Current Affairs 24/08/2013-31/08/2013

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1.Legendary Irish poet and winner of Nobel Prize in literature 1995, Seamus Heaney (74) passed away. Heaney’s award winning work focused on themes including his rural nurturing, the problems in Northern Ireland and the sense of community in his native Ireland. His notable works include Death of a Naturalist, District and Circle, the Spirit Level, and Beowulf.

2.The first quarter of the current fiscal has been slowest in over 4 years with GDP growth of 4.4%. The decline implies a deepening slowdown and aggravating the widespread negative sentiment brought on by the sharp depreciation of rupee depreciation and plunging stock markets.

3.The European Ariane 5 rocket put it space India’s first military communication satellite GSAT-7 which was launched from the Kourou space port of French Guiana space in South America. The satellite will serve exclusively to Indian Navy. The satellite is expected to enhance the country’s maritime security and intelligence collection by covering a wide region on either coasts of the Indian Ocean region.

4.As per a atetment released by the Reserve Bank of India, individual investors who are 60 years are allowed to avail premature encashment of 8% Savings (Taxable) Bonds. This facility is available after a minimum lock-in period of 3 years from the date of issue. Those desiring to avail of the facility will have to submit documentary evidence in support of his/her date of birth to satisfaction of the agency bank.

5.As per a report by global digital measurement and analytics firm comScore, India has left Japan behind to become the world’s third largest Internet user after China and the United States. The report says that India now has nearly 74 million Internet users which marks a 31% increase over March 2012. With 3/4th of India’s online population under 35, the report shows, it is significantly younger than those of other emerging economies.
Some facts:
As per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) India has 164.81 million Internet subscribers as of March 31, 2013, with seven out of eight accessing the Internet from their mobile phones.
As per comScore mobile and tabled-based Internet traffic is at just 14% of the total.
Men under 35 and women between 35 and 44 are heavier users.
Women account for less than 40% of all Indian users, a much lower sex ratio than that of other nations.
Users spend one-fourth of time spent online on social media and another 23% on email.
While Google sites have the most unique visitors, internet users spend the most time on Facebook, which is at second place when it comes to unique visitors.
Indian railways website most popular in the category of online travel websites.
Asia provides 41% of all Internet users; the United States accounts for just 13%.
China is the largest user of Internet even as it outnumbers Indians by a ratio of 5: 1.

6.Scientists from the US space agency NASA have detected magmatic water under the Moon’s surface. They used the data collected by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) instrument aboard the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, to remotely detect magmatic water, or water that originates from deep within the Moon’s interior, on the lunar surface.

7.India’s first defence satellite GSAT-7 dedicated to Navy for maritime security is now set for the launch. The home-built satellite will be crucial as it will overcome Navy’s previous limitations from line of sight and ionospheric effects and will have coverage over India landmass as well as surrounding seas. It will be significant from security and surveillance points of view.
Key features of GSAT-7:
Indigenous
Cost: Rs 185 crore
Launch Cost: Rs 470 crore
Geo-stationary communication satellite
Carries payloads operating in UHF, S, C and Ku bands.
Lift-off mass of 2625 kg, heavy satellite
Strengthen Navy’s maritime security ability
Overcomes previous limitations from line of sight and ionospheric effects
The satellite will be launched into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) by Ariane-5 VA 215 by European space consortium Arianespacefrom Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.

8.August 29 was celebrated as National Sports Day across the country to commemorate the birth anniversary of “the Wizard” of Hockey, Major Dhyan Chand. Various sporing events were organized across the nation to mark the day. It was 118th birth anniversary of Dhyan Chand, the legend who helped India win three Olympic gold medals in 1928, 1932, and 1936.

9.With a view to disseminate the message of Right to Education, the Human Resources Development Ministry launched an anthem on the same which ideates to make education for children interesting and friendly. The ministry hopes that children will now imbibe the RTE message from popular public figures in a musical form. The anthem will be dubbed in English and 15 regional languages.

10.The Reliance Industries Ltd. and Bharat Petroleum’s plant invest $3.18 billion in the development of R-series gas field in the KG-D6 basin, which is expected to produce up to 13 million standard cubic meters gas, has been given government’s approval.
The government has asked the operator to fast track the development of R-series discoveries to reverse falling output from the block, which declined to around 14 mmscmd from 62 in March 2010. At present, gas is produced from D1, D3 and MA fields in the KG-D6 block.

