November 2013

Keep Yourself Ahead!

A Quest Chronicle CHRIST UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

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Business

1. BharatiyaMahila Bank launched by Prime Minister of India

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi Jointly inaugurated

India’s first all-women bank, BharatiyaMahila Bank in Mumbai on 19th November 2013,

marking the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The main objectives of

the bank will be to focus on the banking needs of women and to promote their economic

empowerment. The bank will commence operations with an initial capital of one thousand

crore rupees.

2. RBI Directed Public Sector Banks to give loans to women SHGs at 7 percent

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 19 November 2013 directed Public Sector Banks (PSBs)

to provide loans to women self-help groups (SHGs) at 7 per cent per annum to avail the benefit

of interest rate subvention scheme under the Swarnajayanti Gram SwarozgarYojana-

Aajeevika (SGSY) scheme.

3. ITC set to enter branded juice biz with B Natural buy

ITC is close to acquiring Bangalore-based Balan Natural Food PvtLtd’s B Natural brand to roll

out packaged fruit juices under its foods category. This entry will pitch ITC into a highly

competitive market against the established leader, Dabur India Ltd, which has a 54 per cent

market share through its Real fruit juice brand, and PepsiCo India with a 25-30 per cent market

share through its Tropicana juice brand.

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4. RBI Allows Wholly-Owned Subsidiary (WOS) of foreign banks:

As per the guidelines released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 7th November, 2013, the

Wholly-Owned Subsidiary (WOS) of foreign banks are allowed to acquire domestic private

sector banks as well as open branches anywhere in the country. In addition, as per the

guidelines:

Foreign bank subsidiary are permitted to be listed on local stock exchanges.

As a condition, foreign bank subsidiary will not be permitted to acquire more than 74%,

the sectoral limit for overall foreign investment, in the private banks they may acquire.

WOSs will be given near national treatment which will facilitate them to open branches

anywhere in the country at par with Indian banks (except in certain sensitive areas where

the Reserve Bank’s prior approval would be required).

The initial minimum paid-up voting equity capital or net worth for a WOS would be Rs

500 crore.

As a measure of prevention against the possibility of the Indian banking system being

dominated by foreign banks, there are certain measures to contain their expansion if the

share of foreign banks exceeds a critical size.

RBI will prohibit further entry of new WOSs of foreign banks or capital infusion, when the

capital and reserves of all foreign banks in India exceed 20% of the capital and reserves of

the entire banking system.

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5. Etihad & Jet Airways Deal:

Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the proposed 24% stake acquisition in

the NareshGoyal–led Indian carrier Jet Airways by Abu Dhabi based Etihad airlines on November

12th, 2013.The deal will become the first-ever FDI in an Indian carrier by an overseas airline. The

deal has already been approved by SEBI, Foreign Investment Promotion Board

(FIPB) and Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA). The deal had to be revised after

Sebi raised objections over a previous structure that involved Etihad possibly getting a larger

control over Jet Airways, which is a publicly-listed company in India.

The deal is important to Jet, which is facing significant financial challenges, as it brings an equity

capital of Rs 2057.66 crore. The deal will also help the Indian civil aviation industry by enhancing

capacity, increasing competition and bringing down airfares.

6. BlackBerry calls off sale plan; CEO ousted

BlackBerry abandoned its sale process and announced it will replace its chief executive.

Fairfax, BlackBerry’s largest shareholder with a 10 per cent stake, said it won’t buy the

struggling smartphone company and take it private but said it and other investors will inject $1

billion as part of a revised investment proposal. BlackBerry says CEO Thorsten Heins is

stepping down. Heins took over in early 2012 after the company lost billions in market value.

John Chen will serve as interim CEO.

7. Granules India to buy AuctusPharma for Rs 120 crore

Drug-maker Granules India Ltd will acquire AuctusPharma Ltd, a manufacturer of active

pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), for Rs 120 crore. Hyderabad-based Auctus will provide

Granules a meaningful API platform with a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved

site to strengthen its finished dosage division .Auctus has two plants — an API facility at

Pharmacity in Visakhapatnam and an intermediates unit in Hyderabad. The API plant has

approvals from leading regulators, including the US FDA.

