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Current affairs January 2013 A five-nation consortium - United States, China, Japan, Canada and India - embarked on the ambitious project of constructing the ' Thirty-Meter Telescope ', or!d"s !argest optica! te!escope and or!d"s most advanced

ground based observator#$ %he %hirt# &eter %e!escope '%&%( i!! be the or!d"s most advanced and

capab!e ground-based optica!, near-infrared, and mid-infrared observator#$ %he te!escope ou!d be )* times more sensitive and reso!ve objects three

times better than the !argest ground-based te!escopes avai!ab!e no $ %he primar# mirror of the te!escope ou!d be made of an arra# of +,orking ou!d be to

identica! mirror segments, the main cha!!enge in its

ensure that the segments remained a!igned proper!# a!! the time$ .dge sensors and actuators ou!d p!a# a ke# ro!e in the orking of the te!escope$

After carefu! eva!uation and comparison bet een t o outstanding candidate sites/&auna 0ea in 1a ai2i and Cerro Arma3ones in Chi!e / the board of directors of the %&% 4bservator# Corporation has se!ected &auna 0ea as the preferred site for the %hirt# &eter %e!escope$ 5hen comp!eted in -6*), the %&% i!! enab!e astronomers to detect and

stud# !ight from the ear!iest stars and ga!a7ies, ana!#3e the formation of p!anets around nearb# stars, and test man# of the fundamenta! !a s of ph#sics$ India current affairs January 2013 India raised the import dut# on gold and platinum from 4% to idening current account deficit' C!" ( % to

contain the

In -6**-*-, go!d imports accounted for 89:$9 bi!!ion in foreign e7change / the second-highest item after crude oi! in the import bi!! India decided to !ink ;o!d .%< ith the ;o!d =eposit Scheme and thereb# meta! i!! enab!e mutua!

re!#ing more on domestic supp!ies of the #e!!o

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funds to un!ock their ph#sica! go!d assets and invest in go!d-!inked schemes offered b# banks$ Current!#, there are t o go!d re!ated schemes / the ;o!d .%< and the ;o!d =eposit Scheme / that are intended to channe!ise go!d ho!dings into

institutiona! channe!s$ %he ;o!d .%< is provided b# mutua! funds$ Units are so!d to subscribers through 2authorised participants" and are traded on the e7change$ %he units are backed b# ph#sica! go!d he!d b# the mutua! fund$ &one# co!!ected under an# ;o!d .%< sha!! be invested b# the mutua! fund primari!# 'a minimum of ,6 per cent( in go!d or go!d-re!ated instruments notified b# S.>I$ >anks offering ;o!d =eposit Scheme accept go!d deposited b# c!ients$ %he go!d is on-!ent b# the banks to the gems and je e!!er# trade$ At the end of the deposit period, the depositor is entit!ed to a return of ph#sica! go!d or its e?uiva!ent in cash at the current market price of go!d$ As an added measure of f!e7ibi!it#, the minimum ?uantit# of go!d that can be deposited into the ;o!d =eposit Scheme tenure i!! stand reduced and the minimum

i!! a!so be brought do n to si# months from the period of three

#ears at present$ $conomics current affairs January 2013 India has postponed imp!ementation of %!!& provisions b# t o #ears$

India has decided that provisions of Chapter *6A of the Income %a7 Act 'dea!ing ith ;AA@( i!! come into force from !pril 1' 201

%he ;enera! Anti-Avoidance @u!es ';AA@( provisions, introduced b# the then finance minister Aranab &ukherjee in the >udget -6*--*B, checking ta7 avoidance b# overseas investors$ %he decision to postpone the imp!ementation fo!!o s the recommendations of the (home Committee hich as set up b# Arime &inister &anmohan Singh ere aimed at

to !ook into investor concerns$

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%he ;AA@ provisions ou!d o)erride the dou*le ta#ation a)oidance agreement +"T!!, benefits if the arrangements evade ta7es$ Investments made b# -on-&esident Indians +-&Is, .ill not *e ere intended so!e!# to

co)ered b# the provisions of ;AA@$ %he minister c!arified that there ou!d be a thresho!d !imit of &s 3 crore of

ta7 benefit for invocation of ;AA@, as suggested b# the Shome pane!$ Investments made before !ugust 30' 2010 , of ;AA@$ International current affairs January 2013 Indian-origin po!itician, /alimah 0aco* , became the first .oman ou!d not attract the provisions

