Daily Current Affairs Updates from 25 October 2013

Daily Current Affairs Updates from 25 October 2013

National

1) Group of Ministers (GoM), set up to look into the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, will submit its report to the Union Cabinet before the winter session of Parliament, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said.

2) Heavy rains disrupt normal life in AP: Heavy rains triggered by northeast monsoon and a low pressure area over Bay of Bengal lashed several parts of Andhra Pradesh for the fourth consecutive day today, prompting authorities to evacuate thousands of people from low-lying areas.

International

1) Twitter sets share price on company valuation of $11 bn:  Twitter announced the share price on Thursday of between $17 and $20 for its eagerly awaited initial public offering, which will see the microblogging company valued as high as $11.1 billion.

Sports

1) India Grand Prix can go ahead as planned: Apex Court-  Supreme Court gave the go-ahead on Friday to the Indian Grand Prix Formula One race set for this weekend, after refusing a bid to have the race delayed due to alleged unpaid taxes.

2) Vettel fastest in first practice of Indian Grand Prix: Defending champion Sebastian Vettel set the pace ahead of Sunday’s race by clocking the fastest time in the first practice session of the 2013 Indian Grand Prix at Buddh International Circuit today.

Knowledge Booster:

>> Who won the 2011 and 2012 Indian GP?- Sebastian Vettel

3) Sahara Force India decided to pay tribute to Sachin Tendulkar at Indian GP which is going to be held on 24 October 2013 (Suanday). 

Technology

1) Reliance Jio gets unified telecom licence: Reliance Jio Infocomm, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd, on Friday announced that it has received a unified licence for all 22 service areas across the country and has become the first telecom operator to get a pan-India licence. The licence will allow Reliance Jio to offer all telecom services, including voice telephony.

2) YouTube to introduce paid music service: YouTube is to introduce a paid music service that will compete with Spotify, Pandora and iTunes Radio, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

Economy/Banking

1) India’s forex reserves up $1.88 billion: India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves increased by $1.88 billion to $281.12 billion in the week ended October 18, aided by high growth in its foreign currency assets.

2) India to extend on arrival visa for 40 more nations soon: Decks are being cleared to make India a more tourist friendly destination by extending on arrival visa for 40 more countries, simplifying online visa and attracting senior citizen foreign visitors.

3) According to the China-based Hurun India Rich List, Ambani retained the top position for the second year even after a wealth decrease of 2 percent. Ambani is followed by London-based steel baron LN Mittal with assets of USD 15.9 billion. Mittal's wealth declined 6 percent from in 2012. Sun Pharmaceuticals' founder Dilip Shanghvi broke into the top three for the first time with a 66 percent surge in his wealth.

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List of Important Personalities Visited India during 2013

List of Important Personalities Visited India during 2013

Useful Reference for all exams

>> Viktor Orban- Prime Minister of Hungary visited India on 16-17 October 2013

>> Aga Khan - Swiss-Born Philanthropist and Muslim Spiritual Leader - visited India from 17 to 29 September 2013.

>> Ellen Johnson Sirleaf- President of the Republic of Liberia- visited India during 9 September 2013 to 13 September 2013

>> Filippo Grandi - Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)- 12 Sep 2013

>> Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay- Prime Minister of Bhutan- August 30 August 2013 to 4 September 2013

>> Samuel Santos Lopez - Foreign Minister of Nicaragua- 19 August to 23 August 2013

>> Mohammad Karim Khalili- Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan- 27 Aug 2013

>> Taukelina Finikaso - Foreign Minister of Tuvalu- 21 to 25 August 2013

>> Nouri al-Maliki - Prime Minister of Iraq- 22 to 25 August 2013

>> Moussa Faki Mahamat- Foreign Minister of Republic of Chad- 12-13 August 2013

>> John Kerry- Secretary of State of the United States- 23 June 2013 to 25 June 2013.

>> Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla - Foreign Minister of Cuba- 25 May 2013 to 27 May 2013.

>> Mohamed Morsy- the then President of Egypt- 18 March 2013 to 20 March 2013

>> Paulo de Sacadura Cabral Portas - Foreign Minister of Portugal- 3 March 2013 to 7 March 2013

>> David Cameron- Prime Minister of the United Kingdom- 18 to 20 February 2013.

>> Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley- the then Prime Minister of Bhutan- 7 Feb. to 9 Feb. 2013.

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Daily Current Affairs Updates: 24 October 2013

Daily Current Affairs Updates: 24 October 2013

Days

1) United Nations' Day: Today is the United Nations' Day. The day is celebrated to commemorate the launch of the UN Charter in 1945. The theme of this year is-‘Partnerships for Global Progress’.