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8. Burger King comes to India

Fast-food chain Burger King has entered India through a joint venture with the Everstone

Group, a private equity and real estate firm. Under the deal, announced on Tuesday, Everstone

has entered into a long-term master franchise and development agreement with Burger King

Worldwide that includes sub franchise rights for all of India.

9. Zomato raises Rs 220 cr from Sequoia, Info Edge

Restaurant search service Zomato has raised $ 37 million (around Rs 220 crore), in its fifth

round of funding, from Sequoia Capital and existing investors Info Edge. This takes Zomato’s

total funding to over $53 million (Rs 318 crore). It had earlier raised investments from Info

Edge in four rounds.

The New Delhi-headquartered company has also announced the launch of its services in

three new countries - Brazil (Sao Paulo), Turkey (Istanbul, Ankara), and Indonesia (Jakarta)

in local languages.

10. S&P affirms ‘BBB-’ rating on India

Global rating agency Standard & Poor’s has affirmed the ‘BBB-’ long-term sovereign credit

rating on India. This is the last investment grade rating. However, the outlook on the long-term

rating remains negative. It added that strengths are counterbalanced by significant weaknesses,

which include a burden from its public finance, lack of progress on structural reforms, and

shortfalls in basic services typical of a nation with a GDP per capita of $1,500.

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National

1. Facebook COO’s project for women in tech coming to India

Lean In, an initiative founded by Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO is set to reach India later

this month. Anita Borg Institute (ABI), a non-profit organization focused on the advancement

of women in computing, is associating with Lean In and will design courses and provide

networking opportunities for women engineers in India. Lean In circles, as they are known,

will enable them to connect with women CEOs over career and business opportunities.

2. Top 200 companies have less than 10% women: CII survey

Women employees account for less than a tenth of the workforce in more than half of the top

200 companies by market capitalisation surveyed by the Confederation of Indian Industry

(CII). The Business Responsibility India Survey 2013, conducted by the CII’s Centre of

Excellence for Sustainable Development (CESD) revealed that 56 per cent of the companies

had less than 10 per cent women staff members.

3. Your vehicle insurance details will soon be just an SMS away

“We will be providing vehicle insurance information to all the stakeholders through Short

Messaging Service (SMS) and web-based applications of the Insurance Information Bureau,’’

said M. Ramaprasad, Member (Non-Life), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority

(IRDA).The database of all insured vehicles across the country is now available in digitised

form and regularly updated. Until now, verification was done only by checking a hard copy of

the insurance policy.

4. Get ready to bite into India’s first branded apple

After auto, IT, hospitality and realty, Mahindra is getting aggressive in the agri-business sector.

It is set to bring India’s first branded apple, Saboro (meaning tasty in Spanish), to the market.

The Mahindra Group division Mahindra Shublabh will roll out the Saboro brand this month,

in Hyderabad.

5. About India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) ‘Mangalyan’:

The rocket will place the spacecraft into an elliptic parking orbit in an hour after the launch.

After this, the spacecraft will perform a number of technical maneuvers and short burns to

elevate its orbit before it catapults toward Mars.

After travelling around 780 million km, the spacecraft will reach Mars in September 2014,

making India the only Asian country to reach Mars with a programme designed to demonstrate

its low-cost space technology.

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6. INS Vikramaditya:

After almost a decade of negotiations and reconstruction, the super aircraft carrier INS

Vikramaditya formally joined the Indian Navy on 16th November, 2013. By early next year,

it will be out patrolling the Indian Ocean.

1. Originally built as the Admiral Gorshkov in the Soviet Union, the super aircraft carrier

has been refurbished. It weighs 40,000 tonnes and will be the biggest and heaviest ship

to be operated by the Indian Navy.

2. India agreed to buy it in 2004 for $974 million. The cost kept shooting up. Russia

delayed the delivery by over five years.

3. A fleet of warships will escort the INS Vikramaditya on its way from Russia to the

Kochi naval yard. Once it reaches India, it is meant to be equipped with Israeli Barak

missiles.

4. The INS Vikramaditya is 284 metres long and 60 metres high - that's about as high as

a 20-storeyed building.

5. It can carry 24 MiG-29 fighter jets and 10 helicopters at a time, and can sail nearly

1300 kilometres a day.

6. It can operate for 45 days without replenishment and will be manned by about 1600

people. Just the crew is expected to use over one lakh eggs, 200,000 litres of milk and

over 16 tonnes of rice every month.

