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Sunday, February 17, 2013
February 2013 : Latest Current Affairs for competitive Exams
Current Affairs: February 2013 (2nd Week)
Useful
for all competitive Examinations……..
Pope
Benedict XVI announced his Resignation because of Poor Health
Pope Benedict XVI announced on 11 February
2013 that he would resign at the end of the month. He reasoned that he was too
infirm to carry on. He is the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years. The
decision set the stage for the election of a new Pope before the end of March
2013.
Pope Benedict XVI is 85 years old. He had
become the Pope in 2005. The last Pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII, who took
this step in 1415 to put an end to the Great Western Split among competing
papal claimants.
Serena
Williams becomes oldest woman to be world No 1
Serena Williams on February 15 became the
oldest woman to claim the world number one ranking. Serena Williams who is aged
31 years thrashed Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic 6-3,3-6,7-5 and reached
Semifinals of Qatar Open Tennis Championship in Doha. On entering the
semi-finals, she achieved the top position after a period of two and a half
years. Serena Williams will compete against Maria Sharapova in the Semifinals
on 16 February 2013. Maria Sharapova reached semi-finals after defeating
Samantha Stosur 6-2,6-4.
Wrestling
dropped from 2020 Olympic Games list
International Olympic Committee (IOC) leaders
dropped wrestling from the program for the 2020 Olympics on 12 February 2013. In
a surprise move, the IOC executive board decided to retain modern pentathlon ——
the sport considered most at risk —— and remove wrestling instead.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity
because the decision hadn’t been announced yet. Wrestling combines freestyle
and Greco-Roman disciplines. It had 11 medal events in freestyle and seven in
Greco-Roman at last year’s London Olympics.
Wrestling will now join seven other sports in
applying for inclusion in 2020. The others are a combined bid from baseball and
softball, karate, squash, roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding and
wushu. They will be vying for a single opening in 2020.
The IOC executive board will meet in May in
St.Petersburg, Russia, to decide which sport or sports to propose for 2020
inclusion. The final vote will be made at the IOC general assembly in September
in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The last sports removed from the Olympics were
baseball and softball, voted out by the IOC in 2005 and off the program since
the 2008 Beijing Games. Golf and rugby will be joining the program at the 2016
Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Giuseppe
Orsi held on Bribe Charges in Indian Defence Helicopter Deal
Giuseppe Orsi, head of an Italian defence and
aerospace giant Finmeccanica was arrested in Milan on 11 February 2013 on the
charges of his alleged involvement in the bribery activity to secure an Indian
defence helicopter deal of 3600 crore rupees. He was arrested in relation to
the probe of the international corruption.
The Deal
The contract signed with Italian defence
giant Finmeccanica in February 2010 involved supply of 12 VVIP three-engine
AW-101 choppers from AgustaWestland for the Indian Air Force’s elite
Communication Sqadron. By now, three choppers have already been delivered to
India. As per the reports on the bribe scam, it’s expected that about 362 crore
rupees that is equivalent to about 10 percent of the final deal was given back
to help the Italian firm in winning the contract.
About Finmeccanica
The Finmeccanica is an Italian defence Giant
company that entered into a deal to supply 12 three-engine AW-101 helicopters
to India in February 2010. Giuseppe Orsi, now the CEO of Finmeccanica and the
then head of its Helicopter Unit was arrested on the charges of the bribe
scandal that surfaced.
Oscar
Pistorius charged for Shooting Dead his Girlfriend
Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee Blade
Runner from South Africa was charged on 14 February 2013 for allegedly shooting
dead his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, at his home in Pretoria.
Oscar Pistorius
•
Oscar Pistorius is a South African sprint runner, who turned up to be
the first double-leg-amputee, who lined up in the starting blocks with the able
bodied competitors in the men's 400 metres race during the London Olympics
2012.
• He
won gold medals in the men's 400 metre race in a Paralympic and set a record
time of 46.68 seconds as well as he managed to create a world record in the 4 ×
100 metres relay in 41.78 seconds
One
Billion Rising Campaign launched to end the Violence against Women
The entire world came together on one
platform to raise the voice for the violence against women across the globe by
participating in One Billion Rising Campaign. This is a global campaign to rise
against violence and take a stand for the one billion women. Almost 200 hundred
countries are taking part in this campaign.
