current affair 29-30 TH SEP 1. Megan Young is Miss World 2013 i. Megan Young from Philippines was crowned Miss World 2013 in Bali on Saturday. The second place went to Miss France Marine Lorphelin and third to Miss Ghana Carranzar Naa Okailey Shooter. ii. The Philippines – where beauty contests are a serious affair – celebrated its first victory in the Miss World contest, despite hardline Islamic protests against the event in the host country Indonesia. iii. The 23-year-old defeated 126 contestants including Miss India Navneet Kaur Dhillon, who could only make her way to top 20, to clinch the crown. iv. Born in the US, Young moved to Philippines when she was 10. She is currently studying digital film making and has starred in films and TV shows. v. Young said that her mother is a big influence in her life. She wants to show the world that people of Philippines are hard working and no matter what crisis they go through they are willing to help people. v. The new Miss World will spend the next year travelling to represent the Miss World Organization and help raise money for its charitable causes. 2. Lalu Prasad held guilty in fodder scam case i. Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad was Monday held guilty in a fodder scam case by a Special CBI court and renders him ineligible for contesting elections for at least six years. . The quantum of sentence will be announced Oct 3. ii. The multi-million animal husbandry department scam, popularly known as the fodder scam, accuses Lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra, both former chief ministers of Bihar, and ministers from the department, two IAS officials and others of fraudulent withdrawal of Rs. 37.70 crore from Chaibasa district treasury of Jharkhand. After the division of Bihar, the district is now in Jharkhand. iii. The verdict is crucial for Lalu Prasad and his future as a political leader since the central government ordinance that would have shielded tainted and convicted parliamentarians and legislators from disqualification may be withdrawn after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi trashed it. iv. Another 44 accused, including former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra, six politicians and four IAS officers, were also convicted by court of Pravas Kumar Singh for fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from Chaibasa treasury. v. The court fixed 3rd October for pronouncement of sentence against Yadav, Mishra and others. Note: i. The RJD chief faces immediate disqualification as Lok Sabha member under a recent Supreme Court order that an MP or MLA would stand disqualified immediately if convicted by a court for crimes with punishment of two years or more and under some other laws even without jail sentence. He would be the first MP to lose his Lok Sabha membership under the Supreme Courts ruling. 3. EOW files FIR against NSEL bosses, defaulters; conducts searches i. The Economic Offence Wing of Mumbai police on Sunday searched the offices and residences of promoters, directors and defaulting brokers of the crippled National Spot Exchange (NSEL) and filed an FIR against them in connection with Rs 5,600 crore payment crisis. ii. The NSEL, promoted by Jignesh Shah-led Financial Technologies, has been facing problems in settling Rs 5,600 crore dues of 148 members/brokers, representing 13,000 investor-clients, after it suspended trade on July 31 on the governments direction. iii. An FIR was registered today against the NSEL promoters, directors and defaulters on charges of cheating, forgery and breach of trust among others, said an official at Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police. iv. A special investigating team (SIT) had been formed to conduct a preliminary inquiry after complaints from a couple of investors against NSEL, the EOW official said. v. The SIT conducted its inquiry after receiving crucial inputs from the commodity market regulator Forward Markets Commission and Registrar of Companies, the official said. Note: i. BJP leader and Investors Grievances Forum president Kirit Somaiya had also recently filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court stating that NSEL forged/manipulated documents regarding stocks and liquidity and allowed some of the companies to pledge the same stock with more than one financial institution. ii. Somaiya has also alleged that government officials and politicians connived with NSEL to cheat investors. There are 24 buyers/members who have to pay Rs 5,600 crore to the spot exchange for settling dues of the investors. iii. A high-level panel, headed by Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram, submitted its report to Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on