in five years in the general population by launching intervention programmes among targeted groups. iii. 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. The study looked at 69 districts in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

11. SRK may become “goodwill ambassador” of Republic of Korea

i. Shahrukh Khan may soon become the “goodwill ambassador” of the Republic of Korea. ii. According to Joon-gyu Lee, Ambassador of Republic of Korea to India, Khan has accepted a proposal from the country in this regard. iii. “The popular Indian actor Shahrukh Khan is going to be appointed as the Public Diplomacy Ambassador soon. Talks are on regarding the place and date of a ceremony to announce him as the Ambassador,” Lee said here on Monday. iv. He was addressing an interactive session on Indo-Korean bilateral relations jointly organised by University of Calcutta and Embassy of the Republic of Korea.

12. Ranjib Biswal Appointed as Indian Premier League Chairman

i. NCA Chairman Ranjib Biswal was on 29 September 2013 appointed as chairman of the IPL during the Annual General Meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at Chennai. ii. 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. iii. Ranjib Biswal was replaced Rajeev Shukla as chairman of Indian Premier League (IPL). Rajiv Shukla, who resigned at the end of his tenure.

13. N. Srinivasan Re-Elected As the BCCI President for the Third Term

i. Narayanaswamy Srinivasan was on 29 September 2013 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. ii. He was unanimously re-elected as the president of BCCI for the term of 2013-14. Other office bearers were also elected on the same day. iii. However, N. Srinivasan will not assume charge of the office immediately because of the directive of the Supreme Court of India. Other office bearers will assume the charge of the office with an immediate effect.

Note: It is important to note that N. Srinivasan stepped down from the post on 2 June 2013, while Jagmohan Dalmiya of the Cricket Association of Bengal took charge of the BCCI’s everyday affairs. Despite stepping down, N. Srinivasan remained the signing authority at the BCCI.

14. India triumph in 3rd Sultan of Johor Cup

i. India defeated Malaysia 3-0 to win 3rd Under-21 Sultan of Johor Cup hockey tournament in Johor Bahru on 29 September 2013. ii. The goals from the Indian side were scored by Amon Mirash Tirkey (22nd), Affan Yousuf (52nd) and Manpreet Singh (64th). The match was played at the Taman Daya Syadium.

15. Duplicate version of Mahatma's 'Harijan' to be released today i. 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. ii. "Harijan' is one of the two main publications of Gandhiji. While Young India has already been published, 'Harijan' was yet to be published," Vivek Desai, managing trustee of Navajivan Trust, which holds the rights of publication of literature related to Gandhiji, said. iii. The nineteen volumes will be reprinted for the first time, he said, and will be officially inaugurated on Monday. iv. The aim of reprinting and republishing 'Harijan', Desai said, is to spread among people the messages and great articles written by Gandhiji, other freedom fighters fighting the cause of independence at that time. v. Navajivan Trust was founded by the Gandhi along with Mohanlal Maganlal Bhatta and its deed of trust was registered on November 26, 1929. vi. Gandhi began publishing Harijan, a weekly newspaper, in English in 1933. It lasted until 1948. During this time, Gandhi also published Harijan Bandu in Gujarati, and Harijan Sevak in Hindi. All three papers focused on India's and the world's social and economic problems during the freedom struggle. vii. Harijan means "Child of God", and was a term used by Gandhi for people of Dalit caste. Young India was a weekly paper in English published by Gandhiji from 1919 to 1932.

16. Chandy to participate in Suminfra 2013 summit

i. 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, the industry body said. ii. According to CII, the two-day summit would feature an exclusive session on State Integrated Infrastructure Promotion (SIIP) to showcase the opportunities for private sector in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Chandy and Industries Minister P. K. Kunhalikutty have agreed to join the Kerala session. iii. The 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'. iv. Suminfra would bring together policy makers, financial institutions, developers, contractors, consultants and others on a single platform to discuss on various aspects related to infrastructure development in southern region,

17. Incredible Himalayas campaign launched

i. To promote the virgin peaks of Himalayas and attract both domestic and international tourists during lean summer season, Ministry of Tourism on Friday launched a new campaign. ii. Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi launched the campaign - '777 days of Incredible Indian Himalayas' on World Tourism Day. iii. The campaign aims to attract more foreign tourists during the lean summer season, making the Indian Himalayas a 365-day destination for the travellers. iv. It would spread awareness about the fact that 73 per cent of the Himalayan range lies in India. Chiranjeevi also launched two new promotional films -- 'Greatest Show On Earth' and 'Life Altering Journey on Himalayas' -- along with a map of the Himalayas. v. The launch also included a discussion on how to brand, promote and market the Indian Himalayas, a presentation by the six Himalayan states -- Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh -- and on how to develop the Himalayas as a tourist destination amongst both domestic and the foreign travellers. vi. The Himalayas offer a great variety of adventure sports such as skiing in winters, whereas in summers, tourists can enjoy expeditions in the Himalayan mountain range like white water rafting and also adventure sports like mountain trekking.

18. Russia successfully launches Proton-M rocket i. 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. ii. The launch from the Baikonur space centre, that Russia leases from the neighbouring Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, had been originally scheduled for July 21. iii. The Proton-M rocket is Russia’s most popular for commercial satellite launches.

19. UAE defeat Namibia in 2nd crucial match of ICC Cricket World Cup i. 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. ii. Batting first ,UAE scored 215 runs in the stipulated 50 overs. iii. Then they bundled out Namibia for 80 runs in 32 overs. UAE has now replaced Netherlands at the second spot on the basis of number of matches won. iv. Their fate depends on Afghanistan's matches against Kenya on October 2nd and 4th.in Sharjah. If Afghanistan wins both the matches it will become the second team to qualify for the tournament. Two team can qualify directly for the 50 overs 2015 World Cup cricket championship to be held in Australia and New Zealand

Note: Ireland has already qualified as the first team in the ongoing World Cricket League Championship’s final qualifying rounds.

20. Nikhat bags silver at AIBA Women's World Boxing i. 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. ii. The 17-year-old did well to make it to finals of the AIBA Women's Youth World Boxing Championships being held at Bulgaria, but in the end had to settle for a silver medal performance after losing out in the title clash. iii. The Andhra boxer has given brilliant account of her boxing skills beating reigning bantam weight Junior World Champion Viktoriya Virt of Ukriane to make to the finals at Albena. In the summit clash, the former Junior National Champion was up against Yunzi Yuan of China. iv. The Chinese boxer proved to be stronger of the two on the day. Earlier in the Youth World Championship light weight boxer Simranjit Kaur (60kg) lost out in a close contest against Aidana Arapbayeva from Kazakhstan.