2) World Polio Day: World Polio Day is being observed today. The day is observed to raise public awareness of the ravages of polio and garner support for eradication efforts. Global eradication programmes, since 1988, have significantly reduced the worldwide occurrence of polio by 99%.

National

1) I am not above law, ready to face CBI in coal scam probe, Manmohan Singh says: Holding that he was not above the law, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday offered to face the CBI or "for that matter anybody" in the coal scam probe as he has nothing to hide.

2) Actor Ranbir Kapoor was Thursday named the brand ambassador for Philips, the country's leading lighting company.

Obituaries

1) Legendary singer Manna Dey passed away: Legendary playback singer and Dada Saheb Phalke Award winner Manna Dey passed away at a Bangalore hospital in the wee hours of Thursday. He was 94. He has recorded over 3500 songs in Hindi, Marathi, Bengali over the course of his career. He is survived by his daughters Shuroma and Sumita. He was born in the year 1919. His original name was Prabodh Chandra Dey but he was nicknamed Manna.

Sports

1) Spectators wanting to cheer their country’s team at next year’s Lusofonia Games will not be able to carry flags as they have been marked as one of the banned items on all the stadia of the Portuguese Commonwealth Games.

2) Saina, Sindhu crash out of French Open: Indian shuttlers had a bad day in office at the French Super Series with Saina Nehwal and three others crashing out in the second round of the event on Thursday.

3) Legendary cricket commentator Richie Benaud was in a stable condition in hospital after driving his car into a brick wall.

4) The Sports Ministry and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) have launched 'India Sports 2014' at the 5th Global Sports Summit to promote sports among youth in the country.

Technology

1) Blackberry launches Z30 for Rs 39,990: BlackBerry has launched the new Z30 smartphone for Rs 39,990. Featuring the BlackBerry 10 operating system, the new all-touch smartphone comes with a 5-inch display and a 1.7 GHz processor with quadcore graphics that makes for faster browsing of Web pages and detailed display of games.

2) Accenture ranked 1st as ‘most sought after employer brand’ in India: Technology services company Accenture has topped the list of 20 most sought after employers in India, compiled by professional networking site LinkedIn.

3) Yahoo! buys image-recognition start-up for Flickr- Yahoo’s latest acquisition will bring image-recognition technology to its Flickr service for sharing photos. The Internet company is getting the new tools and expertise through its purchase of a start-up called LookFlow.

Banking/Economy

1) In a new initiative, Axis Bank entered into a tieup with the UIDAI that will enable the bank to open accounts by using the 12-digit Aadhaar number of the customer.

2) P. Raja Reddy has taken over as Field General Manager of SyndicateBank for Andhra Pradesh.

3)  Concurring to market expectations, ratings agency ICRA expects the RBI to hike the repo rate by 25 bps in its second quarter monetary policy review to guard against a generalisation of inflationary pressures.

4) Reserve Bank of India has constituted a GIRO Advisory Group (GAG) to implement a national Indian Bill Payment System so that households will be able to use bank accounts to pay school fees, utilities, medical bills and make remittances electronically. It is headed by Prof. Umesh Bellur, Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.

5) Ahead of second quarter monetary policy review, Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan today met Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and discussed the macroeconomic situation. In its last policy review on September 20, a hawkish RBI raised the policy rate by 0.25 per cent as it kept its focus on controlling inflation. It had raised the repo rate or the short-term lending rate by 25 basis points to 7.5 per cent from 7.25 per cent.

6) Rangarajan sticks to 5.3% GDP growth estimate for this fiscal: Describing IMF and World Bank’s recent downward revision of India GDP growth forecast as "unduly pessimistic", the Prime Minister’s key policy advisor C. Rangarajan today expressed optimism over economy recording 5-5.5 per cent growth this fiscal.

7) A CBI court here yesterday sentenced former Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Bank M Gopalakrishnan and four others to one year imprisonment for defrauding various branches of the bank to the tune of about Rs 6.5 crore.

International

1) China hails Manmohan’s three-day visit as ‘great success’: Praising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as a renowned statesman, China on Thursday termed his three- day visit here a "great success" as it sent a "positive and powerful message" that the two countries are committed to work together.

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Manna Dey, legendary playback singer, passed away

Manna Dey, legendary playback singer, passed away

>> Legendary playback singer Manna Dey died at a city hospital in Bangalore early on Thursday morning, after prolonged illness.

>> Dey, 94, who was admitted to Narayana Hrudayalaya five months ago for respiratory problems, died of cardiac arrest at 3.50am, a senior doctor at the hospital said.

