Current Affairs 07/09/2013 to 21/09/2013

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1.The Supreme Court has said in a judgement allowing a writ petition by Resurgence India that it is voter’s elementary right to know full particulars of a candidate who is representing him in Parliament/Assemblies , and non- disclosure of information by a contestant in his/her affidavit, leaving the relevant columns blank, will result in rejection of the nomination by the Election Commission.Filing of affidavit with blanks will evoke Section 125 A (i) of the Representation of the People Act.

2.As per the World Health Organization (WHO), South East Asian countries have set a target to wipe out measles and control rubella and congenital syndrome by the year 2020. The effort is estimated to cost $ 800 million.

3.China has become the first country in the world to possess Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) solid-state laser device. The device was launched by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) after its successful testing. The device marks the world’s first-ever output of 1,064-nanometer’s 6-harmonic frequency multiplication, shortening the diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPL)’s wavelength to 177.3nm.
What can be the use of Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) solid-state laser device?
The device can be used to enhance the production of grapheme, superconductors, insulators and catalysis. The device which uses Potassium Beryllium Fluoroborate (KBBF) prism coupling device-based DPL source features a smaller size, higher energy resolution and higher photon influx density.

4.Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency or JAXA successfully launched a new rocket named Epsilon which is cheaper and more efficient than its previous rockets.

5.The long intensive negotiations between Russia and the United States in Geneva on the issue of chemical weapons of Syria have reached a deal on a timetable for the fast elimination of Syria’s stockpiles of chemical weapons, with the provision that the non-compliance by Damascus would mean that the United Nations Security Council will direct the future course of action.

6.FSB is an international body which was established after the 2009 G-20 London summit in April 2009 as a successor to the Financial Stability Forum. FSB work is to coordinate at the international level the work of national financial authorities and international standard-setting bodies and to develop and promote the implementation of effective regulatory, supervisory and other financial sector policies. The Board includes all G-20 major economies, FSF members, and the European Commission. It is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland.
Who are the members of FSB form India?
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Ministry of Finance are the members of FSB from India.

7.Online e-commerce company eBay has opened a new development centre in Bangalore and plans to recruit 1,000 IT professionals by 2016. eBay already has two development centers one each in Chennai and Mumbai.
The centre will work on technologies relating to eBay and Paypal, a company that it acquired which allows payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet.
The new development centre will work on mobile commerce-related apps, design for the eBay Web site, analytics and online security solutions for traditional and mobile channels of commerce.

8.As per Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan, the rupee at the current level is “well corrected” and stability is returning to the forex market, amidst volatility in the exchange value of the local currency.
The rupee has recuperated to 63 level after plunging its life-time low of 68.85 towards August-end. As per C Rangarajan rupee will strengthen with increase in capital inflows and fall in Current Account Deficit (CAD).

9.The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister A K Antony has given approval for the purchase of 6 more C-130J “Super Hercules” aircraft from the US in a deal worth over Rs 4,000 crore. It will now need a final approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security.
The DAC also gave nod for placing an order for 235 T-90 tanks worth Rs 6,000 crore with the Ordnance Factory Board. These battle tanks would be manufactured under the Transfer-of-Technology agreement India has inked with Russia.
The Indian Air Force already has six C-130J planes which are deployed at its Hindon airbase. The new lot of six planes will be positioned at Panagarh in West Bengal, which would be headquarters of the proposed Mountain Strike Corps of the army along the China border.

10.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was given nod by the Union Cabinet to invest $4.3 billion in special bonds of the World Bank as it would help in securing extra funding from the multilateral lending agency for infrastructure development projects.

11.India and Kyrgyzstan have agreed to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation in areas, including training, UN peacekeeping and defence industry. It was decided at a meeting between Defence Minister A K Antony and Kyrgystan Defence Minister Taalaibek Omuraliev who is on India visit.

