CURRENT AFFAIRS (30-01-2014 & 31-01-2014) Posted on 1st, February,2014 ================= Current Affairs: 30 January 2014 Friday, January 31, 2014 1) Govt Hiked Subsidised LPG Cylinder Quota to 12 per Year & Aadhaar Link Put on Hold : Bowing to party pressure, the government on Thursday raised the quota of subsidised LPG to 12 cylinders per household in a year from nine at present and also put on hold paying users the subsidy into bank accounts using Aadhaar platform. Announcing the decision taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily said raising the LPG quota will cost Rs 5,000 crore in additional subsidy annually. Moily also said the direct benefit transfer for LPG (DBTL) scheme, where consumers in as many as get 289 districts in 18 states got the subsidy amount in their bank accounts so that they could buy cooking gas at market rate, has been put on hold. 2) Nation paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his 66th death anniversary: The nation on Thursday paid homage to Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, on his 66th death anniversary. Prominent leaders from various political parties and other dignitaries paid floral tributes at his Samadhi at Rajghat in the national capital. A series of functions were organized throughout the country to mark the occasion. India observes Gandhis death anniversary as Martyrs Day in the memory of its freedom fighters. 3) New PAN allotment norms put on hold; old procedure to continue: New norms for issuing of PAN (Permanent Account Number) cards have been put on hold by the Finance Ministry. They would have come into force from February 3 and required verification of original documents of applicants. Currently, a PAN applicant has to just submit photo copies of documents required. The originals are not checked. The statement, however, did not give reasons for keeping the proposed norms on hold. 4) Fixed 2-year tenure for IAS, IPS, IFoS officers: Officers of the three premier services - IAS, IPS and IFoS - will now spend a minimum of two years at each posting and any exception in the form of transfers or new appointments will only be done upon the recommendation of a civil services board, according to new rules aimed at checking political interference. 5) Google to sell Motorola phone business to Lenovo for $2.9 billion: Google is selling Motorolas smartphone business to Lenovo for $2.9 billion, a price that makes Googles biggest acquisition look like its most expensive mistake. The deal announced on Wednesday will rid Google Inc. of a financial headache that has plagued the internet company since buying Motorola Mobility for $12.4 billion in 2012. Motorola has lost nearly $2 billion since Google took over, while trimming its workforce from 20,000 to 3,800. 6) Andhra Pradesh Legislature rejected Telangana Bill: Both Houses of the Andhra Pradesh Legislature rejected the AP Reorganisation Bill, 2013 by a controversial voice vote on Thursday. All eyes will now be on the President and how the Union Government goes about getting Parliamentary consent. 7) India’s first monorail to run from Sunday: Come Sunday and India’s first monorail will be thrown open to the public, eight years after it was first proposed. With the Maharashtra government now keen on unveiling key projects before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the monorail will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Saturday. With this, India will join countries like the U.S., Germany, China, Japan, Australia and Malaysia that run monorails. 8) Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP decides to contest over 350 Lok Sabha seats: The Aam Aadmi Party announced it would contest more than 350 Lok Sabha seats and vowed to take on tainted candidates and political leaders. 9) Kiwi Kathy Cross is first woman in ICC umpires panel: New Zealands Kathy Cross on Thursday became the first woman to be inducted in an ICC umpires panel when she was named as an Associate and Affiliate International official following the annual review and selection process. 10) Anand Kumar, the founder of Super30 got Ramanujan Mathematics award: Anand Kumar, a mathematician and founder of Super30 classes was conferred with the 2014 Ramanujan Mathematics Award in Rajkot on 27 January 2014. Current Affairs: 31 January 2014 1) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna resigned: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna resigned from his post on Friday. Addressing the press, Bahuguna said he has submitted his resignation to the state Governor. He added he was merely following the wishes of his party. Union Minister Harish Rawat and state minister Pritam Singh have emerged as the frontrunners for the top job in the hilly state. The decision to replace Bahuguna was taken at a meeting Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had with senior party leaders on Thursday. 2) Diesel price hiked by 50 paise; non-domestic LPG cut by Rs 107: Oil companies have increased diesel price by 57 paise a litre but cut non- subsidised cooking gas rate by Rs 107 per cylinder from Saturday. 