21. Stephen Lee Banned from Snooker for 12 Years for Match-Fixing Charges i.. Stephen Lee, a snooker player from England banned for 12 years after being found guilty of seven charges of match-fixing on 25 September 2013. ii. Stephen Lee (38) was found guilty of seven match-fixing charges by an independent tribunal and Lee was also ordered to pay 40000 pounds towards the considerable costs of the investigation and hearing. iii. The ban will run from 12 October 2013, when an interim suspension was imposed, and means Lee will not be able to compete as a professional snooker player before 12 October 2024, the date of his 50th birthday iv. Stephen Lee, the former world Number 5, was found guilty of match-fixing charges relating to seven matches in 2008 and 2009. v. The matches in question were three in the Malta Cup in 2008, two in the UK Championship in the same year, one in the 2009 China Open and one in the 2009 world championship.

22. Swaran Singh wins gold at Asian rowing championship

i. 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. ii. Besides Virk's gold, India won two silver and as many bronze medals in the championship. In the finals that concluded this morning, Virk got the better of rowers from Iran and China in 7:31.88 minutes to bag the yellow metal. iii. Virk finished at the 16th place after finishing fourth in a minor placings race in the men's single sculls event at the London Olympics. iv. Virk had booked his berth for the 2012 London Games by winning the major qualifying event at the FISA Olympic Continental Qualification Regatta for Asia in Chung Ju, Korea.

23. Every Year on 29 September Celebrated as The World Heart Day i. Every year on 29 September celebrated as the World Heart Day since 1999. ii. The World Heart Day is organised by World Heart Federation. iii. The World Heart Federation is dedicated to leading the global fight against cardiovascular disease (CVD) –including heart disease and stroke -with a focus on low- and middle-income countries, via a united community of more than 200 member organizations.

24. Sonia Gandhi Unveiled the Statue of R Sankar, the First Congress Chief Minister of Kerala i. The Congress president Sonia Gandhi on 29 September 2013 unveiled the statue of R Sankar, the first Congress Chief Minister of Kerala. ii. The statue was installed at Palayam (near War Memorial) in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. R Sankar was the third Chief Minister of the state.

25. Rajnath Singh Appointed the BJP Campaign Committee Chief for the 2014 Lok Sabha Polls i. 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. ii. He was appointed as the campaign committee chief after the parliamentary board meeting of BJP. He replaced the Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP- Narendra Modi. Modi was declared as the PM candidate of BJP on 13 September 2013. He proposed the name of Rajnath Singh for the Election Campaign Committee Chief post.
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Latest Committees in India

1. Committee Set Up On Uttarakhand Floods : The committee will be headed by AK Ganju (Chairman, Ganga Flood Control committeesCommission, Patna).
2. JS Mathur committee : to revise NewspaperAdvertisement Rates.
3. K. Ratna Prabha : Committee on indecent depiction of women in media.

4. Mukul Mudgal Committee: looking into US giant Walmart’s lobbying activities to enter India
5.Mukul Mudgal Committee: to look at process of film clearance. 
6. MBN Rao Committee: to prepare the blueprint of India’s first women’s bank
7. SK Srivastava Committee: to formulate a policy on public-private partnership model to raise coal output..  
8. K M Chandrasekhar Committee –for rationalization of foreign investment norms
9. Arvind Mayaram Committee –for giving clear definitions to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign Institutional Investment (FII), 
10. Janakiraman Committee – To investigate the security transactions of the bank
11. MS Ahluwalia committee – to evaluate aspects related to set up of Nalanda University
12. Sitakant Mahapatra committee- for inclusion of Bhojpuri language in eighth schedule of constitution
13. N R Narayana Murthy committee – for evaluation of corporate sector participation in Higher Education. 
 14. C Rangarajan committee – for poverty scale estimates in the country 
15. MB Shah committee – for inspection of illegal mining activities
16. N Rangachary committee – to examine taxation policies for I.T. sector
17. Parthasarathi Shome committee – implementation of GAAR (General Anti Avoidance Rule).
18. Deepak Parekh committee – for Financing Infrastructure sector 
19. Naresh Chandra committee – 14 member task force on security issues
20. Bhandari Committee – Reconstruction of RRBs
21. RS Gujral Committee – suggest measures to boost MSME exports.

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1 .The new Foreign Secratory of India-Sujata singh
2. The new 29th state of india- Tilangana
3. The new chief director of National Research agency-sharad kumar
4. Whom elected the head of Asian athletics association-daljam alahmad(katar)
5. The new head of railway board-ArunendraKumar
6. The new Vice Governor of Delhi-Najeeb Jung
7. The new Chief Minister of Jharkhand-Hemant Soren
8. New coach of Indian hockey team male-M. K. Kaushik
9. The new police commissioner of Delhi-B. S Bassi
10. Where will be built the longest Rail Bridge of India-Assam
11. World’s biggest temple will be in-Mayapur (Kolkata)
12. What is the percentage of poors according to the planning commission-21.9%
13. In which sector central government have been approved the 100% FDI-Telecommunication ( data by fb.com/AllCurrentAffairs )
14. Our new chief justice-JusticeP. Sadashivam
15. The new central home secretary –Anil Goswami
16. The new managing director of LIC – S. k. Roy
17. The new chairman of Air Asia India-S. Ramadorai
18. The new chief of DRDO-Avinash Chandra
19. The new chief of Central election Commity of Bhajpa is-Premlata Agarwal
20. The famous Director and Actor who have been recently passed away-Rituparno Ghosh
IST OF AWARDS & HONOURS : 2013
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1) Harshwanti Bisht - Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal
...
2) Vijay Singh - Lifetime Achievement Award by ASCE-EWRI

3) Prime Minister's Shram Awards for the Year 2012

4) UK Songwriting Contest 2013 ; Indian-Origin Winners Included

5) A team of three Indian-Americanstudents defeated teams from 17 other regions to win.

11th National Geographic World Championship.

6) The Prem Bhatia Memorial award - Shalini Singh of the Hindu.

7) Delhi conferred Lifetime Achievement Award 2013 on Abdul Rashid Khan and Anjolie Ela Menon.

8 VP Sharma won the Gujar Mal Modi Award for Science and Technology 2013.

9) Sri Lankan President felicitated tribal community, the Veddas on World Indigenous Peoples Day.

10) US Presidential Medal of Freedom to be conferred on Bill Clinton & Oprah Winfrey.

11) Sports Ministry announced 50 Thousand Cash Prize for Each Junior Women Hockey Player.

12) Play Called the Radicalisation of Bradley Manning Won James Tait Black Prize for Drama.