>> In 2007 he was given the Dadasaheb Phalke Award from Government of India.

>> He had given several hits songs during his several decades long career which include 'Puchho na kaise maine rain bitayee', 'Ay mere pyare watan, ay mere bichhade chaman' and 'Laga chunari main daag', to name a few.

>> Born in the year 1919, he sang many songs in different languages like Malayalam, Kannada, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Hindi, Assamese, Punjabi and Bhojpuri

>> In 2005 he was conferred with Padmabhusan Award.

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Hall Ticket Download for Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod LD Clerk Exam 2013-14

Hall Ticket Download for Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod LD Clerk Exam 2013-14

Friends...Those who have applied for LD Clerk Exam 2013 being conducted by Kerala PSC can now Download hall ticket of Kerala PSC Lower Division Clerk Examination 2013-2014 (Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod Districts). The exam which is being conducted in various phases kicks off on 09 November 2013 with the Examination of Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod Districts. Candidates can download the Admission Tickets through their One Time Registration Profile in the Kerala PSC Website or click on the below link. Hall tickets have been opened for download on 19/10/2013. Details are given below:

Click here to Download Admit Card- (Login with your Username & Password)

Post Name: Lower Division Clerk.

Category Number: 218/2013 Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod

Department: Various (Direct Recruitment).

Examination Date: 09/11/2013 Saturday 02.00 PM to 03.15 PM.

Exam Syllabus

An Objective Type Test (OMR Valuation) based on the qualification prescribed for the post.

Main Topics:

Part I – Simple Arithmetic and Mental Ability.

Part II – General Knowledge & Current Affairs.

Part III – General English.

Part IV - Regional Language (Malayalam/Tamil/Kannada).

Maximum Marks: 100

Exam Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes.

Medium of Questions: Malayalam/Tamil/Kannada.

Click Here for Current Affairs Questions useful for LD Clerk Exam- PDF Download available

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Madhya Pradesh Circle PA/SA Exam Final Result 2013 Declared

Madhya Pradesh Circle PA/SA Exam Final Result 2013 Declared

Friends...Today Madhya Pradesh Postal Circle has declared the Result of PA/SA Exam 2013 held on 05 May 2013 and Computer/Typing Test for shortlisted candidates held on 24.08.2013 & 25.08.2013.

The write up along with the result is as follows:

Analysis of Result

Madhya Pradesh Postal Circle has today (24 October 2013) published the final result of PA/SA Exam 2013. Following details are available with the result- Roll No, Application No., Name of the selected Candidate, Category & Marks secured in Paper-2. Selected candidates have been allotted the Division in the order of their preference and vacancy. To view Results click on the below link:

Download/View Results: Click Here

Congratulations to all selected candidates...

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23 October 2013: Current Affairs Updates

23 October 2013: Current Affairs Updates

Achievements

1) South Korea appointed SRK as goodwill ambassador: Bollywood superstar  Shah Rukh Khan has been appointed goodwill ambassador for South Korea.  South Korean government had to pursue Khan for over two months before he agreed to officially accept the offer. They ideally want him to visit South Korea before the maiden visit of their president Park Geun-hye to India in January.

International

1) India, China ink border pact; 8 other agreements: India and China today reached a comprehensive agreement to avoid border tensions and army face-offs along the Line of Actual Control by deciding that neither side will use military capability to attack the other side nor tail patrols along the border.

Knowledge Booster:

>> Name the Chinese Premier (Prime Minister)?- Ans. Li Keqiang

2) Nobel Prize-winning economist Lawrence Klein dies: Lawrence R Klein, a longtime University of Pennsylvania Professor who won the Nobel Prize in economics 1980, has died. He was 93.

3) US unemployment rate dips to 5-year low of 7.2%: Unemployment rate in the US dipped to a nearly five-year low of 7.2 per cent in September, according to delayed data released on 22 Oct 2013 by the Bureau of Labour Statistics.

National

1) Delhi polls: Harsh Vardhan is BJP’s CM candidate: Ending uncertainty, BJP President Rajnath Singh today announced former Health Minister Harsh Vardhan as its Chief Ministerial candidate for Delhi Assembly polls.

Knowledge Booster:

>> Name the Prime Minster candidate of BJP in 2014 Lok Sabha Elections?- Ans. Narendra Modi

2) Former Army Chief V K Singh was today rapped by the Supreme Court for allegedly making contemptuous remarks on its order on his age row, saying one cannot be allowed to “scandalise” the court and attribute motive to its verdict.

