Current Affairs Digest

April to June 2013

Awards
The eminent Telugu novelist, short story writer, poet and critic who was chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith award for the year 2012 for his contribution to Telugu literature Ravuri Bhardwaj The South African social rights activist who was awarded the Templeton Prize 2013 for "affirming life's spiritual dimension" Desmond Tutu The veteran actor who was presented the NTR National Film Award for 2011 by the Government of Andhra Pradesh at the Nandi Awards function Amitabh Bachchan The veteran actor who was chosen for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2012 by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Pran The veteran actress who was chosen for the Master Deenanath (Vishesh Puraskar) Award, for her dedicated services to Indian theatre and cinema on the death anniversary of Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar Jaya Bachchan The eminent playback singer who was chosen to be honoured by West Bengal Government with the Vishes Sangeet Mahasamman award Manna Dey The veteran Hindi film actress who was presented with Srimant Shankardeva Award (instituted by the Govt of Assam) for the year 2008 by the President Shri Pranab Mukherjee Sharmila Tagore The well-known singer who was chosen to be honoured with the Lata Mangeshkar Award instituted by the Madhya Pradesh government Hariharan The veteran journalists who were chosen for Lifetime Achievement Award by the Mumbai Press Club Mr. N. Ram and Mr. Kuldip Nayar The Chief Minister of Kerala who was chosen for the United Nation's Public Service Award for his Mass Contact Programme, which saw him directly engaging with people in the state to address their grievances Shri Oommen Chandy The eminent Japanese Tamil language scholar who was presented the Padma Shri by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on 28 May 13. (Padma Awards are normally presented by the President but Mr. Karashima was not present during the ceremony) Noboru Karashima The Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri Govt. of India, and Director General, Defence Research And Development Organisation, who was awarded the prestigious Aryabhatta Award of the Astronautical Society of India Dr. V.K. Saraswat

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The film directed by Abdellatif Kechiche which was awarded the Palm d'Or (Golden Palm) award at the 66th Cannes Films Festival 2013 Blue is the Warmest Colour The noted Hindi writer who was chosen for the Vyas Samman award for 2012 for his historical novel Na Bhooto Na Bhavishyati Dr. Narendra Kohli The noted Hindi writer who was chosen for the Vyas Samman award for 2011 for his collection of poems Aam ke Patte Prof Ramdarash Mishra The American writer who was awarded the Man Booker International Prize 2013. (Man Booker International Prize is awarded once every two years to a living author for a body of work published either originally in English or available in translation in English. It is different from Man Booker Prize for Fiction which is awarded every year for a specific book.) Lydia Davis The Indian hornbill conservator who was awarded the Whitley Award also known as the Green Oscar Aparajita Dutta The former IPS officer who was honoured with $ 10,000 Nomura Award in Singapore for her humanitarian work Kiran Bedi The Indian airport which was named the world's second best airport in the 25-40 million passengers category by the Airport Council International Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi

Persons
The legendary playback singer of Hindi film industry who passed away on 23 April 2013 Shamshad Begum The veteran politician and acting President of Bangladesh who was elected unopposed as the country's 20th President Abdul Hamid The Chairman of the committee that was set up in December 2012 to suggest changes in law for dealing more effectively with offences against women, who passed away on 22 Apr 2013 Justice JS Verma The present President of Italy who has become the first Italian President to be re-elected for a second term Giorgio Napolitano Lalgudi Jayaraman who passed away on 22 April was a noted Violinist The Indian industrialist to whom 'Z' category security was approved by the Home Ministry Mukesh Ambani The new President of Venezuela who was elected to succeed Hugo Chavez who died in March 2013 Nicolas Maduro The first and the only woman to hold the post of Chief Election Commissioner of India who passed away on 17 April 2013 V.S. Rama Devi

