Daily Current Affairs Updates: 21 November 2013
1) Virat Kohli becomes fastest to score 5000
runs in ODIs: India's batting mainstay Virat Kohli became the fastest
batsman to score 5000 runs in one-day internationals when he scored 86 against
West Indies in the first ODI in Kochi. Kohli achieved the feat in just 120
matches and 114 innings. He has so far amassed 5005 runs, which included 17
centuries and 27 fifties in his short career. In terms of innings, Kohli has
equalled the record of Sir Viv Richards of West Indies, who also achieved the
feat in 114 innings way back in 1987 but it was Viv's 126th match. Before
Kohli, former captain Sourav Ganguly was the fastest to achieve the feat among
Indian batsmen in 131 matches and 126 innings.
2) Isro's Mars orbiter sends first picture of
Earth, 'Helen' captured: Severe cyclonic storm "Helen" hurtling
towards Andhra Pradesh coast has been captured by India's Mars orbiter in the
first image of the country beamed back in its maiden mission to the red planet.
" Mangalyaan" has beamed back the first set of pictures of Earth,
capturing the Indian subcontinent and parts of Africa, Isro said.
3) Two of RBI’s 17-member panel favoured
status quo on policy rates: Only two of the 17 members of the advisory
committee wanted no change in the repo rate in the RBI’s second quarter review
of monetary policy 2013-14 on October 29. However, “on monetary policy
measures, all members unanimously wanted to restore symmetry in the policy
corridor - with the MSF rate at 100 basis points above the policy repo rate,”
RBI said in the minutes of the October 23 meeting of the Technical Advisory
Committee on Monetary Policy. The committee was chaired by Governor Raghuram Rajan
and among members were four Deputy Governors, other RBI officials.
4) First IAF woman to graduate as Flying
Instructor: Squadron leader Shalija Dhami will become the first woman from
the Indian Air Force (IAF) to qualify as a Flying Instructor from the Flying
Instructors’ School in Chennai on Saturday. Dhami will be among the 44
officers, including 40 from the IAF, three from the Indian Navy and one from
the Army, who will graduate from the school, a defence release said.
5) Digital network for monitoring earthquakes
launched at INCOIS: Indian National
Centre for Ocean Information Services launched a modern network digital project
that will make monitoring of earthquakes and seismological research across
India easier. Network project, Indian Seismic and GNSS Network, undertaken by
the Earth System Sciences Organisation of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, is a
permanent digital network connecting all standalone and institutional seismic
and global positioning system stations spread all over the country on real-time
basis.
6) Sachin's farewell Test garners maximum TRPs:
Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar's 200th Test in his farewell series against the
West Indies has emerged as the highest rated Test match on television in India
in the past eight years.
7) Tarun Tejpal steps aside as Tehelka Editor
for 6 months: Tehelka magazine editor Tarun Tejpal accepted “misconduct”
against a woman journalist and offered to recuse himself from the post and the
office for six months. Tejpal is a founder member of the Tehelka magazine.
8) Anand loses again, Carlsen a draw away from
world title: Challenger Magnus Carlsen closed in on the crown after
defeating defending champion Viswanathan Anand in the ninth game of the World
Chess Championship match. Carlsen now leads 6-3 and needs just half a point
from the remaining three games to become the new world champion.
9) Kochi ODI- India beat West Indies by six
wickets: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma hit sparkling half-centuries as a
clinical India continued their domination over West Indies by thrashing the
visitors by six wickets in the opening ODI of the three-match series in Kochi.
10) WhatsApp now available on Nokia Asha
platform: WhatsApp, the popular instant messaging service, is now
officially available on the Nokia Asha platform. All Nokia Asha 501 users can
download the application through a software update. The new software also comes
with a smarter camera experience through ‘swipe’ and one-touch social sharing.
11) New chief for pension fund regulator by January:
Finance Ministry will finalise a new Chairman for the Pension Fund Regulatory
and Development Authority (PFRDA) by January, a top Ministry official said.
Earlier this month, Yogesh Agarwal resigned as Chairman of PFRDA, ahead of it
being reconstituted as a statutory authority. At present, the Government has
given Anup Wadhawan, Joint Secretary in the Department of Financial Services, additional
charge as Chairman of the pension regulator. PFRDA administers the National
Pension System (NPS) for Union and State Government employees and the
unorganised sector. Currently, NPS has 55 lakh subscribers with a total corpus
of Rs 35,000 crore. The scheme has given returns of 12-14 per cent over the
last one year.
12) PayU India’s new payment option: PayU
India, an online payment company, has launched ‘Release on Delivery’ payment
option. This is being touted as a better alternative to the cash-on-delivery
(COD) payment option.
13) Subramanian Swamy to get Brahm Gaurav
award: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy will be presented Brahm Gaurav award on
November 24 by Brahm Foundation.
14) Google launches debit card in US: Google will offer a prepaid debit card that
will allow consumers to purchase goods at stores and to withdraw cash from ATM
machines, the internet company said. The card, which is only available in the
United States, lets consumers access the funds stored in their Google Wallet
accounts.
15) Allahabad high court bans 'Goliyon ki
raasleela Ram-Leela' in UP: Allahabad high court on Thursday banned
director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's romantic saga " Goliyon ki raasleela
Ram-Leela" in Uttar Pradesh. The film starring Deepika Padukone and
Ranveer Singh was released on November 15.The petition had contended that the
film was hurting religious sentiments of Hindus and its title 'Ramleela' was
giving a wrong message to society as Lord Ram's 'leela' (act) had great impact
on Indian society.
