28 November 2013 – Daily Current Affairs (Hindi and English)

Raheel Sharif-New-Pak-Army-Chief

1) Who will be the new Chief of Pakistan Army, who will replace the outgoing General Ashfaq Kayani? - Lieutenant-General Raheel Sharif (He was nominated as the new Army chief on 27 November, 2013 by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (Raheel Sharif had been awarded Hilal-i-Imtiaz, the second highest civilian honour that is given to both civilians and military officers of the Pakistan armed forces. His brother Major Shabbir Sharif, received two of the country's highest military awards for his action during the 1971 India-Pakistan war in which he was killed. The army chief is arguably the most powerful person in Pakistan, with the military having ruled the country for more than half its 66-year history since independence from Britain)

2) 10th anniversary of the assassination of whistleblower Satyendra Dubey was marked on 27 November, 2013. He had exposed large-scale flouting of rules in which major construction project of the country due to which he was shot dead in Gaya (Bihar) on 27 November 2003? - Golden Quadrilateral highway construction project (Satyendra Dubey, an alumnus of IIT Kanpur, was a project Director with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). He had he exposed large-scale flouting of NHAI rules regarding sub-contracting and quality control. His murder sparked protests from various quarters and drew several protests in India and abroad, especially by the media. Student and Alumni bodies of IITs took the lead in raising this issue)

3) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 25 November 2013 widened the definition of infrastructure lending sub category in a bid to swiftly expedite these projects. Which sub-category was added to the infrastructure lending sub category by the RBI to widen its definition? – Hotels, with project cost of more than 200 crore rupees being built anywhere in India and of any star rating (The list will also include convention centres with project cost of more than Rs. 300 crore. Various sub-sectors under the categories such as Transport, Energy, Water & Sanitation, Communication, Social and Commercial Infrastructure come under infrastructure lending)

4) India won the ODI series against the visiting West Indies by 2-1 after defeating them in the final ODI played at Kanpur’s Green Park on 27 November, 2013 by 5 wickets. With this win, India have won six series in a
row for the second time in ODIs. Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan made a brilliant 119 runs and now with whom he share the record for recording the first five ODI hundreds in least number of innings? – Sri Lanka's Upul Tharanga (Both Tharanga and Dhawan share a record for recording the first five ODI hundreds in least number of innings, i.e., 28 innings. Virat Kohli was adjudged the ‘Man of the Series’ while Dhawan was the ‘Man of the match’)

5) Which team from Asia made history on 27 November, 2013 by qualifying for their maiden major ICC event by progressing to next year’s World Twenty20 Championships? – Nepal (Nepal qualified for this event after their five-wicket victory over Hong Kong in the qualifiers in Abu Dhabi. United Arab Emirates also qualified for this event. Earlier Afghanistan and Ireland too had booked their place for the ICC T-20 World Cup 2014)

6) Who was recently named as the greatest-ever Spanish sports personality by the readers of the popular Spanish sports paper Diario Marca? – Rafael Nadal (Tennis player Nadal, the winner of 13 Grand Slam’s and the current number 1 in the ATP world ranking, received the award at the Gala for the 75th anniversary of Diario Marca. The Spanish player was voted for by readers of the paper ahead of five times Tour de France winner, Miguel Indurain and basketball star, Pau Gasol, who is without doubt the greatest Spanish basketball player of all time)

7) Dubai to host World Expo 2020. This was decided after the third and the final round of voting in Paris on 27 November 2013. Four cities including Dubai in UAE, Yekaterinbergh in Russia, Sao Paulo in Brazil and Izmir in Turkey were

competing to host the prestigious event. The theme of Dubai for the EXPO 2020 is Connecting Minds, Creating the Future.  World Expos is a meeting point for the global community to share innovations and make progress on issues of international importance such as the global economy, sustainable development and improved quality of life for the world’s population. The first world expo was held in London in 1851.

