Current Affairs- January 2013
Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal in a
surprise move, just over a month ahead of the Budget, on 9 January 2013
announced that the rail fares would be hiked for all passengers from 21 January
2013 including the AC-1 and AC-2 tier passengers, who were hit by a fare hike
in April 2012. Minister further added that there won’t be any fare hike in the coming
Railway Budget. The hike announced will be of 2 paise per km to 10 paise per km
across classes. The fare hikes are higher than what was proposed in the Rail
Budget 2012.
Sri Lanka's Parliament voted overwhelmingly on 11
January 2013 to impeach the chief justice in a case widely seen by jurists and
rights activists as an attempt by the government to ensure a servile judiciary.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa will now decide whether Chief Justice Shirani
Bandaranayake should be dismissed.
Aadhaar
card to be accepted as proof to get passport: Ministry of external Affairs
The Chief Minister of Haryana, Bhupinder Singh
Hooda on 7 January 2013 laid the foundation stone of the state-of-the-art
National Data Centre of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) at
Maneshar, Gurgaon in Haryana.
Simon Taufel, the umpire who has been the
five-time ICC Umpire of the Year from 2004 to 2008 will become the first umpire
to give the prestigious MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture, the England and
Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on 11 January 2013. He will also become the
third non-player to deliver the lecture. 
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee
released the Commemorative Postage Stamp on ‘Silk Letter Movement’ at a
function at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi onJanuary 11, 2013. Speaking on the
occasion, the President said that the sacrifices of individuals and groups,
such as those associated with the Silk Letter Movement, constitute a glorious
chapter of India’s history of Freedom struggle and need to be acknowledged and
appreciated. The President said that he is happy that the Department of Posts
has done its bit over the years and has issued postage stamps to acknowledge
the contribution of various groups and movements which in their own ways
contributed to the overall effort to liberate India.
Malala Yousafzai, 15, the schoolgirl from
Pakistan shot by Taliban for campaigning girls’ education, on 9 January 2013
received France's Simone de Beauvoir Prize for Women's Freedom in Paris.
Malala’s father Ziaudin Yousafzai received the honour on her behalf. The award
is accompanied with 2.5 million Rupees honorarium. In the first week of January
2013, Malala Yousafzai got released from the British hospital. She is waiting
for the reconstructive surgery to be performed on the skull. Malala was shot by
the Taliban in her head after her school bus drove through Mingora town of Swat
Valley of Pakistan.
Renault Duster was awarded the Car of the Year
Award 2013 by the automotive magazine Autocar India at the annual awards night
on 9 January 2013 in Mumbai. Duster won three awards including the viewer's
choice car of the year, SUV of the year and the overall Autocar car of the year
2013 awards. While, Mahindra and Mahindra won the manufacturer of the year
award, Bajaj KTM 200 Duke won the viewers' choice Bike of the Year and the
Autocar Bike of the Year 2013.
The Arjun Munda Ministry in Jharkhand on 8
January 2013 resigned and recommended dissolution of the two-year-old Assembly
to the governor in Ranchi. The decision of his resignation came after his
coalition partner, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), decided to withdraw its
support from the 28-month-long BJP-led coalition government.
Professional networking Web site LinkedIn on 8
January 2013 appointed Nishant K. Rao as the new Country Manager for its India
operations.
The ICC Player Rankings of ODI batsman released on
7 January 2013 placed Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Captain of Indian Cricket Team
at fourth position in its list. Dhoni was ranked at the fourth position, due to
the consistent performance he had displayed in the past three-match ODI series
- against Pakistan. Virat Kohli slipped by one rank to third position in the
list. Suresh Raina managed to move one point upward to twenty-sixth position
and Yuvraj Singh reached to forty-first spot in the latest ranking released. South
African batsman Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers are sharing first and second
position respectively in the latest ranking released.
11th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas meet concluded at Kochi, Kerala
The three-day 11th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD)
which kicked off in Kochi on 7 January 2013 concluded. The event saw delightful response from the
people with more than 2000 registrations. The organizing partner of this year
summit was Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC). Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh inaugurated the annual flagship event on 8 January 2013 and President
Pranab Mukherjee delivered the valedictory address on 9 January 2013 and also
conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards.
India won the last match of the Pakistan in
India ODI Series on 6 January 2013 against Pakistan by 10 Runs. With this win
over Pakistan, India lost the three matches one day series by 1-2.
Microsoft in the Month of January 2013 announced
plans to shut down its Messenger service which is formerly known by Windows
Live Messenger/MSN Messenger. The plan would involve enabling users to move
down to Skype from 15 March 2013. It will be evident from 15 March 2013 that
Messenger users will be unable to sign into Messenger and use the service. From
the proposed date Microsoft encourage to download Skype from where one can
exchange instant-messages and have chats with your Messenger friends. The only advantage
is that one can use his or her Windows Live login ID for login to Skype.
