Daily Current Affairs
from 31 October 2013
1) Nation
paid tribute to the veteran freedom fighter and first Home Minister of
Independent India, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel on his 137th birth anniversary.
Born on 31st October, 1875 in Gujarat, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel is also known
as the Iron Man Of India. Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel was awarded Bharat Ratna
posthumously in the year 1999.
2) Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi laid
foundation stone of Statute of Unity, a 182-metre tall statue of "iron
man" Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 138th birth anniversary. The statue
will be raised on a small rocky island in the middle of the Narmada riverbed
facing Sardar Sarovar Dam at Kevadia. The Statue Of Unity will be double the
height of the Statue of Liberty in the USA. Proposed 182 meters (597 ft)
monument will be the tallest statue of the world when completed.
3) Petrol cheaper by Rs 1.15/lt; diesel to
cost more by Re 0.50/lt: Public sector oil marketing companies on Thursday
reduced petrol prices by Rs 1.15 a litre and increased diesel prices by 50
paise a litre both effective midnight of Thursday.
4) India slips to 106th spot in World
Prosperity Index: India has slipped by five places to 106th spot, way below
neighbouring Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and China in the World Prosperity
Index, due largely to its poor ‘safety and security’ environment.
5) S. Masood Ahmed,
chief scientist at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), here has
won the K.K. Menon Award for 2013. The award instituted by the Geological
Society of India recognised his contributions in sedimentary geology.
6) Fodder scam: Lalu Prasad’s bail plea
rejected by HC- Jharkhand High Court rejected the bail plea of RJD supremo
Lalu Prasad, who is serving a five-year sentence at the Birsa Munda Central
Jail here after being convicted in a fodder scam case.
7)New York City to raise tobacco buying age
to 21: New York city has voted to increase the legal age to 21 for buying
tobacco, including cigarettes and e-cigarettes, making it the first major city
in the US to institute a minimum smoking age above 19 years.
8) Bharat Joshi is new British Dy High
Commissioner: Bharat Joshi is the new British Deputy High Commissioner to
be based in Chennai, replacing Mike Nithavrianakis. Born in Croydon in the UK
in 1969, Joshi joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1995 and has had diplomatic
postings to Gambia, Dhaka, Qatar and Cameroon.
9) Subhas Goswami, director of the
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy appointed as the Director General (DG) of Indo Tibetan
Border Police (ITBP) on 30 October 2013. He will succeed Ajay Chadha, IPS.
10) Pankaj Razdan
was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Birla
Sun Life Insurance (BSLI), life insurance arm of Aditya Birla Group on 30
October 2013.
11) Saina Nehwal slips to 7th spot in BWF
ranking: Second-round exit from French Open Super Series proved costly for
Saina Nehwal as the Indian badminton ace continued her downward slide, slipping
one more spot to be placed at world number seven in the latest BWF ranking
released.
12) Prime Focus has
appointed Vikas Rathee, an investment banking and corporate finance
professional, as its Group Chief Operating Officer (COO).
13) Sanjiv Kapoor
will be joining SpiceJet as the Chief Operating Officer from November 1, the
airline said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
14) Northern Railway halts platform ticket sale
till November 10: Northern Railway has decided to stop sale of platform
tickets at major stations in the city, including at New Delhi station, with
immediate effect to avoid over crowding during Diwali and Chhat puja festivals.
15) The Supreme
Court today directed the Centre and State governments to pass an order within
three months, on giving fixed tenure to civil servants. A bench headed by
Justice K S Radhakrishnan said that fixed tenure of bureaucrats will promote
professionalism, efficiency and good governance.
16) British Prime Minister David Cameron will
come on his third visit to India in last two years on November 14 and will
hold talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on key bilateral and
regional issues.
17) Congress
president Sonia Gandhi has been listed the third most powerful woman as Russian
President Vladimir Putin beat President Barack Obama to the top spot on Forbes'
list of "The World's Most Powerful People".
