Daily Current Affairs: 13 March 2014

1) Dec 16 gangrape: Delhi HC upholds death penalty to 4 convicts: The Delhi High Court on Thursday upheld the death sentence awarded to the four convicts in the brutal gangrape and murder of a 23-year-old girl in Delhi on December 16, 2012 that shook the nation’s conscience and led to widespread protests. A bench of justices Reva Khetrapal and Pratibha Rani confirmed the sentence of Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh, saying the offence committed by them falls in the category of rarest of the rare and upheld their conviction.

2) World Kidney Day observed across the World: World Kidney Day was observed on 13 March 2014 with the theme, Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and aging. World Kidney Day is observed annually on the second Thursday in March. World Kidney Day is celebrated to raise awareness of the importance of our kidneys to our overall health and to reduce the frequency and impact of kidney disease and its associated health problems worldwide.

3) India joined search for missing Malayasian plane: India today joined the global search for the Malayasian aircraft by deploying three warships along with around four surveillance aircraft including the latest P-8I anti-submarine warfare plane. Three warships have been despatched from Andaman and Nicobar Command including INS Kumbhir and INS Saryu from Navy and Coast Guard Ship Kanaklata Baruah to the areas specified by the Malaysian Government, Navy officials said. The Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777 plane, with 239 people including five Indians on board, vanished over the South China Sea on Friday an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur.

4) US court dismissed Devyani’s indictment in visa fraud case: In a major relief to Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, a US court has granted her motion to dismiss the indictment on visa fraud charges, saying she had full diplomatic immunity when the indictment was returned against her on January 9. In a 14-page order, US District Judge Shira Scheindlin said it is “undisputed” that Khobragade acquired full diplomatic immunity from the State Department at 5:47 pm on January 8. The judge said Khobragade did not lose that immunity until her departure for India on January 9.

5) Rajasthan Royals tied up with Australian varsity: Australia’s Deakin University has tied up with IPL team Rajasthan Royals. Under the sports education partnership, faculty from Deakin University’s Sports Management department will work with the Rajasthan Royals on team branding, sports marketing, and fan engagement.

6) Hero launched Splendor iSmart at Rs 47,250: The country’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp on Thursday launched its all-new Splendor iSmart bike, equipped with stop-and-start i3S technology, priced at Rs 47,250 (ex-showroom Delhi). The Splendor iSmart, which was showcased at the recently held Auto Expo, aims at further consolidating Hero MotoCorp’s leadership position in the 100cc segment, the company said in a statement.

7) Nandan Nilekani resigned as UIDAI chairman: Infosys co-founder and face of UPA government's flagship 'Aadhar' programme, Nandan Nilekani on Thursday resigned as chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India, three days after joining Congress. Nilekani, who will contest Lok Sabha polls from Bangalore South, said he has submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

8) Sahara chief Subrata Roy to remain in jail, SC rejects bail plea: The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected Sahara chief Subrata Roy's petition to be released from custody. The SC bench said that without a fresh refund proposal from Sahara, it can not consider Subrata Roy's interim bail plea.

9) Election Commission increased polling time by two hours for Lok Sabha polls:  The Election Commission on Thursday increased polling time by two hours for upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections to enable greater participation of voters in the electoral process. Now, people, including those living in hill areas, will be able to cast their votes between 7 AM and 6 PM while in Naxal-hit areas polling would be held between 7 am and 4 pm. Polling was earlier held between 8 am and 5 pm while in North-East it started at 7 am.

10) Akhilesh Gupta elected President of Indian Meteorological Society: Akhilesh Gupta has been elected President of the Indian Meteorological Society for a two-year term from 2014. Gupta, 50, will be the youngest-ever President of the Society, a spokesman said. Established in 1956, the society is a non-profit organisation that promotes the advancement, dissemination of knowledge, and application of meteorology and related sciences.