Dec 13, 2013

News : 8-15 Dec 2013


Appointments : 

  1. PepsiCo, on Monday, appointed D. Shivakumar, a former senior executive with the Finnish handset maker Nokia, as the company’s new Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for the Indian region
  2. Pakistan’s newly appointed Army chief  : Gen Raheel Sharif 
  3. Ranjan Mathai, former Foreign Secretary of India, has taken over as the country’s next High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
  4. General Motors picked Mary Barra, its product development chief and a 33-year company veteran, as its next CEO. She will become the first woman to head any major car company. 
  5. Justice (retired) D.P. Buch took oath here as the Lokayukta of Gujarat.
  6. Vasundhara Raje (BJP) to be sworn in at a grand ceremony on the Rajasthan Assembly elections.
  7. Raman Singh takes oath as CM of Chattisgarh.
  8. Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for the third consecutive time.
  9. Lal Thanhawla was unanimously re-elected leader of the Mizoram Congress Legislature Party by the newly elected MLAs of the ruling party.

Resignations/Retirements


Obituaries

  1. Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, scion of the Mysore royal family died
  2. The founder and chairman emeritus of Khadim India Limited, industrialist Satya Prasad Roy Burman, passed away.
  3. Sundarnath Suvarna (60), renowned cinematographer of Kannada films, died 

Awards

  1. The head of a watchdog group that is trying to rid the world of chemical weapons has received the Nobel Peace Prize.Ahmet Uzumcu, Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Sports

  1. India retained Kabaddi World cup for fourth time after defeating Pakistan.

International

  1. Indo-China Border Defence Cooperation Agreement.More
  2. South Korea announced Sunday that it is expanding its 62 year-old air defense identification zone in a clear reaction to China’s own new ADIZ.The expanded zone will cover the submerged rocks that are the subject of a territorial dispute between South Korea and China and will overlap with the ADIZs of both China and Japan.
  3. Thailand’s government said on Monday it has proposed new elections be held on February 2, hours after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra dissolved the Lower House of Parliament in a bid to calm the country’s deepening political crisis. 
  4. British Prime Minister David Cameron met Chinese leaders as he called for the European Union to negotiate a free trade agreement with the world’s second-largest economy.
  5. Mauritius has agreed to include a ‘limitation of benefits (LoB)’ clause in its revised tax treaty with India.LoB clauses are typically aimed at preventing ‘treaty shopping’ or inappropriate use of tax pacts by third-country investors
  6. Abdul Quader Mollah, a key ally of Pakistan occupation forces in 1971, who was convicted by a war crimes tribunal for genocide and mass rape during the nation’s liberation war, was executed in Dhaka. SC upheld the decision.
  7. Australia’s highest court struck down a landmark law on Thursday that had begun allowing the country’s first gay marriages.Prime Minister Tony Abbott opposes gay marriage and his coalition blocked two federal bills last year that would have allowed legal recognition of same-sex partnerships.The ruling comes a day after India’s Supreme Court struck down a 2009 lower court decision to decriminalize homosexuality.Gay marriage has legal recognition in 18 countries as well as 16 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia. 
  8. The Indian High Commission in Pakistan has issued an advisory on Wednesday that all adults and children travelling to India from Pakistan after January 30, 2014 are required to obtain Oral Polio Vaccination (OPV) at least six weeks prior to their departure to India, but not more than one year before the date of travel.
  9. Though consumption of marijuana is allowed in some countries, Uruguay has become the first country in the world to allow its citizens to grow and sell it.UN opposes it.
  10. Pope Francis has been selected by Time magazine as the Person of the Year.
  11. The Deal fixes federal spending at $1.012 trillion, which was said to be “roughly halfway between the $1.058tn sought by Democrats in the Senate and the $967bn proposed by the Republican-controlled House.”in US.
  12. Women and Equalities Minister Maria Miller announced that the same sex couples could get married from March 29 next in England and Wales, under the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, 2013, which received an overwhelming approval in Parliament in July this year.
  13. A senior Indian diplomat  Deputy Consul General of India in New York, Devyani Khobragade  in the U.S. was  arrested in New York on charges related to visa fraud and human trafficking, specifically that she had caused “materially false and fraudulent documents” to be presented to authorities in her bid to get an Indian national employed as a babysitter and housekeeper at her residence in Manhattan.In 2012, a New York City Magistrate Judge ordered that Neena Malhotra, a diplomat at the Consulate, and her husband Jogesh be required to pay out nearly $1.5 million for forcing an underaged Indian girl.
  14. Scientists and experts of Iran have successfully launched a research rocket that took the second monkey into the space on 14 December 2013. The rocket named Pajohesh (research) was launched on the first day of the national Research Week of Iran and carried out the second monkey named Fargam and safely it returned to Earth after 15 minutes.

