Daily Current Affairs from 08 October 2013

Daily Current Affairs from 08 October 2013

Awards/Achievements

1) Nobel Prize in Physics for 2013: was awarded to François Englert Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium and Peter W. Higgs University of Edinburgh, UK “for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles, and which recently was confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle, by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider”

2) India test-fired Prithvi-II missile for 2nd time in two days: India today successfully test-fired for the second time in two days its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, from a test range at Chandipur near Odisha.

3) Sankalp breaks own Guinness World record; prepares 53-ft-long dosa: Ahmedabad-based Sankalp Group, which twice entered Guinness Book of World Records by making 25 and 32-feet-long dosas in 1997 and 2006, respectively, has broken its own record by preparing a 53-feet-long dosa.

4) Karan Thapar, television journalist chosen for the International Press Institute (IPI) – India award for excellence in journalism 2013 on 8 October 2013 for his interviews on the Devil's Advocate programme on CNN IBN.

Days

1) Indian Airforce Day: The Indian Air Force Day is celebrated on 8 October 2013. It is the 81st anniversary of the Indian Air Force.

National

1) Centre, States asked to provide 3% reservation in govt jobs to disabled persons: Supreme Court today directed the Centre and all state governments to provide three per cent job reservation to disabled persons in all their departments, companies and institutions. A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam also clarified that the principle of not exceeding more than 50 per cent reservation would not be applicable while granting quota for disabled persons.

2) CBI decides to close probe in DA case against Mayawati: CBI has decided to wind up its probe in the disproportionate assets case against BSP supremo Mayawati after receiving legal opinion on the Supreme Court orders on the issue.

3) Government is investing heavily in science and technology during the Twelfth Plan period and it has drawn up an ambitious agenda, according to K. Kasturirangan, the eminent space scientist and a member of the Planning Commission.

4) Bihar govt raises DA by 10 per cent: Bihar government today hiked dearness allowance (DA) for its employees by 10 per cent. The decision to raise the DA was taken at a meeting of state cabinet presided over by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

5) Apex court asks Election Commission to install paper trail in EVMs: Supreme Court today directed the Election Commission to introduce in a phased manner a paper trail in EVMs for the next general elections in 2014, saying it will ensure free and fair polls.

6) Cabinet approves Bill to give statutory status to UIDAI: Cabinet has approved official amendments to the UIDAI Bill. The Bill seeks to provide statutory status to UIDAI and legal stature to the Aadhar number. The National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010 will be brought for consideration and passage in the Rajya Sabha during the winter session. The Bill has been pending in the Upper House for over two years.

Economy/Banking

1) LPG price may go up by Rs 3.50 a cylinder: Domestic cooking gas (LPG) rates may soon go up by almost Rs 3.50 a cylinder in case the government accepts a recommendation for increasing the commission paid to dealers by over 9 per cent.

2) Moody’s assigns ‘Baa3’ rating to Bharti Airtel: Global credit rating agency Moody’s has given ‘Baa3’ rating to Bharti Airtel, saying that this is underpinned by receipt of strong and growing cash flows from its Indian operations. The Baa3 rating means the entity is medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and has an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.

3) SBI chief rules out cut in lending rates: State Bank of India’s new chief on Tuesday ruled out any cut in lending rates despite the Reserve Bank of India’s announcing liquidity easing measures.

4) Finance Minister P Chidambaram will leave for the US on Tuesday to attend the annual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank. The world leaders will deliberate on prevailing uncertainty in global economy. Discussions will also focus on the much-awaited quota reforms that will benefit emerging economies including India. Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan and Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram, among others, will also be attending the annual meetings. The visit comes against the backdrop of external sector pressure with the country's foreign exchange reserves dipping by over 15 billion dollars since March 2013 to 276 billion dollars as on September 27.

International

1) Woody Allen halts film release in India over anti-smoking ads: Woody Allen stopped his film Blue Jasmine from being screened in India because he objected to anti-tobacco adverts being inserted into smoking scenes, media reports said on Tuesday.

2) EU parliament clears way for stricter tobacco rules: European Parliament has agreed to move forward with stricter tobacco rules, setting the stage for negotiations with EU governments.

3) Iran won’t unblock Facebook, Twitter: Official:- Iran does not plan to unblock Facebook and Twitter for the general public even if some top government officials use it, the minister of telecommunications and information technology said today.

4) Record 76 countries enter race to win Best Foreign Film Oscar:  A record 76 movies have been submitted for the foreign language Oscars including first-time entries from Saudi Arabia and Montenegro. The Oscar nominations will be announced on January 16. The 86th annual awards will be presented on March 2 in Los Angeles.

5) IMF cuts India’s GDP growth to 3.8% this fiscal: International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered the growth projection for India to 3.8 per cent in 2013-14. This is sharply lower than the 5.6 per cent growth projection it had made in July.

6) FinMin expects FY’14 growth at around 5.5%:  Finance Ministry expects the economic growth in the current fiscal to improve to 5.5 per cent from 5 per cent last year on back of likely pick up in agricultural output on account of good monsoon rains.

Sports

1) Apex court allows N. Srinivasan to take charge as BCCI President:  Supreme Court today allowed N. Srinivasan to take charge as BCCI President. The apex court has set up a probe panel headed by former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Mukul Mudgal to inquire into the allegation of betting and spot-fixing in IPL.

2) Indian cyclist Deborah on 7 October 2013 won a gold medal in the women’s junior individual sprint at Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC) Track Asia Cup in Thailand.

3) International Cricket Council has announced that the final stages of the ICC World Twenty 20 Qualifier 2013 will be held at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.