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The author of Booker Prize winning novel Heat and Dust and two time Oscar award winning screenplay writer who died on 03 April 2013 Ruth Prawer Jhabvala The British Nobel prize-winning scientist known as the father of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) for pioneering the development of "test tube babies", who died on 09 April 2013 Robert Edwards The founder of Telugu Desam Party and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh whose statue was unveiled in the Parliament by the Lok Sabha Speaker Ms Meira Kumar on 07 May 2013 N.T. Rama Rao The Prime Minister of Malaysia who was sworn in for the second term Najib Razak The new Chief Minister of Karnataka, who assumed charge following the victory of Congress in the elections Shri Siddaramaiah The Union Road Transport and Highways Minister who took additional charge as Union Railway Minister following the resignation of Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal Shri CP Joshi The Union Communications and Information Technology Minister who took additional charge of Union Law Minister replacing Shri Ashwani Kumar Shri Kapil Sibal The exponent of Hindustani Classical music in its Dhrupad form who passed away on 08 May 2013 Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar The present Defence Secretary who was chosen to succeed Mr. Vinod Rai as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India Mr. Shashi Kant Sharma The new Defence Secretary appointed in place of Mr. Shashi Kant Sharma who has taken over as the new CAG Mr. RK Mathur The President of Afghanistan who was conferred honorary doctorate by the President Pranab Mukherjee at the convocation of Lovely Professional University Mr. Hamid Karzai The King of Thailand, to whom Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh presented a sapling of Holy Bodhi tree from Bodhgaya as a gift King Bhumbol Adulyadej The new Chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Mrs. Kushal Singh The Supreme Court Judge who was designated to succeed Justice Altamas Kabir as the next Chief Justice of India Justice P Sathasivam The Labor Party leader who has taken over as the new Prime Minister of Australia succeeding Ms Julia Gillard Mr. Kevin Rudd The Indian American legal luminary who was sworn in as a judge in the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, the second most powerful court in the United States after the Supreme Court Sri Srinivasan

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The former chief of Indian Space Research Organisation in whose honour, an endowed fellowship was established at the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories of the California Institute of Technology, California, USA Prof. Satish Dhawan

Places - International
The country, which has become the first outside South Asia to pass a legislation including caste among other forms of discrimination (viz. colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin) United Kingdom The country which is implementing its controversial naturalisation law or Nitaqat, forcing over 75,000 Indians to return to India in the next few months (Nitaqat seeks to replace foreigners in companies with its own people.) Saudi Arabia The country which has launched same-day visa service for Indians subject to certain conditions United Kingdom The country which was ranked at Number 1 position in the World Press Freedom Index 2013 released by a non-profit organisation Reporters without Borders Finland The Asian nation which elected Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury as its first woman speaker, succeeding Mr. Abdul Hamid who became its President Bangladesh The country whose reigning Queen Beatrix abdicated her throne in favour of her son, Willem Alexander, making him the country's first King in 120 years Netherlands The country which has overtaken the US as the world's biggest market for personal computers, according to a market data report by consultants IHS China The country which was ranked at the top position (No. 1) for the sixth year in a row in Failed States Index 2013 released by Fund for Peace, a Washington based organisation and Foreign Policy magazine Somalia The sovereign Arab state whose ruler (Emir), Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, abdicated his powers in favour of his son (Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani) Qatar The venue of 50th African Union summit, India was represented by the Vice-President Hamid Ansari Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The US city which was hit by a monster tornado causing extensive damage and loss of lives on 20 May 2013 Oklahoma city The venue of G-8 summit held from 17 to 18 June 2013 Lough Erne, Northern Ireland

Places - National
The state to which Asiatic lions are to be shifted in limited numbers from Gir forest in Gujarat as directed by the Supreme Court Madhya Pradesh

