Daily Current Affairs from 07 October 2013

Daily Current Affairs from 07 October 2013

Awards/Achievements

1) 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: The 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was jointly awarded to James E. Rothman, Randy W. Schekman and Thomas C. Südhof for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells. James Rothman and Randy Schekman are from America whereas Thomas Suedhof is from Germany.

2) India successfully test-fired Prithvi-II missile: India today successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile with a strike range of 350 km from a test range at Chandipur near Odisha. The surface-to-surface missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher in salvo mode from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at about 9.14 a.m., Defence sources said.

3) Ratan Tata inducted into National Academy of Engineering in US: Leading industrialist Ratan Tata has been inducted into the prestigious National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in the US for his outstanding contributions to industrial development in India and across the world.

Appointments

1) Arundhati Bhattacharya is new chief of State Bank of India (SBI): Arundhati Bhattacharya is the new chairperson of State Bank of India. Bhattacharya becomes the first woman chief of India’s largest bank. Previously, she was Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the bank. She will hold the post until March 2016.

2) Punjab National Bank (PNB) has a new Executive Director in Gauri Shankar. Prior to this elevation, Shankar was a General Manager at Bank of India Head Office in Mumbai. 

Days

1) World Habitat Day: United Nations has designated the first Monday of October every year as World Habitat Day. The purpose of World Habitat Day is to reflect on  the state of our towns and cities and the basic right of all to adequate  shelter. It is also intended to remind the world that we all have  responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns. The theme of the World Habitat Day 2013 is Urban Mobility to encourage people to shift towards more sustainable modes of transportation. In the year 2012, the theme was Changing Cities, Building Opportunities.

2) Eid-ul-Azha to be celebrated on Oct 16: This was announced in New Delhi last evening by , Shahi Imam of Fatehpuri Masjid, after the new moon was sighted yesterday. Eid-ul-Azha is celebrated by Muslims across the world to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismail as an act of obedience to Allah.

National

1) Naidu on hunger strike; Mulayam opposes smaller States: It is getting harder for the Congress party to muster support for the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh with the Samajwadi Party maintaining that it was opposed to the creation of smaller States.

Technology

1) TaxiForSure.com ties up with Goibibo: Serendipity Infolabs Ltd, which runs the online cab booking site TaxiForSure.com, has tied up with Goibibo.com, an online travel aggregator, to offer airport services to its customers in Bangalore and New Delhi. The company is planning to launch the service shortly in Chennai.

Sports

1) SC proposes 3-member panel to probe IPL spot-fixing scandal: Supreme Court today rejected BCCI’s suggestion for setting up a special committee to probe the IPL spot-fixing scandal and proposed a three-member panel headed by former Punjab and Haryana Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal to examine the issue.

2) Tiger Woods leads US to Presidents Cup: Tiger Woods clinched the Presidents Cup for the United States for the third time in a row on Sunday, giving the Americans an insurmountable 18-14 lead over the Internationals at rain-soaked Muirfield Village.

3) Spain’s Rafael Nadal returned to the top of the ATP rankings for the first time in more than two years on Monday, overtaking Serbian Novak Djokovic, who dropped to second.

International

1) Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit kicks off in Indonesia: Asia-Pacific leaders convened on Monday for a summit in Indonesia aimed at advancing trade and investment liberalisation amid a regional economic slowdown.

2) World Bank cuts E. Asia growth forecast to 7.1%: World Bank today lowered its 2013 growth forecast for East Asian developing countries to 7.1 per cent and warned that a prolonged US fiscal crisis could be damaging to the region.

3) Pakistani Taliban vow to attack Malala Yousafzai again:  Pakistani Taliban on Monday said schoolgirl campaigner Malala Yousafzai had "no courage" and vowed to attack her again if they got the chance.

4) Former Supreme Court judge C.V. Wigneswaran was on Monday sworn in the first chief minister of Sri Lanka’s northern province, most of which was under LTTE's control for nearly 30 years. Justice Wigneswaran took oath before President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the chief minister after his party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), won the provincial council elections held Sep 21.

Banking/Economy

1) To boost liquidity, RBI cuts MSF rate by 50 bps: In yet another move to ease liquidity for banks, the Reserve Bank of India on Monday eased interest rate on borrowings under the marginal standing facility (MSF) by 50 basis points (bps) to 9 per cent.