Current Affairs - January 03, 2013

Current Affairs

January 03, 2013

International Affairs

1. The US has said it is focused on moving forward its relationship with India and asserted that the legal procedure against diplomat Devyani Khobragade is separate from the diplomatic process.

2. All cities in China should be charging tiered prices for household water by the end of 2015, to encourage people to use less water.

National Affairs

3. Aam Aadmi Party Ministers of Delhi, except Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, were today given Toyota Innova cars as official perks.

4. Ex-Infosys board member V Balakrishnan to join the AAP bandwagon : V Balakrishnan has joined the Aam Aadmi Party just one day after he ended a 22-year career at Infosys. V Balakrishnan Said AAP is the most successful startup by an IIT-ian ever. I would like to be a part of the revolution happening in the country.

About V Balakrishnan: Balakrishnan, who was considered a contender to become the CEO of Infosys when SD Shibulal retires next year, said it is too early to discuss his role in AAP or whether he will consider contesting elections. He also said he has not spoken to either Kejriwal or any of the other AAP leaders.

About AAP:
-AAP was officially launched as a party a year ago and it swept to power in Delhi in its debut election last month.
-It is India’s newest party has its origins in the India Against Corruption movement led by activists Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal.

5. AAP government wins confidence vote : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on Thursday proved its majority on the floor of the House with the backing of the Congress, JD(U) and an independent legislator. All the apprehensions of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal were put to rest when all seven Congress legislators stood up in unison with the AAP legislators in support of the confidence motion. A total of 37 members of the House backed the motion tabled by the PWD Minister, Manish Sisodia, that included 28 AAP legislators, seven Congress MLAs, one JD(U) legislator and one Independent. The remaining 32 who voted against the motion included 31 BJP legislators and one Shiromani-Akali Dal legislator.

6. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation of two key projects, including a national cancer institute, in Haryana's Jhajjar district today.

7. Prime minister Manmohan Singh on Friday batted for nuclear power as a "dependable and clean option", even as he underlined the need to ensure that all ingredients by which nuclear fuel is made remain safe and do not fall in the hands of terrorists and anti-social elements.

8. Indian Army's Northern Command has issued a global tender for procuring over 980 mine prodders, used for detection of IEDs and other explosive substances buried under ground, for its units in Jammu and Kashmir.

9. As part of its preparations for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, Union Agriculture Minister and NCP president Sharad Pawar will hold consultations with party leaders in Maharashtra from January 5.

10. The Supreme Court on Friday expressed “displeasure” over statements made by some Union Ministers including Law Minister Kapil Sibal against its verdict on gay sex, saying it is “unwarranted” and “not in good taste” while cautioning them from doing so in future.

11. Two days after the Lokpal Bill was given assent by President Pranab Mukherjee brining into effect the legislation passed by Parliament last month, Odisha Cabinet on Friday decided to enact Lokayukta Act within a period of one month.

12. Srinagar-Jammu highway reopens 3 days after heavy snowfall forced closure, Kargil records lowest temperature of minus 19.8 degrees Celsius.

13. Beleaguered West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) chairman Justice (retd) Ashok Kumar Ganguly on Friday resigned from the post of honorary professor of the National University of Juridical Sciences, a student of which had made allegations of sexual harassment against him.

14. Sensex drops 252 points, biggest fall in six weeks : Sensex had its biggest drop in six weeks today, and fell 252 points to end below the 21000-level after a late bout of profit booking wiped out the day’s gains. It was the second straight loss for the index in as many days in the New Year as 11 of the 12 BSE sectoral indices declined, led by realty, capital goods and power stocks. The S&P BSE Sensex opened higher and climbed almost 200 points to 21331.32 in early trade. The decline started in the afternoon as the index slid to the day’s low of 20846.67, a drop of 485 points from the day’s high. The Sensex ended at 20888.33, a decline of 252.15 points or 1.19 per cent. It was the biggest fall since November 21, when it lost 406.08 points.

15. Rupee dips 36 paise: The rupee surrendered initial gains and declined 36 paise to a one-month low of 62.26 against the dollar. At the inter-bank foreign exchange market, the rupee started on a stable note from the previous close of 61.90 and climbed to the day’s high of 61.74 as local stocks advanced. The rupee closed at 62.26, a fall of 36 paise, adding to Wednesday’s 10-paise loss. The currency is at the lowest closing level since it reached 62.36 on December

16. Hiking the price of non-subsidised Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG): Flaying the Centre for adding to people’s misery by hiking the price of non-subsidised Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder by Rs.220 on New Year day: Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. The Chief Minister also pointed out that when the Centre decided to put a cap on the number of subsidised cylinders in September 2012, the price of domestic LPG was Rs.780.Now, it stood at Rs.1,234, representing 58 per cent increase in the last 15 months. Ms. Jayalalithaa said it was ‘unjust’ to fix LPG prices based on average import cost, while petrol and diesel were fixed based on average import-export cost.

