Current Affairs - December 13th 2013

Current Affairs

December 13, 2013

1.    India win Women's Kabaddi World Cup

i. India clinched the women's Kabaddi World Cup championship for the third time in a row, defeating debutant New Zealand 49-21 in the summit clash played at Guru Gobind Singh sports complex in Jalandhar on Thursday.

ii. The Indian eves led their New Zealand counterparts for most part of the match and held out a strong challenge by the visitors in the second half, on course to a resounding win. 

iii. The Indian team took home a first-place prize of Rs one crore.
iv. Anu Rani was adjudged the best stopper while Ram Bateri was declared the best raider. Both received a Maruti Alto car each.

2. Mary Kom Autobiography titled Unbreakable unveiled

i. Olympic medal-winning boxer M C Kom’s autobiography, titled Unbreakable was unveiled by the Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan on 9 December 2013.

ii. Mary said that her struggle has been one that many in country face, especially women. The reason behind to pen down her story was so that others could read it and feel that if she could achieve what she had, so can they.

iii. Mary kom was born on 1 March 1983 in Kangathei, Manipur, India. Mary Kom turned professional boxer after her victory in the Manipur state women's boxing championship in 2000.

iv. The government of India had awarded her with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2009, which is the country’s highest award given to a sportsman.

v. She also received the Arjuna Award in 2003 and Padma Shree Award in 2006.

vi. She was also appointed the International Boxing Association’s Ambassador for Women’s Boxing in 2009.

Vii. She won bronze at Summer Olympics held in London in 2012.

3. Vasundhara Raje sworn in as Chief Minister of Rajasthan

i. BJP leader Vasundhara Raje was on 13 December 2013 sworn in as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan for the second time.  

ii. Vasundhara Raje was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Margaret Alva during a grand swearing-in ceremony inside the Assembly building premises in Jaipur.

iii. In 2013 Rajasthan Assembly elections Baratiya Jananta Party has won 162 out of 199 seats. Vasundhara Raje is elected from Jhalrapatan (Jhalawar) constituency.

iv. Vasundhara Raje was born on 8 March 1953 in Mumbai, Maharastra, She is daughter of Vijayaraje Scindia and Jivajirao Scindia, Maharaja of Gwalior, members of the prominent Scindia royal Maratha family.

4. The Ragarajan Panel recommended the guidelines for Highway sector

i. The C Rangarajan panel recommended the guidelines prescribing bailout packages for developers of highway projects and the task of implementation lie with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI.
ii. The panel recommended that 75% of the premium amount payable to the government will be restricted in the first three years of the contract.

iii. Further it recommended that the road developers should submit the entire premium amount three years before the completion of full contract. At present companies pay some amount of premium to the government in the first year of the project which keeps increasing in the subsequent years.
iv. The panel’s recommendations, if accepted, will lead to huge reduction in the premium payment in the first years. As a result, it will provide relief to the developers like GMR Infrastructure Ltd and GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd and 23 other road developers.

5. Bangladesh Islamist Abdul Kader Mullah hanged for 1971 war crimes

i. Islamist leader Abdul Kader Mullah of Bangladesh was executed on 12 December 2013. His execution was done at the Dhaka Central Jail at 22:01 local time.

ii. He was executed for genocides done during the Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war with Pakistan.

iii. He was the first person convicted by Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) and the first politician to be hanged for such crimes. He was the senior leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party.

iv. Apart from Abdul Kader Mullah, four other leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami have been convicted by the ICT and will face the death penalty.
v. 42 years ago in 1971 Bangladesh broke away from Pakistan after a war after the military intervention by India, in which many were killed and about 10 million people migrated as refugees.

6. Krish Iyer named CEO of Walmart India

i. Wal-Mart India has appointed Krish Iyer as President and CEO of Walmart India, effective January 20, 2014, replacing interim CEO Ramnik Narsey.

ii. Iyer will report to Walmart Asia regional president and CEO Scott Price.

iii. Ramnik Narsey is taking a new role as senior vice president, Walmart International. Ramnik will report to David Cheesewright, the incoming President and Chief Executive Officer for Walmart International.

iv. Originally from Mumbai, India, Iyer joined Walmart International as a senior vice president in 2012.

v. Before that, Iyer was managing director and CEO at Piramyd Retail Ltd. Iyer is a chartered accountant, having received his Bachelor’s degree with honors in Commerce and Economics from the University of Mumbai in India.

7. Shah Rukh Khan tops Forbes 'Celebrity List' for the second time

i.  Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan has been named the 'most powerful celebrity of 2013' by Forbes India for the second time in a row.

ii. The 48-year-old actor has conquered the Top 100 celebrity list with the help of his popularity and earnings from his mega hit film 'Chennai Express' this year.

iii. Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni moved up from the third spot last year and has come in at the number two spot with his immense popularity and endorsement deals.

iv. Bollywood star Salman Khan slipped from his second position last year and earned the third spot in the list.

v. They are followed by Sachin Tendulkar at number 4, and megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who retained his position, completing the top five on the list.

vi. Bachchan is followed by Bollywood action star Akshay Kumar, who has come in at number 6.

vii. Actress Kareena Kapoor and swashbuckling cricketer Virendra Sehwag have made way for actors Ranbir Kapoor at number 8 and Hrithik Roshan at number 10.

viii. Cricketer Virat Kohli is the youngest celebrity to make it to the top 10 this year.

ix. Katrina Kaif is the only woman who has made it to the Top 10.

x. The notable ones include Ravindra Jadeja (28), Shikhar Dhawan (39), Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (52), Ranveer Singh (66), Prakash Jha (67).