7. India joins a select group of nations and the only one in the Indian Ocean region to

operate two aircraft carriers at the same time. The only aircraft carrier currently in use

- INS Viraat - is reaching the end of its useful service.

8. Till now, India was policing the Indian Ocean region from the Gulf of Malacca in south-

east Asia to the Gulf of Aden in the north with just the INS Viraat. The addition of the

INS Vikramaditya to India's fighting fleet is widely being projected as a game changer.

7. About India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) ‘Mangalyan’:

The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) has been named ‘Mangalyan‘. Launched on board PSLV

C25 on November 5th, 2013 at 14:38 hours from the first launch pad of SatishDhawan Space

Centre at Sriharikota.

India’s first interplanetary mission to planet Mars with an orbiter craft designed to orbit Mars

in an elliptical orbit.

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It will reach Martian transfer trajectory in September 2014. Subsequently, it is planned to enter

into a 372 km by 80000 km elliptical orbit around Mars.

8. President Gave Assent To Land Acquisition Bill:

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and

Resettlement Bill 2013, has received the assent of the President of India on 27thSeptmeber,

2013. The bill has now become law. The LokSabha passed the bill on 29th August 2013 and

RajyaSabha passed the bill on 4th September 2013. The Right to Fair Compensation and

Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Law, 2013, replaces a

British-era law of 1894. It provides for fair compensation to owners whose land is taken over,

brings transparency to the process and lays down measures for rehabilitation of those

displaced.

9. Rapid Metro-India's First Private Metro service started operation from Gurgaon,

Haryana:

Rapid Metro-India's First Private Metro service started operation from Gurgaon, Haryana on

14th November 2013. Rapid Metro is India's first fully privately financed Metro system

connecting NH-8 to Delhi Metro via Cyber City, Gurgaon.

10. India’s CAG wins Election To United Nations Board Of Auditors

India on 1 November won a crucial election to the UN Board of Auditors with its nominee

Shashi Kant Sharma, the Comptroller and Auditor General, garnering the largest number of

votes. Sharma won 124 votes out of the total 186 cast in the General Assembly’s Fifth

Committee on Administrative and Budgetary questions. India won by a comfortable margin

against its closest contender the Philippines, which got 62 votes. Having obtained the required

majority and the largest number of votes, Shashi Kant Sharma will be appointed to the UN

Board of Auditors for a six year term beginning on 1st July, 2014.The General Assembly in

1946 established the UN Board of Auditors to audit of the accounts of the United Nations

Organization and its funds and programs and to report its findings and recommendations to the

Assembly through the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions.

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International

1. UN urged Myanmar to grant Rights to Rohingya Muslims

The UN General Assembly’s human rights committee on 19 November 2013 passed a

resolution urging Myanmar to give the stateless Rohingya minority equal access to citizenship.

The committee also asked Myanmar to crack down on violence against them and other

Muslims in Myanmar.

2. India and Russia decided to held a Joint Air Force Exercise in 2014

India and Russia on 18 November 2013 agreed to expand the range of strategic partnership in

a significant manner in Moscow. The two countries will also hold a Joint Air Force Level

exercise for the first time in 2014. The decision was taken during the 13th Meeting of the

India–Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRITC-

MTC) and it was co-chaired by AK Antony, the Defense Minister of India and His counterpart

of Russia, Sergey Shoigu. This decision was taken by the two countries within two days after

commissioning of INS Vikramadatya into Indian Navy.

3. Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro got Special Powers

Nicolas Maduro, the President of Venezuela on 19 November 2013 got the final approval to

special powers by Venezuela National Assembly. Because of this approval, Maduro will be

able to govern without consulting the congress for 12 years. The new powers assigned to the

power will help him to tackle corruption and the economic crisis of the country. Presently,

Venezuela is facing the shortages of food and other essential goods, power cuts and inflation

about 54 percent. As the economic sabotage activity, the retailers of the country have been

forced to slash the prices up to 60 percent. Strict controls over the sale of the foreign currency

have been introduced by the government to control the growing black market of dollars.

