Current Affairs - January 01, 2014

Current Affairs

January 01, 2014

1. Air Marshal Arup Raha took over as the Air Force chief today. He succeeded Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne. Earlier he had held various command, staff and instructional appointments in his 39-year-old career.

2. Market regulator SEBI has approved the appointment of Saurabh Sarkar as the new MD and CEO of MCX-SX. He now heads the United Stock Exchange (USE), is likely to take charge in February. The appointment of Sarkar comes at a crucial time for MCX-SX, which is seeing a churn in the top management, with the promoter Jigneesh Shah and Joseph Massey stepping down from the board after the Rs 5,600-crore NSEL payment crisis.

3. Chief Scientist & Head of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, B. Mahipal Reddy was honoured with the Best Scientist Award of Science-Tech Foundation (STF), Bangalore for the year 2013. He has been selected for his efforts which resulted in the development of novel catalysts for air pollution control, bio-mass conversion to value-added products, synthesis of fine chemicals and solar fuels, and the conversion of greenhouse gases to useful chemicals.

4. Indian Rupee at 61.80.81 per dollar, closed as Asia’s 3rd worst performer during the year 2013.

5. Former West Bengal minister and CPI (M) leader Sailen Sarkar aged 73 died after a brief illness.

6. Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor has been awarded for working towards animal protection by PETA-India

7. Lokpal Bill gets Presidential assent.   

A Lokpal can enquire into offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PCA) committed by members of Parliament, group A and B government officials, employees of a company, society or a trust set up by an Act of Parliament, or financed or controlled by the central government. 

The anti-graft act also mandates States to make their own law for setting up Lokayuktas along the lines of the 'Lokpal' within a year.

8. India scraps controversial Agusta Westland VVIP chopper deal.  

These choppers were supposed to replace ageing Russian-origin 'Mi-8' helicopters currently used by VVIP to travel within the country.

The contract for supplying 12 VVIP helicopters (3 already delivered) amounted to over Rs 3500 crore.

9. Mahipal Reddy receives the 'Best Scientist Award' of Science-Tech Foundation (STF), Bangalore for the year 2013. 

He is currently a Chief Scientist & Head of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry Division of CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology.  

Serena Williams honoured with Associated Press' (AP) female 'Athlete of the year' award 2013 for the 3rd time after 2002 and 2009. American Basket ball player 'LeBron James' won the male 'Athlete of the year' award for this season.

10. International Petroleum Conference 2014 to take place in New Delhi from 12th – 15th January 2014 with 'Vision 2030: Emerging Global Energy Basket - Challenges and Opportunities' as its theme.  

The biennial event offers a platform for national and international experts in the oil & gas industry to exchange views and share knowledge, expertise and experiences. 

11. Indian government has cancelled a USD 753 million helicopter deal with Italian defence giant Finmeccanica after allegations of corruption. The contract was for 12 luxury helicopters to transport VIPs. The deal was scrapped because an integrity pact had been breached by the firm’s Anglo-Italian helicopter arm AgustaWestland.

12. People consuming 0 to 200 units and 201 to 400 units electricity a month in Delhi would get 50% subsidy in power tariff with effect from 1st January 2014.

13. Latvia has formally joined the euro zone with new year, ecoming the 18th member of the group of EU states which uses the euro as its currency. Latvia recently emerged from the financial crisis to become the EU’s fastest-growing economy as well. This step will improve Latvia’s credit rating and attract foreign investors.

14. Eric Schmidt, Google’s biggest mistake was not anticipating the rise of the social networking phenomenon.

15. Ashraf Jehan becomes the first female judge in National Sharia Court of Pakistan.