12.Indian President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Indira Gandhi peace prize on Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in recognition of her inspiring efforts for ensuring the return of peace, democracy, development, security and order in Liberia and for her strong interest in the consolidation and betterment of relations between both the countries

13.World’s largest oil field outside the Middle East- Kashagan field in Kazakhstan started production of crude. Although the starting production is just 26,000 barrels a day, the reservoir promises about 1.5 million barrels of oil a day to global output in future. If it attains that level, the oil will be equivalent to about 1.6% of the world’s total, or roughly the amount Libya produces.
A consortium of oil companies including KazMunayGas, the national oil company of Kazakhstan; Shell of the Netherlands; Total of France; Inpex of Japan; Exxon; Conoco; and Eni – are slowly but –steadily developing the oil field.
Kashagan Oilfield:
Kashagan Field is an offshore oil field in the Kazakhstan’s zone of the Caspian Sea. The field, discovered in 2000, is located in the northern part of the Caspian Sea close to Atyrau and it is considered the world’s largest discovery in the last 30 years, combined with the Tengiz Field.

14.US President Barack Obama has nominated Indian-American Puneet Talwar as assistant secretary of state for political military affairs.
Talwar has served Obama’s top advisor on the Middle East region for over four years. He is the second Indian-American to be nominated as the assistant secretary position in the state department. In July, 2013, Nisha Desai Biswal was nominated as the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia.

15.As per the report released by the U.N., the experts have found large-scale use of banned chemical weapons in Syria. The U.N. inspectors have found clear evidence that “Sarin Gas” killed hundreds of people in an attack on Ghouta near Damascus on August 21, 2013.

16.The Indian Navy will soon get its second aircraft carrier, 45,000-tonne Vikramaditya as the warship has successfully completed all aviation trials in the White Sea. Formerly Admiral Gorshkov which has been renamed INS Vikramaditya, the ship has been undergoing refitting and refurbishment at the Sevmash shipyard in the Russian city of Severodvinsk. It is likely to be delivered to the Indian Navy in mid-November. Currently, the Navy operates INS Viraat. India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, Vikrant, is being built by the Cochin Shipyard, and it is likely to be ready for commissioning in 2017-18.

17.Technology giant Microsoft Corp increased its quarterly dividend by 22% to 28 cents per share and launched a new share buyback program of up to $40 billion.

18.Voyager 1 became the first man-made object to cross the Solar System and enter into interstellar space on August 25, 2012. The space probe is at a distance of more than 19 billion km from the Sun.
What is Voyager 1?
Voyager 1 is a space probe launched by NASA in 1977 alongside its identical sister probe Voyager 2 to study the outer Solar System and the interstellar medium – the physical space within a galaxy not occupied by stars or their planetary systems.

19.Nina Davuluri has become the first winner of the Miss America 2014 from an Indian background. Previously, she won Miss New York 2013.
Nina Davuluri was born in Syracuse, New York to Telugu parents of Hindu faith. Her mother Sheila Ranjani, software engineer, and father Davuluri Koteshwara Choudhary, gynecologist, both hailed originally from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India.

20.government has decided to build a ‘Science City’ with state-of-the-art technology.
The Science City would cost Rs. 500 crore and is proposed to be built on 15 acres of land, near the Moin-Ul-Haq Stadium in Patna. The firm Lord Cultural Associate has been entrusted with the task of preparing the concept for the city. A village dedicated to alternative energy sources would also be part of this scientific centre.

21.Govt. of India has approved a total of 158 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) for Tribal students out of grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution of India in 23 states out of which 111 schools have become fully functional with all facilities. Gujarat has been sanctioned 22 schools which is the highest for any state followed by Madhya Pradesh (20) and Rajasthan (17). Chhattisgarh and Odisha have been sanctioned 16 schools each.
What are the objectives of ‘Eklavya Model Residential Schools’?
The objective of EMRS is to provide quality middle and high level education to Scheduled Tribe (ST) students in remote areas, not only to enable them to avail of reservation in high and professional educational courses and as jobs in government and public and private sectors but also to have access to the best opportunities in education at par with the non ST population. This would be achieved by:
Comprehensive physical, mental and socially relevant development of all students enrolled in each and every EMRS. Students will be empowered to be change agent, beginning in their school, in their homes, in their village and finally in a larger context.
Focus differentially on the educational support to be made available to those in Standards XI and XII, and those in standards VI to X, so that their distinctive needs can be met.
Support the annual running expenses in a manner that offers reasonable remuneration to the staff and upkeep of the facilities.
Support the construction of infrastructure that provides education, physical, environmental and cultural needs of student life.