17. South Central Railway Guntur Division has booked 30,171 cases on the ticketless passengers: SCR Senior Divisional Commercial Manager C. Ramakrishna said that four teams conducted raids at various points and caught 3,965 persons for travelling without tickets. The officials registered cases against 3,173 people on irregular passengers.In all, 15,983 cases have been booked for carrying un-booked luggage and 7,050 other cases have been registered

18. India today announced that a new rule whereby all travelers from Pakistan would have to be vaccinated against polio would be implemented from February 14.

19. Punjab government would soon launch a campaign to create awareness about the law dealing with human trafficking and exploitation of people by fraudulent travel agents.

Appointments

20. Nita Chowdhury, 1977 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, appointed as Secretary, Dept of Official Language, Ministry of Home Affairs.

21. A. K. Jain, a 1977-batch IAS officer of Nagaland cadre, appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Women and Child Development.

22. AAP ‘s M S Dhir becomes Delhi Assembly Speaker.

Business and Economy

23. Targeting young individuals, public sector Indian Overseas Bank on Friday launched ‘Connect Card’, a new ATM-cum-Debit card in association with VISA that can be used for e—commerce across five lakh merchant outlets.

24. The area under wheat cultivation has climbed to an all-time high of 30.2 million hectares so far in the ongoing rabi season, boosting prospects of a record production this year, the Agriculture Ministry said today.

Science and Technology

25. Two months after the successful launch of Mangalyaan, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is all set to make its first major launch of 2014 on Sunday-- the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle(GSLV-D5)carrying India's latest communication satellite GSAT 14.

26. The population of Kashmir Stag or 'Hangul', a highly endangered species found only in the valley's Dachigam National Park, has increased substantially, a wildlife department official has said.

Sports

27. Ganguly said in Kolkata that he had no comment on the Cabinet decision: The Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its nod for making a Presidential Reference to the Supreme Court for removal of Justice A.K. Ganguly as Chairperson of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission. The process will be set in motion once the Reference under Article 143 is sent to the court for its advisory opinion. Ganguly has the option of resigning before the completion of the hearing. In that case, the Reference will become infructuous.

28. BCCI moves apex court against Lalit Modi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India moved the Supreme Court to restrain the former Indian Premier League Commissioner, Lalit Modi, from becoming president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA). His nomination was incorrect as the RCA rejected the BCCI’s objections to his candidature, said the Board, which wants to implead itself in a petition which comes up for further hearing on January 6 filed by the former BCCI treasurer, Kishore Rungta, against Mr. Modi.

29. Upcoming IPL may be held in two halves: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering hosting the tournament in two halves one in India and the other abroad. It is one of the options being discussed in the board at the moment. Keeping the security issue in mind during the elections, IPL may be hosted in two parts one in India and the other in another country. But it’s not yet decided which half will be played in the country. The final decision will be taken only after the election dates are announced

30. Pakistan Vs Srilanka: 1st Test, Day 4 :
1st Innings : Srilanka : 204/10,Pakistan : 383/10
2nd Innings : Srilanka : 355/5(Tea).Srilanka Lead by 176 Runs With 5 wickets remaining.Junaid Khan Srilankan Bowler took 5 wickets in first innings.Pakistan Bowlers RMS Eranga And HMRKB Herath took 3 wickets each in first innings.Younis Khan Scored 136 And Misbah-ul-Haq Scored 135 in First Innings.

31. Chennai Open: YukiBambri beats Fabio Fognini to enter quarter finals, becomes 3rd Indian to reach singles quarter-finals of ATP World Tour.

32. Today is 45th birthday of MichaelSchumacher (a retired German racing driver), who is struggling for life after accident.

Misc

33. Under fire over women's security following the December 16, 2012 gang rape incident, Delhi Police in a landmark decision on Friday announced that charge sheets in rape cases will be filed within 20 days to ensure speedy justice to victims.

34. 3D version of Amitabh Bacchan & Dharmendra starrer 'Sholay', one of Indian cinema's most popular cult classic, to be released across country.

35. A Week long (3-9) , Saptrang 2014, musical festival inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan at Gateway of India in Mumbai.

36. Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, who performed impressive bike stunts in his latest release 'Dhoom 3', today appealed the Maharashtra Transport department to make motor vehicle license seekers undergo strict driving tests to ensure safety on roads.