Daily Current Affairs: 13 October 2014

1) 2014 Nobel Prize for Economics announced: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel for 2014 to Jean Tirole “for his analysis of market power and regulation”. The prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace have been awarded since the inception of Nobel Prize in 1901, however the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was created in 1968. The economics prize is officially called the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Read details>> http://goo.gl/rhIy3J

2) International Day for Disaster Reduction observed: World observed 'International Day for Disaster Reduction 2014' on October 13.  The day is celebrated to raise awareness of how people are taking action to reduce their risk to disasters. The theme for this year is 'Resilience is for Life'. The focus this year is on older people and the role they can play in resilience-building through their experience and knowledge.

3) Shashi Tharoor dropped as Congress spokesperson: The Congress on Monday dropped its former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor from the party’s panel of spokespersons in view of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee’s demand for disciplinary action against him for accepting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to a select panel of prominent personalities to advocate the Swachh Bharat Mission. The decision to drop Mr. Tharoor from the panel of spokespersons was taken by Congress president Sonia Gandhi as per the recommendations of the party’s Disciplinary Action Committee.

4) ‘Queen of Jaffna’ to link Sri Lanka's north again: The “Queen of Jaffna,” a once-popular train linking the ethnic Tamil’s northern heartland to the rest of Sri Lanka before a bloody civil war cut the link 24 years ago, chugs back into service this coming week, reinforcing the government’s authority in a region once controlled by Tamil rebels. President Mahinda Rajapaksa inaugurated service along the 400-kilometer (250-mile) route between Jaffna and Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital.

5) India 55th on global hunger index:  India has made some progress in reducing poverty level, but still ranks behind neighbouring Nepal and Sri Lanka on the Global Hunger Index and its hunger status remains classified as "serious". India was at 63rd position in the global hunger index (GHI) last year. The 55th position in 2014 is better than Pakistan (ranked 57) and Bangladesh (57), but trails behind Nepal (44) and Sri Lanka (39). Burundi, Eritrea Top Global Hunger Index.

6) Mary Kom named Most Valuable Player of India's Asian Games campaign: Olympic bronze medallist M C Mary Kom was chosen as the Most Valuable Player of India's Incheon Asian Games campaign at a felicitation of the medal winners by contingent sponsors Samsung India on Monday. Mary Kom, who became the first Indian woman boxer to win a gold medal in Asian Games when she clinched the yellow metal in the Incheon Games in flyweight (-51kg) class, was named the MVP after a poll. All the 11 individual/team gold winners, including the men's hockey team, were in the contest.

7) Gujarat increased women's reservation to 33% in government jobs: Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel decided to increase the quantum of reservations for women in state government jobs by 3%. Therefore, the quota now stands at 33%. The decision follows the CM's announcement of 33% reservation for women in the police force.