11.Insurance giant Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has increased its equity stake by 2.86% in the country’s largest public sector bank State Bank of India from 10.4 % to 13.26% by buying 19.57 lakh shares from open market. The additional stake would have been acquired by paying Rs 49.15 crore at current market price. With this, the equity share capital of the LIC has increased to Rs 684.03 crore from Rs 634.88 crore.

12.The rupee fell to an all-time low of 68.85 against the dollar and closed at 68.80, recording its biggest single-day loss of 256 paise, as global oil prices soared, aggravating concerns about the Current Account Deficit (CAD) and capital outflows. The rupee is under pressure due to consistent dollar demand from banks and importers, mainly oil refiners, following higher crude oil prices.

13.Hyderabad based Bharat Biotech launched world’s first clinically proven typhoid conjugate vaccine, Typbar – TCV.
How Typbar-TCY is different from existing vaccines?
Typbar-TCV has a sharp edge over the existing typhoid vaccines as the latest conjugate vaccine provides long-term protection — for about 10 years — with a single dose.

14.The government has set up a 7-member Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC) which will be headed by Parthasarathi Shome.

15.Brigalia Bam, former head of South Africa’s election body, received the prestigious Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation recognizing her commitment to democracy. Bam was conferred with this honor for ensuring free and fair elections since the establishment of democracy in 1994 when anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela was elected the country’s first democratic president.

16.Famous Pakistani brave girl and activist Malala Yusafzai who was shot in head by Taliban for campaigning for girls’ right to education, has won the prestigious International Children’s Peace Prize 2013. She is currently living in Britain where she was given life-saving treatment.

17.England clinched Ashes 2013 series with 3-0 win over arch-rivals Australia. The fifth and last test match played at the Oval stadium ended in a draw.
Key Players of Ashes Test Series 2013:
Man of the Series (England): Ian Bell
Man of the Series (Australia): Ryan Harris

18.Rupee witnesses biggest single-day fall in last 18 years
Following the approval of the Food Security Bill by Lok Sabha, the Rupee witnessed its biggest single day fall since last 18 years on August 27, 2013. The Rupee fell 2.9% from Rs 64.30/31 to 66.24/25 per dollar.

19.Food Security Bill 2013 passed in Lok Sabha
After a daylong debate, the Lok Sabha finally passed the National Food Security Bill, 2013 that will legitimately entitle 67 % or two-third of India’s population (including 75 % rural and 50 % urban) to get to subsidized grains under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). The individuals to whom this scheme will be meant for will be identified by the States using the criteria prescribed by the Union government. An individual under this program will be entitled to 5 kg of rice, wheat or coarse cereals at Rs. 3, Rs. 2 and Re. 1 per kg a month, respectively.

20.Rajya Sabha passes Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010
Rajya Sabha passed the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010 to amend the Hindu Marriage Act (1955) and the Special Marriage Act (1954) that allows for “irretrievable breakdown on marriage” as a base for divorce and also grants women the right to a share in the property of their husbands. The bill has yet to be passed in Lok Sabha.

21.The Union Government of India declared that it will provide an extra 3.1 million tonnes of food grains to the states under the Food Security Programme at Above Poverty Line (APL) rates. The decision to provide extra food grains at APL rates was decided in a meeting of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
The APL rates for extra food grains are 1 rupee and 30 paise per kg for rice and 6 rupees and 10 paise per kg for wheat for the 18 states including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir. The supply of extra food-grains will cost the exchequer nearly 5100 crore rupees annually.

22.The government has decided to scrap the collegium system of appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts.
The Cabinet approved a bill which proposes replacing the collegium system with a Judicial Appointments Commission wherein the government will have a say in appointment of judges of the Supreme Court and the 24 high courts.The government seeks to set up a panel headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to appoint and transfer senior judges.The other members of the proposed Commission would be two judges of the Supreme Court, the Law Minister, two eminent persons as members and Secretary (Justice) in the Law Ministry as Member Secretary.The leader of the Opposition will not be part of the proposed body as per the bill in its current form.

23.Afghanistan conveyed the SAIL-led team that it did not have any objections to the $10.8 billion iron ore and steel plant project being developed in phases in Hajigak Mine.