13th February 2015 Current Affairs Updates

1) World Radio Day observed:

--> World Radio Day was observed globally on 13 February 2015 with the theme Youth and Radio.

--> The day is a global celebration of radio as a forum for entertainment and information, as a bridge of communication for remote communities and its role in empowering people.

--> UNESCO at its 36th General Assembly on 3 November 2011 proclaimed 13 February as World Radio Day. 

2) Bangalore-Ernakulam intercity express derailed; 10 killed:

--> Ten passengers died and over 100 were injured after nine bogies of the Bangalore-Ernakulam Intercity Express derailed on 13 February 2015 near the border between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

--> The train had left Bengaluru at 6.15 am and it got derailed at 7.35 am between Anekal Road and Hosur on Bangalore City-Salem Section, about 45 kilometres from Bengaluru, Railways said.

--> The accident occurred after the train hit a boulder that had fallen on the track, tweeted Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.

3) Ashton Carter confirmed as new US defence secretary:

--> Ashton Carter, a close confidant of President Barack Obama and a strong proponent of Indo-US strategic ties, has been confirmed by the Senate as the next American defence secretary.

--> He was confirmed to the top Pentagon post with an overwhelming 93 to five votes.

--> Mr. Carter, 60, will be the 25th U.S. Secretary of Defence, replacing Chuck Hagel who quit from the post in November last amid reports of differences with Mr. Obama.

4) MCX appointed Balasubramaniam Venkataramani as MD & CEO:

--> Balasubramaniam Venkataramani has been appointed as new MD & CEO of Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).

--> The top post at MCX has been lying vacant since May last year when the then MD & CEO Manoj Vaish resigned.

--> Prior to this appointment B Venkataramani was Chief Business Officer of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

5) Micromax Informatics named Ashish Agrawal as Chief Technology Officer:

--> Micromax Informatics on 13 February 2015 appointed Ashish Agrawal as its new Chief Technology Officer.

--> Prior to joining Micromax, Agrawal served as the Chief technology Officer with Sirqul and worked for the execution and adoption of Sirqul's suite of mobile engagement products and services.

6) Telugu novelist Kesava Reddy passes away:

--> Renowned Telugu novelist Kesava Reddy has passed away in Nizamabad district of Telangana. He was 68.

--> He was well known for his writings that had addressed many important social problems in India like poverty, prejudices and superstitions.

7) India ranked 136 in World Press Freedom Index 2015:

--> India was ranked 136 out of 180 nations worldwide in terms of press freedom in 2015, which marks an improvement from its rank of 140 in 2014, even though its absolute score declined from 40.34 to 40.49.

--> In the annual World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) produced by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), India’s “abuse score,” which reflects the intensity of violent harassment faced by journalists was 59.58, which is higher than Sri Lanka’s score of 40.6 but below Pakistan’s score of 64.91 and China’s score of 89.64.

--> While the top of the list was this year and in previous years dominated by Scandinavian nations such as Finland, Norway and Denmark, at the other end of the scale, Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea, were the worst performers.