20 August 2013 ( Tuesday) 1) On 20 August, 2013 a C130J-30 Super Hercules aircraft belonging to the Indian Air Force (IAF) landed at the highest airstrip in the world situated in India. This aircraft took off from Hindon Air Base in Ghaziabad and made a perfect landing at this airport. This is airport Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) (an airstrip located at 16614 feet (5065 meters) in the Aksai Chin area (This base was built during the Indo-China conflict in 1962 and came into prominence when Packet aircraft of the IAF operated from DBO between 1962 and 1965. Considering the very limited load carrying capability of AN 32 and helicopters, a decision was taken by the IAF to land the C130J-30 aircraft which is capable of lifting upto 20 tonnes of load. This landing at DBO qualifies for the world record for the highest landing by an aircraft of this class) 2) Justice N.V. Ramana , Justice Rajesh Kumar Agrawal and Justice P.C. Pant will be the new Chief Justices of the Delhi, Madras and Uttarakhand High Courts respectively, as recommended by the Supreme Court collegiums recently. (The Supreme Court collegium on 19 August, 2013 recommended Justice N.V. Ramana, acting Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court, to be appointed as the new Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court while the acting Chief Justice of the Madras High Court Rajesh Kumar Agrawal be made its Chief Justice. The senior-most judge of the High Court, Justice R. Banumathi, has been recommended to be appointed as the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court) 3) The new Petronet LNG terminal near Kochi in Kerala received its first cargo vessel carrying liquified gas on 20 August, 2013. This new LNG terminal, which has been built at a cost of Rs 4,200 crore, is situated at Puthuvype (With this first shipment, this LNG terminal, with an annual capacity of five million tonnes, is all set to commence operations soon. Besides the Kochi plant, Petronet operates a 10 million tonnes per annum terminal at Dahej in Gujarat, which it plans to expand to 15 million by 2016. It is also constructing a facility in Andhra Pradesh) 4) “My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions”, which was published recently by Rupa, is a new book written by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the former President (This book is filled with stories of innumerable challenges in Kalam’s years as the scientific adviser when India conducted its second nuclear test, his retirement and dedication to teaching thereafter and his years as President) 5) The US for the first time invited the Chinese Navy to join its largest multilateral naval exercise, which is a biennial exercise held in June and July and is the largest international maritime warfare exercise RIMPAC – Rim of the Pacific Exercise (Allied military forces of the Pacific Rim are invited by the US in this exercise, which is organized by it every two years. US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan met at Washington on 19 August, 2013 and agreed to expand military exchanges and exercises as part of efforts to build more stable bilateral ties) 6) Cheraman Financial Services Limited (CFSL), which became the first Islamic financial services company to be launched in India, started its operations in Kerala (The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had given its approval to CFSL to launch banking operations based on the concept of Islamic banking in Kerala. CFSL, a Sharia-compliant non-banking financial company (NBFC), has been formed by a group of Gulf-based NRI businessmen led by P Muhamed Ali and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) has a 11% stake in it) 7. World Humanitarian Day was observed yesterday (19th August) across the world. This day is observed every year to recognize those people who have lost their lives working for humanitarian causes. The theme for 2013 is – “The World Needs More”. 8. Former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf has been indicted by an anti-terrorism court in the 2007 assassination of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto. Musharraf, who has been under house arrest for last four months, was charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and facilitation of murder. If convicted, Musharraf can be sentenced to death or life imprisonment. 3. Famous golfer Tiger Woods secured first rank with the annual income of USD 78.1 million in the recent Forbes list of highest-paid athletes. He was followed by tennis player Roger Federer with the earnings of USD 71.5 million and basketball player Kobe Bryant with the earning of USD 61.9 million. In female athletes’ category, Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova topped the list with annual income of USD 29 million. She was followed by tennis players Serena Williams with the earnings of USD 20.5 million and Li Na with the earning of USD 18.2 million. 10. New Zealand cricketer Jesse Ryder has been banned for six months after failed doping test. He tested positive for outlawed substances contained in a weight-loss supplement. The ban was backdated to April, meaning Ryder will be available to play again in October. As per New Zealand Sports Tribunal, Ryder’s sample showed traces of the stimulants PBA and DEBEA and the batsman admitted he took two supplement tablets. 11. Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Divas is being observed today (20th August) on his 69th birth anniversary. On the occasion, Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavna Award will be presented to Sarod Player Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. 12. Congress President Sonia Gandhi has launched the ambitious Food security programme in Delhi today on the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi even though the bill is stuck in the Parliament for the required approval. The scheme was rolled out in three Congress-ruled states of Delhi, Haryana and Uttarakhand even as the consideration of the Bill was scuttled in Parliament by the Opposition, which cornered the government on the issue of missing files related to the coal block allocation. 13. Professor of economics, conservationist and mountaineer Harshwanti Bisht was selected for the Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal last week. 14. The Reserve Bank of India notified the hike in the investment ceiling for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) from existing 49% to 74% to attract more FDI. In a bid to attract foreign institutional investor participation in ARCs, the RBI notified that foreign investment limit of 74% in ARC would be a combined limit of FDI and FII. 15. Indian Rupee continues to slide today as well after yesterday’s steep depreciation. Indian Rupee breached 64-mark against dollar by falling 98 paise to record low of 64.11 during today’s trade. At the same time, the rupee hit a fresh low Rs 100 level against British pound (GBP). Continuous Rupee depreciation led to sell off in the stock market as FII continues to pull put money from stock market. 16. Indian Cricket Team Captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was ranked at the 16th position in the recent Forbes list of highest-paid athletes. Dhoni’s earning stood at USD 31.5 million. The values were calculated between June 2012 and June 2013. In the list, he was placed above Rafael Nadal, Usain Bolt and Fernando Alonso etc. 17. Kush Kumar won the first gold for India after defeating Mohammad Syafiq Mohd. Kamal of Malaysia by 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, 11-7 in the boys
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 05:43:06 +0000
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