4. NASA Launched MAVEN Mission to study Mars Atmosphere

The US space agency NASA on 18th November, 2013 launched its MAVEN orbiter Mission

to Mars planet. The orbiter mission was launched on an Atlas V rocket from Florida's Cape

Canaveral Air Force Station at 18:28 GMT.

The probe will have a 10-month cruise to the Red Planet- Mars. MAVEN is going to study

Mars' atmosphere. During the course of the long cruise, Maven will perform four trajectory

corrections, with the first scheduled to occur on 3rd December, 2013.

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About MAVEN Mission

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission is part of NASA's Mars Scout

program. The mission will explore the Red Planet’s upper atmosphere, ionosphere and

interactions with the sun and solar wind.

The trip to Mars takes 10 months, and MAVEN will go into orbit around Mars in September

2014. MAVEN will be the NASA’s first spacecraft mission dedicated to exploring the upper

atmosphere of Mars.

Scientists will use MAVEN data to determine the role that loss of volatile from the Mars

atmosphere to space has played through time, giving insight into the history of Mars'

atmosphere and climate, liquid water, and planetary habitability. The entire MAVEN mission

cost 671 million US Dollars.

5. Iran unveiled New Biggest Drone with 2000Km Range

Iran on 18th November, 2013 unveiled a biggest missile-equipped drone with a range of 2000

km, which would enable it to cover much of the Middle East, including Israel.

The drone named Fotros has an operational range of 2000 kilometers and can fly at an altitude

of 25000 feet, with a flight time of 16 to 30 hours. The drone could carry out reconnaissance

missions or launch air-to-surface missile strikes.

In September 2013, Iran announced the mass production of the Shahed 129 drone, which it

said has a range of 1700 kilometers, is capable of carrying eight missiles and can fly for 24

hours. In the same month, Iran unveiled a reconnaissance drone named Yasseer, which was

said to be capable of flying for eight hours with a range of 200 kilometers and at an altitude of

4500 meters. Yasseer was based on the US ScanEagle drone, a model of which Tehran claimed

to have captured in December 2012 and reproduced since then. The Iranian army also recently

claimed that it was producing a series of drones called Rad-85.

6. India and Australia signed two agreements

India and Australia on 18 November 2013 signed two agreements in New Delhi during the

visit of Foreign Minister of Australia, Julie Bishop to India. She was on four days visit to

India from 15 November to 18 November 2013

1. Amendments on MoU between the Central Board of Excise & Customs of the

Republic of India and the Australian Customs Service on Customs Cooperation on

Mutual Administrative Assistance.

2. Statement of Intent between the Government of Australia and Nalanda University to

Progress a three year arrangement towards a chair of Ecology and Environment

Studies at the University.

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7. First Integrated Checkpost along India-Bangladesh border inaugurated

The first Integrated Checkpost along Agartala-Akhaura, India-Bangladesh border was jointly

inaugurated on 17th November, 2013 by Union Home Minister SushilkumarShinde and his

Bangladeshi counterpart Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir. The chief Mister of Tripura, Manik Sarkar

was also present on the occasion. The integrated checkpost has been created to facilitate easier

movement for the goods and passengers across the border and this will help in promoting the

relations between India and Bangladesh. The Agartala-Akhaura Integrated checkpost is the

first of the seven Land Customs Border Stations has been upgraded by the Land Port Authority

of India along the 4096 km border. The Integrated Checkpost houses all regulatory agencies,

which includes Immigration, Customs and Border Security and it constitutes a single complex

equipped with the state-of-art facilities with dedicated cargo and passenger terminals, ware-

housing and banking. Trade between India and Bangladesh has improved significantly after

India granted zero-customs and zero-quota trade concessions to all Bangladeshi products,

except 25 items. Bangladeshi exports to India hit a record of 562 million dollar during 2012-

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8. OPCW adopted final roadmap for destruction of Syria’s Chemical

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the UN Chemical weapons

watchdog on 15 November 2013 started its work on the final roadmap for the destruction of

chemical arsenals of Syria. In the plan, Syrian chemical weapons will be transported for

destruction outside its territory to ensure their destruction in the safest and soonest manner,

and no later than 30 June 2014. The deadline of OPCW to agree on the destruction milestones

of more than 1000 tonnes of dangerous chemicals in Syria expired on 15 November 2013. The

plan was adopted during the meeting of its 41-member Executive Council in The Hague.

