Daily Current Affairs Updates from 22 October 2013

Daily Current Affairs Updates from 22 October 2013

Technology

1) ISRO to launch India’s Mars Orbiter Mission on November 5: India’s ambitious space mission to explore planet Mars would be launched on November 5 from the spaceport of Sriharikota, ISRO announced today. The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), ‘Mangalyan’, would be launched onboard PSLV C25 on November 5 at 3.28 pm from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, some 80 km from here, an ISRO spokesperson said.

2) Snapdeal.com launches mobile app for iPhone users: Online marketplace Snapdeal.com has launched a mobile shopping application for iPhone users as more consumers are accessing the portal through handsets.

3) Nokia enters tablet market, unveils 10-inch Lumia 2520: Nokia today launched an impressive line-up of new personal media devices at Nokia World 2013, Abu Dhabi. The company launched its first-ever tablet, the Lumia 2520, with a 10-inch display. The tablet runs on the latest version of Windows RT and sports a 6.7 megapixel rear camera built with Zeiss optics. The Lumia 2520 is priced at $499 in the US and it will be launched in India later next year.

4) Yahoo! again tops Google in US Web visitors in Sept: For the third month in a row, more Americans visited Yahoo’s websites than Google’s, according to comScore Inc’s Internet traffic data for September.

National

1) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today left for China on the second leg of his two-nation tour after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin during which the two leaders pledged to “resolve all outstanding issues” related to the Kudankulam nuclear project.

2) PM in China: India and China are expected to ink several key pacts, including an agreement on a mechanism to prevent incursions by Chinese troops along the line of actual control.

2) Fodder scam: Lalu Prasad, Jagdish Sharma disqualified from Lok Sabha: Jailed RJD chief Lalu Prasad and JD(U)leader Jagdish Sharma have been disqualified as Lok Sabha members following their conviction in the fodder scam. While Prasad stands disqualified for a total of 11 years – five years of jail term and six years subsequent to his release – Sharma stands disqualified for ten years – four years in jail and six more years after that as per electoral laws.

3) Supreme Court today directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to monitor and conduct periodic checks of all carbonated soft drinks as the issue relates to citizens’ fundamental right to life guaranteed under the Constitution.

4) Kudankulam Unit 1 synchronised with southern power grid:  First unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant was today synchronised with the southern power grid, marking a major milestone in power generation of the Indo-Russian nuclear collaboration in Tamil Nadu.

Banking/Economy

1) Bangalore ranked India’s top business destination: Bangalore, known as India’s silicon city, has been ranked as the country’s top business destination, followed by Chennai, Mumbai and Pune in terms of infrastructure, human capital, city culture and basic quality of living, says a survey.

2) Men account for about 36 per cent of the candidates found provisionally eligible for appointment as Probationary Officers in the Bharatiya Mahila Bank. The probationary officer post is an entry-level position in the officer’s grade in public sector banks. Bharatiya Mahila Bank had advertised 115 vacancies for this rank last month, and selected 103 candidates, according to the results notification. Headquartered in Delhi, the bank, which will focus on the banking needs of women and promote their economic empowerment, is gearing up to become operational next month.

International

1) Aung San Suu Kyi collected on Tuesday the EU democracy prize that had been awarded 23 years ago while she was under house arrest. The Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought, named after Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, has been handed out annually by the European Parliament since 1988.

2)  The world's most wanted woman, Samantha Lewthwaite, dubbed the "White Widow", wrote a poem telling of her "love" for Osama Bin Laden.

Sports

1)  Jamaica's athletes, including sprint star Usain Bolt, could be banned from major events like the Olympics due to the island's handling of recent drug scandals, according to Tuesday's Daily Telegraph.

2) Vikash, Sumit, Satish in World Boxing Championships quarterfinals:  Indian boxers continued to touch new highs at the World Championships here as three of them entered the quarterfinals on an all-win day on Tuesday to take the total number to an unprecedented five.

3) Krishna Poonia set to join Congress: Ace discus thrower Krishna Poonia is expected to join the Congress Party on Wednesday at a rally in Rajasthan, where she is also likely to contest in the upcoming state Assembly elections slated for December 1.

5) The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) on 21 October 2013 unanimously elected Kanwar Deep Singh as the president of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) for a four-year term. He was succeeded by Dinesh Reddy, Andhra Pradesh's Director General of Police (DGP).

Days

1) Karva Chauth celebrated in North India: Karva Chauth is a day when married women in north India observe a daylong fast and break it only after sighting the moon, and seeing their husband through a seive.