22.The researchers, from the CIDETEC Centre for Electrochemical Technologies in San Sebastian, Spain have created the world’s first self-healing polymer that spontaneously and independently repairs itself without any intervention.
How does the self-healing polymer work?
The scientists developed the self-healing thermoset elastomers from common polymeric starting materials using a simple and inexpensive approach. A double decomposition reaction of aromatic disulphides, which naturally exchange at room temperature, causes the regeneration. The polymer behaves as a Velcro-like sealant or adhesive, displaying an impressive 97% healing efficiency in just 2 hours.

23.The Government of India is establishing a company —India Overseas Investment Corporation (INOIC) — under the Ministry of Finance similar to a sovereign wealth fund to impart financial power for securing access to overseas natural resources.
What is INOIC?
India Overseas Investment Corporation (INOIC) will be like India’s sovereign wealth fund which will function as a development finance institution with the specific mandate to provide equity and debt to Indian public sector enterprises (PSEs) for securing natural resources abroad.

24.As per police investigation, the Maoists are using the Right to Information law to get the details of the contractors and businessmen for extortion. They use proxies to file Right to Information applications to collect data about government projects in order to target businessmen and contractors for extortion.

25.The ‘Indian Ocean Naval Symposium’ (IONS) is a maritime security construct on similar lines as the WPNS. Whilst the WPNS is for the region of Asia-Pacific, the IONS addresses the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

26.The member nations of the World Health Organization’s South-East Asia Region (SEAR) have chosen Poonam Khetarpal Singh, a former Indian IAS officer, as the regional director of WHO (SEAR). It is after a gap of 44 years that an Indian has been elected for the post. India had last occupied the chair from 1948 to 1968 but has not held it since then. Singh succeeds Plianbangchang of Thailand, who has served as regional director for 10 years now. She will serve the post for 5 years.

27.The Union government has planned to start a ‘Slum Free India’ mission with Rajiv Awas Yojana(RAY). The programme will be implemented on a mission mode during 2013-22.
What is ‘Slum Free India’ mission?
The ‘Slum Free India’ mission will be aimed at bringing all existing slums within the formal system and enabling them to avail the basic amenities that are available for the rest of the city. In the implementation phase, RAY will cover all towns, cities and urban agglomerations in the country.

28.India’s efforts in eliminating polio have been exalted by WHO which said the country has not reported a single case of polio in the last 30 months.
WHO Director General Margaret Chan said India accomplished the feat even as 194 countries in the world were pondering whether it can interrupt the transmission of polio. She urged other nations in the South–East region to introduce universal access to healthcare. She complimented India’s healthcare initiatives in improving the health of its mothers and children.

29.Thomas Bach (59) from Germany has been elected as the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He is the first Olympic gold medallist to become the President of the IOC. He will succeed Jacques Rogge, who stepped down after 12 years in service.

30.Following long negotiation, North and South Korea decided to reopen their Kaesong joint industrial park next week. The industrial complex has been shut for the last five months during heightened military tensions between the two nations. The North accepted the South’s demand of allowing foreign investments in Kaesong- which Seoul views as a guarantee against the North shutting the complex down again in the future.