13) Sugathakumari, the Malayalam Poetess won Saraswati Samman 2013 for Manalezhuthu.

14) Indian Students Grab Two Silver & Three Bronze at 54th International Mathematical Olympiad.

15) Amjad Ali Khan to get 21st Rajiv Gandhi National Sadhbhavna Award.

16) Four Indian Americans won Simons
Investigators Awards 2013

17) Paradip Port Conferred With the Major Port of the Year Award.

18) Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation announced the Ramon Magsaysay Awards for the year 2013.

19) British Firm called Real VNC - MacRobert Award

20) OISD Safety Awards 2011-12 - HPCL and BPCL.Important CURRENT AFFAIRS : 13th August 2013.

1. Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won Mali's Presidential elections on 12 August 2013 after his opponent Soumalia Cisse conceded defeat before official results were announced.

2. Trap shooter Ronjan Sodhi, the first Indian to win two back-to-back World Cup gold medals, was, on Tuesday, recommended for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, while cricketer Virat Kohli was among the 14 sports persons picked for the Arjuna award by the selection committee.

3. Senior IPS officer PP Pandey, accused in Ishrat Jahan encounter case, surrenders before CBI court in Ahmedabad.

4. Fourth seed Rafael Nadal of Spain routed Milos Raonic 6-2, 6-2 to capture the ATP Montreal Masters Title on Monday.

5. A team of three Indian-American students defeated teams from 17 other regions to win top honours at the 11th National Geographic World Championship in Russia's St. Petersburg city.

6. England clinched a 3rd straight Ashes series as they won the fourth test by 74 runs following a dramatic Australian batting meltdown in the face of some inspired bowling from paceman Stuart Broad on Monday.

7. Zafar Futehally, (93 years) India’s best known naturalist and ornithologist passed away on 11 August 2013 at Kihim in Maharashtra.

IBPS Recruitment Portal

CURRENT AFFAIRS : 25-26th JUNE 2013
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1. Army launches website on Uttarakhand relief: suryahopes.in

i. The Indian Army on Wednesday launched a website — suryahopes.in — to provide updates on the whereabouts of people stranded in disaster-hit Uttarakhand.
ii. The site also provides information about the location of people, helpline numbers, lists of those rescued and their current location.
iii. A spokesman for the Central Command told IANS that the website was a one-stop helpline for people in distress following the natural calamity in Uttarakhand.

2. PM, Sonia flag off first train connecting Jammu to Kashmir Valley
i. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday flagged off the first train connecting Banihal in Jammu region with Qazigund in Kashmir Valley.
ii. The newly constructed station in Banihal, 125 km from summer capital Srinagar, flagging off the first train which will pass through 11 km tunnel through Pir Panchal range.
iii. The Banihal-Qazigund section, which includes an 11-km long tunnel, the country's longest, reduces the 35 km distance to 18 km.
iv. It has been constructed at a cost of Rs 1,691 crore.
v. The Udhampur-Banihal section is expected to be completed by 2017 connecting the Valley to the rest of the country round-the-year without any hindrance.
vi. The train will make regular operation from Banihal to Baramulla in north Kashmir from 27th June.
vii. The Banihal-Baramulla -Banihal train will make five trips daily beginning at 7.10 AM from Banihal and 7.35 AM from Baramulla.
viii. The tunnel has been constructed using New Austrian Tunnelling Method, which has been used for the first time on such a large scale in India.
ix. A three-metre wide road has been provided inside the tunnel for maintenance and emergency rescue and relief operations. The tunnel has been made water-proof by providing continuous PVC membrane between primary and secondary lining.

3. Sheikh Abdullah to be Qatar's new PM: Sources
i. Qatar's state minister for internal affairs is tipped to succeed powerful Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani as prime minister in an expected cabinet reshuffle by the new emir, sources said on Wednesday.
ii. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, 33, succeeded his 61-year-old father who voluntarily abdicated as emir on Tuesday, making his son the youngest ruler in Gulf Arab states.
iii. The cabinet reshuffle is expected to see Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani replacing Sheikh Hamad as prime minister, according to several sources as well as Doha-based Al-Jazeera television channel.
iv. Sheikh Hamad, a driving force behind the tiny Gulf state's rise to global prominence, also held the post of minister for foreign affairs for 21 years.
v. Sheikh Abdullah, a member of the ruling family, has been state minister for internal affairs since February 2005.
vi. The new government is expected to be announced when Sheikh Tamim makes his first address to the nation later on Wednesday marking his official enthronement as new ruler of the gas-rich state.

4. Nelson Mandela's condition deteriorates
i. Anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has been kept on a life-support system following deterioration of his health condition at a South African hospital where the 94-year-old leader was admitted three weeks ago with a recurring lung infection.
ii. Ailing former President Nelson Mandela is on life support in the Pretoria Heart Clinic where he has been fighting a recurrent lung infection since June 8," The Citizen' newspaper reported.
iii. According to the paper, five highly-placed sources close to the family, including two who had recently visited him in hospital, said that the iconic leader's health has deteriorated to the point where he is breathing with the assistance of a life support ventilator.
iv. Another source told the daily that Mandela is suffering from kidney failure and is undergoing renal dialysis for three hours every second day.
v. " He is critical, but has an entire team of doctors, from a cardiac specialist, pulmonary specialist, kidney specialist and a main consultant looking after him
vi. At Mandela's original home in Vilakazi Street in Soweto, barricades has to be put up to control the influx of visitors. Considered the founding father of South Africa's democracy, Mandela became an international figure while enduring 27 years in prison for fighting against apartheid. He was elected the nation's first black president in 1994, four years after he was freed from prison.

5. Oprah tops Forbes most powerful celebrity list
i. After two years as a runner-up, Oprah Winfrey was named the most powerful celebrity on Wednesday by Forbes, heading the six women and four men who make up the top 10.
ii. Singer Lady Gaga came in second, followed by director/producer Steven Spielberg and singers Beyonce and Madonna.
iii. It was the fifth time the former talk show host who runs her own TV network has headed the annual ranking of 100 celebrities.
iv. Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez, who was No. 1 last year, dropped to 12th place.

NOTE:i. Forbes said :With earnings of $77 million from June 2012 to 2013, Winfrey was not the highest earning celebrity, an honor that went to Madonna who made $125 million.
ii. But Winfrey's position in Hollywood and her presence in the press, on television and in social media propelled her to the No. 1 spot.
iii. It is important here to note that Oprah Winfrey has topped the list on four previous occasions, and she is one of three celebrities who featured on the prestigious list every year since its inception in 1999, along with radio DJ Howard Stern and director Steven Spielberg.

