Current Affairs 1/3/13 to 25/3/13

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1.It was a historic milestone for the people of Pakistan as its Lower House — the National Assembly — and Pakistan People’s Party-led coalition government both completed a full 5-year term. This is a first such achievement in the 66-years of the nation’s existence. The National Assembly was dissolved late at night. With the dissolution, the current government is to step down, creating path for a caretaker set-up.

2.In the 22nd session of United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) during the adoption of the Report of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, Indian government, under pressure by DMK to vote against Sri Lanka on human rights issue, has stressed for action on issues like early progress towards reconciliation, apart from credible probe into alleged rights violations.
The government has been criticized for appreciating the Sri Lankan government for implementing India’s suggestions to implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) Report and to promote trilingual policy.

3.As per Knight Frank’s Wealth Report 2013:
India with 122 billionaires stood at 5th position in the list of to 10 countries with highest number of High Net-Worth Individual (HNWI).
Top 5 countries are:
US
China
Germany
UK
India

4.As per the United Nations Development Program’s Human Development Report 2013:
India stood at 132nd position out of 187 countries on the gender inequality index – performing worse than Pakistan (123).
All nations in South Asia, except Afghanistan, performed better than India, with Sri Lanka (75) topping them all. Nepal ranked 102nd and Bangladesh 111th.
Gender Inequality Index: It measures the loss in a country’s progress and human development because of gender inequality in three sectors: reproductive health, women empowerment and labor market participation.

5.As per an agreement signed between India and the UK, both countries will to launch a joint programme to boost industry in the two nations to work together towards commercialization of research findings in a range of key areas, including energy and health care.
As per the pact, the Global Innovation and Technology Alliance [GITA] sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology, and U.K.’s Technology Strategy Board will supply financial and other support to Indian and U.K. businesses and academics in joint research and development and innovation projects. The pact is valid for a period of 3 years.
Research partnerships b/w the two nations have expanded from British Pound one million in 2008 to over British Pound 100 million now.

6.Japan unfolds the mystery of ‘Fire ice’
Japan has successfully developed new technology for extracting methane gas from a previously untapped off-shore fossil fuel resource that has been dubbed ‘fire ice’. Japan has invested several hundred million pounds in developing technology to tap methane hydrate reserves off its coast.
What is Fire Ice?
It is another name of Methane hydrate, which consist of methane trapped in ice, present under the continental shelves around the world. It is said to be next big energy resource.
Earlier, it was believed to only exist in the outer space of the solar system – but now experts are saying it could be ‘the new shale gas’.
Methane hydrate is also called Methane clathrate, hydromethane, methane ice, fire ice, natural gas hydrate, or gas hydrate.


7.North Korea has confirmed the end of the 60-year-old armistice signed after the end of the Korean War, and warned of “merciless” military retaliation against its enemies. The North has annulled the 1953 armistice in protest over joint South Korea-US military manoeuvres.
The armistice was approved by the UN General Assembly, and both the United Nations and South Korea have repudiated the North’s unilateral withdrawal.
The North has also threatened to launch nuclear strikes against the United States and South Korea in response to fresh UN sanctions adopted after the North carried out its third nuclear test.

8.Government and the RBI have decided to launch one billion pieces of Rs 10 bank notes made of plastic on a field trial basis in 5 cities viz. Kochi, Mysore, Jaipur, Bhubhaneswar and Shimla.

9.Famous Indian journalist Bobby Ghosh has been made the the new editor of TIME International.Bobby joined TIME in 1998 after doing journalism in India.

10.Japan’s Parliament approved Haruhiko Kuroda, a Finance Ministry veteran to become the Governor of the Central Bank of Japan.

11.Kallam Anji Reddy (73), the founder-chairman of Dr Reddy’s Labs passed away.

12.World Consumer Rights Day was observed on March 15 across the world to enhance awareness about consumer rights.

13.Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Nepal. President Ram Baran Yadav admistered the oath of office to him. Regmi will continue to hold the position of the Chief Justice without actively engaging in the day to day affairs of the court.

14.Tan Twan Eng won the Asia’s top literary prize “Man Asian Literary Prize” for his novel ‘The Garden of Evening Mists’, for the year 2012.
He became the first Malaysian author to win Asia’s most prestigious literary prize.

15.Xi Jinping has assumed charge of President’s office in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. He takes over outgoing president Hu Jintao.

16.Welspun Energy, India’s biggest developer of solar projects, has commissioned Asia’s largest solar power project of 50-MW in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

17.Legendary painter Ganesh Pyne (76) passed away in Kolkata.

18.In a referendum in which people of Falkland Islands were asked whether they wished to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom, 99.8% of voters have chosen to stay as British Overseas Territory.

19.The four financial sector regulators in the country- RBI, SEBI, IRDA and PFRDA have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for co-operation in the field of consolidated supervision and monitoring of financial groups identified as financial conglomerates.

20.Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been elected as new pope of the Catholic Church.
266th pope
Native of Argentina.
Became first pontiff from outside Europe in more than a millennium since Syrian-born Pope Gregory III, who died in 741. Thus, he is the first non-European pope since the 8th century.

21.India and Bhutan have inked a currency swap agreement for up to $100 million to promote economic co-operation b/w the two nations.

22.The world’s largest biogas plant was inaugurated on Finland’s western coast as the country seeks to cut its use of foreign coal.
About the plant:
140 MW biomass gasification factory built near an existing coal-fired power plant and is expected to cut coal use by up to 40%.
For fuel it uses wood residue from Finland’s large forestry sector
The plant is expected to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by 2,30,000 tonnes a year while providing both heating and electricity to 61,000 residents.