(pea1er of (ingapore2s 3arliament India current affairs January 2013 &i!!ions of peop!e have taken a dip at the conf!uence of the @iver ;anges, @iver Camuna and the m#thica! Saras ati @iver near A!!ahabad, at the start of Maha 4um*h Mela , a 1indu ce!ebration he!d ever# *- #ears$ =uring the ne7t 99 da#s, near!# *66 mi!!ion peop!e are e7pected to attend the festiva!, hich has been bi!!ed as the biggest gathering in the or!d$

According to 1indu m#tho!og#,

hen gods and demons fought over a pitcher

of nectar that gives immorta!it#, some drops fe!! on four to ns - A!!ahabad, Dasik, Ujjain and 1arid ar$ %hese to ns host the festiva! in rotation$ %he one at A!!ahabad is be!ieved to be the ho!iest and surpasses the others in its sheer sca!e and si3e$ Dasik i!! host the ne7t 0umbha &e!a in -6*9$

International current affairs January 2013 Sri Eankan Aresident &ahinda @ajapaksa removed Sri Eanka"s chief

justice, (hirani 5andaranaya1e , from office$ =r$ Shirani >andarana#ake is Sri Eanka's first oman chief justice$ &r$ @ajapaksa"s decision came t o da#s

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after Sri Eanka's Aar!iament, packed ith @ajapaksa cronies and re!atives, voted to impeach the chief justice$ .ar!ier, the Supreme Court had ru!ed that the impeachment process as i!!ega!$ &an# be!ieve the dismissa! is the

repercussion of &s >andarana#ake's ru!ing that a bi!! submitted b# the president @ajapaksa's #ounger brother, >asi! @ajapaksa, proposing a 8:66 mi!!ion deve!opment budget, must be approved b# nine provincia! counci!s$ 4pposition parties and independent ana!#sts ca!! the impeachment motion a po!itica!!# motivated attempt to stif!e judicia! independence, and sa# it is part of a government effort to concentrate po er in the hands of Aresident &ahinda @ajapaksa$ International current affairs January 2013 !rgo on the best dramatic motion picture pri3e at the F6th

annua! %olden %lo*e !.ards $ Argo

on the best dramatic motion picture

pri3e and Aff!eck picked up the best director pri3e for the fi!m about the *,)6 joint CIA-Canadian secret operation to e7tract si7 fugitive American dip!omatic personne! out of revo!utionar# Iran$ 6es Misera*les - the fi!m adaptation of Gictor 1ugo's *,th centur# nove! as the inner of the

;!obes best comed# or musica! categor#, and its stars 1ugh Jackman and Anne 1atha a# on acting honors$ Jessica Chastain on the ;!obe for

dramatic actress for her ro!e in Hero =ark %hirt# as a CIA agent obsessive!# pursuing 4sama >in Eaden$ >ritish actor =anie! =a# Ee is on the a ard for

the best dramatic performance for his ro!e in Einco!n, the Spie!berg fi!m about the president ho steered the U$S$ through its civi! ar$ %he fi!m

focused on the !egis!ative batt!e to pass the *Bth Amendment to the U$S$ Constitution, as hich abo!ished s!aver# just months before Abraham Einco!n 78 !9!&"( Aicture, &otion Aicture =ramaI "aniel 87& 2013 %76"$%675$(

assassinated$ 6I(T

&otion Actor,

=ramaI !rgo "ay-6e.is' 6incoln

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Actress, &otion &otion Aicture =ramaI Jessica &usica! or Chastain' :ero "ar1 Thirty Aicture, Comed#I 6es Misera*les

Actor, &otion Aicture &usica! or Comed#I /ugh Jac1man' 6es Misera*les =irector, Ceci! >$ &otion =e&i!!e A ard AictureI 5en for Eifetime !fflec1' AchievementI Jodie !rgo 8oster

Animated <oreign Eanguage <i!mI !mour

<i!mI 5ra)e +!ustria,

Actress, &otion Aicture &usica! or Comed#I Jennifer 6a.rence' (il)er 6inings 3lay*oo1

(ports current affairs January 2013 Justice ";4; Jain has been appointed Chairman of the 6a.

