Current Affairs
November 12, 2013
1) ISRO successfully completed supplementary orbit-raising operation: A day after suffering a glitch during the fourth orbit-raising operation on its Mars Orbiter Mission, ISRO today successfully completed the supplementary manoeuvre this morning, raising the spacecraft’s apogee (farthest distance from Earth) to over 1,18,000 km. After suffering a glitch during the fourth orbit-raising operation yesterday, ISRO planned for a supplementary manoeuvre at 5 a.m. to achieve the targeted apogee of one lakh km. ISRO’s PSLV C 25 successfully injected the 1,350-kgMangalyaan Orbiter (Mars craft) into orbit around Earth some 44 minutes after atextbook launch at 2:38 p.m. from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on Tuesday last, marking the successful completion of the first stage of the Rs 450-crore mission.
2) Mann Deshi Bank founder gets Schwab Foundation award: Chetna Vijay Sinha, Director, Mann Deshi Mahila Bank and Mann Deshi Foundation, on Monday bagged the 2013 India Social Entrepreneur of the Year award by The Schwab Foundation forSocial Entrepreneurship, a sister organisation of the World Economic Forum, in partnership with Jubilant Bhartia Foundation.
3) Haryana joins hands with Cargill to launch food bank: Haryana launched its first food bank to support various feeding programmes in Gurgaon and nearby areas on Monday. The food bank is being supported by global food major Cargill and India Food Banking Network (IFBN), initiated by Sam Pitroda, Advisor to Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations.
4) Four quakes shake Delhi: Four earthquakes shook national capital Delhi within a period of 3 hours early tuesday.
5) Park Hyatt Hyderabad named best luxury hotel: Park Hyatt Hyderabad has been named the Best New Luxury Hotel in the Country at the World Luxury Hotel Awards 2013.
6) Japan pledged to provide $150 million towards reconstruction efforts in Uttarakhand in the wake of devastating floods that hit the Himalayan state in June this year. This was announced at a meeting between External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting.
7) Idea slashes 2G data tariffs by 90%: In an attempt to further increase mobile broadband in India, Idea Cellular has slashed 2G data tariffs by 90 per cent by all its circles. Similarly, the country’s third largest operator has also reduced 3G data charges by 33 per cent.
8) K.M. Sahni is new NMCE chief: Retired bureaucrat Krishna Mohan Sahni, a 1969 batch IAS officer, has been appointed Chairman of the National Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (NMCE). His appointment has been approved by the Forward Markets Commission, which regulates commodity markets in the country.
9) SBM appoints new general managers: State Bank of Mysore (SBM) has appointed new general managers. K Nageswara Rao has taken charge as General Manager of Retail Network 1, Bangalore. Prior to this, he was zonal manager, Kollam at State Bank of Travancore.
10) FinMin expects banks to mobilise $25 b through special window: The Finance Ministry has raised its expectation on fund mobilisation by banks through the special window to $25 billion against $20 billion earlier.
11) Govt to infuse fresh capital into IOB: Indian Overseas Bank has got approval from the Ministry of Finance for infusion of capital to the extent of Rs 1,200 crore in the bank, IOB said in a filing to the exchange.
12) World Pneumonia Day was observed on 12 November 2013 across the world to raise awareness of pneumonia. The United Nations (UN) first celebrated the day on 12 November 2009. This year, the theme for World Pneumonia Day will focus on innovation – highlighting innovative solutions to end childhood pneumonia, while at the same time emphasizing that there are existing simple interventions that need to reach the most vulnerable children.
13) T.P. Seetharam, currently India's High Commissioner to Mauritius, has been appointed as the next ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. An Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of 1980 batch, Seetharam is expected to take up his assignment shortly.
14) The Union Finance Minister P.Chidambaram released a Commemorative Coin of 20 Rupees a circulation coin of 5 Rupees to mark the culmination of the 125th Birth Anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad at New Delhi on 11 November 2013.
15) The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month of October rose to 10.09% versus 9.84% in September. The consumer food price inflation was reported at 12.56% versus 11.44% in September.
16) Ratan P Watal, a senior IAS officer was appointed as the Secretary of Department of Expenditure in the Union Ministry of Finance on 11 November 2013. He will be a successor of RS Gujral, an officer of the 1979 of Haryana cadre, who will retire from the post on 30 November 2013.
17) Chetna Vijay Sinha, Director, Mann Deshi Mahila Bank and Mann Deshi Foundation, on Monday bagged the 2013 India Social Entrepreneur of the Year award by The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, a sister organisation of the World Economic Forum, in partnership with Jubilant Bhartia Foundation
18) Mohammed Siddikur of Bangladesh won the 50th edition of Indian Open golf tournament on 10 November 2013 at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC), New Delhi. It was his second Asian Tour title after Brunei Open victory in 2010. The tournament carries a cash prize of 1.25 million US dollars. This win catapulted him from ninth to third on the Order of Merit.
19) The first Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) squadron was commissioned Tuesday by Western Naval Command chief Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha in kochi. The ALH, named Dhruv, is the first indigenously designed and manufactured helicopter built by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The newly commissioned squadron would be known as the Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 322.
20) Novak Djokovic on 11 November 2013 retained the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals title after defeating the number one, Rafael Nadal.
Quiz:
1. The “Rabaa sign” has recently become a symbol of protest against the military coup in __ ?
[A] Syria
[B] Egypt
[C] Cuba
[D] Turkey
2. Typhoon Haiyan, world’s strongest storm of the year 2013 recently hit which one of the following countries?
[A] China
[B] New Zealand
[C] Philippines
[D] Australia
3. The Kurubas are an ancient forest tribe indigenous to the __?
[A] Andaman and Nicobar islands
[B] Western Ghats
[C] Eastern Ghats
[D] Western Himalayas
4. Which of the following countries has recently lost its voting rights at UNESCO?
[A] India
[B] Syria
[C] USA
[D] England
5. The “Chhath” is the most important Hindu festival of Bihar. It is the only Vedic festival dedicated to Hindu god ___?
[A] Surya
[B] Moon
[C] Earth
[D] Agni
6. The “Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project" in Madhya Pradesh has been commissioning by which of the following companies?