31.Scientists have found the single largest volcano in the world called Tamu Massif- a dead colossus deep beneath the Pacific Ocean. It is spanned across over an area of 310000 sq km and can be compared with Mars’ Olymus Mons volcano, the largest in the Solar System. The volcano was located around 2 km below the ocean. Previously, Mauna Loa in Hawaii was considered the largest volcano on Earth.
About Tamu Massif:
It is an extinct submarine shield volcano located in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
It is largest known volcano on Earth.
It is located in the Shatsky Rise about 1,600 km (990 mi) east of Japan.
Its summit lies about 1,980 m below the surface of the sea, and its base extends to a depth of about 6.4 km.The volcano is about 4,460 metres tall.

32.World no.1 Serena Williams conquered her fifth US Open title by defeating second ranked Victoria Azarenka to clinch her 17th career Grand Slam crown.
Serena became the oldest Open Era women’s winner in US Open history, 293 days older than Margaret Court when she set the prior mark in 1973, and the third-oldest Grand Slam women’s champion of the Open Era.
She is the first top-seeded champion since Justine Henin in 2007 and the first woman to defend the US Open crown since Kim Clijsters in 2010.

33.India-born Mamnoon Hussain sworn in as the 12th President of Pakistan. He was administered the oath by Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
Hussain, born in Agra, India, is also a textile businessman. He tenured as the Governor of Sindh for a very short period when his appointment was dismissed by a military coup d’état in 1999. succeeded Asif Ali Zardari.

34.NASA launched a robotic explorer LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) into space from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia.
About LADEE spacecraft:
LADEE is Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer or LADEE.
Cost: $280 million
Launching Site: Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia on September 6, 2013.
Carrier: Minotaur V launched from Wallops Flight Facility
Mission: To study the lunar exosphere (outer atmosphere) and dust in the Moon’s vicinity.
Key Instruments: A dust detector, a neutral mass spectrometer, and an ultraviolet-visible spectrometer, as well as a technology demonstration consisting of a laser communications (lasercomm) terminal.

35.In a latest development in the field of science, Indian scientists from the Space Applications Centre (SAC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Ahmedabad have found evidence of water of volcanic origin. Unlike previous findings indicating the presence of water-containing igneous surface, this water has originated from deep within the Moon’s interior.

36.Red Bull’s star driver Sebastian Vettel has won the Italian Grand Prix Championship. He left behind Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso and Red Bull teammate Mark Webber, who finished second and third respectively.

37.The pair of India’s Leander Paes and Czech’s Radek Stepanek clinched US Open men’s doubles title as they vanquished Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares in the final held in New York. For Paes, it is his eighth men’s doubles Grand Slam title.
Leander Paes won his eighth men’s doubles Grand Slam title, and overall this was his 14th.

38.The 2020 Olympic Games will be hosted by Tokyo as it has won the right to host the games, beating Istanbul in the second round of voting in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This makes Tokyo to be the first Asian city to host the Olympics twice, having also hosted the 1964 Games.
Note: Olympics 2016 will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

39.India is not in support of any action against Syria without a report of the UN Inspectors on the alleged use of chemical weapons and it asserted that no action should be taken without UN authorization.
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh clarified India’s stance in the recently concluded G-20 Summit in St. Petersburg condemning the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria and anywhere else in the world. India’s view is that what happened in Syria should be ascertained before taking any action.
India’s view were also supported by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki moon as he noted that the ongoing conflict in Syria must be resolved diplomatically and arms must not be supplied to any conflicting side.

40.The Lok Sabha passed the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill, 2013 for keeping the chairpersons of National Commissions for the SC and ST out of purview of office of profit. Previously, on May 9, 2013, Union Cabinet of India gave its nod to Amendments in the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959.
What is Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959?
Section 3 of the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959, which has been periodically amended, lists certain offices of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State, which do not disqualify the holders thereof for being chosen as, or for being, a Member of Parliament. Sub-clause (ii) of clause (ba) of section 3 of the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959, exempts the Chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from such disqualification.
What these amendments have been made?
The National Commission for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was divided into two independent Commissions i.e. (i) the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes and (ii) the National Commission for the Scheduled Tribes by the Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003.
Through this amendment Act, Article 338 of the Constitution was amended and a new article, namely, Article 338A was introduced in the Constitution. With the bifurcation of the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, consequential amendments are required in sub-clause (ii) of clause (ba) of section 3 of the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959, so as to exclude the Chairperson of the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes and the Chairperson of the National Commission for the Scheduled Tribes from incurring any disqualification for being chosen as or for being a Member of Parliament.
The Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003, came into force from February 19, 2004 and therefore, it is proposed to give effect to the present amendment from the same date.

