Current Affairs
December 1, 2013
1. Duration of relation, shared household and pooling of resources are some of the guidelines (out of 8) the Supreme Court has framed for bringing live-in relationship within the expression 'relationship in the nature of marriage' for protection of women under Domestic Violence (DV) Act. Bench said that pooling of financial and domestic arrangements, entrusting the responsibility, sexual relationship, bearing children, socialization in public and intention and conduct of the parties are some of the other criteria to be considered for determining the nature of relations between parties.
2. A record was created at the national lok adalat held in all the 51 districts in Madhya Pradesh yesterday when over 19 lakh cases pending in various courts were settled. Awards and decree amounting to over 601 crore rupees were passed. A parallel state level mega Lok Adalat was also conducted at local bodies and government departments where over 28 lakh applications under various welfare schemes and pending grievances were disposed of and award and assistance of over 285 crore rupees were passed.
3. The unemployment rate in the country during 2012-13 was estimated to be 13.3 per cent for the age group 15-29.The Labour Ministry report on 'Youth employment-unemployment scenario, 2012-13 further revealed that unemployment rate among the persons who cannot read and write any language or are considered illiterate was the lowest with 3.7 per cent without work in the 15-29 age group. In rural areas, the unemployment rate for graduates and above for the age group 15-29 years was estimated to be at 36.6 per cent. In urban areas, the same was 26.5 per cent.
4. Months ahead of the national elections, the government has doled out an internet bonanza for rural India as it cleared a proposal to provide three internet connections and one wi-fi hotspot in each of the 2.5 lakh gram panchayats spread across the country. The project, which is expected to be completed by March 2016, will ride on the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) being developed by the government and provide internet connectivity across the rural belt of the country, linking crores of villagers to the worldwide web. The total cost of the broadband project has been pegged at Rs.3,750 crore, a source said, adding that this will be funded by the Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund. The government had cleared the Rs.20,000 crore NOFN project in October 2011 to provide connectivity to the gram panchayat level. At present, optical fibre cable connectivity is available in all state capitals, districts, HQs and up to the Block level. The idea of the NOFN project was to connect the blocks to the gram panchayats.
5. The Tata Group called off plans to set up a bank and withdrew its licence application, implying that the Reserve Bank of India’s conditions were restrictive and conforming with them would affect its other businesses besides having to ensure that more than 1,000 units were compliant with requirements. This follows the finance arm of another big industrial group, Mahindra & Mahindra, having dropped its plans for a licence even before the application deadline. Of India’s biggest corporate houses, only the Aditya Birla Group and the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group now remain in the reckoning. Finance Minister P Chidambaram and RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan have indicated that they are looking to the new banks to drive financial inclusion across the country rather than focusing on the urban markets that are catered to by existing institutions. {InfoGraphic}
6. Japan’s emperor Akihito and empress Michiko (who have no administrative or government related power) landed in India on Saturday on a six-day visit that could mark a watershed in relations between the two countries which are seeking to build a strategic partnership on a strong economic foundation. According to Japan, such visits by the emperor are held on the advice received by the cabinet. There’s already a parallel being drawn with emperor Akihito’s historic visit to China in 1992 which cemented ties between the two countries. The resultant bonhomie —which also included a sharp increase in aid to China — lasted until the recent conflict between the two countries over Senkaku islands. Japanese sources though described any comparison with the 1992 China visit as a “bit overstretched”. “The visit has nothing to do with China but we do hope it will be a blessing for the warm relations the two countries already have and that it will upgrade the status of India in the Japanese psyche,” said an official.
7. At least five people were killed and dozens injured in clashes between pro- and anti-government protesters in Bangkok. Thai police fired tear gas and water cannon to prevent demonstrators from storming the Government House to overthrow Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. The protests turned violent yesterday, with five people being killed inside Ramkhamhaeng University in clashes that continued till this morning.
8. Health Organisations and charities around the world are marking the 25th annual World AIDS DAY (1st Dec) to promote greater awareness of the disease. There has been a reduction of 57 per cent in the cases of HIV-AIDS in India in the last decade. The main reason for the decline can be attributed to Centre’s pivotal role in spreading awareness among the masses. Nearly 21 lakh people are living with HIV infection across India. 1.5 lakh lives have been saved due to scale up of free Anti-Retroviral Therapy services since 2004.