Current Affairs January 2013 –Second
Week (Useful for all competitive Examinations)
Lionel Messi wins record 4th FIFA Ballon d'Or
Lionel Messi, the Argentine footballer won FIFA
Ballond’Or Award on 7 January 2013 as a reward to his 91-goal in a year for
Barcelona and Argentina, in the year 2012. Messi voted to be the best player
for the fourth year in a row managed to beat his close competitors, Cristiano
Ronaldo of Spanish champion Real Madrid and Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta. Messi
received a vote share of 41.60 percent to 23.68 for Ronaldo and 10.91 for
Iniesta. With this win for the fourth time, Messi has left behind the three
time FIFA winners namely Zinedine Zidane of France and Ronaldo of Brazil.
The FIFA Ballon d’Or Award
FIFA Ballon d’Or Award was started in the year
2010 after merging the two, France Football's Ballon d'Or and the men's FIFA
World Player of the Year Award. It is the association’s football award that is
awarded to the year’s best performer. The player is selected via voting process
and the votes are casted by the captains and coaches of the International Teams
as well as the journalists from across the world.
Rail fares hiked after a decade, travel to cost more from 21
January 2013
Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal in a
surprise move, just over a month ahead of the Budget, on 9 January 2013
announced that the rail fares would be hiked for all passengers from 21 January
2013 including the AC-1 and AC-2 tier passengers, who were hit by a fare hike
in April 2012. Minister further added that there won’t be any fare hike in the coming
Railway Budget. The hike announced will be of 2 paise per km to 10 paise per km
across classes. The fare hikes are higher than what was proposed in the Rail
Budget 2012.
Ø Fares
of Ordinary Second Class (suburban) trains will go up by 2 paise per km while
for non-suburban travel it will be 3 paise.
Ø Travel
by Second Class Mail and Express trains will be costlier by 4 paise per km,
while it will be 6 paise in Sleeper Class.
Ø Travellers
by AC Chair Car and AC Three Tier will have to shell out 10 paise more per km,
First Class by 3 paise, AC Two Tier by 6 paise and AC First Class by 10 paise.
Ø The
fares for First Class, AC Two Tier and AC First/ Executive Class were already
raised by 10 paise per km, 15 and 30 paise respectively in the current year's
budget.
As per the railway minister the slowdown has
further impacted railways' earnings, adding that the fare hike will help raise
an additional 1200-1300 crore rupees in the remaining period of current fiscal.
Railway Minister Pawan Bansal had stated his support for a fare hike
immediately after taking over in October 2012. He stated that the decision to
hike the fares was imperative as lack of revision in the last 10 years has had
a telling effect on the railway finances.
India
in focus at Oscars as Bombay Jayashree bags nomination for 'Life of Pi'
An Indian
story has once again claimed spotlight at the Oscars with Ang Lee directed
'Life of Pi' bagging 11 nominations in major categories, including a nod for
Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashree. The Oscar-winning director chose an
entirely Indian cast for 'Pi' depicting Indian culture beautifully in the
adventure-drama. He shot the 3D film in places like Munnar and Pondicherry in
South India. 'Pi', adapted from Yann Martel's novel of the same name, is the
survival story of an Indian boy lost in the ocean with a Bengal tiger for over
227 days. The film, produced by Fox Star Studios', did very well at the Indian
box office, earning 90 crores. Jayashree is nominated in the Original song
category for 'Pi's Lullaby' along with the composer Michael Danna.
'Pi' is also leading in Golden Globes with three
nominations and BAFTA with 10. So is Reliance-Dreamworks' 'Lincoln', which is
being counted as one of the major contenders at the Oscars this year. Oscars
will take place in Los Angeles on February 24, 2013.
Sri Lanka's first woman Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake
impeached
Sri Lanka's Parliament voted overwhelmingly on 11
January 2013 to impeach the chief justice in a case widely seen by jurists and
rights activists as an attempt by the government to ensure a servile judiciary.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa will now decide whether Chief Justice Shirani
Bandaranayake should be dismissed.
Last month, a parliamentary committee ruled that
Bandaranayake had unexplained wealth and had misused her power. She has denied
the charges and said she was not given a fair hearing.
Aadhaar
card to be accepted as proof to get passport: Ministry of external Affairs
The Ministry of External Affairs on 8 January
2013 decided and consequently advised all Passport Issuing Authorities to
accept Aadhaar letter as Proof of Address and Photo identity in conjunction
with any other prescribed documents for proof of address/identity for the
purpose of passport application. At present, authorities accept passport
applications based on about 14 documents such as voter ID card or electoral
photo identity card (EPIC), ration card, PAN, driving licence, birth
certificates among others.