the alleged irregularities at the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL). iv. The report was finalised based on the reports of two working group from Enforcement Directorate and Reserve Bank. 4. Net-enabled cellphones to be distributed under MGNREGA i. Net-enabled cellphones could soon be provided to 2.5 crore people under the MGNREGA scheme. ii. The ambitious scheme to be launched ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 is aimed at enhancing tele-density in rural areas. iii. According to the proposal, one person per family registered under MGNREGA scheme will be provided with the cellphone for which a recharge of Rs 30 per month will be provided for free for two years. iv. This will entitle the users 30 minutes of airtime, 30 SMSes and 30 Mbps net or data usage per month. v. If users cross the Rs 30 limit, they will have to get a recharge at their own cost. vi. To get the cellphone, the beneficiary will have to pay Rs 300. vii. Sources said the government prefers to provide the cellphone to a woman member of the beneficiary family. viii. The scheme will be funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) at a cost of Rs 4,850 crore spread over a period of four years to cover 2.5 crore beneficiaries, they said. Note: i. Universal Service Obligation is access to telegraph service to people in rural and remote areas at affordable and reasonable prices. ii. 25 lakh people will be provided with the handsets in the first year, while 50 lakh more beneficiaries will be added in the next year. iii. The cellphone is likely to cost Rs 1,200 for which BSNL - the service provider - will undertake competitive bidding, the sources said. iv. According to the proposal, the scheme would enable people in rural areas to access information related to agriculture, health care, education, financial services, skill development and employment. 5. Leaders of BRICS announced to Set up 100 Billion US Dollars Fund i. Leaders of the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) group of nations on 5 September 2013 announced to set up a 100 billion US dollar fund to steady currency markets destablised by an expected pullback of US monetary stimulus. ii. The announcement was made at the meeting of BRICS leaders. Brazil, India and Russia committed 18 billion dollars each while China announced 41 billion US dollars. South Africa announced 5 billion US dollars. iii. BRICS had earlier planned to set up 240 billion US dollars fund. Note: Earlier this year, Brics nations had discussed the formation of a new development bank to fund infrastructure and development projects throughout the developing nations. 6. Current account gap widens to 4.9% of GDP in Q1: RBI i. High imports of gold and oil pushed Current Account Deficit (CAD) to 4.9 per cent of GDP to $21.8 billion in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal, the RBI said today. ii. CAD, the difference between inflow and outflow of foreign exchange, was 4.4 per cent or $16.9 billion in the same quarter of last fiscal, 2012-13. iii. The trade deficit, coupled with a slow recovery in net invisibles (income and services), led to widening of CAD to $21.8 billion in Q1 of 2013-14 from $16.9 billion in Q1 of 2012-13,” the RBI said in its Balance of Payments statement. iv. The government plans to bring down CAD to 3.7 per cent or $70 billion in the 2013-14 fiscal, from 4.8 per cent or $88.2 billion in 2012-13. 7. Nabard opens lending window for pvt sector i. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has opened a lending window for private sector for the creation of warehouse space and also to set up cold storages and cold chains in Karnataka. ii. Nabard would be financing the storage infrastructure projects of private companies and private entrepreneurs, besides state governments, state undertakings, SPVs set up under PPP mode, cooperatives, federations, co-operative federations, APMCs, State-level boards, apex marketing boards/ bodies, and panchayats, G.R. Chintala, Chief General Manager, Karnataka Regional Office, said. 8. Rafiq Kathwari, Won Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award 2013 i. Rafiq Kathwari, an Indian-American poet selected for 2013 Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award for the collection of his debut poems. ii. Rafiq Kathwari is the first non-Irish person to win the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award. iii. Rafiq Kathwaris collection of 20 unpublished poems In Another Country was selected for the coveted award amidst 112 contestants from across the world. About Rafiq Kathwari i. Rafiq Kathwari, a Kashmiri by descent has become the first non-Irish to have won the award and will recieve 1000 euros as the prize