Daily Current Affairs : 17th October 2013

1. The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty was observed on 17 October 2013 to promote people’s awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Theme for the year 2013 is: Working together towards a world without discrimination: Building on the experience and knowledge of people in extreme poverty.

2. Canada will offer honorary citizenship to Pakistani teenage activist Malala Yousafzai. Malala will become just the sixth person to be granted honorary Canadian citizenship after South African anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama British business magnate Aga Khan and Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Thursday. Malala was the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize nominee.  

3. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 17 October 2013 enhanced the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of wheat by 50 rupees per quintal to 1400 rupees for the fiscal, starting April 2014. The CCEA accepted the recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices. The MSP of red gram and mustard was also hiked by hundred rupees per quintal each. MSP is the rate at which government buys the grain from farmers.  The government took this step to encourage farmers to cover more area under the crop in the ongoing rabi season.

4. Violin that was played to help calm passengers as the Titanic sank, has gone on display in Britain before being sold at a auction. The instrument belong to the band leader, Wallace Hartley who died along with 1500 others, when the ship went down in 1912.

5. The Union cabinet of India approved on 17 October 2013 the appointment of a three-member supervisory committee headed by a representative of the Central Water Commission on construction of Babhli Barrage issue. The other two members of the committee were including one representative from the state of Andhra Pradesh and one representative from the Maharashtra. The Babhli project / barrage is a controversial reservoir project being constructed by Maharashtra state across the river Godavari. The project brought dispute between Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra states.

6. Indian-American author Jhumpa Lahiri has been named finalist for the prestigious US National Book Award 2013 in the fiction category for her new book ‘The Lowland', an intimate portrayal of two brothers set in Kolkata of the 1960s.

7. Hilary Clinton was awarded the first founders’ award from the Elton John AIDS Foundation in New York on 15 October 2013 for her work to help HIV/AIDS victims. John’s foundation is celebrating its 21 year in USA. Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton was the 67th United States Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013, serving under President Barack Obama. The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) is a nonprofit organization, established by rock musician Sir Elton John in 1992 in the United States and 1993 in the United Kingdom to support innovative HIV/AIDS prevention, education programs, direct care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS. It has raised over 200 million US dollars to support HIV/AIDS programs in fifty-five nations.

8. Union Minister for Rural Development  Jairam Ramesh today released the book Walking With Giants — a lesson in modern Indian history a memoir written by former Finance Secretary G. Ramachandran. Ramachandran’s book “strikes the middle path” in representing the views of politicians and bureaucrats. The book is a “deep discussion” of the issues that shaped India’s history during the times when leaders such as Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai, Charan Singh at the Centre, and Rajaji, Kamaraj and Anna Durai at the State level were in power. The “foreword” to the book is written by Y. V. Reddy, chairman, 14th Finance Commission, and a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.

9. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police today arrested former managing director and chief executive of the beleaguered National Spot Exchange (NSEL) Anjani Sinha. Sinha was arrested for his role in the Rs 5,600-crore payment crisis at the NSEL which has affected 13,000 investors across the country, police said. This is the third arrest in the case; earlier the police had arrested Amit Mukherjee, a former assistant vice-president of the exchange on October 9, while Jay Bahukhundi, another former assistant vice-president, was arrested the next day.

10. Top English Premier League side Liverpool on 16 October 2013 launched a residential football academy in Pune in partnership with city-based DSK Shivajians FC. The academy was named as LFC International Football Academy DSK. It will have a world class residential complex, full size pitches, practice areas, classrooms, residential, medical facilities, lecture theatre and canteen. This is the first time an English football club has partnered with an Indian team to help them bring through local talent.

11. Photographer Greg du Toit was named Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013 by the panel of international judges. The winners of 2013 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition were announced on 17 October 2013 at the awards ceremony held at Natural History Museum in London. He was given the award for his image Essence of elephants-an energetic and lively portrait of African elephants in the Northern Tuli Games Reserve in Botswana. Greg du Toit is from South Africa. He won the award beating almost 43000 contestants from across 96 countries. Chair of the judging panel was wildlife photographer Jim Brandenburg.

12. Fourteen-year-old photographer from India Udayan Rao Pawar won the award as Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013 for his image Mother’s little headful.

13. Private sector lender Yes Bank and credit rating company Care Ratings have entered into an agreement to offer services and products in the small and medium enterprise (SME) segment. The collaboration will also work towards creating awareness on the importance of external ratings for SMEs, and funding avenues through knowledge dissemination workshops.

14. Noted Marathi playwright and political thinker Govind P Deshpande died on 16 October 2013 due to age-related ailments. He was 75. G P Deshpande won acclaim for his plays including Udhvasta Dharmashala and Satyashodhak. (His famous Satyashodhak centred on the mission of pioneering social reformer Mahatma Phule). His most well known plays are Udhwastha Dharamshala , Raastey , Andhar Yatra and Satyashodhak . 

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