About AAdhaar
Aadhaar is a 12 digit individual identification
number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India on behalf of the
government. This number will serve as a proof of identity and address, anywhere
in India. Any individual, irrespective of age and gender, who is a resident in
India and satisfies the verification process laid down by the UIDAI, can enroll
for Aadhaar.
“Life
of Pi” bags 9 BAFTA nominations & only behind ‘Lincoln’ with 10 nominations
Ang Lee’s Life of Pi has been nominated under
nine categories for the EE British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) 2013. The film
will vie for awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay,
Original Music, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Sound and Special
Visual Effects. Besides these, actor Suraj Sharma has also been nominated for
the EE Rising Star Award. The political drama of Steven Spielberg, Lincoln is
leading its way with ten nominations. Life of Pi and Les Miserables earned nine
nominations respectively. These movies are competing with Lincoln, Zero Dark
Thirty and Argo in the category of Best Film. The British Academy Film Awards
2013 will be held at Royal Opera House on 10 February 2013.
Cochin Shipyard launched first fast patrol vessel for Coast
Guard
Cochin Shipyard Ltd on 8 January 2013 launched
the first fast patrol vessel (FPV), being built for the Indian Coast Guard. The
vessel named Aadesh was launched by Jayasree Muralidharan, in the presence of
M.P. Muralidharan, Director General, Indian Coast Guard (ICG). K. Subramaniam,
Chairman and Managing Director, senior officials of the Coast Guard, Indian
Navy and Cochin Shipyard Ltd were present. The ship has been designed by the
Kochi-based SEDS and this is the first collaboration between CSL and a local
design house.
National Data Centre for UIDAI to come up in Gurgaon
The Chief Minister of Haryana, Bhupinder Singh
Hooda on 7 January 2013 laid the foundation stone of the state-of-the-art
National Data Centre of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) at
Maneshar, Gurgaon in Haryana.
The centre that will spread in an area of
five-acres would serve as the respiratory system for the UIDAI and would store
all the basic biometric and demographic information of the residents, before
the 12-digit Aadhaar Number is issued. The development work of the UIDAI center
would be completed by mid 2014 and is being developed as a green data centre
and abides to all the global standards and guidelines.
Simon
Taufel to be the First Umpire to deliver the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey
Lecture 2013
Simon Taufel, the umpire who has been the
five-time ICC Umpire of the Year from 2004 to 2008 will become the first umpire
to give the prestigious MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture, the England and
Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on 11 January 2013. He will also become the
third non-player to deliver the lecture.
The lecture began in 2001 in memory of former
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) president Colin Cowdrey, who played a key role in
the 'Spirit of Cricket' being enshrined in the preamble of the Code of the Laws
of Cricket in 2000.
Commemorative
Postage Stamp on Silk Letter Movement released by President
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee
released the Commemorative Postage Stamp on ‘Silk Letter Movement’ at a
function at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi onJanuary 11, 2013. Speaking on the
occasion, the President said that the sacrifices of individuals and groups,
such as those associated with the Silk Letter Movement, constitute a glorious
chapter of India’s history of Freedom struggle and need to be acknowledged and
appreciated. The President said that he is happy that the Department of Posts
has done its bit over the years and has issued postage stamps to acknowledge
the contribution of various groups and movements which in their own ways
contributed to the overall effort to liberate India.
The Silk Letter Movement
The Silk Letter Movement refers to the golden
history of India’s freedom struggle in which, the Deobandi leaders tried to
generate a pan-Islamic revolt in British-India against the British Empire by
gaining support of Afghanistan and Turkey Governments. Obaidullah Sindhui and
Maulana Mahmood Hasan were the two main leaders of the movement. In 1916 few
letters, which were written on Silk, were caught by the British.
Malala
Yousafzai Honoured with France's Simone de Beauvoir Prize for Women's Freedom
Malala Yousafzai, 15, the schoolgirl from
Pakistan shot by Taliban for campaigning girls’ education, on 9 January 2013
received France's Simone de Beauvoir Prize for Women's Freedom in Paris.
Malala’s father Ziaudin Yousafzai received the honour on her behalf. The award
is accompanied with 2.5 million Rupees honorarium. In the first week of January
2013, Malala Yousafzai got released from the British hospital. She is waiting
for the reconstructive surgery to be performed on the skull. Malala was shot by
the Taliban in her head after her school bus drove through Mingora town of Swat
Valley of Pakistan.
Maiden
National Title in National Weightlifting Championship 2013 for Manpreet Kaur
Manpreet Kaur, 23, of All India Police claimed
the women’s +75kg gold medal in the final day of the National weightlifting
championship at SRM University campus, Uttar Pradesh on 10 January 2013.
Manpreet Kaur lifted 189 kg to secure maiden National title.