money. ii. He has translated selected Urdu poems of Alama Iqbal, creating his own version. His poems are mostly inspired by loss of innocence in Kashmir and from his mothers long time illness. iii. Rafiq Kathwari graduated from the University of Kashmir in 1969 before studying at the New York University and Columbia University. iv. Many of his works have been in print and online in the US, Ireland and Asia. About Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award i. The award was founded by the Patrick Kavanagh Society in 1971 to commemorate the Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh. ii. The Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award meant for a first unpublished collection of poems in English is open to poets, born in the island of Ireland, or of Irish nationality, or long term resident in Ireland. 9. Prasada Rao appointed as Andhra Pradesh DGP in-charge i. Anti-Corruption Bureau Director General B. Prasada Rao has been appointed as Director General Police in-charge by the State Government in Hyderabad on Monday as the DGP V. Dinesh Reddy retired on reaching superannuation. ii. Mr. Rao is expected to assume charge on Monday evening. He had worked as the Commissioner of Police of Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam cities earlier. 10. Avahan India project prevented over 6 lakh HIV infections: Lancet i. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded Avahan programme may have prevented over 6 lakh HIV infections in India over 10 years, according to a report in Lancet Global Health. ii. It may be recalled that a 2011 study, by other institutes, also showed that the project prevented one lakh fresh HIV cases in five years in the general population by launching intervention programmes among targeted groups. iii. The Avahan India AIDS Initiative was launched in 2003, as a large scale, targeted intervention prevention programme and was implemented in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Manipur and Nagaland. The study looked at 69 districts in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. 11. SRK may become “goodwill ambassador” of Republic of Korea i. Shahrukh Khan may soon become the “goodwill ambassador” of the Republic of Korea. ii. According to Joon-gyu Lee, Ambassador of Republic of Korea to India, Khan has accepted a proposal from the country in this regard. iii. “The popular Indian actor Shahrukh Khan is going to be appointed as the Public Diplomacy Ambassador soon. Talks are on regarding the place and date of a ceremony to announce him as the Ambassador,” Lee said here on Monday. iv. He was addressing an interactive session on Indo-Korean bilateral relations jointly organised by University of Calcutta and Embassy of the Republic of Korea. 12. Ranjib Biswal Appointed as Indian Premier League Chairman i. NCA Chairman Ranjib Biswal was on 29 September 2013 appointed as chairman of the IPL during the Annual General Meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at Chennai. ii. Prior to this appointment Ranjib Biswal was manager of the Indian Cricket team during the ICC World Cup 2011 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. He is also the head of Orissa Cricket Association. iii. Ranjib Biswal was replaced Rajeev Shukla as chairman of Indian Premier League (IPL). Rajiv Shukla, who resigned at the end of his tenure. 13. N. Srinivasan Re-Elected As the BCCI President for the Third Term i. Narayanaswamy Srinivasan was on 29 September 2013 re-elected as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for a third term at its 84th annual general meeting (AGM) held at Chennai. ii. He was unanimously re-elected as the president of BCCI for the term of 2013-14. Other office bearers were also elected on the same day. iii. However, N. Srinivasan will not assume charge of the office immediately because of the directive of the Supreme Court of India. Other office bearers will assume the charge of the office with an immediate effect. Note: It is important to note that N. Srinivasan stepped down from the post on 2 June 2013, while Jagmohan Dalmiya of the Cricket Association of Bengal took charge of the BCCI’s everyday affairs. Despite stepping down, N. Srinivasan remained the signing authority at the BCCI. 14. India triumph in 3rd Sultan of Johor Cup i. India defeated Malaysia 3-0 to win 3rd Under-21 Sultan of Johor Cup hockey tournament in Johor Bahru on 29 September 2013. ii. The goals from the Indian side were scored by Amon Mirash Tirkey (22nd), Affan Yousuf (52nd) and Manpreet Singh (64th). The match was played at the Taman Daya Syadium. 