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The Indian state which has become second in the country after Tamilnadu to ban the traditional nomenclature (shwet kusht or kod) for leucoderma to clear misconceptions about the cutaneous condition Maharashtra As per a survey by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India for Feb 2013, the state which has the highest number of mobile subscribers in country is Uttar Pradesh The place in Haryana at which the Union Power Minister dedicated the Indira Gandhi Super Thermal Power Project to the nation Jhajjar The venue of United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Conference on sustainable tourism development held from 12 to 14 April 2013 Hyderabad The station from which Science Express Biodiversity Special was flagged off by Union Minister of Railways, Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal, Minister of Environment & Forests, Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan and Smt. Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi on its journey through 62 stations across the country to end at Gandhinagar on 28 October 2013 Safdarjung The group of islands in the Indian Ocean which was declared as a world biosphere reserve by the UNESCO under its Man and the Biosphere Programme Nicobar Islands The new venue of 20th Asian Athletics Championships held from July 3, 2013. (The event was earlier scheduled to be held in Chennai.) Pune The place at which ISRO Navigation Centre, was unveiled by the Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office V Narayanaswamy Byalalu, Bangalore The place in Tamilnadu, where a new Air Force Station was dedicated to the nation by the Defence Minister Shri A.K. Antony Thanjavur The six hill forts of Rajasthan which have been included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO on 21 June 2013 are located at Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Sawai Madhopur, Jhalawar, Jaipur and Jaisalmer The place at which the first unit of ONGCs Mega Power project in Tripura was formally dedicated to the Nation by the Honble President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee Palatana 850 MW Ratle Hydro-electric Power Project for which the foundation stone was laid by the PM Dr. Manmohan Singh at Kishtwar is located on the river Chenab The venue of 6-day (18 - 23 June) Chinese Film Festival, inaugurated by Indian I & B Minister, Mr Manish Tiwari and Chinese Information Minister Mr.Cai Fuchao New Delhi The place in Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir at which country's highest Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) is proposed to be set up at a height of about 14000 feet Nyoma

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The place at which the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee laid the foundation stone for Atal Bihari Vajpayee Hindi University Bhopal

Space
The three PhoneSats (smartphone satellites) launched into orbit on April 21 by NASA aboard Orbital Sciences Corp's Antares rocket are named Alexander, Graham and Bell The bio-satellite launched by Russia containing 45 mice, eight Mongolian gerbils, 15 geckos, snails, fish eggs, micro-organisms and plants, aboard Soyuz 2 from Baikonur cosmodrome is named BION-M1 European Space Agencys (ESAs) fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle, the heaviest spacecraft ever launched by Europe, which connected with the International Space Station on 15 June 13 is named Albert Einstein

World Reports
The rank of India among the most powerful nations of the world as per a study conducted by New Delhi-based Foundation for National Security Research which judged national power by various indices, including energy security, population, technological capability etc Eighth The rank of India in the World Press Freedom Index 2013 released by a non-profit organisation Reporters without Borders 140 The rank of India in the Failed States Index released by 2013 released by Fund for Peace 79 As per State of World Mothers Report released by Save the Children organisation the number of children who die on the day of birth in India is (India is ranked at the top in the report) 3,09,300 As per the latest report World Population Prospects released by the UN India's population is expected to surpass China's population by the year 2028

Medicine
The strain of bird flu virus which was reported in China and has affected over 55 people and killed 11 of them H7N9 The Swiss Pharma Company whose plea for patent on blood cancer drug Glivec was rejected by Supreme Court of India Novartis A.G. Rotavac, India's first indigenously developed vaccine against rotavirus diarrhoea was jointly developed by Department of Biotechnology and Bharat Biotech The anti-diabetes drug believed to cause heart failure and increase the risk of bladder cancer which was banned by the Govt (alongwith painkiller Analgin) pioglitazone

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The pain killer drug (an opoid analgesic) which was banned by the Central Govt from being manufactured and sold under the Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940 Dextropropoxyphene

Companies
The company which was directed to pay a fine of Rs. 100 crores by the Supreme Court for polluting the environment by its copper smelting plant in Tamilnadu Sterlite Industries The microblogging platform and social networking website founded by David Carp which was acquired by Yahoo for $ 1.1 billion Tumblr The company which has rolled out the first-ever white label Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) network under the brand Indicash (White Label ATMs are set up by non-banking entities as permitted by RBI to increase the penetration of ATMs in several areas of the country.) Tata Communications Payment Solutions Ltd The Chinese company which has launched its 6.1-inch Ascend Mate smartphone in India with a price tag of Rs.24,900 Huawei