UN in its message stated that by standing
together the world can end the violence against women and girls and build a
world where all live free from harassment and fear.
In fact, the governments across the globe should
make a concrete commitment of action to end the violence against women and
girls.
Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lankan all-rounder
cricketer was appointed the Captain of the test and one-day cricket team of Sri
Lanka on 14 February 2013 for a period of one year. Mathews replaced Mahela
Jayawardene, who announced to quit captaincy after Sri Lanka’s tour of
Australia.
Dinesh Chandimal, the wicket-keeper batsman
was appointed as the vice-captain in the test and one-day format of the game
and will lead the country as a captain in the T20 format of the game. Lasith
Malinga was appointed as the vice-captain for the T20 team.
SEBI
ordered freezing of accounts and attachment of properties of two companies of
Sahara
Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) the
stock market regulator of India on 13 February 2013 ordered freezing of bank
accounts and attachment of properties of two Sahara group firms Sahara India
Real Estate Corporation Ltd., and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd.
and its Chairman Subrata Roy as well as top executives Vandana Bhargava, Ravi
Shanker Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary after it failed to refund more than
24,000 crore rupees to investors. The decision from the market regulator came
after the Supreme Court of India granted it the freedom to freeze the accounts
of the two companies and attach the properties of the defaulting groups.
North
Korea conducted its third Nuclear Test and defied UN Regulations for World
Peace
North Korea on 12 February 2013 announced
success of its underground Nuclear Test. The country cleared that the
miniaturized nuclear device was detonated successfully and it also announced
that the test was an act of self-defence from the US Hostility and also
threatened stronger steps in future.
This was the third test conducted by the
country since 2006 that had defied the UN regulations in existence. The test is
reported to have conducted in the North Hamgyeong Province nearby the Punggye-ri
nuclear complex, the place where the tests of 2006 and 2009 were conducted. Due
to the past two nuclear tests of 2006 and 2009, North Korea is already facing
many sanctions over it imposed by the United Nations Security Council. This is
the first test conducted in North Korea under the leadership of Kim Jong-un.
World
Radio Day was observed to raise Awareness about the Importance of Radio
World Radio Day was observed to increase
awareness about the importance of radio.
World Radio Day was observed on 12 February
2013 to raise awareness about the importance of radio, facilitate access to
information through it and enhance networking among broadcasters. On the 18th
of December, 2012, the United Nations General Assembly endorsed the 2011 resolution
adopted by the UNESCO General Conference, proclaiming the 13th of February as
World Radio Day, the day United Nations Radio was established in 1946.
Since its invention more than a century ago,
the radio serves as a channel for information and entertainment. The
multi-purpose medium is an important source of information in those areas which
are sometimes too remote to get a newspaper delivered.
Across the world, the number of radio
stations is increasing and the cost of broadcasting is decreasing. More than
ever, the radio remains an effective means to bring social change, by sharing
knowledge and providing a platform for inclusive debate.
Lyonchhen
Jigmi Y. Thinley, Prime Minister of Bhutan visited India
Prime Minister of Bhutan, Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley
was on the home visit to India from 7 February to 9 February 2013. During his
visit to India he met with President of Indian Union-Pranab Mukherjee at
Rashtrapati Bhavan, Vice-President of India-Hamid Ansari, Prime
Minister-Manmohan Singh, Minister of Finance-P Chidambaram and Foreign
Secretary-Ranjan Mathai. His visit was
aimed at improving India-Bhutan bilateral relationship.
Kalyan
Kumar Chakravarty Appointed As the Chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi
The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee
appointed Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty as the chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi on 12
February 2013. Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty is the IAS officer of 1970 batch and
retired from the designation of Secretary to Government of India. Kalyan Kumar
Chakravarty will retain his position till 31 December 2017. Chakravarty also
served in Madhya Pradesh government. He had also remained member-secretary of
Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and director general of the National
Museum, New Delhi apart from vice chancellor of the National Museum Institute.
