Daily Current Affairs- 15 October 2013

Daily Current Affairs- 15 October 2013

Days

1) International Day of Rural women: "International Day of Rural women" was observed on 15 October 2013 across the world to recognize the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty. The Day recognizes rural women’s importance in enhancing agricultural and rural development worldwide.

National

1) CBI registers case against Industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and former Coal Secretary P C Parekh in connection with alleged irregularities in allocation of coal blocks.It is the 14th FIR in its ongoing coal scam, along with raids at several places.

2) Pak singer Adnan Sami gets notice for overstaying in India: Pakistani musician Adnan Sami was today issued a notice by the Mumbai police for overstaying in India after his visa expired earlier this month.

3)  In a first-of-its-kind initiative to promote use of clean technology, India on Tuesday signed an agreement with Finland to produce indigenous ethanol and reduce country’s dependence on its import. The agreement was inked between Finnish Minister for European Affairs Alexander Stubb and India’s Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Panabaka Lakshmi in New Delhi.

4)  Indian Navy on 15 October 2013 inducted into service its largest offshore patrol vessel (OPV), INS Sunayna, at the Southern Naval Command.

International

1) Philippines earthquake: Death toll rises to 34, hundreds injured: A magnitude-7.2 earthquake struck the central Philippines on Tuesday, killing at least 34 people as many buildings collapsed, officials said.

Sports

1) Vikash enters 2nd round of World Boxing Championships: Vikash Malik notched up India's first win at the World Boxing Championships as he beat Kyrgyzstan's Meder Mamakeev to enter the second round.

2) Wankhede to host Sachin's 200th Test: Sachin Tendulkar's wish to play his 200th and final Test on his home ground has been granted by the BCCI's Programmes and Fixtures committee.

3) Novak Djokovic defeated Juan Del Potro 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3) to win a second straight trophy at the Shanghai Masters in China.

Technology

1) Tata Sky launches app for live TV programme: Direct-to-home television operator Tata Sky today launched a new application that allows watching live television programmes on mobile phones as the company looks to popularise its brand further.

2) Airtel, Idea, Vodafone hike 2G Internet rates: Major telecom companies Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone have halved the amount of data downloads on 2G networks under certain tariff plans, pushing up the cost of using mobile Internet services.

Appointments

1) Terry Walsh appointed Indian hockey coach: Hockey India announced the appointment of Terry Walsh, who has represented Australia in three Olympics, as chief coach of the senior men's national team.

Banking/Economy

1) RBI may hike repo rate by 25 bps on October 29: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to maintain its hawkish stance and increase the repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) in the upcoming monetary policy review on October 29, according to Indranil Pan, Chief Economist, Kotak Mahindra Bank.