Wednesday, October 23, 2013

International Current Affairs 2013


International Current Affairs 2013


Current Affairs [September 2013]

  • Jhumpa Lahiri novel competes for Man Booker Prize
    Indian American author and Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri's new novel, The Lowland, has been shortlisted for the 2013 Man Booker prize, organisers said Tuesday. Set in the 1960s, "The Lowland", provides a view of suburban streets of Calcutta (Kolkata) through the eyes of Subhash.
  • Gujarati film 'The Good Road' India's entry for Oscar
    Debut feature filmmaker Gyan Correa's Gujarati film "The Good Road" has been chosen to represent India in the best foreign film category at the Academy Awards.
Current Affairs [August 2013]

  • World Bank to loan $100 mn for low-cost housing
    Thee World Bank will extend a $100-million loan for sustainable housing in India that can be used to purchase, build or upgrade low-cost dwellings, the finance ministry said Thursday.
    The state-run National Housing Bank will execute this project.

  • Import Duty On Gold, Silver Hiked To 10 Percent
    The Indian government Tuesday hiked customs duties on gold, platinum and silver to 10 percent to curb imports and lower the current account deficit.
    This led to a recovery in the rupee. The partially convertible rupee closed at 61.19 per dollar compared to 61.27 Monday.

  • India's DRDO launches explosive detection kit in US
    It looks like a little pocket sized cigar box, but it packs a mighty punch in the fight against terrorism. And now this nifty explosive detection kit, developed by the India's Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO), is all set to play its part in the US too.
Current Affairs [July 2013]

  • China Developed the Fastest Computer of the World Called Tianhe-2
    A survey conducted by Top 500, revealed on 17 June 2013 that the Chinese supercomputer is the fastest computer of the world. This Chinese supercomputer is called Tianhe-2 and it replaced US machine called Titan, which was earlier said to be the fastest computer of the world.

  • India to be most Populous Country by 2028
    The UN report titled World Population Prospects was released on 13 June 2013, forecasted that India will be the most populous country of the world by 2028 leaving behind China. The report also claimed that by 2025 the world population will increase by one billion and reach to 8.1 billion from 7.2 billion at present. By 2050, the world population will be 9.6 billion as per the report.
    Current Affairs [May 2013]

  • India granted Observer Status by Arctic Council
    India on 15 May 2013 was successful in getting the observer status in the Arctic Council along with five other nations namely China, Italy, Singapore and South Korea. This step of the Arctic Council will give India a foothold in the resource rich Arctic Ocean with the melting of the ice. As India will get an access from navigation to oil and gas exploration. The observer status was assigned to India after a meeting held at Kiruna, Sweden.

  • India is the largest producer and consumer of Chickpeas in World
    Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) in its latest report for 2011 claimed that India is the largest consumer and producer of Chickpeas in the world. The second advance estimates for 2012-13 marked a record production of Chickpea is 8567.8 thousand tonnes.
Current Affairs [April 2013]

  • "The Orphan Master's Son" won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
    Adam Johnson's novel The Orphan Master's son won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2013. Last year, judges had failed to select a winner of the award for fiction for the first time in 35 years. The book carries the reader on an adventuresome journey into the depths of totalitarian North Korea and into the most intimate spaces of the human heart.

    Johnson teaches creative writing at Stanford University. He spent time in North Korea to research his book. Other books in contention were, What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, by Nathan Englander and The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey.

  • Indian-Origin Economist Raj Chetty Won John Bates Clark Medal For 2013
    Delhi-born Raj Chetty, the professor in the Department of Economy at the Harvard University won John Bates Clark medal for 2013, also called Baby Nobel. Raj Chetty's work was also cited by the US President Barack Obama in State of the Union Address.

    John Bates Clark medal is conferred upon the American economist whose age is below 40 years and the one who has made crucial contribution to economic knowledge and thought. Baby Nobel is one of the most prestigious awards of economy. Infact, it is second only after Nobel Prize in economic science.

    Raj Chetty, 33, is the first Indian-origin person to win this high honour. His areas of work include social insurance, tax policy as well as education policy.

International Current Affairs 2013


Current Affairs [March 2013]

  • World Bank bar Larsen & Turbo for six Months over Forgery
    The World Bank in the month of March 2013 barred Larsen & Toubro (L&T) from doing any business with it or the projects funded by it for a period of six months, as it found that a senior executive of the conglomerate indulging in fraud.
    The department has made L&T ineligible for being awarded of any contract of the World Bank Funded projects and also from receiving any loan proceeds made by the Bank or participating in any Bank-financed project. The department is supposed to continue till 6 September 2013.