Commission of India,

hich gives advice to the government on comp!e7

!ega! issues$ %he Union Cabinet has approved the constitution of the -6th Ea Commission >esides ith a three-#ear term '* September -6*- to August B*, the Chairman, the commission i!! have four fu!!-time

-6*9(

members$ %he Ea

Secretar# and the Secretar#, Eegis!ative =epartment, are

the e7-officio members$ (ports current affairs January 2013 6ionel Messi on the <I<A 5allon d27r a ard for his astonishing ,*-goa! or!d"s

#ear for >arce!ona and Argentina in -6*-$ &essi has been voted the

best p!a#er for an unprecedented fourth straight #ear$ &essi"s fourth a ard !ifted him above three/time <I<A >ra3i!"s @ona!do$ India current affairs January 2013 current affairs January 2013 As per the ne Gisa Agreement bet een India and 3a1istan , p!aces of as increased from three to fi)e inners Hinedine Hidane of <rance and

visit a!!o ab!e for persons on visitors visa

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places $ Gisa can be issued upto t o #ears in the cases ofI *( Aersons above :9 #ears of age -( Dationa! of one countr# married to nationa! of the other countr# and their chi!dren be!o *- #ears accompan#ing parents$ ;roup ith not !ess

%ourist Gisa for B6 da#s ma# be issued for trave! in groups,

than *6 members and not more than 96 members in each group, organi3ed b# approved tour operatorsJtrave! agents (cience current affairs January 2013 Astronomers from the Universit# of Centra! Eancashire discovered the

!argest structure ever seen in the entire universe ca!!ed 6arge <uasar %roup 'EK;( %rave!!ing at the speed of !ight, it ou!d take + bi!!ion !ight

#ears to cross the discovered structure$ 4ur ga!a7#, the &i!k# 5a#, is separated from its nearest neighbour, the Andromeda ga!a7#, b# t o and a ha!f mi!!ion !ight #ears$ Kuasars are the nuc!ei of ancient ga!a7ies that undergo periods '*6-*66 mi!!ion #ears( of e7treme!# high brightness that make them visib!e across huge distances$ Kuasars tend to group together in structures of surprising!# !arge si3es, forming EK;s India current affairs January 2013 %he Union Cabinet approved the &inistr# of @ura! =eve!opment"s proposa! to raise the unit cost under Indira !.aas 0o=ana 'IAC( In p!ain areas, unit assistance under the scheme has been raised from @s +9,666 to

@s >0'000 and from @s +),966 to @s >?'000 in hi!!# and difficu!t areas$ %he enhancement of unit assistance for homestead site to rura! be!o !ine '>AE( househo!ds povert#

ho have neither agricu!tura! !and nor a house site has

been hiked from @s *6,666 to @s -6,666$ %he IAC is a f!agship scheme of the &inistr# of @ura! =eve!opment and aims at addressing rura! housing needs b# providing grant for constructionJupgradation of d e!!ing units of >AE

fami!ies$ %he priorit# is especia!!# given to Schedu!ed CastesJSchedu!ed

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%ribes, freed bonded !abourers and ph#sica!!# cha!!enged persons ith financia! assistance$ India current affairs January 2013 %he @eserve >ank of India has set up a improvements in the grievance orking group to eva!uate and mechanism for bank

make

redressa!

customers$ %he

orking group constituted in the @eserve >ank of India is

going to revie , update, and revise the >anking 4mbudsman Scheme, -66:$ %he @eserve >ank is !aunching the ombudsman scheme in -66: to redress pub!ic grievances in banking transactions$ %he ombudsmen are receiving the comp!aints and grievances from the customers$ %hese each comp!aint the# ou!d be recorded and hich

ou!d be given a uni?ue identification number after

ou!d be sent to the banks concerned$ 4n receipt of the banks' ou!d be for arded to the comp!ainants$ %he ombudsman

response the#

ou!d have po ers of courts$ Aresent!#, India has *9 >anking 4mbudsmen ith unambiguous jurisdiction covering a!! States and Union %erritories in India$ (cience current affairs January 2013 A --bi!!ion-#ear-o!d dark !ump of rock that !anded in Sahara desert is t#pe of &artian meteorite, containing *6 times more c!ass of meteorite ater

actua!!# a ne

than usua!$ %his ne

as found in -6** in the Sahara

=esert$ =esignated Dorth est Africa 'D5A( F6B+, and nicknamed L 5lac1 5eauty ,M it eighs appro7imate!# B-6 grams$ After more than a #ear of

intensive stud#, a team of US scientists determined the meteorite formed -$* bi!!ion #ears ago during the beginning of the most recent geo!ogic period on &ars, kno n as the Ama3onian$ D5A F6B+ is made of cemented fragments of basa!t, rock that forms from rapid!# coo!ed !ava$ %he fragments are primari!# fe!dspar and p#ro7ene, most !ike!# from vo!canic activit#$ @esearchers

theorise the !arge amount of

ater contained in D5A F6B+ ma# have

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originated from interaction of the rocks ith ater present in &ars" crust$ %he meteorite a!so has a different mi7ture of o7#gen isotopes than has been found in other &artian meteorites, hich cou!d have resu!ted from