Lalit Kala Akademi
Lalit Kala Akademi or the National Academy of
Fine Art is fine art institution of Government of India with an objective to
promote, develop as well as spread the culture of Indian fine art. It receives
funds from Ministry of Culture.
MCX-SX,
the Third National Stock Exchange Made its Debut in India
MCX-SX, the third bourse on the equities and
equity derivatives trading block debuted on 11 February 2013. It is the third
national stock exchange of India after Bombay Stock Exchange and the National
Stock Exchange. MCX-SX started its trading in shared of 1116 listed companies
against 1665 companies in National Stock Exchange and 5191 companies in Bombay
Stock Exchange.
Indian
Tennis Players Association formed to address the concerns of Tennis Players
Indian Tennis Players Association (ITPA), a
collective body of Indian Tennis players was designed on 11 February 2013. The
ITPA would be responsible to represent the concerns and professional interests
of its members. The association is being constituted as there exist no
particular structure in tennis to represent or address the issues of the tennis
players in India. The modeling of the ITPA is done on the basis of (Association
of Tennis Professionals) ATP and will operate on the basic principle of self governance
and consultative dialogue, to arrive at decisions that impact the professional
tennis of the country. Jaidip Mukerjea is elected as the interim President of
the body and will be on the post till the formative period of ITPA and until
the general body and general council meets formally.
India
maintained their Number One Spot in the ICC ODI Championship Table
India maintained their number one spot in the
ICC ODI Championship table in the latest rankings issued in Dubai on 11
February 2013. Both India and England have same 119 rating points, but England
lags behind on the basis of decimal points. Australia and South Africa follow
the top two teams closely with 116 and 112 points respectively.
Among the batsmen, South African run machine
Hashim Amla is at number one followed by fellow countryman AB Devilliers.
India’s Virat Kohli is at number three followed closely by the skipper Mahendra
Singh Dhoni. Among the bowlers, Pakistan off spinner Saeed Ajmal maintains his
top billing followed by Mohammad Hafeez. In the All rounder’s category,
Pakistan skipper Mohammed Hafeez is the leader followed by Bangladesh’s Shakib
Al Hasan.
Afzal
Guru’s Secret Hanging Was Called Operation Three Star
Operation Three Star: Code name given to
secret plan for executing Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist Afzal Guru in Tihar Jail
on 9 February 2013. Operation Three Star started on 4 February 2013, just a day
after the President of India Pranab Mukherjee rejected mercy plea of Afzal
Guru. A few top officials of Home Ministry were aware about secret Operation
Three Star.
Afzal Guru was hanged on 9 February 2013 at 8
AM in Tihar Jail, New Delhi. Afzal Guru was guilty of conspiring as well as
providing shelter to terrorists who attacked Indian Parliament on 13 December
2001. Hanging of Mumbai terror attack militant Ajmal Kasab was called Operation
X. he was hanged at Yerwada Central Jail on 21 November 2012.
Ranchi Rhinos beat Delhi Waveriders 2-1 to
win the inaugural Hockey India League (HIL) in the match at Astroturf Hockey
Stadium on 10 February 2013. Apart from winning the trophy, Ranchi Rhinos took
away 2.5 crore Rupees. Runners-up Delhi Waveriders on the other hand, pocketed
1.25 crore Rupees.
Uttar Pradesh Wizards that completed in the
third place took away 75 lakh Rupees. Uttar Pradesh Wizards defeated Punjab
Warriors 4-3 to claim third position. Mumbai Magicians player Sandeep Singh hit
maximum goals (11) in the tournament.
Pandit
Ravi Shankar Honoured With Posthumous Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award
Pandit Ravi Shankar, the sitar legend was
honoured with the posthumous Lifetime Achievement Grammy award. His daughter
sitarist Anoushka Shankar accepted the award on his behalf on 9 February 2013
ahead of the Grammy’s show that took place in Los Angeles on 10 February 2013.
Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones attended the
pre-Grammy ceremony at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre for accepting the honour
which was given to their deceased father. Pandit Ravi Shankar died on 11
December 2012 at 92 years of age.
Pandit Ravi Shankar was in the list of seven
other artistes named for Lifetime Achievement Award honourees and this also
included Carole King and the Temptations. The Indian sitar legend also won best
world music album Grammy for The Living Room Sessions Part 1. Pandit Ravi
Shankar’s daughter Anoushka Shankar was also nominated in this category for
album Traveller.
Finance
Minister P Chidambaram launched Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme in Mumbai
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on 9 February
2013 launched the much-awaited Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme in Mumbai.
The move will encourage new investors to put their money in the stock market.
The scheme, which was announced in the Budget 2011-12, seeks to provide tax
benefits to first-time investors in stock market. Under the scheme, an
individual with an income of less than 10 lakh rupees would get tax incentives
for investing up to 50000 rupees in the stock market.
As per the notification issued by the
Securities and Exchange Board of India on the scheme, there would be a lock-in
period of one year on investments made under the scheme.
Asoke Kumar Mukerji Appointed As the
Next Permanent Representative of India to the UN
Asoke Kumar Mukerji was appointed as the next
Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations on 13 February 2013.
Mukerji replaced Hardeep Singh Puri who retired in February 2013 after the
tenure of two years.
Asoke Kumar Mukerji was chosen by the Ministry
of External Affairs of the Union Government of India. At present, Mukerji is
Special Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry. He also served as the
Consul General in Dubai as well as the Deputy High Commissioner in London.
Asoke Kumar Mukerji was the private secretary to External Affairs Minister
Salman Khurshid.
Other important
current affairs in a nutshell…..
*
England defeated host New Zealand in the third and last Twenty20 Cricket match
played at Wellington on 15 Feb 2013 to win the series 2-1.
*
NASA scientists discovered the youngest black hole in Milky Way in Feb 2013.
This youngest black hole is 1000 years old and 26000 light years away from
Earth.
*
Data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry reported that Inflation
went down to its three year low of 6.62 percent in January 2013.
*
A flyby Asteroid 2012 DA14 would pass from the ring of geosynchronous weather
and communications satellites above the earth on 15 Feb 2013.
*
Mohan Parasaran, the Additional Solicitor General was on 13 February 2013
appointed as the Solicitor General of India after Rohinton Nariman resigned.
*
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) acquired stake of Navistar International
Corporation in two joint ventures on 12 February 2013.
*
Lydia Ko, the teenager became youngest winner of a women's European Tour golf
event by winning at New Zealand Women's Open in Christchurch on 10 February
2013.
*
Institute of Chartered Accountants of India Appointed Subodh Kumar Agrawal and
K. Raghu as its new President and Vice-President on 12 Feb. 2013.
*
Horacio Zeballos defeated Rafael
Nadal to win his first ATP World Tour trophy in VTR OPEN 2013 on 10 February
2013 in Vina del Mar, Chile in Men’s Singles.
*
NASA on 9 February 2013 announced that its Mars rover Curiosity drilled into
Mars’ surface. The drilling took place first time on 8 February 2013.
*
The largest saltwater crocodile of the world, named Lolong died in Philippines
on 10 February 2013. Lolong measured 6.17 metres or 20.24 feet.
*
Manipur on 15 February 2013 decided to issue a complete ban on sale and
consumption of tobacco products in the state.
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Sunday, February 10, 2013
List of Presidents of India
List of Presidents of India
The President of India is the head of state and
first citizen of India. The President is also the Commander-in-Chief of the
Indian Armed Forces. Although the president is vested such powers by the
constitution of India, the position is largely a ceremonial role and the
executive powers are de facto exercised by the Cabinet Ministers and Prime
Minister. The post of President is known in Hindi as Rashtrapati, a Sanskrit
neologism meaning "lord of the realm". The President is elected by
the Electoral College composed of elected members of the parliament houses, Lok
Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and also members of the Vidhan Sabha, the state
legislative assemblies.