  • India Proposed Hydrocarbon Pipeline from Kazakhstan
    India in the month of March 2013 proposed the idea of a hydrocarbon pipeline with Kazakhstan that is intended to bring fuel through a five-nation route.
    The concept of the pipeline, unveiled could be in future extended to Russia. Officials said currently most hydrocarbon pipelines from Central Asia are on an east-west axis. This pipeline will, like TAPI, be on a north-south axis, providing a new route to South Asia for hydrocarbons extracted from Central Asia.

International Current Affairs 2013


Current Affairs [Febraury 2013]

  • 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.

  • Largest Saltwater Crocodile of the World, Lolong Died in Philippines
    The largest saltwater crocodile of the world, named Lolong died in Philippines on 10 February 2013 just 17 months after it was captured and put for tourists on display.
    Lolong measured 6.17 metres or 20.24 feet. The largest crocodile of the world died because of illness that is not known. It is believed that Lolong was over 50 years old.
    A hunting party that was sanctioned by the government captured Lolong in September 2011. The largest crocodile of the world became a source of tourist attraction.
    Lolong was declared officially as the largest crocodile of its kind in captivity by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2012. It beat the record of 5.48-metre crocodile named Cassius which was kept in park in an island off Queensland, Australia.
    Lolong belonged to the family of species called Crocodylus Porosus, or the Indo-Pacific crocodile, which is said to be the largest reptile of the world.
Current Affairs [January 2013]

International News

  • No plans to run for Presidency in 2016: Hillary
    Virtually putting to rest all speculations about her contesting the next US presidential elections, outgoing secretary of state Hillary Clinton has said she has absolutely no such plans and is just focussing on finishing her term in office. "Well I have absolutely no plans to run for presidency. Right now, I am trying to finish my term as Secretary of State," she told CNN in an interview when asked about reports of her contesting the elections of 2016. "I don't know everything I'll be doing. I'll be working on behalf of women and girls, and hopefully be writing and speaking. Those are the things that I am planning to do right now."Clinton said she does not know what her new life entails for her, when there are no appointments for her.

  • New levels of horror in Syria, says UN
    The Syria war has reached 'unprecedented levels of horror', UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said after dozens of men were killed in a grim new massacre. Brahimi told the divided UN Security Council that it must now act to halt the carnage epitomised by the nearly 80 young men killed with a single bullet and dumped in a river in the battlefront city of Aleppo. Syrian rebels blamed President Bashar al-Assad's government for the killings, but state media said an Islamist opposition faction was to blame. Syria "is breaking up before everyone's eyes. Only the international community can help, and first and the foremost the Security Council," Brahimi told the council's 15 ambassadors, apologising for sounding like a broken old record. Twenty two months of conflict have now left well over 60,000 dead, according to the UN, which will seek $1.5 billion in humanitarian funding for beleaguered Syrians at a conference in Kuwait,

  • China urges Japan to foster normal ties
    China urged Japan to create conditions for the normal development of bilateral relations, saying the two sides should "properly handle tensions" over the sovereignty of the disputed Diaoyu islands. Foreign ministry spokesman Hong lei said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had suggested that a summit between Japan and China was necessary to mend bilateral relations hampered by recent territorial disputes, Xinhua reported. Hong said China attaches importance to developing relation with Japan, and stressed that Beijing hopes that Tokyo will make joint efforts to overcome major difficulties so as to push bilateral ties back to the track of normal development.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Current Affairs: October,2013

