November 01, 2013

Current Affairs Updates - 29th October 2013

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INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

Turkey is due to unveil on Tuesday a three-billion-euro rail tunnel under the Bosphorus connecting Istanbul's European and Asian sides, one of several mega projects driven by the Islamic-rooted government in the country's main gateway city.
Separatist Syed Ali Geelani on Tuesday urged the Afghan Taliban to stabilize their country "before making any plans for Kashmir" after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan next year.
Stressing on the need for reform of the UN security council, India has said expansion in its membership is essential to make the world body credible and ensure continued confidence of the international community in the institution.

NATIONAL EVENTS

Going ahead with the ambitious high speed rail project, railways announced formation of High Speed Rail Corporation even as Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said care should be exercised in adopting new technology.
Indian and Chinese employees are at risk of not saving enough for a comfortable retirement as they often put their money in short-term instruments that may not provide a long-term hedge to inflation, a Towers Watson survey said.
A bale of a rare species of Northern River Terrapin or Sunderbans Batagur turtles, which is considered critically endangered across the globe, will be released in the Sunderbans in mid-2014.
Aiming for the welfare and security of overseas Indian workers, the government has launched a special social security scheme at the consulate.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is likely to be provided with 'Z' category security and a bullet-proof car. The decision, which was taken in the meeting of senior police officials chaired by home minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan on Monday, will be implemented with the CM's consent.
UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani on Tuesaday expressed hope that the target of issuing 60 crore Aadhaar numbers would be met by 2014, saying so far 47 crore people have already received them.

APPOINTMENTS

The government on Tuesday announced that Air Marshal Arup Raha will take over as the next chief of the Indian Air Force after Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne retires on December 31, 2013.

DEATHS

Noted Hindi author Rajendra Yadav, a pioneer of the literary movement 'Nayi Kahani', died Monday night.84-year-old Yadav experienced difficulty in breathing Monday night and was rushed to hospital. However, he died on the way, his family said Tuesday.

AWARDS and HONORS

Founder of communication agency Saatchi & Saatchi Focus Network, Malavika Harita won the Distinguished Alumni Award 2013 of IIM-B. She became the first woman to win the prestige award.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Wary of cyber snooping, the government could ban e-mail services such as Gmail and Yahoo for official communications by December this year in a move to safeguard its critical and sensitive data.
Google is relying on a little social networking to put its internet-connected glasses on the heads of more people. The expanded sales of the device known as Google Glass will come as part of an invitation-only programme.

ECONOMY

Mukesh Ambani remains India's richest person with a wealth of $21 billion as India's 100 richest expanded their wealth by a modest three per cent from a year ago to $259 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
The World Bank's annual "Doing Business" report, ranked 189 countries on how easy or difficult it is to start and operate a local business.
The BSE benchmark sensex on Tuesday surged nearly 359 points to end at a three-year high after the Reserve Bank enhanced liquidity for banks and expectedly hiked a key policy rate.