Renault Duster Awarded Car of the Year Award 2013
Renault Duster was awarded the Car of the Year
Award 2013 by the automotive magazine Autocar India at the annual awards night
on 9 January 2013 in Mumbai. Duster won three awards including the viewer's
choice car of the year, SUV of the year and the overall Autocar car of the year
2013 awards. While, Mahindra and Mahindra won the manufacturer of the year
award, Bajaj KTM 200 Duke won the viewers' choice Bike of the Year and the
Autocar Bike of the Year 2013.
Usain
Bolt and Fraser-Pryce Won Athlete of the Year Award At JAAA Golden Cleats
Awards Ceremony
Usain Bolt, the fastest man of the world and
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the women's 100m Olympic champion won the male and
female Athlete of the Year awards respectively on 8 January 2013 at Jamaica
Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) Golden Cleats Awards ceremony which
took place at Terra Nova Hotel in St Andrew.
Jharkhand
Chief Minister Arjun Munda Resigned and Recommended dissolution of State
Assembly
The Arjun Munda Ministry in Jharkhand on 8
January 2013 resigned and recommended dissolution of the two-year-old Assembly
to the governor in Ranchi. The decision of his resignation came after his
coalition partner, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), decided to withdraw its
support from the 28-month-long BJP-led coalition government.
Arjun Munda called an emergency meeting and
notified Governor Syed Ahmed of the cabinet decision just an hour before JMM
chief Shibu Soren met the governor with his 18 MLAs, and handed over a formal
letter of withdrawal of support.
Now, it is Governor Syed Ahmed who has to decide
whether to invite another possible coalition to form the government, after
being convinced that it will have the strength to prove its majority on the
floor of the Assembly
LinkedIn
appointed Nishant Rao as Country Manager for India Operations
With the appointment of Nishant Rao the former
Country Manager Hari V. Krishnan promoted into a larger role as the Managing
Director of Asia-Pacific and Japan. Krishnan is supposed to play a key role in
growing LinkedIn’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region and reinforcing
LinkedIn’s commitment to connect professionals in Asia-Pacific and Japan to
make them more successful and productive.
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional
network with 187 million members globally. It has over 18 million members in
India.
MS Dhoni climbs to 4th spot in ICC ODI players ranking
The ICC Player Rankings of ODI batsman released on
7 January 2013 placed Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Captain of Indian Cricket Team
at fourth position in its list. Dhoni was ranked at the fourth position, due to
the consistent performance he had displayed in the past three-match ODI series
- against Pakistan. Virat Kohli slipped by one rank to third position in the
list. Suresh Raina managed to move one point upward to twenty-sixth position
and Yuvraj Singh reached to forty-first spot in the latest ranking released. South
African batsman Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers are sharing first and second
position respectively in the latest ranking released. 11th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas meet concluded at Kochi, Kerala
The three-day 11th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD)
which kicked off in Kochi on 7 January 2013 concluded. The event saw delightful response from the
people with more than 2000 registrations. The organizing partner of this year
summit was Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC). Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh inaugurated the annual flagship event on 8 January 2013 and President
Pranab Mukherjee delivered the valedictory address on 9 January 2013 and also
conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards.
About Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated on
9th January every year to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community in
the development of India. January 9 was chosen as the day to celebrate this
occasion since it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest
Pravasi, returned to India from South Africa, led India’s freedom struggle and
changed the lives of Indians forever.
PBD conventions are being held every year since
2003. These conventions provide a platform to the overseas Indian community to
engage with the government and people of the land of their ancestors for
mutually beneficial activities. These conventions are also very useful in
networking among the overseas Indian community residing in various parts of the
world and enable them to share their experiences in various fields.
Pakistan won the 3 match ODI series against India 2-1
India won the last match of the Pakistan in
India ODI Series on 6 January 2013 against Pakistan by 10 Runs. With this win
over Pakistan, India lost the three matches one day series by 1-2.
Series Report
1st Match Report: The first match was played at
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, at Chennai on 30 December 2012. India scored
228 runs at a loss of 6 wickets and Pakistan managed to achieve the target to
win the match by 6 wickets (with 11 balls remaining). At the end of the match
Dhoni was chosen as the player of the match.
2nd Match Report: In the second match played at
Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 3 January 2013 – (day/night format) Pakistan gave a
target of 251 runs for India to win but India was able to score 165 in 48 over
with no wicket remaining in hand. Nasir Jamshed was elected as the Player of
the match.
3rd Match Report: India playing first at Feroz
Shah Kotla, Delhi on 6 January 2013 – (day/night format) scored 167 runs in
43.4 over and Pakistan was all out at 157 runs in 48.5 over. Nasir Jamshed of
Paksitan was declared as the Player of the tournament.
Justice D K Jain to head 12th Law Commission
Justice D K Jain, who is about to retire from
Supreme Court, has been appointed as the chairman of the 12th Law Commission of
India.
Microsoft
to shut down Windows Live Messenger Service from 15 March 2013
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