October, 2013            

20th October:
  • Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Moscow to strengthen bilateral strategic partnership.
  • Lata Mangeshkar presented with the first national Yash Chopra Memorial Award in Mumbai.
19th October:
  • India’s tallest air traffic control (ATC) tower with 84-metre structure inaugurated in Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai.
  • An Italian court ruled that former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi should be barred from holding public office for two years following a conviction for tax fraud.
  • The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has banned Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Pradeep Sangwan for 18 months after he was found violating the board's anti-doping regulations in IPL 2013.
18th October:
  • The Archaeological Survey of India team began digging at Daundia Khera village of Unnao district, UP for the prophesied 1,000 tones of gold as claimed by a local priest Swami Shobhan Sarkar.
  • Micromax has roped in Hollywood star Hugh Jackman as its brand ambassador.
17th October:
  • The U.S. Congress approved a deal to end a partial government shutdown.US federal workers back to work after 16-day shutdown.The workers have been furloughed since the partial government shutdown began October 1.
  • The Supreme Court ordered a CBI probe into the tapes of former corporate lobbyist Niira Radia.
  • Terence Walsh appointed as Chief Coach of the Indian National Hockey Team.
16th October:
  • World Bank cuts India growth forecast to 4.7 per cent from 6.1 percent for the current fiscal year.
  • Indian Railways appointed acting chairman of Railway Board Arunendra Kumar as the head of the board.
  • INS Sunayna inducted into Indian Navy’s service which is the largest offshore patrol vessel (OPV).
  • New Zealand author Eleanor Catton wins Man Booker prize for her book "The Luminaries". She becomes the youngest novelist to win the man booker prize at the age of 28 years. Also the book has set a new record for the longest winning novel with 852 pages.
  • Australian batsman set a new world record with their top five compiling individual half centuries while scoring 359 runs against India in Jaipur.
  • Virat Kohli scores the fastest century by an Indian batsman in ODI with 52 balls against Australia.
  • EPL club Liverpool launched a residential football academy in Pune.
15th October:
  • Kumar Mangalam Birla, head of the Aditya Birla Group has been charged with conspiracy and cheating to land two coal blocks in Odisha in 2005 by CBI in new FIR.
  • An Afghan provincial governor Arsala Jamal killed in a bomb blast at a mosque after Eid prayers in Logar, close to the capital Kabul.
  • 93 died in a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in central Philippine island of Bohol.  
14th October:
  • Vijayadashami and Dussehra celebrated across India.
  • Eugene Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert Shiller of America wins the Nobel prize for economics for developing new methods to study trends in asset markets.
13th October:
  • Over 70 people died and over 100 injured in a stampede at Ratangarh temple in Madhya Pradesh's Datia district.
  • Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel won the Japanese Grand Prix.
12th October:
  • Cyclone Phailin has made landfall in Odisha. Over five lakh people have been evacuated in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
  • The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is likely to grant cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar his wish to play his 200th and farewell Test in his home town Mumbai.
11th October:
  • Hague-based Organisation OPCW awarded the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.
  • Agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan selected for the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration for the year 2012.
  • India's industrial production growth slowed to 0.6 percent in August from an upwardly revised 2.75 percent pace in July.
10th October:
  • High alert has been declared as the cyclonic storm "Phailin" is expected to hit coastal Odisha and Andhra Pradesh on Saturday night.
  • Sachin Tendulkar announces retirement from Test cricket after playing 200th game which is most likely to be held in Mumbai from November 14.
  • Canada's Canada's Alice, 82 Munro won the Nobel Literature Prize.
  • Malala Yousafzai, 16-year-old education activist from Pakistan wins European Union's Sakharov human rights award.
9th October:
  • The Nobel prize in chemistry awarded jointly to three US scientist named Martin Karplus ( Harvard University), Michael Levitt (Stanford School of Medicine) and Arieh Warshel (University of Southern California).
  • Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Bharti Enterprises breaking up their Indian joint venture. Now Wal-Mart will independently own and operate separate businesses in the country.
  • Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf granted bail and free to leave Pakistan after a decision by a court in Islamabad.
8th October:
  • The Union Cabinet of India approved the National Identification Authority of India Bill  that will give statutory status to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
  • Peter Higgs (United Kingdom) and Francois Englert (Belgium) jointly awarded Nobel Prize for Physics.
  • Supreme Court lifted the restraints it put on N Srinivasan from assuming charge as the elected chief of the Indian cricket board (BCCI).
7th October:
  • Government hike railway fares by two per cent for all classes because of a rise in the prices of diesel and power.
  • India test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile with a strike range of 350 km from Balasore, Odisha.
  • Arundhati Bhattacharya appointed as SBI's first woman chairperson.
  • Randy Schekman(USA), James Rothman(USA) and Thomas Sudhof (Germany) wins Nobel Prize for Medicine for cell transport.
  • The Supreme Court has proposed a three-member panel headed by former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Mukul Mudgal to probe into IPL spot-fixing scandal.
6th October:
  • Sania Mirza and Cara Black wins the Women’s Doubles in China Open tennis championship trophy.
  • Mumbai Indians wins the Champions League Twenty20 for the second time after beating Rajasthan Royals by 33 runs in the final at the Ferozeshah Kotla. It is the last Twenty20 match for both Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
5th October:
  • The Union government launched the Inter Company LPG portability scheme in 24 cities across the country through which consumer can switch their LPG distributors through a portability system and also buy 5kg cylinders of liquefied petroleum gas at select petrol stations.
  • The Prime Ministers of Bangladesh and India inaugurated a joint power transmission plant through which Bangladesh will receive up to 500 megawatts (MW) of electricity.
4th October:
  • Indian Election Commission announced election dates for five states - Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and Delhi. The Polls in the five states will be start from 11th Dec to 4th of December and the counting will be on 8th December.
  • Afghanistan qualified for its maiden ICC World Cup after defeating Kenya by seven wickets to finish second in the World Cricket League Championship in Sharjah.
3rd October:
  • The CBI court in Ranchi sent former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad to five years in jail with a fine of Rs.25 lakh in the case of illegal withdrawal of public money from Chaibasa treasury.
  • The union cabinet formally decided to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh to carve out Telangana as India's 29th state.Hyderabad will be shared for 10 years as the capital of the old and new state.
  • Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi resigned from his post in protest against the Union Cabinet's approval of the formation of separate Telangana.
2nd October:
  • The Union Cabinet decided to drop the controversial ordinance and bill aimed at protecting convicted politician.
  • Gandhi Jayanti observed in India.
  • U.S. master writer and master of spy thriller novels Tom Clancy dies at 66.
1st October:
  • Levy of 3% service-tax on all non-unit-linked products of LIC (Life Insurance Corporation of India) added as per IRDA guideline.
  • S. Varadarajan took over as the new Chairman & Managing Director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL)
  • SEBI (Securities Exchange Board of India) approved Jet-Etihad deal.
  • National Voluntary Blood Donation Day observed.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