8. Gujarat to set up exclusive sanctuary, "hostels" for cows

i. Gujarat will soon have an exclusive sanctuary for cows near Porbandar, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, and animal “hostels” across the State to shelter cows owned by Maldharis (pastoralists) to keep their cattle away from urban roads.

ii. The sanctuary will be developed in a 1,200 hectare area to shelter about 10,000 cows of various breeds in Porbandar taluka.

iii. The sanctuary will also have a research and development centre and a plant to manufacture bio and organic fertilisers using cow dung and urine.

iv. Besides, India could also substantially save on the pharmaceutical front by using indigenously-produced traditional medicines and avoid usage of about Rs 50,000 crore worth of other medicines, said Dr Kathiria, a former Health Minister in the NDA Government led by Atal Behari Vajpayee in the last decade.

v. Gujarat is the only state in India to have formulated strict laws to protect cows whose number has increased from 70 lakh to one crore during the last one decade,” said Dr Kathiria, who is also the Chairman of the Organizing Committee.

vi. Gujarat currently has 269 animal ponds with 65,000 cows, 24,000 calves and 8,000 bulls. The Board provides bulls free of cost to promote cow progeny, and a Rs 1 lakh grant to institutions engaged in research and development.

9. ICC Annual awards: Pujara bags 'Emerging Cricketer of the Year' trophy

i. Rising Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara has bagged the 'Emerging Cricketer of the Year' trophy at the ICC Annual awards announced in Dubai today.

ii. This is his first ever ICC Award for Pujara who became the second fastest Indian to get 1000 Test runs during the course of his double hundred against Australia in March at Hyderabad.

iii. Another Indian to win ICC Annual award is Mahendra Singh Dhoni who gets LG People's Choice award. In total, there are eleven individual awards.

 iv. Australian captain Michael Clarke clinched the top honours.He was announced as the winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year and was also named as the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year.

10. Fodder scam case: SC grants bail Lalu Prasad

i. The Supreme Court today granted bail to RJD chief Lalu Prasad in a fodder scam case, in a relief to the politician who is behind the bars for the last two months after being awarded a five-year jail term.

ii. A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam granted bail after noting that several other similarly placed convicts have already been granted bail in the case.

iii. The bench also comprising Justice Ranjan Gogoi, however, left it to the trial court to decide the bail bonds, sureties and other conditions to be imposed on the former Member of Parliament.\

iv. Prasad had moved the apex court challenging the order of the Jharkhand High Court which had dismissed his bail plea.

v. The RJD chief, another former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra and 43 others were on September 30 convicted by a special CBI court in the fodder scam case involving fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from Chaibasa Treasury during the Prasad-led RJD regime.

11. Tata Relief Committee signs MoU with Uttarakhand

i. The Tata Relief Committee and the Government of Uttarakhand have signed a memorandum of understanding towards community rehabilitation and reconstruction in response to the impact of the floods and landslides in June 2013.

ii. The scope of the MoU includes an overall framework within which rehabilitation initiatives are to be implemented across themes of reconstruction, health, vocational skill training and enterprise based livelihoods.

iii. It also provides for formal allocation of nine villages across Rudraprayag, Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh to the Tata Relief Committee for overall reconstruction and rehabilitation.

iv. A joint committee with representatives from the government and Tata Relief Committee has also been established for the supervision of the initiative.

v. The Tata group had earlier responded to the floods, landslides of June 2013, through a dedicated rehabilitation programme in the State. The first phase of the programme focused on relief and medical assistance where over 10,000 beneficiaries were covered across Rudraprayag, Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar and Chamoli districts, the company said in a statement.

12. India’s Deputy Consul General held in US on visa fraud charges

i. Devyani Khobragade, Deputy Consul General at the Indian Consulate here was today arrested for allegedly presenting fraudulent documents in support of a visa application for an Indian national employed by her, Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor Preet Bharara said.

ii. Khobragade, 39, was held on charges that she allegedly caused a materially false and fraudulent document to be presented, and materially false and fraudulent statements to be made, to the US Department of State in support of a visa application for an the Indian national employed as a babysitter and housekeeper at her home in New York.

iii. Khobragade is currently employed as the Deputy Consul General for Political, Economic, Commercial and Women’s Affairs at the Consulate General of India in New York.

iv. Khobragade was charged with one count of visa fraud and one count of making false statements, which carry maximum sentences of ten years and five years in prison, respectively.

13.  Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag designated as the Vice Chief of Army Staff

i. Eastern Army Command, Lieutenant General Dalbir Singh Suhag on 12 December 2013 was designated as the Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCoAS).

ii. He will take over from Lieutenant General SK Singh as the Vice Chief of Army Staff retires on 31 December 2013. 

iii. He will be replaced by Lieutenant General MMS Rai at the Kolkata based Eastern Army Command. Lieutenant General Arun Kumar Sahni will head the Jaipur-based Southwestern Army Command.

iv. Earlier, the former Army Chief V K Singh in 2012 imposed a promotion ban on him for disciplinary reasons. The ban was later lifted by Gen Bikram Singh.