15. Duplicate version of Mahatmas Harijan to be released today i. The facsimile version of Harijan, a weekly publication started by Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, to highlight the social and economic problems of India and the world, will be released on Monday. ii. Harijan is one of the two main publications of Gandhiji. While Young India has already been published, Harijan was yet to be published, Vivek Desai, managing trustee of Navajivan Trust, which holds the rights of publication of literature related to Gandhiji, said. iii. The nineteen volumes will be reprinted for the first time, he said, and will be officially inaugurated on Monday. iv. The aim of reprinting and republishing Harijan, Desai said, is to spread among people the messages and great articles written by Gandhiji, other freedom fighters fighting the cause of independence at that time. v. Navajivan Trust was founded by the Gandhi along with Mohanlal Maganlal Bhatta and its deed of trust was registered on November 26, 1929. vi. Gandhi began publishing Harijan, a weekly newspaper, in English in 1933. It lasted until 1948. During this time, Gandhi also published Harijan Bandu in Gujarati, and Harijan Sevak in Hindi. All three papers focused on Indias and the worlds social and economic problems during the freedom struggle. vii. Harijan means Child of God, and was a term used by Gandhi for people of Dalit caste. Young India was a weekly paper in English published by Gandhiji from 1919 to 1932. 16. Chandy to participate in Suminfra 2013 summit i. Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy is expected to participate at the 11th edition of the Suminfra 2013, an infrastructure summit organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here Oct 7-8, the industry body said. ii. According to CII, the two-day summit would feature an exclusive session on State Integrated Infrastructure Promotion (SIIP) to showcase the opportunities for private sector in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Chandy and Industries Minister P. K. Kunhalikutty have agreed to join the Kerala session. iii. The theme of this years summit is Accelerate Infrastructure Growth in the Changing Global Context - Revitalising Growth through Institutional Framework, for Dynamic, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth. iv. Suminfra would bring together policy makers, financial institutions, developers, contractors, consultants and others on a single platform to discuss on various aspects related to infrastructure development in southern region, 17. Incredible Himalayas campaign launched i. To promote the virgin peaks of Himalayas and attract both domestic and international tourists during lean summer season, Ministry of Tourism on Friday launched a new campaign. ii. Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi launched the campaign - 777 days of Incredible Indian Himalayas on World Tourism Day. iii. The campaign aims to attract more foreign tourists during the lean summer season, making the Indian Himalayas a 365-day destination for the travellers. iv. It would spread awareness about the fact that 73 per cent of the Himalayan range lies in India. Chiranjeevi also launched two new promotional films -- Greatest Show On Earth and Life Altering Journey on Himalayas -- along with a map of the Himalayas. v. The launch also included a discussion on how to brand, promote and market the Indian Himalayas, a presentation by the six Himalayan states -- Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh -- and on how to develop the Himalayas as a tourist destination amongst both domestic and the foreign travellers. vi. The Himalayas offer a great variety of adventure sports such as skiing in winters, whereas in summers, tourists can enjoy expeditions in the Himalayan mountain range like white water rafting and also adventure sports like mountain trekking. 18. Russia successfully launches Proton-M rocket i. Russia today successfully launched a Proton-M rocket with a European communication satellite on board, marking a return of its most important unmanned space vehicle three months after one exploded on takeoff. ii. The launch from the Baikonur space centre, that Russia leases from the neighbouring Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, had been originally scheduled for July 21. iii. The Proton-M rocket is Russia’s most popular for commercial satellite launches. 