CURRENT AFFAIRS : 19th DECEMBER 2013
1. UN lowers India growth forecast to 4.8% for 2013
i. United Nations has lowered India’s economic growth forecast for 2013 to 4.8 per cent while warning that emerging markets should be prepared to deal with the impact of US Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing programme.
ii. India’s economy is forecast to grow at 4.8 per cent in 2013, down 1.3 per cent from its earlier projection, the UN’s World Economic Situation and Prospects 2014 report said.
iii. Similarly, it has lowered the growth projection for 2014 to 5.3 per cent, down 1.2 per cent from earlier forecast. The UN sees India to grow by 5.7 per cent in 2015.
iv. India’s growth in the first half of 2013-14 stood at 4.6 per cent. To achieve 5 per cent growth in this financial year, the economy has to expand by 5.4 per cent in the second half.
v. Further, the UN report said the global economy was expected to grow at a pace of 3 per cent in 2014.
2. Abdul Basit to be new Pakistani envoy to India
i. Pakistan on Thursday appointed career diplomat Abdul Basit as its new High Commissioner to India.
ii. Mr. Basit, 55, was earlier tipped to take over as Foreign Secretary but the government recently made several changes in proposed appointments.
iii. The government initially zeroed in on Syed Ibne Abbas as the new envoy to New Delhi but changed its mind as officials felt he was too junior for the crucial posting.
iv. Though the government decided on Mr. Basit, a former Foreign Office spokesman, nearly 10 days ago, a formal notification was issued only on Thursday, official sources said.
v. Mr. Basit will take over in New Delhi from former Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir at a time when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is pushing for better ties with India.
3. Alstom bagged 125 million euro contract from BHEL for Neyveli New Thermal Power Project
i. Alstom on 18 December 2013 bagged a contract of 125 million euro (over 1000 crore rupees) from the Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL).
ii. The contract is to supply components and services for the 1000 MW Neyveli New Thermal Power Project (NNTPP) of Neyveli Lignite Corporation located in Tamil Nadu.
iii. The Alstom as per the scope of the contract will co-operate with BHEL in conceptualising, designing, engineering and supplying two tower boilers, the complete lignite milling and firing equipment, and critical components.
iv. The equipment will be engineered and manufactured at the facility of Alstom in Stuttgart (Germany) as well as in India at the Durgapur and Shahabad facilities.
About Alstom
i. Alstom is a global leader in the world of power generation, power transmission and rail infrastructure. It has set a benchmark for innovative and environmentally friendly technologies.
ii. Alstom builds the fastest train and the highest capacity automated metro in the world. It also provides turnkey integrated power plant solutions and associated services for a wide variety of energy sources, including hydro, nuclear, gas, coal and wind. It also offers a wide range of solutions for power transmission, with a focus on smart grids.
4. Devyani Khobragade transferred to India’s Permanent Mission in United Nations
i. India’s deputy consul in New York, Devyani Khobragade was transferred to India’s Permanent Mission in United Nations in New York on 18 December 2013.
ii. This was done by India to boost her diplomatic immunity. Earlier, Devyani Khobragade was charged with criminal offences by US.
iii. Devyani, the IFS officer was transferred to the post of the deputy consul-general in New York. The Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations is located in New York.
iv. She was moved to UN because of the fear that she might be detained again, as she was arrested in the second week of December 2013 by US. She will have a complete diplomatic immunity as an official of UN, which was not available to her as an official consulate.
v. At present, India wants the US to apologize and drop the criminal charges against Devyani Khobragade and allow her to return home.
vi. John Kerry, the US Secretary of State on 18 December 2013 called to the National Security Adviser, Shivshankar Menon to express his regret over the episode.
5. C.K. Nayudu award for Kapil Dev
i. Former India captain Kapil Dev will be the recipient of the Col. C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for 2013, BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said in a press release, here on Wednesday.
ii. The award committee, comprising BCCI president N. Srinivasan, Patel, and senior journalist Ayaz Memon, in a meeting here earlier in the day, unanimously nominated Kapil for the honour.
iii. The award includes a trophy, a citation, and a cheque for Rs. 25 lakh, and will be presented at the BCCI awards ceremony for the year 2012-13.
Note: i. Kapil, who led India to its first World Cup victory in 1983, is one of the greatest cricketers of all time. Along with Ian Botham, Imran Khan, and Richard Hadlee, Kapil formed a formidable ensemble of all-rounders in the 1980s.
ii. He was the first player to complete the ‘double’ of 5,000 runs and 400 wickets in Tests.
iii. Between 1978 and 1994, Kapil represented India in 131 Tests and picked up 434 wickets. The ‘Haryana Hurricane’ also scored 5,248 runs, including eight centuries.
6. Kolkata ranked top in public transport among Indian cities: UTIP Study
i. Kolkata was ranked top in public transport among Indian cities, according to a study of the International Association of Public Transport (UTIP) released on 16 December 2013.
ii. Kolkata was ranked 31st which was the highest among the six cities studied in India.
iii. The study was made by the IAPT in association with Arthur D Little, a management consultant based in Boston, for 84 cities across the world. The study was titled Future of Urban Mobility 2.0.
iv. According to the study, although Kolkata had the slowest mode of commuting but in public transport it was regarded as the most progressive city in the country. The other cities studied by the IAPT are Mumbai (41), Chennai (54), Hyderabad (55), Bangalore (65) and Delhi (79).