National

  1. FDI up to 26% is permissible in the defence sector, subject to licensing. However, wherever FDI beyond 26% is likely to result in access to modern and state-of-the-art technology into the country, decisions can be taken to allow higher FDI on a case-to-case basis, with the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Security.
  2. Any malicious complaint of sexual harassment by a woman will attract the same punishment a man who has been found guilty of it at the workplace suffers.The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redress) Rules, 2013, notified by the Women and Child Development Ministry.
  3. BJP in Delhi declined to form government,Delhi may see fresh Assembly election.
  4. The Uttar Pradesh government cannot withdraw prosecution in terror cases under the central acts without the permission of the Centre, the Allahabad High Court held.
  5. Centre has said that government officials punished with demotion and reduction in pay for alleged irregularities or dereliction in duties can regain their position after expiry of such punishment period
  6. MiG-21 FL (Type-77) combat jets towed.The first supersonic air combat in the subcontinent occurred during the 1971 war with Pakistan when MiG-21 proved its mettle. By the end of the war, the MiG-21 had shot down four F-104s, two F-6s, one F-86 Sabre and a Lockheed C-130 Hercules of the Pakistan Air Force.
  7. The Northern Railways on Monday successfully carried out the trial run of the 16-coach DMU between Udhampur and Katra, the base camp of the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.Some new trains, including Katra-Kalka (Chandigarh) Express (bi-weekly), Delhi Sarai Rohilla-Udhampur Express (fully air-conditioned) and Ahmedabad-Udhampur Express are also set to be introduced on the route subsequently.  
  8. A global report "State of School Feeding Worldwide, 2013" by the World Food Project (WFP) for 2013 on 169 countries has said that India has the largest school feeding programme in the world, catering to over 114 million children, but stands 12thamong 35 lower-middle-income countries covering 79 per cent of its total number of school-going children.
  9. The Global Gender Gap Report 2013” by World Economic Forum, India ranks at 101 in respect of Global Gender Gap Index among 136 countries of the World. This index takes into account the following:
    (i)                 Economic Participation
    (ii)               Educational Attainment
    (iii)             Health and Survival
    (iv)             Political Empowerment
  10. Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) to replace introducers for ration card applicants in Karnataka
  11. Irrfan Khan on 13 December 2013 won the best actor award for his brilliant performance in his film The Lunchbox at the 10th edition of Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF)

Polity

  1. Madras High Court accept children's evidence in case of murder.
  2. With the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) winning over 28 of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly elections, the Election Commission is all set to recognise it as a ‘State party.’To get recognition as a State party, all the candidates set up by the party together should get a minimum of eight per cent of the valid votes polled in the entire State or secure a minimum of six per cent of the total votes polled and one Assembly seat for every 25 seats in that State.The AAP, which was allotted “broomstick” as the election symbol by the Commission from among the common symbols following a request in this regard from AAP, will now have the choice of retaining “broomstick” as its permanent election symbol or it can design its own poll symbol provided it fits within the rules and regulations of the Commission. That concession of choosing a common symbol for all the AAP candidates in Delhi was given by the Commission as a one time gesture.If a political party is recognised as a “State Party” in four or more States then it will automatically become a national party.
  3.  Supreme Court on Wednesday held that homosexuality or unnatural sex between two consenting adults under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is illegal and will continue to be an offence. This provision did not suffer from any constitutional infirmity.UN Chief opposes it.This judgement set aside HC Delhi judgement of decriminalization of gay marriage
  4. The Supreme Court said that red beacon lights without flashers would be used on the vehicles of only high constitutional functionaries and blue beacon lights will be used only on emergency services and police.The apex court bench headed by Justice G.S. Singhvi in its direction said that the sirens would only be used on the emergency and police vehicles but the sound should not be unduly harsh and shrill.The motor vehicles carrying ‘high dignitaries’ specified by the Central government and their counterparts specified by the States may be fitted with red lights, but the red lights with or without flasher can be used only when the specified high dignitary is on duty.
  5. 3.07 per cent of valid votes went to NOTA in Chhattisgarh, 0.63 per cent in Delhi.Political parties have chosen to remain indifferent to ‘None of the Above’ (NOTA), an option given to voters for the first time to reject all contestants, saying it is irrelevant because it did not impact the outcome of the recent Assembly elections.
  6. Travelling on roof is prohibited and is a punishable offence under Section 156 of the Railways Act, 1989. If a passenger persists travelling on roof after being warned, he may be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both and may be removed from the railway by any railway servant.  

