December 5 2013
International Affairs
1. The International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development was observed today (5th December) across the world. The day, which is also known as International Volunteer Day (IVD), gives volunteers a chance to work together on projects and campaigns promoting their contributions to economic and social development at local, national and international levels. Theme for the year 2013 is: “YOUNG.GLOBAL.ACTIVE”.
2. Xavier Bettel sworn in as first openly gay prime minister of Luxembourg yesterday, this paves the way for the introduction of social reforms such as same-sex marriage. Bettel succeeds Jean-Claude Juncker, who was until yesterday the European Union’s longest-serving head of government, with 19 years in power.
3. Forbes magazine has ranked Ireland as No 1 rank in its list of world’s best countries for doing business as it maintains an extremely pro-business environment that has attracted investments by some of the world’s biggest companies over the past decade. Ireland is followed by New Zealand, which slipped to the second position and Hong Kong at the third position for a second straight year, Denmark at 4th and Sweden at 5th Position.
4. The US economic growth was revised upward to 3.6% in the third quarter of the current year compared to earlier estimate of 2.8%. This is the fastest growth since first quarter of 2012. The upward revision was mainly driven by a big jump in businesses restocking their inventories. This upward revision increases optimism about the world’s largest economy.
5. The Bank of England has kept interest rates at a record low of 0.5%, despite signs that the UK economy is improving. It has kept the interest rate unchanged since March 2009.The Bank also left its quantitative easing (QE) programme of monetary stimulus unchanged at 375 billion pound. With the unemployment rate at 7.6% and inflation at much lower at 2.2% in October, the central bank does not need to increase rates immediately.
6. The European Central Bank (ECB) has kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low of 0.25% after a surprise cut from 0.5% in previous month. The euro zone economic growth stood at 0.1% in the third quarter of current year compared to 0.3% in the previous quarter and ECB needs to keep interest rate at record low in order to boost growth.
7. Brazuka, the official 2014 FIFA World Cup match ball was unveiled yesterday by manufacturers Adidas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The ball is called the ‘Brazuca’ after a public vote by more than one million football fans in the host nation Brazil. Brazuca is an informal local term which means “Brazilian”, or relating to a Brazilian way of life. The ball, the successor to the Adidas Jabulani used at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, has already been tested in competitive international matches, at the Under-20s World Cup, with a different print design, and in the friendly between Sweden and Argentina in February 2014.
National Affairs
8. Forbes magazine has ranked India 98th in its list of world’s best countries for doing business. The famous magazine has cited poverty, corruption and discrimination against girls among the challenges facing the country. According to the list, among the BRIC economies, Brazil was placed higher at the 80th position on the list, followed by Russia (91st), China (94th) and India (98th). In terms of trade freedom, India was ranked 128th and on monetary freedom basis it was placed at 132nd rank; property rights (55); innovation (39); technology (94); red tape (139); investor protection (32); corruption (86); personal freedom (58); tax burden (122); market performance (75).
9. Sushma Singh has been elected as the next Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of India and will succeed Deepak Sandhu, who is due to finish her term at the end of December this year. The decision was taken unanimously by a panel comprising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and Law Minister Kapil Sibal. Sushma Singh will be the second woman to become the Chief Information Commissioner. She has earlier served as Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Panchayati Raj and also in the Ministry for the Development of the North Eastern Region (DONER).
10. Metro Cash & Carry India has bagged the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) National Award for Food Safety 2013. The award was conferred on Metro Cash & Carry at the CII’s 8th Food Safety and Quality Summit in New Delhi.
11. Wipro has been recognised by Information Technology Services Marketing Association (ITSMA) with a Gold Award in the category ‘Marketing with Social and Digital Media’. Wipro received the award during the 20th ITSMA Annual Marketing Conference 2013 at Cambridge, Massachusetts. ITSMA is a leading marketing association for technology, communications, and professional services providers.
12. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the three-day ‘India Telecom 2013’ meet in New Delhi today.
13. The sixth edition of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII’s) Energy Expo started at Ahmedabad. It will be held from December 5 to 7, along with India Energy Conclave.
14. Death Anniversary of Freedom Fighter, philosopher and yogi AurbindoGhosh is being observed today
15. Less than a year after its term at the UN Security Council ended, India has again put in its candidature for a non-permanent member seat at the UN high table for 2021-2022 after Afghanistan withdrew in its favour.
16. Pitching for the safe passage of Communal Violence Bill in the current session of Parliament, Minorities Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan today said it is not a divisive Bill and efforts are on to arrive at a consensus on the issue.
17. Srinagar records coldest night of season, temp at minus 3.0 degrees Celsius
18. Owing to the concerted efforts of the state government towards making adequate arrangements for the Solid and Liquid Waste Management in rural areas, the Centre has selected 171 villages across the state under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan (NBA).
19. Delhi's civic authorities were today pulled up by the National Green Tribunal for wasting public money by not working in tandem with each other while removing concrete covering tree roots.
20. Union Cabinet clears bill for creation of Telangana State having 10 districts; The common capital will be Hyderabad for a period not exceeding 10 years.
21. Indian universities have grabbed 10 of the top 100 slots in the first-ever rankings of higher education institutions from emerging economies across the globe, a list dominated by Chinese varsities.
22. All Indians seeking British visa will have to pay the visa fees online through debit or credit cards as other mode of payments such as cash or demand draft will be discontinued from December 16.
Business and Economy
23. The European Commission approved on Wednesday Microsoft's nearly 5.5-billion-euro takeover of the mobile phone business of Finland's Nokia which once dominated the global industry.
24. Finance Minister Chidambaram inaugurates Bhartiya MahilaBank at New Delhi.
SBI planning automated system to cut zero balance account cost.
25. Nearly 1,400 entities have defaulted on penalties totalling about Rs 130 crore imposed by the regulator Sebi for various offences related to securities market, while some of these cases are more than a decade old.
New Appointments
26. Information Commissioner SushmaSingh to take over as Chief Information Commissioner of India (CIC)
Awards and Honors
27. Malayalam actress Geetu Mohandas' directorial debut "Liar's Dice" has been selected for the competition section of the Sundance Film Festival.
Science and Technology
28. The growing use of amphetamine- type stimulants (ATS) across southeast Asia has increased the risk that users will contract HIV or other blood-borne viruses, a new study has found.
29. Cochin International Airport isset to become the first airport in the country to use solar power for running its utility grid system.
Sports
30. The three matches ODI series between India and South Africa kicked off today
Important Note: In support of ‘Breast Cancer Awareness’, South Africa are going to wear pink jersey in this series.
31. Manan Chandra and Vidya Pillai with six others enter knock-out stage of IBSF World Snooker Championships at Daugapils (Latvia)
32. Manipur wins Junior National Girls Football Championship Cuttack
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