Top 10 Forbes most powerful celebrity
1. Oprah Winfrey 2.Lady Gaga 3. Steven Spielberg 4. Beyonce Knowles
5. Madonna 6.Taylor Swift 7.Bon Jovi 8.Roger Federer
9.Justin Bieber 10. Ellen DeGeneres

6. Reliance Capital partners with Japan's Sumitomo
i. Reliance Capital has roped in Japanese financial behemoths Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank and Nippon Life Insurance as minority partners to boost its quest for banking license.
ii. The Anil Ambani Group company will spin off its consumer lending business into a new entity in which the Japanese giants will buy just under 5% stake each at a substantial premium
iii. Reliance Capital and its two Japanese partners, who have signed an MoU, will apply for a licence by July 1, the deadline set by the RBI. "After roping in the two (Japanese) firms, the consortium will submit the business plan to the RBI - stating its loan book size, net worth and the ability to fund the business in line with the new norms.
iv. In case the central bank issues a letter of intent for the banking licence its structure would be finalised
v. Sumitomo has total assets of USD 400 billion, advances of USD 238 billion and net assets of USD 25 billion.
vi. Nippon Life, also known as Nissay, is Japan's largest private life insurer with revenues of USD 71 billion, profits of USD two billion and it is also present in a host of other Asian countries and in North America and Europe.

7. India, Hungary join hands for ‘gas monitoring system’
i. Gujarat Info Petro Ltd, a subsidiary of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, has signed an agreement with Cason Engineering Plc, Hungary, in pursuant to the MoU signed during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit-2013, for a gas monitoring system.
ii. This agreement was signed between VK Sharma, CEO, Gujarat Info, and Ferenc Szakács, Chairman and CEO of Cason.
iii. Gujarat Info provides IT services to government departments, boards, corporations and corporate houses as an apex consultant and total solutions provider.


USER-FRIENDLY
i. Cason is a Hungary-based technology company having experience in developing, manufacturing and implementing systems for gas distribution network monitoring.
ii. It has developed and installed new solutions with leading technologies for large oil pipeline operators in Europe and other countries worldwide.
iii. The agreement aims to provide automation services for gas and oil companies in India.

ADVANTAGES
i.The main advantages of the offered solutions are to provide tool to control the procurement and sales procedures of daily purchased gas volume and to provide access for stakeholders to the relevant daily business data with technology reports and alarms via Web-based applications.
ii. This will provide solutions for disaster management and security issues of cross-country pipelines.

8. Silvio Berlusconi sentenced to 7 years Jail in Sex Trial
i. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was sentenced to seven years in prisons and a lifetime ban on holding public office by a lower court of Milan as he was found guilty of soliciting sex from a minor and abusing his powers to cover up his actions.
ii. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was sentenced to seven years in prisons and a lifetime ban on holding public office by a lower court of Milan as he was found guilty of soliciting sex from a minor and abusing his powers to cover up his actions.
iii. The sentence will be suspended until all appeals process is going to be exhausted, which itself is likely to take several years.
iv. he three presiding judges, all women, handed 76 years old Berlusconi a seven-year sentence, tougher than the six years that prosecutors were demanding.

NOTE: i. The trial of Berlusconi relates to crimes committed in 2010 when Berlusconi was prime minister, and revolves around what prosecutors have described as erotic parties held at his luxury residence outside Milan.
ii. There is a lenient guideline in Italy for people over the age of 70 so it is quite evident that Berlusconi will get some leniency in his jail term.

9. Pipavav Port Regained Top Position in Seafood Exports
i. Pipavav port, the first private sector port of India located in Saurashtra, Gujarat, remained at the top most position for second year in a row in FY13 on the basis of quantity.
ii. The Pipavav port registered a jump of 6 percent in comparison to 2012-13 financial year. The reason why Pipavav port remained a forerunner in terms of quantity was because it handled lot of pre-processed fish.
iii. The export figures by the Marine Products Export Development Authority revealed that Pipavav port handled 233738 tonnes of marine exports in 2013-14 in comparison to 219801 tonnes in 2012-13 fiscal year.
iv. In terms of value, nevertheless, Kochi as well as Vizag ports shared almost equal share of earning, i.e., 3344.97 crore and Rs 3265.64 crore respectively in 2013-14 financial year.

More about Pipavav port
i. Pipavav port is the first private sector port of India on West Coast.
ii. Pipavav port is situated in Saurashtra, Gujarat, at a distance of 90 km South of Amreli.
iii. The lead promoter of this port is APM Terminals, which is among the largest container terminal operators in the world.
iv. The Pipavav port is situated along the major trade routes and is also in proximity with major Indian Port of Nhava Sheva.
v. The services offered by this port include logistics support, cargo handling as well as pilotage and towage. The port handles bulk, container as well as liquid cargo.

10. Dhoni named captain of ICC Team of the CT
i. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named captain of the ICC's Team of the Champions Trophy, which has four other Indians including stylish batsman Shikhar Dhawan.
ii. India won the last edition of the Champions Trophy after edging past England by five runs on Sunday.
iii. The ICC team has seven players from India and runners-up England.
iv. The team includes Dhoni, Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar two Englishmen, Jonathan Trott and James Anderson, as well as Pakistan's Misbah-ul-Haq, Kumar Sangakkara from Sri Lanka, South Africa's Ryan McLaren and New Zealand's Mitchell McClenaghan.
v. Dhoni was named as the captain after he led his side to victory in the final, thus becoming the first captain in the history of the game to lift all three major ICC trophies World Twenty20 2007, Cricket World Cup 2011 and Champions Trophy 2013.

11. Hariharan appointed Secy of Indian chess federation
i. Former international player V Hariharan has been appointed as secretary of the All India Chess Federation while Bharat Singh was named Chief Executive Officer at the AGM held in Chennai on Monday.
ii. According to an AICF press release issued Monday, Kishore Bandekar of Goa was nominated as the joint secretary in place of Hariharan while Singh has agreed to serve as the CEO, but has declined a salary.
iii. Hariharan replaced Singh who had to step down as per the government guidelines on tenure of office bearers in national federations, the release added.
iv. Hariharan is a former National A player and represented India in the Asian Team Chess Championship held at Singapore in 1987.