8) A day ahead of the announcement of GDP figure for the July-September quarter of the current fiscal, industry body Assocham has pegged the country's growth at 5.4 per cent for the period on improved agricultural output. The Reserve Bank of India expects GDP to expand 5 per cent in the current financial year, while the government estimates growth at between 5 and 5.5 per cent.

9) Standard & Poor's, the world's largest credit rater, named Citigroup's Neeraj Sahai as president, succeeding Douglas Peterson. Sahai, who is currently head of Citigroup's Securities and Fund Services business, will assume charge on January 6, according to a statement from S&P parent McGraw Hill Financial Inc.

10) State Bank of Travancore (SBT) and SBI General Insurance today jointly launched an affordable health insurance plan for SBT customers.

11) Managing Editor of Tehelka Shoma Chaudhury resigned on Thursday a week after its Editor Tarun Tejpal was exposed as having allegedly sexually assaulting a woman journalist colleague. 

12) President Pranab Mukherjee will address the Arunachal Pradesh assembly on Friday during his maiden two-day visit to the state. President Pranab Mukherjee will address a special session of the Arunachal Pradesh assembly on Friday during his maiden two-day visit to the state, official sources said. It will be his first visit to Arunachal Pradesh after becoming the President. 

13) IMF chief Christine Lagarde will next month pay her first visit to Myanmar as the once authoritarian government pursues reforms that have fueled growth, the global lender said. Lagarde will visit Myanmar's showcase capital Naypyidaw and its largest city Yangon during the December 6-7 visit, which will come after stops in South Korea and Cambodia.

14) The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), on Wednesday, released the tariff structure and guidelines for mobile banking services, a step that would help rural customers who do not have access to banks and financial services. The TRAI has prescribed a ceiling tariff for an outgoing unstructured supplementary service data (USSD)-based mobile banking service at Rs.1.50 per USSD session. USSD technology is used by telecom operators to send alerts to their users.

15) Mars mission’s D-day in three days. On the night of November 30-December 1, the spacecraft will be finally thrust away from the Earth, and all the way towards the Red Planet, after gathering a total escape speed of around 11.4 kms a second. The spacecraft carrying five instruments to study Mars was launched on November 5 from Sriharikota.

16) Hollywood actress Michelle Yeoh will attend the closing ceremony of the 44th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to be held on November 30. The 50-year-old Malaysian actress's documentary film 'Pad Yatra: A Green Odyssey' on which she served as an executive producer, will also be screened at the on-going festival.

17) Assam Pavilion receives Gold award at IITF-2013. The Assam Pavilion was adjudged “First for Excellence in display amongst State Governments and Union Territory Pavilions” and was given the award of Gold Medal in the India International Trade Fair 2013 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. This is the first time in the 33 years of history of the IITF that a State Government has consecutively received the prestigious Gold Award in succession after the Gold Awards in 2012. The theme of this year was “Inclusive Growth” and the theme Pavilion set up reflected the growth of various sectors in the State.

18) The Latvian Prime Minister, Valdis Dombrovskis announced his resignation and thereby the fall of the Government on 27 November 2013. He resigned due to the deadly collapse of Maxima supermarket of Riga on 21 November 2013. His announcement came during the meeting with Andris Berzins, the President of Latvia. Dombrovskis is the longest serving prime minister in Latvia's history. 

19) Nepal and the UAE have qualified for the ICC T20 World cup which will be held in Bangladesh next year. Nepal defeated Hong Kong by five wickets in a cliffhanger in Abu Dhabi yesterday. The UAE has also qualified for the tournament as they defeated the Netherlands by 10 runs. This will be the first time since the ICC Cricket World Cup 1996 that the UAE and Nepal will make an appearance on the global stage. Four teams have now qualified for the ICC T20 in Bangladesh next year. These include Afghanistan, Ireland, Nepal and UAE.

20) Rafael Nadal was named the greatest Spanish sports star in history by readers of Spanish sports daily. The winner of 13 Grand Slam’s and the current number 1 in the ATP world ranking, received the award at the Gala for the 75th anniversary of the Spanish sports paper Diario Marca, reported Xinhua.