7. Goa celebrating liberation day today
i. Goa is celebrating the 52nd anniversary of liberation day from the Portuguese yoke today.
ii. Goa was liberated on nineteenth December 1961 from the Portuguese occupation after a protracted and long freedom struggle and the operation Vijay conducted by the Indian Army.
iii. People from all walks of life enthusiastically participated in various programmes organised all over Goa on this occasion.
iv. The Chief Justice of Mumbai High Court Justice Shri Mohit S Shah layed the foundation stone of the proposed new building of High Court of Bombay at Goa in a function coinciding the liberation day celebrations.
8. Iran nuclear talks to resume in Geneva today
i. Iran will resume technical talks related to its nuclear program with the experts from the six world powers- US, UK, France, Russia, China plus Germany in Geneva over the next two days.
ii. The talks are aimed at reaching out to a comprehensive deal over the next six months as envisaged under the interim nuclear deal between Iran and P5+1 group of nations in Geneva last month.
iii. Under the deal Iran agreed to scale down its nuclear program in exchange for a limited easing of sanctions.
iv. Iranian negotiators halted the technical talks in Vienna last week after US blacklisted 19 Iranian companies and individuals, saying the move was against the spirit of the nuclear deal.
v. US however said it was a part of existing sanctions and had nothing to do with the ongoing nuclear talks. The six world powers are seeking to curb Iran's atomic program to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons.
9. Kuwait to host 2nd edition of Syria Donor’s conference
i. Kuwait will host the Second edition of the Syria Donor’s conference in the capital Kuwait city next month.
ii. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon will chair the event.
iii. This was disclosed by the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Humanitarian Coordinator Nigel Fisher in Kuwait city yesterday.
iv. Around 60 - 65 governments have been invited next month in Kuwait to make their pledges. The first Syria Donor’s conference was also held in Kuwait in January this year where more than 1.5 billion dollar was raised for Syria.
10. Macau 'most searched for travel destination' by Google India users in 2013
i. In its year-end list charting which all travel destinations topped the search rank; Google Zeitgeist has revealed that Macau is the most looked up for place in India.
ii. The list shows the rankings of topics with the largest total search volumes by country.
iii. According to CNN, which Indians searched for Macau the most; Australians' top destination was Disneyland while New Zealand saw Australia as the top searched for travel destination.
The top ten most searched for travel destinations in India include:
1. Macau
2. Maldives
3. Mauritius
4. Bali
5. Boston
11. Europe set to launch Gaia satellite
i. Europe is about to launch the Gaia satellite, one of the most ambitious space missions in history.
ii. The 740 million-euro observatory is going to map the precise positions and distances to more than a billion stars. This should give us the first realistic picture of how our Milky Way galaxy is constructed.
iii. Gaia's remarkable sensitivity will lead also to the detection of many thousands of previously unseen objects, including new planets and asteroids.
iv. The European Space Agency satellite is being sent up on a Soyuz rocket.
12. Swedish manufacturer Saab wins $4.5bn Brazil fighter jet contract
i. Swedish manufacturer Saab has won a 4.5 billion dollar contract to supply 36 fighter jets to Brazil.
ii. The deal is one of the most valuable ones in emerging markets and Saab had faced competition from rivals Boeing and Dassault Aviation.
iii. Many had expected Boeing or Dassault to emerge as the winner. Brazil had delayed the decision on awarding the contract for many years.
13. Saina drops two places to World No.8
i. Saina Nehwal’s poor form this season has also started showing in her rankings as the Olympic bronze medallist dropped two places to No. 8 in the women’s singles rankings released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Thursday.
ii. Saina dropped two places and was overtaken by South Korean Yeon Ju Bae and Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying. However, P. V. Sindhu maintained her position at No. 11.
iii. In men’s singles, Parupalli Kashyap retained the 14th position while Ajay Jayaram moved up a place to 24th.
iv. No Indian figures in the top 25 of the men’s, women’s and mixed doubles rankings
14. Spain on top of FIFA rankings for 6th time
i. World and European champions Spain top the final FIFA world rankings of the year for the sixth time in a row.
ii. Football world governing body’s rankings released Thursday show an unchanged top 10, with Spain leading going into World Cup year ahead of Germany and Argentina.
iii. Colombia, Portugal and Uruguay follow, with Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands and World Cup hosts Brazil completing the leading 10.
iv. The results of 30 international matches were taken into account for the latest rankings. The next rankings will be published on January 16.
15. India won Asia-Pacific Junior Golf Team Titles
i. India won the boy’s and girl’s team titles in the Asia-Pacific junior golf championship at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC). It was India’s first ever victory in the Asia Pacific Junior Golf Championship.
ii. In the boy’s category, the team of Viraj Madappa and Manu Gandas took India ‘A’ to win the team title. On the other hand, in the girl’s category, the team of Aditi and Ridhima Dilawari fashioned India ‘B’ to win the team title.
Results
Team Boys
1. India ‘A’ (Manu Gandas, Viraj Madappa)
2. Thailand ‘B’ (Ekthumrong Luanganuruk, Suradit Yongcharoenchai)
3. Chinese Taipei ‘A’ (Sung I Yu, Chun An Yu)
Team Girls
1. India ‘B’ (Ridhima Dilawari, Aditi Ashok)
2. Chinese Taipei A’ (Yu-Hsin Chang, Min-Jou Chen)
3. Chinese Taipei ‘B’ (Hsin-En Tsai, Cih-Hui Chen)
16. India collapse to 280 all out
i. India lost their last five wickets for 25 runs to end their first innings at 280 in the first cricket Test against South Africa at the Wanderers here Thursday.
ii. India, resuming at 255 for five, could only last an hour of the morning session. Ajinkya Rahane fell for 47 and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni at 19. Virat Kohli remained the innings' top-scorer with 119.
iii. Pacer Vernon Philander did the maximum damage ending with figures of four for 61 runs. Morne Morkel struck twice Thursday to take his tally to three for 34.