The UN Security Council gave its mandate to the agency to destroy the weapons of mass

destruction by mid-2014. As per the reports, OPCW will send the resource for packaging and

handling the chemical materials to 12 chemical storage sites by December 2013, under a

tentative plan. Subsequently, the chemicals would be taken to Syria's Latakia port from where

they would be shipped out by 5 February 2013.

9. Fifth Session of India-Ukraine Inter-Governmental Commission held in New Delhi

The fifth session of India-Ukraine Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic,

Scientific, Technological, Industrial and Cultural Cooperation held in New Delhi on 13

November 2013. The Commission was chaired by E. Ahamed, the Minister of State for

External Affairs. The Ukrainian delegation was led by IhorMykolayovychPrasolov, the

Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine. He was accompanied by a 15

member official and 12 member business delegations from Ukraine. During the session current

status and future prospects of cooperation in trade and investment, heavy/light industry,

fertilizers, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, mining and metallurgy, science and technology,

energy (coal, nuclear), transportation, agriculture and food processing, education, culture and

tourism were reviewed. The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India, and

the State Administration of Ukraine on Medicinal Products signed the Memorandum of

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Understanding for Cooperation in Joint Ventures and Research and Development in

Pharmaceuticals and Bio-pharmaceuticals.

10. Prasar Bharti signed MoU with Slovenia Radio & TV for Cooperation in

Broadcasting

India's public broadcaster PrasarBharati and Radio-Television of Slovenia (RTV-SLO) on 13th

November, 2013 signed anMoU to develop and strengthen mutual friendly relations through

an increased cooperation in the field of broadcasting. The agreement was signed by head of

international department of RTV SLO, SuzanaVidasKaroli and Member Personnel of

PrasarBharati, VAM Hussain TheMoU allows to explore further opportunities in potential

projects of production of programmes. It also entails exchange of programmes in the field of

culture, education, entertainment, sports and news.

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Sports and entertainment

1. V. Baskaran appointed as Coach of the Senior Men Hockey Team

Hockey India on 20 November 2013 appointed the former Olympic gold-medallist V Baskaran

as Coach of the Senior Men Hockey Team. Baskaran will work under the recently appointed

Chief Coach Terence Walsh. Hockey India on 15th October 2013 appointed the Terence Walsh

as Chief Coach of the Senior Men National Hockey Team. About V

BaskaranVasudevanBaskaran who was the captain of the team that won the gold medal at

the 1980 Olympics in Moscow has 287 internationals caps and has represented India in the

Olympic Games in 1976 Montreal, two World Cups in 1973 Amsterdam (Silver) and in 1978

Buenos Aires, two Asian Games in 1974 Tehran (Silver) and in 1978 Bangkok (Silver) and

Champions Trophy in 1978 Pakistan (Bronze). Baskaran coached the senior men national

team for ten years. Under his coaching India had played 187 matches including major

tournaments such as the Olympic Games in 2000 (Sydney), two World Cups in 1998 in Utrecht

and 2006 in Germany, Asian Games 2006 in Doha, Junior World Cup in 1997 in Milton Keynes

(Silver) and Champions Trophy in 1997 in Chennai. In 1980, he received the Arjuna Award

and in 1981 he received Padamshri Award.

2. RedekStepanek clinched Davis Cup for Czech Republic

The Czech Republic on 17 November 2013 defended the Davis Cup title 2013 after

RedekStepanek defeated the Serbian DusanLajovic 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 in the fifth rubber of the final

by BNP Paribas Final in Belgrade. With the win Stepanek handed the win too Czech Republic

3-2.

With this win, Stepanek became the third player in the history to win Two Davis Cup Finals

live fifth singles rubbers. He is also the first man to do so on consecutive occasions after

bypassing Serbian youngster DusanLajovic for the loss of just five games.

In 2012, he defeated Nicolas Almagro in the fifth rubber of the 100th Final in Prague. Only

France’s Henri Cochet (1927, 1929 and 1931) and Britain’s Fred Perry (1933, 1936) have won

two Davis Cup Final live fifth singles rubbers before - RadekStepanek.

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3. Sebastian Vettel won the United States Grand Prix for record 8th successive victory

Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull’s team on 17 November 2013 won United States Grand Prix.