There have been 13 presidents of India since the
introduction of the post in 1950. The post was established when India was
declared as a republic with the adoption of the Indian constitution. Apart from
these thirteen, three acting presidents have also been in office for short
periods of time. Varahagiri Venkata Giri became Acting President of India in
1969 following the death of Zakir Hussain, who died in office. Giri was elected
President a few months later. He remains the only person to have held office
both as a president and acting president. The President may remain in office
for a tenure of five years, as stated by article 56, part V, of the
constitution of India. In the case where a president's term of office is
terminated early or during the absence of the president, the vice president
assumes office. By article 70 of part V, the parliament may decide how to
discharge the functions of the president where this is not possible, or in any
other unexpected contingency. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, is
the only person to have held office for two terms.
The current President is Pranab Mukherjee
elected on 25 July 2012. Mukherjee held various posts in the cabinet ministry
for the Government of India such as Finance Minister, Foreign Minister, Defence
Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. He originally comes
from West Bengal and is also the first Bengali to hold the post of the
President. The ex- president, Pratibha Patil, who was in office till 25 July
2012, was elected as the 12th President of India in 2007. She is also the first
woman to serve as President of India.
PRESIDENTS
SL No
|
Name
|
From Date
|
To Date
|
1
|
Rajendra
Prasad
(1884–1963)
|
26 January 1950
|
13 May 1962
|
2
|
Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan
(1888–1975)
|
13 May 1962
|
13 May 1967
|
3
|
Zakir
Hussain
(1897–1969)
|
13 May 1967
|
3 May 1969
|
4
|
Varahagiri
Venkata Giri
(1894–1980)
|
24 August 1969
|
24 August 1974
|
5
|
Fakhruddin
Ali Ahmed
(1905–1977)
|
24 August 1974
|
11 February 1977
|
6
|
Neelam
Sanjiva Reddy
(1913–1996)
|
25 July 1977
|
25 July 1982
|
7
|
Giani
Zail Singh
(1916–1994)
|
25 July 1982
|
25 July 1987
|
8
|
Ramaswamy
Venkataraman
(4 December
1910–2009)
|
25 July 1987
|
25 July 1992
|
9
|
Shankar
Dayal Sharma
(19
August 1918–1999)
|
25 July 1992
|
25 July 1997
|
10
|
Kocheril
Raman Narayanan
(27
October 1920–2005)
|
25 July 1997
|
25 July 2002
|
11
|
A. P. J.
Abdul Kalam
(15
October1931– )
|
25 July 2002
|
25 July 2007
|
12
|
Pratibha
Patil
(1934– )
|
25 July 2007
|
25 July 2012
|
13
|
Pranab
Mukherjee
(1935– )
|
25 July 2012
|
Incumbent
|
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Latest Current Affairs: February 2013
Current Affairs: February 2013 (1st Week)
Useful for all competitive
Examinations……..
Rohinton F Nariman Solicitor-General
of India resigned from his office
Rohinton F Nariman, the Solicitor-General of
India resigned from his office on 4 February 2013. He was appointed at the
second highest law official of India on 23 July 2011 after Gopal Subramanium
resigned from his office on 14 July 2011 following the issues with Government
in context to the 2G Spectrum Allocation Scam.
Nariman was designated as a senior advocate
at the age of 37, when M.N. Venkatachaliah, the Chief Justice of India amended
the rules and reduced the age from 45 years for designating a lawyer as a
senior advocate.
In the history of last four decades, only
three Solicitor Generals have been successful in completing his five year term
in the office and they are - L N Sinha from 1972-77, Dipankar Gupta from
1992-97 and G E Vahanvati from 2004-09.
Mohan Parasaran to be new
solicitor general
The
Centre on 08 February 2013 decided to appoint its longest serving additional
solicitor general Mohan Parasaran as the new solicitor general, the second
senior-most law officer in the country after the attorney general. He is the son
of legendary lawyer K K Parasaran who was once attorney general.
He was also instrumental in getting a
favourable order for the government in Bombay High Court, which had upheld the
demand of Rs 11,000 crore as tax on Vodafone for acquiring Hutchison Whampoa
Ltd's Indian mobile business in 2007. However, the apex court had set aside the
HC order.