12. CA sacks Arthur, names Lehmann as Australia coach
i. In a sudden move, Cricket Australia (CA) on Monday sacked Mickey Arthur and appointed Darren Lehmann as the new coach of the Australian team just weeks ahead of the Ashes series.
ii. The 45-year-old Arthur, who was appointed as coach in November 2011, came in for sharp criticism following Australia's poor performances and disciplinary issues within the camp.
iii. Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said it was a difficult decision but it was taken to make Australia a better side.
iv. Arthur, who had a contract till the end of the 2015 World Cup, said though it was disappointing he admitted that he could not do justice to his job.
v. Arthur said: "Naturally I'm very disappointed with how this has all ended. I certainly wanted to see the job through but I accept that the team hasn't been completely galvanised under my leadership and our performances have been inconsistent, under whom Australia has won 10 of 19 Tests, 18 of 39 ODIs and 7 of 16 T20s.
vi. The day also saw Michael Clarke resigning from his role as a selector of the team.

13. Indian male lifters end runners-up at Asian Championships
i. The Indian men's weightlifting team finished runners-up in the Asian Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan for the first time in its competitive history even though none of them could bag a medal at the event which concluded Wednesday.
ii. The 25th Women's and 44th Men's Asian Senior Weightlifting Championships concluded with most of the Indian lifters finishing inside top eight in their respective categories.
iii. The 25th Women's and 44th Men's Asian Senior Weightlifting Championships concluded with most of the Indian lifters finishing inside top eight in their respective categories.
iv. S Sathish Kumar ended eighth in the 77kg category and Sukeh Dey ended seventh in the 56kg division.


14. Assam kicks off religious tourism with Ambubachi Mela
i. The Assam government has decided to promote religious tourism in the state and the ongoing "Ambubachi Mela" at the famous Kamakhya Temple is the first step in this direction.
ii. Ambubachi is the most important festival of Kamakhya temple, nestled atop the Nilachal Hills, and is associated with the concept of fertility cult with the earth symbolising female 'shakti' (power').
iii. During the four-day Ambubachi festival, Mother Earth is believed to menstruate and all religious and agricultural activities are not performed during the period.
iv.Other festivals like Doul (Holi) Utsav at Barpeta and Bordowa, Shivaratri at Umananda and Shiva Doul at Sibsagar and Urs Festival at Poa Mecca at Hajo will similarly be focused, Tourism Director Anjan Chakraborty said.
v. "Lakhs of pilgrims from different parts of the country and even abroad come to shrines during these four days to pray and seek blessings of the Goddess. The government, therefore, would ensure that they face no difficulties and the basic amenities are taken care of," he said.

15. Chicken intake may ward off colon cancer in teens
i. Teens who eat more chicken and fish may lower their risk of developing colon cancer, a new study has claimed.
ii. In a study of nearly 20,000 women, those who ate more chicken during their teen years had lower risks of developing colorectal adenomas, which are benign tumours that may progress into colon cancer.
iii. The researchers did not find a direct relationship between red meat intake and adenomas, but the results showed that replacing one serving per day of red meat with one serving of poultry or fish may reduce the risks of rectal and advanced adenomas by about 40 percent.
iv. Among different cancers, colorectal cancer is the most influenced by diet. Compared to something like smoking, diet is not a large cancer risk factor, but it does have an impact," said study researcher Dr Katharina Nimptsch.

16. New Bird species discovered in Cambodia
i. Scientists have discovered a new species of bird with distinct plumage and a loud call living not in some remote jungle, but hiding in plain sight in the large populous city of Phnom Penh.
ii. Scientists with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), BirdLife International, and other groups found the previously undescribed species in Cambodia's urbanised capital Phnom Penh and several other locations just outside of the city including a construction site.
iii. Named the Cambodian tailorbird (Orthotomus chaktomuk), it is one of only two bird species found solely in Cambodia. The other, the Cambodian laughingthrush, is restricted to the remote Cardamom Mountains.
iv. The newly discovered wren-sized gray bird with a rufous cap and black throat lives in dense, humid lowland scrub in Phnom Penh and other sites in the floodplain.
v. Its scientific name 'chaktomuk' is an old Khmer word meaning four-faces, perfectly describing where the bird is found: the area centered in Phnom Penh where the Tonle Sap, Mekong and Bassac Rivers come together.
vi. "This discovery is one of several from Indochina in recent years, underscoring the region's global importance for bird conservation," said Colin Poole, Director of WCS Singapore and a co-author of the study.

17. Bhupathi-Knowle advance at Wimbledon
i. : Eighth seeded Indo-Austrian pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Julian Knowle advanced to the men's doubles second round at Wimbledon beating unseeded Argentine-Spanish duo Leonardo Mayer and Albert Ramos here Wednesday
ii. Bhupathi-Knowle won 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2 in two hours and 37 minutes in the first round clash.
iii. The eighth seeds broke their opponents for the first time in the sixth game of the first set to take a 4-2 advantage, converting their third break point and won the next game to take a step closer to bagging the set.
iv. The eighth seeds were in their elements easily breaking Mayer and Ramos twice in the fourth set and bagging their service games to love to take the set and match.
v. In the second round Bhupathi-Knowle will take on American-German duo Nicholas Monroe and Simon Stadler, who ousted another Indian pair Purav Raja and Divij Sharan in the first round.

18. Connaught Place:World’s Most Expensive Office Market
i.Connaught Place, the marketplace located in Delhi has been ranked fifth in the list of world’s most expensive office market due to its strong demand amid limited supply as per the CBRE report.
ii. The reason of Connaught place being one of the most expensive markets is the Strong demand coupled with Connaught Place’s central location, excellent access to key regional markets and limited availability of prime office space.
iii. Connaught Place – the Central Business District (CBD) is placed at the 5th position with an overall occupancy cost of 178.96 dollars per sq ft per annum. Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and Nariman Point of Mumbai are placed at 11th and 26th positions, respectively.

The top three Expensive markets are:
i.Hong Kong (Central) with annual occupancy costs of 235.23 dollars per sq ft topped the most expensive list for the third consecutive time.
ii. London’s West End, Beijing’s Finance Street
iii. Beijing’s Jianguomen. 

CURRENT AFFAIRS : 24th JUNE 2013
**********************************************
1. 4th India-US Strategic Dialogue starts in New Delhi

i. The meeting of the 4th India-US Strategic Dialogue has begun in New Delhi this morning.
ii. The meeting is co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and the visiting US Secretary of State, John Kerry
iii. Accompanied by a high-level delegation, Mr Kerry arrived in New Delhi last evening on a three-day visit to India. The delegation includes US Energy Secretary, NASA Director, US Military Chief for the Pacific Region and top officials from the State Department and Home- Land Security.
iv. This is Mr Kerry's first visit to India after his appointment as the US Secretary of State.
v. This is the first high level political interaction with New Delhi in the second term of Obama Presidency and expected to push forward the India-US relationship. 
vi. The issue of market accesss, nuclear liability bill and American National Security Agency's internet snooping programme are also expected to figure in the discussions.
vii. It gives both sides an opportunity to carry out some stock-taking of the relationship since the dialogue last year and also to try and set a new vision for the future.

