Current Affairs India - 18 October 2013 1. Union Government of India has appointed Gireesh B. Pradhan, former Secretary of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, as the Chairperson of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). He retired from the post of Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in June 2013 and he also served as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Power. 2. Indian-American author Jhumpa Lahiri has been named finalist for the prestigious US National Book Award 2013 in the fiction category for her new book ‘The Lowland. She lost the Man booker prize this week which was won by New Zealand author Eleanor Catton. 3. Indian mobile phone maker Micromax has roped in Hollywood star Hugh Jackman as its brand ambassador with an eye of overseas markets. Micromax is the first Indian mobile operator to have roped in a Hollywood star as its brand ambassador. Micromax is next to Samsung in terms of handset sales in India as per second quarter mobile phone shipment figures of 2013 released by market research and analyst firm IDC. 4. Microsoft rolled out Windows 8.1 to customers yesterday. The update, which is free to users around the world who already have Windows 8 on their PCs, will allow traditionalists to boot their computers in the familiar old desktop mode rather than the tiled start page introduced with Windows 8. Windows 8.1 also boasts tighter integration with Microsoft’s Cloud services, a beefed-up Bing search app, and more potent multitasking. 5. The Enforcement Directorate has given a clean chit to Walmart, the world’s largest supermarket chain, in a case related to alleged violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema). This will pave the way for the US retailer to pursue its India investment plans more aggressively. 6. Publishing giant Pearson has appointed Deepak Mehrotra as the new Managing Director for its India business. Deepak, who was previously associated with Micromax as the CEO for the last two years, has been credited for strong business performance through product revamping and improving trade partnerships. Prior to this, he has also served as Executive Director — Mobility for North, West and South regions at Bharti Airtel. 7. Noted social activist and Padma awardee, Sarojini Varadappan passed away today following a brief illness. She was 92. She, daughter of former Chief Minister M Bhakthavachalam, was a recipient of several honours including the Padma Shri and Padma Bushan, and had made a remarkable contribution in several areas, particularly in women welfare sector. 8. Sharad Pawar is all set for a comeback to the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) for a second term as president as the election officer SM Borwadkar declared Pawar as the body’s president unopposed. Pawar’s lone rival in the presidential election race, Gopinath Munde’s form stayed rejected by the MCA and his subsequent appeal against his disqualification was also dismissed by MCA president Ravi Savant. Pawar shifted his permanent address from Baramati to Mumbai in order to contest for the election. 9. Aditya Mehta re-wrote new sports history by becoming the first-ever Indian to reach the final of a professional snooker tournament as he overcame World No.5 Stephen Maguire from Scotland 4-3 in the semi-final of the Indian Open today. In the final match, Mehta, the 27-year-old from Mumbai and ranked 72nd, will take on World No.4 Ding Junhui of China.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 01:54:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015