Miscellaneous
The battle (part of World War II) which was chosen as Britain's greatest battle in a contest organised by the National Army Museum (U.K.) Battle of Kohima With effect from 01 May 2013 the advance reservation period was reduced from existing 120 days to 60 days The train on which Wi-Fi- facility was launched by the Indian Railways as a pilot project to provide internet access in moving train Howrah Rajdhani Express The highly toxic substance, Ricin, which was found on a letter addressed to U.S. President Barack Obama on 17 Apr 2012 is obtained from Castor plant The world's lightest substance with a density of only one-sixth of air, created by Chinese scientists at Zhejiang University is carbon aerogel The container terminal on the coast of Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh which was formally dedicated to the nation on 02 Apr 2013 Krishnapatnam Port Container Terminal The cyclone which hit the coast of Bangladesh on 16 May 2013 leaving at least 18 people dead was named Mahasen The New Delhi based institute which was designated as Collaborating Centre in Traditional Medicine for a period of four years by the World Health Organization Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga

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The income criterion of Rs. 4.5 lakh per annum for applying the Creamy Layer restriction, for excluding Socially Advanced Persons/Sections (Creamy Layer) from the purview of reservation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) was raised to Rs. 6 lakh p.a. The MSP (Minimum Support Price) for paddy (common) and paddy (grade A) for the kharif season of 2013-14 was fixed at Rs. 1310 and Rs. 1345 respectively The two Nepali manuscripts in the field of Ayurveda and Tantrism which have been added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Register Susrutasamhita and the Nisvasattatvasamhita The 48-hour operation launched by Tamil Nadu police and Coast Guard (Eastern Region) to test their emergency preparedness during unexpected situations, along 13 coastal districts of the state is named Operation Amla The Maldivian registered cargo ship which sank in the Arabian Sea and whose crew were rescued by ICGS Varuna was named M.V. Asian Express The permanent headquarters of National Commission for Women, whose foundation stone was laid by the President of India was named Nirbhaya Bhawan The import duty on gold was hiked in order to curb import of gold which is mainly responsible for the rise in Current Account Deficit impacting on the country's foreign exchange reserves as well as the rupee value, from 6% to 8% The theme of World Environment Day being observed on June 05 Think, Eat, Save - Reduce our Foodprint

Sports
The Thai badminton player who won the Indian Open Women's Singles title defeating German Juliane Schenk in the finals Ratchanok Intanon The Malaysian badminton player who won the Indian Open Men's Singles title defeating Kenichi Tago of Japan in the finals at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi Lee chong Wei The BWF trophies whose finals will be held in India in the year 2014 as announced by BWF Thomas Cup and Uber Cup The West Indian cricketer, who while playing for Royal Challengers against Pune Warriors scored the fastest century in the history of cricket (100 off 30 balls) Chris Gayle The state which declared Malkhamb as a state sport and also launched Mission Olympics 2020 for imparting coaching to talented sportspersons Madhya Pradesh

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The Indian shooter who became the first Indian woman to win a gold in pistol shooting at the World Cup in Changwon in Korea Rahi Sarnobat The team which won the finals of the IPL VI defeating Chennai Super Kings in a match played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata Mumbai Indians The Indian badminton player who won the Grand Prix Gold at the Malaysian Open Badminton tournament defeating Juan Gu of Singapore in the finals P.V. Sindhu The years in which India is to host the World T20 and World Cup ODI (respectively) 2016 and 2023 The year in which India is scheduled to host the World Test Cricket Championship 2021 The year in which the first World Test Cricket Championship is scheduled to be held in England and Wales 2017 The Indian badminton player who won the Thailand Open Grand Prix tournament defeating Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand in the finals K Srikanth The Spanish tennis star who won the French Open Men's Singles title for a record 8th time defeating compatriot David Ferrer in the finals Rafael Nadal The US Tennis star who won the French Open Women's Singles title defeating Maria Sharapova in the finals Serena Williams The venue of 53rd National Inter-State Athletic Championships held from Jun 04 to Jun 07, 2013 Chennai

