Daily Current Affairs Updates: 26 October 2013
National
1) Jairam
Ramesh made convener of AICC ‘special group’ for Lok Sabha polls: Rural
Development Minister Jairam Ramesh was today named as the Convener of a
‘Special Group’ of the AICC set up to facilitate and coordinate actions for the
coming Lok Sabha elections.
2) 29
dead as rains batter Andhra Pradesh: Heavy rain over the past week has left
a trail of destruction in Andhra Pradesh. At least 29 people have lost their
lives, with 3,230 villages in 16 districts affected and 7,000 houses damaged,
even as the State Government has launched an intense relief and rescue
operations.
Economy/BAnking
1) World
Bank approved $250-m aid for Uttarakhand: World Bank has approved
$250-million assistance for Uttarakhand, which was hit hard by rains and
landslides in June that killed 580 people, to help the State undertake
rehabilitation work and strengthen its capacity for disaster management.
2) GAIL,
Paradip Port sign MoU for setting up LNG terminal: A memorandum of
understanding (MoU) between GAIL (India) Ltd and Paradip Port Trust was signed
here today (Saturday), paving the way for the construction of an LNG terminal
complete with floating storage and regasification facilities at Paradip port.
3) India's
forex reserves up by $1.88 billion to $281.12 billion: India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves
gained $1.88 billion to touch $281.12 billion for the week ended Oct 18,
official data showed.
4)
Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has assigned Corporation
Bank No. 1 rank under the ‘National Awards for Excellence in MSE (micro and
small enterprises) Lending’ for 2012-13.
5) Himachal
Pradesh became Second State after Haryana to introduce NVQF: Himachal
Pradesh on 26 October 2013 became the second state after Haryana to introduce
Union National Vocational Qualitative Framework (NVQF) Scheme. The scheme has
been implemented by the All India Technical Education Council and the National
Skill Development Council. As per the scheme, 70 skill development councils
will be established and each council will be given specific trades.
International
1) Musharraf’s
custody extended till Oct 30 in Lal Masjid case: Pakistani court has
extended the custody of former President General Pervez Musharraf till October
30 in the Lal Masjid case and ruled that the next hearing would be held at his
Chak Shahzad farmhouse, which has been turned into a sub-jail.
2) Earthquake of 7.3 magnitude had
yesterday struck off Japan’s east coast, the US Geological Survey said,
triggering small tsunamis but causing no apparent damage.
3) Mount
Etna volcano erupted: Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, has
erupted, sending up a towering plume of ash visible in much of eastern Sicily.
Etna's eruptions aren't infrequent, although the last major one occurred in
1992.
Sports
1)
Pune Warriors out of IPL as BCCI terminates contract: Board of Control for
Cricket in India (BCCI) has terminated the contract of Pune Warriors India with
the Twenty20 cricket Indian Premier League (IPL) for failing to furnish a bank
guarantee worthRs 170 crore for the next season. Sahara Adventure Sports is the
team’s franchise owner.
2) Fifth
ODI between India and Australia called off:
Fifth one-day International between India and Australia was officially
called off today without a single ball being bowled due to persistent rain at
Cuttack where the match was scheduled to be held.
3) Vettel
takes 3rd straight Indian GP pole position: Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel put
himself on pole position for a fourth successive Formula One title after
lapping the Indian Grand Prix circuit faster than any driver ever before on
Saturday.
4) South
Africa thrash Pakistan to level series: South Africa kept their seven-year
unbeaten away record intact with an innings and 92-run win over Pakistan in the
second and final Test in Dubai on Saturday, squaring the two-match series 1-1.
Science & Technology
1) Chinese
researchers develop bird flu vaccine: Chinese researchers announced on
Saturday to have developed a vaccine for H7N9 bird flu virus, after the flu
strain left over 130 people infected, of which 45 died.
2) YouTube
getting ready for paid music service: Google’s video-sharing arm YouTube is
preparing to launch a paid music service this year competing against other
streaming outlets, with the added feature of video, media reports have said.