interaction

ith the &artian atmosphere$ >!ack >eaut# &e7ico b# a US citi3en

as donated to

Universit# of De

ho had purchased it from the

&oroccan meteorite dea!er in -6** India current affairs January 2013 India constituted the 14th 8inance Commission under the chairmanship of former @>I ;overnor 0; @; &eddy $ %he five-member pane! is to submit its report b# 4ctober B*, -6*+$ Apart from its recommendations on the sharing of ta7 proceeds bet een the Centre and the States hich i!! app!# for a

five-#ear period beginning Apri! *, -6*9, the Commission has been asked to suggest steps for pricing of pub!ic uti!ities such as e!ectricit# and independent manner and a!so !ook into issues !ike ater in an

disinvestment, ;S%

compensation, sa!e of non-priorit# ASUs and subsidies$ Among other things, the Commission ou!d !ook into the Lneed for insu!ating the pricing of pub!ic ater, irrigation, po er and pub!ic transport

uti!it# services !ike drinking

from po!ic# f!uctuations through statutor# provisions$ Apart from =r$ @edd# in the chair, other members of the Commission are former <inance Secretar# Sushma Dath, DIA<A =irector &$ ;ovinda @ao, A!anning Commission &ember Abhijit Sen and <ormer Acting Chairman of Dationa! Statistica! Commission Sudipto &und!e$ %he Commission ou!d revie the state of finances, deficit

and debt !eve!s of the Centre and States, keeping in vie , in particu!ar, the fisca! conso!idation roadmap recommended b# the *Bth <inance Commission$ >esides, the *+th <inance Commission ou!d suggest measures for ith

maintaining a stab!e and sustainab!e fisca! environment consistent e?uitab!e gro th$ India current affairs January 2013

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India ro!!ed out its ambitious scheme of transferring cash to beneficiaries of se!ect schemes ca!!ed "irect 5enefits Transfer +"5T, $ 4n Januar# *, the seven schemes in mone# hich pa# out is due in the -6 se!ected districts, the

i!! be transfered through the direct benefit transfer s#stem using the

UI=AI p!atform$ ;aps in infrastructure !ike bank accounts and beneficiar# !ists forced the government to pare its ambitious direct cash transfer of subsidies from the targeted 9* districts to just -6 schemes a!so transfers ith the number of

hitt!ed from B+ to -:$ 4f the -: se!ected schemes, cash ro!!out in seven - most!# re!ated to student scho!arships

i!! no

and stipends and Indira &atrutva Cojna and =hana!akshmi schemes - from Januar# *, -6*B$At the moment there is no intention to transfer subsidies on food, ferti!i3er, diese! and kerosene and cooking gas through direct benefit transfer$ 1ere, e7isting s#stem i!! continue because the# are comp!e7 i!! be ro!!ed out in a!!

issues$ ># end of -6*B the direct cash benefit transfer the districts of the countr#$ International current affairs January 2013 <rench constitutiona! court, the Consei!

Constitutionne!,

ru!ed

that

Aresident 8ranAois /ollande2s >?% income ta# for high earners is unfair and therefore unconstitutiona!$ %he court rejected the ta7, affected a!! hich ou!d have

ith an annua! income above None mi!!ion, because <rench ou!d not app!#, ou!d app!# to

income ta7 is !evied on househo!ds and not individua!s, so it for e7amp!e, to a coup!e each of hom earns N,66,666 but

an# individua! earning a mi!!ion euros or more$ 4n!# about *,966 peop!e ou!d have had to pa# the ne rate, hich as due to take effect toda# and

as e7pected to raise N966 mi!!ion in a crucia! contribution to &r$ 1o!!ande"s p!ans to reduce the budget deficit to B per cent of ;=A b# -6*+$ India current affairs January 2013

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%he draft of the 12th 8i)e 0ear 3lan covering the period -6*--*B to -6*:-*F, approved b# the Dationa! =eve!opment Counci!$ It aims to achieve an annual a)erage gro.th rate of B per cent , sca!ed do n from )$-O International current affairs January 2013 %he U$S$ Congress and the 5hite 1ouse orking hard to come to a dea! to

avoid the so-ca!!ed 2 fiscal cliff " of austerit# measures that threaten the sti!!eak US econom#$ And if the !imit isn"t raised on ho can borro , the government"s reaching much the government trillion ceiling in ou!d shake

the C1 ;4-

<ebruar# or &arch cou!d !ead to a first-ever defau!t that or!d ide confidence in the United States$

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