France's RomainGrosjean in Lotus was second with Red Bull's Mark Webber took the third

place.

This was his eighth successive race of Vettel in a season. With this win he succeeded ahead of

Michael Schumacher’s previous record of winning seven races in a row in the same season,

which was set in 2004. This was also vettel’s 12th win of the season and if he wins the year-

ender in Brazil than he will tie with Michael Schumacher Formulae one record of 13 victories

in a single season. The win in the Brazil grand prix that is scheduled to happen on 24 November

2013 will bring to him ninth victory in a row, which was set by Alberto Ascari.

The Mark Webber (37) of Red Bulls will be driving last time in the Brazil grand prix, as it will

be his last race in the Formulae one.

4. Lionel Messi awarded third Golden Boot

Lionel Messi, the Barcelonan forward footballer on 20 November 2013 won the Golden Boot

award. Messi won the award in recognition of his 46 goals in 32 leagues appearances in the

Europe’s domestic football league in the 2012-13 season. This is the third Golden Boot award

of Messi and with this win he became the first footballer win the show three times. Earlier

Messi won the award in 2009-10 for 34 goals and a Spanish record 50 in 2011-12.

Lionel Andres Messi (26) is an Argentine Footballer and a captain to the national team of

Argentina. At present he plays for FC Barcelona in Spain. He is the fourth footballer to win 3

Ballons d’Or. He is the second player to win three Ballon’s d’Or consecutively after Michele

Platini.

5. Bolt and Fraser-Pryce were crowned World Athletes of 2013

The Jamaican sprinters, Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce were crowned the male and

female World Athletes of the Year, 2013 on 16 November 2013. They were selected as the

world athletes of the year by the sport's governing IAAF at a ceremony in Monaco.

Gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100 relay at the Moscow Worlds in August helped

Bolt to take his all-time tally to eight golds and two silvers at the championship. Usain Bolt

had been the World Athlete of the Year in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012, previously. Bolt won

10 out of his 11, 100m races (including heats), and was unbeaten in his five races over 200m.

Whereas, the Olympic Sprint Champion, the Fraser-Pryce claimed gold medals in three events

in Moscow. Fraser-Pryce, regained her 100m title at the 2013 IAAF World Championships,

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winning in 10.71, which remained the fastest time of the year. Earlier, she had gold and two

silvers. Fraser-Pryce became the second Jamaican woman to win, after Merlene Ottey in 1990.

Bolt and Fraser-Pryce also received a prize of 100000 US dollars.

6. Big B and AnuragKashyap’shattrick

This is the third time, Amitabh Bachchan and AnuragKashyap will work together. Earlier this

year, Anurag directed Big B for his story in Bombay Talkies and later the two collaborated for

a TV show and now they will face the camera together in Bhootnath Returns. It is heard that

Kashyap is playing a director in the film. The director and veteran actor have started shooting

together on Wednesday. We cannot wait to watch this sequel.

7. Ram-leela’s wonder weekend

Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-leela starring DeepikaPadukone and Ranveer Singh is a big

budget film for Sanjay LeelaBhansali and the film has hit the jackpot. This is yet another

successful film for DeepikaPadukone after hits like YehJawaaniHaiDeewani and Chennai

Express.

Ram-leela got good response on the opening day and managed to collect 16 crore. But over

the weekend the film has earned 53 crores giving it a good turnout. The film is estimated to

reach around 75 crore by the end of the week.

8. Salman replaces SRK

It has been an unwritten norm that every season Shah Rukh Khan is the first guest to inaugrate

Karan Johar's famous talk show, Koffee with Karan. But this year the actor has been replaced

by his alleged rival Salman Khan. Also, it is heard that Salman Khan will be joined by his

father, Salim Khan. We hope SRK can make it to the show with his better half.

9. Biopic on Rahul Gandhi?

JackkyBhagnani, who is in Lucknow shooting for a film, plays a young politician in it. While

his look in the film had been well guarded, media recently got a glimpse from the leaked images

published by Lucknow Times. The actor is seen dressed in a kurta-pyjama and Nehru jacket,

sporting spectacles and a stubble. The look reminds us of Rahul Gandhi. An industry insider

said that the movie could be a biopic on the politician. A source close to the producers insisted

that Jackky’s character doesn’t share any resemblance to Rahul Gandhi, and it is all mere

speculation.

