Daily Current Affairs: 01 January 2014

Daily Current Affairs: 01 January 2014

1) Corey Anderson hits fastest ODI century: New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson cracked the fastest century in one-day international history, reaching three figures in just 36 deliveries against the West Indies on Wednesday.The previous record was held by Shahid Afridi, who took 37 balls to reach his ton playing for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in 1996.

2) Non subsidised LPG hiked by Rs 220 a cylinder: The price of non-subsidised cooking gas (LPG), which customers buy after consuming their quota of subsidised cylinders, was hiked by a steep Rs 220 a bottle on firming international rates.

3) India cancels 3,600 crore rupee VVIP choppers deal with Agusta WestLand: India on Wednesday cancelled its Rs 3,600 crore deal with Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland for supply of 12 VVIP choppers to the Air Force in view of charges that kickbacks to the tune of Rs 360 crore were paid in it.

4) Southern states connected to national electricity grid:  Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh and the Union Territory of Puducherry would now have better access to electricity supply as the region has been synchronised with the national transmission network of electricity (commonly known as the National Electricity Grid). The development took place on December 31, nearly five months ahead of schedule in May.

5) Former Infosys CFO Balakrishnan joins AAP:  In a surprise move, V Balakrishnan, who stepped down as Board member of software behemoth Infosys recently creating ripples in the corporate circles, has joined the Aam Admi Party.

6) A new dawn: India to be certified polio-free this year- Later this month, India will clock three polio-free years, a milestone that will be officially certified in 2014 by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The last case of polio was reported from West Bengal in January 2011. A WHO-appointed independent body is evaluating the ground situation and an announcement is expected possibly in February-March, says Ashok Mahajan, who heads Rotary’s Ulema Committee.

7) De Blasio sworn in as mayor of New York: New York’s new Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio was sworn in on Wednesday promising to restore progressive ideals and end growing economic inequality in America’s biggest city. De Blasio, 52, who in November won a landslide election to become New York’s first Democratic mayor in 20 years.

8) Ex-BJP rebel MLA Kalsaria joins AAP: On a day when Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took oath in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha, Kanu Kalsaria, former rebel BJP MLA and farmers’ movement leader, officially joined the Aam Admi Party (AAP), indicating that his new party may contest all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat in 2014 polls.

9) V. Kannan takes charge as Vijaya Bank CMD: V. Kannan has taken charge as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Vijaya Bank.

10) S.K. Sharma is CMD of Bharat Electronics:  S.K. Sharma has taken charge as the Chairman and Managing Director of defence public sector Bharat Electronics Ltd.

11) Madhusudhan takes charge as RINL head: P. Madhusudan, Director (Finance), Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) – Vizag Steel Plant, assumed charge on Wednesday as the company’s CMD. A.P Choudhury retired from the post on Tuesday, said a press release.