9. India's badminton star PV Sindhu has won the Women's Singles title at the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Tournament by defeating world No. 30 Li Michelle of Canada. With the victory Sindhu has bagged yet another Tier-III title this season, after her triumph at the Malaysia Open Grand Prix in May.
10. 4th Kabaddi World Cup 2013 was inaugurated on 30 November, 2013 at Bathinda, Punjab. This tournament will be held over 15 days and 14 countries feature in this World Cup.
11. India’s first synthetic rubber plant was inaugurated on 29 November, 2013 at Panipat, Haryana (Indian Synthetic Rubber Ltd (ISRL).
Current Affairs Questions
1) Japanese Emperor Akihito, along with his wife Empress Michiko, arrived at New Delhi on 30 November, 2013 for his 6-day state visit to India. This is the first ever visit of the Japanese Emperor to India and first visit to any South Asian country since he assumed his office. He took over as Japan’s Emperor in which year?
In 1990 (He took over as Emperor after death of his father Emperor Hirohito)
2) Union Cabinet on 28 November, 2013 approved a proposal to create a Legislative Council in which state, with which the number of states with the Upper House would reach eight?
Assam (The proposal to create a Legislative Council in Assam was approved by the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Article 169 of the Indian Constitution gives power to the Parliament to create or abolish the Legislative Councils in states. According to the proposal, the Legislative Council will have 42 members. As per Article 171 of the Constitution, the total number of members in the Council of a state having such a House shall not exceed one third of the total number of members in the Legislative Assembly of that state. In the case of Assam, the total number of MLAs is 126. Till date seven states have bicameral legislatures – Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh became bicameral in 2007 while Tamil Nadu in 2010. A Bill to create a Legislative Council in Rajasthan was introduced in Parliament recently and it is pending with the Standing Committee)
3) India’s first synthetic rubber plant was inaugurated on 29 November, 2013 at
Panipat, Haryana (Indian Synthetic Rubber Ltd (ISRL), Panipat is country’s first plant to manufacture synthetic rubber (e-SBR (styrene butadiene rubber). The plant is a joint-venture between Indian Oil, TSRC Corporation, Taiwan, and Marubeni Corporation, Japan and has been built at a cost of Rs. 958 crore)
4) Karan Thakur, the fast bowler of Indian Railways, on 30 November, 2013 became the first bowler to take all 10 wickets in an innings of CK Naidu Trophy. He achieved this feat against Baroda and his bowling figure stood at 28.5 over, 5 maiden, 77 runs and 10 wickets. Karan is the fourth Indian bowler overall to achieve this record. Which are the other three Indian bowlers to achieve this feat?
Pregmanshu Chatterjee (in 1955-56 for Bengal against Assam in a Ranji Trophy match), Predeep Sundaram (in 1985-86 for Rajasthan against Vidarbha) and Anil Kumble (in 1999 for India against Pakistan)
5) 4th Kabaddi World Cup 2013 was inaugurated on 30 November, 2013 at
Bathinda, Punjab (This tournament will be held over 15 days and 14 countries feature in this World Cup)
QUIZ:
1. Who has won the women's singles title at the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Tournament on Sunday, 1 December 2013?
[A] Saina Nehwal
[B] PV Sindhu
[C] Li Michelle
[D] Jwala Gutta
2. Malala Yousafzai, Kainat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan on 27 November 2013 were chosen for which award of 2013 at London?
[A] GG2 (Garavi Gujarat 2) Hammer Award
[B] Asian of the Year award
[C] Award of Duke
[D] British Bravery Award
3. Which US actor, who starred in the Fast & Furious series of action films, has been killed in a car crash in California on 1 Dec 2013?
[A] Vin Diesel
[B] Michelle Rodriguez
[C] Paul Walker
[D] Ludacris
4. On 28 November 2013, Princess Astrid of Belgium inaugurated the Consulate General of Belgium (This is the second Consulate General and the third diplomatic mission in India. ) in which city for expansion of the bilateral ties with India?
[A] Hyderabad
[B] Kolkata
[C] Mumbai
[D] Chennai
5. Copy of a book printed in 1640, the first book printed in British North America, sells for US$14.2 million at auction, a record for a printed book. What is the name of the book?
[A] Bay Psalm Book
[B] Metrical psalter
[C] John Ratcliff
[D] Codex Leicester
Answers:
1. [B] PV Sindhu
2. [A] GG2 (Garavi Gujarat 2) Hammer Award
3. [C] Paul Walker
4. [D] Chennai
5. [A] Bay Psalm Book
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