3) German President to begin 5-day India visit on Feb 4: German President Joachim Gauck will arrive in New Delhi on February 4 on a five-day State visit during which he will focus on the vast spectrum of bilateral relations. The President will be accompanied by a high-ranking delegation comprising, among others, representatives of the German cabinet, Parliament and business, a release from the External Affairs Ministry said. Germany continues to be Indias largest trading partner in Europe. 4) Music Director and Singer Bappi Lahiri joined BJP: Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, famous music director and singer Bappi Lahiri joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday. Party president Rajnath Singh welcomed Lahiris decision of joining BJP. 5) Web portal on Gandhis life launched: A first of its kind web portal, Mahatma Gandhi for children, was launched last evening as a tribute to the Father of the Nation on his 66th death anniversary. The portal was launched by the advisor to the Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations and Chairman of the National Innovation Council Sam Pitroda during a Twitter conference, said a press release. The portal - Search for Gandhi targets children from the age of 6 to 15 years and is available in English as well as Hindi. The portal is available at Search for gandhi .In. 6) Rajasthan joined Delhi in banning FDI in retail: Following Delhi, Rajasthan has scrapped the decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retailing, evoking sharp criticism from the Commerce Minister, who said “states cannot retract unilaterally on such commitments.” 7) Satya Nadella likely to be next Microsoft CEO: Report- Senior Microsoft executive Satya Nadella would replace Steve Ballmer as Microsoft CEO, two media reports said, citing sources familiar with the processes of selecting the new leader at the Redmond-based company. Satya Nadella was born in Hyderabad and had completed his engineering from Manipal University before heading to the US for higher studies. Currently, Satya Nadella is the president of server & tools business at Microsoft. He landed his current assignment in 2011. 8) India lost the fifth and final one-day against New Zealand: A listless Indian cricket team slumped to its worst ODI series defeat in New Zealand, going down 0-4, after the Black Caps hammered them by 87 runs in the inconsequential fifth and final one-dayer played at Wellington.India also lost the No.1 rankings in ODI. 9) Saina rises to No. 7, Sindhu back in top-10: Following her win at the India Grand Prix Gold on Sunday, Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal jumped two places to No. 7 in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) womens singles rankings released on Thursday. The runner-up of the Lucknow event PV Sindhu entered the top-10 for the second time in her career with her spot at 10th. 10) Department of Posts released commemorative stamp on International Year of Crystallography: The Department of Posts has brought out a commemorative stamp on International Year of Crystallography 2014 (IYCr 2014) to acknowledge the contribution of crystallographers in every sphere of life and provide impetus to young scientists to study the subject. 11) Janet Yellen to be sworn in as Fed chief on Feb 3: Federal Reserve’s key monetary policy making panel, the Federal Open Market Committee, officially chose incoming Fed chief Janet Yellen as its chair. She is scheduled to be sworn in as the new chair of the Fed overall on February 3. 12) Sachin & Prof C N R Rao to get Bharat Ratna on February 4: President Pranab Mukherjee will confer cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and eminent scientist Prof C N R Rao with Bharat Ratna on February 4 at Rashtrapati Bhavan. 13) India became third largest crude oil importer in the World: India overtook Japan to become the third largest crude oil importer in the World. As per the data released by Reuters on 30 January 2014, India imported 3.86 million barrels-per-day of crude oil in the year 2013. 14) Dhoni is 4th fastest batsman to score 8000 runs in ODIs: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today became the fourth fastest batsman to complete 8,000 runs in one-day cricket during the fifth and final ODI against New Zealand in Wellington. 15) Mumbai police chief quits, likely joining politics: Mumbai Police Commissioner, Satyapal Singh, tendered his resignation to the State Home Department on Thursday and plans to explore a career in politics. 16) Jayawardene becomes sixth-highest scorer in Test cricket: Veteran Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene has become the sixth-highest run-scorer in the history of Test cricket with his unbeaten double-century on the third day of the first Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 02:43:08 +0000
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