21)  Indian lifters bag 87 medals at C'wealth Championships. Youth Asian Games champion Ragala Venkat Rahul (77kg) stole the show with half a dozen gold medals as India signed off with a whopping 87 medals at the Commonwealth Youth and Junior Championships which concluded in Penang, Malaysia on Thursday. In the senior men's division, Sivalingam Sathish Kumar (77kg) won three gold medals. India signed off with a overall tally of 47 gold, 28 silver and 12 bronze medals at the event.

22) Cristiano Ronaldo's match-winning goals for Portugal in World Cup playoff matches against Sweden lifted his country to No. 5 in the monthly FIFA rankings.

23) Hockey India on 27 November 2013 announced its Junior Men National Team for the Hero Hockey Junior Men World Cup 2013. The 18 member team will be captained by  midfielder Manpreet Singh while defender Amit Rohidas will be the Vice-Captain. The Junior Hockey world Cup is scheduled from 6-15 December in New Delhi, India.

1) पाकिस्तान की थल सेना का नया प्रमुख कौन होगा, जिसकी नियुक्ति की घोषणा 27 नवम्बर, 2013 को की गई? - ले. जनरल रहील शरीफ (रहील शरीफ 29 नवम्बर को सेवानिवृत्त हो रहे जनरल अशफाक कियानी का स्थान लेंगे। उनकी नियुक्ति की घोषणा प्रधानमंत्री नवाज शरीफ ने 27 नवम्बर, 2013 को की। रहील शरीफ को पाकिस्तान का दूसरा सबसे नागरिक सम्मान हिलाल-ए-इम्तियाज प्रदान किया जा चुका है, जोकि नागरिकों के साथ-साथ सैन्य अधिकारियों को भी प्रदान किया जाता है। 1971 में भारत-पाक युद्ध में अपनी बहादुरी के लिए पाकिस्तान का सबसे बड़ा सैन्य सम्मान मरणोपरांत जीतने वाले मेजर शब्बीर शरीफ, रहील के भाई थे। उल्लेखनीय है कि पाकिस्तान में थल सेना प्रमुख का पद अत्यंत शक्तिशाली होता है क्योंकि देश के 66 वर्ष के इतिहास के दौरान लगभग आधी अवधि तक देश की कमान सेना के पास रही है)

2) अनियमितताओं तथा भ्रष्टाचार के खिलाफ आवाज उठाने वाले सत्येन्द्र दुबे की हत्या के 10 साल 27 नवम्बर, 2013 को पूरे हो गए। उन्होंने देश की किस प्रमुख निर्माण परियोजना में व्याप्त अनियमितताओं तथा भ्रष्टाचार के खिलाफ बिगुल फूँका था जिसके चलते 27 नवम्बर 2003 को बिहार के गया में उनकी हत्या कर दी गई थी? - स्वर्णिम चतुर्भुज राजमार्ग परियोजना - Golden Quadrilateral highway construction project (सत्येन्द्र दुबे IIT कानपुर से बीटेक करने वाले इंजीनियर थे तथा अपनी हत्या के समय वे भारत के राष्ट्रीय राजमार्ग प्राधिकरण (NHAI) में परियोजना निदेशक के रूप में कार्यरत थे। उन्होंने इस परियोजना में व्याप्त अनियमितताओं के बारे में आवाज उठाई थी तथा तत्कालीन प्रधानमंत्री अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी को पत्र भी लिखा था। उनका आरोप था कि स्वर्णिम चतुर्भुज परियोजना में मुख्य ठेकेदार अपना काम छोटे तथा घटिया स्तर के उप-ठेकेदारों को स्थानांतरित कर रहा है। इसके साथ ही भारी मात्रा में भ्रष्टाचार भी किया जा रहा है। उनकी हत्या के बाद देश भर में आवाज उठी थी तथा उनके IIT के साथी छात्रों ने उनके सम्मान में तमाम पुरस्कार भी गठित किए)