2. Prasar Bharati to get digital wing
i. Prasar Bharati may get a digital wing to reach out to the increasing number of Internet and smartphone users, if recommendations of a working group formed by the government are accepted.
ii. The working group has said that in addition to television and radio, Prasar Bharati should get a third arm - Prasar Bharati Digital - to connect with new age users.
iii. The government had earlier appointed an expert committee headed by technocrat Sam Pitroda to examine the functioning of Prasar Bharati, which then created 11 working groups to examine various aspects of the public broadcaster.
iv. One of these working groups, which was headed by Pankaj Pachauri, communications advisor in the PMO, had suggested creation of Prasar Bharati Digital.
v. The sub-committee is learnt to have recommended that Prasar Bharati's digital wing should be authentic, accessible and a highly interactive platform.
vi. In the recommendations submitted to the Expert Committee, the panel has suggested that Prasar Bharati Digital should be set up with a team of 10 young professionals headed by a director and supported by three additional directors
vii. As per the recommendations, Prasar Bharati's digital wing would not only source content from Doordarshan, AIR and other government organisations but also facilitate generation of new streams of content.

3. Nelson Mandela in critical condition
i. Nelson Mandela is in a critical condition, South Africa's presidency has said, signalling a significant and sudden deterioration in the health of the 94-year-old anti-apartheid icon in his third week of hospitalisation for a recurrent lung infection
ii. "The condition of former president Nelson Mandela, who is still in hospital in Pretoria, has become critical," said presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj, 16 days after Mandela was admitted to the Mediclinic Heart Hospital for treatment of the lung infection.
iii. President Jacob Zuma, accompanied by African National Congress Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, visited Mandela on Sunday evening.
iv. Mandela, who was admitted to the hospital on 8th June with a recurrent lung infection, was earlier said to be in a serious but stable condition.
v. "The doctors are doing everything possible to get his condition to improve and are ensuring that Madiba (Mandela's clan name) is well-looked after and is comfortable. 
vi. Mandela, one of the world's tallest statesmen, led the movement to replace the apartheid regime of South Africa with a multi-racial democracy.
vii. Mandela served as South Africa's first black president from 1994 to 1999. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.


4. China, Britain set up currency swap line
i. China has expanded its currency convertibility to Britain as the central banks of the two countries signed a three-year sterling-yuan currency swap lineto boost bilateral trade and financial stability.
ii. China's first such agreement with a G7 country was signed between Bank of England (BoE) governor Mervyn King, who steps down at the end of the month, and his counterpart Zhou Xiaochuan of the People's Bank of China.
iii. The maximum value of the reciprocal 3-year yuan/sterling currency swap will be 200 billion yuan (USD 32.6 billion or 20 billion pounds), according to China's central bank.
iv. The currency swap line will facilitate yuan liquidity in London and overseas markets, as well as benefit bilateral trade and investment.
v. China has signed currency swap agreements with more than 20 countries and region to promote use of the yuan in trade and investment.

5. MiG-29 fighter aircraft crashes
i. A MIG -29 fighter aircraft on a routine sortie on Monday crashed near Lalparda village in Gujarat's Jamnagar district, with the pilot ejecting safely.
ii. "A MiG-29 fighter jet today crashed at 13.30 hours near Lalparda village south of Khambhalia town.
iii. IAF has ordered a court of inquiry in the matter, officials said, adding that their team is reaching the spot where the crash took place. 
iv. In August 2012, nine Air Force personnel, including five officers, on board two MI-17 helicopters were killed when two choppers of the Jamangar air base had collided mid-air shortly after takeoff.

6. Kochi firms win Nasscom award 
i. Two smartphone applications developed by firms at Kochi's Startup Village have been named by IT industry body Nasscom among the ten best apps designed for the security of women.
ii. Sentinel, developed by MindHelix Technosol Pvt. Ltd., and iFollow, from Aucupa Innovative Solutions, were among the winners of Nasscom's first all-India App Fame Contest to search for mobile tools to aid personal safety of women and to help deal with emergencies.
iii. Sentinel is a GPS-based application developed by MindHelix for Android devices and iPhone. It can make SOS calls and send text alerts and emails with location information to pre-saved emergency numbers and IDs at the touch of a button.
iv. The application works even in situations where the user is unable to trigger the alert manually or the phone is destroyed. It works also if there is no internet access. It can be downloaded for free from Google Play and the App store.
v. It is activated if the phone is shaken continuously for five seconds, and on standby mode it works silently in the background to reduce power consumption. iFollow is also a free application that can be downloaded from Google Play.
vi. MindHelix and Aucupa are both fledgling companies incubating at Startup Village.

7. Constables to get promoted 5 years early
i. In a move that will bring cheers to lakhs of constables working in paramilitary forces, the MHA has decided to re-introduce the long abolished post of 'Havildar' in forces like CRPF and BSF ensuring a 5-year faster promotion to these personnel in the lower rungs of hierarchy.
ii. A committee of force chiefs of CRPF, BSF, ITBP, SSB and CISF recently met Union Home Secretary R K Singh after which it was decided to create and introduce this post which will lessen the long promotion time of 19-20 years for a Constable to become a Head Constable by 5 years, and he/she will be promoted in 14 years to the new post of 'Havildar'
iii. From 'Havildar' to Head Constable the promotion time would be about two-three years which effectively means that these personnel who are the backbone of security forces will be able to get two promotions in less than 20 years as compared to the current norm of only one promotion in two decades.
iv. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has now asked all the paramilitary forces, with an estimated strength of 5-6 lakh constables, to prepare a blueprint in this regard and soon implement this much desired welfare measure in their respective forces.
v. With this promotion, the constables will also get a hike in their salaries whose quantum will vary from force to force and which will be notified soon
vi. Now, with a promotion in 14 years, the ministry has given these personnel, who are the backbone of the organisation, a silverline of hope.

8. Wimbledon Tennis Ch’ships kicks off in London
i. The 127th edition of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships kicks off in London today.
ii. Besides the top seeds like Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, numerous players are taking part in the competition, which consists of events in Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles play. 
iii. Switzerland's World Number Three Roger Federer and World Number One Serena Williams of the United States will enter this third Grand Slam of the season, as the defending champions in the Singles categories.
iv. The tournament will see India's participation in the Men's Doubles, Women's Doubles and Mixed Doubles events. 
v. Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna, with their partners, will be seen in the Men's Doubles, alongwith the duo of Divij Sharan and Purav Raja, which will play its first ever Grand Slam match today. 
vi. In the Women's Doubles, Sania Mirza will be pairing up with American Leizel Huber.