The post of solicitor general fell vacant on
04 February 2013 when Rohinton Nariman resigned after serious differences with
law minister Ashwani Kumar. Parasaran has been serving as additional solicitor
general since UPA came to power in 2004.
Sachin Tendulkar equaled
Sunil Gavaskar’s record of 81 Centuries in First Class Cricket
Sachin Tendulkar on 8 February 2013 equaled
the record of Sunil Gavaskar of 81 first class hundreds in first class cricket
at Mumbai. He managed to equal Gavaskar’s record after scoring an unbeaten 140
runs in Irani Trophy against Rest of India in the first innings of the
tournament of Mumbai team.
Centuries of Sachin in first class cricket
• 51
in Test matches
• 18
in Ranji Trophy
• 2
in Irani Cup
• 3
in Duleep Trophy
• 1
in county cricket for Yorkshire
• 6
in other games
Afzal Guru, the convict of
Parliament Attack 2001 hanged after rejection of Mercy Plea
Mohamammed Afzal Guru, the convict of 2001
Parliament attack was hanged on 9 February 2013 at 8 AM in Tihar Jail, New
Delhi. The Supreme Court of India pronounced the death Sentence for Afzal Guru
in 2004 for masterminding the terrorist attack on Indian Parliament on 13
December 2001.
The decision of hanging him came after the
mercy petition filed was cancelled by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee
on 23 January 2013.
The 2001 Parliament Attack
The terrorist of Lashkar-e-Toiba and
Jaish-e-Mohammad managed to attack on the Parliament of India, leading to the
death of about a dozen of people including the security persons as well as
civilians.
Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram
launched in Thane, Maharashtra
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on 6 February
2013 launched a new health initiative called Rashtriya Bal Sawsthya Karyakram
at Palghar town in Thane district of Maharashtra. The Rashtriya Bal Swasthya
Karyakram, is a part of the National Rural Health Mission of the Union Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare.
The Main
Features of Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram are as following:
• The Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram is
aimed at improving overall quality of life of children through early detection
of birth defects, diseases and deficiencies, which are among key factors for
child mortality.
• The new initiative would assure a package
of health services for all children up to 18 years of age. The programme will
also prove economical for poor and marginalized.
• The services will be provided through
dedicated mobile health teams placed in every block. The scheme, which will be
implemented in a phased manner, is expected to benefit approximately 27 crore
children across the country.
Birth defects account for 9.6 per cent of all
new-born deaths and 4 per cent of under-five mortality. According to the
programme, a set of thirty common conditions have been identified for screening
and further management of child health.
National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) is an
Indian health program for improving health care delivery across rural India. It
was launched on 12 April 2005 for a period of 7 years.
President of Nepal, Dr. Ram
Baran Yadav visited India
Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, the President of Nepal
was on a visit to India from 24 December to 29 December 2012. During his visit
to India, he attended the Special Convocation of Banaras Hindu University that
marked the concluding ceremony of the Birth Ceremony of Mahamana Pandit Madan
Mohan Malaviya on 25 Dcember 2012.
During his stay in India, he inaugurated the
Maithili Play presented by Nepalese Artists at Sriram Center on 28 December
2012.
He also met with few dignitaries in India
namely:
•
Pranab Mukherjee, the President of Indian Union
•
Hamid Ansari, the Vice-President of Indian Union
•
Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India
•
Salman Khurshid, Minister of External Affairs
•
Ranjan Mathai, Foreign Secretary of India
•
Sushil Kumar Shinde, Minister of Home Affairs
•
A.K. Antony, Minister of Defence
King of Bhutan visited
India as Republic Day function Chief Guest
The King and Queen of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar
Namgyel Wangchuck and Jetsun Pema respectively visited India from 23 January to
30 January 2013. King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck was invited by
the Indian President to be the Chief Guest for the Republic Day Celebrations of
India.
The visit of the King of Bhutan and his
acceptance to be the chief guest for the Republic Day celebration would
contribute to further strengthening and expansion of the bilateral relation and
ties between Bhutan and India.
