Daily Current Affairs : 21st December 2013

1. Jayanthi Natrajan has resigned from the Union Cabinet as Environment and Forests Minister. She is reportedly to play a bigger role in the Congress party ahead of general elections-2014. Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas M. Veerappa Moily has been given additional charge of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

2. The Election Commission recognized Aam Aadmi Party as a state party and reserved symbol of broom in Delhi on 19 December 2013. As per laid norms, a party may be recognized by the Election Commission if the party wins at least three percent seats. The AAP outperformed in Delhi assembly election and won 28 seats in the 70-member House and took over 25 per cent of vote shares, which satisfied the criteria required to become state party.

3.  The Reserve Bank of India, RBI, has tightened norms for credit card holders. In a notification on Friday, the RBI advised banks to treat a credit card account as a non-performing asset if the customer fails to pay the minimum due amount within a stipulated 90-day period.

4. Usha Sangwan was appointed as the first woman managing director of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) by the Government. She is the first woman director of LIC in its near six decades of existence. With this appointment, LIC is set to function at its full strength of four MDs after almost two years. These would be S B Mainak, Sushobhan Sarkar, Sangwan and V K Sharma.

5. IRCON International Limited on 20 December 2013 has been awarded the prestigious India Pride Awards for Excellence in Central PSUs in India Image Enhancement. The award was received by Mohan Tiwari, the CMD of IRCON from M.M. Pallam Raju, the Union Minister for Human Resources Development. IRCON International Limited is a government company that was incorporated by the Central Government (Ministry of Railways) under the Companies Act, 1956 on 28 April 1976 originally under the name Indian Railway Construction Company Limited.

6. Senior advocate P.H. Parekh has been appointed as the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) for 2013-14. This is Mr. Parekh’s sixth term as SCBA President.

Other appointments :

• V. Shekar as the Vice-President 
• Aishwarya Bhati as secretary 
• Sandeep Singh  as  assistant secretary
• Vikas Bansal as treasurer 
• Rajesh Pathak the assistant treasurer of the SCBA

About Supreme Court Bar Association :

The Bar Council of India is a statutory body  that regulates and represents the Indian bar. It was created by Parliament under the Advocates Act, 1961. It provides the code of conduct in professional manner , etiquettes and exercises disciplinary jurisdiction over the bar. It also sets standards for legal education and grants recognition to Universities whose degree in law will serve as a qualification for students to enroll themselves as advocates upon graduation.

7. China built a new research station in Antarctica called Taishan. It was China’s fourth research station in the southern pole. The aim of the research station would be to provide a base for research on bio-ecology and remote satellite sensing.

8. Bolivia on 20 December 2013 launched the country’s first telecommunication satellite Tupak Katari. The satellite has been named upon an indigenous national hero, who fought the 18th century Spanish colonial rule. The rocket carrying the satellite blast off from a base in China. Bolivia is one of the last countries in South America to have its own satellite.

9. India post 421 in 2nd innings, set 458-run target for South Africa. After extending the lead to over 350 runs, India lost Virat Kohli (96), Rohit Sharma (6) and Cheteshwar Pujara (153) in quick succession. Pujara was caught behind by De Villiers off Kallis, after the right-hander smacked 21 fours for his majestic knock of 153 off 270 balls. Pujara added 222 runs with Kohli for the third wicket to put India in the front seat.

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