General Awareness: Company Slogan Quiz

Q.1)  I'm loving it.
    
A. HP
B. Coca Cola
C. McDonald's
D. Wal Mart

The correct answer is C. McDonald's


Q.2)  Like a good neighbor, ___________ is there.
    
A. Allstate
B. Prudential
C. Geiko
D. State Farm

The correct answer is D. State Farm


Q.3)  Just do it!
    
A. Nike
B. Adidas
C. Reebok
D. Goodyear

The correct answer is A. Nike


Q.4)  Finger lickin good.
    
A. Popeye's
B. Mrs. Winters
C. Kentucky Fried Chicken
D. ChikFilA

The correct answer is C. Kentucky Fried Chicken


Q.5)  Strong enough for a man, made for a woman.
    
A. Degree
B. Secret
C. Mitchum
D. Old Spice

The correct answer is B. Secret

Q.6)  Melt in your mouth, not in your hand.
    
A. Hersheys
B. M & M's
C. Reese's
D. Milky Way

The correct answer is B. M & M's


Q.7)  Snap, crackle, pop.
    
A. Frosted Flakes
B. Cinnamon Toast Crunch
C. Cheerios
D. Rice Crispies

The correct answer is D. Rice Crispies


Q.8)  When you care enough to send the very best.
    
A. FTD Flowers
B. FedEX
C. Hallmark
D. UPS

The correct answer is C. Hallmark

Q.9)  Always low prices.
    
A. Kmart
B. Wal-Mart
C. Lowe's
D. The Home Depot

The correct answer is B. Wal-Mart


Q.10)  Zoom. Zoom. Zoom.
    
A. Mazda
B. Toyota
C. Subaru
D. Kia

The correct answer is A. Mazda


Q.11)  Maybe she's born with it, maybe it's _________.
    
A. Degree
B. Revlon
C. Maybelline
D. Maxim

The correct answer is C. Maybelline

Q.12)  Betcha can't eat just one.
    
A. Lay's
B. Fritos
C. Doritos
D. Grippos

The correct answer is A. Lay's

Q.13)  Eat fresh.
    
A. Panera
B. Subway
C. Quiznos
D. Jimmy John's

The correct answer is B. Subway


Q.14)  There are some things money can't buy, for everything else there's ______.
    
A. Visa
B. American Express
C. Mastercard
D. Discover

The correct answer is C. Mastercard

Q.15)  You are now free to move about the country.
    
A. Southwest
B. American
C. Continental
D. Delta 

The correct answer is A. Southwest