During his visit, the King of Bhutan met with
President of India, the Vice-President, Prime Minister, UPA Chairperson, Leader
of Opposition in Lok sabha, Foreign Secretary, National Security Advisor.
Allan Border Medal 2013:
Michael Clarke Won the Medal Fourth Time
Michael Clarke, the Australian cricket
captain won the fourth Allan Border Medal in Melbourne on 4 February 2013.
31-year old Clarke had won the medal earlier in 2005, 2009 and 2012. Apart from
Clarke, the only other player to win this medal four times is Captain Ricky
Ponting.
Michael Clarke also won the Test cricketer of
the year award for the second consecutive time after he scored 1080 runs in
nine tests from 25 February 2012 to January 28 2013.
South Africa at top in the
latest ICC Test Rankings
International Cricket Council, ICC rankings
for test cricket was released on 4 February 2013 in Dubai. South Africa emerged
as the world number one team in the category and is followed by England,
Australia, Pakistan and India.
In the latest rankings released by the ICC
Hashim Amla, the South African batsman has emerged as the best batsman in the
category and with this he became the first batsman to hold the number one dice
in both Test and One-day format of the game since 2007, before this Ricky Pointing
was the cricketer to hold this position. Michael Clarke, the Australian batsman
was racked at second position in the ranking.
Dale Steyn, the South African bowler holds
the top position in the bowling ranking and is followed by his teammate, Vernan
Philander. South African, Jacques Kallis has retained his position as the
number one test all-rounder with versatile performance.
Pragyan Ojha is the only Indian to feature
among the top ten bowlers in the test rankings released.
World Cancer Day observed
across the world
4 February: World Cancer Day
World cancer day was observed on 4 February
2013 in order to raise awareness about this illness as well as to promote the measures,
early detection, prevention and treatment of the disease. The theme for World
Cancer Day, 2013 was Cancer - Did you know?
The theme focused on dispelling the misconceptions associated with the
disease.
Various functions on the day were organised
by Union for International Cancer Control, which is the leading organisation
for cancer fighting.
Mo Yan and Jackie Chan
Selected As Members of Chinese Parliament
Mo Yan, the winner of Nobel Prize for
literature, 2012 and Jackie Chan, the movie star were given a political role in
China by being selected as members of the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference, one of the houses of Chinese parliament.
Mo Yan and Jackie Chan were among 2237 people
selected by China's new leaders led by Xi Jinping as the members of CPPCC
National Committee. Out of 2237 people, 399 are women. Xi Jinping is the new
general secretary of the Communist Party. He will become the President of China
after two Houses of Parliament have meeting in March 2013.
Other important
current affairs in a nutshell…..
*
The economic growth of India is estimated to fall to 5 percent in 2012-2013
financial year, which is a lowest figure in 10 years.
*
The Supreme Court of India on 7 February 2013 directed Karnataka to release
2.44 thousand million cubic feet of Cauvery water to TN.
*
Researchers from the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg discovered
the largest prime number of the world which is 17 million digits long.
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Book titled Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Germany by Professor Anita B. Pfaff
was given to Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 6 February 2013.
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YES Bank, the fourth largest private sector Bank of India was awarded the
Financial Institutions Syndicated Deal of the Year 2012 in its Asia Pacific
Region.
*
Times Television Network tied up with one of the leading distribution companies
MSM Discovery Pvt Ltd. in order to collect subscription revenue of its
channels.
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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran on 5 February 2013 became the first
Iranian leader to visit Egypt after Tehran's 1979 Islamic revolution.
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Rajkeswur Purryag, President of Republic of Mauritius visited India from 3 Jan
2013 to 10 Jan 2013. He was honoured with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award.
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Glenn McGrath and Charlie Turner, the renowned fast bowlers were unanimously
chosen to be inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame on 3 February
2013.
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Thirty Indian software product companies joined hands to form their own new association
called iSpirt, marking a break-up with the IT industry body NASSCOM.
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300-year old textbooks of Sir Isaac Newton were discovered in the school
physics laboratory of Newcastle-under-Lyme School, Staffordshire in UK.