Defence
The two-week Nepal-hosted exercise sponsored by the U.S. designed to train military peacekeepers (from 23 nations) as a part of the Global Peace Operations Initiative held from Mar 26 to Apr 07 was named Shanti Prayaas-2 The military exercise carried out by the Army's Western Command in Punjab as a part of its 'Integrated Theatre Battle' concept from May 21 to 25 was named Panchjanya The military operation launched by Brazil against drug smuggling, trafficking in arms and ammunition, environmental crimes, illegal immigration etc. ahead of FIFA Confederations Cup was named Operation Agata 7 The first of eight Boeing P-8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance and Anti Submarine Warfare (LRMRASW) aircraft being inducted into the Indian Navy were received on 15 May at INS Rajali (Arakkonam) The first MiG 29K supersonic aircraft were commissioned into the Indian Navy by the Defence Minister in May 2013 at INS Hansa, Goa

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The guided missile stealth frigate which was inducted by the Indian Navy at Kaliningrad in Russia INS Trikhand The Indian Air Force base at which the first of the ten Boeing C 17 Globemaster III, ordered from the United States, made its touchdown in India (The aircraft is proposed to the based here) Hindan The auxilliary craft capable of carrying 400 tonnes of fuel and 100 tonnes of aviation fuel, which was inducted into the Indian navy is named Pradayak

Mt. Everest Achievers

The Russian daredevil who has claimed the record of highest ever base jump by leaping off the north face of Mount Everest Valery Rozov The woman climber from Saudi Arabia who became the first woman from her country to conquer Mt. Everest Raha Moharrak Indian students from Dehradun who became the first twins to climb Mt. Everest Nunshi and Tashi Malik The school in Sanawar, Himachal Pradesh whose students became the youngest team to scale Mt. Everest Lawrence School The student of Lawrence School, Sanawar (H.P.) who became the youngest Indian at 15 years and 7 months to scale Mt. Everest Raghav Juneja Samina Baig, who became the first woman from her country to conquer Mt. Everest belongs to Pakistan The person from Assam who has become the first from his state to scale Mt Everest Tarun Saikia The 80 year old Japanese climber who has become the oldest person to climb Mt. Everest Yuichiro Miura The former national level volley ball player who has become the first woman amputee in the world and the first amputee from India to scale Mt. Everest Arunima Sinha

New Sites added to the World Heritage Sites list by UNESCO - June 2013
Cultural Sites 1. Al Zubarah Archaeological Site, Qatar* 2. Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora, Ukraine 3. Bergpark Wilhelmshhe, Germany

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4. Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, China 5. Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration, Japan 6. Golestan Palace, Iran 7. Hill Forts of Rajasthan, India 8. Historic Centre of Agadez, Niger 9.Historic Monuments and Sites in Kaesong, Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea 10. Levuka Historical Port Town, Fiji* 11. Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany, Italy 12. Red Bay Basque Whaling Station, Canada 13. University of Coimbra Alta and Sofia, Portugal 14. Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region, Poland/Ukraine *The world heritage sites are the first in their respective countries viz. Qatar and Fiji Natural Sites 15. El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve, Mexico 16. Mt Etna, Italy 17. Namib Sand Sea, Namibia 18. Tajik National Park (Mountains of the Pamirs), Tajikistan 19. Xinjiang Tianshan, China

53rd Inter-State Athletics Championship Chennai - June 2013

New Record Setters Men's Long Jump Prem Kumar, Tamil Nadu 8.00 m (Meet Record) Men's Triple Jump Renjith Maheswari, Tamil Nadu 16.98 m (Meet Record) Womens 3000m Steeplechase Sudha Singh, Uttar Pradesh 9:45.60 (National Record) Womens Pole Vault Khyathi Vakharia, Karnataka 4.00 m (Meet Record) Overall championship title at the meet was won by (172.5 points) Kerala Women's championship title at the meet was won by (112.5 points) Kerala

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Men's championship title at the meet was won by (79 points) Tamilnadu

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