Daily Current Affairs : 22nd November 2013

1. Justice Ajit Prakash Shah today took over as the new Chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India. Justice Shah succeeds Justice D. K Jain who resigned last month to take over as the President of National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. Justice Shah started his career as a lawyer at Solapur district Court in Maharashtra and in Bombay High Court. He was Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. The 20th Law Commission of India was constituted with the Order of the Government of India with effect from 1 September 2012. It has a three-year term ending on 31st August, 2015.

2. Eminent Scientist and Bharat Ratna awardee Prof CNR Rao has become the first Indian scientist to be elected as honorary foreign member of Chinese Academy of Science (CAS). Prof Rao is the first Indian Scientist to be elected to this prestigious academy, which consists of several Nobel laureates and eminent scientists of the world,” Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, of which Rao is a founder and honorary President, said.

3. Three Indians are among the six authors who have been shortlisted for the $50,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2014. The shortlisted works include “The Book of Destruction“ by Anand and “Goat Days“ by Benyamin both fiction translated from Malayalam by Chetana Sachidanandan and Joseph Koyippalli respectively. The third is “Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer“ by Cyrus Mistry. Pakistani authors Mohsin Hamid and Nadeem Aslam have been shortlisted for “How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia“ and “The Blind Man’s Garden“ respectively. Nayomi Munaweera from “Island of a Thousand Mirrors” is the sole writer from Sri Lanka who is in the running for the Prize. This is her first book.

4. Vodafone’s T.V Ramachandran awarded IET honorary fellowship. In recognition of his contribution to mobile telephony in India, T.V. Ramachandran, Resident Director Regulatory Affairs at Vodafone India has been bestowed an honorary fellowship of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). Ramachandran was the first CEO of Essar Cellphone (now part of Vodafone India), one of India’s earliest cellular service providers. He spearheaded the establishment and commercial launch of the country’s largest capacity cellular network in 1995.

5. The Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) has signed an MoU with Brookings India, one of South Asia’s leading think tanks. The MoU, signed at the South Asian Diaspora Convention, would have ISAS and Brookings India work collaboratively on areas such as international trade and economics, India-China comparative studies, international relations and India’s energy security options.

6. India and the European Union have inked an agreement to facilitate development and non-discriminatory enforcement of competition laws. The MoU was signed by Ashok Chawla, Chairman of Competition Commission of India, and Joaquin Almunia, Vice-President for Competition, European Union, on the sidelines of the ongoing BRICS International Competition Conference here.

7. India and France will lead a 10- nation global project to study the impact of melting of polar ice caps on climatic conditions of these countries. The ten member countries include the US, UK, Japan, Brazil, South Africa and Germany. India recently got the status of an observer in the eight-nation Artic Council, which will enable it to study the changes in climatic conditions in the polar regions, apart from providing the possibility of exploring the mineral-rich North Pole.

8. Goa Police on Friday filed an FIR against Tehelka Editor Tarun Tejpal, who has been accused by a woman journalist colleague of sexual assault during an event here about 10 days ago. Deputy Inspector General of Police O P Mishra said the FIR has been filed while DGP Kishan Kumar said the crime branch could send a team of officials to Delhi for further investigation. Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had ordered a preliminary inquiry into the allegations by the girl that she was sexually abused by Tejpal during an event in Goa. 

9. The death toll from Typhoon Haiyan has risen above 5,000. The country's National Disaster Agency says that 5,209 people are now known to have lost their lives, with many more still missing. Haiyan, known as Yolanda in the Philippines, was one among the deadliest natural disaster in the country's history. Floods in the Ormoc region in 1991 killed 5,101 people.

10. Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli became the fastest batsman to score 5000 runs in one-day internationals when he scored 86 against the West Indies in the first ODI in Kochi on 21 November 2013. Virat Kohli achieved the feat in just 120 matches and 114 innings. He has so far scored 5005 runs, which included 17 centuries and 27 fifties in his short career. In terms of innings, Virat Kohli has equalled the record of Sir Viv Richards of West Indies, who also achieved the feat in 114 innings way back in 1987 but it was Viv's 126th match.

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