19. UAE defeat Namibia in 2nd crucial match of ICC Cricket World Cup i. United Arab Emirates defeated Namibia in their second crucial match at Sharjah cricket Stadium by 135 runs to keep their hopes alive to qualify directly to the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2015. ii. Batting first ,UAE scored 215 runs in the stipulated 50 overs. iii. Then they bundled out Namibia for 80 runs in 32 overs. UAE has now replaced Netherlands at the second spot on the basis of number of matches won. iv. Their fate depends on Afghanistans matches against Kenya on October 2nd and 4th.in Sharjah. If Afghanistan wins both the matches it will become the second team to qualify for the tournament. Two team can qualify directly for the 50 overs 2015 World Cup cricket championship to be held in Australia and New Zealand Note: Ireland has already qualified as the first team in the ongoing World Cricket League Championship’s final qualifying rounds. 20. Nikhat bags silver at AIBA Womens World Boxing i. Former Junior World Champion Nikhat Zareen (54kg) came one step short of making it two titles in two World Championships in Albena, Bulgaria on Saturday. ii. The 17-year-old did well to make it to finals of the AIBA Womens Youth World Boxing Championships being held at Bulgaria, but in the end had to settle for a silver medal performance after losing out in the title clash. iii. The Andhra boxer has given brilliant account of her boxing skills beating reigning bantam weight Junior World Champion Viktoriya Virt of Ukriane to make to the finals at Albena. In the summit clash, the former Junior National Champion was up against Yunzi Yuan of China. iv. The Chinese boxer proved to be stronger of the two on the day. Earlier in the Youth World Championship light weight boxer Simranjit Kaur (60kg) lost out in a close contest against Aidana Arapbayeva from Kazakhstan. 21. Stephen Lee Banned from Snooker for 12 Years for Match-Fixing Charges i.. Stephen Lee, a snooker player from England banned for 12 years after being found guilty of seven charges of match-fixing on 25 September 2013. ii. Stephen Lee (38) was found guilty of seven match-fixing charges by an independent tribunal and Lee was also ordered to pay 40000 pounds towards the considerable costs of the investigation and hearing. iii. The ban will run from 12 October 2013, when an interim suspension was imposed, and means Lee will not be able to compete as a professional snooker player before 12 October 2024, the date of his 50th birthday iv. Stephen Lee, the former world Number 5, was found guilty of match-fixing charges relating to seven matches in 2008 and 2009. v. The matches in question were three in the Malta Cup in 2008, two in the UK Championship in the same year, one in the 2009 China Open and one in the 2009 world championship. 22. Swaran Singh wins gold at Asian rowing championship i. Olympian Swaran Singh Virk led the Indian rowers impressive showing by clinching a gold medal at the 15th Asian Senior Rowing Championship at Luan, China on Sunday. ii. Besides Virks gold, India won two silver and as many bronze medals in the championship. In the finals that concluded this morning, Virk got the better of rowers from Iran and China in 7:31.88 minutes to bag the yellow metal. iii. Virk finished at the 16th place after finishing fourth in a minor placings race in the mens single sculls event at the London Olympics. iv. Virk had booked his berth for the 2012 London Games by winning the major qualifying event at the FISA Olympic Continental Qualification Regatta for Asia in Chung Ju, Korea. 23. Every Year on 29 September Celebrated as The World Heart Day i. Every year on 29 September celebrated as the World Heart Day since 1999. ii. The World Heart Day is organised by World Heart Federation. iii. The World Heart Federation is dedicated to leading the global fight against cardiovascular disease (CVD) – including heart disease and stroke - with a focus on low- and middle-income countries, via a united community of more than 200 member organizations. 24. Sonia Gandhi Unveiled the Statue of R Sankar, the First Congress Chief Minister of Kerala i. The Congress president Sonia Gandhi on 29 September 2013 unveiled the statue of R Sankar, the first Congress Chief Minister of Kerala. ii. The statue was installed at Palayam (near War Memorial) in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. R Sankar was the third Chief Minister of the state. 25. Rajnath Singh Appointed the BJP Campaign Committee Chief for the 2014 Lok Sabha Polls i. Rajnath Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party President became the campaign committee chief for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls on 29 September 2013 in New Delhi. ii. He was appointed as the campaign committee chief after the parliamentary board meeting of BJP. He replaced the Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP- Narendra Modi. Modi was declared as the PM candidate of BJP on 13 September 2013. He proposed the name of Rajnath Singh for the Election Campaign Committee Chief post.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 02:00:55 +0000
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