9. Russian Film the Major won Golden Goblet at Shangahi Film Festival
i. Russian film, The Major won Golden Goblet on 23 June 2013 for best feature film at the 16th Shanghai International Film Festival. ii. The film talks about how things go out of control when corrupt police officers try to cover up a hit-and-run case for their colleague.
iii. The jury headed by Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper opined that the film revealed a complicated Russian society, as well as great Russian art and storytelling tradition. 
iv. Its director, Yuri Bykov won awards for best director and outstanding artistic achievement.
v. The Jury Grand Prix went to Sweden film Reliance directed by William Olsson. The film also won awards for best screenplay and best cinematography.
vi. Hong Kong actor Nick Cheung won the Golden Goblet for best actor for the film Unbeatable.
vii. Ten-year-old Malaysian child star Crystal Lee became the youngest actress to win the award for best actress in the festival's history.

10. BCCI awards Rs.1 crore to each player
i. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Monday announced that each member of the Indian team will be awarded a cash prize of Rs. 1 crore for winning the Champions Trophy Sunday night.
ii. India beat England by five runs in a thrilling final at Edgbaston, Birmingham to be crowned Champions Trophy winners for the second time. India had shared the title with Sri Lanka in 2002.
iii. BCCI also announced in a statement that Rs. 30 lakh will be given to every member of the support staff.

SOME IMPORTANT GENERAL AWARENESS FOR SSC CGL & SBI PO- 2013 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1. The winner of Australian Open 2013 Women's title .
Ans:-Victoria Azarenka

2.The winner of Australian Open 2013 men's title
Ans:-Novak Djokovic

3. The chief guest of 2013 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas .
Ans:-Rajkeswur Purryag, President of Mauritius (Held in Kochi)

4. The chief guest of republic day 2013.
Ans:-Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, King of Bhutan

5. First President of South Korea.
Ans:-Park Guen-hye

6. The first female Chief Justice of Sri Lanka .
Ans:-Shirani Bandaranayake (recently impeached)

7. The winner of DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2013.
Ans:-Jeet Thayil (book - Narcopolis)

8.The World Economic Forum annual meeting held ?
Ans:-Davos, Switzerland

9. Indian scientist conferred with China's top science award.
Ans:-CNR Rao

10.The winner of Ranji Trophy 2012-2013 ?
Ans:-Mumbai

11. The country which recently test fired Hatf-9 (Nasr) missile.
Ans:-Pakistan

12. The new Chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi .
Ans:-Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty

13.The new President of Sahitya Akademi .
Ans:-Dr. Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari

14. The next Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations ?
Ans:-Asoke Kumar Mukerji

15. The worlds oldest Marathon runner.
Ans:-Fauja Singh

16. This year's Best Picture Oscar.
Ans:-Argo

17. The actor won this year's Best Actor (in a Leading Role) Oscar .
Ans:-Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)

18. The actress won this year's Best Actress (in a Leading Role) Oscar 2013 .
Ans:-Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)

19.Best Director Oscar 2013.
Ans:-Ang Lee (Life of Pi)

20. Best Actor Oscar thrice
Ans:-Daniel Day-Lewis

21. The theme of 2013 International Women’s Day (march 8) .
Ans:-A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women

22. The name of India's first regional navigational satellite.
Ans:-IRNSS-1

23. India's first all women post office inaugurated on women's day .
Ans:-Delhi

24. Theme of 2013 world water day (march 22) ?
Ans:-Water Cooperation

25. The year is declared by UN as International Year of Water Cooperation.
Ans:-2013

26. The winner of 2013 miss India .
Ans:-Navneet Kaur Dhillon

27.The winner of 2013 Saraswati Samman .
Ans:-Sugathakumari (Manalezhuthu)

CURRENT AFFAIRS - 25th APRIL 2013
___________________________________________________
1.World Malaria Day being observed today

i. World Malaria Day is being observed today. Malaria cure and prevention is focused upon, annually on 25th April
ii. The global campaign theme for 2013 and the coming years is Invest in the future. Defeat malaria. as given by the World Health Organization.
iii. This day was instituted by the WHO Member States during the 2007 World Health Assembly.
iv. According to WHO, 219 million cases are estimated to occur globally each year while 660000 deaths of children under the age of five years occurs every year.
v. The day also serves as an opportunity for new donors to join the global malaria partnership, research and academic institutions to showcase their scientific work.

2.India and UAE signed an MoU on Air Services 

i. The Union Government of India and the Government of UAE on 24 April 2013 signed an MoU on Air Services as a follow up of the two day bilateral negotiation at Abu Dhabi.
ii. A bilateral agreement was signed by both sides to increase the number of weekly airline seats by four times that is available at present, between India and Abu Dhabi
iii. With this agreement the number of seats between India and Abu Dhabi has been increased to 50000 passengers per week from existing capacity of 13300 + 2% flexibility (total 13,600) Seats per week with eleven points of call available to UAE.
iv. The arrangements in the agreement will extend over a period of three years. 

Important Points about the agreement
i. UAE made a demand from India to allocate additional 40000 seats every week grant for Goa, Amritsar, Pune and Lucknow as additional points of calls and removal of maximum cap that is prescribed from each point of call in terms of seats/frequency per week.
ii. India made a request to UAE to grant the change of gauge facility at Abu Dhabi for Indian Carriers with an assurance of fifth freedom rights from the UAE. 
iii. The agreement on availability of seats came up with the exhaustion of the entire capacity of 13300 and following the demands of the Indian carriers like Jet Airways, Air India, Spice Jet and Indigo for increase in the number of seats. 

3. Researchers Developed New Keyboard Called KALQ 
i. Researchers at St Andrews, the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Germany and Montana Tech in the US created a keyboard layout, said to be great for the touchscreen devices like smartphones and tablets.
ii. The new keyboard, researchers claimed, can make thumb-typing faster and easier
iii. New design of the keyboard is called KALQ, in order of its keys on one line. 
iv. This keyboard would be accessible to the users free of cost for the Android-based devices. 
v. In the new keyboard, all vowels were placed in area which was assigned to right thumb, while the left thumb had more keys.
vi.With error-correction algorithm, the users who were trained could reach 37 words in a minute. 
v. KALQ provided better performance to users. The new keyword work of the researchers will now be presented at CHI 2013 conference (the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems) in Paris on 1 May 2013.