41.The Lok Sabha passed the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill 2012. The Bill prohibits employment of manual scavengers, manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks without protective equipment and construction of insanitary latrines. It also seeks to rehabilitate manual scavengers and provide for their alternative employment.

42.The Lok Sabha passed the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill 2012. The Bill prohibits employment of manual scavengers, manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks without protective equipment and construction of insanitary latrines. It also seeks to rehabilitate manual scavengers and provide for their alternative employment.

43.Next Current Affair »
International Day of Peace observed on 21 September 2013 across the world to recognise the efforts of those who have worked hard to end conflict and promote peace. The International Day of Peace is also a day of ceasefire.
The theme for the year 2013 is Education for Peace.

44.Former BCCI Secretary Jaywant Lele passed away on 19 September 2013 in Vadodara after he sufferred a heart attack. He was 75.

45.India, on 19 September 2013 was recognised as the Authorizing Nation under the International Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement (CCRA) to test and certify Electronics and IT products with respect to cyber security. With this, India became the 17th country to be given such recognition.
The International Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement (CCRA) at present has 26 member countries which have received Authorizing Nation recognition. Some of these include USA, UK, Germany, South Korea, France, Japan, Canada, Australia, Turkey and Malaysia.

46.Kolkata’s Mohammedan Sporting club won the 126th Durand Foot ball tournament as it defeated ONGC 2-1 in the final at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi on 19 September 2013. They have lifted the cup after 73 years having won it back in 1940.In the 35th minute of the game Tolgay scored the first goal for Sporting with the passing assist from forward Ajay Singh. The next goal was also scored by Tolgay in the 45th minute.Mohaamedan Sporting came back to the hut at half time with a 2-0 lead. In the latter half ONGC came back storngly. Leavono Fernendes scored in the 55th minute with a header to make the score 2-1. But Sporting maintained its lead and won the cup.The last time Sporting won Durand Cup was before Independence in 1940 by defeating Warwickshire Regiment, and the last time they played a final in the capital was back in 1992.

47.The main objective of Bhartiya Mahila Bank is to focus on the banking needs of the women and promote economic empowerment. It will also addresses the gender related issues and helpful in financial inclusion.
Headquarter of Bharitiya Mahila Bank and branches
• The proposed bank will be headquartered in New Delhi.
• It will start with 6 branches in North, South, West, Central and North Eastern part of the country. Bharatiya Mahila Bank proposes to complete the first six branches at Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Indore and Guwahati by October 15.

48.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 20 September 2013 increased the repo rate or the short term lending rate by 25 basis points to 7.5 per cent from 7.25 per cent with immediate effect. This means that the Repo rate has been increased by 0.25 percent.
The Governor of RBI, Raghuram Rajan while reviewing the monetary policy for the first time as a Governor, however, brought down the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate by 0.75 per cent to 9.5 per cent. The MSF rate is the one at which the other banks can borrow from the Central Bank.
The cash reserve ratio (CRR) remained unchanged at 4 percent. The cash reserve ratio (CRR) is the portion of the deposits which the banks need to maintain in cash with the RBI. The RBI, in the meanwhile, also brought down the minimum daily maintenance of CRR from 99 percent of the requirement to 95 percent with effect from 21 September 2013.

49.Jawaid Akhtar, the Chairman of Coffee Board of India, was elected as the Chairperson of the International Coffee Council at the meetings of the International Coffee Organization which took place on 9 September 2013 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The 111th session of the Council and the meetings took place from 9 September 2013- 12 September 2013.