current affairs - December 3 2013

Current affairs

December 3 2013

International Affairs
1. Today is International Day of Disabled Persons; Theme- “Break barriers, open doors: for an inclusive society for all”.

2. The U.N. special envoy on human rights of internally displaced persons Chaloka Beyani, arrived in Sri Lanka on Monday to examine the status of people rendered homeless by the country’s three-decade civil war.

3. The three-day 9th World Trade Organization WTO Ministerial Conference began in Bali, Indonesia today

4. US President Barack Obama has pledged up to USD 5 billion to fight HIV/AIDS as long as the rest of the world collectively offers double that amount.

5. US Vice President Joseph Biden expressed U.S. opposition to China’s declaration of a new air defense zone and sought to assure Japan of American support.

6. "Selfie" was the word of the year for Oxford University Press, the British publisher of the Oxford dictionaries. But Merriam-Webster pic the word "science" as the word of the year.

National Affairs
7. Today is the 34th Death Anniversary of legendary hockey player of India Major Dhyanchand.

8. 29th Bhopal Gas Tragedy Day to be observed today

9. Birth anniversary of first President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad observed today

10. Advocate’s Day observed today

11. 29th anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Disaster of 1984

12. India stood 94th on corruption index : Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia are seen as the world's most corrupt countries while Denmark and New Zealand are nearly squeaky-clean, graft watchdog Transparency International said in a survey.

13. Maharashtra industries minister Narayan Rane's son  Nitesh Rane and eight others have been arrested by the Goa Police after they allegedly ransacked a tollbooth near the Maharashtra-Goa border at Dhargalim, in Pernem taluka and assaulted the staff members there on Tuesday.

14. Indian foreign secretary Sujatha Singh to visit Bangladesh on December 4 ahead of the reintroduction of the constitutional amendment bill in Rajya Sabha to ratify the historic Indo-Bangla Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) and amid continuing political violence in Bangladesh spearheaded by the radical forces that has emerged as a headache for Delhi.  

15. Prime Minister ManmohanSingh inaugurated the premier natural gas event, the 8th Asia Gas Partnership Summit AGPS in NewDelhi today

16. PranabMukherjee confered the 'National Award for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities 2013' to 44 individuals/organizations in NewDelhi

17. The government is coming up with a coastal security bill to enhance coordination between Centre and the states in the coastal areas to secure the country's maritime zone, Navy Chief Admiral D K Joshi said today.

18. Delhi votes tomorrow, all eyes will be on Aam Aadmi Party AAP

19. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today dedicated GAIL India Ltd's 1,000 km Dabhol-Bangalore natural gas pipeline to the nation

Science and Technology
20. Isro's Mars Orbiter spacecraft, which was placed in inter-Mars trajectory in the early hours of Sunday, has crossed Moon's orbit of around 3.85 lakh km and is travelling beyond Earth's natural satellite.

21. India test-fires indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile from a test range in Odisha

22. FIFA Executive Committee to take up bid of All India Football Federation to host 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, in its meeting in zurich

Awards and Honors
23. Indian diplomat Abhay Kumar writes anthem for SAARC

24. Sonia Gandhi is the 12th richest world leader, ahead of Queen Elizabeth of Britain, Albert II, Prince of Monaco and several heads of oil-rich middle-east nations, a report in Huffington Post World says.

Business and Economy
25. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp today said it will appeal against the Gujarat High Court order asking it to pay up to Rs 10,000 crore in past royalty dues, saying it cannot pay the levy on a price it hasn’t realised.

26. Inflation in Pakistan back into double digits after 16 months, touching 10.9% in November

27. Idea Cellular has been slapped Rs.600-crore penalty by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for its alleged violation of licence conditions in its merger deal with Spice Communications.

28. Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram will hold a review meeting with senior officials of Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax tomorrow

29. Foreign Direct Investment into the country declined by about 38 per cent, year-on-year, to USD 2.91 billion in September, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.

30. Idea Cellular launched two international roaming packs for its postpaid customers offering a discount of up to 95 per cent on data and 80 per cent on voice tariffs.

Appointments
31. Pakisthan PM Nawaz Sharif appointed Khurram Dastagir Khan as Pakistan's Minister of State for Commerce and Textiles

Sports
32. 38th National Games will be held in Kerala next year and four disciplines weightlifting, judo, boxing and women's football would be staged.

33. India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni bagged 2013 LG People's Choice Award, becoming only 2nd Indian cricketer to win  after Tendulkar

34. Trainee sailors from 13 countries compete in the 4th International sailing regatta commencing today

35. Indian men registered their second win of the 2013 Kabaddi World Cup as they breezed past Spain in their group match while women's team defeated Kenya in an easy encounter today.

QUIZ:

1. On 2nd Dec 2013, Political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have united against the BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi over his call for debate on the special status to Jammu and Kashmir enshrined in Constitution under which article?

[A] Article 170

[B] Article 270

[C] Article 370

[D] Article 470

2. Amazon.com Inc Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos made a splash on Sunday, 1st Dec 2013, with his radical plan to deliver goods to millions of its customers' doors by using a fleet of unmanned drone. The vehicles could be used to deliver packages up to 2.3 kg in less than 30 minutes within a 10-mile (16-km) radius of Amazon's fulfillment centers. What name has been given to this service by Amazon?

[A] Ama Air

[B] Prime Air

[C] AmazonAir

[D] Robo Air

3. On 30 November 2013, which state introduced PVC Electoral Photo Identity Card (PVC EPIC) as mandated by the Election Commission of India and hence become the first state in the country to introduce the newly designed EPIC?

[A] Tripura

[B] Nagaland

[C] Chattisgarh

[D] Rajasthan

4. On 3rd Dec 2013, India successfully test-fired indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile with a strike range of 350 km from a test range at Chandipur in Odisha as part of a user trial by defence forces. What type of missile is Prithvi-II?

[A] Surface to Air

[B] Air to Air

[C] Air to Surface

[D] Surface to Surface

5. The latest 'red list' of endangered bird species released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) includes how many Indian bird species which include the Great Indian Bustard, the Indian Vulture and Siberian cranes(All three are in the 'critically endangered' (CR) category)?

[A] 10

[B] 12

[C] 15

[D] 17

Answers:

1. [C] Article 370

2. [B] Prime Air

3. [A] Tripura

4. [D] Surface to Surface

5. [C] 15