Economics

  1. The Union Cabinet, on Monday, approved the reserved prices for spectrum sale as recommended by the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on telecom — Rs.1,765 crore per MHz pan-India for 1800 MHz band and Rs.360 crore, Rs.328 crore and Rs.125 crore per MHz in metro service areas of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, respectively, for 900 MHz band.
  2. India’s GDP growth to remain weak at 5.5 per cent in the fiscal year ending March 2015, as elections in mid-2014 will delay reforms needed to revive the economy: MOODY
  3. Retail price inflation grew continuously for the third straight month in November. On the back of rising food prices the Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew at the rate of 11.24 percent last month, hitting its highest level since it was constituted in January 2011.

Env & Ecology

  1. In an attempt to provide access to hygienic sanitation facilities to thousands of commuters boarding long-distance buses, a ‘Namma Toilet’ has been launched at Peerkankaranai.
  2. Conservationists on Wednesday slammed Australia's approval for an Indian firm to expand a major coal port on the Great Barrier Reef coast, warning it would hasten the natural wonder's demise.

Science & Tech 

  1. INS Vikramaditya was commissioned into the Indian Navy at Severodvinsk, Russia on 16th November 2013 against the scheduled delivery in August 2008.Integral maritime air power is a unique feature/capability of a naval aircraft carrier.
  2. Steps to strengthen AEFI monitoring : AEFI surveillance (Adverse Events Following Immunization Surveillance) is a mechanism to track all kinds of adverse events including deaths that may occur following vaccination whether related or unrelated. There is an established system of AEFI surveillance which signals zero tolerance on the part of Government for missing out even single vaccine related adverse event. All these AEFI cases have been examined by the AEFI committee.
  3. The U.S. has approved a breakthrough therapy for treatment of chronic hepatitis C that is expected to offer a more palatable cure to millions of people infected with the liver-destroying viral disease.the pill, Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) is the first drug that has demonstrated safety and efficacy to treat certain types of HCV infection without the need for co-administration of interferon.On November 22, the FDA had approved Olysio (simeprevir).Sovaldi is marketed by Gilead, based in Foster City, California. Olysio is marketed by Raritan, New Jersey-based Janssen Pharmaceuticals. 
  4. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission Phase-1 (JNNSM) is well-poised to make India a global leader in the development of solar power as its green growth agenda increased the installed capacity of solar power from around 30 MW to more than 2,000 MW, a new World Bank report said.t has reduced the costs of solar energy to $0.15 per kWh, making India amongst the lowest cost destinations for grid-connected solar Photovoltaic (PV) in the world.A solar park in Charanka (Patan district) in Gujarat is now the largest solar park in Asia.
  5. World Health Organization (WHO) on 24th February, 2012 removed India from the list of countries with active endemic wild poliovirus transmission.
    The Government is also working to eliminate measles and control Rubella and Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) by 2020 in association with South-East Asia Region.
  6. The challenge of Big Data lies in collecting, handling, storing, processing and post processing of data sets.One tool that has made it possible to slice and dice large quantities of data meaningfully is R.R is known for its ‘right at home’ demeanour when it comes to Advanced Analytics. The R programming language is an open source project, which has a very large official community (CRAN) and many other unofficial communities (such as Stack Overflow) supporting its development and user base.R rose to popularity only recently, evolving from popular statistical tool S, which was developed at Bell Labs (formerly AT&T, now Lucent Technologies), making its first appearance in 1976. R was born in 1993 at the University of Auckland, developed by Ross Ihaka and Robert Gentleman. The main motive was to take the statistical abilities of S to the open source community.

Culture

  1. The biggest indigenous festival of the Northeast and the annual tourism promotional festival organised by the Nagaland government — The Hornbill Festival. Hornbill festival is the premier festival of Nagaland held every year in the month of December. The festival is named after the hornbill, the globally respected bird and which is displayed in folklore in most of the state’s tribes.
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