Daily Current Affairs updates from 13 January 2014

1) Golden Globe 2014 announced: The 71st Golden Globe Awards were announced on Sunday night (January 12th, 2014). 12 Years a Slave has won best film (drama) at the Golden Globes, while Cate Blanchett won best actress and Matthew McConaughey won best actor. American Hustle won best film (comedy or musical). Click Here to view the complete list of winners.

2) EPFO approves raising Provident Fund interest rate to 8.75 percent:  Retirement fund body EPFO on Monday decided to increase the rate of interest on Provident Fund deposits to 8.75 percent for 2013-14, a move that will benefit about 5 crore subscribers. "We have decided to recommend to the government 8.75 percent rate of interest for 2013-14 to its subscribers," Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes told reporters after a meeting of the EPFO trustees in New Delhi on Monday.

3) Polio in India officially eradicated: Government- India on Monday marked three years since its last case of polio was reported, a major public health success for a country that until recently accounted for most of the world’s cases. “Proud day for all of us as Indians,” Junior Home Minister RPN Singh wrote on Twitter. “India is polio-free for three years.” That is the official time period without a case for a country to be considered free of a disease by the World Health Organization (WHO).

4) Medha Patkar joined Aam Aadmi Party: Social-activist Medha Patkar on Monday formally joined Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Patkar, 59, known for her work in Narmada Bachao Andolan, earlier in the day endorsed all the policies of AAP and have extended full support to the party. She appreciated the leadership of Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal. "The credit goes to Kejriwal and his team to provide a platform for strongly addressing people's issues," Medha said.

5) Lohri being celebrated across India today: The festival of harvest, Lohri is being celebrated with traditional fervour and enthusiasm on Monday across the nation. People, especially in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, exchange gifts, sweets and enjoy bonfire at night.

6) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid foundation stone of nuclear plant in Haryana:  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said one of the biggest achievements of the UPA government was enhancing the power generation capacity in the country to meet growing power needs. Singh, who laid the foundation stone of a nuclear power plant in Gorakhpur in Haryana's Fatehabad district, said: “The first phase (1,400 MW) of the 2,800-MW Haryana Nuclear Power Project (Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojna) would be completed by 2020-21 at a cost of over Rs 21,000 crore.”

7) RTI applicants need not provide their address: Centre- In order to protect an RTI applicant from any adverse consequence, the Centre has directed the government departments not to insist on seeking their address if a post box number is being provided to them for communication.

8) Kejriwal says no more janata darbars, to take grievances online: After mismanagement at his first ‘janata darbar’, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday announced that he will not hold janata darbars in the future. He, however, said that the people can e-mail their grievances to him and added that he will meet the people once a week.

9) Australian Open began in Melbourne: The first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open Tennis tournament, kicked off at Melbourne on Monday.

10) Law intern moves SC seeking inquiry against Justice Swatanter Kumar: A former law intern, who has made sexual harassment allegations against Justice Swatanter Kumar, on Monday moved Supreme Court seeking inquiry against the retired judge.

11) Hasina keeps Home, Foreign Affairs and Defence portfolios: Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has kept crucial portfolios of Defence, Home and Foreign Affairs with herself as she distributed portfolios among her new Cabinet members.

12) Iran nuclear deal to take effect on 20th January: A deal between Iran and six major powers intended to pave the way to a solution to a long standoff over Tehran's nuclear ambitions will come into force on January 20, the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the European Union said.

13) Sachin Pilot appointed Rajasthan Congress chief: The Congress high command on Monday appointed Union Minister Sachin Pilot as Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC) chief.

14) SBI plans to outsource ATM management: State Bank of India (SBI) plans to outsource the management of some of its ATMs.  It has called for a Request for Proposal (RFP) from vendors to manage about 7,843 cash dispensers (ATMs).

15) Veteran actress Anjali Devi passed away: Veteran South Indian film actress Anjali Devi passed away at a private hospital in Chennai on Monday following a cardiac arrest, family sources said. She was 85 and is survived by two sons.

16) President, Vice-President greet nation on Milad-un-Nabi:  President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice-President Hamid Ansari on Monday greeted the nation ahead of Milad-un-Nabi, the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammed. The President and the Vice-President said they hoped that the Prophet's message of selflessness and brotherhood would show the path of compassion and tolerance to everyone.