4. Ajay Devgn, Runa Laila named SAARC ambassadors for HIV/AIDS

i. Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn, Bangladeshi singer Runa Laila and Oscar-winning Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy have been named as SAARC Goodwill Ambassadors for HIV/AIDS.
ii. A meeting of the selection committee was held recently at the SAARC Secretariat and of the 10 nominations received from the member states, the three celebrities were nominated.
iii. The selections were based on criteria of regional stature and eminence; appeal to the target audience; relevance in delivery of message; likely commitment of the candidate and innovative ways that could be utilised in promoting advocacy and awareness in combating HIV/AIDS.
iv. "SAARC Goodwill Ambassador programmes have been very effective for generating advocacy and awareness relating to HIV/AIDS in the region. Shabana Azmi during her tenure did tremendous jobs on advocacy and awareness in Nepal and Bhutan.
v. The SAARC goodwill ambassador for HIV/ AIDS programme commenced in January 2009 with actress Shabana Azmi as its first mascot.

5. Largest Biogas Plant of the World Inaugurated in Finland
i. The largest biogas plant of the world was inaugurated in Finland
ii. The plant is built near the already-present coal-fired power plant in Vaasa in Central Finland.
iii. The 140 MW biomass gasification factory would help the country in cutting down the use of coal by up to 40 percent. 
iv. It will also help in facilitating electricity as well as heating for the Vaasa to approximately 61000 residents. 
v. The operator of the plant is Vaskiluodon Voima. Vaskiluodon Voima declared that this plant will help in creating various jobs in this region.

6. UP CM Akhilesh to address Harvard on Mahakumbh success story

i. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav will leave for Harvard, first official foreign visit, on 23rd April to share his views about successful planning of Allahabad' Mahakumbh', the biggest religious fair of the world.
ii. The oldest American private Ivy League research the university in United States, has invited Mr Yadav along with other senior UP officials who had conducted the successful Mahakumbh where over 200 million pilgrims had taken a dip in Sangam during the 55-days-long fair.
iii. Mahakumbh takes place at the banks of Sangam, the confluence of holy river Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati in Allahabad, every twelve year.
iv. Yadav will leave for US along with his team of officers who were involved in the planning of the fair which, in fact, had started two years in advance.
v. This year it was held from 15th January to 10th March and had evoked great response from the spritual, religious and academic fraternity from across the world with crores of devotees including foreign tourists having visited the fair.

7. Kashyap becomes world No.6
i. London Olympics quarterfinalist Parupalli Kashyap on Thursday moved up a place to career-best sixth in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings.
ii. Kashyap scaled his career-best singles ranking a day after losing his first round match at the India Open Super Series to former world number 1 Taufiq Hidayat of Indonesia.
iii. P.V. Sindhu also reached her career-best ranking of number 15 in the women’s singles while Saina Nehwal retained the number two spot.

8.Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 5 wickets
i. Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets in Pepsi Indian Premier League match which was held in Kolkata on Wednesday.
ii. Batting first, KKR scored 159 for six but MI surpassed the total with a ball to spare as Dwayne Smith hit 62.
iii. For defending champions KKR, this was their fifth defeat and their campaign is slowly turning from bad to worse as they stay on four points from seven games compared to MI's eight points.

SBI PO : Last Minute Tips (Exam Strategy)
************************************************
SBI PO is considered to be most coveted job among all PSU Banks among all aspiring Bankers. Recently, in the months of January, SBI had invited applications of the post of Probationary Officers (Total Posts = 1500) against which approximately 17 Lac candidates have applied. Looking at the selection probability of the exam which is approx 0.1 % (selection of 1 candidate out of 1,000), the competition is going to be really tough and it will not be easy for any candidate to sail through.

Written test for the above PO vacancies in SBI, will be held on this Sunday (28-Apr-2013). Sunday's exam will have two components -

1. Objective test of 2 hours, which will consist of following 4 sections, each section of 50 marks -

(a) Test of English Language (Grammar, Vocabulary, Comprehension etc)
(b) Test of General Awareness, Marketing and Computers
(c) Test of Data Analysis and Interpretation
(d) Test of Reasoning (High Level)

2. The Descriptive Test (50 Marks) with 1 hour duration will be of “Test of English Language (comprehension, short précis, letter writing & essay)”.

SBI PO Exam Strategy from IBPS Recruitment Portal:

Keeping in mind the tough competition, candidates should ensure that they go to the exam hall with full preparation and should avoid the slightest mistake in the exam. Essentially, candidates should keep in mind the following, while attempting the exam - 

1. Go with a Plan: 
Candidates should go with proper plan - as in which section to attempt first and which section to attempt last and how much time should one devote on each section. It is very important that candidate stick to their plan (time wise) i.e. if you had decided that you will give 40 minutes to Reasoning section, you should stick to it. Reason for the same is - sometimes a particular section may be very difficult, and while attempting the same you may get carried away by devoting more time on that, it will mean that you will compromise on some other section by giving it a lesser time. You need to remember that there is a sectional cut-off in the exam and if a particular section is tough, it will be tough for everyone and hence cut-off for that section will be low.

2. Attempt Paper in 2 Rounds: 
You should attempt each section in 2 rounds. While attempting each section - first do the questions, for which you are sure and which can be done in less than a minute. Leave tougher questions for the second round. This way will be not miss any easy question in the paper and will be able to optimize the score.

3. Start with Easier Section: 
Suppose, you are more comfortable in a particular section, attempt is first. It will give you the confidence and set the pace for the exam. Attempt most difficult part in the end.

4. Do not get stuck on a Question: 
Never get touchy about any question and hence do not waste time if you are not able to crack it within 1-2 mins. We have seen, many candidates get stuck with questions like seating arrangement/puzzles in reasoning part and precious time on these. Never do that. If you feel that you might get stuck, leave it for second round.

5. Fill OMR sheet parallelly: 
Never leave filling of OMR sheet to be done at the end. Many times, we have seen that candidate is able to solve questions and when in the end it starts filling the OMR sheet, suddenly time gets over. It is very furstrating if you have solved the paper but due to mismanagement of time you are not able to fill it in OMR Sheet. Best strategy is to fill OMR sheet after completing each section.

6. Never give up during exam: 
Competitions like this are the tests of your nerves. You should go with a positive frame of mind to the exam hall and maintain the same throughout the exam. Many times, when candidates get stuck or find a particular section difficult, they give up. Never ever give up. Paper is not going to be easy for anyone and winner will be one who will hold the nerves till the end.

7. Be prepared for descriptive part: 
Descriptive Paper (consisting of 50 marks) is very crticial, as we have seen many candidates ignore it while preparing for exam. While writing the descriptive part one should keep in mind that, more then English language, candidates are tested for having their own opinion on a topic as well as presentation skills.

8. Take proper sleep: 
Candidates should take a proper sleep before the exam day and should have light breakfast before the exam.

I