3) भारतीय रिज़र्व बैंक (RBI) ने 25 नवम्बर, 2013 को ऋण प्रदान करने के लिए मूलभूत संरचना की उप-श्रेणी को विस्तारित करने की घोषणा की। इस विस्तारण में इस उप-श्रेणी में किस नई श्रेणी को शामिल किया गया है? - होटल, किसी भी श्रेणी के भारत में निर्मित कोई भी होटल जिसकी परियोजना लागत 200 करोड़ रुपए से अधिक हो (इसमें ३०० करोड़ रुपए से अधिक लागत के कन्वेंशन सेंटर्स (सम्मेलन स्थलों) को भी शामिल किया गया है। उल्लेखनीय है कि मूलभूत संरचना श्रेणी में तमाम उप-श्रेणियां जैसे यातायात, ऊर्जा, जल एवं स्वच्छता, सूरसंचार, सामाजिक एवं वाणिज्यिक संरचना शामिल हैं)

4) भारत ने 27 नवम्बर, 2013 को कानपुर के ग्रीन पार्क में वेस्ट इंडीज के खिलाफ ODI श्रॄंखला के अंतिम एकदिवसीय मैच में 5 विकेट से जीत दर्ज कर श्रॄंखला 2-1 से जीत ली। इस श्रॄंखला-जीत के साथ भारत ने दूसरी बार लगातार 6 एकदिवसीय श्रॄंखला जीतने का कारनामा किया। इस मैच में 119 रन की शानदार पारी खेलने वाले शिखर धवन ने सबसे कम पारियों में 5 एकदिवसीय शतक लगाने के किस खिलाड़ी के रिकार्ड की बराबरी की? - श्रीलंका के उपुल थरंगा (उपुल थरंगा और शिखर धवन ने अपने 5 एकदिवसीय़ शतक मात्र 28 पारियों में बनाए हैं। वेस्ट इंडीज़ के साथ सम्पन्न हुई एकदिवसीय श्रॄंखला का ‘मैन ऑफ द सीरीज़’ भारत के विराट कोहली को चुना गया)

5) कौन से एशियाई देश ने 27 नवम्बर, 2013 को अंतर्राष्ट्रीय क्रिकेट परिषद (ICC) के किसी प्रमुख आयोजन में खेलने का मौका प्राप्त करने का गौरव हासिल किया जब उसे अगले साल होने वाले ICC T-20 विश्व कप में भाग लेने का मौका हासिल हो गया? - नेपाल (नेपाल ने आबू धाबी में चल रहे क्वालीफायर्स में हांग कांग को हराकर यह उपलब्धि हासिल की। इसी दिन संयुक्त अरब अमीरात (UAE) की टीम भी इस प्रतियोगिता के लिए क्वालीफाई कर गई। उल्लेखनीय है कि क्वालीफायर्स मुकाबले के द्वार अफगानिस्तान और आयरलैण्ड भी इस विश्व कप में अपना स्थान पक्का कर चुके हैं)

6) हाल ही में किस खिलाड़ी को स्पेन की लोकप्रिय खेल पत्रिका ‘डायरियो मार्का’ (‘Diario Marca’) के पाठकों के बीच कराए गए मतदान में स्पेन का अब तक का सबसे महान खिलाड़ी के तौर पर चुना गया? - टेनिस खिलाड़ी राफेल नडाल (स्पेन की खेल पत्रिका ‘डायरियो मार्का’ की 75वीं वर्षगांठ के मौके पर आयोजित एक कार्यक्रम में यह विशेष पुरस्कार नडाल को प्रदान किया गया। उल्लेखनीय है कि 13 ग्राण्ड स्लैम खिताब जीतने वाले नडाल इस समय पुरुषों के न. 1 टेनिस खिलाड़ी हैं)28 November