3)  India Post on 22 October 2013 released a commemorative postage stamp on the Golden Jubilee of Bhakra Dam.

Technology

1) MTS launches 3G services across 9 circles: Intensifying competition in the 3G segment MTS on Wednesday launched mobile broadband services promising speeds of up to 9.8Mbps. The service will be available across all its nine circles of operations i.e. Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kolkata, Uttar Pradesh (West) and West Bengal.

Knowledge Booster:

>> Which company is operating under the name MTS?- Ans. Sistema Shyam TeleServices

>> Full form of MTS?-  Mobile TeleSystems

2) Google tops world’s best multinational workplaces list: Internet giant Google has emerged as the world’s best multinational company to work for, followed by software developer SAS Institute and network storage provider NetApp in the second and third place, respectively.

Knowledge Booster:

>> Name the founders of Google?- Larry Page & Sergey Brin

3) Microsoft to limit support for Windows 8 without update: Users of Windows 8 will have to upgrade to the new 8.1 version within the next two years, as technical support for the older variation will then be terminated, Microsoft has announced.

Economy/Banking

1)  Centre has directed insurance companies to settle within a month all claims under its flagship health insurance programme — Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana. The scheme is the world’s largest health insurance initiative, covering 3.58 crore poor families. Since its inception in 2008, the scheme has covered 6 lakh hospitalisation cases.

2) Tatas to roll out 15,000 ATMs in 3 years: Tata Communications Payment Solutions Ltd plans to roll out 15,000 Indicash white-label ATMs across the country over the next three years. Of these, 100 will be operationalised in Kerala by the end of this year.

Knowledge Booster:

>> What are White Label ATMs?- These are ATMs being rolled out by non-banking companies which allows users Remittance, ticket booking, third-party advertising etc.

3) Country’s second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank today hit the foreign bond market with benchmark US dollar issue as part of the bank’s $2-billion medium-term bond sale programme.

4) Reserve Bank has said it has received USD 10.1 billion under two schemes which were announced last month to attract foreign funds.

5) Canara Bank signed a MoU with industry body CII to facilitate cheaper credit access to micro, small and medium enterprises.

6) Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) marked its re-entry into India after five years by opening a branch in Mumbai. The bank was operational in India from 1996 to 2008. In 2008, BII was bought over by Malaysia-based Maybank, which holds 88 per cent in BII. The foreign bank’s India operations became inactive after 2008.

7) Finance Ministry decided to pump in Rs 2,000 crore in State Bank of India and Rs 1,800 crore each in IDBI Bank and Central Bank of India as part of the Rs 14,000 crore capital infusion plan for the current fiscal.

Sports

1) India-Australia 4th ODI played in Ranchi called off due to rain: Chasing 296, India were 27 for no loss in 4.1 overs in when heavens opened up for the second time during the match.

2) Sachin Tendulkar named in Wisden all-time World Test XI: Retiring Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar was on Wednesday named in the Wisden all-time World Test XI.

Tendulkar, who will retire from Test cricket after playing against the West Indies in his landmark 200th match next month.

Knowledge Booster:

>> Which city is hosting Sachin's 200th Test?- Mumbai (Sachin's home ground)

3) In the presence of party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, ace discus thrower Krishna Poonia on Wednesday joined Congress at a rally in Rajasthan ahead of the upcoming state Assembly elections scheduled for December 1.

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Catholic Syrian Bank Notified Recruitment of Officers 2013

Catholic Syrian Bank Notified Recruitment of Officers 2013

Catholic Syrian Bank invited application for recruitment to the post of Chartered Accountant, Cost accountant, Law Officer and more. The candidates eligible for the post can apply through prescribed format before 25 October 2013.

Important Date

• Closing Date for Registration: 25 October 2013

Details of Post

Sl.No.  Post  Vacancies  1  Chartered Accountants  10  2  Cost Accountants  20  3  MBA/ PGDM  40  4  Law Officers  6  5  IT Officers  14  6  Agriculture Officers  10

Total Number of Post: 100 Posts

Maximum Age Limit

• Chartered Accountants: 28 years

• Cost Accountants: 28 years

• Law Officers: 35 years

• Agricultural Officers: 28 years

• IT Specialist Officers: 28 years

• MBA/PGDM Professionals: 28 Years

Pay Scale

• Chartered Accountants: Rs.39000/- per month

• Cost Accountants: Rs.29000/- per month

• Law Officers: Rs.29000/- per month

• Agricultural Officers: Rs.29000/- per month

• IT Specialist Officers: Rs.29000/- per month

• MBA/PGDM Professionals: Rs.29000/- per month

Click here to view details of Vacancies & Qualification criteria

Apply Online- Click Here

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Daily Current Affairs Updates from 22 October 2013

Daily Current Affairs Updates from 22 October 2013

Technology

1) ISRO to launch India’s Mars Orbiter Mission on November 5: India’s ambitious space mission to explore planet Mars would be launched on November 5 from the spaceport of Sriharikota, ISRO announced today. The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), ‘Mangalyan’, would be launched onboard PSLV C25 on November 5 at 3.28 pm from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, some 80 km from here, an ISRO spokesperson said.