23.Cruise missile Nirbhay missed the target test-firing as it had to be terminated midway after deviating from the flight course.
However, as per DRDO, the missile "successfully" achieved the basic mission objectives and performed some of the maneuvers satisfactorily before being terminated midway.

24.The SAARC Literature Festival which was celebrated in Agra honored 5 writers with SAARC Literature Awards. These writers are:
Abhay K, India
Farheen Chaudhary Pakistan
Abdul Khaliq Rashid, Afghanistan
Suman Pokhrel, Nepal
Daya Dissanayake, Sri Lanka

25.World Bank estimated India’s economy to grow by 6% in 2013-14.
This estimation was made by the World Bank Chief Jim Young Kim who was on his first visit to India after taking over as President of the World Bank Group July 2012.

26.Union Minister of Communications & IT Sh. Kapil Sibal inaugurated India’s First All Women Employees Post Office at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi. All the counters of this Post Office will be staffed by Women employees only. The working hours: 9.30 a.m. – 5.30 p.m.
This office is a ‘Project Arrow’ Offic

27.The Union Government approved export of extra 5 million tonnes of Wheat in its stocks. The additional quantity of 5 million tonnes of wheat shall be exported by the private traders. It was also decided that the public sector trading firms will not be a participant in export of the additional quantity of wheat.

28.The Indian Parliamentary Group (IPG) has approved Outstanding Parliamentarian Award to three leaders viz. BJP leader Arun Jaitley, Congress MP Karan Singh and JD(U) MP Sharad Yadav for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively.

29.Mukul Manda Sangma of Congress party has sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya for the second consecutive time.

30.Nobel laureate and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who is also regarded as South Africa Moral Conscience, made a visit to Kochi in India and expressed his gratitude for our freedom heroes.

31.Bangladesh has extended his gratitude by conferring Liberation War Honor Award on Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, for his "outstanding contribution" to the 1971 war even as the country sees a massive youth-led uprising for "justice" for those who died in the conflict.

32.The Finance Ministry has cleared the proposal of Malaysian budget airline AirAsia’s proposal to launch an airline in India with Tata Sons.

33.As per an annual ranking released by business magazine Forbes, Mukesh Ambani with a networth of $21.5 billion has retained his title as India’s richest person for sixth year in a row. Mexican business mogul Carlos Slim, with a networth of $73 billion, has been ranked as wealthiest in the world for the fourth consecutive year. On the global rankings, Mukesh Ambani is placed 22nd, while the second-richest Indian Lakshmi Mittal is at 41st rank with a networth of $16.5 billion.

34.Bharti Airtel has launched high quality voice service for its subscribers in Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi and Nigeria in the African sub-continent.

35.Bhabha Atomic Research Centre which is India’s state-owned research establishment has claimed to be developing the world’s largest magnet, weighing 50,000 tons. It would be bigger than the one at the Compact Muon Solenoid detector at CERN in Geneva.

36.The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has notified fresh changes in the format of country’s prestigious exam- the Civil Services Exam conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The decision had come in the wake of recommendations of a committee headed by Prof Arun S Nigavekar, former Chairman, UGC.

37.Microsoft unveiled its Office 365 suite for businesses in India, which will offer smooth sharing of data across PCs and mobiles using cloud computing technology. This will allow users to access their mails and files through desktops, laptops and mobile phones and work on projects while on the move. Companies can use Office 365 for $6—22 (about Rs 330—1,200) per user per month and it can be installed on up to five devices for a single user under the Office 365 licensing.

38.Services beat hosts Kerala in the final of the 67th Santosh Trophy football tournament played at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi. It was the third Santosh Trophy title for the Services.
Man of the Match: Services striker Lalian Mawia.

39.Neiphiu Rio takes oath as the Chief Minister of Nagaland for the third consecutive term.
The Naga People’s Front (NPF)-led DAN, having 40 elected members, along with the support of seven Independents, had staked claim to form the government.

40.“Walking with Lions : Tales from a Diplomatic Past”
A book authored by Shri K. Natwar Singh, former Union Minister for External Affairs was released by the Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari.

41.Vice Admiral Anurag G Thapliyal will take the position of Director General of Indian Coast Guard succeeding the present Director General Vice Admiral MP Muralidharan

42.As per Finance Minister P Chidambaram, government has contained the fiscal deficit for the current financial year at 5.2% of GDP, lower than 5.3% as was targeted. Revenue Deficit has been contained at 3.9% in the current fiscal.

43.As proposed in the Budget 2013-14, government will set up ‘Nirbhaya Fund’ of Rs 1,000 crore for safety and empowerment of women.
Nirbhaya (fearless) was the pseudonym given to the victim of the inhumane Delhi-bus incident to hide her actual identity.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development and other ministries concerned will work out details of the structure, scope and application of the fund.

44.To create a level playing field for women in banking sector, an initial capital of Rs 1,000 crore has been committed in the current Budget for the establishment of India’s first public sector Women’s Bank by the end of 2013.

45.Educational researcher Sugata Mitra has been awarded the million-dollar TED Prize for pursuing his idea for building the schools in the Internet. Mitra is Professor of Educational Technology at the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences at Newcastle University, UK. He is best known for his "Hole in the Wall" experiment, and widely cited in works on literacy and education.