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10. YRF wins over Ajay Devgn

It is befitting that The Competition Tribunal dismissed the appeal filed by ADF against the

order of the Competition Commission exactly a year since Jab TakHaiJaan released on 13th

November,

After the COMPETITION COMMISSION had dismissed the complaint filed by AJAY

DEVGN FILMS (ADF) on the basis that they were of the opinion that there was no

contravention of the Act in this case, the COMPETITION APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, in a

order of 8th November 2012, also refused to pass any interim order against YASH RAJ FILMS

(YRF) on the ground that the complainant had not put forward sufficient facts to establish that

YRF had violated the Competition Act.

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Science and technology

1. Astronomers have developed a new computational algorithm that allows them to follow the

star formation process down to the very small scales, tracking development of filamentary

substructures and secondary clumps as wide as only a few tens of astronomical units.

2. An international team of scientists has shown for the first time that atoms can work collectively

rather than independently of each other to share light.

The team included scientists from ETH Zürich (a leading university in Switzerland) who

performed the experiment and theoretical scientists from the Université de Sherbrooke in

Quebec and the University of Calgary.

The researchers showed the sharing of light or “photon-mediated interaction” between artificial

atoms confined to a one-dimensional quantum system.

3. Crime-fighting and intelligence agencies in the UK and the US have begun monitoring users

of encrypted, anonymizing online networks in a bid to track down pedophiles posting images

of children being sexually abused.

4. Room temperature phosphorous atoms have been placed in a fragile quantum state called a

superposition and survived for a leisurely 39 minutes – long enough for each one to perform 2

million calculations if they were to form the guts a quantum computer. The finding could herald

the widespread use of these futuristic machines. But unfortunately, super positions are very

delicate, meaning most current quantum computers need to be chilled to near absolute zero to

work properly. That limits their use to highly specialized buildings and laboratories.

5. Comet ISON dramatically brightened on 13th, 2013 night as it drew ever closer to the sun. It

is now visible to the naked eye. ISON is expected to keep brightening over the next few weeks

and could become a once-in-a-century comet so bright that it can be seen during the daytime.

It all depends on whether it survives its close approach to the sun, when the searing heat and

intense gravity could tear it to pieces.

6. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched trip to mars last week and then

carried out a series of engine burns designed to move the probe into higher orbits around

Earth. ISRO announced that the fourth of these maneuvers had failed, as the probe had only

increased its speed by 35 meters per second instead of 130. This meant its orbit was only

raised from about 71,000 kilometers to 78,000 kilometers, instead of to the planned 100,000

kilometers

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7. The organic compounds essential to life can survive the extreme pressures and temperatures

of a crash-landing. Now, evidence has been found around Darwin crater in Tasmania, which

was formed by an impact about 800,000 years ago.

8. Hillary Clinton, Richard Branson and Michael Jackson have created a multi-jointed, people-

friendly robot arm, called UR5, became the first non-human to ring the bell at the NASDAQ

stock exchange, a twice daily act that marks the opening and closing of the market in Times

Square, New York.

9. The earliest evidence of string has been found apparently created by our Neanderthal cousins.

Hardy and his colleagues have found slender, 0.7-millimetre-long plant fibers that are twisted

together near some stone artifacts at a site in south-east France that was occupied by

Neanderthals 90,000 years ago. Such fibers are not twisted together in nature, says the team,

suggesting that the Neanderthals were responsible

10. A pot-bellied plane filled with helium that can take off and land on super-short runways. The

design will allow it to ferry emergency supplies to disaster zones where roads and runways

may be wrecked. The peculiar aircraft is currently undergoing feasibility tests in the European

Commission's Extremely Short Take Off and Landing On any Surface(ESTOLAS) project. It is

led by Alexander Gamaleyev at Riga Technical University in Latvia and DimitrisDrikakis at

Cranfield University in the UK.

18

Coordinator:

Debendu Ghosh

Editor:

Arijit Mitra

Team:

Ieswariya K

Keerthana Ravi

Maria Lisbel

Shariq Ashfaque

Vishnu Santhosh S

Faculty Co-ordinator:

Prof. Binu P Paul

QUEST POCs:

Charishna Challagundla

Himanshu Chauhan

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