Daily Current Affairs from 22 September 2014

1) Pakistan appointed Rizwan Akhtar as new ISI chief: Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar was on Monday appointed the new chief of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in commander-level promotions announced in the country’s powerful Army. The announcement was made on Twitter by Major General Asim Bajwa, director-general of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Dawn online reported.

2) Entry norms for IITs relaxed: The Ministry of Human Resource Development has ratified new criteria for admission to the Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs), paving the way for participation of more students in counselling from next year. Until now, students in the top 20 percentile of Class XII marks alone were eligible for entry into IITs. As a result, those who scored well in the Joint Entrance Examination, but failed to make it to the top 20 percentile were denied admission. Under the new rules, those who have scored 75 per cent marks in Class XII will also be eligible.

3) Mars Orbiter Mission: ISRO on verge of creating space history: The Mars Orbiter spacecraft of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) moved closer to its home on Monday, as ISRO woke up its liquid engine from slumber and slowed down the spacecraft marginally. This is in preparation for the final manoeuvres on Wednesday morning, which will slow it further and place it in Martian orbit by 8 am. A successful set of manoeuvres will make ISRO the world's only organisation to reach Mars in its first attempt. 

4) Saurav Ghosal, Dipika Pallikal Create History at Asian Games: Saurav Ghosal became first Indian to enter squash final at Asian Games, while Dipika Pallikal became first Indian woman to win a squash bronze. Dipika Pallikal and Saurav Ghosal scripted history on the squash court, while shooters also continued to deliver medals as India bagged two more bronze to boost their tally to six on the third day of the 17th Asian Games. Pallikal settled for a bronze medal -- the first by an Indian woman squash player -- after losing to world number one Nicol David in the semifinals. India were also assured of at least a silver in the men's singles event after Ghosal stormed into the final -- the first from the country to achieve such a feat.

5) Sonowal Inaugurates National Academy for Athletics and National Golf Academy at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated two Sports Academies National Academy for Athletics and National Academy for Golf at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Sonowal urged the youth and sports enthusiasts to make sports a part of their daily life. Quoting Swami Vivakananda, the Minister said, playing football will make you understand the meaning of Bhagavat Geeta. The National Academy for Athletics will give training for sub junior, junior and senior athletes, selected across the Country with the help of expert coaches including foreign ones. The Academy has been established as the first Academy in Sports in the country under Public-Private Partnership with M/s. JSW.

6) Ashraf Ghani declared next Afghanistan president: Afghanistan's election commission on Sunday has named Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai as the winner of the country's presidential election. The commission's announcement came hours after Ghani Ahmadzai signed a power sharing agreement with opponent Abdullah Abdullah, who will fill the newly created position of government chief executive.