[A] Tata Power
[B] Reliance Power
[C] Essar Power
[D] HBL Power system
7. Which of the following countries will host 2018 Men’s and Women’s Hockey World cup, respectively?
[A] England and India
[B] India and Australia
[C] India and England
[D] Australia and Russia
8. The “Courage and Conviction” is the autobiography of ____?
[A] V K Singh
[B] Yashwant Sinha
[C] Shashi Taroor
[D] Narendra Modi
9. With which of the following Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, India has signed BIPA treaty?
1.Oman
2.Bahrain
3.Kuwait
4.Saudi Arabia
5.UAE
Chose the correct answer from the codes given below:
[A] Only 1, 2 & 3
[B] Only 1, 2, 3 & 4
[C] Only 2, 3 & 5
[D] 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5
10. The “Wakhan Corridor” separates which of the following countries?
[A] Afghanistan and Pakistan
[B] Pakistan and China
[C] Tajikistan and Pakistan
[D] Tajikistan and Afghanistan
11. Almost 70% of 2.9 million voters defied Maoist violence and boycott call to cast ballots across 18 constituencies of Bastar and Rajnandgaon in the first phase of assembly elections in which state on Monday, 11th Nov 2013?
[A] Chhattisgarh
[B] Madhya Pradesh
[C] Jharkhand
[D] Bihar
12. A Russian spacecraft carried the Olympic torch back to Earth Monday after the torch's first ever spacewalk. The torch, which will light the main Olympic flame at the opening ceremony of the Sochi Games on Feb 7, 2014 was lifted into space on Nov 7, 2013 and was taken on a spacewalk two days later. It was unlit throughout the flight for safety reasons. The Olympic torch has been sent into space twice before, for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics and Sydney Games in 2000, but has never been taken outside the spacecraft. In which spacecraft the torch was sent?
[A] Soyuz-TMA-06M
[B] Soyuz-TMA-07M
[C] Soyuz-TMA-08M
[D] Soyuz-TMA-09M
13. A senior leader of the Haqqani network, one of the most lethal elements of the insurgency in Afghanistan, has been killed on the outskirts of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad on Monday, 11th Nov 2013. What was his name?
[A] Jalaluddin Haqqani
[B] Nasiruddin Haqqani
[C] Hakimullah Haqqani
[D] Sirajuddin Haqqani
14. Astronomers have for the first time seen an asteroid with six comet-like tails of dust radiating from it like spokes on a wheel. The findings were made by astronomers viewing our solar system’s asteroid belt with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Unlike all other known asteroids, which appear simply as tiny points of light, this asteroid resembles a rotating lawn sprinkler. What name has been given to it?
[A] P/2013 P1
[B] P/2013 P3
[C] P/2013 P5
[D] P/2013 P8
15. On Sunday, 10th Nov 2013, a bird ringing station, where a ring will be put on birds' legs to study their migration pattern in the western Himalayas, has been set up by the state wildlife wing in the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) in which state?
[A] Uttarakhand
[B] Sikkim
[C] Jammu & Kashmir
[D] Himachal Pradesh
Answers:
1. Egypt
The “Rabaa sign” has become the symbol of protests against the military coup in Egypt and the center of the anti-coup protests, Rabaa al-Adawiya Square. Made by raising four fingers with thumb resting on the palm, the sign has come to represent civilian demonstrations protesting the ouster of Egypt’s first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi and the ensuing violence that killed hundreds of people.
2. Philippines
The Haiyan, a category 5 strongest typhoon in the world this year and possibly the most powerful ever to hit land smashed into the Philippines, forcing more than a million people to flee, flooding villages and raising fears of widespread causalities.
3. Western Ghats
Kurubas are an ancient forest tribe indigenous to the Western Ghats.
4. USA
The United States has lost its voting rights at UNESCO after it missed a crucial deadline, two year after halting its due payments and protests the decision to make Palestine a member. The loss of the vote means the US cannot participate in funding decision for the agency, which may be best known for its program to protect the cultures f the world via its Heritage sites.
5. Surya
Chhath is an ancient Hindu festival and only Vedic festival dedicated to the Hindu Sun god, Surya. The Chhath puja is performed in order to thank Surya for sustaining life on earth and to request the granting of certain wishes. The rituals of the festival are rigorous and are observed over a period of four days.
6. Reliance Power
Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) is an upcoming 3,960 MW pit-head-coal based power plant in Madhya Pradesh commissioning by Reliance Power. This project is the first domestic coal-based UMPP awarded in the country by the Government of India.
7. India and England
India has been awarded the 2018 men’s hockey world cup, the second time in a span of eight years the country will be hosting the event having successfully organised the previous edition three years ago. The 2018 women’s world cup will be held in England.
8. V K Singh
The “Courage and Conviction” is the autobiography of Ex-Army Chief V K Singh.
9. Only 1, 2, 3 & 4
India has so far signed Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPA) with 82 countries. India has BIPA treaty with Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Yemen, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in the Gulf region since 1997.
10. Tajikistan and Pakistan
The Wakhan Corridor is a long, narrow strip which separates the Gorno-Badakhshan region of Tajikistan from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Balistan of Pakistan.
11. [A] Chhattisgarh
12. [D] Soyuz-TMA-09M
13. [B] Nasiruddin Haqqani
14. [C] P/2013 P5
15. [D] Himachal Pradesh
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