2) Snapdeal.com launches mobile app for iPhone users: Online marketplace Snapdeal.com has launched a mobile shopping application for iPhone users as more consumers are accessing the portal through handsets.

3) Nokia enters tablet market, unveils 10-inch Lumia 2520: Nokia today launched an impressive line-up of new personal media devices at Nokia World 2013, Abu Dhabi. The company launched its first-ever tablet, the Lumia 2520, with a 10-inch display. The tablet runs on the latest version of Windows RT and sports a 6.7 megapixel rear camera built with Zeiss optics. The Lumia 2520 is priced at $499 in the US and it will be launched in India later next year.

4) Yahoo! again tops Google in US Web visitors in Sept: For the third month in a row, more Americans visited Yahoo’s websites than Google’s, according to comScore Inc’s Internet traffic data for September.

National

1) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today left for China on the second leg of his two-nation tour after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin during which the two leaders pledged to “resolve all outstanding issues” related to the Kudankulam nuclear project.

2) PM in China: India and China are expected to ink several key pacts, including an agreement on a mechanism to prevent incursions by Chinese troops along the line of actual control.

2) Fodder scam: Lalu Prasad, Jagdish Sharma disqualified from Lok Sabha: Jailed RJD chief Lalu Prasad and JD(U)leader Jagdish Sharma have been disqualified as Lok Sabha members following their conviction in the fodder scam. While Prasad stands disqualified for a total of 11 years – five years of jail term and six years subsequent to his release – Sharma stands disqualified for ten years – four years in jail and six more years after that as per electoral laws.

3) Supreme Court today directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to monitor and conduct periodic checks of all carbonated soft drinks as the issue relates to citizens’ fundamental right to life guaranteed under the Constitution.

4) Kudankulam Unit 1 synchronised with southern power grid:  First unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant was today synchronised with the southern power grid, marking a major milestone in power generation of the Indo-Russian nuclear collaboration in Tamil Nadu.

Banking/Economy

1) Bangalore ranked India’s top business destination: Bangalore, known as India’s silicon city, has been ranked as the country’s top business destination, followed by Chennai, Mumbai and Pune in terms of infrastructure, human capital, city culture and basic quality of living, says a survey.

2) Men account for about 36 per cent of the candidates found provisionally eligible for appointment as Probationary Officers in the Bharatiya Mahila Bank. The probationary officer post is an entry-level position in the officer’s grade in public sector banks. Bharatiya Mahila Bank had advertised 115 vacancies for this rank last month, and selected 103 candidates, according to the results notification. Headquartered in Delhi, the bank, which will focus on the banking needs of women and promote their economic empowerment, is gearing up to become operational next month.

International

1) Aung San Suu Kyi collected on Tuesday the EU democracy prize that had been awarded 23 years ago while she was under house arrest. The Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought, named after Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, has been handed out annually by the European Parliament since 1988.

2)  The world's most wanted woman, Samantha Lewthwaite, dubbed the "White Widow", wrote a poem telling of her "love" for Osama Bin Laden.

Sports

1)  Jamaica's athletes, including sprint star Usain Bolt, could be banned from major events like the Olympics due to the island's handling of recent drug scandals, according to Tuesday's Daily Telegraph.

2) Vikash, Sumit, Satish in World Boxing Championships quarterfinals:  Indian boxers continued to touch new highs at the World Championships here as three of them entered the quarterfinals on an all-win day on Tuesday to take the total number to an unprecedented five.

3) Krishna Poonia set to join Congress: Ace discus thrower Krishna Poonia is expected to join the Congress Party on Wednesday at a rally in Rajasthan, where she is also likely to contest in the upcoming state Assembly elections slated for December 1.

5) The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) on 21 October 2013 unanimously elected Kanwar Deep Singh as the president of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) for a four-year term. He was succeeded by Dinesh Reddy, Andhra Pradesh's Director General of Police (DGP).

Days

1) Karva Chauth celebrated in North India: Karva Chauth is a day when married women in north India observe a daylong fast and break it only after sighting the moon, and seeing their husband through a seive.

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